BillF

You teaching Chinese cooking?

Hottest October day in England today since records began: 29.9C (83F) in London and 28C here. So, just like a very warm July day, but then it gets dark by 6:30 p.m. Weird!

Blind Lemon Pie Jack Lemon Walter Mathau Jack Lemmon Emma Peel Karen Sharp

I think I need a spot of exegesis on that one!

Don't Spillett!

F W Woolworth Cheapo Cheapo Tweetie Pie

Katie Holmes K T Tunstall Bram Stoker

Agricola Tacita Dean Dean Moriarty

Track 13 "Relaxin' at Camarillo" (Charlie Parker) from Howard Roberts, Good Pickin's. Howard Roberts (gtr), Bill Holman (tnr), Pete Jolly (pno), Red Mitchell (bs), Stan Levey (dms) Recorded probably March 1959 Los Angeles.

Track 12 "Jonah and the Wail" (comp. and arr. Sy Johnson) from Med Flory, Go West Young Med! Conte Candoli, Al Porcino, Jack Hohmann, Ray Triscari (tpts), Lew McCreary, Dave Wells (bs tpts and tbns), Flory, Charlie Kennedy (alts), Bill Holman, Richie Kamuca (tnrs), Bill Hood (bar), Russ Freeman (pno), Buddy Clark (bs), Mel Lewis (dms). Solos: Flory (alt), Conte Candoli (tpt), Richie Kamuca (ten). Recorded October 8th 1957, Hollywood.

Track 11 "Segment" (Parker) from Lanny Morgan, A Suite for Yardbird. Lanny Morgan (alt), Lou Levy (pno), Tom Warrington (bs), Paul Kreibich (dms). Recorded September 30th/October 1st 1997, Hollywood.

Track 10 "Jersey Bounce" (Tiny Bradshaw) from Charlie Ventura and his Band in Concert. Charlie Ventura (ten and bar), Dave McKenna (pno), Bob Carter (bs), Sonny Igoe (dms). Probably recorded Pasadena Civic Auditorium May 9th 1949 for Gene Norman's GNP Crescendo label. Anyone have more accurate information?

Track 9 "Making Whoopee" (Kahn/Donaldson) from Lou Levy, Solo Scene Recorded 1956. RCA.

Track 8 "Claude Reigns" (comp. and arr. by Manny Albam) from Charlie Barnet, The Capitol Big Band Sessions. Charlie Barnet (alt) with Rolf Ericson, John Howell, Doc Severinsen, Ray Wetzel, Maynard Ferguson (tpts), Dick Kenney, Harry Betts, Herbie Harper, Kenny Matlock (tbns), Vinnie Dean , Ruben Leon (alts), Dick Hafer, Kurt Bloom (tens), Manny Albam (bar), Claude Williamson (pno), Eddie Safranski (bs), Tiny Kahn (dms). Recorded NYC August 16th 1949. Glad I included this one, which seems to have caused some interest/appreciation. I love the fiery big bands of this era. Here's a great radio show about them: http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/bop-go-the-big-bands/

Track 7 "Mike's Peak" (comp. and arr. Shorty Rogers) from Dave Pell Octet, Jazz for Dancing and Listening. Don Fagerquist (tpt), Ray Sims (tbn), Dave Pell (tnr), Bob Gordon (bar), Paul Smith (pno), Tony Rizzi (gtr), Rolly Bundock (bs), Jack Sperling (dms). Recorded June 15th 1955, Hollywood.

Track 6 "Fore" (Thompson) from Sir Charles Thompson & Coleman Hawkins, For the Ears. Thompson (pno and leader), Hawkins (tnr), Emmett Berry (tpt), Benny Morton (tbn), Earl Warren (alt), Steve Jordan (gtr), Aaron Bell (bs), Osie Johnson (dms). Recorded 1955, Vanguard Records, produced by John Hammond. Re the track title, Sir Chas was clearly mad about golf. JohnS tells me that he was at a BBC television rehearsal of a Thomson band and that Sir Chas played the whole session with a book on golf propped up on the piano!

Track 5 "Booby Hatch" (Eager) from The Adventures of Allen Eager: An Ace Face: The Gray Boys Series Volume 1 (Giant Steps Recordings) Allen Eager Quartet: Eager (tnr), Ed Finckel (pno), Bob Carter (bs), Max Roach (dms). Recorded NYC 22nd March 1946.

Beyoncé Beyer Peacock Allcock and Brown

Track 4 "LaRue" (Clifford Brown) from Dmitry Baevsky, Down With It. Baevsky (alt), Jeremy Pelt (tpt), Jeb Patton (pno), David Wong (bs), Jason Brown (dms). Recorded March 31st 2010, Brooklyn, NY. Sharp Nine Records. This is what I call "neo-bop". A group of today's younger NYC musicians, led by Russian émigré Baevsky, who are influenced by the jazz of half a century ago. (This album also includes compositions by Gryce, Powell, Monk and Rollins.) Thom Keith felt that the players seemed "way too focused on the 'right' notes". Yes, they seem better in a live setting. Here's Baevsky leading a quartet six months ago at Small's in NYC: http://www.smallsjazzclub.com/index.cfm?eventId=3892&pb=2

Track 3 "Moto" (Bob Cooper) from Conte Candoli & Lee Morgan, Double or Nothin'. Candoli, Morgan (tpts), Frank Rosolino (tmb), Benny Golson, Bob Cooper (tnrs), Dick Shreve (pno), Red Mitchell (bs), Stan Levey (dms). Recorded Hollywood February 1957. Very much an "East Meets West" thing, as Jim said, between members of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars and the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra which must have been in town. (Gillespians Charlie Persip and Wynton Kelly feature on other tracks.)

Track 2 "Quietude" (comp. and arr. Jones) from Thanks to Thad: Monday Night Big Band Plays the Music of Thad Jones. Jorgen Nilsson (leader), Anders Gustavsson, Christer Gustavsson, Fredrik Davidsson, Niklas Fredin, John Perry (tpts), Ola Akerman, Ola Nordqvist, Peter Dahlgren, Bjorn Hangsel (tbns), Hakan Caesar, Ulf Holmstrom, Karl-Martin Almqvist, Fredrik Carlquist, Ulf Fagerberg (reeds), Krister Palmqvist (gtr), Jan Lundgren (pno), Jan Karlsson (bs), Rasmus Kihlberg (dms). Recorded Dec 1996 to Feb 1997, Radio Sweden Studio, Malmo, Sweden. A Swedish/Danish big band formed in tribute to Thad Jones who spent most of the final years of his life, from 1978 to 1986, in Copenhagen.