#2



Tony Fruscella
Tony Fruscella

Who?

Exactly. Nobody remembers this guy. This was his last record. His best record. Lots of original compositions on here which makes the record sound fresh to my ears and also just adds to the mystery as to why this wasn't a hit. It goes sways from cool jazz, to bebop, to sections of almost big band heavy horns, back to light numbers played in sync by a great rhythm section.

I like forgotten records. They hold a sense of magic to me. This record might not hold up to the chops that Max Roach, Clifford Brown, and Oscar Peterson can display, but in a sea of dominate jazz figures of the mid 50's, my dude Tony here from NY ended up making one that stands up with the stars.



#1


(Decided to use the 1957 album cover for this because it's cooler)

Kenny Dorham
Afro Cuban

Can't be matched on this list. It's too good.

This early Blue Note recording, released on a ten inch in 1955, later on LP in 57, is the starting point for some big f*cking names. Art Blakey hadn't started him band yet but is on this VERY percussive record as a young man slammin' away with Hank Mobley on sax early in his short career, Horace Silver on keys before he started to take Blue Note by storm, and Jay Jay Johnson on the bone before becoming a mainstay on Columbia and Impulse!. Cecil Payne and Oscar Pettiford round out the band culminating in a lineup to be remembered. Most of them going on with Blakey to make up the Jazz Messengers in the upcoming years.

Wait, what about Dorham? Future Jazz Messenger himself has constructed a beautiful record behind the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder. RVG keeps almost a big band feel to most of the record but really highlights the percussion while keeping Dorham soaring over everything. Great tracks on here like the opening number (at least on the LP) "Afrodisia" and "Minor's Holiday" which really highlight the afro-cuban theme while staying tight and swingin'.

It's an extremely good record and one of the best Blue Note records of the 50's.



1955 Closing Notes

I'll be honest. I haven't listened to a large chunk of releases from 1955. It's all jazz and probably could do with some classical or world music on here. There's also some early space age and easy listening that are great to listen to but they're fun records to collect in vinyl form than discuss musically. I thought about putting Louis Armstrong or Frank Sinatra on here but truth be told, I don't listen to those guys anymore. There's also a lot of albums that play like comps rather than stand a lone albums like The Amazing Budd Powell and some early work by Miles Davis, Ellington, Mobley and Monk. I also just barely chose London over Billie Holiday's Music for Torching which shoudl be noted because I think that Holiday was a MUCH better artist than Julie London. I just think London's best album achieved more than one of Holidays less popular ones.

On to 1956!

I'll be slowing down a bit. I was excited with this today as I have a lot of free time after this blizzard. Hopefully I'll be doing at least a post a day on this in the upcoming months.