The Definitive John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins (Coming August 24th, 2010)

CONCORD MUSIC GROUP SPOTLIGHTS JOHN COLTRANE, THELONIOUS MONK AND
SONNY ROLLINS IN ITS DEFINITIVE SERIES

Two-disc sets capture
some of the finest jazz recorded in the 1950s
All three
collections to be released on August 24, 2010

LOS ANGELES,
Calif. — Following up on the success of The Definitive Vince Guaraldi,
Concord Music Group has assembled three new titles in the Definitive
series showcasing some of the most influential figures in modern jazz.
The Definitive John Coltrane on Prestige and Riverside; The Definitive
Thelonious Monk on Prestige and Riverside;The Definitive Sonny Rollins
on Prestige, Riverside and Contemporary not only put the spotlight on
the monumental work of three individual jazz players of the 1950s, but
also provide an overview of the hard-bop period, one of the most
significant chapters in the evolution of jazz. Each of the 2-CD
collections is set for release on August 24, 2010.

The
Definitive John Coltrane on Prestige and Riverside tracks Coltrane’s
artistic development from his first Prestige recording session in
November 1955 for Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet to his last
sessions for Prestige (for Bahia) in December 1958.

Trane’s
career was marked by various shifts in style throughout the ’50s and
’60s, “but if you like straight-ahead, yet inventive, hard-bop playing,
then this collection of recordings from the mid- to late ’50s is
definitely one of the sweet spots, ” says Nick Phillips, Concord Music
Group’s Vice President of Jazz and Catalog A&R and the producer of
the Definitive series. “And yet some of what you hear in these tracks
gives hints about what was to come from this restlessly creative
artist.”

Extensive liner notes by veteran music journalist and
Coltrane biographer Ashley Kahn provide an in-depth look at the tracks
and the circumstances surrounding their genesis. “The Definitive John
Coltrane offers a best-of culled from these early recordings, ” says
Kahn, “offering an inspiring listening session that allows for much to
be gleaned: Coltrane’s talent at recasting decades-old themes with a
modern touch; a penchant for brooding, minor-key melodies; the uncanny
rate of his personal development — building on his strengths,
articulating a signature sound; an increased ability born in the
one-take fire of three-hour recording dates to toss together timeless
performances.”

The Definitive Thelonious Monk on Prestige and
Riverside covers an even broader span of the ’50s, beginning with trio
sessions in New York featuring bassist Gary Mapp and drummer Art Blakey
in October 1952 and stretching to sextet dates in San Francisco with
trumpeter Joe Gordon, tenor saxophonists Harold Land and Charlie Rouse,
bassist John Ore and drummer Billy Higgins in April 1960.

“This
is some of the most amazing Thelonious Monk on record, ” says Phillips.
“Whether he’s playing a standard or one of his own compositions, he
sounds uniquely like Thelonious Monk and nobody else. All of the tunes
in this collection that Monk wrote have become jazz standards.
Conversely, he plays standard tunes like ‘Caravan’ and ‘Tea for Two’
with such distinctive genius that you’d swear he had written them
himself.”

But Monk was no overnight sensation. He made “a long,
slow climb from underground to mainstream adulation, and the ten-year
period represented by this collection captures that ascent, ” says Kahn
in his liner notes. “The one constant — creatively, promotionally, and
economically — was his recordings. First for Prestige Records from 1952
to ’54, then for the Riverside label from ’55 to ’61, Monk was afforded
the chance to create new music and work with a number of significant
jazz peers in a number of contexts — from solo piano, to trios, to
quartets, even a big band . . . Most importantly, what Monk composed and
recorded during the ’50s amount to the definitive versions of some of
the most enduring, joyous melodies in modern jazz.”

The
Definitive Sonny Rollins on Prestige, Riverside and Contemporary comes
out a few weeks ahead of Rollins’ 80th birthday on September 7. Like the
Thelonious Monk release, the Sonny Rollins set also covers almost an
entire decade, from a December 1951 session in New York for Sonny
Rollins with the Modern Jazz Quartet to an October 1958 session in Los
Angeles for Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders.

“That was
such a significant period in the development of jazz in general, and
Sonny Rollins was at the heart of all that was going on during that
decade, ” says Phillips. “Just look at the Miles Davis session where he
recorded ‘Airegin, ’ ‘Doxy’ and ‘Oleo, ’ for example. Those are all
tunes that he penned, and all remain indelible jazz standards. That’s a
whole lot of jazz history that was made on just a single day in the
summer of 1954.”

Liner notes for The Definitive Sonny Rollins are
provided by music journalist Bob Blumenthal, co-author with
photographer John Abbott of the forthcoming book, Saxophone Colossus: A
Portrait of Sonny Rollins.

“That the marks of [Rollins’] genius
were fully apparent in the music he made over a half-century ago has
been obvious to all who have followed the trajectory of his
unprecedented career, ” says Blumenthal. “As a contract artist with
Prestige Records between 1951 and 1956, and through his work on various
labels from 1957 until the beginning of an extended sabbatical two years
later, Rollins laid the foundation for his status as a master
improviser, saxophonist and composer; an influence far beyond his chosen
instrument and idiom; and a living icon of affirmative creativity.
Concord Music Group is the steward of many of the finest Rollins
performances of the ’50s, and has culled them well in presenting this
short course in what made Sonny Rollins Sonny Rollins.” released in
October 2009.