Shrdlu

To Mjzee, yes, that's J.J.'s trombone case, and you can see the trombone bell. I just saw the pic today after Mosaic linked to the article. I had not seen that pic before. Other pics from that session are well-known.

Woodwind instruments have keys that close pads, not valves. The keys are arranged in two clusters so that the player's hands can reach them. One's hands are not directly over all of the holes (except for a few smaller instruments, such as a treble recorder). It is the same principle whether it's a soprano saxophone or this flute monstrosity (three octaves below the standard flute). On the larger instruments, the keys might be a little further apart, but fingers have a limited span. I have heard samples of this flute, and I think it has an unpleasant, grunty sound. To me, it's just a workshop curiosity. I am very fond of the "bass flute", one octave below the regular flute (and twice as long), but that's as low as I am prepared to go in the flute family.

Just saw this thread now. You are in my prayers.

Really sorry to hear this, Soulstation. My deepest sympathy.

Thanks very much, guys, for letting us know about this and posting a link. I watched it pretty much straightaway. It is very well done, and contains material that most people have not seen before. It avoids the usual pitfalls of biographies. To those who had a part in it: A hearty "well done".

The Spotlite Dial LPs may have begun in the late 60s. I was in Australia when I got them, and I left permanently at the end of 1971. I remember that Vol. 7, the session with J.J. Johnson, came out a bit later than the other 6 LPs. (I don't like the mute that J.J. uses for most of the session: it destroys his lovely open sound. Only on "How Deep Is The Ocean?" does he play open, and, for me, it proves my point emphatically.) To answer a question above, Tony Williams and Spotlite are still going, though I doubt that much new material has come out in the last few years. He did put out alll the Dial recordings, including the items in the first post in this thread. Other companies have issued some Dial items since Tony's definitive LPs, but they can't sound any better, because all the masters were lost in the 1950s and Tony had to rely on Dial 78s and LPs for virtually everything. (Tony told me that on the phone years ago.)

Ah, yes, the Spotlite label! Prior to it starting, in the 1960s, Charlie Parker's Dial recordings came out in dribs and drabs on various budget LPs. It was a most unsatisfactory situation, with variable sound and in no organized order. The original Dial label only lasted about 6 years, and its recording masters were lost. All that survived were the issued 78 singles and a few 10" and 12" LPs - fortunately, a lot of alternate takes were issued. Tony Williams, in England, got in touch with Dial's owner, Ross Russell, and they collaborated on a comprehensive series of complete Parker LPs, taken from the best original Dial 78s and LPs that could be located. I was delighted when I heard about that. The series ended up being seven LPs, and the source material was of a pretty high standard throughout. But it should never have been like that. The New York City items were recorded at W.O.R. Studios, the place then used by Blue Note. The Blue Note masters still exist today, and so should those of Dial. I'll leave it to others to add more reminiscences. Spotlite still exists, and, of course, its material has been issued on CDs.

Is that still not working? I remember it being unavailable two or three months ago. Those Kupiku people are a class act in every way, and are (were?) cheaper than ordering through Discogs. Of course, the rarer CDs are pricey. Amazon.co.jp refuses to sell to customers outside Japan, and that can be annoying. I am surprised that Kupiku has not fixed their search function.

Yes, it is remarkable that Dex was listed in 1941. It shows once again how hip Bean was. Of course, he greatly encouraged the boppers, for example having Monk and Diz in his group. Like you, Peter, I would very much love to see a 1962 list. Of course, Bean knew Sonny, and recorded with Trane at a Monk session. Johnny Hodges was also hip. He said that Trane's recording of "In A Sentimental Mood" was the best he had ever heard.

This is of great interest. Thanks for posting that article. Quite an impressive list! Bean wasn't one to show off with flashy 16th-note runs, but awhile back, I came across a video of him doing a solo warmup, and he was rattling off a stream of rapid runs. It surprised me, because I had never heard him do that before. That dude could PLAY! Overuse of rapid runs isn't in good taste, in my humble opinion. It is better to groove with simple phrases. Consider Red Garland and Lou Donaldson, for example. Usually very simple, and you know what's coming, but it is wonderful stuff.

It is a straight 4/4, at about 130 bpm. It is actually "Blues #5“, because there are four other blueses at the session. It was omitted from the LP because it runs a bit over 10 minutes. There is a session photo showing Alfred holding one of those old, round watches.

The above list of Grant Green with Sonny Clark misses out the two takes of Woody 'N' You from October 27, 1961. These were included on the CD "First Session". For some reason, the session didn't produce anything else that could be issued. Like Lon, I have the Japanese CDs, issued in the last 7 years, of the other sessions those two recorded. The sound is great on those. This is some of the finest jazz ever recorded. Wonderful stuff. A few years ago, I found a vinyl set of the Mosaic set of Ed Hall, James Johnson etc. for a very low price. Ed Hall is a favorite of mine on the clarinet, and the Johnson (solo piano) tracks go down well with this Fats Waller fan. Ed played one of those horrible Öhler system clarinets, but sounds fantastic. That system's main difference from the standard Boehm system clarinet in that ooo/oxx produces an F# instead of an F in the middle register (B instead of Bb in the low register). Ugghh. Jimmy Dorsey played one of those, too.

Saba was a class act. They issued (and recorded) the "Exclusively For My Friends" LPs by Oscar Peterson, and the sound and pressing quality were first-class. They had a deal with Prestige, and some of my Prestige LPs were Saba versions. Nice, clean sound. Prestige's vinyl at the time (late 1960s) wasn't very good. I used to order them by mail direct from their premises in New Jersey.

Recent posts about Baby Face Willette prompted me to dig out his Blue Note recordings. Today, I played "Face To Face", with Fred Jackson, Grant Green and Ben Dixon. That's a magnificent session all the way through. Back in 1967, I read "Write For Free Catalog" on a Blue Note label, so I wrote for a free catalog and got one. Quite a number of their LPs were already out-of-print. I noticed the Jackson album, which they titled "Hootin' And Tootin' ". The title revolted me, suggesting a "yakety sax" album. It wasn't until the end of the 1990s that I got the CD and discovered that Fred was a fine player. Bad title, in my opinion. He sure plays fine on the Willette session, as do they all. I have the "Blue Note Works" CD of it, which doesn't have the two extra takes included on the McMaster CD, but they are on the Japanese 4-CD set "The Other Side Of Blue Note 4000 Series" (TOCJ 5941-5944). That set has Michael Cuscuna written all over it, but my copy doesn't have the booklet, which surely must have been included originally. So, I was able to make up a nice, McMaster-free, CDR of everything that is available. I feel that the previously unissued take of "Face To Face" (take 8) is better than the originally issued take, though both are excellent. I recently acquired Willette's two Argo albums ("Mo Roc" and "Behind The 8 Ball"), and, to me, they are miserable. Many tracks are short, and there is no "groove" track like Jimmy Smith's "Red Top". Lou Donaldson's "Here 'Tis" is my favorite of all Lou's albums. Too bad that they didn't do a follow-up to that 4-CD set, which only goes as far as 1961. It has a 1500-series equivalent, but only on vinyl.

Ah, so it's actually Münster. I had forgotten that. In later years, Norman admitted that it was a joke.

On the back of some of those albums, Norman Granz said that they were "in genuine Munster Dummel High Fidelity". The recent Japanese "SHM" CD hoax is reminiscent of that.

Time to give the dog it is dinner.

I wonder why Lou went to Argo for about three years. Most of the guys on his Argo albums were Blue Note regulars and the last session (released as "Musty Rusty") was even recorded at Rudy's.

You actually read the New York Slimes??

Highly recommended.

I saw that first pic someplace recently, but I forget where. The pic just above this post is new to me. Thanks for posting. That isn't Hank's customary Selmer.

I wouldn't want to hear that Stones trash at any stage of their careers. Disgusting people and rubbish "music" (forgive the use of that word). Yechh.

It is time, once more, to quote "A Song Of Reproduction", from Flanders and Swann's "At The Drop Of A Hat" (1960) All the highest notes, neither sharp nor flat, The ear can't hear as high as that, But I thought I'd please any passing bat, With my high fidelitee. With the tone control, At a single touch, Puccini sounds like double Dutch, But I never did care for music much, It's my high fidelitee.

I know this is about vinyl, but I have the Blue Note Works CD, and it sounds great. I have the one alternate take, which is in the 90s U.S. complete Hancock set, and that sounds great, too. This is a favorite album of mine, and it has been played many times. I like to join in on Latin percussion. And, no annoying tenor saxophone to have to deal with, lol.

I have never liked Buddy's drum sound, though, of course, his techique was impressive. I was delighted to come across a video in which he spoke out against "country" music. That stuff is all hyper-clichéd crap, and that goes for their halloween costumes too. "Ah luv him, but he puked in my beer, twang twang twang." "He hit me, but it felt lark a kiss." Good for you, Buddy. That "Motown" stuff was crap, too.