[.ca] Comp Blue Note And Capitol Rec

a bop classic:
was tadd dameron one of the greatest jazz composers of all time? one run through this wonderful blue note compilation serves as heavy evidence that he was. several of his standards are here played by the composer with some great icons of the be-bop era. a 22 year old miles davis appears on the last four tracks of disc 1 and a young sonny rollins appears on the navarro tracks with bud powell (disc 2, tracks 7-14). the music is a glimpse of the revolution happening on 52nd street and at minton's playhouse in the 1940s as jazz suddenly had swing infused with bop. mr. navarro may not be all that familiar to audiences today (he died in the late 40s), but his influence has been heard through jazz from the trumpet voices of clifford brown, miles davis,lee morgan, and younger voices like roy hargrove. mr. navarro was a follower of dizzy gillespie, but soon developed his own sound. listen to the tracks with bud powell and you will know that jazz lost a great innovator just as he was coming into his prime. this is a great set, especially for those wanting to hear bebop in its purest form.

Tremendous as well as underrated:
The world seems to know Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, and Miles Davis as the ultimate bebop trumpet players, but Fats Navarro truly deserves a spot in that hall-of-fame also. The recordings represented here, mostly recorded from 1947 to 1949, show how Fats represents a link between Diz and Brownie. Though he died far too young at age 26 (tuberculosis complicated by a heroin addiction) his work still sounds fresh and exciting to this day. Since this is a Blue Note release, you know the sound quality is first-rate. This 36 song collection (23 songs, 13 alternate takes) would make an excellent companion to the circa '46-'47 collection Goin' To Minton's. Overall, if you can only have one CD release of Fats Navarro's greatness, make it this one.

Delights:
A wonderful two-disc set including performances by the legendary Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and Miles Davis corresponding with the lesser known Charlie Rouse (Monks tenor of choice), the ill-fated alto-saxophonist Ernie Henry, trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, and transcendental RoyEldridge/DizzyGillespie hybrid Howard Mcghee. And, ofcourse, the illimitable Fats Navarro featured on 32 of the 36 tracks. A fine collection in every aspect highlighted by Dameron and Powell originals, however, the first six songs on the second disc are all-solid Mcghee-Navarro collaborations. Lots of Fats through and through and through...a classic record. P.S.....intrestingly the four tunes minus Navarro include a young Miles Davis as the ninth piece in Damerons' band.

• Chase \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Chase - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Squirrel \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Squirrel - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Our Delight \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Our Delight - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Dameronia \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Dameronia - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Jahbero \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Jahbero - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Lady Bird - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Lady Bird \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Symphonette - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Symphonette \oAlternate Take\c - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• I Think I'll Go Away - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Sid's Delight - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• Casbah - Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro
• John's Delight - Tadd Dameron, Miles Davis
• What's New? - Tadd Dameron, Miles Davis
• Heaven's Doors Are Wide Open - Tadd Dameron, Miles Davis
• Focus - Tadd Dameron, Miles Davis
• Skunk \oLP Master\c - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Boperation - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Boperation \oAlternate Take\c - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Skunk \o78 Master\c - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Double Talk - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Double Talk \oAlternate Take\c - Fats Navarro, Howard McGhee
• Bouncing with Bud \oAlternate #1\c - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Bouncing with Bud \oAlternate #2\c - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Bouncing with Bud - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Wail \oAlternate Take\c - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Wail - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Dance of the Infidels \oAlternate Take\c - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Dance of the Infidels - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• 52nd Street Theme - Fats Navarro, Bud Powell
• Stealin' Apples - Benny Goodman, Fats Navarro