Junior Cook in excelsis

[Larry Kart]

A terrific Junior Cook Muse LP date, "Good Cookin'" from circa (40!) years ago that sounds fresh minted thanks in good part to RVG. The two-CD 32 Jazz reissue, coupling "Good Cookin'"   with a with a similar date of the same vintage, "Senior Cookin'" is damn pricey ($59) but can be got used for much less.

Damn, Junior was so good.  With Bill Hardman, Slide Hampton arrangements and trb., Albert Dailey, Walter Booker, Mariano Rivera, and Leroy Williams. Just pulled this off the shelf and wow.

Standards were high in those days. In the notes Hampton mentions his time with an edition of the Jazz Messengers with Hardman, Billy Harper, McCoy Tyner, Junie Booth  and Blakey. "It was Very intense, heavy company to be in," Slide says, "Hardman and rest of the cats ran me ragged."

[felser]

21 minutes ago, Larry Kart said:

A terrific Junior Cook Muse LP date, "Good Cookin'" from circa (40!) years ago that sounds fresh minted thanks in good part to RVG. The two-CD reissue, coupled with a with a similar date of the same vintage, "Senior Cookin'" is damn pricey ($59) but can be got used for much less.

Damn, Junior was so good.  With Bill Hardman, Slide Hampton arrangements and trb., Albert Dailey, Walter Booker, Mariano Rivera, and Leroy Williams. Just pulled this off the shelf and wow.

Standards were high in those days. In the notes Hampton mentions his time with an edition of the Jazz Messengers with Hardman, Billy Harper, McCoy Tyner, Junie Booth  and Blakey. "Very heavy company," Slide says, "Hardman and rest of the cats ran me ragged."

Several available on Discogs for under$20 shipped.  I have this, it's a good one.  One of the best Muse reissue efforts by 32Jazz, who were so hit or miss with that catalog.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=2453818&ev=mb

[Eric]

2 hours ago, felser said:

Several available on Discogs for under$20 shipped.  I have this, it's a good one.  One of the best Muse reissue efforts by 32Jazz, who were so hit or miss with that catalog.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=2453818&ev=mb

Oh yes, that is a good one!  I pulled it out recently thanks to this thread.  
 

How about - The Complete Muse Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker?

[mikeweil]

1 minute ago, Eric said:

How about - The Complete Muse Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker?

I have them all on LP, but it would be a great set! 

I saw Junior Cook's quintet with Bill Hardman at a Frankfurt club. Doug Hammond was there with his trio, and Doug introduced me to Junior and the band. Very nice guys. Junior then urged Doug's tenor player, Marvin Blackman, to sit in - it was fascinating to hear how different two saxists sounded on the same horn!

[mjzee]

24 minutes ago, Eric said:

How about - The Complete Muse Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker?

That could be followed by: The Complete SteepleChase Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker!

1988/11/23: Junior Cook Quartet (w/Tucker): The Place To Be

1989/06: Junior Cook Quartet (w/Tucker): On A Misty Night

1989/06: Mickey Tucker Quartet: Blues In Five Dimensions

1989/07/07: Bill Hardman Sextet (w/Cook & Tucker): What's Up

1991/12: Junior Cook Quintet (w/Tucker): You Leave Me Breathless

1991/12: Mickey Tucker Sextet: Hang In There

1994/04: Mickey Tucker (solo): Getting There

[Eric]

1 hour ago, mjzee said:

That could be followed by: The Complete SteepleChase Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker!

1988/11/23: Junior Cook Quartet (w/Tucker): The Place To Be

1989/06: Junior Cook Quartet (w/Tucker): On A Misty Night

1989/06: Mickey Tucker Quartet: Blues In Five Dimensions

1989/07/07: Bill Hardman Sextet (w/Cook & Tucker): What's Up

1991/12: Junior Cook Quintet (w/Tucker): You Leave Me Breathless

1991/12: Mickey Tucker Sextet: Hang In There

1994/04: Mickey Tucker (solo): Getting There

Or the massive box with both Muse & Steeplechase!

[soulpope]

Nice Bertha Hope tune .... "On a misty night" comes highly recommended ....

[Peter Friedman]

I am very happy that I have all those Junior Cook albums referred to above on CD.

Also we should not leave out the many other recordings on which Junior Cook plays.

With - Horace Silver, Clifford Jordan, Louis Hayes, Blue Mitchell, Lois Smith and a few others.

A hell of a fine tenor player!

 

[jlhoots]

I have lots of Junior Cook too. Maybe I need some more.

[Eric]

56 minutes ago, Peter Friedman said:

I am very happy that I have all those Junior Cook albums referred to above on CD.

Also we should not leave out the many other recordings on which Junior Cook plays.

With - Horace Silver, Clifford Jordan, Louis Hayes, Blue Mitchell, Lois Smith and a few others.

A hell of a fine tenor player!

 

And those Kenny Burrell jam sessions - Blue Lights? on Blue Note.  I love his playing along Tina Brooks and Louis Smith.

[relyles]

This thread motivated me to pull out my copy of Senior Cookin' for my after work listening, which I am enjoying right now.

[Chuck Nessa]

4 hours ago, relyles said:

This thread motivated me to pull out my copy of Senior Cookin' for my after work listening, which I am enjoying right now.

It prompted me to pull out -

[HutchFan]

On 8/8/2023 at 9:03 PM, Eric said:

How about - The Complete Muse Recordings of Junior Cook, Bill Hardman and Mickey Tucker?

Fantastic idea.   

I think Tucker's Mister Mysterious would get my vote for the "Best Muse Album That No One Talks About" award.

 

12 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

It prompted me to pull out -

I think I'll give that a spin next.  

And Hardman's Politely (also with Junior Cook) after that. 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by HutchFan

[Kevin Bresnahan]

The Muse Records catalog is owned by Concord and I thought I read somewhere that they aren't keen on licensing so I doubt Mosaic would get to work with them.

[Eric]

1 hour ago, bresna said:

The Muse Records catalog is owned by Concord and I thought I read somewhere that they aren't keen on licensing so I doubt Mosaic would get to work with them.

You gotta wonder why.  Mosaic was able to put out the Woody Shaw Muse stuff - was that prior to Concord buying Muse?  I don't understand why you sit on product and don't monetize it.

1 hour ago, HutchFan said:

Fantastic idea.   

I think Tucker's Mister Mysterious would get my vote for the "Best Muse Album That No One Talks About" award.

 

I think I'll give that a spin next.  

And Hardman's Politely (also with Junior Cook) after that. 

 

So glad I bought these Hardman/Tucker/Cook records way back when, they are delightful.

[JSngry]

Cuscuna was the original producer on the Shaw Muse items, as he was on the Braxton Arista, so I reckon he had some extra leverage on those.

But I think that at the time of the Shaw Muse box, that stuff was under whatever umbrella Savoy was under and it was not yet Concord? Maybe? Not? 

 

[clifford_thornton]

1 hour ago, Eric said:

You gotta wonder why.  Mosaic was able to put out the Woody Shaw Muse stuff - was that prior to Concord buying Muse?  I don't understand why you sit on product and don't monetize it.

Yeah, common situations where the rights holders are like, "no, we aren't going to reissue it and nobody else can, either." I suppose the argument is it costs them more to lift a finger than it does to just sit on it, unless it's a surefire seller. 

[felser]

3 hours ago, HutchFan said:

 

I think Tucker's Mister Mysterious would get my vote for the "Best Muse Album That No One Talks About" award.

 

There are a bunch of worthy candidates.  I think my choice would be Jimmy Heath's Love and Understanding, followed by Louis Hayes's The Real Thing.

[HutchFan]

33 minutes ago, felser said:

There are a bunch of worthy candidates.  I think my choice would be Jimmy Heath's Love and Understanding, followed by Louis Hayes's The Real Thing.

Yup.  Both of those are terrific.

Woody Shaw's and (to a lesser extent) Pat Martino's Muse LPs are acknowledged as classics of the era.  But it seems like the rest of their catalog is more or less ignored. 

I could easily name 25 Muse albums of outstanding music that deserve wider availability. 

Concord's Craft imprint is reissuing all sorts of stuff from their many in-house labels -- Prestige, Fania/Tico/Vaya, Contemporary, Savoy, Milestone -- and this includes other LPs from the 1970s and 80s.  . . . But nothing from Muse.  

 

I suppose the Muse recordings are just way off the radar of most jazz listeners.    

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by HutchFan

[JSngry]

Bu Pleasant.

But it's not for everybody.

Bobby Pierce 

More, but still not everybody 

[mjazzg]

6 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Bu Pleasant.

But it's not for everybody.

Bobby Pierce 

More, but still not everybody 

I have copies of both of those down to your recommendations at some point over the last few years. Both work for me

[JSngry]

Bobby Pierce did two. The second one is not as overt as the first, but it's perhaps better because of it.

Bu Pleasant, hey!

What about Don Patterson? Not sure but that his Prestige records have snuck ahead of his Muses? 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

5 hours ago, HutchFan said:

I think Tucker's Mister Mysterious would get my vote for the "Best Muse Album That No One Talks About" award.

I think Tiny Grimes' Profoundly Blue is up there for me.

[felser]

5 hours ago, JSngry said:

Bu Pleasant.

But it's not for everybody.

Bobby Pierce 

More, but still not everybody 

Cut out/used copies of those passed through my hands back in the day.  Both were interesting organ/vocal approaches.  No CD reissues.  The first Pierce album was actually on Cobblestone, the precursor to Muse.

[HutchFan]

18 hours ago, bresna said:

I think Tiny Grimes' Profoundly Blue is up there for me.

Oh yeah.  No doubt.   

 

20 hours ago, JSngry said:

Bu Pleasant.

But it's not for everybody.

The Bu Pleasant is AWESOME.  Jim, either you or Magnificent Goldberg hipped me to that LP.

 

And what about these? 
- Buster Williams' Pinnacle
- Joe Chamber's The Almoravid 
- James Moody's Never Again! 
- Roy Brooks' The Free Slave
- Don Patterson's These Are Soulful Days

And we're still just scratching the surface.