http://www.thejazzdetective.com/

The Jazz Detective, Washington D.C., DC (2024)

11/03/2023

LISTEN NOW! AHMAD JAMAL "MISTY"! Listen now to "Misty," the first streaming single off the upcoming RSD Black Friday release "Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse (1966-1968" by piano icon Ahmad Jamal on Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music). This is the third and final of Jamal's highly-acclaimed "Emerald City Nights" releases. Listen to "Misty" here on your favorite streaming platforms https://ingrv.es/misty-xee-v

Eugene Holley, Jr. writes about "Misty" in the liner notes for the album:

"The club version of another 'Heat Wave' selection, Errol Garner's immortal hit 'Misty,' swings harder before a live audience, which was syncopationally spellbound by the powerful piano/drum dialogue between Jamal and (Frank) Gant."

The limited-edition 2-LP set available exclusively at your local record store for RSD Black Friday on 11/25 (plus a deluxe 2-CD set available December 1st). For more information visit recordstoreday.com, thejazzdetective.com and elemental-music.com

10/26/2023

LISTEN NOW! 🎧 CAL TJADER "SUNSET BOULEVARD"! Listen now to "Sunset Boulevard," the first streaming single off the upcoming RSD Black Friday release "Catch the Groove: Live at the Penthouse (1963-1967)" by Latin Jazz vibraphone icon Cal Tjader on Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music). "Sunset Boulevard" was written by the prolific German arranger, composer and conductor Claus Ogerman, and is given a fiery rendition here by Tjader's swinging quintet featuring pianist Lonnie Hewitt, bassist Terry Hilliard, drummer Johnny Rae and the legendary percussionist Armando Peraza.

Listen now at https://ingrv.es/sunset-boulevard-6cx-b. Limited-edition 3-LP set available exclusively at your local record store for RSD Black Friday on 11/25 (plus a deluxe 2-CD set available December 1st). For more information visit recordstoreday.com and thejazzdetective.com

10/06/2023

CAL TJADER on JAZZ DETECTIVE for RSD BLACK FRIDAY! We're elated to announce the upcoming release of "Catch the Groove: Live at the Penthouse (1963-1967)" by iconic vibraphone master Cal Tjader for RSD Black Friday (Nov 24th) on Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music). The first official release of previously-unissued live Cal Tjader music in over 10 years, this collection of live recordings from the hallowed Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA from 1963-1967 captures Tjader at his very best and is culled from 6 different performances at the Penthouse that were recorded by renowned Seattle radio DJ Jim Wilke and broadcast live on KING-FM radio in the 1960s. We were fortunate to have the Grammy-winning, long-time Verve Records A&R/Producer executive Richard Seidel on board to help sort through and make selections from this treasure trove of recordings from the Penthouse.

The legendary percussionist Armando Peraza, who played with Santana for nearly 20 years, plays on all but the two of the broadcasts, and bassist Monk Montgomery of the famed Montgomery Brothers plays on the two of the shows as well. The deluxe 180-gram, 3-LP set includes an extensive booklet with rare photos by Ray Avery, Fred Seligo and others; essays by DJ and journalist Greg "Caz" Casseus, yours truly, and Jim Wilke and son of the Penthouse owner, Charlie Puzzo, Jr.; plus interviews and statements by drummer Carl Burnett, who played on these recordings, Poncho Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, Joe Locke, Gary Burton, Brent Fischer and others. This limited-edition set was transferred from Jim Wilke's original tape reels, mastered for vinyl by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Memphis Record Pressing.

We'd like to thank Liz and Rob Tjader of the Cal Tjader Estate for their support in seeing this project come out, as well as our dear label partners Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert from Elemental Music, plus Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton from Record Store Day for their ongoing enthusiasm for these projects. And thanks once again to our friends Jim Wilke and Charlie Puzzo Jr. from the Penthouse for being on this journey with us.

Cal Tjader is a truly underappreciated jazz giant, who appealed to a wide audience both young and old, and was one of the most distinctive voices of Latin jazz. We hope this collection shines a new bright light on his rich legacy. For more information visit recordstoreday.com and thejazzdetective.com

[Read full press release below]

PRODUCER ZEV FELDMAN’S IMPRINT, JAZZ DETECTIVE, LAUNCHES NEVER BEFORE RELEASED CAL TJADER LIVE SETS RECORDED IN THE 1960s AT THE PENTHOUSE JAZZ CLUB IN SEATTLE

THIS IS THE FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASE OF PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED LIVE CAL TJADER MUSIC IN NEARLY 20 YEARS!

Transferred from the original tape reels and mastered for vinyl by Bernie Grundman, Cal Tjader: Catch The Groove – Live at the Penthouse 1963-1967 is presented as a 180-gram vinyl limited edition 3-LP SET and will also be available as a Deluxe 2-CD set and as a digital download.

LP Release Date: November 24th
CD Release Date: December 1st

The deluxe package includes reflections by producer Zev Feldman and Brent Fischer (son of pianist Clare Fischer), liner notes by DJ and music journalist Greg Casseus, as well as interviews with Poncho Sánchez, Eddie Palmieri, Joe Locke, Gary Burton, Carl Burnett, and a statement by Tjader’s son and daughter Rob and Liz Tjader. The extensive booklet contains previously unpublished photos by Ray Avery and Fred Seligo.

All of the performances heard on this set are previously unreleased. Vibraphone legend Cal Tjader is heard with a variety of quintets, backed by pianists Clare Fischer, Lonnie Hewitt and Al Zulaica, bassists Fred Schreiber, Terry Hilliard, Monk Montgomery and Stan Gilbert, drummers Johnny Rae and Carl Burnett, and percussionists Bill Fitch and Armando Peraza.

Taking its name from Feldman’s handle “the Jazz Detective” and reflecting his determined work unearthing hitherto unheard, award-winning treasures, the Jazz Detective label is an imprint of Deep Digs Music Group, a partnership with Spain’s Elemental Music, with which Feldman has enjoyed a long professional relationship.

Feldman says, “It's been a great thrill to be on this journey bringing these spectacular recordings of Tjader's performances at the Penthouse to the world. It's been a project several years in the making. I've had the good fortune of working with Charlie Puzzo, Jr., son of Penthouse founder, Charlie Puzzo, Sr., and the original recording engineer and radio host Jim Wilke, to produce this joyful collection of music for release. It's just wonderful music, a little bittersweet because Cal Tjader is today, truly an under-appreciated jazz giant. To me, it's sad that Cal Tjader's stature seems to have diminished since his death in 1982, even though in his day, he appealed to and reached an enormous audience. And a wide audience, comprising both young and old.”

“This is a treasure trove from a great Pacific Northwest jazz club, which Cal and his sidemen regarded as one of their favorite venues in the country. And it is our hope that the superlative playing heard within this package will contribute to the large-scale reassessment that Cal Tjader has long richly deserved.” GREG CASSEUS

“On behalf of my brother, Rob, and myself, Elizabeth Tjader, we offer our sincere gratitude to Zev Feldman for releasing this outstanding collection of previously unheard recordings from Cal Tjader live at the Penthouse Jazz Club in Seattle. The audio quality of these recordings is phenomenal. It’s as if we're transported back to the Penthouse Jazz Club itself, seated a few feet from the stage where the synergy between the audience, our dad and the band members becomes virtually palpable.” ROB and LIZ TJADER

“I felt that Cal made a unique and important contribution to vibes history. Although he was an unlikely guy to do it, he played a significant role in blending jazz and Latin music. I say unlikely because he didn't come from a Latin background. But he really brought together some of the most important musicians of that genre and became very popular in a field that most jazz people never knew about.” GARY BURTON

“Cal was a wonderful person. That's why we hit it off. We were both conscientious of what we were doing. We were both artists with our own orchestras. He loved what he did, and I loved what I did. We bonded together and it was a wonderful bond.” EDDIE PALMIERI

“Cal Tjader made great music. He played beautifully. I have to say, for me, Cal Tjader was the world's greatest vibes player.” ARMANDO PERAZA

"In those days, Cal not being a Latino was a little unusual. Nowadays, it's not so odd because everybody's playing Latin jazz now and salsa, but in those days, he was definitely ahead of his time. Cal's greatness as a Latin jazz musician only proves it doesn't matter what color you are. It's all of our music." - PONCHO SANCHEZ

SIDE A:
1. TAKE THE "A" TRAIN (6:15)
2. IN YOUR OWN SWEET WAY (7:02)
3. IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND (5:20)
4. MORNING OF THE CARNIVAL (MANHA DE CARNAVAL) (5:35)
5. INSIGHT (2:39)
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on February 2, 1963
Cal Tjader (vib), Clare Fischer (p), Fred Schreiber (b), Johnny Rae (dr, timb),
Bill Fitch (cga, perc)

SIDE B:
1. SUNSET BOULEVARD (5:13)
2. HERE'S THAT RAINY DAY (3:59)
3. DAVITO (4:46)
4. PANTANO (3:28)
5. LEYTE (5:13)
6. HALF AND HALF (4:12)
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on May 6, 1965
Cal Tjader (vib), Lonnie Hewitt (p), Terry Hilliard (b), Johnny Rae (dr, timb),
Armando Peraza (cga, bgo)

SIDE C:
1. ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (7:33)
2. LOVE FOR SALE (4:27)
3. REZA (5:38)
4. MARAMOOR MAMBO (5:08)
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on May 13, 1965
Cal Tjader (vib), Lonnie Hewitt (p), Terry Hilliard (b), Johnny Rae (dr, timb),
Armando Peraza (cga, bgo)

SIDE D:
1. THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE (4:44)
2. BAGS' GROOVE (7:10)
3. MORNING (5:38)
4. MAMBO INN (4:13)
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on June 9, 1966
Cal Tjader (vib), Al Zulaica (p), Monk Montgomery (b), Carl Burnett (dr, timb), Armando Peraza (cga, bgo) 4

SIDE E:
1. ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET (8:37)
2. I CAN'T GET STARTED (5:41)
3. SOUL BURST (4:57)
4. CUBAN FANTASY (3:47)
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle. WA on June 16, 1966
Cal Tjader (vib), Al Zulaica (p), Monk Montgomery (b), Carl Burnett (dr, timb), Armando Peraza (cga, bgo)

SIDE F:
1. O MORRO NÃO TEM VEZ (5:19)
2. FUJI (9:33)
3. LUSH LIFE (5:51)
4. ALONG COMES MARY (4:35
Recorded at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on June 8, 1967
Cal Tjader (vib), Al Zulaica (p), Stan Gilbert (b), Carl Burnett (dr, timb),
Armando Peraza (cga, bgo)

For more information please contact:
Ann Braithwaite / Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Ph: 781-259-9600 / [email protected]

10/04/2023

AHMAD JAMAL on JAZZ DETECTIVE for RSD BLACK FRIDAY! We're very proud to announce this never-before-released, 3rd and final installment of the critically acclaimed "Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse" series of releases from the late, great pianist Ahmad Jamal for RSD Black Friday on Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music). This is a previously unissued collection of 4 nights of recordings captured live at the hallowed Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA between 1966-1968 with bassist Jamil Nasser and drummer Frank Gant. Produced for release by Zev Feldman and supervised by Ahmad Jamal himself, these recordings were transferred from recording engineer Jim Wilke's original tape reels and mastered for vinyl by the legendary Bernie Grundman. The deluxe 180-gram 2-LP gatefold set includes an extensive booklet with rare photos by Don Bronstein, Chuck Stewart and others; essays by producer Zev Feldman, journalist Eugene Holley, Jr., radio DJ and original recording engineer Jim Wilke, son of the Penthouse owner, Charlie Puzzo Jr., and Joe Alterman; and interviews with pianists Les McCann, Monty Alexander and Emmet Cohen, plus producer Marshall Chess of Chess/Argo Records, and others.

From Zev Feldman:

These releases mean so much to me and I consider them to be one of the greatest things I've ever done in my nearly 30-year music career. I've been listening to Ahmad Jamal my entire life, and it was such an enormous thrill for me to work with him on all 3 of these Penthouse releases. Fortunately he was able to witness firsthand the tremendous success of the first 2 releases, which came out for RSD Black Friday last year in 2022, and he was incredibly satisfied and proud of the way they turned out and were received in the press. It was also a great honor for these very first releases on my new Jazz Detective label to be voted "Historical Album of the Year" in the prestigious DownBeat International Critics Poll. Even though we sadly lost Mr. Jamal in April of this year, he did oversee the creation of this final, 1966-1968 volume, and gave it his stamp of approval.

I'd like to thank Mr. Jamal and his business representative, Andrew Stayman (who is also my co-producer on this release), for their hard work in making these releases come together the right way. Thanks also to my dear friends Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert at Elemental Music for their strong support, as well as Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton at Record Store Day for allowing these releases to be part of the wonderful RSD Black Friday event. It's always a joy working with the great team of Jim Wilke and Charlie Puzzo, Jr. from the Penthouse, and thanks to my associate producers Zak Shelby-Szyszko and Joe Alterman, package editor/master wordsmith John Koenig. I also want to thank my publicist on these releases, Ann Braithwaite, who continues to knock each project we work on together further out of the park. Last, but not least, thank you to my legal counsel Joel Weinstein for his advice and support. Visit thejazzdetective.com and recordstoreday.com for more info.

[Read the full press release below]

PRODUCER ZEV FELDMAN’S JAZZ DETECTIVE IMPRINT LAUNCHES THE THIRD AND FINAL 2-LP SET OF PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE RECORDINGS BY AHMAD JAMAL FOR RSD BLACK FRIDAY on NOV 24th

Following the superb initial two volumes, Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse (1966-1968), captures spectacular performances by the master pianist’s trio at the Penthouse in Seattle. Also available as a 2-CD set and download on December 1st.

Package includes reflections by Ahmad Jamal himself, interviews with fellow pianists Les McCann, Emmet Cohen, Monty Alexander, and Joe Alterman, and essays by producer Zev Feldman and journalist Eugene Holley, Jr., among others. The extensive booklet features rare photos by Don Bronstein, Chuck Stewart, and more.

Producer and music sleuth Zev Feldman’s label, Jazz Detective, a division of the newly created Deep Digs Music Group, releases the third and final volume of the Ahmad Jamal sets: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse (1966-68), featuring previously unreleased performances by master pianist Ahmad Jamal.

The 2-LP set will be issued on 180-gram vinyl transferred from the original tapes and mastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman. The music will also be available as a 2-CD set and download. The package has been produced by Feldman and supervised by Ahmad Jamal himself shortly before his passing away in April of 2023.

Taking its name from Feldman’s handle “the Jazz Detective” and reflecting his determined work unearthing hitherto unheard, award-winning treasures, the Jazz Detective label is an imprint of Deep Digs Music Group, a partnership with Spain’s Elemental Music, with which Feldman has enjoyed a long professional relationship.

Feldman says, “It’s been an enormous thrill for me to be working with Mr. Jamal, whom I’ve been listening to my entire life. He was a true original and beyond category. I couldn’t be more proud of these releases.”

This 1966-1968 release offers the last batch of dazzling performances recorded at the intimate Seattle club The Penthouse by local radio host and live broadcast engineer Jim Wilke. Other magnificent live sets from the venue produced by Feldman have been released by Resonance Records (Wynton Kelly and Wes Montgomery, and the Three Sounds) and Reel to Real Recordings (Cannonball Adderley, Harold Land and the duo of Johnny Griffin and Eddie Lockjaw Davis).

The package includes an extensive booklet with new reflections by Jamal about his work; photographs by Don Bronstein, Chuck Stewart and others; and essays by Zev Feldman, Jim Wilke, journalist Eugene Holley, Jr., Charlie Puzzo, Jr. (son of late Penthouse owner Charlie Puzzo), and Marshall Chess of Chess/Argo/Cadet Records (the label that released Jamal’s bestselling, career-making albums in the ‘50s). The 1966-68 volume includes new interviews with fellow pianists Les McCann, Emmet Cohen, Monty Alexander, and Joe Alterman.

On the Penthouse recordings Jamal is heard in his three-piece element, backed by bassist JAMIL NASSER and drummer FRANK GANT.

In 1958, the pianist became a household name — a rare feat for a jazz pianist — with a pair of live trio recordings that soared into the top reaches of the American record charts. Ahmad Jamal Trio at the Pershing: But Not For Me, cut live in the lounge of Chicago’s Pershing Hotel, reached No.3 nationally in the year of its release; its successor Ahmad Jamal: Volume IV, captured at the Spotlight Club in Washington, D.C., climbed to No.11.

In his overview of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, Kennedy Center honoree, and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, writer Holley says, “Pittsburgh-born Jamal has achieved jazz immortality in a myriad of ways: A child prodigy trained in European and American classical traditions who was professionally working at 14, Jamal developed a protean and profound pianism that ingeniously melded pianist Art Tatum’s swing-at-the-speed-of-sound and his hometown hero Erroll Garner’s tender and torrid touch with Franz Liszt’s boundless keyboard technique and the azure French Impressionism of Ravel and Debussy.”

Though Jamal recorded prolifically in a variety of settings — his last album Ballades was a studio session recorded in 2016 which comprises solo and duo piano-bass recordings — he has always stated his preference for a live environment.

“There’s no comparison between performing live and performing in a studio,” he says in the new Emerald City Nights collections. “That’s art — performing remotely, not in the studio. It’s all live, but remotely from the studio is a science and an art. If you can capture that, as some of us have, you always come up with spectacular things, in my opinion. Being in a studio has its constraints, has its difficulties. When you’re performing remotely, away from the studio, it’s a different thing altogether. All you need is a good engineer.

The many unique facets of Jamal’s genius are lauded by other players in admiring testimony on this new release:

“I don’t know of any musician who doesn’t like Ahmad Jamal. Who else can you say that about? There’s no other person who does what he does. It’s his own music. That is, to me, the ultimate.” LES McCANN

“The spirit of the way Ahmad approaches performing music inspired me to let music happen in whatever way it might, be it a rent party, or a hang, or a community event. It’s different from the typical setting of the performer on stage and the audience listening. Ahmad’s music works in any setting. It works in a club. It works in a speakeasy, in a hang. His concept can foster so many different types of human experience over, through, around and engaged-with. I model myself after that.” EMMET COHEN

“Ahmad Jamal is a miracle! He has the most powerful gift of anybody I have ever seen or known. And he treasured it; he took care of it. His gift is profound, as is his faith, his belief in the creator, which is so profound. All of that and his discipline have made him the amazing artist that he is.” MONTY ALEXANDER

“I often wonder if I’d be playing music today had I not heard that one second from 1:26-1:27 of “Like Someone in Love” from Dr. Jamal’s classic At the Blackhawk recording. All it took was that twinkle! I immediately fell in love with this music and knew that that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Dr. Jamal’s music has always resonated deeply and has had a deep and important impact on my life. To me, what he gets out of the piano is just as much magic as it is music. After all, who else can make you hear the notes he’s not playing?” JOE ALTERMAN

AHMAD JAMAL piano
JAMIL NASSER bass
FRANK GANT drums

SIDE A:
1. GLORIA (4:52) L. RENE
2. FANTASTIC VEHICLE (7:38) J. KENNEDY
3. MISTY (12:41) E. GARNER
RECORDED SEPTEMBER 29, 1966 AT THE PENTHOUSE, SEATTLE, WA

SIDE B:
1. MR. LUCKY (15:01) H. MANCINI
2. AUTUMN LEAVES (5:06) J. KOSMA
RECORDED AUGUST 24, 1967 AT THE PENTHOUSE, SEATTLE, WA

SIDE C:
1. CORCOVADO (QUIET NIGHT OF QUIET STARS) (11:08) A. JOBIM
2. WHERE IS LOVE (8:38) L. BART
3. DANCE TO THE LADY (9:35) J. HANDY
RECORDED AUGUST 31, 1967 AT THE PENTHOUSE, SEATTLE, WA

SIDE D:
1. NAKED CITY THEME (7:00) B. MAY, M. RASKIN
2. EMILY [SOLO] (2:49) J. MANDEL
3. ALFIE (9:30) B. BACHARACH, H. DAVID
RECORDED APRIL 26, 1968 AT THE PENTHOUSE, SEATTLE, WA

05/17/2023

2x 2023 JJA AWARDS WINNER! It's such an honor to have won in 2 big categories of the Jazz Journalists Association Awards: Ahmad Jamal "Emerald City Nights" on Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music) and Zev Feldman was voted "Recordings Producer of the Year." Zev would like to thank Howard Mandel and all the members of the JJA; his mentor and co-president of Resonance Records George Klabin; his dear friends and partners Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin at Elemental Music; Don Was and Justin Seltzer at Blue Note Records; publicist on Ahmad Jamal and many Zev's other productions Ann Braithwaite; and his production manager and associate producer on so many of his productions Zak Shelby-Szyszko. Here's to bigger and better things in 2024 and beyond!

04/12/2023

PART 2: RECORD STORE DAY PREVIEW with NORMAN MASLOV! Zev Feldman had a great time talking with Norman "Mazzy" Maslov on his YouTube channel, doing a deep dive into our Chet Baker "Blue Room" and Sonny Stitt "Boppin' in Baltimore" releases for Record Store Day (April 22). We'd like to thank Mazzy for all his support. (link to watch in comments)

Visit recordstoreday.com and thejazzdetective.com for more info.

04/06/2023

RECORD STORE DAY PREVIEW from KEN MICALLEF! Respected audiophile authority, contributor to Stereophile, DownBeat, and JazzTimes, plus administrator extraordinaire of the "Jazz Vinyl Lovers" Facebook group and NYC Jazz Record Center's super clerk Ken Micallef previewed and reviewed Jazz Detective's Record Store Day productions on his Jazz Vinyl Audiophile YouTube channel. Across 3 different videos, he talks about Chet Baker "Blue Room" and Sonny Stitt "Boppin' in Baltimore," and Zev Feldman will be taping a video talking with Ken next week for a deep dive on these releases. Stay tuned!

Visit recordstoreday.com, thejazzdetective.com and cellarlive.com for more info.

04/05/2023

RECORD STORE DAY PREVIEW from NORMAN MASLOV! We'd like to thank Norman Maslov ("Mazzy") for featuring Chet Baker "Blue Room" and Sonny Stitt "Boppin' in Baltimore" from Jazz Detective (via Elemental Music) in his great Record Store Day preview video on his YouTube channel. Zev Feldman is looking forward to taping a video with Mazzy to talk more in depth about these productions on April 11th. Stay tuned!

Visit recordstoreday.com, thejazzdetective.com and cellarlive.com for more info. (link to watch in comments)

04/03/2023

LEFT BANK JAZZ SOCIETY in THE BALTIMORE SUN! It's been a long time coming, but we're so proud to have a major feature story in The Baltimore Sun about Zev Feldman and Cory Weeds' work with John Fowler of the Left Bank Jazz Society (link in comments). Zev had a great time talking with Dan Rodricks about the new Record Store Day releases on Jazz Detective (Sonny Stitt "Boppin' in Baltimore" via Elemental Music) and Reel To Real Recordings (Shirley Scott "Queen Talk" and Walter Bishop, Jr. "Bish at the Bank"). It's been such an honor to work with John for all these years, and to do our part in preserving and celebrating a truly wonderful grassroots jazz organization in Feldman's home state. Dan Rodricks writes, "All praise to Welsh, Fowler and those who captured and saved these musical moments. The Famous Ballroom might be gone but its treasures remain." We want to thank Dan and everyone at the Baltimore Sun for their support, and the team at Shore Fire Media. Visit recordstoreday.com, thejazzdetective.com and cellarlive.com for more info.

02/22/2023

🚨RECORD STORE DAY 2023 ALERT!🚨NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED SONNY STITT AT THE LEFT BANK IN 1973! We’re at the halfway point of producer Zev Feldman's Record Store Day releases for 2023 with "Boppin’ in Baltimore: Live at the Left Bank" by saxophone master Sonny Stitt on Jazz Detective (in partnership with Elemental Music). "Boppin’ In Baltimore" is a previously unissued recording captured live at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, MD on November 11, 1973, for the Left Bank Jazz Society. Recorded by Left Bank co-founder Vernon Welsh, "Boppin’ In Baltimore" is an official release in cooperation with the Sonny Stitt Estate and features an all-star rhythm section of pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes.

It's been an honor and one of the most enormous thrills of Feldman's career to work once again with the co-founder of the Left Bank Jazz Society, John Fowler, on this release. This recording provides us with a great opportunity to share the legacy, not just of the music of Sonny Stitt, but of this wonderful organization that celebrated diversity and brought some of the greatest jazz icons to the stages of Baltimore, Maryland.

The deluxe limited-edition 180-gram 2-LP set includes an extensive booklet with rare photos by Christian Rose, Raymond Ross, Tom Copi, Burt Goldblatt and others; liner notes by acclaimed jazz critic Bob Blumenthal; and interviews with Barron, Hayes and saxophone icon Charles McPherson, and an archival interview with Sonny Stitt himself from the early 1970s conducted by Marc Vasey in Canada. The vinyl edition is mastered for vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios.

This special release marks the first of 3 RSD 2023 releases from the Left Bank archives co-produced by Zev Feldman and Cory Weeds (the other 2 releases are on Reel To Real Recordings), plus associate producers, Zak Shelby-Szyszko and John Fowler, designer John Sellards, and package editor John Koenig. I want to thank our friends at Elemental Music, executive producers Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert, for making this release possible, as well as Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton at Record Store Day for their continued support, and Katea and Jason Stitt of the Sonny Stitt Estate. More info at recordstoreday.com [Cover photo © Christian Rose/Fastimage]

02/20/2023

🚨RECORD STORE DAY 2023 ALERT! 🚨 NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED CHET BAKER FROM THE NETHERLANDS IN 1979! We're thrilled to announce for Record Store Day 2023, "Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions in Holland," featuring two previously unissued studio sessions of trumpet/vocal icon Chet Baker captured in glorious stereo at the legendary VARA studio 2 in Hilversum, the Netherlands for the KRO radio program 'Nine O’Clock Jazz.' This marks producer Zev Feldman's 2nd release of unissued Baker recordings, following last year's "Live in Paris: The Radio France Recordings 1983-984" on Elemental Music. [*Read the full press release further below]

The April 10, 1979 session features pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, and drummer Charles Rice; and the November 9th session features pianist Frans Elsen, bassist Victor Kaihatu, and drummer Eric Ineke. Both sessions were originally produced by Edwin Rutten and Lex Lammen for KRO-NCRV, and are now being produced for release officially for the first time by “jazz detective” Zev Feldman and Frank Jochemsen.

The limited-edition 180-gram 2-LP set (and deluxe 2-CD edition) includes an elaborate booklet with photos by Veryl Oakland, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Christian Rose and others; liner notes by Dutch journalist Jeroen de Valk, plus essays by me, Jochemsen, and Rutten; plus interviews with Baker bandmates Phil Markowtiz, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse and Eric Ineke, as well as trumpeters Randy Brecker and Enrico Rava, and pianist Enrico Pieranunzi. Transferred from the original KRO radio tape reels and mastered for vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios.

For this special release Feldman once again teamed up with Dutch producer Frank Jochemsen from the Nederlands Jazz Archief, who unearthed these recordings on a tip from radio producer Lex Lammen, as well as the rest of my production team — associate producer Zak Shelby-Szyszko, designers Burton Yount and Gordon Jee, and the package editor John Koenig. We'd like to thank our friends at Elemental Music, executive producers Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert, for making this release possible, as well as Michael Kurtz and Carrie Colliton at Record Store Day. We couldn't do this without them! More info at recordstoreday.com [Cover photo © Veryl Oakland]

READ FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW:

ARCHIVAL LABEL JAZZ DETECTIVE TO ISSUE BLUE ROOM, AN UNRELEASED TREASURE BY TRUMPETER CHET BAKER, AS A LIMITED TWO-LP RECORD STORE DAY SET ON APRIL 22

Collection Produced in Partnership with Elemental Music and Dutch Jazz Archive KRO-NCRV, Also Available on CD and Digital Download April 28, Presents Two Superlative Sessions Recorded for Dutch Radio in 1979,

Drawn from Tapes Unheard Since Their First Airing

Extensive, Newly Commissioned Notes Include an Overview by Journalist and Chet Baker Biographer Jeroen de Valk, Interviews with the Dates’ Producers and Sidemen,
and Tributes from Trumpeters Randy Brecker and Enrico Rava

Jazz Detective, the label founded in 2022 by GRAMMY-nominated archival producer Zev Feldman, will release Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions in Holland, a superlative, previously unreleased set of studio performances recorded in Holland by legendary trumpeter Chet Baker, as a limited two-LP set on Record Store Day April 22. The package will be issued as a two-CD set and digital download on April 28.

The collection — co-produced by Feldman and Frank Jochemsen and released in partnership with Elemental Music — comprises a pair of brilliantly played dates cut for Dutch radio KRO-NCRV in Hilversum, the Netherlands, by producers Edwin Rutten and the late Lex Lammen in 1979: an April 10 session with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, and drummer Charles Rice, and a November 9 session with pianist Frans Eisen, bassist Victor Kaihatu, and drummer Eric Ineke. Both occasions found Baker playing (and, on three tracks, singing) in exceptional form.

Blue Room’s extensive booklet includes an overview by Dutch journalist Jeroen de Valk; essays by Feldman, Jochemsen, and Rotten; interviews with sidemen Markowitz, Rassinfosse, and Ineke; and tributes from trumpeters Randy Brecker and Enrico Rava and pianist Enrico Pieranunzi. The collection is illustrated with photos by Veryl Oakland, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Christian Rose, and others. The package was mastered for vinyl by the great engineer Bernie Grundman and Dutch engineer Marc Broer.

The album succeeds Jazz Detective’s inaugural offerings, two volumes of widely-praised live performances by pianist Ahmad Jamal, issued as Emerald City Nights on Record Store Day’s Black Friday last year. Feldman — who produced the Chet Baker Trio’s Live in Paris for Elemental Music last year for label partners/executive producers Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert — previously joined with Jochemsen to explore the Dutch archives for Bill Evans’ Behind the Dikes (Elemental Music, 2021) and Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (Resonance Records, 2017) and Sonny Rollins’ Rollins in Holland (Resonance Records, 2020).

Feldman says of the present package, “It was thrilling to find these two sessions where we can hear Chet in fantastic form with a great cast of supporting musicians. It represents a welcome addition to Chet’s discography, as he spent much of his time in Europe; a delightful find that we all felt strongly deserved a chance to see the light of day.”

Jochemsen — who unearthed the ’79 sessions on a tip from radio producer Lex Lammen, who supplied the researcher with detailed notes before his death in 2018 — says, “These two sessions by Chet Baker were both recorded in 1979 in brilliant stereo for the radio program ‘Nine O’Clock Jazz.’ As if this wasn’t enough, the music was recorded in the fantastic VARA studio 2 by the brilliant technician Jim Rip and, moreover, all of this music is of high artistic quality and has never been released before!

Rutten, who offers a track-by-track look at both ’79 recording sessions, recalls fondly, “The beauty of being a jazz producer is that you can give yourself birthday presents even when it’s not your birthday. Gifts in the form of the best jazz from the Netherlands and from way beyond….The first tones [of Baker’s version of “Nardis”] started unwrapping my birthday present.”

Baker’s sidemen Markowitz, Rassinfosse, and Ineke reflect on the sometimes challenging task of supporting the notoriously eccentric Baker, but all walked away from the experience impressed by the high level of his performances.

“It was an incredible honor to play with him,” says Markowitz, who supplied masterful support and solos. “I’m grateful for the lessons I learned with him back then…This recording is really great. Chet Baker’s fans are going to be absolutely thrilled because he sounds unbelievable on this recording.”

His session partner Rassinfosse, who worked behind Baker from 1976 to 1985, adds, “Chet’s playing is amazing on these tapes. He was in very good shape. He had good chops on these recordings….Being able to record with Chet Baker was an honor. I learned half of what I know in music through Chet Baker.”

Both Brecker and Rava offer thoughts on the deep influence Baker’s playing had on their own styles with his acute melodic sense and economy of expression.

Brecker, who studied Baker’s recording of “My Funny Valentine” when he was learning to play, says, “Boy, he got to the heart of the instrument like nobody else. You hear him and you want to take everything from his playing, his whole conception, his sound, his melodic content. He was really an improviser. He played off the melody and he played what he heard. To this day, I try to use all those elements. I try to keep him and five or six other trumpet players in the back of my mind when I play. I especially try to concentrate on playing less, rather than more. I am constantly using his example to try to get to the core of the matter, get to the essence.”

Rava says the trumpeter’s recordings with Gerry Mulligan were “my introduction to modern jazz. It was so beautiful, but also easy to understand. For a European, it had the logic of a Bach fugue with the soul of jazz….Chet created pure beauty. Doing what he did, everyone loved him. There was no way you could escape it. He was totally committed. He played music as if it was his last night in this world. Every note he played was essential. He taught everybody not to play too many notes; to play only the necessary notes.”

Rava’s countryman Pieranunzi, who backed the musician on his Italian dates of 1979, says, “When I met Chet, everything turned upside down. I saw I had to cut to the essentials because Chet’s phrasing was so essential, so amazingly lyrical, musical, smart, logical. I began to feel that something was wrong with my playing. I had to change everything. I had to really go toward what was truly essential.”

Summing up Baker’s impact in his overview, writer de Valk says, “Almost 35 years after his passing, Chet Baker continues to reach our hearts and our heads. He touches our hearts with his mellow sound and melodic approach and enters our heads with his adventurous improvisations.”

For more information please contact:
Ann Braithwaite / Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Ph: 781-259-9600 / Text: 781-367-9760 / [email protected]

The Jazz Detective

11/03/2023

10/26/2023

10/06/2023

10/04/2023

05/17/2023

04/12/2023

04/06/2023

04/05/2023

04/03/2023

02/22/2023

02/20/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Videos

Shortcuts

Share

Category