Rein de Graaff - Now Is The Time

I'd love to introduce you to a very nice compilation disc made by the Timeless label, called Now Is The Time ; The central figure is Rein de Graaff, the Dutch bebop piano player.

Rein started to back US solists while visiting Europe and showed that he was able to peform with these skilled musicians. In the book Belevenissen in Bebop written by Coen de Jonge he tells about his numerous tours and recording sessions with musicians like David Fathead Newman, Teddy Edwards, Arnett Cobb and Dexter Gordon. This is only a small selection of the musicians he peformed - the index of the book reads like a who-is-who in jazz music.

During the last decade I was so lucky to hear him perform with several of those great musicians: David Fathead Newman and Houston Person performed in 1998 - Johnny Griffin'(2002) and Herb Geller (2002) and Sonny Fortune (2005). - James Spaulding was with the Rein de Graaff Trio in Porgy en Bess - Terneuzen ( The Netherlands) some months ago.

This compilation gives nine track with unissued performances from Rein's archive from the 1970s up to some yearsago. Recordings with Tom Kirkpatrick and James Clay, Dexter Gordon, Bob Cooper, Teddy Edward, Charlie Rouse and Bud Shank.
For me his performance with Herb Geller is a nice surprise as Herb Geller was with Rein in Porgy and Bess in 2002 with a great concert ( see my concert logs )

This record has been placed on my Favorite Records site