Piano Collection: Vol. 2, The

Like Dodo Marmarosa a vital yet often overlooked pioneering architect of bop and early modern jazz, George Wallington is mainly known by his association with the Blue Note, Prestige, Savoy, and Verve labels. Even most jazz heads are probably unaware that Wallington cut a 10" album of eight songs for Vogue in Paris on September 24, 1953, with bassist Pierre Michelot and drummer Jean-Louis Viale. These may be found on Vogue's 22-track The Piano Collection, Vol. 1, released in 1999, along with eight selections from an Al Haig Trio session that took place on March 13, 1954, with bassist Bill Crow and drummer Lee Abrams, and six tunes recorded for Vogue's sister label Swing Records on October 28, 1954, by pianist Jimmy Jones, bassist Joe Benjamin, and percussionist supreme Roy Haynes. This all adds up to one really excellent compilation of expatriated bop piano trios from the mid-'50s. Americans in Paris, looking ahead. ~ arwulf arwulf|