Quincy Jones (View Discography)

Release Info

The cover of this this Real Gone Jazz repackaging of Quincy Jones' work circa 1956-1960 is a curious one. While the box set shows three of the the four album's original covers -- This Is How I Feel About Jazz (1956), Go West, Man! (1957) and I Dig Dancers (1960) -- it also depicts the cover of Birth of a Band, Vol. 2, when the album actually included is the original from 1958. Aside from this, these four recordings, from the very beginning of Jones' career as a bandleader, staff writer, and arranger for Mercury, are all high in quality and feature some of the greatest names in jazz. Among them: Pepper Adams, Conte and Pete Candoli, Benny Carter, Paul Chambers, Buddy Collette, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Herb Geller, Benny Golson, Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, Hank Jones, Mel Lewis, Melba Liston, Herbie Mann, Shelly Manne, Charlie Mariano, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Art Pepper, Jack Sheldon, Sahib Shihab, Zoot Sims, Billy Taylor, Clark Terry, Lucky Thompson, Leroy Vinnegar, Frank Wess, and Phil Woods. Jones composed a few tunes here, but other writers like Golson, Bobby Timmons, Cannonball Adderley, Johnny Mandel, and Mariano contributed to the overall excellence of these recordings (the tune "A Sleepin' Bee" was co-written by Harold Arlen with Truman Capote!). From readings of standards like "Tuxedo Junction" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay," to modern jazz tunes like "Moanin'" and "I Remember Clifford," these performances are tight, focused and swing like mad. Given the price, the 35 tracks included on these two discs are a bargain. ~ Thom Jurek

Tracks

3. Evening in Paris
4. Sermonette
9. Bright Moon
10. No Bones at All
11. The Oom Is Blues
12. Be My Guest
14. London Derriere

1. The Birth of a Band
3. I Remember Clifford
4. Along Came Betty
5. Tickle Toe
6. Happy Faces
7. Whisper Not
8. The Gypsy
9. A Change of Pace
10. Tuxedo Junction
11. Pleasingly Plump
13. Moonglow
14. Tone Poem
15. You Turned the Tables on Me
16. Chinese Checkers
17. Our Love Is Here to Stay
18. The Midnight Sun Will Never Set
19. Trouble on My Mind
20. A Sunday Kind of Love