The Best of Newport '57: 50th Anniversary Collection
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Edition: Music CDFormat: Live, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2007-08-07
Music Label: Verve
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Bourbon Street Parade - The George Lewis Band
- Blue for Louis - Bobby Henderson
- Basin Street Blues - Henry "Red" Allen, Jack Teagarden
- Muskrat Ramble - Henry "Red" Allen, , Kid Ory
- Airmail Special - Ella Fitzgerald
- Love for Sale - Gigi Gryce-Donald Bird Jazz Laboratory
- Between Me and Myself - Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio
- I Never Knew - Mat Mathews Quartet
- It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Ruby Braff Octet, Pee Wee Russell
- Blue Lou - Leon Sash Quartet
- Love Is Here to Stay - Carmen McRae
- Moonglow - Pete Brown, Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, Jo Jones All Stars
- There Will Never Be Another You - Eddie Costa Trio
- Nona's Blues - Cecil Taylor Quartet
- 'S Wonderful - Don Elliott
- St. James Infirmary - Turk Murphy Jazz Band
- Lady Sings the Blues - Billie Holiday
- My Funny Valentine - Gerry Mulligan Quartet
- Doodlin' - Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra
- I Got Rhythm - Teddy Wilson Trio
- Roy's Son - Roy Eldridge, , Jo Jones, Oscar Peterson Trio, Sonny Stitt
- Swingin' at Newport - Count Basie Orchestra
- Comeback - Count Basie Orchestra, , Joe Williams
- Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong) - Count Basie Orchestra, Jimmy Rushing
Free Music Notes for The Best of Newport '57: 50th Anniversary Collection
Free Music Review: Mediocre anniversary party. Look only for a few individual recordings.
Hit: 3 Stars
It's unlikely there was ever a more star-studded jazz festival than Newport 1957. From New Orleans jazz pioneer George Lewis to avant-gardist Cecil Taylor and everybody in between--Dizzy, the Count, Hawk and Prez, Eldridge and Gerry Mulligan, Oscar and Sonny Stitt--this was the Newport Festival that set out to top the preceding year's, which had made news internationally because of the triumphant performance of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, provoking a frenzied if not riotous response among those in attendance. Columbia Records was the benefactor of the Ellington '56 appearance, so Verve Records' Norman Granz came fully prepared to document every moment of the '57 occasion, loaded for bear should history repeat itself.
It didn't. The Verve recordings released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the mother of all jazz festivals reveal audio fidelity rivaling that of music recorded in 2008, but the performances, while professional, competent and highly representative, are nothing out of the ordinary for anyone familiar with the featured artists.
The most noteworthy exception is perhaps the Count Basie Reunion concert--not up to the preceding year's Ellington event but nonetheless offering a fascinating contrast between Basie's present unit and some of the guest alumni who sit in. (Lester Young makes a sort of "final statement" that at least sounds stronger than Billie Holiday's, and Joe Williams and Jimmy Rushing are heard on the same stage but, unfortunately, not together.) But this sampler is the least satisfying way to experience Newport '57--in total or in part. Skip it, and pick up the entire recording of the Basie set instead.
The other disc that any follower of jazz and/or big bands must take seriously is the "Dizzy Gillespie at Newport" set, certainly the best recording by his storied, short-lived big band. No band could smoke (sorry) like this one, especially on a blazing uptempo, extended Eckstine/Gillespie blues, "Cool Breeze," with killer solos not only by Diz but by trombonist Al Grey (his chops simply never wear out) and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell. But it's an ambitious, highly varied program, ranging from fiery bebop to Mary Lou Williams' suites to typical Diz (attempts at) humor. (The only sets I've heard that might merit attention would be the Oscar Peterson set with Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge and, despite the problems encountered by each singer, the single-disc collection of diva sets by Ella, Billie and Carmen McRae. The most recent underwhelmer: the Hawkins-Eldridge 40-minute set. (Just skip it.) Several years ago Fantasy came out with, for the first time, the Kenton Band performance at the festival. Nothing wrong with the music, but the audio is atrocious. Bass has been boosted at some point in post-production, but there are no pitches there! It's just a relentless boom-boom, a noisy and distracting subsonic stratum that undermines any deserving activity taking place above it.
As for this overpriced sampler, don't be surprised if you play it no more than a single time (assuming you get through it once). Currently, Amazon is showing a better price for the recently remastered, seminal if not epiphanic three-disc set, "Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard, June 25, 1961." Should you have a spare 15 or 20 you're wondering what to do with, rarely has Amazon presented a more slam-dunk choice. (The only other product Amazon offers for under $20 that's a comparable bargain is the Omron pedometer (the first one I've found that really works!).
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