Muse Records

[Leeway]

Reading the liner notes for "Woody III" by Amiri Baraka, Baraka comments that MUSE Records was "the Blue Note and Prestige of the '60s." Actually, that line appears as a quote in Baraka's essay, and it's not clear if he's quoting Woody Shaw, or some other unnamed source.

Anyway, it got me thinking about Muse. I really don't know much about it. Maybe this would be a good place to discuss its history, who owned and ran it, its key artists, what happened to the label (I know a lot of Muse titles are offered by Evidence Records, and I think a lot of them found their way into the 32 Jazz catalog).

Finally, was Muse the "Blue Note and Prestige of the 60s"? (Actually, as BN and Prestige were still going quite strong in the 60s, at least the early and mid-part of that decade) , maybe this line should be read as Muse had the importace in its time (the 70s?) that BN and Prestige had in the 60s? In any event, was Muse an "important" label, and did it have a significant influence on contemporary jazz?

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Are there any Muse dates reissued by Evidence? 32Jazz had them for a while, yes.

Label listing here:

http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Labels/muse.htm

There are some albums on the label which sound "of their time" which isn't always a bad thing. Some other albums can stand their own against anything you can name. I think the Woody Shaw stuff would be a good example of that.

There was quite a wide variety - Muse gave us the first recordings as a leader from Kenny Barron, a good helping of organ jazz, in addition to some fine Sonny Stitt albums. They had great singers, Brazilian, blues, free, some fusion, but a lot of straightahead stuff. They didn't seem to have a problem with older players - Hank Jones, Bill Hardman, Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, Jaki Byard, even Buddy Tate, Earl Warren, and Art Hodes. They weren't just looking for the "new young stars", although they certainly did have their share of those (like Wallace Roney or Cindy Blackman). And they gave chances to folks who never had them before (and never got them again) - Tex Allen, Mitch Farber, Walt Barr. I give them credit for their open-mindedness.

Muse also did some reissues from Douglas, Jazztime (and Cobblestone) and issued historical material for the first time (Tony Scott, for example).

Mike

[Eric]

I think it would be more accurate to descibe Muse as the BN and Prestige of the 70s and 80s versus the 60s. To my knowledge, Muse was not active until the 70s (although they occasionally issued material recorded in the 60s.)

In terms of historical significance, I would place them closer to Prestige than BN, but I think that sort of comparison is missing the point a bit. Muse was probably the most recorded independent label of the era and it certainly kept the torch burning for jazz rooted in bop and hard bop (although they veered into more avant garde territory on occasion).

Others will have their favorites, but I really enjoy the Woody Shaw lps. All of those have been reissued. Ricky Ford had a pretty nice run as well, although aside from a compilation, none of it has made it to CD.

Bill Hardman has three very nice lps that have never made it to CD, which is a real shame.

I like the Walter Bishop Jr. lps from the 70s, but again, nothing on CD. Both the Bishop and Hardman material is hard bop oriented, but well done IMHO.

Bill Barron had a couple three great lps.

Another favorite - Donald Brown - the pianist from Memphis. Most of his work (maybe 5-6 CDs) was done in the 80s and can be found with some searching. Very nice writing and a mix of players over the CDs.

Finally, I love the Mickey Tucker lps. In a simialr vein as the Hardman and Bishop, but again very well done - fresh-sounding and rewarding hard bop.

Ooops - don't forget James Spaulding. Again, much of his work (maybe 3-4 albums) made it to CD and are "out there".

I am just scratching the surface - Kenny Burrell had a nice run on Muse as did Charles Earland, Groove Holmes and others. There is a LOT more to the catalog that what I have mentioned - just some favorites that come to mind.

A few other points. I always thought the quality of the lp pressings was pretty lousy. Also, there is no active reissue program on CD. 32 Jazz did a pretty decent job for a while, but they are out of business. Savoy has picked up the catalog, but aside from a few straight reissues of the 32 Jazz reissues, they have not shown any interest in the catalog. Having said that, I generally think you can find the 32 Jazz CDs around - either new or used.

Edited September 5, 2004 by Eric

[Bill Fenohr]

As i remember the label did not come along until the mid to later 70's. It was owned by Joe Fields, who i think now owns High Note.They recorded into the 90's and i think there are between four to five hundred titles in their catolog. Im not sure but i seem to remember that Joe sold the label a couple of times but keep getting it back when the buyers would default.

They probably were a top jazz label in the late 70's and the 80's because the other labels had stopped recording jazz. Most of the artists on the label were ignored by the big labels or were'nt deemed commerical.

Besides the guys Eric and Mike named, some others that recorded for Muse were Pepper Adams, Richie Cole, Eric Kloss, Mark Murphy, Cedar Walton, Eddie Jefferson, Dave Schnitter, Etta Jones, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Houston Person, Jimmy Heath and Willis Jackson.

There still seems to be alot of the vinyl around at used stores at reasonable prices.

[robviti]

Ricky Ford had a pretty nice run as well, although aside from a compilation, none of it has made it to CD.

Bill Barron had a couple three great lps.

actually, muse did release ricky ford's saxotic stomp and hard groovin' on cd, and bill barron's the next plateau as well.

i really like woody shaw's recordings for muse, especially moontrane and the iron men. i think my all-time favorite muse release is phil woods's musique du bois.

i'm glad we got a second chance to hear some of the muse catalog through the reissues on 32 jazz (both labels were owned by joel dorn, leeway). oh, but the horrible packaging! ugly artwork, a glued-on cover that slowly comes apart over time, and dorn's essays (some boring, others truly mind-boggling) that sometimes had nothing to do with the artist! one day, i hope somebody else will take a crack at this catalog with new remasters (some of the original recordings don't sound very well recorded), original artwork, and no glue! B-)

[Michael Fitzgerald]

Both labels were owned by Joel Dorn? Actually, none of the labels mentioned here were owned by Dorn. If I understand correctly, the only labels that he has actually owned have been Night and Hyena. He had nothing to do with Muse (Joe Fields), nothing to do with Evidence (Jerry Gordon), he was hired to run 32 Jazz and also Label M.

Mike

[BFrank]

I have a bunch of Muse stuff:

David Schnitter - "Thundering", "Goliath"

Sam Jones - "Something in Common"

Clifford Jordan - "Night of the Mark VII"

Several Mark Murphy's

Cedar Walton - "Eastern Rebellion", "Breakthrough" (previously on Cobblestone)

Woody Shaw - "Lovedance", "The Moontrane", "Live at the Berliner Jazztage"

Ricky Ford - "Tenor for the Times"

Art Blakey - "In My Prime, Vol. 1" (on Timeless Muse)

Larry Coryell - "Equipoise"

Charles Earland - "Mama Roots", "Infant Eyes"

There are probably others.

I find that I get Muse albums confused with Inner City (Irv Kratka's label) albums.

Edited September 6, 2004 by BFrank

[robviti]

yikes! could i be any more wrong?

[mailman]

Kenny Barron-Sunset to Dawn-LP

Kenny Barron-Golden Lotus-LP

Cecil Brooks lll-The Collective-CD

Donald Brown-Sources of Inspiration-CD

Jaki Byard-There'll Be Some Changes Made-LP

Richard Davis-Epistrophy&Now's The Time-LP

Lou Donaldson-Sweet Pappa Lou-LP

Lou Donaldson-Backstreet-LP

Tiny Grimes-Profoundly Blue-LP

Graham Haynes-?What Time It Be!-CD

Jimmy Heath-Love And Understanding-LP

Groove Holmes-Broadway-LP

Helen Humes-Helen Humes and the Muse All Stars-LP

Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson-Bar Wars-LP

Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson-In The Alley-LP

Willis 'Gator Tail' Jackson'-Lockin' Horns with Von Freeman-LP

Clifford Jordan-Inward Fire-LP

Pat Martino-We'll Be Together Again-LP

James Moody-Never Again!-LP

Don Patterson-These Are Soulful Days-LP

Red Rodney-Live At The Village Vanguare-LP

Wallace Roney-Verses-LP

Woody Shaw-The Moontrane-LP

Woody Shaw-Love Dance-LP

Mickey Tucker-Mister Mysterious-LP

Mickey Tucker-The Crawl-LP

Rod Williams-Hanging In The Balance-CD

Phil Woods-Musique Du Bois-LP

[JSngry]

Muse would have been connected to Prestige in the sense that a lot of the artists that Don Schlitten produced at Prestige followed him to Cobblestone, and then when Fields and Schlitten split, some of those same cats went to Muse. Or so it seemed. Jimmy Heath, Sonny Stitt, who else, if anybody? James Moody never went to Cobblestone, but showed up on Muse after his run at Prestige (via Milestone?).

Too much math for R&B, but it was a good label w/a diverse catalog. They got a little predictable in some ways, but they were showing signs of tapping into a new scene centered around young guys like Graham Haynes, Gary Thomas, Kenny Garrett, Lonnie Plaxico, Cindy Blackmon, Geri Allen, Wallace & Antoine Roney, etc. A lot of M-Base cats doing "straight ahead" dates that might have grown into something substantial, but maybe not. We'll never know, because the label folded before the players had a chance to grow and solidify whatever it was that they were working on with their work for the label. Try and imagine what would have happened to all the Blue Note heavyweights of the mid-60s if that label had folded around 1959 or 1962 - where would they have gone, and would they have been able to grow like the did? Who knows?

Tell you what, though - it was a label that put out a LOT of stuff. Reissuing it all would not be simple!

Edited September 6, 2004 by JSngry

[Chuck Nessa]

Real story both simpler and more complex. Joe Fields got into the biz via Prestige marketing job - I met him in those days - 1968. Sold Muse for a bundle (that's why 32 jazz started and the cause of its death) and Joe kept the same operation going via a new imprint High Note. Like many in the jazz biz, Joe is the devil and a salvation (for some).

[connoisseur series500]

I scrolled through that list of Muse issues...WOW!!

There's a lot there that I'd like to hear.

I thought I had a lot of their stuff through 32jazz, but there's a ton there...

[Tony Pusey]

Pony Canyon in Japan have a Muse reissue program with original cover art, but a somewhat erratic choice of titles in my opinion, Little Red Fantasy but no Moontrane for example. I jump all over them as soon as Hiroshi offers a new batch!

[SEK]

The CD release of Richard Davis's superb "Epistrophy & Now's The Time" had a "bonus" cut, a nice version of "Highest Mountain". It's my favorite Muse release, and a very live "live" recording.

[robviti]

Pony Canyon in Japan have a Muse reissue program with original cover art, but a somewhat erratic choice of titles in my opinion, Little Red Fantasy but no Moontrane for example. I jump all over them as soon as Hiroshi offers a new batch!

i have pony canyon's reissue of phil woods's musique du bois. sony records also reissued some great muse titles in the late 90's, including woody shaw's moontrane. i have their dsd remasters of shaw's in the beginning (aka cassandrite) and love dance. they sound excellent!

Edited September 10, 2004 by jazzshrink

[sidewinder]

A lot of this Muse material was reissued here in the UK a few years ago on Camden as 2CD set compilations. They are the biz ! Before they went out of print I was able to pick up the Kenny Barron, Red Rodney, Cedar Walton and one with Al Cohn and Phil Woods. They sounded pretty good too and could be picked up for about £7-8 ish. The Barron and Walton, in particular, get quite a bit of airplay at my place.

[robviti]

the camden series also reissued sets featuring muse titles from pepper adams and clifford jordan.

[paul secor]

Just want to make mention of a couple of good Lester Bowie LPs on Muse that are well worth listening to: Fast Last! and Rope-A-Dope.

As Eric has mentioned, Muse LP pressings were spotty at best. It was hit or miss whether you got a decent pressing or a garbage pressing. I probably would have bought more Muse records if it weren't for that fact.

[ajf67]

ust want to make mention of a couple of good Lester Bowie LPs on Muse that are well worth listening to: Fast Last!

I'll second a recommendation on Fast Last. Good date, and I picked it up cheap at a used store.

[Jim R]

the camden series also reissued sets featuring muse titles from pepper adams and clifford jordan.

There was also a Kenny Burrell 2-CD set that contained 3 of his Muse albums.

[Tony Pusey]

....and a Camden twofer of Woody Shaw.

[chris olivarez]

Are these Camden sets still in print?

[Tony Pusey]

Dunno Chris, you could try www.crazyjazz.co.uk who used to list them.

Edited September 14, 2004 by Tony Pusey

[Bill Fenohr]

Since many board members are fans of Mosaic, i thought i might mention that Michael Cuscuna produced a number of the original Muse dates.

Some of the artists he produced were Ricky Ford, Robin Kenyatta, Eric Kloss, Barry Altschul, Boo Boo Shaw, Albert Daily,Eddie Jefferson ad Larry Coryell. Im sure there were others, but those are the ones i can remember off the top of my head.

It seems like there should be a Mosaic box in there somewhere. The Big Mike's Muse Sessions. What do you think?

[BFrank]

"The Real Thing" - Louis Hayes

Woody Shaw

Rene McLean

Ronnie Matthews

Stafford James

Slide Hampton

Produced by Michael Cuscuna