AVID Jazz is proud to introduce an exciting new addition to our Four Classic Album series, Four Classic Jazz Instrumentalists. We continue with Four Classic Jazz Drummers, a re-mastered 2CD set complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details.
“Louis Hayes: Louis Hayes”; “Philly Joe Jones: Showcase”; “Art Taylor: A.T.’s Delight” and “Elvin Jones: Elvin”
For our latest release in this new series we have chosen a diverse range of jazz drummers who released their debut or follow up albums from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. Louis Hayes, is best known as a fiery sidekick than a frontman with his own band. The list of great names Louis has played with is truly phenomenal and includes Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Oscar Peterson, Dexter Gordon, Woody Shaw, Junior Cook, John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Hank Mobley and Tommy Flanagan. Our selection, finds him in his 1960 debut on his only outing as leader until 1974. Here, Hayes is joined by the entire Cannonball Adderley quintet minus the great man himself, but more than ably replaced by Yusef Lateef. Philly Joe Jones was another outstanding drummer who made relatively few solo albums and was far better known as the “go to“ drummer for the greatest names in jazz history. Both Miles Davis and Bill Evans declared he was their favourite drummer. In fact Jones was an integral part of the great Miles Davis Quintet which included John Coltrane, Red Garland and Paul Chambers. Art Taylor made even less solo albums than our other featured guys, perhaps great drummers knew where they were best placed to control things? The list of jazz greats Taylor has accompanied reads as impressively as does Philly Joe Jones, beginning with his first band as a teenager with, wait for it, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean and Kenny Drew. If you then add, Coleman Hawkins, Buddy DeFranco, Art Farmer, Bud Powell, Donald Byrd, Thelonious Monk and Kenny Dorham, you have a very impressive CV! Elvin Jones came from a very musical family, Hank and Thad, his equally famous and gifted brothers can both be heard on our selection “Elvin” alongside Frank Foster, Frank Wess and Art Davis. Again, as a hugely gifted drummer, Elvin Jones has an impressive list of names that he has worked with including Billy Mitchell, Charles Mingus, Teddy Charles, Bud Powell, Miles Davis and of course, the mighty John Coltrane with whom he is mostly associated, having played in his band from 1960-1966, a period that featured some of Coltrane’s finest work including the sublime “A Love Supreme”.
