At Newport

I heard Johnny Come Lately on the BBC years ago and remembered how much I enjoyed it, and so I had to buy this album. Even after all these years it still had lost its appeal. This and the Gigi Gryce and Donald Byrd Jazz Laboratory at Newport for the same price together make an excellent album

This excellent CD presents two contrasting groups at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival.Tracks 1-3, recorded on July 6, feature the avant garde pianist Cecil Taylor with Steve Lacy(soprano sax); Buell Neidlinger(bass) & Dennis Charles(drums).Highlight is the wonderful version of Billy Strayhorn's 'Johnny Come Lately' which turned me on to modern jazz when I first heard it on Willis Conover's 'Voice of America' programme in the early 1960s.Tracks 4-6, recorded on July 5, feature the 'Jazz Laboratory' with Gigi Gryce(alto sax); Donald Byrd(trumpet); Hank Jones(piano); Wendell Marshall(bass) & Osie Johnson(drums).Highlights from this hard bop quintet are Gryce's blues 'Batland' and a swinging version of Cole Porter's 'Love For Sale'.All in all, this is a fascinating album displaying two very different styles of modern jazz from the late 1950s.