Claude Williamson was one of the better bebop-oriented pianists to be active during the 1950s. This trio set with bassist Red Mitchell and drummer Mel Lewis has been reissued on CD. With the exception of four-minute renditions of "Stella by Starlight" and Horace Silver's "Hippy," all of the numbers clock in around the three-minute mark. The repertoire (which includes such tunes as "Somebody Loves Me," "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top," "Just One of Those Things" and "The Song Is You") is typical for the time period and Williamson brings to the music his own approach to playing bop. The set is quite enjoyable and, even if the program (which is around 39 minute) is a bit brief, it should appeal to straightahead jazz fans.

For his V.S.O.P. release, veteran pianist Claude Williamson performs six Bud Powell compositions, plus six other standards that the innovative bop pianist enjoyed playing. With the assistance of bassist Dave Carpenter and drummer Paul Kreibich, Williamson displays both the Powell influence and his own approach to bebop piano. The music always swings, has enough surprises to hold on to one's interest, and shows that Claude Williamson (who has been somewhat underrated through the years) was still in prime form four decades after his initial recognition. Highlights of this easily recommended disc include "Hallucinations," "Bud's Bubble," "Parisian Thoroughfare," and "Bouncing With Bud."

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood - January 19 and December 3, 4 and 5, 1956. Featuring Don Prell, Chuck Flores, Red Mitchell and Mel Lewis.
A superior bop pianist influenced by Bud Powell, Claude Williamson remained busy playing on the West Coast for a half century, beginning in the 1950s. The older brother of trumpeter Stu Williamson, Claude started on piano when he was seven and had ten years of classical piano lessons, also studying at the New England Conservatory. Williamson's first major musical job was with Charlie Barnet's orchestra in 1947. This was followed by stints with Red Norvo (1948), Barnet's bebop big band of 1949, and June Christy (1950-1951). In the 1950s, Williamson worked regularly with Bud Shank, Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, with his own trios, and as a studio musician…

Bud Shank Quartet Featuring Claude Williamson is an album by Bud Shank recorded in late 1956 for the Pacific Jazz label.
Bud Shank began his career pigeonholed as a cool schooler, but those who listened to the altoist progress over the long haul knew that he became one of the hottest, most original players of the immediate post-Parker generation. Lumped in with the limpid-toned West Coast crowd in the '50s, Shank never ceased to evolve; in his later years, he had more in common with Jackie McLean or Phil Woods than with Paul Desmond or Lee Konitz…