Dizzy Reece Progress Report LP Japan Import Mint
I love Dizzy Reece. His brilliant tone and whole approach to the trumpet is right up my alley. I’ve managed to collect some of his Blue Note releases, “Blues in Trinity”, “Star Bright” and “Soundin’ Off”. They are all great. All of them were on my want list early on and I focused on securing them as soon as possible. One release though, which I also really wanted is the one on display, “Progress Report” on the elusive Tempo label. But this LP is so rare that I had the feeling it would be very, very hard to acquire. It was one of those albums that seemed out of reach in the foreseeable future, if ever. When you talk about rare jazz records from the 50’s, holy grails if you will, this one is in the top 5 for me. Rarer than the 1568 with NY23 on one side, maybe not 1597 with both sides deep groove, but probably the rest of the Blue Notes, and even rarer than the Jackie McLean on Ad Lib. The music is outstanding. Sultry hard bop, played with passion. There is a nice mix of tunes. The sound of the vinyl is top notch. Just as brilliant as any Blue Note from the same era
Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece (born 5 January 1931) is a Jamaican-born hard bopjazz trumpeter.[2] Reece is among a group of jazz musicians born in Jamaica which includes Bertie King, Joe Harriott, Roland Alphonso, Wilton Gaynair, Sonny Bradshaw, saxophonists Winston Whyte and Tommy McCook, trombonist Don Drummond, pianists Wynton Kelly, Monty Alexander, bassist Coleridge Goode, guitarist Ernest Ranglin and percussionists Count Ossie and Lloyd Knibb Reece was born on 5 January 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School(known for its musical alumni), switching from baritone saxophone to trumpet when he was 14 years old. A full-time musician from the age of 16, he moved to London in 1948 and spent the 1950s working in Europe, much of that time in Paris. He played with Don Byas, Kenny Clarke, Frank Foster and Thad Jones, among others. Recording with British musicians, he led several sessions in London in 1955–1957. Also in London, he recorded what became his first Blue Note album, Blues in Trinity (1958). Donald Byrd and Art Taylor were his sidemen. Gaining praise from Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, the trumpeter settled in New York City in 1959 and recorded with several of Davis' bandmates, but found New York in the 1960s a struggle.
Reece recorded other records for the Blue Note label, which were reissued by Mosaic in 2004. Still active as a musician and writer, Reece has recorded over the years with Hank Mobley, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Ronnie Scott, Phil Seaman, Victor Feldman, Tubby Hayes, Paris Reunion Band, Clifford Jordan’s Big Band, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, fellow trumpeter Ted Curson, pianist Duke Jordan, longtime Sun Ra alumni saxophonist John Gilmore, and drummers Philly Joe Jones and Art Taylor.
Reece wrote the music for the 1958 Ealing Studios film Nowhere to Go.