1955

In the year 1955, jazz did indeed inherit the earth. A jazz lover's paradise with nothing to rival it since. It lacked the "important" releases of watershed year 1959, but you have to understand that in 1959 there were plenty of other movements (blues, rock, country)  to pick from. In 1955, if you were shy around jazz, you were out. Nothing else was happening. I am almost not exaggerating here.

Nevertheless, common knowledge doesn't remember 1955 as the year of jazz, it remembers it as the year of In the Wee Small Hours. Or as the year of Rock Around the Clock. This is rather disappointing, considering that the first of these albums is sonically passée, drowned in antiquated Hollywood arrangements and the other is recorded by children's artist Bill Haley. However, facts are facts: In the Wee Small Hours became Sinatra's quintessential record and completely rejuvenated his career while 'Rock Around the Clock' became a smash hit and gave rock and roll the high-profile boost it needed. No LPs resulted, however; record companies did not believe that singles-buying kids would know what to do with an album and so tentative moves in that direction were only made in the year of Elvis.

On the other hand, if you were a hard-bopping high-octane jazz ensemble looking to strut your stuff, you could release albums at a prodigious rate. Keeping in mind that only a couple of years back there had been a strict limit on song and LP lengths, the 1955 jazz explosion makes a lot of sense. Everybody gets to solo! But what was available to an audience hungry for innovators? 

Actually there were a couple of innovators at work, possibly more (a more exhaustive search would be in order but after all this project is just for fun). Lennie Tristano might have been having fun when he started experimenting with overdubbing but it didn't really go down very well with purists. Would you believe it? Purists way back then? Another innovative fellow was Chico Hamilton. Surprisingly able to combine genres (jazz/chamber classical/Arabic) in a very listen-able way as well as being a rather inventive drummer/percussionist. His album with the Quintet deserves pride of place on any "Best of Year" list.

And in an LP market saturated with jazz releases, there were still the singers, interpreting the Great American Songbook on the eve of its demise and discovering new ways to increase its sophistication. Frank Sinatra came up with the themed concept while Tony Bennett and Julie London worked within stripped-down frameworks, conveying heightened elegance and stronger emotional content. They all lost out to Elvis in the long run, but their techniques must be praised (even if Sinatra's arrangements left everything to be desired).

In short, 1955 was a respectable year in music but as for excitement, no way. Look ahead to 1956 for that.

Chico Hamilton Quintet featuring Buddy Collette

For us, the highlight of 1955, easily the most interesting and up to repeated listening. An overlooked gem. Ticharu

Julie is Her Name

Cry Me a River and an impeccable vibe. Nymith

Horace Silver and the Jazz Messengers

In a year with a few records out by musicians who knew how to jam, the first Jazz Messengers LP seemed to be just that little bit faster, that little bit better and slightly more exciting. Ticharu

Cloud 7

Sentimental? Sure. Yet Bennett can wring real emotion from soppy standards. Quite classy. Also: Best album cover of 1955! Nymith

Satch Plays Fats

Pointless? It's a good record but Louis routinely made great records and so did Fats Waller. Get those instead. Ticharu

Chet Atkins in 3 Dimensions

Music to play quietly in a nice restuarant or small social gathering rather than listen to. Nymith

In The Wee Small Hours

Spell-bindingly soporific. Nymith

The Unused Bin: More than half the albums in this category are justifiably good on their own terms. We just didn't feel we had enough to say that they'd merit a review on this site.

Helen Merrill

"At the start I thought Helen could have created a smokey sultry update of Marlene Dietrich. A smart producer might have heard the potential and reigned in the instrumental soloists and perhaps chosen some stronger material." Ticharu

June Christy: Something Cool

"Some people like June Christy and her vocal/visual neck-crane. We don't." Nymith

Lennie Tristano

"The overdub experiments made for a one off insteresting listen. His straight up jazz sets were a bit piano bar." Ticharu

Krupa and Rich

"Mad drums!" Ticharu

Hamp and Getz

"Mad vibes!" Ticharu

Clifford Brown and Max Roach

Study in Brown

The Jazz Experiments of Charlie Mingus

"Pales next to Pithecanthropus Erectus." Nymith

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington

"Monk didn't want to play Duke and it kind of shows..." Nymith

Lastly, Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock, which we really should have listened to as responsible reviewers but every time we came close to hitting play we had to ask ourselves "do we REALLY want to hear Bill Haley EVER again?" and that sealed it. Apologies to the Comets and their fans.