Jimmy Rowles

Red Norvo Combo, Hank Jones, Jimmy Rowles – Vibes a la Red (Remastered) (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 17, 2023 · Comments off

Red Norvo was one of jazz’s early vibraphonists. An unusual star during the swing era, he helped establish the xylophone, marimba and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His career began in Chicago in 1925 with a band called “The Collegians”. He subsequently played with many other bands, including, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Woody Herman. Norvo had a quieter yet no-less fluent style than Lionel Hampton. He recorded with Mildred Bailey (his wife), Billie Holiday, Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra. Norvo and his wife were known as “Mr. and Mrs. Swing.”

This 2xHD remastered album contains recordings from two sessions made in New York, NY and Hollywood, CA

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Harry “Sweets” Edison, Barney Kessel, Jimmy Rowles – Something Bigger (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · March 4, 2023 · Comments off

Harry “Sweets” Edison got the most mileage out of a single note, like his former boss Count Basie. Edison, immediately recognizable within a note or two, long used repetition and simplicity to his advantage while always swinging. He played in local bands in Columbus and then in 1933 joined the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. After a couple years in St. Louis, Edison moved to New York where he joined Lucky Millinder and then in June 1938, Count Basie, remaining with that classic orchestra until it broke up in 1950. During that period, he was featured on many records, appeared in the 1944 short Jammin’ the Blues and gained his nickname “Sweets” (due to his tone) from Lester Young. In the 1950s, Edison toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic, settled in Los Angeles, and was well-featured both as a studio musician (most noticeably on Frank Sinatra records) and on jazz dates. He had several reunions with Count Basie in the 1960s and by the ’70s was often teamed with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis; Edison also recorded an excellent duet album for Pablo with Oscar Peterson. One of the few swing trumpeters to be influenced by Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets led sessions through the years for Pacific Jazz, Verve, Roulette, Riverside, Vee-Jay, Liberty, Sue, Black & Blue, Pablo, Storyville, and Candid among others. Although his playing faded during the 1980s and ’90s, Edison could still say more with one note than nearly anyone; he died July 27, 1999, at age 83. ~ Scott Yanow

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