Informal Jazz

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Informal Jazz
Informal Jazz.jpeg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember or October 1956 [1] [2]
RecordedRecorded May 7, 1956 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, NJ
Genre Jazz
Label Prestige Records
Producer Bob Weinstock
Elmo Hope chronology
Hope Meets Foster
(1955)
Informal Jazz
(1956)
Trio and Quintet
(1953-57)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Informal Jazz is an album by jazz musician Elmo Hope, released in September or October 1956 on Prestige Records. [1] [2] It was reissued in 1969 under the title Two Tenors , and under the billing of Hope's sidemen for the session, John Coltrane and Hank Mobley.

Contents

Reception

In his review for AllMusic, critic Eugene Chadbourne praises each musician's performance individually and by track and comments on the album as a whole: "If this particular session hasn't assumed the legend of a jazz classic, it's because, on the whole, some little spark seems to be missing. If this element could be defined easily, and put into words quickly and efficiently, then record producers and musicians would know exactly how to create the perfect jam session record. The people involved in this record know much more about such a science than the average musician and record producer. These are musicians very far down the road from being average, all of this underscoring the difficulty of creating a spontaneous recording session at which moments of improvisational genius are expected to pop up." [3]

Track listing

  1. "Weeja" (Elmo Hope) – 11:00
  2. "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) – 8:31
  3. "On It" (Elmo Hope) – 8:58
  4. "Avalon" (Al Jolson, Buddy DeSylva, Vincent Rose) – 9:37

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Mobley</span> American jazz saxophonist and composer (1930–1986)

Henry "Hank" Mobley was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neither as aggressive as John Coltrane nor as mellow as Lester Young, and his style that was laid-back, subtle and melodic, especially in contrast with players like Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. The critic Stacia Proefrock claimed him "one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era." Mobley's compositions included "Double Exposure," "Soul Station", and "Dig Dis," among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmo Hope</span> American jazz musician

St. Elmo Sylvester Hope was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the bebop and hard bop genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with Bud Powell, and both were close friends of another influential pianist, Thelonious Monk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Watkins</span> American jazz double bassist

Douglas Watkins was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean.

<i>Workin with the Miles Davis Quintet</i> 1960 studio album by Miles Davis

Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet is a studio album by the Miles Davis quintet recorded in 1956 and released circa January 1960. Two sessions on May 11, 1956, and October 26 in the same year resulted in four albums—this one, Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet, Steamin' with the Miles Davis Quintet and Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet.

<i>Someday My Prince Will Come</i> (Miles Davis album) 1961 studio album by Miles Davis

Someday My Prince Will Come is the seventh studio album by Miles Davis for Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1656 and CS 8456 in stereo, released in 1961. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan, New York City, it marked the only Miles Davis Quintet studio recording session to feature saxophonist Hank Mobley.

<i>Soul Station</i> 1960 studio album by Hank Mobley

Soul Station is an album by jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley that was released in 1960 by Blue Note Records. It is considered by many critics to be his finest album.

<i>Coltrane</i> (1957 album) 1957 studio album by John Coltrane

Coltrane is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane which was released in October 1957 by Prestige Records. The recordings took place at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey, and document Coltrane's first session as a leader. It has been reissued at times under the title of The First Trane!.

<i>Settin the Pace</i> 1961 studio album by John Coltrane

Settin' the Pace is an album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in December 1961 by the Prestige label. It is assembled from previously unissued tracks from a recording session at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1958. Coltrane on tenor saxophone is accompanied by Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. With Garland and Chambers, Coltrane had played together since at least October 1955 in Miles Davis' band. With Art Taylor they were part of the Tenor Conclave recordings in September 1956. As a quartet they had already recorded two albums for Prestige, John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio and Soultrane. The material the quartet recorded on this session were extended interpretations of three popular songs and "Little Melonae", a classic bebop tune written by Jackie McLean. Of note is Coltrane's use of the sheets of sound technique, particularly on "Little Melonae".

<i>Black Pearls</i> 1964 studio album by John Coltrane

Black Pearls is a studio album by American jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1964 on Prestige Records. It was recorded at a single recording session on May 23, 1958, at the studio of Rudy Van Gelder in Hackensack, New Jersey.

<i>The Prestige Recordings</i> 1991 box set by John Coltrane

The Prestige Recordings is a box set by jazz musician John Coltrane.

<i>Tenor Conclave</i> 1957 studio album by John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Al Cohn and Zoot Sims

Tenor Conclave is a studio album by John Coltrane, Hank Mobley, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims. It was recorded in 1956 and issued in early 1957 by Prestige Records.

<i>A Blowin Session</i> 1957 studio album by Johnny Griffin

Johnny Griffin Vol. 2 is an album by jazz saxophonist Johnny Griffin, recorded in April 1957 and released in September or October of the same year on the Blue Note label. It was reissued in 1999, featuring an alternate take of "Smoke Stack."

<i>The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane</i> 2000 box set by Miles Davis and John Coltrane

The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis with John Coltrane is a box set featuring jazz musicians Miles Davis and John Coltrane. It is the first box set in a series of eight from Columbia/Legacy compiling Davis's work for Columbia Records, and includes never-before-released alternate takes, omissions of other musicians, musician comments, false starts and a first version of compositions, some of which have made it to the 50th Anniversary 2-disc CD version of Kind of Blue. Originally issued on April 11, 2000, in a limited-edition metal slipcase, it was reissued in 2004 in an oversized book format. In conjunction with Sony, Mosaic Records released the 9-LP set.

<i>Tenor Madness</i> 1956 studio album by Sonny Rollins

Tenor Madness is an album by jazz musician Sonny Rollins released in October 1956 by Prestige Records. It is most notable for its title track, the only known recording featuring both Rollins and John Coltrane.

Frank Butler was an American jazz drummer.

This is the discography for American jazz musician Hank Mobley.

<i>Silvers Blue</i> 1957 studio album by Horace Silver

Silver's Blue is a studio album by American jazz pianist Horace Silver recorded for the Epic label in 1956 featuring performances by Silver with Joe Gordon, Hank Mobley, Doug Watkins, and Kenny Clarke and another session with Donald Byrd and Art Taylor replacing Gordon and Clarke. Silver, Mobley, Watkins, and Byrd all had recently left The Jazz Messengers. These were Silver's first sessions as a leader after leaving the Messengers.

<i>Two Tenors</i> 1969 studio album by John Coltrane, and Hank Mobley

Two Tenors is an album credited to jazz musicians John Coltrane and Hank Mobley, released in 1969 on Prestige Records, catalogue 7670. It is a reissue of Prestige 7043 Informal Jazz by Elmo Hope, released in 1956. As Coltrane's fame grew during the 1960s long after he had stopped recording for the label, Prestige assembled varied recordings, often those where Coltrane had been merely a sideman, and reissued them as a new album with Coltrane's name prominently displayed. In this case, by 1969 Hope had become a far less marketable figure than Coltrane and Mobley, hence the redesignation of the LP.

<i>Monday Night at Birdland</i> 1958 live album by Hank Mobley, Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan and Billy Root

Monday Night at Birdland is a live album which was recorded at Birdland in 1958 by tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley and Billy Root, trombonists Kai Winding and Curtis Fuller, and trumpeter Lee Morgan. It was first released by the Roulette label. Symphony Sid wrote the liner notes.

<i>Another Monday Night at Birdland</i> 1959 live album by Hank Mobley, Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan and Billy Root

Another Monday Night at Birdland is a live album which was recorded at Birdland in 1958 by tenor saxophonists Hank Mobley and Billy Root, trombonist Curtis Fuller, and trumpeter Lee Morgan. It was released by the Roulette label.

References

  1. 1 2 DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Schmaler, Wolf; Wild, David (2013). Porter, Lewis (ed.). The John Coltrane Reference. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. p. 425. ISBN   9780415634632 . Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 "October Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box . New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. 6 October 1956. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Chadbourne, Eugene. "Informal Jazz > Review". AllMusic . Retrieved August 19, 2010.