Best Vibes in Jazz

Frap and Jbaxley: Thanks for the very specific suggestions--I'm going to buy those, assuming I can find them.
Kubla and SD: Sounds like I need some Lionel Hampton--did you know his name appears on no less than 150 albums? Since I'm probably not going to get all of these--at least initially--can you all suggest maybe the top three that I should get?

We recorded a NY vibist, Joe Locke, a number of years ago who's supposed to be awesome. (We haven't released the recording yet, so I haven't heard it first hand.) I saw a nice write up on Joe recently in Down Beat (?) recently and he has a new album out that sounded worth checking out.

We have releases a few CDs that feature vibes too. I'm sure you'll be knocked out by the recordings. There's:

Andy McCloud's "Blues For Bighead" - one of Andy's Gentlemen is vibist Steve Nelson. The music's largely improvised, bluesy jazz.

John Cocuzzi "Swingin' and Burnin'" - 30's/40's hot jazz a la Benny Goodman, and my favorite of the three.

Warren Smith's "Cat's Are Stealing My $hit" - There are either vibes or marimba's on a handfull of tracks here. This CD's sort of a jazz percussion smorgasbord.

The Modern Jazz Quartet: Together Again-Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. This digital recording was made in 1982 and mastered by Joe Tarantino of Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. It features nine of MJQ's best work. The sound quality of the recording is excellent. The music is very cool!

What's wrong with you people!? Haven't you heard of Cal Tjeider? In my humble opinion, he's the greatest vibraphonist of them all! If you like latin spiced jazz, try any of his vintage Concord Jazz recordings and prepare to be mesmerized!

Happy Listening,
Jojo

If you are interested in learning more about Lionel Hampton (one of the grand old men of jazz), check out the following sites:

http://www.downbeat.com/sections/artists/text/bio.asp?from=go&id1=3793

http://people.a2000.nl/ahbone/Hampton.html

http://www.duke.edu/~hlh2/

Enjoy!