ILLINOIS JACQUET - Five Classic Albums (The Kid And The Brute / Swing's The Thing / Illinois Jacquet Flies Again / Illinois Jacquet Collates / Groovin' With Jacquet) (2 CDS)

AVID Jazz here presents five classic Illinois Jacquet albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“The Kid And The Brute”, “The Swing’s The Thing”, “Illinois Jacquet Flies Again”, “Illinois Jacquet Collates” and “Groovin’ With Jacquet”
We have to thank The Duke for the title of our first selection in this tribute to the great tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet. The Kid and The Brute are the nicknames given to two fine jazz men by their then leader, the one and only Duke Ellington, The Kid being Illinois Jacquet and The Brute being tenor legend Ben Webster. The Brute appears on two tracks after he had wandered into the studio during recording and he and The Kid had decided to lay some solid music down on tape. A fine line up greets our second selection “The Swing’s The Thing” from 1957. Check these guys out, Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Jimmy Jones on piano, Ray Brown on bass, Herb Ellis on guitar and Jo Jones on drums. The result is jazz of a high order! We get the big band experience for our next selection from 1959, “Illinois Jacquet Flies Again” a “high flying tribute to some of the great moments in jazz and the career of Illinois Jacquet”…… and the “recreation of many of the exciting jazz masterpieces that will forever be associated with his distinctive tenor styling”. On this album you will hear Illinois Jacquet not only do what he does best to “blow jazz with a clear cut force……………..and soar with a house rockin’ driving pitch” but also play with a “ grounded light and melodic slow tempo mood”. 1951’s “Illinois Jacquet Collates” finds The Kid joined by Carl Perkins on piano, Oscar Moore on guitar, Red Callender on bass and J.C. Heard on drums. “He swings like mad and that is one of the most important basics in jazz”. “Groovin’ With Jacquet” contains many of the same musicians heard on the “Illinois Jacquet Collates” set. According to the original liner notes, the definition of Groovin reads as follows…………”it is a comfortable swinging pace with the beat always in sturdy prominence”. Ably accompanied by Art Blakey, Hank Jones, John Collins and Gene Ramey, “Groovin” , as they say does exactly what it says on the label!
All five albums have been digitally re-mastered for probably the finest ever sound quality!

CD1
1-6: ‘The Kid And The Brute’
1. I Wrote This For The Kid
2. Saph
3. Mambocito Mio
4. The Kid And The Brute
5. September Song
6. Jacquet’s Dilemma
7-12: ‘Swing’s The Thing’
7. LasVegas Blues
8. Harlem Nocturne
9. Can’t We Be Friends
10. Achtung
11. Have You Met Miss Jones
12. Lullaby Of The Leaves
13-15: ‘Illinois Jacquet Flies Again’
13. Sleeping Susan
14. Robbin’s Nest
15. Lean Baby

CD2
1-8: ‘Illinois Jacquet Files Again’
1. Bottoms Up
2. That’s My Desire
3. Black Velvet
4. Teddy Bear
5. Pleasingly Plump
6. I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance
7. Potpourri
8. The King
9-16: ‘Illinois Jacquet Collates’
9. All Of Me
10. Pastel
11. Speedliner
12. Later For The Happenin’
13. Groovin’
14. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
15. Cottontail
16. Weary Blues
17-24: ‘Groovin’ With Jacquet’
17. Just A Sittin’ And A Rockin’
18. Mean To Me
19. One-Nighter Boogie
20. Little Jeff
21. Jacquet Jumps
22. Blue Nocturne
23. On Your Toes
24. R.U.One?
25. Robbin’s Nest (Alternative Take)