Billy Taylor - Cross-Section (1954) [2014 Prestige 7000 Chronicle Series]

Reissue features the latest digital remastering and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest DSD / HR Cutting remastering. Comes with a description. Features the original LP designs. A great record – or half-great, as the case may be! One part of this album features Billy with his standard trio of Earl May and Percy Brice, playing mellow piano trio versions of tracks that include "Tune For Tex", "Goodbye", "Biddy's Beat", and "Eddie's Theme". Those cuts are fine, but the real strength of the album lies on the last 4 cuts – all killer Latin jazz numbers cut with a rhythm section that includes Machito, Jose Mangual, Charlie Smith, and Uba Nieto. The added conga, bongos, and timbales really make the tracks groove – and you'll find yourself coming back to "I Love To Mambo", "Mambo Azul", "Early Morning Mambo", and "Candido" more than you will the rest of the record.

Tracks:

01. Eddie's Theme (Newman) - 2:49
02. Mood for Mendes (Taylor) - 3:09
03. Lullaby of Birdland (Shearing-Weiss) - 2:55
04. Goodbye (Jenkins) - 3:25
05. Tune for Tex (Taylor) - 2:59
06. Moonlight in Vermont (Blackburn-Suessdorf) - 3:49
07. Biddy's Beat (Taylor) - 3:12
08. I'll Be Around (Wailder) - 2:52
09. I Love to Mambo (Taylor) - 2:57
10. Candido Mambo (Taylor) - 3:12
11. Early Morning Mambo (Taylor) - 2:57
12. Mambo Azul (Taylor) - 2:17

Personnel:

#1-8: The Billy Taylor Trio
Billy Taylor - piano
Earl May - bass
Percy Brice - drums
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ on July 30, 1954.

#9-12: Billy Taylor Trio with Machito's Rhythm Section
Billy Taylor - piano
Earl May - bass
Charlie Smith - conga
Joe Mangual - bongos
Uba Nieto - timbales
Machito - maracas
Recorded in New York on May 7, 1953.