Rhythm and Blues Records is at it again with a new installment in its Jazz Goes Mod series. I've posted about this series in the past (see bottom of this post for links). I love how the label pairs what was going on in London at the time on one CD with what was happening in the U.S. on the other. This time around it's Soho Scene '58: Jazz Goes Mod. And again, the tracks were tastefully compiled by Nick Duckett, with a 12-page booklet expertly written by Simon Spillett.
The beauty of this series is you can listen to the Brit-jazz disc first and then the American disc. Or you can import them all into your computer and mix or shuffle them around. The contrasts are fascinating.
On the new set, the British tracks include Eddie Thompson, Don Rendell, the Jazz Couriers, Tony Crombie, Alan Clare, Ronnie Ross, Vic Ash, Ken Moule, Johnny Dankworth, Tony Kinsey and others. The American tracks include Eddie Costa, Art Blakey, Hampton Hawes, Harold Land, Kenny Burrell, Mose Allison, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Count Basie and others. [Photo above of Vic Ash at the BBC in London]
The beauty is the intermingling of the two. The British jazz tracks are lively, brisk and assertive while the American tracks are moodier and more introspective. Both are reflections of the two cultures at the time—the joy, musical maturity and optimism of London jazzers in the late 1950s and American jazzers' anxiety over the rapid rise of rock 'n' roll and the tensions that were accompanying the ongoing civil rights struggle.
All of the installments in this series are uniformly excellent and wonderfully chosen by Nick. And Simon's notes are a hip education.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Soho Scene '58: Jazz Goes Mod (Rhythm and Blues) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's the Jazz Couriers' Mirage...
Here's the Vic Ash Sextet's Just for the Boys...
And here's Johnny Dankworth's Jim & Andy's...
And here are links to my previous posts on this series (I know I posted on the 1963 installment but can't seem to locate the link immediately)...
Soho Scene '63: Jazz Goes Mod (scroll down)