Hampton Hawes was always under-rated and this is one of my favourite recordings by this pianist. It's a quartet date and benefits from the inclusion of my favourite guitarist Barney Kessel. Red Mitchell is on bass and Shelly Manne is at the drums. They don't come much finer than that, so if you admire any or all of these musicians, you can't go wrong! Enjoyment will be guaranteed!
Encore une délicieuse pépite Contemporary Records, produite par l'ineffable Lester Koenig, qui permet de retrouver avec plaisir ce son chaud, pulpeux, inégalable, éminemment jazzy qui caractérise tant de sessions magiques de la fin des années 50. Les ingénieurs du son savaient diablement bien poser leurs microphones, lesquels avaient une sensibilité à fleur de membrane si je puis dire... Quel relief, quelle élégance ! Grâce à ces conditions exceptionnelles, le piano de Hampton Hawes a plus que jamais ce ravissant velouté swinguant et désinvolte qui « bope » avec aisance et légèreté. Barney Kessel lui répond avec toute sa verve à la guitare, et on ne perd rien des prouesses d'une section rythmique idyllique associant le facétieux mais si sensible contrebassiste Red Mitchell au puissant et sensuel Shelly Manne à la batterie. Yardbird suite, composition du Bird, ouvre en majesté le bal et se poursuit d'un seul tenant avec There will never be another you. Ensuite une digression pleine d'humour signée Mitchell (Bow Jest) qui s'en donne à cœur joie à l'archet. Suivent deux prises très enjouées (Sweet Sue et Up Blues) puis un émouvant et languide Like Someone In Love. Avec le titre suivant, joyeux et bondissant, Love Is Just Around The Corner, c'est une envie irrépressible de faire des sauts cabri qui vous prend... Et pour terminer, deux charmants petits bonus (Thou Swell, The Awful Truth) et le tour est joué. Mon Dieu quelle joie de s'abandonner à tant de suavité sentimentale. Au chapitre des regrets : que l'extase soit si vite dissipée, et plus encore, que cette époque bénie soit révolue...
5つ星のうち4.0Brilliant play, but the recording style may be an issue for some
2016年2月10日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済み
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This is a Fantasy Jazz remaster of a classic Contemporary Records release, featuring a sizzling quartet led by Hampton Hawes, with backing by Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, and Red Mitchell. You don't put those four in a studio together without expecting a smashing outcome, and this album proves it. The musicianship here is superb.
As an original Contemporary release, most of the production quality is stellar. Les Koenig was the genius producer behind Contemporary, and I dare say he never put out a poor album. The eminent Roy DuNann was the engineer here, and using his custom built recording setup, he captures incredible clarity and tonality with this album. As with a good number of early stereo recordings the soundstage on this one is panned quite hard left and right, but if you listen on a good system in a room with good acoustics you'll still get a really nice sense of space in the soundstage. Highly reflective rooms, on the other hand, will tend to leave things lumped left or right without much stage depth. DuNann remains a remarkably underappreciated recording engineer. In my opinion, his technique and recorded sound were much better than those of the more popularly recognized Rudy Van Gelder (especially when it came to recording piano).
Bottom line: a brilliant set by some of the most legendary names in West Coast jazz is a treat, and while the signature DuNann recording style is excellent as always, the hard-panned stereo presentation can be frustrating if heard in a less-than-ideal listening space.