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Urban75 Album of the Year 1957

belboid said:
7 West Side Story (OST)

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This is the one I need to put right: I have the film soundtrack but not the broadway one. Not even sure I know it.

I did read that Bernstein liked one but not the other and Sondheim was the opposite way round. It'd be interesting to see which side I'm on.
 
Knotted said:
Hmm must listen to the Art Blakey albums.
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I reckon theyre up your street. Drum Suite (first half) has much more of a cuban thing going on. Theres a tune called Cubano Chant on that which has been covered a few times...ive heard it sampled in a DnB tune too, which is kind of fitting.
Orgy is maybe more African/full on drum attack, though theres little calypso and cuban bits in there too. Its a lot of drums to take in so splitting it into two sessions makes sense
 
i watched West Side Story over xmas....its hardcore...gang revenge rape, knifings, racism...set it in a modern context and people would be shocked
 
The numbering is fairly random and it's not very scientifically put together, but here's mine fwiw

1. Mingus - The Clown
2. Thelonius Monk - Monks Music
3. Miles Davis - 'round Midnight
4. Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners
5. Count Basie - Atomic Mr Basie
6. Mal Waldron - Mal/2
7. West Side Story
8. Red Garland - Groovy
9. Ella & Louis - Porgy & Bess
10. Moondog - The Story of Moondog
 
Knotted said:
I honestly couldn't find any in album form. If it was 58 or 59 it would be another story. Spoke too soon.
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João Gilberto's first bossa 78s were '58 as was the Elizete Cardoso LP of Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes songs. Things gathered speed the following year but IMO the critical year was 1960.
 
ska invita said:
5. Indeed! - Lee Morgan
...and after Blue Train more Lee Morgan. Do like Lee Morgan...always serious stuff. Only 18 years old on this and Blue Train. B-side runs out of steam a bit, but A side is on it. (ive only heard it on CD)
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Like Lee Morgan a lot and he was seriously in demand in 57. Five albums under his name as well as appearances on albums by Clifford Jordan, Johnny Griffin, Gillespie, Coltrane and Blakey. Too much jazz choice generally but that's crazy. His 'City Lights' was one of my near misses but he's on the Dizzy Gillespie at Newport album.

killer b said:
6. Mal Waldron - Mal/2
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Nearly picked this and he was on a load of others I considered. Went with the Prestige Jazz Quartet ultimately because I like Teddy Charles a lot and for me it looks forward to the stuff he did with Dolphy
 
Lurdan said:
Like Lee Morgan a lot
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Me too.

I Called Him Morgan is on Netflix at the moment; it's excellent, a really remarkable documentary about the life and tragic death of Lee Morgan.

As you'll know, he was gunned down at the age of 33 on a snowy winter’s night in a jazz club by his wife, Helen.

The film starts years later with Larry Reni Thomas, the legendary jazz radio presenter, who is at this time giving adult education classes in a North Carolina community centre. An elderly student starts his class and he realises that she’s Helen Morgan.

It’s a story about great music and talent, but it’s also a story about human tragedy and finally compassion.

Everyone should watch it. Netflix. "I Called Him Morgan".
 
There was a series of 1957 releases, recorded by Norman Granz's Jazz At The Philharmonic and released on Verve Records

Oscar Peterson (there are also three other Oscar Peterson 1957 album releases)
Ella Fitzgerald
Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson
 
danny la rouge said:
Me too.

I Called Him Morgan is on Netflix at the moment; it's excellent, a really remarkable documentary about the life and tragic death of Lee Morgan.

As you'll know, he was gunned down at the age of 33 on a snowy winter’s night in a jazz club by his wife, Helen.

The film starts years later with Larry Reni Thomas, the legendary jazz radio presenter, who is at this time giving adult education classes in a North Carolina community centre. An elderly student starts his class and he realises that she’s Helen Morgan.

It’s a story about great music and talent, but it’s also a story about human tragedy and finally compassion.

Everyone should watch it. Netflix. "I Called Him Morgan".
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Cheers for the heads up. I'll look out for it.

He had a longer career than some of the others but he is part of that line of seemingly doomed trumpeters - Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Booker Little and for long spells of absence Howard McGhee.
 
danny la rouge said:
Me too.

I Called Him Morgan is on Netflix at the moment; it's excellent, a really remarkable documentary about the life and tragic death of Lee Morgan.

As you'll know, he was gunned down at the age of 33 on a snowy winter’s night in a jazz club by his wife, Helen.

The film starts years later with Larry Reni Thomas, the legendary jazz radio presenter, who is at this time giving adult education classes in a North Carolina community centre. An elderly student starts his class and he realises that she’s Helen Morgan.

It’s a story about great music and talent, but it’s also a story about human tragedy and finally compassion.

Everyone should watch it. Netflix. "I Called Him Morgan".
Click to expand...
That looks great... seems you have to have a monthly sub for netflix, but its here on a one off £3 payment too
VUDU - Watch Movies bollocks USA only
Search For The New Land is the one though...one of my most played albums, never gets tired, even the long title track.
 
Knotted said:
Looking at albums is really going to skew the results towards modern jazz. Lots going on in rock and roll, trad jazz, blues, bossa nova, doo wop and classical electronica/musique concrète. But not much finding the album format as the way to record these forms. Just as with 1977 with punk and disco there's a lot stuff better suited to singles than to albums. There's a lot that I expected to find that just doesn't exist and I ended up expunging all rock and roll from my list because those albums are just collections of (great) singles with a bit of filler. Boppers were really thinking in terms of albums at this time but I'm not sure if anybody else was. But we'll see what urban comes up with.
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Agree about punk but (one of the) striking things about Urban NOT HAVING A SINGLE DISCO ALBUM IN ITS TOP 25 FOR 1977 was that that was the year that disco embraced the album format with a load of concept albums. Some admittedly a little cheesy (albeit often in a good way) but some very interesting stuff as well.

In 1957 jazz labels had embraced the LP big time, but not so many of the players had the sort of sympathetic relationship with a producer Miles Davis did. Even at Blue Note the decisions about how the albums were finally put together and packaged were taken by the label. (Jazz embrace of the LP has also had the perverse consequence that the jazz single, and the fact that there were jazz hits and lots of jukebox play, has been substantially erased from the record. It's remarkable how few of the single edits have been reissued. Particularly unfortunate for some of the soul jazz hits in the 60s - there are only so many seven minute Stanley Turrentine or Lou Donaldson versions one can reasonably be expected to sit through IMO).

Other people were thinking about the album as a total package in 57. Lot's of 'themed' vocal, orchestral easy listening and 'exotica' albums. The many 'American songbook' albums following the success of the Ella Fitzgerald series. And there were the albums Frank Sinatra was making, particularly the series of increasingly melancholy ballad albums, like 1957s 'Where Are You', which he made with orchestrations by Gordon Jenkins. (Who also did orchestrations for Nat King Coles 'Love Is The Thing' and Judy Garlands 'Alone' that year).

Jenkins was an interesting guy. Going back to the 40s he'd made a number of albums, starting with Manhatten Tower which combined music, narration, songs and sound effects to produce a kind of suite. Very much drawing on the more experimental work being done in radio theatre and documentary. (Norman Corwin, Earl Robinson and Millard Lampell's 'The Lonesome Train' with Burl Ives and Pete Seeger is another early example which began life as a radio broadcast). The format was imitated by others - Jobims 'Sinfonia do Rio de Janiero' and 'Brasilia, Sinfonia da Alvorado' are interesting Brazilian examples. Many are a bit on the sentimental side it has to be said.
 
Big thanks to belboid for running this.

And a firm '50s handshake to Lurdan for his interesting posts and adjudication services.

I've learnt loads about the development of the album format and listened to loads of great albums that I wouldn't have otherwise. I hadn't heard any of these a week ago:

1 Little Richard ‎– Here's Little Richard

2 Carl Perkins ‎– Dance Album Of Carl Perkins

3 Abbe Lane With Tito Puente And His Orchestra ‎– Be Mine Tonight

4 Johnny Cash ‎– With His Hot And Blue Guitar

5 The Cadillacs ‎– The Fabulous Cadillacs

6 Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps ‎– Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps

7 The Crickets ‎– The "Chirping" Crickets

8 The Coasters ‎– The Coasters

9 Louis Prima, Keely Smith With Sam Butera And The Witnesses ‎– The Wildest Show At Tahoe

10 Perez Prado And His Orchestra ‎– Latin Satin

Shame the 2 doo wop albums were compilations. Doo wop has been my big discovery from this poll. I was aware of it of course, but it had never occurred to me to delve into it. Loads more to discover I'm sure.

I've got the singles by Little Richard, Carl Perkins & Johnny Cash on compilations, but thought the rock'n'roll/rockabilly albums I voted for held up quite well. I'd never heard any Gene Vincent before - that album is great; proper raw rock'n'roll. Eddie Cochran's album from '57 is terrible.

Mambo & cha cha is something I've never really listened to before. I proper love the Abbe Lane & Tito Puente album - I've downloaded it and listened to it a few times since, although I'm not 100% it wasn't a '58 album mislabelled on discogs.

I've been sold on Louis Prima since I saw a doc about him on BBC4 a few years ago. Again I'm not 100% this live album wasn't released early '58, but fuck it - it's great.

And I've confirmed I'm still not into late 50s jazz.

Well done everyone :thumbs:
 
ska invita said:
Oi wheres all the bossa?! I was hoping for a list.
maybe nogojones ? Did you do one nogo?
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No. I didn't get it together for 77 or 57. The deadlines were too tight for me as the last few weekends were a bit on the wild side. I got no bossa from 57, Jackson do Pandeiro - Forró do Jackson was 58 I think.

for 57, I'm down with Monk, Milt Jackson - you can't beat a bit of vibes, Charlie Mingus, plus I've got a big soft spot for Julie London. Up near the top for me that hasn't been mentioned is The Paul Chambers Quintet.

77 would have been better for Brazilian ...

Banda Black Rio - Maria Fumaca
Joyce - Passarinho Urbano
Oriandivo - Oriandivo 77
Bebeto - Esperancas Mil
Os Tincoas - Os Tincoas
Airto - I'm Fine, How Are You?
Lalo Schifrin -Towering Toccata

edit - I forgot Azymuth- Aguia Noa Come Mosca




 
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danny la rouge said:
Everyone should watch it. Netflix. "I Called Him Morgan".
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Just watched...Netflix are doing a first month for free thing, so felt like i had no excuse!
What a story...very sad, though i found their relationship touching. Great documentary: really brought the time place and people to life with little resources. Thanks for the tip...Id never have guessed such a life of him
 
ska invita said:
Just watched...Netflix are doing a first month for free thing, so felt like i had no excuse!
What a story...very sad, though i found their relationship touching. Great documentary: really brought the time place and people to life with little resources. Thanks for the tip...Id never have guessed such a life of him
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I saw it at the cinema fairly recently, I had vaguely heard of him before but didn't know anything about him, very interesting film but yes, very sad.
Maybe if there hadn't been such bad weather and they got him to the hospital quicker he could have been saved.
 
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