Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions Limited Edition Box Set (#281 – 6 CDs)

Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions
Limited Edition Box Set (#281 – 6 CDs)

As was the case with our first set, each track in our six-CD “Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions” set was recorded under the exacting eye of legendary producer John Hammond. Sometimes criticized for micro-managing sessions he supervised, Hammond allowed musicians on these sets to take advantage of newer recording technology that permitted up to 15 minutes of music on a 10-inch side, giving them free-rein to express themselves. Many of the songs in the repertoire were well-known favorites, finally recorded the way they might have been heard live.

But if Hammond was determined to give musicians the freedom new innovations allowed, he was intrigued by Vanguard’s devotion to what was, in some ways, an older approach. Originally signing with Vanguard to supervise classical recordings, Hammond became fascinated by the results the label achieved in the way they used the studio. At a time when studio recording advancements made it possible to individually mic instruments, Vanguard was committed to achieving the perfect sound by strategically positioning musicians in the room and capturing — with a solitary microphone, suspended 30 feet above the musicians — the natural blend and reverb that the environment produced. For the most part, the Jazz Showcase series followed that plan.

It didn’t hurt that Vanguard was using the Brooklyn Masonic Temple (and sometimes the Pythian Temple in Manhattan) as its studio. An historic structure dating back to 1907, still intact today and in use as a vibrant event space, the Temple featured a 35-foot ceiling, wooden floors, and wooden walls, creating an unmatchable natural reverb. In its day, the sound was glorious. Newly-remastered by Mosaic, “these recordings have never sounded better,” one critic wrote.

For the Vanguard recordings Hammond assembled musicians who, at the time, were “caught in a no-man’s-land,” according to critic Nat Hentoff (who also had a hand in bringing this music to life). With post-War tastes leading to a flurry of enthusiasm for bebop, followed by cool jazz and hard bop, Hammond used musicians who may have evolved with the times but could still strike fire in a mainstream jazz setting. This new set focuses on pianists who could swing with the best of them — included Ray Bryant with the Jo Jones Trio, Sir Charles Thompson, Bobby Henderson, Mel Powell, and Ellis Larkins.

Veterans, even in youth

When he made these recordings in 1958, Ray Bryant had just moved to New York from Philadelphia where he had spent a few years as house pianist at the Blue Note club. As a fixture in that venue, he worked alongside everybody. He was already a veteran at 27 — after all, he began his professional career at the age of 14. His gifts made him comfortable in every style from stride to hard bop. Along with his older brother Tommy on bass and Jones on drums, the trio was seasoned and ready after touring earlier in the year. They recorded their entire date in one 42-minute session. These recordings of stalwarts such as “Sweet Lorraine,” “Satin Doll,” “Ol’ Man River,” and others, plus signature originals by Bryant including “Spider Kelly’s Blues” and his masterful “Cubano Chant,” are relaxed and secure, despite what were often upbeat tempos that demanded Bryant unleash a flurry of notes.

Sir Charles Thompson was more than a decade older than Bryant at the time of his Vanguard sessions but had also started young, playing professionally from the age of 15. He got a significant break when William Basie, pianist with Bennie Moten (and not yet a Count), invited him to sit in. On one of his Vanguard sessions, Thompson teams with the Basie rhythm section (Freddie Green, Walter Page, and Jo Jones) and on the other, with Skeeter Best (guitar) and Aaron Bell (bass). Thompson was well-acquainted with bebop, having performed regularly on 52nd Street with such notable innovators as Charles Parker, but on these later recordings he shows that his range extended across musical styles. He played in a focused, spare and bluesy mode, with great wit.

His second set from 1955 was Vanguard’s last LP in the ten-inch format. The following year, the entire industry went to 12-inch vinyl, rendering this set a virtual orphan in the market. The only re-issues in the U.S. have been incomplete, and Mosaic is proud to offer the set as it was originally recorded.

Journey into the composer’s mind

Mel Powell was well-known to Hammond from his time with Benny Goodman. But he was a musician who simply would not be categorized, working as a studio and TV network pianist and arranger, a composer of significant classical works, and an arranger for small groups and big bands. In the early 1950s he was working as a music educator, but he returned to performing to be with Goodman and to lead sessions such as these featuring trios, quintets, and septets. Powell’s work in jazz was uplifting and sprite. He kept the music moving on such highly appreciated tunes as “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Stompin’ At The Savoy” and “Three Little Words.” His performance on “Pennies From Heaven” is a tour de force of pianism, a wondrous display of his composer’s mind as he journeys through tempos, harmonies, and different artistic feels. “Gone With the Wind” is another peek into his approach, matching structure with improvised exploration.

Bobby Henderson became part of the Vanguard roster on a chance encounter Hammond had with a pianist in Albany using the name Jody Bolden. Hammond quickly realized the pianist he was hearing was Henderson, a friend from decades earlier who had been greatly influenced by Fats Waller, as his two-fisted approach reveals. Handful of Keys — his LP-length tribute to Waller — is aptly named. The title tune is a workout and a showcase for Henderson’s unaccompanied piano. We don’t have as much Henderson on record as his talent should have demanded, and he is largely remembered for his Vanguard discs, here in their entirety.

The Classic Larkins-Braff duets

Hammond’s ingenious pairing of trumpeter Ruby Braff with pianist Ellis Larkins makes one wonder why this format — horn and piano — wasn’t attempted more often. Larkins’ dynamics generally stayed in a range from quiet-to-a-whisper, which benefited his highly-prized talent as an accompanist to singers. He was known as one of the finest accompanists ever and Braff, his collaborator on these sessions, praised his playing for being “a complete orchestra by itself.” In this set, he not only solos emotionally but provides a gentle bed for Braff’s lovely sense of melody. These duets have been more dutifully released than some of the other Vanguard sessions, but their brilliance deserves a re-newed interest. As critic Whitney Balliet wrote at the time, “For sheer inspiration and first-rate creativity, these should find a permanent place among the greater efforts of recorded jazz.”

On six CDs, “Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions” contains 88 compositions, many of which will be new to jazz listeners who weren’t around in the days on 10-inch vinyl. Our deluxe set includes an updated and corrected discography and one of our famous booklets featuring many vintage photos and a track-by-track appreciation by noted jazz historian Thomas Cunniffe.

It’s a shame that the bulk of these recordings have been unavailable for so long. We encourage you to snap up a set before our collection — extremely limited — disappears as well.

Audio Clips

Sir Charles Thompson Quartet
Sir Charles Thompson (p), Freddie Green (g), Walter Page (b), Jo Jones (d).
Swingtime In The Rockies

Sir Charles Thompson did not lead many recording sessions—36 total dates in a discography spanning the years 1941-2011—but his debut as a leader was a noteworthy 1945 session with Buck Clayton, Charlie Parker, and Dexter Gordon. With such a diverse band in tow, Thompson showed that he could adapt his style to the new sounds of bop without alienating the older players. The four 10-inch LPs he led for Vanguard displaying his wide range and accessible style include sessions with Joe Newman and Coleman Hawkins (both found on Vanguard Swing Sessions Mosaic MD7-280); his sessions with rhythm section are included here.

The quartet session, recorded just weeks after Thompson’s first Vanguard date, paired him with the classic Count Basie rhythm section of Freddie Green, Walter Page and Jo Jones. The fidelity on this session is breathtaking, with great pickup of Jones’ hi-hat and Green’s guitar.

Mel Powell Septet
It’s Been So Long
Buck Clayton (tp), Henderson Chambers (tb), Edmond Hall (cl), Mel Powell (p),
Steve Jordan (g), Walter Page (b), Jimmy Crawford (d).

Mel Powell’s first exposure to jazz came through live performances by Teddy Wilson and Benny Goodman, and by the age of 14, he played professionally in New York City. As an accomplished player in the stride style, he worked with several traditional jazz groups, and while his musical palette expanded over the years, he remained a fan of classic Dixieland. He eventually joined the Goodman band, where his compositions and performances won him renewed acclaim.

The four jazz tracks from this session showcase the joy and relaxation evident through all of the solos. If Powell came into this session with any reservations, they were certainly dissipated by the spirit and power of these performances.

Mel Powell Trio
Quin And Sonic
Paul Quinichette (ts), Mel Powell (p), Bobby Donaldson (d).

The unusual instrumentation of horn, piano, and drums is based on the Benny Goodman Trio, in which Powell played many times while working in the clarinetist’s big band. But unlike Goodman’s chamber jazz group, Powell’s trios push the boundaries of jazz harmony and melody. The opening and closing choruses of Quin And Sonic have a mysterious air, but listen to how Powell brightens the mood of the piece with a simple transposition of the chords after the melody chorus.

Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkin
I’ve Got A Pocketful Of Dreams
Ruby Braff (tp), Ellis Larkins (p)

Now we come to the crown jewels of this collection, the Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins duets. No one seems to know the exact sequence of events which led to this collaboration. However, we can piece together a probable timeline: By August 1954, pianist Ellis Larkins was already established as one of jazz’s finest accompanists. Meanwhile, Braff recorded several tracks for Vanguard where his phrasing sounded similar to jazz vocalists.

The outgoing trumpeter and the taciturn pianist found common musical ground very quickly. There is a complete lack of tension in these recordings, as the two principals yield the lead to and fro. The old Bing Crosby hit, Pocketful Of Dreams, is enlivened through a snappy up-tempo groove and a great set of four-bar exchanges. Braff brings down the intensity as he pops in a cup mute for a closing chorus and theme restatement.

Vanguard Jazz Showcase
John Hammond & The Solomon Brothers

John Hammond did not meet Seymour and Maynard Solomon until November 1953, but their parallel actions in the post-war era made it inevitable they would cross paths. Ironically, it was classical music that led them in similar directions, but jazz was the force that united them.

The Solomon brothers of New York City acquired a state-of-the-art tape recorder and started a company offering new recordings of the Bach cantatas. The Bach Guild label started in 1950, and a sister label, Vanguard, was added by the end of the year. Originally launched to issue non-Bach classical works and folk songs, Vanguard eventually became the parent company.

A 1951 Bach Guild recording of Bach’s Easter Oratorio, recorded with a single overhead microphone, presented an astonishingly rich aural soundscape with natural room echo and superb balance between the orchestra, chorus and soloists. All Seymour needed was a New York recording studio with similar acoustics and a few American artists to record.

Hammond, who had left Mercury at the end of 1952, spent most of 1953 writing occasional record reviews for the New York Times. In the November 22, 1953 issue, Hammond published a diatribe about the sorry state of jazz recordings. He blamed engineers, recording supervisors and musicians for “a triumph of conscientious distortion”, created by multi-microphone techniques.

“Although much fine jazz is being recorded today, mostly by the smaller companies, very little of it sounds as it should. There is an enormous opportunity for real high-fidelity disks of jazz and popular music. Just as English Decca and London led the way in the classical field with Full Frequency Range Recording the opportunities are enormous in the popular market.”

Soon after the article was published, the Solomons called Hammond with an offer to produce a new series of jazz recordings for Vanguard. With Hammond as his new ally, Seymour hung a single microphone 30 feet over the stage, and recorded the first Vanguard jazz session on December 29, 1953, just five weeks after the producer came aboard.

The new series was called the Vanguard Jazz Showcase, and the initial recordings carried a balanced soundscape with the instruments surrounded by natural echo emanating from the room’s wooden walls and floors. There was no blazing red light to signal a recording in process, and the take announcements were made quietly in the booth, unheard by the musicians. The bands were allowed to play any music they wanted, and the performances could extend up to 15 minutes—the time limit for one side of a 10″ LP.

The Vanguard Jazz Showcase operated from 1953 to 1958. The 13 CDs of music in Mosaic’s two box sets represent the highlights of the series. With the exception of isolated reissues, many of these albums have not been presented in their entirety since their original releases nearly 70 years ago. Vanguard issued some of the earliest recordings on 10″ LPs, and unlike other record companies of the time, they did not reissue and expand the albums when 12″ LPs became the standard.

These recordings are all the more precious because of their long absences from the catalog. In their day, these recordings—along with Norman Granz’s productions on Clef, Norgran and Verve—sparked a revival for mainstream jazz artists. Now that all of the musicians have passed on, these boxes act as a joyous celebration of their legacies. – Thomas Cunniffe, liner notes

Limited Edition: 5000
(#281- 6 CDs)

This set is strictly limited in its release and will someday be unavailable. Please don’t delay in ordering this comprehensive set of some of the music’s most reliably captivating artists.