Thomas Conrad's Basic 50

Gordon H. Fick

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Jan 25, 1993, 3:22:49 PM1/25/93

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In April 1990 issue of CD review, Thomas Conrad submitted his
basic library of jazz CDs as part of a "Basic 50" series in each
style of music.
He listed only 49 titles and he explained that he was afraid he
might forget an album that 'appears on everyone's "best of" list'.

All of these "Basic 50" lists have been reprinted in CD Review's 1992
Yearbook. Each reviewer was invited to reassess their choices.

Conrad elected to take out McCoy Tyner's 'Double Trios' (on Denon)
and add the recent Chesky disc with Tyner and Joe Henderson
(Reunion?). He then added Miles Davis' Complete 1964 Concert ( a
double CD with both My Funny Valentine and Four And More ) as his
'missing' 50th disc.

I have always trusted Conrad's reviews and his 'Basic 50' list
has had a big impact on my music listening over the last almost 3
years.

--
Gordon H. Fick - Department of Community Health Sciences
University of Calgary - Calgary, Alberta CANADA T2N 4N1 - (403) 220-6939

Patrick Buzby

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Jan 26, 1993, 5:36:06 PM1/26/93

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Not that I find anything specifically wrong about Conrad's list, but
let me put in a word of warning about Conrad and CD Review. This magazine
is dreadfully erratic in the quality of its reviewing, ranging from the
perceptive (especially when a good critic such as John Diliberto comes in)
to the utterly amateurish. And, unfortunately, Conrad's reviews sometimes
fall in the latter category IMHO, especially when he's faced with
something he instinctively dislikes (i.e. electric jazz). So I would not
recommend taking his word as final, although it can be useful.

Pat Buzby "Fried ice cream is a reality!"-George Clinton
Grove City, OH "Music is the best."-Frank Zappa

Glenn W. Lea

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Jan 27, 1993, 7:22:02 AM1/27/93

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In article <Vy0ZXB...@bluemoon.use.com> buz...@bluemoon.use.com (Patrick Buzby) writes:
>
> Not that I find anything specifically wrong about Conrad's list,

Could someone please post the list?

Thanks,
Glenn

Gordon H. Fick

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Feb 2, 1993, 12:21:29 PM2/2/93

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1) Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else - Blue Note - 46338
2) Louis Armstrong - The Hot Fives, Vol 1 - CBS - 44049
3) Count Basie - Essential, Vol 1 - CBS - 40608
4) Clifford Brown - Memorial Album - Blue Note - 81526
5) Ornette Coleman - At The Golden Circle, Vol 1 - Blue Note - 84224
6) John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse - 5660
7) Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue - CBS - 40579
8) Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain - CBS - 40578
50) Miles Davis - The Complete 1964 Concert - CBS - 48821
9) Eric Dolphy - At The Five Spot, Vol 1 - Prestige - VDJ1504
10) Duke Ellington - All Star Road Band - CBS - 39137
11) Duke Ellington - At Newport - CBS - 40587
12) Bill Evans - At The Village Vanguard - Riverside - FCD60017
13) Bill Evans - At The Montreux Jazz Festival - Verve - 827844
14) Gil Evans - Out Of The Cool - Impulse - 5653
15) Tommy Flanagan - Thelonica - Enja - 4052-14
16) Benny Goodman - Live At Carnegie Hall - CBS - 40244
17) Charlie Haden and Carla Bley - The Ballad Of The Fallen - ECM - 811546
18) Jim Hall - Concierto -CTI - ZK40807
19) Hawkins, Webster and Carter - 3 Great Swing Saxophones - Bluebird - 9683
20) Billie Holiday - Silver Collection -Verve - 823449
21) Dave Holland - The Razor's Edge - ECM - 833048
22) Ahmad Jamal - At The Pershing - Chess - CHD9108
23) Keith Jarrett - Still Live - ECM - 835008
24) Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert - ECM - 810067
25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074
26) Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Inner Mounting Flame - CBS - 31067
27) Charles Mingus - Mingus At Antibes - Atlantic - 90532
28) Hank Mobley - Workout - Blue Note - 84080
29) The Modern Jazz Quartet - The Complete Last Concert - Atlantic - 81976
30) Thelonious Monk - Genious Of Modern Music, Vol 1 - Blue Note - 81510
31) Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream - CBS - 40786
32) Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane - Monk and Coltrane - Jazzland - OJC039
33) Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar - Riverside - OJC036
34) David Murray - Ming - Black Saint - 1200452
35) Oliver Nelson - The Blues and The Abstract Truth - Impulse - 5659
36) James Newton - The African Flower - Blue Note - 46292
37) Charlie Parker - The Savoy Master Takes, Vol 1 - Savoy - ZDS8801
38) Joe Pass - Virtuoso - Pablo - 2310708
39) Art Pepper - Plus Eleven - MFSL -MFCD805
40) Art Pepper - Winter Moon - Galaxy - 6155140
41) Oscar Peterson - Nigerian Marketplace - Pablo - 2308231
42) Michel Petrucianni - Live At The Village Vanguard - Concord - K32Y6045
43) Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol 1 - Blue Note - 81503
44) Don Pullen - The Sixth Sense - Black Saint - BSR0088
45) Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus - Prestige - OJC291
46) Horace Silver - Blowin' The Blues Away - Blue Note - 46526
47) Art Tatum - The Best of Art Tatum - Pablo - 2405418
48) McCoy Tyner - New York Reunion - Chesky - JD51
49) Ben Webster - Stormy Weather - Black Lion - 760108

Ahmad Jamal's 'At The Pershing' was available on Vogue at one
time and apparently includes additional material.

The Duke Ellington 'All Star Road Band' was also available on
Doctor Jazz through EPM or Xanadu (I believe).

McCoy Tyner's 'Double Trios' on Denon was #48 on the original list

Marc Sabatella

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Feb 5, 1993, 1:13:51 PM2/5/93

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Gee, these lists are kind of fun.

Can I just snicker at one of Conrad's picks?

> 25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074

This guy writes some of the sappiest music I've ever heard in my life. I fell
in love with "You Must Believe In Spring" when I heard a Bill Evans version
(the one with Tony Bennett, actually; not the trio version, which I didn't hear
until later). Like so many tunes Bill recorded, however, when you go to try to
play it yourself, you find out just how hideous the tune was to begin with.
This tune in particular consists of a two bar phrase (a slightly dressed up
ii-V lick) repeated ad nauseum in just about every key imaginable.

I have to confess I'm not which album this is; I've heard two, one of which
was "Legrand Jazz" and one wasn't. One had Phil Woods and one didn't. Which
was this?

I wonder if this was just some attempt to include a European artist other than
Dave Holland, who doesn't really count since he plays mainly "American" music
with American musicians? Well, I guess Michel Petrucciani was on the list too;
again, not particularly representative of the "European" school.

--
Marc Sabatella
ma...@fc.sde.hp.com
--
All opinions expressed herein are my personal ones
and do not necessarily reflect those of HP or anyone else.

Glenn W. Lea

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Feb 5, 1993, 1:29:59 PM2/5/93

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In article <1kuaov...@hpfcbig.sde.hp.com> ma...@fc.sde.hp.com (Marc Sabatella) writes:
>Gee, these lists are kind of fun.
>
>Can I just snicker at one of Conrad's picks?
>
>> 25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074
>

>This guy writes some of the sappiest music I've ever heard in my life...

>I have to confess I'm not which album this is; I've heard two, one of which
>was "Legrand Jazz" and one wasn't. One had Phil Woods and one didn't. Which
>was this?

I think this was done with Miles, which raises its value a bit, though
not enough to rate anywhere in a top 50.

Glenn

william.j.hery

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Feb 5, 1993, 8:27:26 PM2/5/93

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ma...@fc.sde.hp.com (Marc Sabatella) writes:
>> 25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074
>

>This guy writes some of the sappiest music I've ever heard in my life...

>I have to confess I'm not which album this is; I've heard two, one of which
>was "Legrand Jazz" and one wasn't. One had Phil Woods and one didn't. Which
>was this?

Well, given the Philips recording number, its probably not the Columbia album
called LEGRAND JAZZ from 1958. That was an interesting album that is more
about Legrand's arranging of classic jazz compostions than about the (in
retrospect, at least) amazing collection of soloists available. There were
three different groups that played; I'll just mention some of the major
names in each:

Miles, Trane, Phil Woods, Herbie Mann, Bill Evans (winner of the Marc
Sabatella look alike contest), Paul Chanbers...playing Wild Man Blues,
Round Midnight, Jitterbug Waltz, and Django.

Ben Webster, Herbie Mann, Hank Jones, Major Holly, (both bass and tuba!),
Geroge Duvivier,...playing Nuages, Rosetta, Don't Get Around Much Any More,
Blue and Sentimental.

Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Joe Wilder, Jimmy Cleveland, Milt Hinton...playing
Stompin at the Savoy, Night in Tunesia, In a Mist.

An interesting album, I'd say, but not a great one.

Bill Hery
AT&T Bell Labs
201-386-2362
he...@att.COM

Jean-Etienne Doucet

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Feb 9, 1993, 5:06:35 AM2/9/93

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In article 21...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com, w...@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (william.j.hery) writes:
>ma...@fc.sde.hp.com (Marc Sabatella) writes:
>>> 25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074
>>
>>This guy writes some of the sappiest music I've ever heard in my life...
>>I have to confess I'm not which album this is; I've heard two, one of which
>>was "Legrand Jazz" and one wasn't. One had Phil Woods and one didn't. Which
>>was this?
>
>Well, given the Philips recording number, its probably not the Columbia album
>called LEGRAND JAZZ from 1958. That was an interesting album that is more

It's indeed the same record: at that time, Columbia records were
distributed in France either by Philips or by Fontana (which was
depending from Philips; I still have the 'Fontana' Milestones).
When Columbia records appeared in France as CBS records,
maybe Philips have kept the rights on this record.
Anyway I only know of 1 version of Legrand Jazz (which in French
can also be read as The Great Jazz)...

>about Legrand's arranging of classic jazz compostions than about the (in
>retrospect, at least) amazing collection of soloists available. There were
>three different groups that played; I'll just mention some of the major
>names in each:
>

[lineups deleted...]

>
>An interesting album, I'd say, but not a great one.

That's my opinion too: does it really deserve any rank in
a top 50 list ?
>
>Bill Hery

Gordon H. Fick

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Feb 14, 1993, 2:27:52 PM2/14/93

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In article <1kuaov...@hpfcbig.sde.hp.com> ma...@fc.sde.hp.com (Marc Sabatella) writes:

>Gee, these lists are kind of fun.
>
>Can I just snicker at one of Conrad's picks?
>
>> 25) Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz - Philips - 830074
>
>

>I have to confess I'm not [sure] which album this is; I've heard two, one of which

>was "Legrand Jazz" and one wasn't. One had Phil Woods and one didn't. Which
>was this?
>

Legrand Jazz (Philips 8300742) is from June 1958 and contains:
Wild Man Blues, 'Round Midnight, The Jitterbug Waltz, Django
with:
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Phil Woods, Bill Evans, Paul
Chambers, Kenny Dennis(dms), Herbie Mann, Betty Glamann(harp),
Barry Galbraith(gtr), Jerome Richardson(baritone), Eddie
Costa(vibes), Legrand(arr)

Nuages, Rosetta, Don't Get Around Anymore, Blue and Sentimental
with:
Ben Webster, Herbie Mann, Hank Jones, George Duvivier, Don Lamond(dms) + 4!
trombonists and tuba and Legrand

Stompin' At The Savoy, Night In Tunisia, In A Mist
with:
Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Ernie Royal, Joe Wilder, Phil Woods, Milt
Hinton, Teo Macero, Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Gene Quill,
Seldon Powell, James Buffington, Don Elliott, Osie Johnson, Nat
Pierce

imho, the 4 tracks with Miles, Coltrane, Evans et al are truly
outstanding and reward repeated listens. The other tracks are a
notch below.