In the 1970s CTI was among the biggest labels in jazz, and although it became associated with fusion for the white wine on the rocks crowd, many fine straight-ahead albums were released under its imprint. Some were recently reissued on CD. Among them:
• On Jim Hall’s 1975 Grammy-nominated album Concierto, helping the guitarist were some exceptional players, including trumpeter Chet Baker and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. Acting as the perfect host, Hall let his guests occupy much of the spotlight, maintaining their impeccably cool tones even on numbers where the tempo swung. Concierto was a loose yet comfortably focused session with plenty of room to stretch out on the themes found in Cole Porter and Duke Ellington along with a few originals.
• Paul Desmond will always be best known as the right hand at Dave Brubeck’s side. His dry-as-Shiraz playing (think “Take Five”) continued to come to the fore on sessions released under his own name. His 1975 album Pure Desmond is similar in character to Hall’s Concierto, mixing standards by Ellington and Porter, Kern and Jobim with more recent numbers (“Theme from MASH”). Desmond relied on Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert for much of the melodic counterpoint to his tart yet playful lines. Despite its title, the album is Pure Bickert for many stretches.
