JAZZ ALBUMS RECORDED:

Abbey Lincoln – It’s Magic (1958)
Track Listing:
 1. I Am In Love
 2. It’s Magic
 3. Just For Me
 4. An Occasional Man
 5. Ain’t Nobody’s Business
 6. Out Of The Past
 7. Music, Maestro, Please!
 8. Love
 9. Exactly Like You
10. Little Niles

Review by Scott Yanow at Allmusic:
Because Abbey Lincoln has always been careful to sing songs that have a deep meaning for her, all of her recordings through the years are memorable in their own way; there are no duds in her discography. Her second Riverside session (and her third recording), It's Magic has been reissued on this CD in theOriginal Jazz Classics series. The backup musicians are among the best in jazz at the time (Kenny Dorham or Art Farmer on trumpet, trombonist Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson on tenor, Jerome Richardson or Sahib Shihab on reeds, pianist Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers or Sam Jones on bass, and drummer Philly Joe Jones) and they have opportunities to play short solos. Lincoln is heard at her early best on such numbers as "I Am in Love," "An Occasional Man," "Out of the Past" and Randy Weston's "Little Niles." Recommended.

Jimmy Lyons – Other Afternoons (1969)
Track Listing:
1. Other Afternoons
2. Premonitions
3. However
4. My You

Review by Eugene Chadbourne at Allmusic:
The music of Jimmy Lyons as a leader is of main interest here, but this particularly fine late-'60s session has other valuable lessons to offer about the nature of jazz improvising. The impact of both a bandleader and the music they compose is made very clear by the direction this session took, despite the fact that its rhythm section had already established its own way of playing through previous relationships with pianist Cecil Taylor. But this, along with whatever conceptual impact Taylor may have had on his longtime main horn man, Lyons, are all factors that are tossed in the bin like yesterday's news as the music being created takes its own course. The combination of Lyons with Lester Bowie is simply marvelous. The alto saxophonist's specialty is a kind of pungent yet unsentimental tone, kind of a thinking man's Charlie Parker, while trumpeter Bowie seems to pack every note, whether it is blasted or delicately blown, with deep pockets of potential comedy or melancholy. It is a perfect match of contrasts, made even more interesting by both players' reliance on space, in each case developed as an alternative to the amount of intense energy or sonic bombast being tossed up by other members of these players' regular associations, the Taylor group and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, respectively. From drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Alan Silva a listener might expect a certain kind of firepower as well as rhythmic developments being colored in terms of suggestions and impulses rather than firmly shoved in a pocket. These two master players are thrilling here in their adventurous attempts to give their friend Jimmy Lyons a whole new sound on his album. And it is true; while the results can be compared to other alto saxophonist leaders of Lyons' generation, such as the more thoughtful efforts of Marion Brown, this album stands out as containing much superior playing, springing from what seems to be a fully realized conception of just where the music was going. The session has been released by several labels, and not even the bomb-crater-size surface-noise pockmarks of the BYG pressings can destroy the power of these performances. "However" is a great tune, so is the title number and the delicate, pretty set-closer, "My You."



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    BLUES BITS & JAZZ JOTS 
    is a historical timeline for birthdays of blues and jazz artists and jazz album recording dates.  As our research progresses, we'll add more categories.  Look for updates each week, normally Mondays through Fridays, when we find something to share.

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