Cy Coleman Jazz Trio, Plus Reups

The main event today is an upload of the Cy Coleman Jazz Trio's Why Try to Change Me Now LP from 1959, but this post also includes several remastered reups, one of which inspired the new Coleman transfer.

First, the fresh item. When I wrote about Coleman's Benida LP a while back, I ventured the opinion that Coleman, while a virtuoso, was not a jazz pianist. But here, as a riposte, he is presented with a "jazz" tag and in the company of two certified jazz artists, bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Ed Thigpen.

And in fact the trio does produce something very like jazz, although it is impossible to know how much of the notes you hear were worked out in advance - Coleman was, after all, a well known composer. On the plus side, the group swings effortlessly; on the minus, the pianist relies far too much on the locked hands approach for my taste.

Cy Coleman

The program is largely standards, including Coleman's title song, associated with Sinatra' superb recording (which, I might note gratuitously, is almost the same song as another Frank specialty, "Everything Happens to Me," written by another blog favorite, Matt Dennis, way back in 1940).

If it seems like I am down on Coleman, let me add that I am an admirer both of his instrumental and compositional skills. To prove it, I am also uploading one of his earliest records on my long-neglected singles blog, where he performs with a vocal group called the Cytones. (He should have had then all wear masks of his face and called them the Cyclones.)

The sound here is good, but highly directional early stereo, with the piano on the left and rhythm right. My pressing is clean, except for some surface noise on the title tune.

Now on to the reups, the first of which inspired the new Coleman post.

Night Out Music for Stay-at-Homes. This is a Decca compilation from the 1950s presenting unusual items from Coleman (his first record), Matt Dennis, Erroll Garner, Billy Taylor, and Nat King Cole.

Southern Gospel on RCA. A compilation of singles issued by RCA Victor in 1956-57, with the Blackwood Brothers Quartet, the Statesmen Quartet with Hovie Lister, Stuart Hamblen, George Beverly Shea, and the Johnson Family Singers.

Blackwood Brothers - Own Label 78s. I also went ahead and revisited my post of a few records that the Blackwoods issued on their own label circa 1948 and 1952, which appears on my singles blog. This includes the tremendous "Working on the Building."

Torch Song. This early M-G-M LP presents music from the 1953 Joan Crawford vehicle Torch Song, with singer India Adams dubbing Crawford's vocals and pianist-composer Walter Gross doubling for Michael Wilding's blind pianist, whose unselfish love redeemed La Crawford's temperamental diva character. Touching!

The reup links can be found in via the comments to the original posts linked above, or go to the comments to this post.