Jazz / Cool, West Coast Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz
Al Haig Performer, Piano
Blossom Dearie Vocals
Bob Weinstock Supervisor
Don Schlitten Art Direction, Reissue Producer
Gene Ramey Bass
Harry Lim Supervisor
Jimmy Raney Vocals, Guitar
Junior Parker Vocals
Kai Winding Trombone
Kirk Felton Remastering
Mark Gardner Liner Notes
Roy Haynes Drums
Stan Getz Performer, Sax (Tenor)
Stan Levey Drums
Tommy Potter Bass
Al Haig
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s
Born: Jul 22, 1922 in Newark, NJ
Died: Nov 16, 1982 in New York, NY
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Bop, Jazz Instrument, Piano Jazz
One of the finest pianists of the bop era (and one who learned from Bud Powell's innovations quite early), Al Haig was quite busy during two periods of his career but unfortunately was pretty obscure in the years between. After serving in the Coast Guard (playing in bands during 1942-1944) and freelancing around Boston, Haig worked steadily with Dizzy Gillespie (1945-1946), Charlie Parker (1948-1950), and Stan Getz (1949-1951); and was on many recordings, mostly as a sideman (including some classic Diz and Bird sessions) but also as a leader for Spotlite, Dawn, and Prestige. However (other than little-known dates in 1954 for Esoteric, Swing, and Period), Haig did not lead any more albums until 1974. He played fairly often during the 1951-1973 period, but was generally overlooked. That changed during his last decade, when he was finally recognized as a bop giant and recorded for Spotlite, Choice, SeaBreeze, Interplay, and several Japanese and European labels.
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
