MILES DAVIS SEXTET/DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA - The Complete Jazz at the Plaza
Essential Jazz Classics, EJC 55697 (2 CD set)
CD 1: Tracks 1 to 4, Miles Davis (trumpet) John Coltrane (tenor sax) Cannonball Adderley (alto sax) Bill Evans (piano) Paul Chambers (bass) Jimmy Cobb (drums) Recorded at The Plaza Hotel, NYC, September 9th 1958. Tracks 5 to 9, Red Garland (piano) replaces Bill Evans. (5 to 7) Recorded at The Spotlight Lounge, Washington DC, November 1st 1958. (8 &9) at Birdland, NYC, January 3rd 1959.
CD2: Tracks 1 to 5 and 7, The Duke Ellington Orchestra comprising, Clark Terry, Harold `Shorty` Baker, Cat Anderson (trumpets) Ray Nance ( trumpet, violin) Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, John Sanders, (trombones) Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor sax) Russell Procope ( alto sax , clarinet) Johnny Hodges (alto sax) Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax) Harry Carney ( baritone sax, bass clarinet, clarinet) Duke Ellington (piano) Jimmy Woode (bass) Sam Woodyard (drums) with Jimmy Rushing (guest vocal on 5) Track 6, Billie Holiday (vocal) with Buck Clayton (trumpet) Mal Waldron (piano) Unknown bass and drums. Recorded at the Plaza Hotel, NYC, Tuesday September 9th 1958. Tracks 8 to 13, same personnel but omit Jimmy Rushing. Recorded at Salle Pleyel. Paris, November 20th 1958
.
This re-issue release by Essential Jazz Classics brings together in one double CD set two discs that were originally issued separately and adds to the original playlist some live air-shots and concert tapes recorded elsewhere. The original material was recorded at a corporate junket staged at New York’s famous Plaza Hotel by Columbia Records to celebrate the success of their prevailing jazz policy which had produced a string of best- selling albums for Davis and presided over the Ellington band’s resurgence by capturing on record the memorable 1956 Newport come-back. It was never intended for commercial issue but to serve as a memento of the occasion and consequently not a great deal of care was taken with the recording quality, the sextet’s contribution only issued commercially some fifteen years later as `Jazz at the Plaza Volume 1`, to capitalise on the Davis legacy. In a subsequent interview Bill Evans says the musicians were unaware that a recording was taking place and occasionally wandered off mike. Apparently no attempt was made to re-mix or remaster the material at the time so the outcome is somewhat less than audiophile quality though Ellington fares better than Miles given that orchestral players tend to stay fixed in one spot. Notwithstanding these reservations the set is still worth having if the material is new to you for the strength of the performances make up for the aural limitations.
The Davis sextet, only six months away from their magnum -opus, `Kind of Blue`, are on top form and play four pieces from their established repertoire. The ensemble work may be a bit ragged but the solos are full of energy and lyrical invention and there is a celebrated quartet version of `My Funny Valentine` featuring a remarkable, impressionistic solo by Evans which apparently proves too sophisticated for the invited audience who fail summon up a smattering of applause. Shame! The party really gets started on the second disc which contains the Ellington performance with the orchestra at the height of its post Newport powers and showcasing all its famous soloists; additionally there is a guest spot for Jimmy Rushing, who brings the house down, and Billie Holiday, herself a Columbia artist at that time having recently recorded her penultimate album, `Lady in Satin`, who performs a medley of `When Your Lover Has Gone` and `Don’t Explain` accompanied by Buck Clayton on trumpet and her pianist, Mal Waldron.
Both discs offer bonus tracks from the same period and with largely the same personnel: The Davis sextet is heard in what sounds like radio broadcasts from club venues with Red Garland replacing Bill Evans at the piano and the Ellington Orchestra, to better advantage, in concert in Paris in a set which includes repertoire favourites like `Stompy Jones`, `Jam With Sam` and the inevitable `Take The A Train`. The booklet replicates Irving Townsend’s original sleeve notes and provides corrections to some of his inaccuracies regarding personnel and track details.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Essential Jazz Classics, EJC 55697 (2 CD set)
CD 1: Tracks 1 to 4, Miles Davis (trumpet) John Coltrane (tenor sax) Cannonball Adderley (alto sax) Bill Evans (piano) Paul Chambers (bass) Jimmy Cobb (drums) Recorded at The Plaza Hotel, NYC, September 9th 1958. Tracks 5 to 9, Red Garland (piano) replaces Bill Evans. (5 to 7) Recorded at The Spotlight Lounge, Washington DC, November 1st 1958. (8 &9) at Birdland, NYC, January 3rd 1959.
CD2: Tracks 1 to 5 and 7, The Duke Ellington Orchestra comprising, Clark Terry, Harold `Shorty` Baker, Cat Anderson (trumpets) Ray Nance ( trumpet, violin) Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, John Sanders, (trombones) Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor sax) Russell Procope ( alto sax , clarinet) Johnny Hodges (alto sax) Paul Gonsalves (tenor sax) Harry Carney ( baritone sax, bass clarinet, clarinet) Duke Ellington (piano) Jimmy Woode (bass) Sam Woodyard (drums) with Jimmy Rushing (guest vocal on 5) Track 6, Billie Holiday (vocal) with Buck Clayton (trumpet) Mal Waldron (piano) Unknown bass and drums. Recorded at the Plaza Hotel, NYC, Tuesday September 9th 1958. Tracks 8 to 13, same personnel but omit Jimmy Rushing. Recorded at Salle Pleyel. Paris, November 20th 1958
.
This re-issue release by Essential Jazz Classics brings together in one double CD set two discs that were originally issued separately and adds to the original playlist some live air-shots and concert tapes recorded elsewhere. The original material was recorded at a corporate junket staged at New York’s famous Plaza Hotel by Columbia Records to celebrate the success of their prevailing jazz policy which had produced a string of best- selling albums for Davis and presided over the Ellington band’s resurgence by capturing on record the memorable 1956 Newport come-back. It was never intended for commercial issue but to serve as a memento of the occasion and consequently not a great deal of care was taken with the recording quality, the sextet’s contribution only issued commercially some fifteen years later as `Jazz at the Plaza Volume 1`, to capitalise on the Davis legacy. In a subsequent interview Bill Evans says the musicians were unaware that a recording was taking place and occasionally wandered off mike. Apparently no attempt was made to re-mix or remaster the material at the time so the outcome is somewhat less than audiophile quality though Ellington fares better than Miles given that orchestral players tend to stay fixed in one spot. Notwithstanding these reservations the set is still worth having if the material is new to you for the strength of the performances make up for the aural limitations.
The Davis sextet, only six months away from their magnum -opus, `Kind of Blue`, are on top form and play four pieces from their established repertoire. The ensemble work may be a bit ragged but the solos are full of energy and lyrical invention and there is a celebrated quartet version of `My Funny Valentine` featuring a remarkable, impressionistic solo by Evans which apparently proves too sophisticated for the invited audience who fail summon up a smattering of applause. Shame! The party really gets started on the second disc which contains the Ellington performance with the orchestra at the height of its post Newport powers and showcasing all its famous soloists; additionally there is a guest spot for Jimmy Rushing, who brings the house down, and Billie Holiday, herself a Columbia artist at that time having recently recorded her penultimate album, `Lady in Satin`, who performs a medley of `When Your Lover Has Gone` and `Don’t Explain` accompanied by Buck Clayton on trumpet and her pianist, Mal Waldron.
Both discs offer bonus tracks from the same period and with largely the same personnel: The Davis sextet is heard in what sounds like radio broadcasts from club venues with Red Garland replacing Bill Evans at the piano and the Ellington Orchestra, to better advantage, in concert in Paris in a set which includes repertoire favourites like `Stompy Jones`, `Jam With Sam` and the inevitable `Take The A Train`. The booklet replicates Irving Townsend’s original sleeve notes and provides corrections to some of his inaccuracies regarding personnel and track details.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
