Red Garland – The Quota (1973/2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Red Garland – The Quota (1973/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 38:38 minutes | 720 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © MPS

After being very active on records and in clubs from 1955-62, pianist Red Garland went back to his native Texas. He did not return to records until 1971, when he cut “Auf Wiedersehen” and this particular LP, which has not yet been reissued on CD; except for a couple of Japanese dates in 1974, it would be another six years before Garland began making a real comeback. Teamed up with Jimmy Heath (who doubles on tenor and soprano), bassist Peck Morrison and drummer Lenny McBrowne, Garland plays in the same distinctive style he had in the 1950s, not showing any decline or loss of chops. The quartet performs four jazz standards, the title cut (a Heath original), and Leroy Vinnegar’s “For Carl”.

Pianist Red Garland’s place in the jazz pantheon is secure through his work with Miles Davis’ First Great Quintet (1955-58). His shimmering tone and sophisticated voicings contributed to the distinct sound of that group’s seminal recordings.

In the next seven years he recorded over 40 albums, but abruptly left the New York scene in 1965, returning to his native Texas. Fortunately, in 1971 MPS brought Garland back to the Big Apple for a two-record date. The Quota shows off Red Garland’s communion with composer and saxophone great Jimmy Heath. The title piece, by Heath, puts forward a laid-back medium-tempo minor blues, with Heath’s eloquently passionate tenor and Garland’s ebullient, earthy piano sharing the solos. Henry Mancini’s Days of Wine and Roses is given an appropriate bitter-sweet tinge, while For Carl is a delightfully upbeat jazz waltz. Garland takes the melody and first solo On a Clear Day as the group romps through a gorgeously sunny rendition of this tune.

Garland injects just the right amount of pathos in his unaccompanied intro to Cole Porter’s Love for Sale before Heath’s and Garland’s sizzling improvisations. The band scampers through the changes of The Squirrel, an up-tempo blues by the vital bop era composer Tad Dameron. Garland’s inimitable style didn’t change much with the times – some things are best left as they are!

Tracklist:
1. Red Garland – The Quota (05:47)
2. Red Garland – Days of Wine and Roses (07:43)
3. Red Garland – For Carl (05:45)
4. Red Garland – The Squirrel (05:01)
5. Red Garland – On a Clear Day (04:32)
6. Red Garland – Love for Sale (09:47)

Personnel:
Red Garland – piano
Jimmy Heath – tenor and soprano saxophone
Peck Morrison – bass
Lenny McBrowne – drums

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