Jackie McLean – Demon’s Dance – Blue Note (Tone Poet) 180g Vinyl
Jackie McLean’s music weaved in and out of the avant-garde throughout the 1960s with the brilliant 1963 inside-out dates One Step Beyond and Destination… Out! eventually leading to full-throated free jazz of the 1967 dates New and Old Gospel (featuring Ornette Coleman on trumpet) and ‘Bout Soul. Demon’s Dance, which was recorded in December 1967, found the alto saxophonist maintaining a decidedly post-bop edge with a spirited quintet comprised of trumpeter Woody Shaw, pianist LaMont Johnson, bassist Scott Holt, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The six-song set presented a pair of tunes each by McLean, Shaw, and composer Cal Massey with highlights including McLean’s churning title track, Shaw’s tuneful bossa “Sweet Love of Mine,” and Massey’s brightly swinging “Message from Trane” in tribute to the great John Coltrane who had passed away early that year. But the album’s most striking feature may be the unforgettable cover artwork by Mati Klarwein whose work also graced the cover of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.
Everclear – So Much For The Afterglow – Intervention Records 180g Vinyl
Everclear – Sparkle and Fade – Intervention Records 180g Vinyl
Diana Krall – When I Look Into Your Eyes (Acoustic Sounds) 180g 2LP Gatefold Sleeve
Krall’s fifth studio album made a mark as the first jazz album in 25 years to garner a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Tommy LiPuma elevates Krall’s sound along the lines of Nat King Cole with an orchestral stamp on eight out of 12 tracks.
It doesn’t take strings, though, to showcase Diana Krall as a hopeless romantic. She does that well enough on her own.
Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.