Monterey Jazz

Louis Armstrong
Live at the 1958 Monterey Jazz Festival

Miles Davis Quintet
Live at the 1963 Monterery Jazz Festival

Dizzy Gillespie
Live at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival

Thelonious Monk
Live at the 1964 Monterey Jazz Festival

Sarah Vaughan
Live at the 1971 Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival Records
By George W. Harris

I'm going to keep saying it, because it's true: this is one of the best times to be a jazz fan. There are just so many great jazz performances from the past that are suddenly becoming uncovered and reaching the public, either via reissues or simply someone sitting on some obscure concert tapes that deserve to be heard by the public that it is an embarrasment of riches being thrust upon our fortunate ears.

A whole new label has been formed in partnership with Concord records, called Monterey Jazz Festival Records, which, in commemoration of the MJF's 50th anniversary, is releasing a series of concerts from the best and brightest musicians that have blessed that stage over the years. If the first set of releases is any indication, hang on to your seat belts, because we're going to have a fun ride!

Appropriately, the first disc captures the very first concert in 1958, featuring Louis Armstrongs band during one of his many renaissances, just a few years after his famous "Satch plays Fats/WC Handy" discs. This 75 minute concert, which was probably "just another date" to the eternally touring Satchmo, is one of the absolute best presentations of this legendary artist. His singing, as on simple tunes like "Blueberry Hill" is a balm that one cannot ever get tired of. As far as his trumpet playing is stunningly gorgeous throughout, and on "Tiger Rag" it reaches aural regions that affirm Miles Davis' statement that Armstrong played everything before anyone else, including free jazz. The rest of the band, driven by the effervescent drumming of Danny Barcelona, gets plenty of solo space, with clarinetist Peanuts Hucko in astounding form, particularly on the incessantly swinging "After You've Gone." This disc stands as a testament to the eternally enduring quality of jazz. This was a concert for the ages, and is as timeless now as it was half a century ago.

Miles Davis' 63 concert features his newly formed not-quite-classic second quintet (with tenorist George Coleman) that gives the later version with tenorist Wayne Shorter a run for it's money. This band, with a rhythm section consisting of Ron Carter (b), Herbie Hancock (p), and teenage phenom Tony Williams (d), takes standard Miles fare and puts it through a Waring blender. The tempo on "So What" is so supercharged that I almost got a speeding ticket getting caught up in Tony Williams' humminbirdlike frenetic beat. Ron Carter's jaw dropping solo on "Autumn Leaves", and Coleman's moaning horn on "Walkin'" are like a brisk aftershave slapped on a freshly applied face. This is the best one disc presentation of a band that set the pace for the future of jazz up until this very day.

Dizzy Gillespie's 65 sextet featured two giants that are still performing, pianist Kenny Barron and flutist/tenorist James Moody, and they are caught in their glory on this 49 minute set. The rhythm section, augmented by Big Black on congas, is fearless as they stamped through "Trinidad, Goodbye" and an unbelievably inspiring "Night In Tunisia", which features one of Diz's best solos of that song ever recorded. Barron already has his patented gentle touch in full array on "Day After", and Moody adroitly switches between flute and tenor with aplomb throughout the set. An overlong geographic (must've had to have been there to enjoy it)drum solo on "Ungawa" keeps this from being an essential disc, but the version of "Tunisia" is worth the purchase.

Monk's 64 gig is an important disc for a couple of reasons. First, his quartet at the time featured Steve Swallow on bass, and his flexibility keeps the band loose and uncommonly grooving and jovial. The version of "Blue Monk" here is so supervamped that it almost transforms into "Sweet Georgia Brown." All that's missing is Meadowlark Lemon! "Evidence" and "Rhythm A Ning" have a brightness and extra bounce, particularly in Rouse's tenor, that is joyfully infectious. The other bonus at this concert was having the regular quartet augmented by a 5 piece horn section lead by reedman Buddy Collette, which adds extra punch and texture to "Think of One" and "Straight, No Chaser." Trumpeter Bobby Bryant puts some extra oomph during this session with some slick hornwork, backed by the snappy horn section. Monk was definitely inspired and inspiring this set.

Incredibly without a recording contract when she gave this concert in 1971, Sarah Vaughan’s voice is lava rich, and filled with a gravitas that is swoon inducing. It takes all of five minutes for her to go through one glorious chorus of "I Remember You", stretching out every nuanced syllable and vowel like a piece of taffy. Contrarily, her "Scatting The Blues" is a textbook lesson in bebbopin in B flat. The rhythm section of Bill Mays (p), Bob Magnusson (b) and Jimmy Cobb (d) is air tight.An extra bonus to her half hour set was bringing on a group of swinging musicians like Clark Terry, Roy Eldridge, Benny Carter, Zoot Sims and "Lockjaw" Davis" for a 14 minute jam session, which almost causes a riot of applause by the end. The place was rocking that night in Monterey, and no one had to set fire to a guitar, either. Great music by a group of artists overlooked by those attracted to the gloss of rock and fusion