Duke Jordan Trio - Two Loves (1982 Japanese SteepleChase Vinyl LP)

Vinyl: VG+
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: None

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Duke Jordan Trio - Two Loves | Vinyl LP - 1982 Japanese SteepleChase Reissue (UPS-2162-S, Teichiku Records)

Jordan's story runs through the entire history of bebop. He was Charlie Parker's regular pianist in 1947 and 1948, playing on the Dial sessions that produced "Bird of Paradise," "Embraceable You" and "Dewey Square." He wrote the score for Roger Vadim's Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959), performed by Art Blakey's group. His composition "Jordu" became a standard. Then, like so many American jazz musicians, he found the European scene more hospitable than the American one, and in the 1970s he began an extended relationship with Nils Winther's SteepleChase label in Copenhagen, eventually settling permanently in Denmark in 1978. Two Loves comes from his first SteepleChase sessions, recorded in late November and early December 1973 with Danish bassist Mads Vinding and the American expatriate drummer Ed Thigpen (Oscar Peterson's long-time drummer). "Subway Inn" opens the album, one of Jordan's originals, played with the clean, melodic phrasing that defined his style. "My Old Flame" and "Embraceable You" are ballads. "Blue Monk" is the one Monk composition, and Jordan brings his own melodic sensibility to it rather than imitating Monk's angularity.

The title track "Two Loves" and "Wait and See" are Jordan originals, the latter a piece he had been playing since the early 1950s. "I'll Remember April" gets an uptempo treatment. "Lady Dingbat" is another Jordan original. And "Jordu" closes the album, the composition that guarantees Jordan a place in the standard repertoire, played here by its composer in a relaxed trio setting nearly 20 years after Clifford Brown made it famous. Jordan's playing throughout is unhurried and lyrical, prioritising melody over display, with a bebop foundation that never hardens into cliché. Ed Thigpen's brushwork is characteristically tasteful, and Vinding (one of the finest bassists Denmark produced) provides a warm, resonant foundation. Nils Winther produced and recorded for SteepleChase.

This is the 1982 Japanese reissue on SteepleChase UPS-2162-S, manufactured by Teichiku Records Co., Ltd.