Search - The Birdlanders :: Birdlanders 2

The Birdlanders was a title given to several Vogue recordings made by the French pianist Henri Renaud in New York City in the early 1950s, when they were first issued in the U.S. by Period Records. Volume 2 contains two LPs, the first led by bassist Oscar Pettiford, with Al Cohn, Kai Winding, Tal Farlow, Max Roach, and Renaud. Farlow and Pettiford are the standouts, either in solo or linked closely together in the rhythm section (Pettiford's full-length solo on "Stardust" is as good as anything he ever recorded). The second LP included is a quartet of saxophonist Al Cohn, Renaud, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Denzil Best. Cohn is outstanding on ballads such as "Once in Awhile" and "You Stepped Out of a Dream," and Renaud is especially fine on a long solo on "Lazy Things." A shade less compelling than Volume 1, perhaps, but honest bop all the way. --John F. Szwed