Joe Castro – Passion Flower – For Doris Duke (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Joe Castro – Passion Flower – For Doris Duke (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 05:55:26 minutes | 3,33 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Sunnyside

Sunnyside Records presents the second boxed set of recordings from the archive of pianist Joe Castro, a diverse collection featuring incredible and never heard performances from legends like Paul Bley, Paul Motian, Leroy Vinnegar, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones and many more. The initial Joe Castro boxed set, Lush Life – A Musical Journey (Sunnyside, 2015), provided an insight into the world of the pianist’s early meetings with the greats of jazz at home recorded sessions. These recordings included Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton, Teddy Wilson, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Lucky Thompson. The box also included a couple of sessions recorded for potential release on Castro and Duke’s Clover label, including a Castro Big Band and the Teddy Edwards Tentet. The second boxed set of recordings from Joe Castro’s collection, Passion Flower – For Doris Duke, highlights his collaborations with a vast array of incredible musicians. There are fine home recordings of jam sessions, studio recordings of Castro’s Atlantic Records releases, recordings of projects of friends and productions that were done under the aegis of Clover Records, the label that Duke and Castro founded and briefly ran.

In 2015, jazz label Sunnyside released the eight-disc Lush Life: A Musical Journey by pianist, composer, and producer Joe Castro. It shone a light into the world of his encounters with jazz greats in at-home recorded sessions. The recordings included Buddy Collette, Chico Hamilton, Teddy Wilson, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Oscar Pettiford, and Lucky Thompson. Also included were sessions by a Teddy Edwards tentet recorded for potential release on the short-lived Clover Records label, which Castro founded with his lover, philanthropist and socialite Doris Duke. The Sunnyside box resulted in a major reappraisal of Castro’s jazz career as an important recordist and chronicler of the 1950s and ’60s West Coast jazz scene. With Duke, Castro ran the Falcon Lair residential recording studio in Los Angeles (built into the former mansion of Rudolph Valentino) and another at her Duke Farms residence in New Jersey. Passion Flower: For Doris Duke is the second archival boxed set of recordings from Castro’s archive. This six-disc set was compiled by Daniel Richards and James Castro. It includes a wealth of unreleased material by a variety of jazz legends. Disc one, Trios 1955-1956 – The Artist’s Choice, features 17 tracks recorded at Falcon Lair, featuring Castro leading various rhythm sections that include bassists Leroy Vinnegar, Red Mitchell, and Paul Chambers, with drummers Jimmy Pratt, Lawrence Marable, and Philly Joe Jones. Disc two, entitled Joe Castro’s Friends – At Duke Farms 1956, offers early, never-heard selections from Paul Bley with bassist Hal Gaylor and drummer Lennie McBrowne, as well as unissued recordings by Flo and George Handy. Discs three and four contain two complete albums — with outtakes — that Castro recorded for Atlantic: Mood Jazz from 1957 features orchestral backing with arrangements from Ray Ellis and Neal Hefti, and accompaniment from Nat and Cannonball Adderley. 1960’s Groove Funk Soul is a swinging hard bop affair with Castro’s killer quartet of Edwards, Vinnegar, and drummer Billy Higgins. Disc five, The Sidewalks of New York, is a trio session from 1965 containing wonderful performances from Castro, drummer Paul Motian, and bassist Teddy Kotick. The final disc, Remind Me, was begun for Clover in 1965 but remained unfinished when the label folded in 1966. The Castro/Motian/Kotick trio appear alone on half of the tracks recorded in New York. The second half offers the trio on recordings Castro took to Los Angeles and appended with horns, to fine result. Also included is Kitty White’s Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe, a rarely heard 1966 release with sessions she did for Clover with saxophonist Nathan Davis, bassist Jimmy Woode, and drummer Kenny Clarke. Passion Flower: For Doris Duke expands Castro’s portrait as a fine producer, arranger, pianist, and conceptualist. His wide-ranging musical ideas may have been birthed in a vacuum; thanks to Sunnyside, they will edify the entire jazz world going forward. – Thom Jurek

Tracklist:

Disc 1 (01:01:08)
1. Joe Castro Trio – It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) (02:51)
2. Joe Castro Trio – Blues For Nat (03:23)
3. Joe Castro Trio – Minuet In Jazz (03:08)
4. Joe Castro Trio – They Can’t Take That Away From Me (03:46)
5. Joe Castro Trio – St. Louis Blues (03:51)
6. Joe Castro Trio – Dorshka (For Doris Duke) (04:39)
7. Joe Castro Trio – Have You Met Miss Jones? (03:41)
8. Joe Castro Trio – Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (04:03)
9. Joe Castro Trio – Zoot Blues (04:22)
10. Joe Castro Trio – Black And Blue (What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue) (03:26)
11. Joe Castro Trio – Jazzbo’s Jaunt (02:31)
12. Joe Castro Trio – Pennies From Heaven (04:02)
13. Joe Castro Trio – Blues In The Closet (02:52)
14. Joe Castro Trio – Straight Life (03:52)
15. Joe Castro Trio – It’s All Right With Me (03:21)
16. Joe Castro Trio – Sometimes I’m Happy (03:46)
17. Joe Castro Trio – Taking A Chance On Love (03:34)

Disc 2 (01:05:24)
1. Paul Bley – Blues Improvisation In F (04:19)
2. Paul Bley – Ballad-Blues Improvisation In C (01:23)
3. Paul Bley – Ballad Improvisation In F (04:25)
4. Paul Bley – Salt Peanuts (01:41)
5. Paul Bley – A Place In The Sun (Main Title) (03:28)
6. Paul Bley Trio – Willow Weep For Me (05:36)
7. Paul Bley Trio – Time After Time (03:36)
8. Paul Bley Trio – After You’ve Gone (02:24)
9. Paul Bley Trio – Willow Weep For Me (Alternate Take) (05:44)
10. Paul Bley Trio – Time After Time (Alternate Take) (03:43)
11. Flo & George Handy – Forgetful (Master Take) (03:13)
12. Flo & George Handy – Will I Ever Learn? (03:56)
13. Flo & George Handy – Leavin’ Town (Master Take) (04:16)
14. Flo & George Handy – Country Boy (03:40)
15. Flo & George Handy – When You Are Near (03:50)
16. Flo & George Handy – The Trouble With Me Is You (04:05)
17. Flo & George Handy – You Wear Love So Well! (03:19)
18. Flo & George Handy – Picnic In The Wintertime (02:46)

Disc 3 (01:08:07)
1. Joe Castro – J.C. Blues (05:06)
2. Joe Castro – Without You (Tres Palabras) (04:39)
3. Joe Castro – Doodlin’ (05:09)
4. Joe Castro – Ev’rything I Love (04:24)
5. Joe Castro – You Stepped Out Of A Dream (03:46)
6. Joe Castro – If You Could See Me Now (03:40)
7. Joe Castro – It’s You Or No One (04:06)
8. Joe Castro – Angel Eyes (04:40)
9. Joe Castro – Caravan (04:07)
10. Joe Castro – Prelude To A Kiss (Unissued) (05:26)
11. Joe Castro – How High The Moon (Unissued) (03:47)
12. Joe Castro – J.C. Blues (Unissued Alternate Take) (04:11)
13. Joe Castro – J.C. Blues (Unissued Alternate Take) (04:45)
14. Joe Castro – Doodlin’ (05:12)
15. Joe Castro – Doodlin’ (05:09)

Disc 4 (01:04:32)
1. Joe Castro – Groove Funk Soul (In & Out) (05:32)
2. Joe Castro – Yesterdays (07:21)
3. Joe Castro – Day-Dream (07:02)
4. Joe Castro – Could Happen To You (03:33)
5. Joe Castro – Play Me The Blues (09:17)
6. Joe Castro – That’s All (05:28)
7. Joe Castro – Yesterdays (Unissued Alternate Take) (07:58)
8. Joe Castro – Play Me The Blues (Unissued Alternate Take) (06:25)
9. Joe Castro – Lover (Unissued) (06:47)
10. Joe Castro – Day In – Day Out (Unissued) (05:09)

Disc 5 (53:52)
1. Joe Castro Trio – Daisy Mae (Whatever) (04:34)
2. Joe Castro Trio – The Sidewalks Of New York (East Side, West Side) (08:15)
3. Joe Castro Trio – Here’s That Rainy Day (04:52)
4. Joe Castro Trio – My Ship (04:28)
5. Joe Castro Trio – I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (02:28)
6. Joe Castro Trio – One Life To Live (04:39)
7. Joe Castro Trio – That Old Feeling (04:39)
8. Joe Castro Trio – Cheek To Cheek (02:50)
9. Joe Castro Trio – Fascinating Rhythm (04:29)
10. Joe Castro Trio – Funky Blues (07:56)
11. Joe Castro Trio – You Don’t Know What Love Is (04:42)

Disc 6 (43:30)
1. Joe Castro Trio – Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (02:38)
2. Joe Castro Trio – Sweet Lorraine (02:59)
3. Joe Castro Trio – Get Out Of Town (05:02)
4. Joe Castro Trio – Remind Me (06:21)
5. Joe Castro Trio – Satin Doll (02:43)
6. Joe Castro Trio – A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing (04:00)
7. Joe Castro Trio – Just Squeeze Me (But Don’t Tease Me) (02:52)
8. Joe Castro Trio – Lush Life (07:04)
9. Joe Castro Trio – Passion Flower (03:30)
10. Joe Castro Trio – Remind Me (06:21)

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