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Gil Evans Orchestra - Great Jazz Standards - Pure Pleasure LP

Gil Evans Orchestra - Great Jazz Standards - Pure Pleasure LP

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180g LP Remastered by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!

Great Jazz Standards was recorded when Evans was red-hot from two successes with Miles Davis, Miles Ahead and Porgy And Bess.

Evans' signature brass choir is in place — creatively voiced, spaciously arranged, a supple, multi-coloured, sonically surprising counterpoint to a succession of superb soloists. The added bonus, for Evans' projects, is the foregrounding of saxophone and clarinet soloists Steve Lacy and Budd Johnson. Lacy and the original swing-to-bop missing link, Johnson, are the ones who will make the hair on your neck curl.

Lacy's solos on Monk's "Straight No Chaser" and John Lewis' "Django" must be some of the finest pre-free improvisations he recorded, already heading from quirky to out-there. Johnson's clarinet solo on Don Redman's spooky, swing-meets-whole tone classic, "Chant Of The Weed," and slow-burning, stirring tenor solo on Evans' "La Nevada" are some of the finest the all-but-forgotten genius ever recorded. Trumpeter Johnny Coles, has the inevitable misfortune of being compared to Miles Davis and being found to be... different. Sunny, open and extroverted, he may not be a stylist of Davis' proportions, but he's an enjoyable alternative foil for Evans' arrangements.

A magnificent but neglected album, and still coming up fresh as daisies.

Features:
• Limited Edition 180g Vinyl
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
• Audiophile Remastering
• Re-mastering by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios

Musicians:
Dick Carter, bass (A1, A2, B1)
Tommy Potter, bass (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Dennis Charles, drums (A1, A2, B1)
Elvin Jones drums (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Earl Chapin, French horn (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Bob Northern, French horn (A1, A2, B1)
Chuck Wayne, guitar (A1, A2, B1)
Ray Crawford, guitar (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Steve Lacy, soprano saxophone
Budd Johnson, tenor saxophone, clarinet (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Bill Elton, trombone (A1, A2, B1)
Curtis Fuller, trombone (A1, A2, B1)
Dick Lieb, trombone (A1, A2, B1)
Jimmy Cleveland, trombone (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Rod Levitt, trombone (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Allen Smith, trumpet (A1, A2, B1)
Danny Stiles, trumpet (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Johnny Coles, trumpet
Louis Mucci, trumpet
Bill Barber, tuba
Al Block, woodwind (A1, A2, B1)
Ed Caine, woodwind (A3, A4, B2, B3)
Gil Evans, piano, conductor

Selections:
Side A

1. Davenport Blues
2. Straight No Chaser
3. Ballad of the Sad Young Men
4. Joy Spring
Side B
1. Django
2. Chant of the Weed
3. La Nevada (Theme)

Recorded February 5, 1959
UPC: 5060149621394 View full details