Sadik Hakim Trio - Witches, Goblins, etc.

barabara sounds sez:

It's a fantastic name for an album, strong cover art too. And if the music is slightly underwhelming — conventional is the word used by allmusic — there's still some lovely piano trio work to be found here. 

Sadik Hakim is certainly no household name, leastways, not in the barabara bailiwick, and this SteepleChase side is the only album of his I've ever come across. So I've dropped a bit of background info at the bottom. Here's a potted version: 

Hakim (birth name Argonne Thornton) was the legendary pianist who played with Charlie Parker (the 1954 KoKo session), Ben Webster, Dexter Gordon (Dexter Rides Again) and Lester Young (I'm Confessin'). In 1982, he played "'Round Midnight" at Thelonius Monk's funeral, a year before his own death.

allmusic.com sez:

Argonne Thornton (who in the late '40s changed his name to Sadik Hakim) had a particularly unusual boppish style in the '40s, playing dissonant lines, using repetition to build suspense, and certainly standing out from the many Bud Powell impressionists. Later in his career his playing became more conventional. Hakim originally studied music with his grandfather and started performing at local gigs in Minnesota. After a period in Chicago, he was heard by Ben Webster, who hired him to play with his group in New York (1944-1945). Hakim recorded with Webster and Dexter Gordon, was on part of Charlie Parker's famous "Ko Ko" session, and gigged regularly with Lester Young during 1946-1948, appearing on many recordings with Pres. After playing with Slam Stewart in 1949, in the 1950s Hakim worked fairly regularly with James Moody (1951-1954) and Buddy Tate's Orchestra (1956-1960) but never became too well known himself. Later in life he lived for a period in Montreal (the second half of the 1960s), performed in Europe often, and toured Japan (1979-1980). Other than sharing an album for the Charlie Parker label with fellow pianist Duke Jordan in 1962, Hakim did not record as a leader until 1973; during the next seven years he would lead dates for CBC, Japanese Progressive, SteepleChase, and finally in 1980 for Storyville.

musicians:

Sadik Hakim piano; Errol Walters bass; Al Foster drums

tracks:

1. Moon In Aquarius; 2. Witches, Goblins, etc; 3. Our Bossa Nova; 4. No More Sue; 5. Portrait Of Cousin Mickey; 6. Booger's Dilemma; 7. Peace Of Mind; 8. Say What You Mean; 9. Peace Of Mind; 10 Booger's Dilemma

And there's some interesting autobiographical stuff here at Tony Flood's House of Hard Bop — plus Tony's own recollections of meeting Hakim.

Kenny Drew Trio - If You Could See Me Now + Dark Beauty

barabara sounds sez:

As far as most of mainstream America was concerned, Kenny Drew ceased to exist the moment he left the country in 1961. Having played with Trane (Blue Train) and all the young lions of Bluenote (check out the fine fine Undercurrent, his first album as leader), it was as if he'd fallen off the map. That was America's loss — and Denmark's gain. He became one of the pillars of the Copenhagen jazz scene, and a mainstay of the SteepleChase label.

As a trio with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Albert Heath, Drew made these two 1974 albums which were issued separately but taken from the same two-day session. These limited edition JP remasters include extra outtakes, bringing together all the material from those sessions. Which is better? There's very little between them, but I do tend to listen to If You Could See Me Now, mainly for the first two cuts, the title track and the excellent In Your Own Sweet Way.

dusty sez:

nothing (the only mention is the above mentioned Undercurrent)

amazon (just one reviewer) sez:

This trio was the "house band" for the Montmartre Jazzhus in Copenhagen during the late 60's and early 70's. In that setting they accompanied and recorded with touring American expatriates like Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin. Here, the three of them get to stretch out in the studio, playing in a very melodic, flowing style. Drew has a light touch on piano, and Pedersen shines as both soloist and accompanist. A little like the Bill Evans trio with Scott LaFaro.

check out Undercurrent here at Sic Vos Non Vobis

Jackie McLean featuring Dexter Gordon - The Meeting

barabara sounds sez:

Heavyweight summit meeting of two sax giants, laid down when the two crossed paths in Copenhagen in the sumer of 1973. It's a live session recorded at the Montmartre Jazzhus over a couple of evenings. There was another album (imaginatively called Vol. 2) from these dates, also on Steeplechase. Both of these guys had done their best work earlier in their careers, but this is still a great date.

dusty sez:

The first installment of a live recording made in Copenhagen in 1973 -- featuring Jackie leading a group that also includes Dexter Gordon on tenor and Kenny Drew on piano. Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson plays bass and Alex Riel plays drums -- and the tracks are long and open, with a focus on solo space -- as on Gordon's own European sessions of the time. Song titles include Gordon's "All Clean", Sahib Shihab's "Rue De La Harpe", Drew's "Sunset", and "On The Trail".