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The Bill Savory Collection


Hardbopjazz

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Has there been any progress in getting this music licensed for a possible release? It's been 6 years from when the National Jazz Museum of Harlem obtained these.  I hope in my lifetime this will happen. 

A sample of the music. 

http://jazzmuseuminharlem.org/the-museum/collections/the-savory-collection/

 

Edited by Hardbopjazz
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I saw Loren Schoenberg a few weeks ago at the jazz collector's bash in New Jersey.  He said that he was "99% sure" that something would be coming out and that he was awaiting some final clearances.  At the time, he described the final approval as "imminent."  Given that there's been no subsequent announcement, I wonder if there's still some snag getting some clearances.

He said that selections from the collection would be made available as downloads only. 

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15 hours ago, jazztrain said:

I saw Loren Schoenberg a few weeks ago at the jazz collector's bash in New Jersey.  He said that he was "99% sure" that something would be coming out and that he was awaiting some final clearances.  At the time, he described the final approval as "imminent."  Given that there's been no subsequent announcement, I wonder if there's still some snag getting some clearances.

He said that selections from the collection would be made available as downloads only. 

So no physical release with accompanying booklet? Or does this mean that some of it will come out in a set, and some of it as downloads only?

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I spent a couple of hours at the NJMH yesterday and ran into Loren who reiterated that he thought there'd be some releases soon.  I  spent most of the time listening to the collection.  Biggest treat was a jam session with Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones. 

I hadn't realized that the collection wasn't of entire shows but rather of separate song selections that Savory chose to keep.   There seem to be only a few entire programs.But from what I heard I'd say he had very good taste. BTW of the 1100 or so items, 400 are by Benny Goodman.  But there's lots of Basie, Fats Waller and even Louis Jordan.  Sound quality varies from item to item. 

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Regardless of how one feels about his playing, Goodman tended to always be around interesting (or better) players and arrangers.

I get that there is a subset of fans who feel as if he was in a league of his own, as well as another subset that views him as an at-best necessary evil. But if Prez is there, I will be too. Etc.

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5 hours ago, medjuck said:

I spent a couple of hours at the NJMH yesterday and ran into Loren who reiterated that he thought there'd be some releases soon.  I  spent most of the time listening to the collection.  Biggest treat was a jam session with Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones. 

I hadn't realized that the collection wasn't of entire shows but rather of separate song selections that Savory chose to keep.   There seem to be only a few entire programs.But from what I heard I'd say he had very good taste. BTW of the 1100 or so items, 400 are by Benny Goodman.  But there's lots of Basie, Fats Waller and even Louis Jordan.  Sound quality varies from item to item. 

I plan on going the end of this week to listen to the collection myself. 

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5 hours ago, l p said:

this is far from very good taste.

remember he was married to helen ward, a former bg singer. maybe that explained his Preference for bg. btw: i read in 2005(!) - Long before the discovery of the so called savory collection--  in the swingin´ down the lane blog, that savory planned in his last years to issue about 300 cuts from bg in his own cd series. but the musician´union wanted exhorbitant royalties for the estates of all participatings Players. they´d have to Charge 100 us Dollars a cd. totally unfeasible. i read, that russ connor in his discographical book "wrappin´ it up" listed several of savory´s bg recordings (unissued). so, the collection was known Long before schoenberg´s find. with tracks and Dates. and if i rembember right the Columbia double lp-set "1937-38 jazz concert #2" is all savory material (??).

but i love to hear all this stuff one day!!!!

 

Keep boppin´

marcel   

1 hour ago, Hardbopjazz said:

I plan on going the end of this week to listen to the collection myself. 

if you have time go also to the Louis armstrong house Museum in Queens. there you can listen to an unissued Charlie parker jam session with big nick nicholas (not in any discographies, absolute unknown and undocumented!!!!) look here:

http://louisarmstrong.pastperfectonline.com/archive/08D6010A-D57D-45A2-8E88-482100638730

 

oh, i wish i would live not so far awawy....

 

Keep boppin´

marcel  

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In May I spent a couple of hours listening to as much as posible from the Savory collection. I listend to all Ellington items. Going throug the Goodman items  choosing those likely to be by the sextet with Charlie Christian. Then I looked for other interesting items with Benny, Lester and Roy Eldridge. Off course there was not time enough to listen to everything. I'm sorry I didn't take more notes of what I listend to. Not enough paper.  An afternoon well spend.

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3 hours ago, JSngry said:

Regardless of how one feels about his playing, Goodman tended to always be around interesting (or better) players and arrangers.

I get that there is a subset of fans who feel as if he was in a league of his own, as well as another subset that views him as an at-best necessary evil. But if Prez is there, I will be too. Etc.

Don't think that are many still living who think of BG as being in a league of his own, but while I never was quite in the necessary evil camp (though close to it, in part because I much preferred Artie Shaw in the Goodman versus Shaw sweepstakes), I eventually warmed up to BG many years ago. The man sure could play; above all, he was a swinger.

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Chicago's own...what's the guy's name, John McDonough? he used to be one of those staunch Goodman advocates back when I read the mag, going back to the 70s. Didn't have a problem with that per se, b/c BG did have some really excellent bands, but I was troubled that he was quite often dismissive of Ellington, and there's always something weird to me when somebody has that extreme of a divide.

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1 hour ago, JSngry said:

Chicago's own...what's the guy's name, John McDonough? he used to be one of those staunch Goodman advocates back when I read the mag, going back to the 70s. Didn't have a problem with that per se, b/c BG did have some really excellent bands, but I was troubled that he was quite often dismissive of Ellington, and there's always something weird to me when somebody has that extreme of a divide.

Yes, McDonough pretty much joined (or tried to join) himself to BG at the hip (and to John Hammond as well). John might be thought of as a Swing Era Moldy Fig, if you know what I mean -- even though the Swing Era was coming to end when he was born (probably in 1942, same as me; he was a high school classmate of mine). That is, while I don't doubt that John really likes the music he really likes, he likes as much or perhaps even more what he thinks it was like to have been alive and kicking in that world, would go back and live there forever if time travel were possible. I think John has gone on record that his favorite writer on jazz, social style, etc. is the late Boston newspaper columnist George Frazier. Google should fill you in on who Frazier was; if it don't, I'll give it try.

Didn't know that John was dismissive of Ellington -- that's crazy.

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5 hours ago, bichos said:

remember he was married to helen ward, a former bg singer. maybe that explained his Preference for bg. btw: i read in 2005(!) - Long before the discovery of the so called savory collection--  in the swingin´ down the lane blog, that savory planned in his last years to issue about 300 cuts from bg in his own cd series. but the musician´union wanted exhorbitant royalties for the estates of all participatings Players. they´d have to Charge 100 us Dollars a cd. totally unfeasible. i read, that russ connor in his discographical book "wrappin´ it up" listed several of savory´s bg recordings (unissued). so, the collection was known Long before schoenberg´s find. with tracks and Dates. and if i rembember right the Columbia double lp-set "1937-38 jazz concert #2" is all savory material (??).

but i love to hear all this stuff one day!!!!

 

Keep boppin´

marcel   

if you have time go also to the Louis armstrong house Museum in Queens. there you can listen to an unissued Charlie parker jam session with big nick nicholas (not in any discographies, absolute unknown and undocumented!!!!) look here:

http://louisarmstrong.pastperfectonline.com/archive/08D6010A-D57D-45A2-8E88-482100638730

 

oh, i wish i would live not so far awawy....

 

Keep boppin´

marcel  

Thanks. I didn't know about that jam session. I have to make it a long field day and visit both.

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I recall a pretty extraordinary Down Beat article by McDonough where he argued that anyone who likes late period Coltrane must be suffering from psychological issues.  The music is so plainly terrible, in his opinion, that it can only be embraced by someone who is in denial of an evident fact.  :D

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