Six Faces of Jazz is a collection of recordings made between 1940 and 1947 by various jazz musicians who instigated, aided and abetted the prevailing stylistic transition from swing to bop. Charlie Parker was an archetypal participant in the rapid evolution of music during and after the Second World War. His "face" (which is to say his distinctive sound) is present on the first four tracks; the eight remaining selections provide historical context and/or reflect the influence of Parker. The other five faces are Dizzy ...
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Six Faces of Jazz is a collection of recordings made between 1940 and 1947 by various jazz musicians who instigated, aided and abetted the prevailing stylistic transition from swing to bop. Charlie Parker was an archetypal participant in the rapid evolution of music during and after the Second World War. His "face" (which is to say his distinctive sound) is present on the first four tracks; the eight remaining selections provide historical context and/or reflect the influence of Parker. The other five faces are Dizzy Gillespie, Red Norvo, Oscar Pettiford, Coleman Hawkins, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, but as usual, there are many other faces involved, and the choices for top billing seem to be somewhat arbitrary. On the first four tracks, recorded in January 1945 and originally issued on 78 rpm platters bearing labels imprinted with the Continental logo, Parker is heard sitting in with Gillespie and the Clyde Hart/Trummy Young All-Stars. On tracks nine and ten, recorded a few months later, Norvo appears in a different Continental session band led by bassist Slam Stewart. Here pianist Johnny Guarnieri does Fats Waller impressions during "Honeysuckle Rose." Hawkins recorded "When Day Is Done" in 1940. Pettiford performed "Esquire Bounce" with Hawkins and the Leonard Feather Esquire All-Stars in December 1943. Two cuts recorded in 1947 by tenor saxophonist Davis qualify as the rarest material; "Leapin' on Lenox" and "Huckle Bug" (erroneously identified as "The Hucklebuck"), were both originally issued on the obscure Lenox record label. Each designated face in this mosaic of early, early modern jazz represents an individual life, a group of lives, and a collective legacy deserving closer inspection and deeper exploration. ~ arwulf arwulf, Rovi
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