Forums

May 6 David Friesen - 1942

While reading the recently-published Don Byas biography ("Sax Expat") I chanced upon a highly affordable copy of the CBS "A Tribute to Cannonball" Don Byas/Bud Powell LP of 1961 and took it home (and like it a lot): https://www.discogs.com/de/master/407175-Don-Byas-Bud-Powell-A-Tribute-To-Cannonball Looking for period reviews of the record in my historical jazz magazines, however, I drew a blank, and the Discogs page seems to indicate that the above 1979 release actually was the original one. During my searches, though, I discoverd a 4-page photo spread on this very recording session ("Cannonball supervising a jam session of the exilees") published in the February 1962 issue of (French) "Jazz Magazine". In addition to other background info this states that "the session yielded enough material for a 45-minute record that Columbia will release in the USA in spring (i.e. of 1962), and it is going to be billed to The Kenny Clarke Quintet." Anyone among you fellow discophiles familiar with anything of that kind? I usually do trust Discogs for such basic facts, so is it really so that this session sat in the can until 1979? (The new Don Byas bio is remarkably vague about when this record actually hit the market and may or may have not added to the discographical awareness of the jazz public of Don Byas in his lifetime.)  

It is possibly out there but much harder to find since the person who was the source for many of the Blue Note dates that got leaked does not seem to have made a copy of this one before it got lost.

You are suggesting the interview might not be an accurate transcription of what Drayton actually said? Would this have been out of sloppiness or a disingenuous attempt to further muddy the waters and advance the faulty Denis Charles narrative? I can totally see the latter, except I do not see the actual point of it. Claiming it is Denis rather than Huss will not move an extra 500 copies. Could it be that the error was discovered after the Denis estate had already been paid? Do estates get one flat fee in this situation and then it is over?

There was a very good overview of Butcher's recordings in the Wire recently, written by Seymour Wright. It highlighted how little I'd really heard, this being a case in point. I saw him in a trio over Easter and his playing was superb, so controlled and without embellishment. Can you have saxophone haiku?