Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney - 2 Guitars (1957)

  Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney - 2 Guitars (1957)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-covers | 165MB

OJC OJCCD 216-2

Allmusic:
For this 1957 studio session (which has been reissued on CD through the Original Jazz Classics imprint), the two distinctive but complementary guitarists Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Raney are teamed together in a septet with trumpeter Donald Byrd, altoist Jackie McLean, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Taylor. The full group gets to stretch out on one original each by Watkins and McLean ("Little Melonae") and three from Waldron, while the two standards ("Close Your Eyes" and "Out of Nowhere") are individual features for Burrell and Raney. This is a well-rounded set that may not contain any real surprises, but will be enjoyed by collectors of hard bop.

Tracks
1. "Blue Duke" - 8:50
2. "Dead Heat" - 4:07
3. "Pivot" - 5:13
4. "Close Your Eyes" (Bernice Petkere) - 4:50
5. "Little Melonae" (Jackie McLean) - 9:29
6. "This Way" (Doug Watkins) - 12:25
7. "Out of Nowhere" (Johnny Green, Edward Heyman) - 4:31

Personnel
* Kenny Burrell (tracks 1-6), Jimmy Raney (tracks 1-3 & 5-7) - guitar
* Donald Byrd - trumpet (tracks 1-3, 5 & 6)
* Jackie McLean - alto saxophone (tracks 1-3, 5 & 6)
* Mal Waldron - piano
* Doug Watkins - bass
* Art Taylor - drums

 sample & buy: Two Guitars 

Jimmy Raney - Featuring Bob Brookmeyer (1956) (eac-log-cover)

Jimmy Raney - Featuring Bob Brookmeyer (1956)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 120MB

Verve/Decca originals

Allmusic:
Though Jimmy Raney recorded under his own name as early as 1953, this 1956 set is regarded as his arrival as a leader. Raney is as fine an arranger as he is a guitarist. These eight tracks with Bob Brookmeyer on trombone (another fine arranger in a soloist's role) shine with the ease and fluidity of the best of the cool sessions recorded at the dawn of hard bop. One of the finest examples of the interplay between Raney and Brookmeyer occurs at the beginning of the album's second track, "How Long Has This Been Going On?," where the pair engage in a brief contrapuntal dialogue before Brookmeyer solos on the melody and Raney gently fills the space behind him by whispering his chords and fills through the trombonist's phrasing, before taking his own solo and slipping an inverted harmonic pattern on the tune's lyric line. The pair re-engage about halfway through before Dick Katz solos on piano with a bluesy series of runs in the upper register. Raney's own tunes, such as "The Flag Is Up," are strident and swinging without losing the breezy cool feel . Raney's solo is a mix of bop phrasing and heated arpeggios that glide effortlessly into Katz's comping. Brookmeyer's "Get Off That Roof" is another swinging mini-opus that offers a new view of the trombonist as soloist. Hank Jones plays piano here and is stellar at creating a solid backdrop for both front-line players. This is as fine a set from the end of the cool jazz period as one is likely to hear.

Tracks
-1. "Isn't It Romantic?" 4:03
-2. "How Long Has This Been Going On?" 4:26
-3. "No Male for Me"
-4. "The Flag Is Up" 4:07
-5. "Get Off That Roof" 4:04
-6. "Jim's Tune" 4:00
-7. "Nobody Else But Me" 4:53
-8. "Too Late Now" 4:13

Personnel
*Jimmy Raney (guitar)
*Teddy Kotick (bass guitar)
*Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone)
*Dick Katz, Hank Jones (piano)
*Osie Johnson (drums)

sample & buy: Jimmy Raney Featuring Bob Brookmeyer