Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions

        Following closely after Mosaic’s compilation of Classic Vanguard Small Group Swing Sessions comes a companion set, Classic Vanguard Jazz Piano Sessions with 6 CDs containing a total of eleven complete sessions. The fun starts with the Jo Jones Trio, recorded in early stereophonic sound at the end of April 1958. Mosaic has eschewed its usual chronological sequencing in favor of a more thematic approach, and the glorious sounds of the Jones trio with pianist Ray Bryant and his bassist brother Tommy Bryant. Drum master Jones, a mainstay of the Small Group Sessions collection, is heard again with the almost forgotten pianist Sir Charles Thompson in a quartet date on the remainder of disc 1. Thompson led a few band dates on the earlier box and is represented here in two contexts. The quartet date of January 1954 features Jones with bassist Walter Page and guitarist Freddie Green, while the February 1955 session, which starts off disc 2, is a drummer-less trio with Skeeter Best on guitar and Aaron Bell on bass. The rest of disc 2 offers a solo set from pianist Bobby Henderson, a very enjoyable Fats Waller tribute recorded in November 1956. This fine performer was rediscovered after 23 years by producer John Hammond during a random stopover in Albany, NY where Henderson was performing under a different name. After Henderson made a second solo recording for Vanguard in 1957 (Call House Blues), he disappeared again, resurfacing again two decades later to make two more solo albums for Chiaroscuro in 1969. Discs 3 & 4 are given over to four sessions led by pianist Mel Powell, closely associated with Benny Goodman. First up is a swinging sextet date featuring trumpeter Buck Clayton. That’s followed by a fascinating August 1954 trio date with Powell joined by the “Vice Prez” Paul Quinichette on tenor saxophone and Bobby Donaldson on drums. Just a week later came another trio excursion, with trumpeter Ruby Braff and Donaldson. The last Powell session, done in October 1955, is a hodge-podge of lineups, with trios, quintets, and septets. There’s some fine music here, but the ever-changing configurations make for an odd listening experience. Thomas Cuniffe, principal writer and editor of jazzhistoryonline.com who contributed a liner essay to the first Vanguard box, repeats that effort here. He describes the Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins duo sessions that make up discs five and six as the “crown jewels of this collection,” and it’s hard to disagree with that assessment. Trumpeter Braff and pianist Larkins recorded a baker’s dozen of songs in February 1955, released as on two 10-inch volumes aptly titled as Two Part Inventions in Jazz. The pair followed up with an October date devoted exclusively to songs by the well-loved team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, issued on Lp as 2 x 2. Larkins had established a reputation as an accompanist to singers, notably Mildred Bailey and Ella Fitzgerald. In Braff he had a partner whose style frequently took a song’s lyrics as a springboard for his improvisations. They are clearly of one mind in their approaches to the music, and together they manifest an unhurried and sophisticated approach to their material. The late Michael Cuscuna, co-founder of Mosaic Records, was deeply involved in the preparation of the Vanguard sets, and these collections testify to his wide-ranging engagement with all eras of jazz. He’s much missed, but his overwhelming contribution to the music will live on as long as there are enthusiasts to listen to his many productions. Easily recommended. 

Mosaic MD6-281; Disc 1 63:21): (A) Jo Jones Trio (4/30/58) (B) Sir Charles Thompson Quartet (1/22/54). Disc 2 (70:10): ©) Sir Charles Thompson Trio (2/16/55) (D) Bobby Henderson (11/26/56). Disc 3 (61:43): (E) Mel Powell Septet (12/30/53) (F) Mel Powell Trio (8/17/54). Disc 4 (72:37): (G) Mel Powell Trio (8/24/54) (H) Mel Powell Septet/Quintet (10/19/55). Disc 5 (60:43): (I) Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins duo (2/17/55). Disc 6 (50:43): Ruby Braff/Ellis Larkins duo (10/14/55). For complete discographical details, go here. Limited to 5,000 sets; available from www.mosaicrecords.com