Looking for Vintage Jazz flute records. What are your favorites?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Stay in the '50s! That's my advice.

Anything by Paul Horn, Herbie Mann, Buddy Collette, Bud Shank and Roscoe Weathers from the '50s is unbelievably cool. With Buddy Collette and Bud Shank, you wanna check to make sure they are playing flute on those albums, because they were also great sax players. Also, as for the '60s, I like Hubert Laws on Atlantic Records, and the "Folk 'n' Flute" album by Bud Shank is one of my all-time faves.

For the absolute tops in beatnik/exotica/flute jazz, you can't go wrong with "Afrodesia" by Bob Romeo, his Flute, and his Jungle Sextet. It's a very rare album, but it features a bevy of the top West Coast cool jazz guys, plus three of the songs are written by Eden Ahbez. The album is from 1956... proto-exotica. The tunes are hypnotic... there's no one else like Bob Romeo.

Agree with the previous post. Especially check out stuff if the lineup includes alto flute, vibes and/or bongos .

I would say, though, that there are cool flute records at least through the mid-60s. Herbie Mann's "Impressions of the Middle East" on Atlantic, circa 1966-67, is an absolute favorite instrumental LP. It is also available on a Collectibles CD.

Also, if you get into groovy/funky/introspective early 70s stuff, get "Afro Classic" by Hubert Laws on CTI.

I believe Ron Burgundy may have recorded a vanity project in the late 70s called I, ANCHORMAN,..... : )

You might want to check out Yusef Lateef.

The first Afro Blues Quintet album has some great proto-funk flute. I wouldn't deny that great jazz flute went past the '50s. It's just my taste. Everything in that sub-genre from the '50s is perfection, to my ears. By the late '60s, I start losing interest in a lot of jazz, flute or anything. With guys like Paul Horn, who played so soulfully and really got into a groove... his late '60s material and on... it sounds like New Age music. Meditation music. Not entirely bad, but for me, I like something a little more... dirty... urban.

[ Edited by: BC-Da-Da 2008-02-07 08:22 ]

"Flutes Front and Center" on Warner Bros. Can't remember the artist off-hand. Ray Bosch?

Great classic Space Age Bachelor Pad Flute madness!!!

Worth seeking out!! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

This has some nice tunes on it, but I really recommend Buddy Collette.

Here is my problem with Jazz Flute: It is very hard to find albums of pure flute bebop or strait-ahead style. I have searched a lot for this, since I love this sound. Hubert Laws is excellent, but his music was always more modern fusion jazz, like early weather report of return to forever. Herbie Mann was a big dissapointment. A lot of it is latin style jazz, not bop or swing. I like Latin Jazz, but I was specifically looking for flute playing in the sax style of bop or straight-ahead. Both Herbie Mann and Hubert Laws do have some songs like that, but a lot of it is fusion or latin charanga.

I have come to the point I just need to rely on those jazz albums that had Flute's as guest stars on select songs, to get my flute fix.

But a lot of satisfaction can be gotten from those Henry mancini soundtracks that had a lot of Flute (and harpsichord, vibes and marimba) like "High Time".

Equally, Antonio Carlos Jobim employed the flute on a lot of his classic albums like "Wave","tide" "urubu" and "Terra Brasilis". This is good, moody stuff and uses a lot of flute often doubled with other instruments like Fender Rhodes. I highly, highly reccomend any of these albums, specifically "wave". There is a song featuring bass flute and trombone called "dialogo" that moves me to tears when I hear it. This type of music might appeal to fans of Exotica and lounge, though the style is highly lush, orchestrated bossa nova.

My favorite jazz flute player is Ron Burgundy!

Hubert Laws cut most of his albums about the same period that Charles Lloyd did, so obviously there is going to be some fushion going on. If you want it to be closer to the bebop and cool jazz era, like I said, go with the Hubert Laws from the early '60s on Atlantic Records. That is good shit.

With the '50s flute jazz albums, they are more deep groove -- urban, lusty, heady, intellectual, swingin'. I like them all the more because the mood is so subtle. There's some great bossa nova with flute from the 1953 Laurindo Almeida/Bud Shank album "Brazilliance." I guess it all depends on taste. Herbie Mann cut some '50s albums that have a Blue Note feel to them, which is to say, hot jazz.

Also, as much as I love bossa nova and '60s Latin jazz, the '50s Latin jazz has a really sensual and vibrant feel to it. For some people, those cha-cha-cha and marengue albums don't do it for them. Not placcid and easy enough for them. But I love 'em. Xavier Cugat, Jack Costanzo, Don Tosti and Eddie Cano... some of that sounds like rock n' roll to my ears. Not too far off from surf instrumentals like "Border Town" by Eddie & the Showmen or "Latin'ia" by the Sentinals. Just without the guitar.

Thanks Everyone!

I have my work cut out for me.

Let the hunting begin.

There are some Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock albums with flute, some of which was James Spaulding, and there was another guy I wish I could remember his name. I'll do some research.

AHA!!!! GOT IT!!!!

The guy's name was Jeremy Steig. He's on a few Bill Evans recordings from the '60's. Good stuff.

Your honor, Mayor, sir....
If you can find Jeremy Steig's album as a leader....GET IT! It is "Jeremy and the Satyrs".

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll have to keep an eye out for that!

Jeremy Steig rules. His 1967 Capitol album "Legwork" is satanic!!!!

On 2008-02-22 08:51, BC-Da-Da wrote:
Jeremy Steig rules. His 1967 Capitol album "Legwork" is satanic!!!!

Agreed ! You beat me to it !