Jazz Monterey: 1958-1980

Performer: Various Artists
Producer: Herb Wong (Compilation)
Distributor: Select-O-Hits

Notes: Recorded live at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey, California between 1958 and 1980. Includes liner notes by Jimmy Lyons and Dr. Herb Wong. Prior to its reissue by Quicksilver, this two-CD anthology was briefly available as a two-LP set from the long defunct Palo Alto label in the early '80s. The tracks cover a wide range of artists in concert at the Monterey Jazz Festival between 1958 and 1980, though the recording quality varies widely. Highlights include Cannonball Adderley's funky "The Sticks," harmonica player Toots Thieleman's swinging take of "On Green Dolphin Street" (with a supporting cast that includes both John Lewis and Mundell Lowe), Clark Terry's rewarding but far too brief "God Bless the Child," and a lush version by Benny Golson of his tribute to Clifford Brown, "I Remember Clifford." The low points include Jon Hendricks' tiresome rendition of "All of You" and an overly long feature for Buddy Rich & His Orchestra with special guest Dizzy Gillespie, both of which should have been deleted in favor of more deserving performances that must be languishing in tape vaults. It is good to have this rare material available once again, but one wonders why complete sets by many of the individual artists featured have not been issued in their entirety -- no doubt due to the bickering among the individual labels to which the artists were contracted at the time of the various recordings. ~ Ken Dryden

JazzTimes (4/2002, p.101) - "...Quite an overview....a worthwhile document of a significant jazz festival..."

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