CDLK 4197

CDLK 4227

CDLK 4252

CDLK 4253

CDLK 4262

CDLK 4269

“This is no-nonsense modern jazz, redolent of its times, yet always confident and pertinent. What’s more, it swings thanks to the thrust of the writing and the excellent work of Blannin and White…An exceptional release.”
Peter Vacher, Jazzwise, September 2005

CDLK 4284

CDLK 4355

CDLK 4417

CDLK 4419

The exciting, virtuosic trumpet playing of Kenny Baker is one of the focal points of this release, as he leads his group through some exhilarating ‘hot’ jazz, Baker-style. On both albums, originally issued in the mid-’50s, his group is populated by some of the major names on the UK ’s traditional jazz scene. Alto sax genius Bruce Turner is heard to good advantage on several numbers, as is Kenny himself as well as, on one track, alto saxophoist Bertie King. Support for the soloists is provided by the rock-solid rhythm team of bassist Frank Clarke and drummers Phil Seamen and Don Lawson (on the Midnight at Nixa album) and Frank Clarke and drummers Eddie Taylor and Derek Price (on the After Hours album). A real treat for lovers of the finest in vintage British ‘trad’ jazz.

CDNJT 5302

The orchestra of British jazz icon John Dankworth was formed in 1953, following the disbandment of the popular and hugely successful Johnny Dankworth Seven. The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra featured in its ranks many of Britain ’s leading jazz musicians of the ’50s including drummer Kenny Clare, trumpeter Dickie Hawdon, tenor saxophonist Danny Moss and trombonist Laurie Monk. 5 Steps to Dankworth showcases this wonderful big band powering its way through up-tempo swingers including Export Blues and Limehouse Blues and, in contrast, easing gracefully through numbers such as Ellington’s and Strayhorn’s Just a Sittin’ and a Rockin’. Journey into Jazz was the Dankworth orchestra’s first full-length album recording, made in front of an invited audience at London ’s Abbey Road Studios. Alongside swinging big band staples such as Take the ‘A’ Train and Jersey Bounce, it contains the Johnny Dankworth-David Lindup collaboration Itinerary of an Orchestra. A lengthy suite conceived as the jazz equivalent of Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, it contains some excellent examples of tight-knit ensemble playing, an exciting Kenny Clare drum solo, and a helping of the Dankworth brand of up-tempo jazz. Bonus tracks are included, taken from the Dankworth orchestra’s various 45-rpm single releases.

CDNJT 5303

The albums compiled on this CD represent the first LPs composer-arranger Johnny Keating made under his own name. Keating first attracted attention in the ’50s as the Ted Heath Orchestra’s arranger, a role he continued to fill – on and off – until the early 1970s. The albums presented here feature a sizeable contingent of Ted Heath sidemen as well as notable jazz names such as Jimmy Deuchar (trumpet), Tommy Whittle, Don Rendell (tenor saxes), Ronnie Verrell (drums) and Johnny Hawksworth (bass), among others. Under Keating’s direction they display their virtuosity in impeccably executed big band numbers including Keating originals (inc. Kiltie, Strictly for Kyx, Ultraviolet), Harry Roberts’s sublime trombone vehicle Quads Talk (feat. George Chisholm, Don Lusher, Keith Christie and Maurice Pratt) and originals by Jimmy Deuchar (Tam O’ Shanter, Clachnacudan Local) and pianist/vibes player Bill Le Sage (inc. Last Resort, Good Life).

CDNJT 5304

The superlative trumpet playing of Kenny Baker is one of the main attractions on this Vocalion release. On many of the tracks he leads The Jazz Today Unit, which on Operation Jam Session (1955) includes in its ranks special guests Joe Harriott, Bruce Turner and Bertie King (alto saxes). Produced by Denis Preston, side one of the original LP was taken up by an elongated medley of jazz standards including On the Alamo, What’s New? and Sweet and Lovely. Arranged by Kenny Baker, there is plenty of solo space for, among others, Jimmy Skidmore (tenor sax), Dill Jones (piano) and Keith Christie (trombone) as well as Kenny himself.

Tribute to Benny Carter (1955) is, as the title suggests, a tribute to the famous American alto saxophonist. With many of the same personnel as ‘Operation Jam Session’ (1955), it features The Jazz Today Unit as well as The Bertie King Jazz Group. The Jazz Today Unit perform Carter’s ten-minutes-plus Symphony in Riffs, while Bertie King’s Jazz Group swings its way through five Benny Carter compositions including Blues in My Heart, Skip It and Lazy Afternoon. Incidentally, both Bertie King and his sideman trombonist George Chisholm had appeared on the original 1937 Benny Carter recordings of Skip It and Lazy Afternoon.

The last four tracks are from a rare 1957 EP by the quintet of Australian-born violinist and composer Don Harper. Born in 1921, Harper arrived in the UK in 1955 and shortly afterwards began performing with his group at various London nightspots. In the 1960s and ’70s he was a heavily in-demand session musician, pioneering the use of electric violin and performing on countless TV and film scores as well as recording several albums under his own name. Introducing the Don Harper Quintet was his debut UK recording. It features a mix of standards (I May Be Wrong) with Harper originals (Just Rockin’), all showcasing the lithe improvisations and virtuosity of Don Harper.

CDNJT 5306

CDNJT 5307

CDNJT 5311

CDNJT 5312

CDNJT 5314