Delmark Records

Delmark Records

Date Posted: June 24 2008

Written By: Chicago Jazz

Bookmark it!

DELMARK DOINGS

In its 55th year, Delmark Records’ release schedule is as busy as ever, with four recent Spring releases hitting the jazz market.

Byther Smith's first live CD and DVD (w/ Jimmy Burns' band), rising jazz star and trumpet phenom Corey Wilkes' debut as a leader, never before released '66 stride piano duets from Willie "The Lion" Smith & Don Ewell, and a '81 swingin' Chicago jazz session from Cy Touff (bass trumpet) & Sandy Mosse (Tenor sax).

Corey Wilkes "Drop It" (Delmark DE 582)

Delmark is excited to announce the debut recording as a leader from Chicago jazz trumpet phenom Corey Wilkes, "Drop It" (DE 582) This hotly anticipated release features the diverse original repertoire of the charismatic young Corey- "it's imbued with the blues, infused with the rhythmic primacy of hip hop, incorporating the poignancy of poetry, and it utilizes the improvisation of jazz, thus taking the music out of its normal stylistic boundaries to create something unique and original."

This Riverside studio recording (with an additional live title track) also features the talented keyboard work of Robert "Baabe" Irving and the beautiful vocals from Dee Alexander.

Jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes burst on the Chicago jazz scene in 2002. Corey took on the ghost of Lester Bowie and filled the vacant seat in the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Big shoes to fill for a new musician but Corey isn't an ordinary musician. He began at the age of 10, made the Illinois All State Honors Jazz Combo in high school and honed his talent at Berklee College of Music. His soulful notes can be heard gracing a variety of projects such as DJ sets by DJ Logic, Osunlade and Josh Deep; tracks on Hidden Beach's Unwrapped Vol. 4, also recorded with Roscoe Mitchell, Art Ensemble, Tortoise, Ernest Dawkins, Nicole Mitchell and Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's Hot 'N' Heavy (Delmark DVD 1574, CD DE 574). With Chelsea Baratz, tenor sax; Jabari Liu, alto sax; Robert "Baabe" Irving III, piano and Fender Rhodes; Junius Paul, bass; Jeremy "Bean" Clemmons, drums. Drop It is Corey's debut CD as leader.

Cy Touff & Sandy Mosse Tickle Toe (Delmark DE 583)

A long awaited swingin' session from 1981 from Chicago jazz heavies Cy Touff and Sandy Mosse.

One of the few bass trumpet specialists in jazz history, Cy Touff (1927-2003) was a fixture in Chicago for decades. Touff recorded albums for Pacific Jazz and Chess' Argo in the '50s. He worked in the studios, performed in clubs and recorded with Chubby Jackson and Lorez Alexandria in 1957, and with the group Hyde Park After Dark in 1981. Tenor saxophonist Sandy Mosse (1929-1983) was born in Detroit but spent much of his American playing time in Chicago. He moved to Paris at age 22 and recorded historical sides in the bands of Henri Renaud and Django Rheinhardt. He returned to Chicago in '55 and recorded for Argo. Touff and Mosse co-led an octet in the late '50s/early '60s called Pieces of Eight. Mosse relocated to Amsterdam in the late '70s where he spent his last years. Tickle Toe is a swinging 1981 date with John Campbell (piano), Kelly Sill (bass) and Jerry Coleman (drums).


Willie "The Lion" Smith & Don Ewell

Stride Piano Duets, Live in Toronto 1966 (Delmark DE 249)

Early jazz fanatics will rejoice with a never before released live duet recording from 1966 from 2 legendary stride pianists, Willie "The Lion" Smith and Don Ewell, Sophisticated and rollicking piano instrumental duets!

Willie "The Lion" Smith in the 1920s was considered one of the big three of stride piano, along with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. He was an influence on the young Duke Ellington. Although he was a braggart (with his cigar and trademark derby hat) and appeared to be a rough character, Smith was actually more colorful than menacing, and a very sophisticated pianist. Because he remained active into the early '70s, Willie "The Lion" Smith was considered a living link to the glory days of early jazz. A major if underrated pianist, Don Ewell was inspired by Jelly Roll Morton and Earl Hines, but could stride like Fats Waller, too. Ewell started leading his own trios in Baltimore in the mid-'30s; played during the New Orleans jazz revival (starting in the mid-'40s) with Bunk Johnson, Muggsy Spanier, Sidney Bechet, and Kid Ory (1953) and was with Jack Teagarden during 1957-1964. Ewell sometimes played duets with Willie "The Lion" Smith in the late '60s before moving to New Orleans, where he worked regularly during his last years. This 1966 date, recorded live at the Golden Nugget in Toronto, features duets by the two piano legends, and has never before been issued!

(Also available: George Lewis & Don Ewell, Reunion (Delmark 220), Dewey Jackson, Live at the Barrel 1952 with Don Ewell (Delmark 245)).

Don't miss anymore Chicago Jazz Information.
Subscribe to Chicago Jazz magazine / Get A Free CD.
Subscribe to our Chicago Jazz weekly newsletter.