Select a month

Back to The Archives

Mosaic Archive

Leo Wright, sax – Blues Shout – Atlantic SD 1358 (1960)/ Pure Pleasure – vinyl

Leo Wright, sax – Blues Shout – Atlantic SD 1358 (1960)/ Pure Pleasure – vinyl

by | Mar 16, 2017 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Leo Wright, sax – Blues Shout – Atlantic SD 1358 (1960)/ Pure Pleasure PPAN SD1358 (2017) stereo vinyl, 40:33 *****: Leo Wright’s auspicious debut is captured with a compelling vinyl re-mastering. (Leo Wright – alto saxophone, flute, arrangements; Harry Lookofsky – violin; Junior Nance – piano; Art Davis – doublebass; Charlie Persip – drums; Richard Williams – trumpet; Gigi Gryce – arrangements) Many jazz greats emerged from their days with Dizzy Gillespie. Charlie Parker, John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, James Moody, Quincy Jones  and Les Spann all participated in various combos with Gillespie. In 1959 a young Texan named Leo Wright took over for Spain. In the Army, Wright had developed an assortment of musical skills, playing jazz, big band and was part of the symphony. He became proficient on alto saxophone, clarinet and flute. While attending San Francisco State, he got to sit in with Dizzy. After several recordings as a sideman, he was signed to Atlantic Records as a frontman. Here, Wright would develop as an arranger, composer and instrumentalist. Wright’s brilliant Atlantic debut, Blues Shout has been re-mastered to 180-gram vinyl by Pure Pleasure Records. And this analog upgrade is worth it. Both sides […]

Gerry Mulligan – The Emarcy Sextet Recordings – Mosaic – 5 vinyls

Gerry Mulligan – The Emarcy Sextet Recordings – Mosaic – 5 vinyls

by | Mar 8, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Sixty years later, a dream front line still dazzles… Gerry Mulligan – The Emarcy Sextet Recordings – Mosaic Records MRLP 3008 – 5 vinyl mono box set – 1955-1956 ****1/2: (Gerry Mulligan – baritone saxophone, piano; Bob Brookmeyer – valve trombone, piano; Zoot Sims – tenor saxophone; Jon Eardley or Don Ferrara – trumpet; Peck Morrison or Bill Crow – acoustic bass; Dave Bailey – drums) As a fan of classic mainstream jazz, there are times that I wish I was born ten or fifteen years earlier so that I could have attended jazz night clubs to have heard my heroes when they were either in their prime or just beginning to achieve fame. In the right city (especially New York), this could have been a weekday occurrence. This thought comes to mind when reading the informative liner notes in the Mosaic booklet of the just issued five LP box set documenting the 1955-1956 Gerry Mulligan sextet. The notes mentioned that the Mulligan group received high praise from jazz critics, yet the public at that time didn’t flock to record stores to buy the Emarcy label albums. How could this be besides the fact that there was an embarrassment of […]