Michael Fitzgerald

Yaron Gershovsky is a good jazz player. He recorded and toured for quite a while with Manhattan Transfer. Mike

Thanks for catching me on those slip-ups. Using a different database, here's the correct details, I think(!): Date: July 20, 1956 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ Label: Prestige Jackie McLean (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Donald Byrd (t), Mal Waldron (p), Doug Watkins (b), Arthur Taylor (d) a. 931 When I Fall In Love - 05:32 (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) b. 932 Abstraction - 08:00 (Mal Waldron) c. 933 Confirmation - 11:25 (Charlie Parker) All titles on: - Original Jazz Classics LP 12": OJC-056 - 4, 5, And 6 - Prestige LP 12": P-7048 - 4, 5, And 6 - Original Jazz Classics CD: OJCCD-056-2 - 4, 5, And 6 Hank Mobley (ts) on c only. Omit Donald Byrd (t) on a. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: July 20, 1956 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ Label: Prestige Hank Mobley (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Donald Byrd (t), Barry Harris (p), Doug Watkins (b), Arthur Taylor (d) a. 934 Bouncing With Bud - 06:57 (Bud Powell) Prestige CD: PCD-24063-2 - Messages b. 935 52nd Street Theme - 05:41 (Thelonious Monk) Prestige CD: PCD-24063-2 - Messages c. 936 Au Privave - 07:31 (Charlie Parker) Prestige CD: PCD-24063-2 - Messages d. 937 Minor Disturbance - 06:15 (Hank Mobley) Prestige CD: PCD-24063-2 - Messages e. 938 Little Girl Blue - 08:41 (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) Prestige CD: PCD-24063-2 - Messages f. 939 Alternating Current - 06:30 (Hank Mobley) All titles on: - Prestige LP 12": P-7061 - Mobley's Message Jackie McLean (as) on c only. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: September 17, 1965 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Label: Blue Note Lee Morgan (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Lee Morgan (t), Herbie Hancock (p), Larry Ridley (b), Billy Higgins (d) a. 1650 Most Like Lee (Lee Morgan) b. Ceora (Lee Morgan) c. Our Man Higgins (Lee Morgan) Omit Jackie McLean (as) on b. All selections were rejected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: September 18, 1965 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Label: Blue Note Lee Morgan (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Lee Morgan (t), Herbie Hancock (p), Larry Ridley (b), Billy Higgins (d) a. 1651 (tk 1) Ceora - 06:20 (Lee Morgan) b. 1652 (tk 2) Our Man Higgins - 08:50 (Lee Morgan) c. 1653 (tk 6) Most Like Lee - 06:45 (Lee Morgan) d. 1654 (tk 12) Cornbread - 09:00 (Lee Morgan) e. 1655 (tk 15) Ill Wind - 07:55 (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) All titles on: - Blue Note LP 12": BST 84222 - Cornbread - Blue Note CD: CDP 7 84222 2 - Cornbread (1988) Omit Jackie McLean (as) on a, e. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: September 29, 1966 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Label: Blue Note Lee Morgan (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Lee Morgan (t), Cedar Walton (p), Paul Chambers (b), Billy Higgins (d) a. 1795 (tk 4) The Double Up - 06:01 (Lee Morgan) b. 1796 (tk 6) Somethin' Cute - 05:36 (Lee Morgan) c. 1797 (tk 15) Sweet Honey Bee - 06:51 (Duke Pearson) d. 1798 (tk 17) The Murphy Man - 07:31 (Lee Morgan) e. 1799 (tk 20) Hey Chico - 07:15 (Lee Morgan) f. 1800 (tk 22) When Love Is New [aka Rainy Night] - 05:36 (Cedar Walton) All titles on: - Blue Note LP 12": BST 84312 - Charisma - Blue Note CD: CDP 7243 8 59961 2 2 - Charisma (1997) f. listed as Rainy Night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: October 9, 1967 Location: Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ Label: Blue Note Hank Mobley (ldr), Jackie McLean (as), Hank Mobley (ts), Blue Mitchell (t), John Hicks (p), Bob Cranshaw (b), Billy Higgins (d) a. 1965 (tk 4) Two And One - 06:05 (Hank Mobley) b. 1966 (tk 6) Bossa De Luxe - 07:27 (Hank Mobley) c. 1967 (tk 12) High Voltage - 08:05 (Hank Mobley) d. 1968 (tk 15) Flirty Gerty - 06:57 (Hank Mobley) e. 1969 (tk 16) Advance Notice - 05:53 (Hank Mobley) f. 1970 (tk 18) No More Goodbyes - 05:35 (Hank Mobley) All titles on: - Blue Note LP 12": BST 84273 - Hi Voltage - Blue Note CD: CDP 7 84273 2 - Hi Voltage (1988) Omit Jackie McLean (as) on f. Omit Blue Mitchell (t) on f. CD issue misspells e. as Advance Notion.

McLean: 4,5,6 and Hank Mobley: Jazz Message both recorded July 20, 1956 Donald Byrd: Byrd in Flight Lee Morgan: Charisma Those are the only albums with both and the first session only has two tunes total with both. Last on-stage meeting of these guys that I know of was October 18, 1975 at the University of Massachusetts: Bill Hardman, Woody Shaw, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Curtis Fuller, Walter Davis, Harold Mabern, Jymie Merritt, Reggie Workman, Art Blakey. That's one helluva reunion band. Mike

Private detective - what a bunch of boneheads. Well, there went the budget for some more Argo reissues down the drain. "Well, if she won't do promotions for us, we'll show her. We'll get her name in the press anyway." Mike

OK! That list of "others" matched perfectly with what I've got. Can I then confirm RVG for these? Pat Bowie Feelin' Good Teddy Edwards - Nothin' But The Truth Stan Hunter - Trip On The Strip Roger Kellaway - Trio Sonny Phillips Sure 'Nuff Pepper Adams Encounter Sylvia Syms For Once In My Life Pat Martino El Hombre Montego Joe - Wild & Warm Wally Richardson - Soul Guru Don Friedman Metamorphosis Charles Kynard - 3 sessions (2 in LA but who is engineer?) Rusty Bryant - 2 sessions Boogaloo Joe Jones - 4 sessions Buddy Terry - 2 sessions Morris Nanton - 4 sessions Harold Mabern - 3 sessions Billy Butler - 2 sessions Is any engineer listed for location recordings (Trudy Pitts; Charles McPherson; Groove Holmes)? What about the Ammons 11/10-11/1969 sessions? Down Beat says they were in NY, but some listings show Chicago. I know Prestige was recording Ammons in Chicago in 1962 (with Sleepy Anderson) but this time the band looks like NYC (Pretty Purdie, Sony/Philips - I mean Sonny Phillips, et al.) Also, I could use clarification on the ones like Freddie McCoy, Stitt, et al. listed above as "where indicated" - or perhaps the specific exceptions so I know which ones are listed as RVG and which ones are blank, with possibly more details to be found on LPs. Feel free to use issue numbers or abbreviations or whatever to avoid typing too much. Thanks to all for much excellent info! Mike

Great - now, about the last one: with a cast like Hampton Hawes, Monty Budwig, and Shelly Manne, does it really say NYC???? I've learned more about Dave Jones - not sure if he ever had a studio of his own or what, but this guy was responsible for some great location recordings for Riverside - Ugetsu, Evans at the Vanguard, Byrd at the Gate.... Mike

Beautiful - all good. Many contradictions fixed. Just after the section that Guy posted from the Lucky Thompson Happy Days notes, it says that Alderson was the discovery of Don Schlitten, so that's why Don used Alderson. Mike

It's the second edition which seems to be more common, at least for me. That one, for some reason, eliminated the location specifics. You would think the reverse, but..... Sure, this would be helpful - I'll just notate that your source was the Ruppli book. Kloss - there are 11 sessions. Right now I show 7/22/69 as Danfort Griffiths, but I don't know studio name. I show 1/2/69 as Richard Alderson and I believe his studio name was Impact Studios at that time. The rest are either unknown or RVG - if you can confirm or elaborate, that would be wonderful. Mike

I know about the differences in the Ruppli books and actually, all the copies I've ever seen are all the "non-specific" versions. I'm really trying to improve the level of detail from the "NYC" kind of thing that exists now (and the mislabeling of actual New York sessions as Englewood Cliffs or Hackensack as well as vice versa). Keeping track of engineer name can aid in getting a studio name (and vice versa) because some issues list one but not both. It's all part of the research process. As we have some serious organ freaks here, I'm hoping they can come through with stuff that is not available to me. Mike

Yeah, I don't understand that either. He's a busy guy, doing plenty of new sessions. He's gone on the record saying that he is excited about remastering his old sessions because for years when CDs began, he wasn't offered that opportunity. Mike

To follow that brief tangent - what is curious is that the May 1, 1965 Town Hall recording that produced Bells also produced More by Giuseppi Logan and another engineer (Art Crist, sometimes spelled Christ) is credited with two of the four tracks by Logan, while Alderson is credited with the others. My CD issue only gives Town Hall as a location and only May 1, 1965 as a date - but I know that Art Crist did studio sessions at Bell Sound, so perhaps there was a separate studio date with Eddie Gomez replacing Reggie Johnson. It seems odd to have two bassists and two engineers if it's only one session. Mike I hate it when I answer my own questions - I propose that the Logan material with Gomez is actually left over from the first ESP album, recorded at Bell Sound (with Art Crist engineering) on October 5, 1964. OK, back to Prestige.

This subject is covered in Paul Berliner's book Thinking In Jazz - check the index under "repetition". I'll have to see if there is any attribution, but it's really something that goes back before jazz. Mike Even better, check under "Improvisation; mistakes and" esp. pp. 209-16. Apologies if this is already well-known to you.

Based on what I've got so far for Prestige, RCA/Goodman started in late November 1969. Prior to that was the Danfort Griffiths period (June-November) But Schlitten was using Alderson heavily prior to that in the 1965-1968 period. I know of no Alderson sessions later than January 1969. There were a few oddball listings, like Dave Jones (recorded Cedar Walton: Electric Boogaloo Song on Jan. 14, 1969). Klabin's studio was Sound Ideas, which was established in 1969 and closed in 1981. This is all excellent info. Keep it coming! Mike

I find this VERY hard to believe! Elling is, to me, the ultimate hipster doofus, but that's just me. The things I've heard have him dealing with vocalese, which is reproducing past jazz improvisations - something that Jarrett is vehemently opposed to. I'd sooner believe KJ with Wynton Marsalis. But then again, if one is going to start a rumor, why not choose something more plausible - like Jarrett and Lee Konitz or something. Why should we give this rumor any credibility? Mike

Excellent! The OJC LPs don't alter the covers, right? So even an OJC LP would still have the correct info. It's the OJC CDs that are the problem - for example, the CD of Jaki Byard Experience says Van Gelder, which it definitely is NOT. Van Gelder expert Dan Skea told me that the Chet Bakers were done at Rudy's. Mike

Perhaps this will assist on the Frontier material: http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Temp/frontier.htm Mike

My Henry Grimes discography covers a few of these with more detail (URL below). Isn't there a duplicate Scianni in there? Mike Also - the Hillcrest 1958 was issued, and about the 1957 one - see the Don Friedman discography on my site - is this the same?

Quote from "Art Davis Talks To Valerie Wilmer," Jazz News 6/21/61 page 9: "Of course some people have so much natural talent that they don't need the training, but as I say, it's only 1%, and off-hand I can only think of Charlie Parker and Erroll Garner, though Bird could read, of course, and Erroll can read now." I think quite a few people who claim they "can't read" music are just slow readers - they can't read quick enough to function in a studio situation. Mike

In trying to confirm some Prestige session locations, I have found that erroneous information is included in many standard discography entries, and even on some official CD reissues. Some folks assume that Rudy Van Gelder did *all* Prestige sessions and list Englewood Cliffs (some discographies even list Hackensack up into the late 1960s!) without thinking. I've also seen cases where Englewood Cliffs is given as the location and another New York engineer is named - this is not correct as no one but Rudy engineered at Van Gelder. Basically, I am interested in learning studio/engineer information for Prestige sessions from the mid-1960s to early 1970s. The best source for correct info is original LPs. If the CDs give studio/engineer OTHER than Van Gelder, I tend to believe that. There are so many errors that I am starting to wonder whether RVG did ANY Prestige sessions in the mid-late 1960s. Could Richard Alderson have done the majority until 1969? Can someone prove this wrong, using LP info? Here's a few artists whose 1965-1970 work has been credited to RVG that I could use confirmation on: Chet Baker Sonny Criss Booker Ervin Eric Kloss Charles McPherson Other artists from this period: Jaki Byard George Braith Frank Foster Byrdie Green Groove Holmes Gatortail Jackson Freddie McCoy Jack McDuff Don Patterson Houston Person Trudy Pitts Pucho & Latin Soul Brothers Freddie Roach Johnny Hammond Smith Sonny Stitt and more Complete listing here (basically I'm talking about 7400+) http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/prestigeLabel.html I'd appreciate any assistance in straightening out the confusion. Mike P.S. - The lack of creativity in titling these albums is AMAZING. Basically, just take ANY word and combine with "Soul" and you've got a Prestige title: Soul Electricity; Electric Soul; Natural Soul; Soul Professor; Soul Guru; Soul Yogi; Soul Man; Soul Mist; Soul Message; Soul Power; Soul People; Soul Book; Soul Cycle; Soul Grabber; Soul Explosion; Soul Talk; Soul Outing; Soul Fingers; Soul Flowers; Soul Dance; Soul Brotherhood; Super Soul; Mellow Soul; Underground Soul; Psychedelic Soul Jazz; Living Soul; Laughing Soul; Red Soul; Bucketful Of Soul; Sunshine Of My Soul; Saffron And Soul; Body And Soul - whew! Don't make me start on the "Chocomotive" and "Mocha Motion" thing.

I'm rather perturbed that I spent the money for a "boxed set" of The Office (no box involved, just 2 cases with season 1 & 2 shrinkwrapped together) and now there's a set that includes all that PLUS the subsequent special (which I just saw on TV). Grrrrrrrr. It is a wonderful show. Initiating people to it is a treat - they cannot believe what they just saw. And for those who live the office life, it often hits too close to home. Mike

Yes, Coltrane had started working with Smith and had been with him for 2 weeks. This was right before he got hired by Miles Davis. Mike Since the call from Coltrane came in 1955, the references to those 1960s pop people is bizarre. He wasn't working with Stevie Wonder before Jimmy Smith.

Anyone for the Sonny Rollins/Clifton Anderson parallel? Mike

Although DJ Oscar Treadwell has claimed it's for him, the more accepted story is that the title is a remant from the Japanese tour so Oska T means Ask Thelonious, putting it in the category of "procrastinating" titles like Worry Later, Let's Call This, Ask Me Now, Think Of One. Mike

I think what must be considered is in terms of jazz, WE are the people who have put Fantasy where it is. We're the ones who have bought the 2-fers, the OJCs, the boxed sets. We're the ones who are saying good things about them. Now, if Fantasy is stupid and shortsighted, they'll focus on the big names, taking the approach that Verve has with Ella Fitzgerald, just one compilation after another, while ensuring that the lesser known items in the catalog stay lesser known. However, wouldn't it make much more sense to continue to give the supporters something to purchase? I bought Prestige Miles Davis on vinyl. I bought it in the 8-CD boxed set. I'm not buying any more Miles on Prestige. I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on recods. But I still have more money to spend and more years to go. I would love to spend this money on jazz CDs. If Fantasy doesn't keep a wide variety of their reissues available, I'm sure I can find somewhere else to spend my money. But why would Fantasy do something stupid like upsetting good, solid, established customers? If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it. Mike P.S. - Of course, if Fantasy didn't have their policy of keeping stuff available, all the folks who bought my book would have been very frustrated when they were inspired to search out Gigi Gryce's back catalog. Fortunately, the 15 or so OJC items that Gryce appears on were right there, readily available for purchase.

It's long been a personal favorite of mine and one that I clamored to get reissued, but no, the mixed things were very disparate: "Great" and "The beginning of the end". Mike