Americans Swinging in Paris

[king ubu]

This seems to be the old thread (found via google), but it's not there any longer:

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=5370

The discs are by:

Cat Anderson

Art Ensemble of Chicago (the Pathé sessions, vinyl dubbed, discussed here in detail before)

Don Byas

Benny Carter

Kenny Clarke

Bill Coleman

Bill Coleman live

Wild Bill Davis

Golden Gate Quartet

Lionel Hampton

Slide Hampton (discussed here)

Earl Hines

Mezz Mezzrow

James Moody

Sammy Price

Zoot Sims

Memphis Slim

Lucky Thompson

Dicky Wells

Phil Woods

This is a pretty fine reissue series, packed in not so great digipacks, many of the albums contain music recorded for a label called Ducretet-Thomson. I've had the AEC, Moody and Wells for a while. Now I have just bought a few more (Zoot Sims, Bill Coleman, Lucky Thompson, Kenny Clarke) and hopefully some more that are on order will come through.

Several are pretty short, alas, and some contain (at least partly) very well-known sessions (the Wells only has two sessions, one being the famous one with Django, the Carter has three - none led by Carter, or just one? - and one being the famous one with Coleman Hawkins and Django).

They're either OOP already or just about to go OOP, and some are impossible to find - such as the Cat Anderson (I just found - after all the googling around - a Swiss site that still lists it, just sent in an order there: www.lesestoff.ch - I have my doubts they'll deliver though, a danish site I tried a few days ago didn't work out though they didn't take the listing down yet - that was cdjazz.com)

[king ubu]

and to add a few comments to those I know: the Sims is fine, a quintet date with Jon Eardley and Henri Renaud, similar to the date on that Jazz in Paris Sims/Renaud disc, the AEC is essential (plenty of discussion of that in other threads), the Moody is not that great, but fine, similar for the Carter. The Wells is short but terrific. The Kenny Clarke is great - it contains a magnificient quartet date with Lucky Thompson and Martial Solal, another date with Lucky and other horns, one track with Tony Scott, and to end things off finally a great session by Hubert Fol. The Lucky T. certainly is fine, too, if his other 1956 Paris dates are an indication - I haven't played this one yet.

[Niko]

only have the lucky thompson and really like it (more than my other 1956 lt paris stuff, one vogue disc and one jazz in paris...), the cd is very long (iirc), four sessions, all of which are great, a quartet with martial solal, a quintet with solal and fellow tenor guy lafitte, a quintet with henri renaud and emmett berry and (personal favorite) a piano-less quartet session led by guitarist Jean Pierre Sasson

[jazzbo]

If you like Mezz you might like the Mezz.

I do.

[king ubu]

Hm, the Mezzrow was one of those I wanted to skip (along with the Memphis Slim, Golden Gate Quartet, Earl Hines, Sammy Price and Wild Bill Davis).

The Woods, btw, I once heard on the radio - mighty fine one, with the Gruntz/Texier/Humair edition of his band (European something machine, rhythm?), they do that great opening number from Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth", among other things.

[king ubu]

And looking up the Lucky Thompson discography I realize that except for that supposedly very rare "Club des Amateurs des Disques" release, I have all the 1956 Paris sessions Lucky did! I guess I'll put them onto a set of CDRs some day, in chronological order...

On second look - wow, what a year for Lucky, 1956! So many great sessions done then, including the ones for ABC/Paramount in trio and quintet and with Oscar Pettiford! Also the Lionel Hampton Jazztone session, Quincy Jones' "This Is How I Feel About Jazz", and to end the year, the Satchmo all star dates and a session for one of Chris Connor's most outstanding albums! Impressive!

And the year got underway by those great sessions for Savoy with Bags!

Edited April 8, 2008 by king ubu

[Niko]

And looking up the Lucky Thompson discography I realize that except for that supposedly very rare "Club des Amateurs des Disques" release, I have all the 1956 Paris sessions Lucky did! I guess I'll put them onto a set of CDRs some day, in chronological order...

On second look - wow, what a year for Lucky, 1956! So many great sessions done then, including the ones for ABC/Paramount in trio and quintet and with Oscar Pettiford! Also the Lionel Hampton Jazztone session, Quincy Jones' "This Is How I Feel About Jazz", and to end the year, the Satchmo all star dates and a session for one of Chris Connor's most outstanding albums! Impressive!

And the year got underway by those great sessions for Savoy with Bags!

a great year for him (and also nice from the labels that all the paris stuff (except for that one session which is not out on cd?) is available easily on just 5 cds without any doubling (two vogue, two jazz in paris and the americans swinging in p) (not so easy for the 1958 paris stuff iirc)

[Niko]

And looking up the Lucky Thompson discography I realize that except for that supposedly very rare "Club des Amateurs des Disques" release, I have all the 1956 Paris sessions Lucky did! I guess I'll put them onto a set of CDRs some day, in chronological order...

On second look - wow, what a year for Lucky, 1956! So many great sessions done then, including the ones for ABC/Paramount in trio and quintet and with Oscar Pettiford! Also the Lionel Hampton Jazztone session, Quincy Jones' "This Is How I Feel About Jazz", and to end the year, the Satchmo all star dates and a session for one of Chris Connor's most outstanding albums! Impressive!

And the year got underway by those great sessions for Savoy with Bags!

a great year for him (and also nice from the labels that all the paris stuff (except for that one session which is not out on cd?) is available easily on just 5 cds without any doubling (two vogue, two jazz in paris and the americans swinging in p) (not so easy for the 1958 paris stuff iirc)

ok, i just ordered the vogue volume i was still missing... (more accurately i ordered the second of two older cds, street scenes and lucky sessions which collect (a rearrangement of) the two vogue volumes plus some gigi gryce material...)

[king ubu]

The Kenny Clarke also holds two Lucky T sessions, don't forget that! One being in Quartet with Solal and Michelot, hence fitting in perfectly with the other sessions. The other one has additional horns. And with the Hubert Fol session added, it's a very fine disc anyway, as I pointed out above already.

[Niko]

The Kenny Clarke also holds two Lucky T sessions, don't forget that! One being in Quartet with Solal and Michelot, hence fitting in perfectly with the other sessions. The other one has additional horns. And with the Hubert Fol session added, it's a very fine disc anyway, as I pointed out above already.

not forgetting that one, no no... currently at a point where i have to concentrate a bit to know all the cds that are on their ways here, but of course, the clarke won't be around for long...

[Bluesnik]

If you like Mezz you might like the Mezz.

this is one i almost picked up years ago. i had read his book and was curious. i remember holding it in my hands (together with the AEC) several times but i never kept it in the end. now they have all vanished. at least from the shops. and i think now i would like to have it.

[Big Beat Steve]

If you like Mezz you might like the Mezz.

this is one i almost picked up years ago. i had read his book and was curious. i remember holding it in my hands (together with the AEC) several times but i never kept it in the end. and i think now i would like to have it.

Are you a masochist or something or are you just out for a good laugh?

I don't think anybody would qualify Mezz as such a supreme musician that any of his discs would have to be considered essential purely for HIS playing.

I bought one or the other of his LP's in my earlier collecting days too and upon listening to them (after a long time) I find the quips and put-downs the scribes (except Panaissé, of course!) made of his playing still are quite accurate (even if somebody as acidic - but very much to the point - as Boris Vian wrote it! )

Ted Lewis was't the only one whose clarinet said "please put me back in my case!" :D

[jazzbo]

Did anyone say "get this disc purely for Mezz's playing?"

I like it. I'll have to spin it again soon. Sure it's not as essential as the King Jazz sides (which are not essential for Mezz but sure are for some killin' Bechet and Ladnier!). But it's interesting.

[Big Beat Steve]

Yes of course, I see what you mean, Jazzbo. And "interesting" certainly is a fitting term.

But isn't it so: No doubt we all miss out on all too many discs through our collecting years, and in all too many cases there is reason to cry out loud because we didn't act fast enough before they went OOP. But crying about a Mezzrow disc? Hardly ... So don't worry too much, Bluesnik, if you dont' get your hands on this.

[king ubu]

Ok, then the Woods and Price seem to be gone, too... too bad, as the parts of the Woods I've once heard on the radio were terrific! Not sure I'd really need the Price, but the Woods and Anderson certainly look tempting!