The recording industry--not just the jazz world--owes...

The recording industry--not just the jazz world--owes an incalculable debt to Norman Granz. By recording (in the pre-tape era) one of his “Jazz at the Philharmonic” concerts for release on a series of 78s (staggered into 4- and 5-minute segments per 12-inch disc), he destroyed forever the assumption that all phonograph records had to be made in a studio.

That was in 1944. Today, given the vastly expanded playing time afforded by LPs and now CDs, “live recordings” are commonplace.

“SYMPHONIC DREAMS.” Gerry Mulligan with Erich Kunzel & Houston Symphony. Recorded last year at the Music Hall in Houston, this is Mulligan’s most ambitious venture. The most successful works are those he composed himself: the new, 12-minute “Entente for Baritone Saxophone and Orchestra” and two pieces recorded previously with his jazz group, “Song for Strayhorn” and “K-4 Pacific.”

Already an established success, enjoying acceptance in classical and jazz air play, the “Entente” integrates (seemingly without effort, though the composer/arranger clearly had a daunting task to deal with) the jazz soul of his horn and the form and instrumentation of the symphony orchestra within an accessible, tonal framework.

The balance of the disc is the seven-part “Sax Chronicles,” composed by Harry Freedman but using fragments drawn from early Mulligan compositions adapted to the styles of Bach, Debussy, Stravinsky et al. As Mulligan points out in his notes, there are a few jazz elements, but the basic idea is a hypothetical or revisionist history of the baritone sax as it might have been used in classical music. This intriguing premise may have been questioned in classical quarters, but it rarely smacks of Third Stream Music, which too often seemed to blend the worst of both worlds. 4 1/2 stars.

“FINE AND MELLOW: LIVE AT BIRDLAND WEST.” Carmen McRae. Concord CCD 4342. Taped recently at the Long Beach club, McRae found herself in unusual and informal surroundings, with splendid support by Red Holloway on tenor and alto saxes, Phil Upchurch (in a welcome mainstream mood) on guitar and Jack McDuff, whose organ solos will never be mistaken for synthesizers. McRae’s arch manner and unpredictable phrasing are as entertaining as her use of extra lyrics on “These Foolish Things” and “Black and Blue” (the old Fats Waller-Andy Razaf song). The old Bing Crosby hit “Just One More Chance” is billed as “One More Chance” and credited to Carolyn Gillman (it was written by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow). A problem overall is the surfeit of long cuts at slow tempos. 3 1/2 stars.

“EUROPEAN TOUR.” Newport Jazz Festival All-Stars. Concord Jazz CCD 4343. Recorded last spring in Bern, Switzerland, this is dedicated to the memory of the group’s bassist, Slam Stewart; it went to press just before the recent passing of Al Cohn, for whom this was also a final appearance. He was one of four saxophonists, trading off with Scott Hamilton on “Tickle Toe”; the others, Ellingtonians Harold Ashby and Norris Turney, are at center stage for “Mood Indigo.” The oft-told tales of small-band swing music are spiritedly retold, with Warren Vache on cornet and George Wein at the piano. 3 stars.

“1958--PARIS OLYMPIA.” Art Blakey. Fontana 832 659-2. Blakey’s Messengers at the time of this concert had Bobby Timmons on piano (his ‘Moanin’ ” is the longest cut and one of the best), Benny Golson on tenor (writer of six of the eight tunes) and the late Lee Morgan, in dashing form here, on trumpet. Thelonious Monk’s “Justice” and Golson’s “I Remember Clifford” (a perfect vehicle for Morgan’s lyricism) highlight a superior set of hard bop (was there ever a soft bop?). 3 1/2 stars.

“PARIS JAM SESSION.” Art Blakey. Fontana 832 692-2. A little later, a bit better, thanks to contributions on the two longest of these four cuts by the first and ultimate bop piano genius, Bud Powell, playing his own “Dance of the Infidels” (soloing on 19 choruses of the blues) and his ebulliently boppish “Bouncing With Bud.” Barney Wilen, the French alto eminence, is another plus factor, along with a young, emergent Wayne Shorter on tenor and more of Lee Morgan, who’s a little ragged on the frantic “Night in Tunisia.” Recorded before a roaring crowd at the Theatre des Champs Elysees. 4 stars.

“LIVE AT THE HALF NOTE.” Art Farmer Quartet with Jim Hall. Atlantic 7-90666-1. This New York club session reveals that Farmer’s fluegelhorn in 1963 lacked the assurance, warmth and tonal beauty he has since displayed. He is heard on four of the five tunes (the final cut belongs to Hall’s guitar). With so many admirable albums now representing both men, this is expendable. 2 stars.

“THREE WAY MIRROR.” Airto Moreira/Flora Purim/Joe Farrell. Reference RR-24 (Box 77225 X, San Francisco 94107). This was taped at the Civic Auditorium in Oxnard in May, 1985, eight months before the death of Joe Farrell, who is an invaluable contributor on flute, soprano and tenor saxes. Every cut has its own character. Examples: Farrell’s flute and the 7/4 beat on Moreira’s “Misturada” (Mixing); the title tune, a waltz by bassist Mark Egan; Milton Nascimento’s “Lilia,” with bird-call effects, 5/4 time and Airto singing; the misty, mystic quality of Purim’s voice on “The Return,” a credit to Kei Akagi as composer and pianist; finally Egan’s evocative “Plane to Trane,” with everyone doubling on percussion. A marvelously moody misturada indeed. 4 1/2 stars.