Bob Powers

MARIETTA, OH, USA - I'm not much of a filing freak. As a result, I occasionally lose track of a new released CD that deserves special notice.

Unfortunately, I accidentally lost track of the recent "Big Easy," a terrific entry from the prolific and delightful Kermit Ruffins. As I have been saying for several years, this young showman produces a version of the New Orleans sound that should make even someone in a dark mood suddenly smile like a kid on Christmas morning.

Ruffins doesn't play anything particularly fancy on his trusted trumpet. But he has the sound of old New Orleans down to the nth degree. The new CD, his seventh on the reliable Basin Street Records label, contains perhaps the best mix of old and new music to come from his excellent band.

Ruffins sells not a superb talent in playing the trumpet, although I'm sure there's more than meets the ear in his music. Ruffins has observed that he fell in love with traditional music because of such sparkling personalities as Louis Armstrong to Danny Barker. "Their personalities come across in the music and the music across in their personalities," he says.

The new album opens with a lively version of "Tiger Rag," and follows with great readings of "Stardust," "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Basin Street Blues. One of the joys of the album is a special track that assembles the voices of Christina and Neshia Ruffins, along with pal Milan Arriola in a smashing trio sound for Daddy Ruffins' composition, "Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner." The voices of the children and the great backing of Ruffins and his band makes this track four minutes of musical magic.

If you'd like a taste of today's treatment of traditional New Orleans jazz, you should demand a copy of "Big Easy" at your local music outlet.

Great Red Garland

Only the most avid jazz fans would be expected to know about Red Garland, the excellent pianist who kept busy decades ago by recording and toured with such big-name talent as Miles Davis before launching a successful career as leader of a quintet.

In a three-year period during the 1950s, Garland spent many hours in recording studios, doing 19 sessions totaling 143 hours of material. One such session has just been released as "Stretching Out" (Prestige Records).

In the six weeks or so that I've had this album, it has spent much of that time in my CD player. Garland was one of the special ones of the period and his piano work never seemed less than scintillating. This man could play along side the mighty of piano geniuses. His name should have received more recognition if he'd done nothing more than played the block chord. No one did it better.

Every track on "Stretching Out" stands out as an example of various styles of '50s jazz, performed with a flair that should have made Garland one of the important names of that period. Instead, Garland (who died in 1984 in his early '60s) will be noticed only by accident. It's a shame, because this musician made everything he did seem special.

The album opens with a wondrous arraignment of "Satin Doll," followed by a delicious accounting of "The Man I Love." His original, called "A Little Bit of Basie", will elicit smiles for anyone who ever admired the master of subtle performance, the old giant from Red Bank, N.J., the one and only Count Basie. This ditty is almost worth the price of admission.

My choice as the best selection, however, is Garland's magnificent version of the Neal Hefti standard, "Lil' Darling." Garland also salutes Oscar Pettiford's composition, "Blues in the Closet," which spotlights Garland's wry sense of humor. The album ends with an outstanding reading of the pop winner, "Like Someone in Love."

Parker and Pals

It happened a long time ago. In August of 1953, when members of "The Quartet" gathered on the stage of a theater in Toronto, making jazz history with an album that a half-century later remains near the top of the heap of great jazz performances.

"The Quintet at Massey Hall" (Debut Records) consisted of (hold your breath!) five of jazz all-time performers: Charlie Parker on alto sax, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet (before he invented that wacky instrument that gave a new twist to an old piece of yellow metal), the incomparable Bud Powell on piano; the giant Charles Mingus on bass, and the fabulous Max Roach on drums.

Remastering has achieved a fresh-sounding performance by five of the all-time masters of what would become modern jazz. The half-dozen selections include several special compositions that came to identify the jazz genre. Opening with "Perdido" in a version two seconds shy of eight minutes, the group later turns to "Wee," the familiar "Hot House," and the spectacular "A Night in Tunisia".

This album should be acquired because of its historical importance, but it's also some of the finest jazz ever recorded.

Soul Jazz Master

Willis Jackson and his tenor saxophone helped to popularize "soul jazz," which enjoyed a long run of popularity in the late '50s and the '60s Jackson's nickname, "Gator Tail," gave an indication of what soul jazz was all about.

Jackson's popularity spread across the country and his recordings are still worth hearing today. This is jazz that honks and sputters and splashes, but the result still has the ability to create wide smiles amongst its admirers.

Jackson's quintet is caught in 1964 at the Allegro in New York City. The musicians included a very young Pat Martino on guitar. Martino made an impression later performing in a jazz/pop style that made him lots of bucks.

The nice thing about "Soul Night Live!" (Prestige Records) is its successful blending of several music genres, ranging from blues to jazz to R&B to gospel. The combination, which seems ludicrous, instead created a relaxing but exciting genre of the jazz form. You won't find a better example than this fun album.

Bob Powers always is interested in hearing from record distributors who deal in jazz, rock, folk, and anything that's good. For instructions on getting your album reviewed, contact him at oldbob@localnet.com.

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