The Riverside Records Story [Box]

Performer: Various Artists
Artist: Bill Evans; Milt Jackson
Engineer: Dave Jones; Jack Higgins; Ray Fowler; Reice Hamel; Rudy Van Gelder; Sam Morse; Wally Heider; Bill Stoddard
Producer: Ed Michel; Larry Maxwell; Orrin Keepnews; Bill Grauer; Cannonball Adderley; Orrin Keepnews (Reissue)
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Recorded between 1952 and 1964. Personnel: Eddie Jefferson, Abbey Lincoln, Mark Murphy (vocals); Barry Galbraith, Wes Montgomery, Sam Herman (guitar); Kenny Burrell, Charlie Byrd (acoustic guitar); Margaret Rose, Betty Glamann (harp); Ron Carter , Sam Jones (cello); Jerome Richardson (flute, piccolo, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Oliver Nelson (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Pat Patrick (flute, saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); James Moody, Leo Wright, George Dorsey (flute, alto saxophone); Herbie Mann, Raymond Beckenstein (flute); Romeo Penque (clarinet, English horn); Walter Levinsky (clarinet); Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet, alto saxophone); Danny Banks (bass clarinet); Yusef Lateef (oboe); Phil Bodner (woodwinds); Bobby Capers (saxophone); Ernie Henry, Johnny Hodges, Cannonball Adderley (alto saxophone); Coleman Hawkins, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Eddie Williams , Frank Foster, Harold Land, Jimmy Heath, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Zoot Sims, Ben Webster, Benny Golson, Budd Johnson (tenor saxophone); Gerry Mulligan, Tate Houston, Pepper Adams, Sahib Shihab, Cecil Payne, Charles Davis , Arthur Clarke (baritone saxophone); Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn); Chet Baker , Don Ellis, Ernie Royal, Freddie Hubbard, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Idrees Sulieman, Joe Gordon, Joe Newman , Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Marty Sheller, Ray Nance, Art Farmer, Bernie Glow, Nick Travis, Blue Mitchell, Burt Collins, Bobby Bryant , Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Nat Adderley (cornet); Dick Berg, Julius Watkins, Willie Ruff (French horn); Curtis Fuller, Arnett Sparrow, J.J. Johnson , Jimmy Cleveland, Julian Priester, Matthew Gee, Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson, Tom McIntosh, Urbie Green, George Matthews , David Baker , Britt Woodman (trombone); Paul Faulise (bass trombone); Don Butterfield (tuba); Dick Hyman, Don Friedman, Elmo Hope, George Handy, George Russell, Hank Jones , Harold Mabern, Hugh Lawson, Joe Zawinul, Junior Mance, Kenny Drew, Randy Weston, Rodgers Grant, Thelonious Monk, Tommy Flanagan, Barry Harris , Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans , Billy Strayhorn, Bobby Timmons, Cedar Walton (piano); Eddie Costa (celesta, xylophone); Milt Harris (organ); Johnny Lytle, Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Connie Kay, Frank Hernandez, Bill Reichenbach , Peppy Hinnant, Jimmy Cobb , Jo Jones , Joe Hunt , Kenny Clarke, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Lex Humphries, Louis Hayes, Max Roach, Osie Johnson, Paul Motian, Pete La Roca, Philly Joe Jones, Sam Woodyard, Art Blakey, Shadow Wilson, Ben Riley, Herb Lovelle, Charlie Persip (drums); Mongo Santamar�a, Ray Barretto (congas); Willie Rodriguez (percussion). Liner Note Author: Orrin Keepnews. Recording information: Bell Sound Studios, NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Birdland, NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Fugazi Hall, San Francisco, CA (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Jazz Workshop, San Francisco, CA (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Plaza Sound Studios, N.Y.C., NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Reeves Studios, N.Y.C., NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Tsubo's, Berkeley, CA (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Van Gelder Studios, Hackensack, NJ (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); Village Vanguard, NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963); WOR Recording Studios, NY (01/25/1955-09/20/1963). Editor: Joe Tarantino. Photographers: Esmond Edwards; Jerry Stoll; Chuck Stewart; Jim Marshall ; Steve Shapiro. Unknown Contributor Roles: Bobby Capers; Michael Olatunji. Arrangers: Ernie Wilkins; George Handy; George Russell; Jimmy Heath; Jimmy Jones ; Johnny Griffin; Kenny Dorham; Melba Liston; Mercer Ellington; Norman Simmons; Tadd Dameron; Benny Golson; Budd Johnson. The Riverside Records Story is essentially Orrin Keepnews' baby -- and why not, for the grizzled jazz producer/journalist co-founded the label, ran it from day one in 1952 until it suddenly went bankrupt in 1964, and produced almost all of the original sessions. Riverside's current custodians at Fantasy had Keepnews select and sequence four CDs' worth of the label's output, which over the span of less than nine years made a big splash in the cloistered world of hard bop. Keepnews also writes a voluminous set of notes that settles old scores, crows about What Went Right, offers often self-deprecating analyses of What Went Wrong, and generally keeps the reader riveted to the pages. The box is loosely organized around four topics instead of the usual chronological rundown; indeed, the earliest track, Randy Weston's "Zulu," comes last. And Keepnews devotes lots of time to four major figures whose extensive recordings for Riverside form the cornerstones of their reputations: Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, and Wes Montgomery. There are some imaginative sequences that give the collection extra star power -- like Monk performing his standards with Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan, and Clark Terry, respectively -- and there is a welcome touch of the bizarre, too, like Philly Joe Jones' hammy "Blues for Dracula." Moreover, gratefully defying some of his holier-than-thou pronouncements elsewhere, Keepnews does not shy away from his own ventures into the commercial sphere, including Montgomery with strings on "Tune Up," Charlie Byrd likewise on "Meditation," Mongo Santamaria's Top Ten hit "Watermelon Man," and some soul-jazz singles. The first two discs by and large are consistently strong, while some of the lesser tracks on the remaining discs may be there more to represent the artist than to thrill the listener. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Entertainment Weekly (12/12/97, p.84) - "Between 1952 and 1964, Riverside was one of the small-but-tough indie lables helping to guide jazz's evolution. The story is told in fragmented form on this four-CD set...jazz history in the making." - Rating: B Down Beat (2/98, p.60) - 4 stars (out of 5) - "In this retrospective boxed set, [Orrin] Keepnews attempts to capture, on four jam-packed discs, the essence of his work..."

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25