Archives: April 2024

• New Stories 30th Anniversary!

  Recording sessions on April 25, 26 and 27, 1994, created the first album for the important new piano trio New Stories. We are celebrating this 30th anniversary recording by releasing all 7 of the groups' original compositions from this first New Stories album.

  
  Don Sickler: The group's pianist, Marc Seales, I first heard about from ravings from tenor saxophonist Don Lanphere, which was sometime around the time Marc did his first album with Don (summer of 1982,) My first recollection of being involved with bassist Doug Miller and drummer John Bishop was when the whole trio was together on Don Lanphere's co-leader recording "Lopin'" (1992). We will bring more music from these talented artist-composers in the near future. For now, you can enjoy our Piano Trio editions from this album.

• The Highest Mountain

  April 18, 2024, was the 49th recording anniversary for Clifford Jordan's live album "The Highest Mountain." We figured now is a good time to bring the title track The Highest Mountain to jazzleadsheets.com. This is Clifford Jordan's most recorded composition, with good reason - it's a song you can really have fun with. Clifford played it in many different settings and arrangements; we are first making lead sheets available based on the quartet version from "The Highest Mountain" album. We also have a transcription of Clifford's tenor sax solo, making this a great opportunity to explore his unique and influential style. Arrangements from other recordings of this song are coming soon.

• Mapenzi Anniversary plus Charles McPherson

  April 14 is the birthday of two of our great artist composers, tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons and trombonist Steve Davis. It's also the recording anniversary of tenor saxophonist Harold Land's 1977 "Mapenzi" album so we're putting up three more of his classic compositions from that album, Mapenzi, Tres Senderos and Inner Voice. The previous year (1976), while touring Japan, Charles McPherson recorded his great "Live In Tokyo" album with a stellar rhythm section which included pianist Barry Harris. Two from that album, Orient Express and Charles' solo transcription from Tokyo Blue, are also newly available.

• Lucky Thompson And His Orchestra

  We're excited to present several more songs by legendary tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. April 5 is the anniversary of the first session for "Lucky Thompson And His Orchestra," one of 7 albums he recorded as a leader during his 1956 trip to Paris. Despite its name, this album includes only quartet and quintet tracks. We've had the ballad To A Mornin' Sunrise available from this session before, but now we have the other three songs: Why Weep and Nothin' But The Soul, both blues, and Passin' Time which is based on the standard Blue Lou. These three were recorded in a quintet setting featuring fellow tenor saxophonist Guy Lafitte. A condensed score and second parts are available for the quintet arrangement of Passin' Time. Songs from the second session for this album are coming later this month.

  In addition to these three, four more Lucky Thompson songs were recently added to jazzleadsheets.com. A Minor Delight, One Cool Night, Takin' Care Of Business, and Thin Ice all come from the album "Thompson Plays For Thomson," also recorded in Paris in 1956. Lucky regularly performed many of these songs; all deserve wider recognition.

• Early April: Kenny Drew & Booker Little

  April 2, 2024, was the 51st anniversary of pianist Kenny Drew's "Duo" album with bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Three of Kenny's songs from this session are now available on jazzleadsheets.com. For the ballad Serenity, besides lead sheets we have a piano melody transcription from this recording. Other versions of Serenity are coming soon; enjoy our video of Kenny Drew, Jr. playing this song on Rudy Van Gelder's Steinway "B." Duo Trip, a medium-up workout for piano and bass, was also recorded by Kenny Drew, Jr. with a trio; Condensed Scores are available for both duo and trio versions. Another ballad, Come Summer, was recorded on "Duo" but in a solo piano setting. For both Serenity and Come Summer, we have piano lead sheets with voicings from Kenny's original manuscripts.

  April 2 was also Booker Little's birthday. We're celebrating with Gandolfo's Bounce, a blues head in Booker's unique style which he recorded with Max Roach's quintet in 1959. Second parts and Condensed Score are available; this song works in a two-horn setting as well as the original three-horn chordless quintet. We have much more from Booker Little coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com.

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