If not for Fresh Sound in Spain, you probably wouldn't have heard of half the jazz albums you now love. Instead, you'd still be standing in used record stores running your fingers through bins of LPs or blowing a fortune on vinyl jazz albums at Ebay. Major labels that own the rights to thousands of jazz albums have entombed them in vaults and have no interest or budget to reissue them. There just isn't a sufficient market for them. Fresh Sound has and continues to keep jazz from the 1950s and early '60s by terrific artists alive. [Photo above of Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol]
Founded in 1983 by Jordi Pujol, Fresh Sound specializes in previously unknown jazz reissues that feature robust liner notes (often by Jordi) and upgraded fidelity. Jazz history would be incomplete without his hard work and his label's tireless efforts to reissue long forgotten LPs on CD.
Here are eight superb Fresh Sound releases. Be sure to use your 8% JazzWax discount at checkout with this code: JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT
Tommy Wolf: Wolf at Your Door and Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most—Both of these albums have been out of print for decades. A composer and pianist, Wolf wrote a long list of songs with lyricist Fran Landesman. Many of their tunes were recorded by the duo Jackie and Roy as well as dozens of other artists. On these two albums, now on a single CD, Tommy sings and accompanies himself on piano. Always exciting to hear a composer play and sing his own songs, especially ones that are this clever and sophisticated. Go here.
Joe Roland: Complete 1949-1956 Sessions—Joe Roland began his music career in 1937 as a clarinetist, but in 1940 he switched to the xylophone and then the vibes. In the 1950s, he appeared as a sideman on recordings led by major jazz artists, including Oscar Pettiford (1951), George Shearing (1951–1953), Howard McGhee, Artie Shaw and his Gramercy Five (1953–1954), Freddie Redd (1955), Mat Mathews (1956) and Aaron Sachs (1956). He only recorded a handful of albums as a leader. Go here.
Johnny Glasel's Jazz Session and Mel Davis's Trumpet With a Soul—These two fine trumpeters have slipped into obscurity. Yet both were terrific, especially on their own leadership albums in 1956. On this two-fer, we hear Glasel's Jazz Session and Davis's Trumpet With a Soul. Glasel played with Bob Wilber in the 1940s and studied music at Yale in the 1950s. After he graduated, he quickly found work as a studio musician and would spend much of his career as a session player. As for Davis, he had a big full sound and played behind a long list of pop singers. He also was in the Tonight Show band under Skitch Henderson. Davis is probably best known for his more than 17 years in the Sesame Street house band. Both of these albums are great. Go here.
Jacques Denjean and His Jazz Orchestra: 1959-1962. Jacques Denjean was a French composer-arranger who also was a member of Les Double Six jazz vocal group. Between 1959 and '62, he was given a chance to show off his jazz band arranging, pulling in many of France's finest jazz players. The result had Basie's spare feel and call-and-response arranging style, but Denjean had a denser execution. Go here.
Raymond Fol: Rediscovering. Raymond Fol was a French pianist who worked with many of France's best jazz players and touring American artists. With his brother saxophonist Hubert Fol, they formed the Bebop Minstrels. This two-CD set features Raymond in exquisite form, proving he should be included on the list of France's leading jazz keyboard players. Go here.
Sam Most, Undercurrent Blues: Sextets, 1952-1956. Frank Wess, James Moody, Herbie Mann and Bobby Jasper were early jazz flute greats. Lesser known was Sam Most. His playing style was more spirited and pronounced than many of his peers. He also could swing hard. These two CDs feature Most's exquisite sextet recordings for Prestige, Debut and Vanguard. Go here.
Nick Brignola: This Is It! Recorded in 1967, Brignola's first album featured him mostly on baritone saxophone backed by a trio. Brignola here also plays the alto saxophone, saxello, flute and bass. What you notice immediately about his low-register energy and tonal bark is how much he sounded like baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams. A jazz album that also stylistically reflects the shifting sands of the times. Go here.
Tony Luis's Introducing and Bob Freedman's Piano Moods. Tony Luis is unknown for good reason: He only recorded three 10-inch LPs, in 1954 and 1955. On the keyboard, he had a superb lounge sound. Bob Freedman is the famed arranger, conductor and composer who wrote for Maynard Ferguson and many other jazz and pop groups. Bob was a chunkier player on his debut album in 1953, favoring chords and interesting voicings, as most piano-playing arrangers do. Go here.
