The second of the Classics label's Sonny Stitt compilations, The Chronological Sonny Stitt: 1950-1951 features some of the best work the tenor saxophone luminary recorded for the Prestige label. Included are studio cuts Stitt made with fellow saxophonist Gene Ammons around the time the duo was performing together at the legendary Birdland club in New York City. ~ Matt Collar

Lenny Bruce was a devoted fan of the Artie Shaw Gramercy Five. He also went out of his way to make fun of Georgia Gibbs, the vocalist on Artie Shaw's January 20, 1942 recording of "Absent-Minded Moon." Lenny was playing up his preference for the hipper side of Shaw, as demonstrated on "Hindustan" and every track recorded at the session which took place the following day. These remarkable sides, which sound better every time they are played back, were the last studio recordings Shaw would make before joining the navy. Composer and arranger Paul Jordan crafted a number of transitionally modern-sounding charts for this band. There are several heavies in the lineup: Dave Tough and Johnny Guarnieri worked well together under any circumstances. Georgie Auld, Ray Conniff and Max Kaminsky were fortunate to be blowing their horns alongside Hot Lips Page, a seasoned trumpeter who conveyed the lyrical potency of ten ordinary musicians. The string section provides just the right amount of lilt without injecting too much fluff. There is a gorgeous rendition of "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," with Shaw's clarinet in full blue cry and a gutsy vocal by Page. The Shaw discography, interrupted by a world war, resumes nearly three years later with Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's famous "Accentuate the Positive." Vocalist Imogene Lynn, dutifully intoning Mercer's imitation Afro-American revival lyrics, sounds a bit affected after the soulful gravity of Hot Lips Page. But it is important to place this popular hit record within historical context. By November of 1944 America needed a straight shot of optimism, and this catchy, morale-boosting number did more for the war against fascism than any number of giddy or poker-faced exercises in rhetorical patriotism. This is Artie Shaw & His Orchestra at their finest. Roy Eldridge gave the band extra punch, and the records he made with Shaw are uniformly solid, melodious and attractive. Billie Holiday, who had worked with Shaw in 1938, is invoked in Jimmy Mundy's "Lady Day." Poetically, its chord progressions seem to reference Billie's difficult life and maybe even the abusive racism she encountered while touring with Shaw at a time when black women simply did not appear with white bands. Buster Harding's "Little Jazz" is the definitive portrait of Eldridge. "Summertime" is exceptionally fine, with magical tonalities provided by Dodo Marmarosa and Barney Kessel. This special chemistry is all the more evident on two sides by the Gramercy Five. Certainly one of the best Artie Shaw reissues, and well-worth seeking out. ~ arwulf arwulf

This sophomore effort by the Who Trio -- pianist Michel Wintsch with drummer Gerry Hemingway and bassist B„nz Oester -- is a rambling, startling exercise in textures, layered dynamics, and process. Certainly it is a jazz record, rife with beautifully studied compositions and carefully articulated improvisations; as such, it is a nocturnal, silky, wonderfully wrought piece of understated mastery. The opener, "Quartier Lointain," a collective improvisation, offers a bird's-eye view of the intimacy of these proceedings. Wintsch's pianism shimmers around two different melodic ideas as Hemingway double-times his way into near silence, underlining only the briefest of phrases. Oester falls in on separate measures, collating his way through the harmonics. Eventually, the tension increases just enough to bring the band together in a taut percussive exchange before Wintsch brings back his skeletal melody to break it. It's stunning. On Wintsch's "Swantra," bopped-up piano blues and swing are offered up as ghost figures for a new kind of knotty interchange as both Oester and Hemingway syncopate the already syncopated and turn harmonics around on one another in the process. The reading of "Jerusalem" here is one of the most elegant, emotionally beautiful, and challenging ever recorded. Its deep lyricism reflects the traditionally based folk melody the tune is composed on as a jazz construct, and offers the sheerest shade of the blues as an anchor to its exoticism. And so it goes -- until the last track as Ray Anderson's trombone is added to the mix. Oester's bowed bass and Hemingway's whispering cymbals introduce the tune. "J'Irai" seems to come from the desert itself. Its slowly unfolding melody and mode reflect the spirits of ancient musics and film noir jazz before becoming a tough, slightly out post-bop swing fest. It is arresting, deep, mysterious, and profound in its subtlety. This is a provocative way to end a recording where so much has already been introduced, but when it's the Who Trio, anything and everything is possible. Awesome. ~ Thom Jurek

This CD presents Atipico Trio's third lineup in three albums; then again, since the group releases an album every six to eight years, that's something you come to expect. And as long as Carlo Actis Dato stays on board, the wild experiments and entertaining zaniness will remain key features. This time around, the mighty baritone sax and bass clarinet player joins forces with Piero Ponzo (alto sax and clarinet) and Beppe Di Filippo (soprano, alto, and tenor sax) -- Ponzo is a regular member of Dato's enduring quartet and was featured on Atipico Trio's first opus, while Di Filippo has often teamed up with both. All three musicians contribute pieces on this album, but Dato and Ponzo are the most prolific. The music is gloriously irreverent, skipping styles as if it were skipping rope: Mediterranean folk, swing-era jazz, South American grooves, and avant-garde jazz recipes are deconstructed and reassembled into an extravagant vaudeville in which wolves dance the tango, Klezmer melodies are heard at Baghdad parties, love songs are meant to make you howl in laughter ("Chantant l'Amour Bucolique"), and music and language lessons are delivered over the phone. All three musicians occasionally sing, talk, shout, and growl. The best feature of the music is found in the fact that all this craziness is very precisely scored, yet sounds genuinely spontaneous. From the mock-bombastic intentions of "Wolf Symphony N. 37" to the Balkan-like dance tunes "Slavinia" and "Balkanian Getchuppa," Atipico Trio never drop the ball. The tight track sequence concentrates the energy even more, making for an exhilarating listening experience. Either you love or hate the joie de vivre in Dato's music, and this album will not change your opinion. ~ Fran‡ois Couture

To say that Simon Nabatov's music is adventurous would be an understatement. His music, which mixes together written-out sections with free improvising, is eccentric and sometimes demented, particularly when Phil Minton is singing. Nabatov sought to pay tribute to Russian poets and writers, but one wonders what they would think of these very abstract interpretations. While most of the instruments utilized are conventional, Cor Fuhler's electronics frequently give the instrumental sections an otherworldly atmosphere. The overall results are intriguing and often absolutely crazy. ~ Scott Yanow

The Alternative Takes series is of immense value to consumers of the "French Classics" CD series. These are alternate takes in chronological order of historic jazz (and some blues) with a strong representation of the swing era. The Alternative Takes, Vol. 6: 1937-1938 contains 25 Duke Ellington tracks on a single disc, including two takes of "Peckin'" and "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm." While the disc is definitely directed toward collectors, anyone with an interest in this period of jazz will also enjoy it. ~ Al Campbell