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Copenhagen 1958 (Bonus: After Hours 1950)
A piece of music history comes alive on Friday, May 10, as Storyville Records releases a new recording capturing the legendary Duke Ellington live in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1958. This recording, Copenhagen 1958 (Bonus: After Hours 1950), offers a rare glimpse into Ellington’s genius during a pivotal period in jazz history. In the late autumn of 1958, Ellington and his orchestra embarked on a whirlwind tour across Europe, leaving a trail of musical brilliance in their wake.
Among the highlights of this tour were two electrifying concerts held at Copenhagen’s iconic sports center, KB Hallen, on November 7. Although the original tapes have been lost to time, segments of these historic performances were broadcasted on separate occasions. Now, these broadcast recordings serve as the foundation for this release, transporting listeners back to a time when Ellington’s music redefined the jazz landscape.
The album opens with Ellington’s signature tune, "Take the A Train," over the vibrant energy of "Newport Up" to the soulful strains of "My Funny Valentine," each track showcasing the orchestra’s talent and Ellington’s innovative compositions. The orchestra was in great form in the late '50s, with the mixture of veterans like Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney, and modernists like Jimmy Hamilton, Clark Terry, and Paul Gonsalves.
One of the highlights is the rendition of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," featuring Paul Gonsalves’ legendary solo. In addition to the live recordings from the 1958 tour, this album also includes bonus tracks from after-hours settings in 1950; three tracks from a jam session at the dance restaurant Sct. Thomas in Copenhagen and two solo Ellington tunes recorded at a social charity event in Aarhus.
Copenhagen 1958 stands as evidence of Ellington’s enduring musical legacy, demonstrating that his music remains as pertinent and influential today as it was during its inception!
Live in Valencia '92
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The Playful Abstract
Tate's Delight - Groovin' at The JASS Festival / Buddy Tate
Storyville Records presents the legendary American saxophonist Buddy Tate in a meeting with the Danish quintet White Label on the new album Tate’s Delight – Groovin’ at the JASS Festival. The meeting took place at the Holstebro JASS Festival in September 1982. JASS stands for Jutland’s Active Musicians’ Society. For almost 20 years since the foundation in 1975, the society presented an annual jazz festival during the last week of September. The concerts took place at the Holstebro Hall and the nearby Restaurant Laksen. Tate’s Delight was recorded at Restaurant Laksen with no rehearsals. Some tunes, but not all, were agreed upon, when White Label took the stage. It became one of those spontaneous events, where the music is created on the spot, but one for which the musician has been preparing throughout his career as an improvising jazz musician. In this context, Buddy Tate was a fine acquaintanceship. He was in good form, friendly, easy to play with, and super cool in his elegant brown-and-yellow stage outfit with matching two-tone shoes. The album is separated into two parts. First, Tate is heard with the rhythm section, showcasing his beautiful, but rarely heard clarinet on magnificent renditions of the Duke Ellington tunes In A Mellow Tone and Mood Indigo. On the second part of the album, Jens Søndergaard and Poul Valdemar Pedersen join in on the last three songs, recreating the intense jam session spirit of the golden age of swing. This session is an excellent example of the musical encounters that have taken place in Denmark over the years. Buddy Tate was among the many legendary international stars, who came and played with Danish musicians, thus contributing to the special bond between Danish and American jazz.
Bird with Strings…& More! / Phil Woods
Storyville Records is proud to present one of master saxophonist Phil Woods’ most impressive projects, Bird With Strings … And More! The recording of this album took place in Tonhalle Zürich on June 13, 2005 with the help of pianist Ben Aronov, bassist Reggie Johnson, drummer Douglas Sides and the fantastic Zürich Chamber Orchestra. The beautiful and characteristic sound of jazz and pop supported by a string orchestra is a very special and rare experience. Bird With Strings … And More! uses the classic album Charlie Parker With Strings as a point of departure. Charlie Parker, also known as Bird, recorded the original Charlie Parker With Strings in 1949 with a rhythm section plus a very small string section.
On this recording, PW has written all new arrangements based on the original scores, and expanded the original arrangements to a much larger string section of 24/30 pieces and added a small woodwind section of oboe, flute and clarinet. Woods also proceeded to write a dozen extra arrangements with the same instrumentation. PW pays perfect tribute to Bird and his original project, but with his very own sound signature, sometimes warm and sometimes volcanic.
PW was not only an extraordinary alto saxophonist, but also an incredible composer and arranger. He is a modern jazz giant and one of the most important alto saxophonists in the history of jazz. Woods was known for a lyrical and beautiful sound making him one of the most popular musicians in mainstream jazz. This is emotional music for lovers, so savor the moment and relax in the company of one of the true masters!
Two Continents One Groove / T.S. Monk
Monk, also known as “Toot”, leads his sextet with an innovative and dynamic approach. Since 1992, the drummer has worked exclusively with his co-players, making the sound of the sextet incredibly tight. When they roll out their arsenal, they soar and swing, and are indeed exciting to hear. In that regard, it might be quite surprising to learn that this is Monk’s very first live album! “This is my first live recording, ever! It’s daunting and an uncertain kind of product. Most live albums aren’t that good. I’ve been lucky to always have great people working with me.”
The seven songs on the album are taken from two performances at two similar jazz rooms over a two-year period; three are from “Harlem’s Jazz Shrines Festival: Jazzmobile presents Minton’s Playhouse” at Ginny’s Supper Club on May 7, 2014, while others were recorded at Marians Jazzroom in Bern, Switzerland on April 24, 2016. Drummer, percussionist, composer, producer and bandleader, T. S. Monk has taken his place in the pantheon of jazz royalty, to which he was born. The swing is DNA inherited and absorbed in this master drummer’s persona. Monk spent the late 70’s and 80’s in various R&B groups, scoring his biggest hit Bon Bon Vie (Gimme the Good Life) in 1982, but by the 1990’s he decided to return to his jazz roots.
REVIEW:
Two Continents One Groove has superb sound reproduction for a live disc. But that would be for nought without great performances, and this band delivers. With its well chosen covers and strong member compositions, it’s a perfect blend of foundational and forward looking. Best of all, it’s great fun, with all kinds of swing and funk. Highly recommended.
-- A Green Man Review (Gary Whitehouse)
Pure / Blaer
The fourth album of working band BLAER, founded in 2013 by composer and pianist Maja Nydegger, is pure and essential - A „dive into calmness“. Since the last album, which attracted attention in the new jazz and ambient scene, the music developed into an even more original blend of different influences like ambient, minimal, spherical and independent music and contains even a pinch of movie scores.
Live in Holland 1979 / Clark Terry
Clark Terry is one of the greatest and most important trumpeters in jazz history. Now, Storyville Records presents a live recording with his fantastic orchestra, Clark Terry’s Big Bad Band – Live in Holland 1979. The whole band is in great form, and besides Clark Terry himself, this recording showcases many of the very best musicians from the heyday of big bands. The band is SWINGING, that also goes for CT’s introductions of the music and the band. The live setting of this performance, containing 13 tracks, clearly inspires both CT and his 16-piece orchestra to even greater heights than in the studio. The performance culminates with the hit “Mumbles”, a track made famous during the many years CT was one of the leading members of “The Tonight Show Band”. The repertoire presented here makes way for the entire band with arrangements by Phil Woods, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington among others. CT is not just a brilliant soloist, but also a charming entertainer, engaging in friendly banter with both the musicians and the audience.
CT’s original style and technique has had a major influence on many great jazz musicians, including Wynton Marsalis, Art Farmer, Miles Davis and not least Quincy Jones, who has written a very personal piece for the liner notes, praising the lifelong mentorship of CT for many of the greatest American jazz musicians. CT has played with both Count Basie’s and Duke Ellington’s orchestras. He made his mark on both orchestras with his great swing and as a soloist, both on the trumpet and the flugelhorn. CT continued from his stints with the forementioned big bands to become one of the most beloved and sought-after soloists in the history of jazz. Both with his own orchestras and as a soloist with big bands globally.
A Beautiful Blue Moment / Dahl, Hagans, Aman & Uotila
The Danish piano auteur Carsten Dahl and the dynamic American trumpeter Tim Hagans meet the acclaimed Swedish bassist Johnny Åman and the Finnish master drummer Jukkis Uotilaon on the new album A Beautiful Blue Moment, now available on Storyville Records. This rare quartet had never played together before they gathered at the scene of the historic jazz club Montmartre in Copenhagen and played the music recorded here over three sold-out evenings in August 2021. Quite the beautiful moment indeed!
The quartet mainly played free music with an original searching idea of being composing musicians and playing composers, who constantly found new horizontal and vertical directions in music. The original idea for the quartet arose, when Dahl and Hagans taught together at a jazz college in 2019, and realized that they shared musical understanding, humor, fervor and curiosity, when it comes to exploring the essence of music creation. They have been close friends ever since. Dahl, Uotila and Åman had their very first musical encounter at Montmartre, but it turned out to be a truly magical and flying journey. The combination of the four musicians is simply an explosive, poetic and ground-breaking meeting, where their common breathing in music is free, effortless and at the same time linked to their great habitus in tradition and in the many expressions of jazz music. After three great evenings, where musical sparks flew in abundance, the four musicians went directly in the studio for a 6 hours spontaneous recording session. The result is a once in a lifetime jazz voyage, so fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a ride!
Samba Sem Você / Rosa Passos Quartet
Brazilian bossa nova queen Rosa Passos’ highly anticipated album Samba Sem Você is due for release on February 3rd, 2023 on Storyville Records. For years, the Brazilian vocalist and guitarist has had a devoted global following, including fans who proclaim she is Brazil’s answer to Ella Fitzgerald or the female João Gilberto. So, expectations were high, when she performed two sets at Copenhagen Jazzhouse on July 7th, 2001.
The tracks on Samba Sem Você come from the second set, while the songs of the first set were released as the album Dunas in 2021. RP is a prolific, distinct vocalist with a playful yet sophisticated style marked by perfect pitch, spacious elegance and natural flair. Her musicality is an inspiration to singers all over the world. She is intimate and powerful at the same time, and the tunes she plays, a mixture of her own compositions and bossa nova classics, support her means of expression in the best way possible.
On this recording, she has gathered some of the finest musicians in the business of bossa nova, including pianist Fábio Torres, bassist Paulo Paulelli and drummer Celso de Almeida. The three provide the pleasing musical backdrop for RP to spread her wings and seduce the audience with her charming smile, infectious warmth and delicate voice.
Passos began playing piano at age thirteen, but after listening to Dorival Caymmi and João Gilberto, she abandoned the instrument to become a singer. She recorded her debut album in 1978, and has since worked with the likes of Ron Carter and performed with master pianist Kenny Barron among many others. Her music speaks to everyone, you don’t need to know anything about bossa nova to appreciate her music as there is something universal about her vocals and approach that instantly makes the listener go along on the journey she sets out for. It’s always soul-soothing and beautiful, and if you press play and close your eyes you can almost feel the Brazilian soul and see the sandy beaches for your inner eye.
Something Tomorrow / Enrico Pieranunzi's Eurostars Trio
Acclaimed Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi is at the zenith of his career and has now joined forces with the legendary French drummer André Ceccarelli and the acrobatic Danish double bass player Thomas Fonnesbæk. This new trio encounter combines three of the very best European jazz stars and makes for an album played with dramatic coherence. Something Tomorrow is available on Storyville Records.
Playing with Fonnesbæk seems to give wings to Pieranunzi, the two men listen and talk to each other like two accomplices, who meet again after a long absence. Fonnesbæk enjoys this intuitive game, where they listen intensely to each other, propose another tempo or a new melody. And they can count on the rhythmic precision and great musicality of André Ceccarelli, one of Pieranunzi’s favorite drummers.
Enrico Pieranunzi is one of, if not the most, popular European pianist, likely due to a unique combination of influences, from his formative years in classical and Italian music to his collaborations with iconic film composer Ennio Morricone and output with the likes of Chet Baker and Lee Konitz. Pieranunzi never renounces bold and elegant music, for he is a poet of black and white. In the breath of his piano, there is a reflexive expression, a harmonic treatment full of subtleties. A lush romanticism lies deep at the heart of his music, when he lets his hands dance on the keys. Thomas Fonnesbæk is a formidable bassist with an astonishing technique. He impresses with his virtuosity and harmonic choices, and his bass lines inspire both Pieranunzi and Ceccarelli. Drummer André Ceccarelli is one of the most important figures on the European jazz scene. He has not only played with Pieranunzi in many other musical constellations, but also with giants like Enrico Rava and Chick Corea.
There Is No Greater Love / Moroni, Lundgaard, Pearson
Internationally renowned Italian pianist Dado Moroni collaborates with prominent Danish bassist Jesper Lundgaard and versatile American drummer Lee Pearson on the brand new release There Is No Greater Love.
The story behind the release is a number of concerts commemorating the Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, who would have been 70 years old in April, 2015. NHØP was a virtuoso, who innovated the art of playing the double bass, both technically and musically. He was a grand man of decisive importance to jazz history. An essential part of NHØP’s career was his musical partnership with Oscar Peterson, who loved him for his natural drive, making any creative idea viable instantly. Consequently, we had to find musicians cut from the same cloth in order to give the audience the same feeling – the moment, where the crowd is captivated by the swing. Dado Moroni, Jesper Lundgaard, and Lee Pearson are more than capable musicians. In fact, their preparations merely consisted of a dinner before the concert. They did not rehearse – not even a soundcheck. Their professionalism lies in their sympathy for each other and naturally in years of training in the great American piano trio tradition. The music speaks for itself!
Copenhagen Coda / Dexter Gordon
Jazz giant and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon bids Copenhagen farewell on his new album Copenhagen Coda – Live at Montmartre 1983. This album marks DG’s final farewell to friends and fans in the Danish capital, with which he had had a twenty year love affair. He is quoted as having said: “I don’t think they [his fellow American musicians living in Europe] got the love I got in Copenhagen” The concert was part of a TV production by the national Danish Broadcasting Corporation, who have documented this golden era in Danish jazz history.
On this recording, DG is accompanied by the accomplished and versatile pianist Kirk Lightsey, wonderful bass player David Eubanks and the master drummer Eddie Gladden. DG proves that he hasn’t lost a step, as he projects enormous authority on stage, being a fountain of sound and ideas, melodically as well as rhythmically. He generates a stunning energy, taking off on a flight that is able to captivate the audience with his tenacious be-bop, somewhere between Lester Young and Coltrane, with a bold, dry sound.
DG arrived in Copenhagen in 1962, where he settled and became a regular on the jazz scene, most often at the legendary Jazzhus Montmartre. During the years 1964 to 1967, he played Montmartre 6 nights a week during the summer months. One of those evenings, where DG was accompanied by Tete Montoliu, NHØP and Alex Riel, was recorded and subsequently released as the album Montmartre 1964 on Storyville Records. His year-long stint in Copenhagen helped remold and vitalize DG after his lean years. In return, he also helped Montmartre build and maintain its reputation as one of Europe’s premier jazz venues in the 1960’s, attracting many American jazz players, including Ben Webster, Bud Powell, Kenny Drew and many, many more. All of them contributing substantially to the vitality of the Danish jazz scene, but more than anyone, DG is the musician synonymous with folk’s perception of Montmartre.
Copenhagen Coda is a celebration of and a tribute to Dexter Gordon’s legacy in Copenhagen. The audience in the Danish capital loved the sophisticated giant “Copenhagen Slim” immensely, and their love was reciprocated - Copenhagen Coda is a testament to this intense year-long love affair!
Holiday Time
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Vuust: New Views
A Good Day
Bak: Softer Than You Know
Martini: Open Wide
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Quiet Yesterday
