Professional Documents
Culture Documents
AND HIS
DAVIS
"trumpet
KE JOPnAM
Mosaic's new set, The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings
of Charlie Parker. These are live-on-location recordings, long-
rumored to exist, from the very moments Parker was inventing
the future. Finally discovered, finally catalogued and
annotated, finally available. Finally you can hear them.
Photograph (from 1948) by Willam P. Gottlieb.
ftMMY POTTER
"I Got a Break, Baby" for Capitol. In 1945, he
Grant Green, available in their entirety. Most of this music is
either out of print or never-before-released. In began recording in Chicago, releasing 10 sides
we hardly knew you. addition to everything significant recorded at on the Rhumboogie and Swingmaster labels.
the four sessions, including several worthwhile By 1946, T-Bone was in his prime, record
alternate takes, there are two later perform ing 48 jazz-tinged electric blues classics for the
ances featuring Sonny Clark, Ike Quebec, and Los Angeles-bascd Black & White label. These
a Latin rhythm section. sides gained T-Bone national exposure and
trum, from
Grant Green blues
could withthe
play a backbeat to the
whole spec
modern experiments of Larry Young. He signed The 12-page booklet includes an essay by taught a whole generation of blues guitarists
with Blue Note in 1960, and the albums began Bob Blumenthal and many unpublished session how it should be done.
to flow. photographs by Francis Wolff. In 1950, T-Bone signed with Imperial Rec
Blue Note recorded Green in a variety of ords, where he recorded 56 titles over the next
four years. By the time that T-Bone moved on
funky settings. But for pure, hard bop, nothing to Atlantic in '55, there were bluesmen, R&B
matched Green's four '61 and '62 sessions with
Sonny Clark. Clark had played with the likes What Charlie Parker was players, and eventually rock & rollers imitating
his style from coast to coast.
of Buddy DeFranco, John Coltrane, Dinah
Washington, and was one of Blue Note's house
to jazz, T-Bone Walker
pianists. For the Grant Green sessions, he put was to the blues. "I believe it all comes originally from T-Bone
Walker. And B. B. King thinks so, too."
together a trio, with himself on piano, Sam
Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes (or, in one case, Freddie King
Art Blakey) on drums. On one occasion, Ike Today, T-Bone Walker is acknowledged by
Charliestrument;
Parker hewas all to be the true father of the electric blues. But
Quebec was added to the group. The music was wasborn to steeped
deeply play hisin in
the
at all times magnificent, consisting mainly of while some of the songs he wrote continue to
tradition; and his innovations changed forever
classic jazz compositions and standards, with a the music that followed. The same can be said live on in the repertoires of thousands of artists
few originals thrown in. for T-Bone Walker and his passionthe blues. ("Stormy Monday," "I'll Always Be in Love
If anyone were born to sing and play the blues, with You"), the vast majority of T-Bone's
Unfortunately for the world of jazz, these
sessions weren't in keeping with the soulful it was he. original, history-making recordings have, until
image that Blue Note had in mind for Grant T-Bone's mother was an amateur blues singer now, been incredibly difficult to come by.
Green. So, for nearly 20 years, they remained This Mosaic set includes all 144 tracks re
in Dallas, and their home was a well-known
unissued in Blue Note's vaults. corded by T-Bone Walker as a leader during his
stopping-off point for bluesmen in town or most influential years.
It wasn't until the late '70s that news of these just passing through. One of young T-Bone's
sessions... and a reaffirmation of Grant Green's earliest chores was to accompany Blind Lemon Our informative 16-page booklet is written
brilliance... came out. Two Grant Green/Sonny Jefferson on the street corners of downtown by Helen Oakley Dance, author of the defini
Clark albums were released in Japan, followed tive biography, Stormy Monday: The T-Bone
Dallas, passing the hat while Lemon performed.
a few years later by two others in the U.S. When T-Bone was 10 years old, he con Walker Story. A complete discography of ev
Now, for the first time, these rare perform vinced his mother to buy him a guitar. It didn't erything in this set and rare photographs round
ances of Grant Green at his purest and best, take long before he was playing like an old out this ambitious project.
featuring Sonny Clark shortly before his death master. As a young teenager, T-Bone was
of a heart attack at age 32, are being made accepted by a professionally-managed high
school band. But when they didn't allow him
to solo, he set out for greener pastures, only to
be replaced in the band by his friend Charlie
Christian.
17
31
R F A X : 2 0 3 / 3 2 3 - 3 5 2 6 1 O A M - 5 P M ( E T ) V I S A & M A S T E R C A R D O N LY, P L E A S E .