186. Duke Ellington / Sophisticated Lady (1996)

Sophisticated Lady is another cull from the legendary RCA sessions. It's a good one. Selections from the period also appear on the three-disc set, Never No Lament. But that, or Bluebird's Blanton-Webster box that spawned them all, are going to make one hell of a dent in your bankroll. On the other hand, you can buy Sophisticated Lady over at Amazon for the princely sum of one penny. I know, you have enough Ellington at home and will forgo this stage in the endless saga of repackaged jazz music. Still, a penny? I'll wait here while you go and get one. Back already? When it arrives in the mail, you'll appreciate the diversity of material and engaging sequence. Duke's best pieces are present, and there is a fair mixture of instrumental and vocal music. With Blanton at the wheel, it swings like a hammock. There is magic from start to finish. Like Kay Davis' electrifying vocal that makes "Mood Indigo," followed by Webster's whispering tenor. Tricky Sam Nanton's trombone should get you "In a Sentimental Mood," but beware the three sirens telling you "It Don't Mean a Thing if it ain't Got that Swing" (Joya Sherrill, Kay Davis, Marie Ellingon). The affair heats up to a frenzy courtesy of Jimmy B. Then Ray Nance sings "Just Squeeze Me," Al Hibbler chimes in on "Solitude"... Nothing to shake a stick at here, this is real music. This is what it all means. This is "it."

139. Jimmie Lunceford / Strictly Lunceford (2007)

Today, Lunceford is lesser known than his peers. This four-disc set from Proper provides a good introduction to Lunceford's work across numerous record labels. Audio and notes in the accompanying 28-page booklet are commendable. Considering how good this band was, any neglect by record companies or listeners seems a real shame: Lunceford's band replaced Cab's at the Cotton Club, an appointment that was no mean feat. Then and now, they have a lot to offer. The famously diverse repertoire uses vocals, novelty songs, and barn burning dance music on par with other great orchestras. Lunceford's driving two-beat pulse appears in tracks like "Lunceford Special." I find it instructive to compare arrangements by Sy Oliver to those done by his successor, Billy Moore, as well as the other arrangers in the group. All crackle with originality. I love Oliver's muted brass ensemble in "Chillun, Get Up!" but Wille Smith's radical take on "Mood Indigo," replete with staccato phrases and soaring three-octave accompaniment on reeds and brass, isn't to be tangled with, either. On every track, the soloists are poignantly melodic and very sweet, like Eddie Tompkins on trumpet or the aforementioned Willie Smith on alto. The eagle-eyed (or eared?) listener will also spot the likes of Snooky Young and Gerald Wilson. Don't overlook this set!

112. Paul Desmond / Take Ten (1963)

If you can't get enough of "Take Five," then Take Ten is the album for you. It's one of several excellent slabs made during Desmond's many quartet sessions for RCA Victor. The band is Jim Hall on guitar, a moonlighting Connie Kay on drums and Gene Cherico on bass. Fellow Brubeckian Eugene Wright subs for Cherico on "Take Ten," adding an extra dimension of conceptual continuity to this 10/8 reworking of its famous counterpart. It starts with a familiar vamp that is reminiscent of a studio orchestra trying to avoid paying royalties for the genuine article. But then Desmond starts in on a deep and bluesy riff, finding new territory inside of an old melody. He blows these long and contemplative notes that explore the tonal color of the mode and remind me, in a very limited sense, of later work by Jackie McLean or John Gilmore. It's a treat, especially when he decides to hold on for just a bit longer and sustains the phrase with some vibrato. Proceedings quickly change the course toward Desmond's passion for bossa nova. In spite of an American burnout on the form, Desmond was one of its stalwart practitioners, and originals like "El Prince," "Embarcadero," or "Samba de Orfeu" are fine examples. Kay and Hall give the sessions that extra something it needs. Kay has a nice technique that intertwines his ever present cymbals with a driving attention to the skins. This band gives him elbow room that was impossible in the immaculately executed pieces by MJQ. A normally taciturn Hall takes some interesting breaks mixing chords with short flurries of single notes and a lot of fun riffing, and he is one of my favorite musicians. Together they make a melodically focused disc with good performances and an excited but cool, relaxed vibe that I wholeheartedly recommend. It ends as sweetly as it began, with an uptempo "Out of Nowhere" featuring George Duvivier on bass. The section at the end where Desmond has the floor to himself with punctuation marks by Kay is just magic.