“Savory Collection” is a gift to impress
Is there a jazz aficionado in your life who’s impossible to surprise? Here are some holiday gift suggestions that may well (finally) make them happy.
The mail-order only Mosaic Records organization, responsible for some of the most musically fulfilling reissue projects ever, has slowed its output somewhat in recent years. That doesn’t mean it has closed up shop, though, and one of its recent projects is among its most delightful. “The Savory Collection 1935-1940” unearths a thrilling discovery: multiple hours of vintage recordings that had been stored and forgotten in a garage for more than 70 years.
The lineup features some of the music’s key innovators in excellent sound quality, considering the storage conditions of the tapes. Included in the set are animated performances from Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and a league of lesser-knowns who were no less charismatic on their respective instruments. “The Savory Recordings” (named after Bill Savory, the engineer who preserved and hoarded these tapes) is nothing less than one of the key sonic discoveries of the 21st century. It’s available only through mosaicrecords.com.
Fewer groups in improvised music have a legacy more respected than the 50-year run of The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and ECM Records has assembled every note they released on that label with “The Art Ensemble of Chicago and associated ensembles.” The set packs a punch: 21 CDS of music recorded by the group and individual members over the past four-plus decades. Even though there’s more to the avant-garde unit’s story than its long ECM period, this includes significant and often-thrilling milepost albums like “Nice Guys” and “Urban Bushmen.” Also in the box: full solo releases from band members Roscoe Mitchell (saxophones, etc.) and Lester Bowie (trumpet, etc.), two musicians who have left an inimitable stamp on creative music.
The box set’ s heart felt and thoughtfully annotated book will serve as a revelation to admirers of the group, and the whole thing is astonishingly priced: It lists for less than $100. When I heard the Art Ensemble’s “Full Force” album (included here) as an impressionable kid, its expressions of freedom changed my life by exposing me to the possibilities of sound.
How about a graphic novel featuring the singular pianist Thelonious Monk as its central character? That’s an excellent idea! “Monk! Thelonious, Pannonica, And The Friendship Behind A Musical Revolution” (First Second Books) takes a long, enthralling look at the relationship between the High Priest of Bebop and wealthy baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica De Koenigswarter, who assisted Monk financially and emotionally through different aspects of his career. Graphic artist Youssef Dadudi brings Monk’s mania and physical prowess to life through his fond illustrations, and it’s so lovingly done as to win over any Monkophile. If this trend continues, I eagerly await the arrival of a Sonny Rollins-themed superhero comic.
More in Colorado in the coming weeks: Vibraphonist Greg Carroll and his Midnight Blue Jazz Quartet plays Dazzle on Nov.
25 . ... Guitarists Glenn Jones and Janet Feder (Feder is one of Colorado’s most accomplished creative musicians) appear at Dazzle Nov. 27 . ... Convergence plays Nocturne on Nov. 28 . ... Multiple Grammy winner (and Coloradan) Dianne Reeves will sing at DU’S Newman Center with a holiday concert on Dec. 6.
Bret Saunders (bret saunders @kbco.com) can be heard from 5 to 10 a.m.weekdays at KBCO 97.3 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @Bretontheradio.