Just out are three new spectacular remastered re-issues from the Candid label. I posted about the revived label's previous re-issues here and here. As noted, the short-lived original label was founded in 1960 as a subsidiary of Cadence Records. Its early output was overseen by jazz author and critic Nat Hentoff, who served as Candid's A&R director. In essence, he decided whom to record and how the record should sound and look.
The label operated from 1960 to 1964, at which point its parent company, Cadence, shut down. In 1989, Candid's recordings were bought by the U.K.'s Black Lion Records, which reissued the material on CDs and produced new recordings. The revived Candid also released albums on CD that were originally on the Choice label.
The three new releases out now are Joanne Brackeen's Snooze (1975), the pianist's first album as a leader; Kenny Barron's Lemuria-Seascape (1991); and Shirley Scott's A Walkin' Thing (1992), her final album. Brackeen's album was originally recorded for Choice Records. When re-issued by U.K. Candid, it was called Six Ate. Barron's and Scott's albums were recorded by U.K. Candid.
Snooze—Brackeen has always been a fascinating if not fully heralded force in jazz. A pianist with a stormy command of the keyboard and a splashy attack, she recorded Snooze with Cecil McBee (bass), Billy Hart (drums). The tracks are Wayne Shorter's Nefertiti; Miles Davis's Circles; Brackeen's own Zulu, Sixate and Snooze; and the standard Old Devil Moon. The CD bonus track I Didn't Know What Time It Was doesn't appear on this release. There's a McCoy Tyner feel to Brackeen's playing, but she is less heavy and more stylish. More wind storm than downpour. Snooze is exciting and daring throughout.
Lemuria-Seascape—Barron recorded here with Ray Drummond (bass) and Ben Riley (drums). Lemuria was thought to be a lost continent that sank in the Indian Ocean and once provided a land bridge between continents. This thesis was disproved in the 1960s, when the theory of continental drift became accepted by the scientific community. The songs on this album are Barron's Lemuria, Thelonious Monk's Ask Me Now, the standard Sweet Lorraine, Blue Mitchell's Fungii Mama, Barron's Slow Grind, the standard Have You Met Miss Jones?, Christina Blalock's Maria Isabel, the standard You Go to My Head, Rufus Reid's The Manila Look in Your Eyes and Barron's Seascape. Barron's playing is exceptional, varying from straight-ahead jazz on the standards to soulful on the blues and esoteric on the title track.
A Walkin' Thing—Scott is less groovy here than on her 1960s albums, but what she lacks in spunk and brightness she more than makes up for with soulful, reflective notes, chords and riffs. Scotty is joined by Terell Stafford (trumpet), Tim Warfield (tenor saxophone), Arthur Harper (bass) and Aaron Walker (drums). Warfield's big sound on tenor picks up on Stanley Turrentine's wide-bodied tone, giving Scott's album a sizable anchor. The tracks are the festive Carnival, Terell Stafford's D.T. Blues, Benny Carter's A Walkin' Thing, the soul-pop hit When a Man Loves a Woman, the Scott original What Makes Harold Sing, Tim Warfield's Shades of Bu and the standards How Am I to Know and Remember.
All three are extraordinary albums and a smart historic release batch.
Shirley Scott died in 2002, at age 67.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Snooze, Lemuria-Seascape and A Walkin' Thing here, here and here. Just grab all three. Fun to listen to them one after the other.
JazzWax clips: Here's Joanne Brackeen playing Nefertiti...
Here's the Kenny Barron Trio playing Have You Met Miss Jones?...
And here's Shirley Scott on Shades of Bu...
