Search - Frank Quartet Rosolino :: Complete Recordings

5 stars the music; 2 stars the edition

Jazzcat | Genoa, Italy Italy | 09/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think we have to be grateful to the guys at Lonehill Jazz label because they make available masterpieces that for a long time have not been anymore if not for the very expensive, and hard to find, japanese editions. Unfortunatly, I am very disappointed by this fact, they don't maintain the original artwork of the albums. It's a shame because the original covers are integral parts of those masterpieces. Changing them it's something like changing the framing to the MonnaLisa. You can't do this c'mon! Another thing that I personally don't appreciate at all is the repackage of the music. In the end I want the records in the exact form as they were published originally. Lonehill (like jazzcity or fresh sounds) repackage the music in order to give more tunes for the price adding stuff taken from different sessions, and ok, the idea may sound fine. But instead it creates a lot of confusion in the collections of people like me who own thousands of jazz records and can't remember the tunes that he has in this or that album. The cover is also an important tool to know what you have in your collection and if labels change them, you can go wrong and buy again things you already have. I swear it happens frequently with these unclean editions! I know probably it has to do with copyrights stuff, but I mean, if you can't do this properly, don't do it! Or spend more money and buy those rights and rereleased these gems the way it has to be done!!! Covers and correct tunes lists are very important things for the Jazz lover! Talking about this cd from Frank it contains the magnificient sessions he co-led with Sonny Clark in 1956. That session was in the original Bethlem album entitled I PLAY TROMBONE. Than you have four more pieces of sessions (another bad thing Lonehill, if you publish a session publish that in its entirely GOSH!!!!!) and you have Frank playing with a lot of fantastic West Coast guys, Charlie Mariano, Lou Levy, Bill Holman, Conte Candoli. I'm sorry, I can't say exactly which album previously comprehended these sessions. This is what I was talking about. Ok it's great music unavailable differently, but I want more informations, it's unbelievable!It's like releasing and old book maybe without the original title. How the hell could I know what I'll find behind the cover!??! In the accompanying booklet they even don't say which albums these sessions belongs to. It's something incredibly disappointing!!! This is not the way to re release these gems! Anyway at least the remastering is well done. So in the end, 5 stars for the music which is brilliant, brilliant fifties West Coast jazz at its best. And for Frank who was a fantastic musician, one of the ones I love the most. Two stars for the edition and simply because the "I play trombone" session is complete and because the audio remastering is correct and well done. Zero stars for the unhelpful booklet, for the unoriginal cover, and for the unoriginal tracks list. Lonehill you can do things better! Have more respect for the fantastic art you are handle and for the jazz lovers."

Good but not great!

Karen Dils | 01/09/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Frank was such a great Trombone player and this is an excellent CD but not as inspiring as I had hoped for. Perhaps part of it is due to the quality of the recording."

Some great frank

music is life | New York, NY | 03/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"no not frank sinatra . . . the other great frank . . . FRANK ROSOLINO! this is not the best recording quality but it is early and presents some great sounds from this jazz trombone legend"