Norman Granz' JATP Carnegie Hall 1949

Description

The late producer, record-company owner, and impresario Norman Granz created the legendary Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts and broke down segregation on the bandstand and in the audience. This newly discovered recording of a November 2, 1949, Carnegie Hall date highlights the torrid, jam-session style that made J.A.T.P. famous. The frontline is awesome: alto saxophonists Charlie Parker and a young Sonny Criss; Flip Phillips on tenor sax; trombonist Tommy Turk and trumpeter Fats Navarro. Backed by drummer Buddy Rich, pianist Hank Jones, and bassist Ray Brown, this group lays down the real mainstream deal. Nat "King" Cole's "Leap Here," and the standards "Lover Come Back to Me" and "Indiana" are injected with some zesty bebop licks by Parker, Criss, and Navarro. On "The Things We Did Last Summer," the trumpeter shines in balladeer mode. Special guest Coleman Hawkins, with his towering tenor sax tones, turns in a masterful rendition of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," and he swings down the house on the Thelonious Monk-ish "Rifftide." The less than desired sound quality is wonderfully counterbalanced by the group's superb musicianship. --Eugene Holley Jr.