lipi

This thread pleases me tremendously. Avoid unless you want to tear your hair out and bash your head into a wall: Bernie Woods (an editor for Variety), "When the Music Stopped: The Big Band Era Remembered", a train wreck of a book. It's is truly, truly dreadful. Woods manages to make himself look like a total jerk at least twice on every page, and not in a fun way. Do read (and what I'm currently finishing): Count Basie and Albert Murray, "Good Morning Blues", Basie's autobiography in a conversational "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya"-style. It's fun reading. (Which reminds me: everyone should read Shapiro and Hentoff's "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya".) Just piling on to what people have already said: "Jazz Masters of the 20s" is great. Richard Hadlock is a good guy.

Hot Ptah, I think you're right that that's one of the reasons. page, that was wonderful. I like van Veen, though I really only know his "big hits" like "Opzij", etc. (Dat heb ik op de basisschool nog gezongen...)

To clarify for why page is upset she missed the Rosenberg Trio: they're Dutch. Do you get to hear them live, page? *envy*

21. "Bucktown Blues", Bent Persson, 1976 Louis Armstrong's 50 Hot Choruses for Cornet Volume 1-2 (Kenneth) Bent Persson (tp), Bob McAllister (tb), Tomas Örnberg (cl,ss), Ulf Johansson (p), Göran Stachewsky (bj), Christer Ekhé (d) In 1927, Walter Melrose and Elmer Schoebel gave Armstrong an Edison cylinder phonograph and a bunch of wax cylinders. He recorded more than 50 solos and more than 120 breaks, and Schoebel and Melrose then had them transcribed and published them in the book Jeff Crom and I mentioned int he discussion thread: http://thescreamonline.com/music/music2-1/armstrong/index.html (Unfortunately that's just a few pages of the book.) Beginning in the 70's, Swedish trumpet player Bent Persson recorded a bunch of the solos and breaks for Gösta Hägglöf's Kenneth Records. (Gösta was also the guy behind the excellent Armstrong-only "Ambassador Records".) The records and CDs are OOP and hard to find. When I was in Sweden a few years ago, one of my goals was to find the CDs. Another of my goals was to take a jazz clarinet class at a major jazz dance and music camp. I found one of the CDs at Andra Jazz in Stockholm (excellent shop). When I got to the camp, to my surprise Bent turned out to be one of my teachers! He still had a copy of one of the other CDs (I'm still hunting for the third...). Anyway: Armstrong's chorus is the last 32 bars of this recording. The break at the end of the intro is also Armstrong's. 22. "Söderhamn Blues", Jan Johansson, 1960 Blues (Heptagon/CDBaby) Jan Johansson (p), Gunnar Johnson (b), Ingvar Callmer (d) The Swedish section of the BFT, part 2! Johansson is not well-known outside Sweden (and, let's face it, even inside Sweden). The thing you're most likely to have heard of his is the theme song for the Pippi Longstocking television show of the 60's. Here's the original, på Svenska: 23. "Gut Bucket Blues", Carling Family, 2004 20th Jubilee (Heptown) Hans Carling (tp), Gunhild Carling (tb), Max Carling (cl), Aina Carling (bj), Ulf Carling (d) Swedish section of BFT, part 3! The Carling family (father Hans, Mother Aina, children Gunhild, Max, and Ulf) plays traditional jazz and performs random circus acts: acrobatics, juggling, etc. Gunhild, for instance, does this: (Make sure you watch till 4:30 or so, or at least fast forward to 3:25 and 4:50.) These fine folks, apart from goofing about, also play some very fine New Orleans and Chicago style jazz. They're the main music teachers at the camp I mentioned in number 21 above. Aina is a sweetheart. Hans just sort of screams at the students. Gunhild leads her own band most of the time, so unfortunately she doesn't come. Ulf is very serious. Max seems to always wear red converse. Anyway, one of the years I went I ended up performing "Canal Street Blues" in a little band of seven with Bent Persson (on trumpet) and Aina Carling (on banjo). I made squeaky noises on a clarinet and tap danced. Four other students played reasonable approximations of jazz (actually, one was very good). I almost added this (dreadful, despite the talent of the teachers and the one skilled student) performance to this BFT. Be thankful I spared you. Better behave, or I'll put it in next time. Another bit of trivia: on some of Bent's Armstrong Chorusses recordings, a 12-year old Gunhild plays trombone. (I considered including one of those for novelty's sake, but to be honest I think her playing is only O.K.--if you know she's 12 it's amazing, if you don't it sounds weak at times. Still, loads better than I will ever play any instrument, but...) 24. "Volkswagen Thing", Asylum Street Spankers, 2009 God's Favorite Band (Yellow Dog) I don't think I have anything interesting to say about this adorable bit of silliness. O.K., that's all, folks! Thanks for listening and commenting. I hope you found something new you enjoy, or perhaps rediscovered something you already owned. Please let me know if you liked something in particular and want more recommendations along the same line. Haha, dankjewel!

17. "Sugarfoot Stomp", Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra, 1939 Live at the Savoy: 1939-40 (HEP) Dick Vance, Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark (tp), Nat Story, George Matthews, Sandy Williams (tb), Hilton Jefferson, Garvin Bushell (as), Teddy McRae, Wayman Carver (ts,fl), Tommy Fulford (p), John Trueheart (g), Beverley Peer (b), Bill Beason (d) I believe this is one no one guessed. Back in BFT 67 I included "Lindyhopper's Delight", a studio recording from the same year, and with the same line-up. I was curious to see whether anyone would catch on...*cough*cough*youknowwhoyouare*cough*cough* If you listen carefully, you can hear Ella urging on the band: "[something], Sandy!" (1:55) and "I hear you, Teddy!" (2:28). This CD is all from the radio wire at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, birthplace of the lindy hop. The ballroom was closed in the late fifties and torn down to make room for apartment buildings, so there are very few videos from inside the ballroom, and sadly all are silent. Here's a video of a performance at the Savoy, with music dubbed in. It gives you at least some idea of the size of the place (a NYC block long): 18. "Petite Fleur", Edmond Hall Quartet, 1958 Petite Fleur (Mighty Quinn) Edmond Hall (cl), Ellis Larkins (p), Milt Hinton (b), Jimmy Crawford (d) "Recorded for the talented listener"! What a brilliant record cover! The music is still better, though. 19. "Les Flots du Danube", The Rosenberg Trio, 2009 Free As the Wind (download from artist website) Stochelo Rosenberg, Nous'che Rosenberg (g), Nonnie Rosenberg (b) So...this EP was free to download from the Rosenberg Trio's website, but their website seems to be currently broken, so I can't check whether it still is. Hmm. Annoying. "Les Flots du Danube" ("The Waves of the Danube") is originally a Romanian waltz. You might also recognize it as this: (Al Jolson, "Anniversary Song") 20. "On Revival Day", LaVern Baker, 1958 Precious Memories / LaVern Sings Bessie Smith (Collectables) Buck Clayton (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Paul Quinichette (ts), Sahib Shihab (bar), Nat Pierce (p), Danny Barker (g), Wendell Marshall (b), Joe Marshall (d), LaVern Baker (vcl) As much as I like Bessie's original, this I enjoy more.

13. "Perdido Street Blues", Louis Armstrong & Sidney Bechet, 1940 The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 (Definitive) Louis Armstrong (tp), Claude Jones (tb), Sidney Bechet (cl, ss), Luis Russell (p), Bernard Addison (g), Wellman Braud (b), Zutty Singleton (d) I actually have the Mosaic now, and it sounds a little better, but I'm lazy and I haven't ripped that one yet, so this was easier to put on the BFT. Aaaanyway. Go listen to BFT 110 if you still have it and compare this to Dodds' classic recording of the same tune. 14. "All the Cats Join In", Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, 1946 Make Mine Music short (I ripped the music from the video) I already included the video in the discussion thread, but here it is again. There were many cartoons set to jazz scores in the first half of the 20th century. This is one of my favourites. I keep meaning to make a live-action version of this video with some dancer friends. 15. "Man from Mars", Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, 1939 Self Portrait (RCA) John Best, Bernie Privin, Chuck Peterson (tp), George Arus, Les Jenkins, Harry Rodgers (tb), Artie Shaw (cl), Les Robinson, Hank Freeman (as), Georgie Auld, Tony Pastor (ts), Bob Kitsis (p), Al Avola (g), Sid Weiss (b), Buddy Rich (d) 16. "Tea for Two", Esquire All-American Jazz Band, 1944 Esquire All-American Jazz Concert (Jazz Archives) Roy Eldridge (tp), Jack Teagarden (tb), Barney Bigard (cl), Coleman Hawkins (ts), Art Tatum (p), Lionel Hampton (vib), Al Casey (g), Oscar Pettiford (b), Sid Catlett (d) If you liked this, you should definitely track down one of the releases of these concerts (the LaserLight is fine, too--it's one disc rather than two, and only has one of the evening's concerts on it--or a greatest hits set picked from the two, I don't remember). The 13 minute "Flying Home" jam is fantastic. The announcer's introductions are sometimes annoying (really, you have to do a voice-over during the actual music, introducing the soloists?), and sometimes rather charming ("The First Jazz concert ever given at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York..."). The recordings are all taken from the radio wire.

8. "Lester's Dream", Benny Goodman Septet, 1940 Classic Columbia, Okeh and Vocalion Lester Young with Count Basie (1936-1940) (Mosaic) Buck Clayton (tp), Lester Young (ts), Benny Goodman (cl), Count Basie (p), Charlie Christian (el-g), Freddie Green (g), Walter Page (b), Jo Jones (d) Did you go out and buy this like I told you to above? No?! Why on earth not?! Anyway, here's Lester, Basie, Page, and Jones four years after "Lady Be Good"--this time with Clayton, Goodman, and Christian. One of those "wish I'd been in the studio for this one" sessions. 9. "Doctor Jazz", Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, 1926 Jelly Roll Morton (JSP) George Mitchell (cn), Kid Ory (tb), Omer Simeon (cl), Jelly Roll Morton (p,vcl), Johnny St. Cyr (bj), John Lindsey (b), Andrew Hilaire (d) Nothing but awesome. Morton covering a King Oliver tune. 10. "Singin' the Blues", Frank Trumbauer and His Orchestra, 1927 Bix Restored, Volume 1 (Origin Jazz Library) Bix Beiderbecke (cn), Bill Rank (tb), Frankie Trumbauer (c-mel), Jimmy Dorsey (cl,as), Doc Ryker (as), Paul Mertz (p), Eddie Lang (g), Chauncey Morehouse (d) I expected someone to jump on this fairly early, but my tyrannical rules held people back until the very end. 11. "Canal Street Blues", King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, 1923 Off the Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings (Archeophone) Joe Oliver, Louis Armstrong (cn), Honore Dutrey (tb), Johnny Dodds (cl), Lillian Hardin (p), Bill Johnson (bj), Baby Dodds (d) This is the best these recordings have sounded in years. Definitely the CDs to get if you want the '23 Olivers. 12. "Weather Bird", Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, 1928 Hot Fives & Sevens (JSP) Louis Armstrong (tp), Earl Hines (p) Did I say you had to buy that Young/Basie Okeh Mosaic? I meant this one, too. Go get this one. It's cheap. Hell, get two, and give one to your neighbours. Make them listen to "West End Blues" and "Weather Bird". Tell them some nutcase on the internet made you listen to them, and forced you to pass on the gift. I'm sleepy. The rest later this week. Again, apologies for the delay. Please don't let this derail BFT 131!

Apologies for the lateness. 1. "West End Blues", Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, 1928 Hot Fives & Sevens (JSP) Louis Armstrong (tp,vcl), Fred Robinson (tb), Jimmy Strong (cl), Earl Hines (p), Mancy Cara (bj), Zutty Singleton (d) This is Louis in June of 1928. Height of his creative powers, etc. etc. As already mentioned in the discussion thread, both Jeff Crom and I used the opening fanfare as our cell phone ringtone for a while. One could argue we're unoriginal, but I'd like to argue we're healthily obsessed. (Fun fact: when I got my first iPhone and set this as the ringtone, I asked a jazz friend "Hey, guess what I just set as my ringtone?" He got it in one guess. So maybe we are unoriginal...) Whenever I hear someone say "such-and-such album is a must-hear" I think "no, Louis's 1928 'West End Blues' is a must-hear". So now you've heard it. Good on you! 2. "Miss Brown to You", Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra, 1935 Complete Columbia Golden Years Recordings (Definitive) Roy Eldridge (tp), Benny Goodman (cl), Ben Webster (ts), Teddy Wilson (p), John Trueheart (g), John Kirby (b), Cozy Cole (d), Billie Holiday (vcl) Yes, yes, I robbed Sony of precious $$$ by getting the Definitive release. The music is fantastic regardless. 3. "Minor Swing", Quintet du Hot Club de France, 1937 Paris and London (1937-1948) (JSP) Django Reinhardt (g), Stéphane Grappelli (vln), Joseph Reinhardt, Eugene Vees (g), Louis Vola (b) 4. "Oh, Lady Be Good", Jones-Smith Incorporated, 1936 Classic Columbia, Okeh and Vocalion Lester Young with Count Basie (1936-1940) (Mosaic) Carl "Tatti" Smith (tp), Lester Young (ts), Count Basie (p), Walter Page (b), Jo Jones (d) As someone mentioned in the discussion thread, this is from the session that introduced Lester Young to the record-listening public. Go buy this set, or anything else that has this whole session. Go. Now. I'll wait. 5. "The St. Louis Blues", Bessie Smith, 1925 The Complete Recordings (Volume 3) (Frog) Bessie Smith (vcl), Louis Armstrong (cn), Fred Longshaw (reed organ) Armstrong three years before West End Blues. Bessie being regal. I admit the organ never did it for me, but the whole is still magnificent. I once got into a near flame-war with some of the more astringent members of this forum over whether the Frogs are better than the JSPs, etc. etc. I still can't hear the difference (or, rather, I can hear a difference, but it's entirely unclear to me which is "better"). Anyway, this is an attempt at a segue to a compilation on Affinity called "Armstrong and the Blues Singers", which is sadly OOP. It's worth hunting down, though if you're curious about Armstrong's playing behind singers in the 20's. 6. "Flying Home", Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra, 1942 The Lionel Hampton Story (Proper) Eddie Hutchinson, Mannie Klein, Ernie Royal, Jack Trainor (tp), Fred Beckett, Sonny Craven, Harry Sloan (tb), Marshall Royal, (cl,as), Ray Perry (as,vln), Eddie Barefield, Illinois Jacquet (ts), Jack McVea (bar), Lionel Hampton (vib), Milton Buckner (p), Irving Ashby (g), Vernon Alley (b), Lee Young (d) As mentioned in the discussion thread, Illinois Jacquet was 19 when he played his solo, and it became a part of the standard arrangement. (You can hear "Flying Home" without it. There are earlier recordings by Hampton.) I don't know why I don't have this on a better release, but surprisingly I don't. These Proper boxes are kinda "meh". I really don't recommend them sound-wise. (They are cheap and have fun booklets, though.) 7. "The "C" Jam Blues", Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, 1942 The Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings (RCA) Rex Stewart (cn), Wallace Jones (tp), Ray Nance (tp,vln), Joe Nanton, Lawrence Brown (tb), Juan Tizol (v-tb), Barney Bigard (cl), Johnny Hodges (as,ss,cl), Otto Hardwick (as,bass-sax), Ben Webster (ts), Harry Carney (bar,as,cl), Duke Ellington (p), Fred Guy (g), Alvin "Junior" Raglin (b), Sonny Greer (d) What a band (even without Blanton)... (Ho, hum, hum, hum... It won't let me post more images... Ho, hum, hum... How do I force it to not merge two consecutive posts, I wonder?)

Yes! It is Bent Persson's recreation of one of the Hot Choruses. The tune is "Bucktown Blues", which I've never heard another recording of (and Armstrong never recorded). The break at the end of the introduction is one of Armstrong's breaks, and the 32 bars ending the tune is one of Armstrong's choruses. I've been looking for the book for years, too. The best I've been able to find are jpegs of a few of the pages: http://thescreamonline.com/music/music2-1/armstrong/index.html (To be honest, I'd forgotten I had found (and downloaded) those. Perhaps I would have picked one of the tracks with Bent playing one of those pages. Ah well.) Good job, Jeff. That wasn't an easy one at all.

Thanks for listening, NIS. Everyone else: last chance to get your guesses in before the reveal!

Ah, O.K., I understand (and agree) now.

So... The month is almost over. I think everything has been ID'ed (though feel free to add comments--despite my pleas for non-guess comments of the "I like it"/"I hate it"/"it sounds like foghorns" kind, there weren't too many of those), except 21, 22, and 23. First hint: these all share a Scandinavian connexion. Second hint: 21 has an Armstrong connexion.

Yeah, the punks! Though somehow they made it sound good. Those Esquire books are quite a trip. I don't have the 1945 one, but I have, and have read, the other two. I agree with Jeff: these are very interesting snapshots. The selection of "experts" is also interesting. Timme Rosenkrantz, for instance, makes into both books and even gets a few paragraphs of text describing his votes. John Hammond, on the other hand, just gets a list of names. Did he not submit an explanation? Did they not find him interesting or important enough to include it? I have no idea. (Aside: Timme Rosenkrantz's memoirs ("Harlem Jazz Adventures A European Baron's Memoir") are excellent.) Anyway, yes. It's just what you said. The LaserLight release of that concert was one of my first CDs back in 1992 or so. I didn't really know who any of these guys were--this was my introduction to all of them (except Armstrong, whom I'd heard on his duets with Ella). I can never pick a favourite in the Benny/Artie debate. "Man from Mars" is a great tune--I wish there'd been a studio recordings. There are several live recordings in the discographies, but I've only ever found this one on (various) CD. (Admittedly I haven't dug very hard.) The studio recording of "All the Cats Join In" is great, too. It's a bit faster, and doesn't have the silly cartoony quality. I debated on which one to pick, and used this one in the hope that someone would recognize it from seeing the Make Mine Music bit. Bechet really, really does sound great. Then again, he always does; I don't know that I've heard a bad Bechet recording. I love this whole little ensemble. This record is a delight to dance to (and everyone playing was still from the school where they wouldn't take this as a diss). Yeah, I don't have anything to add. This is one of those "please, you should have heard this at least once--if you hate it, that's fine, but please listen once" things (which is how I decided to include most of the tracks in the first half of this BFT). I've heard this recording tons of times, and I still have moments when I go "are they gonna make it? are they gonna get together on this in time?". For the record, I was sure Armstrong played on the record--I just wasn't sure they alternated measures in the introduction (pa-da-da-dah; pa-da-da-dah; pa-da-da-dah). It sounds like it could be, but for all I know it's just Oliver. A few years ago, I went to a jazz dance (mostly) and music camp and took a week of classes. The you're-lucky-I-didn't-include-it 25th track of this BFT would have been the recording I made of a bunch of us jazz students butchering "Canal Street Blues", with our teachers for the week (two of which appear elsewhere on this BFT) sitting in. It was truly dreadful--but also a lot of fun. The last comment confuses me a bit. Freddie *is* here playing rhythm in the background. (Though, man, he's hard to hear.) I suspect that a lot of the "mainstream" homogeneity is due to musicians being more likely to be formally taught. Ellington was still the exception, even in the 30's and 40's, though. His ability to use the idiosyncrasies of his players is astounding. I don't think it's unfair to say that this is musically less interesting than many of the others. This was strictly a dance record, I think. (I don't quite agree with MG's more political stance. I think it was aimed at getting kids up and dancing more than getting them up and empowered.) Anyway: a delightful dance record it is. I included it, of course, because of Illinois and the solo that became part of the standard arrangement and that heralded things to come (jump blues, etc.). Hahaha! I hadn't either! If I had even noticed that noise, I would have assumed it's something resonating in the studio. (For those playing at home, it's at 0:31. A fairly long persistent honk--like someone leaning on the horn.)

1995, immediately after finishing the VWO. Total thread derailment: any recommendations for record shops? I tend to mostly go to Utrecht and Amsterdam when I visit, but am curious about anywhere really. My current favourite is Concerto on the Utrechtsestraat in A'dam.

I grew up in the Netherlands, hence both the Dutch and the proper English orthography, rather than what passes for correct spelling over in the heathen lands of milk and honey I presently inhabit.

Yes, well done! 20 was identified earlier, but other than a vote for Bix from MG and some coy indications of knowledge from Spoontooneous 10 had not been ID'ed. And I finally figured out what "windmill area" means in your profile. Waar in Nederland woon je? ("Cor" is an interjection indicating surprise. Similar to "geez" in US English or "jeetje" in Dutch--and it even shares the same sort of roots, being a bastardization of "God".)

I *almost* wrote "I bet you're thinking of Lonnie Johnson, but it was actually St Cyr on 'Savoy Blues'"! Hah. And, yes! Eddie Lang and Bix it is. I'll let Spoontooneous fill in the rest.

Great job, page! Those were all pretty much correct. As l p already mentioned, the "Lester Leaps In" is indeed from the October 1940 session. (The other recordings you refer to are two takes from 1939, and neither have Benny Goodman or Charlie Christian. They're still great recordings, though.) Armstrong *is* on that recording according to all discographies. I don't have proof of this next bit, but I suspect that Armstrong and Oliver are alternating measures during the introduction and first chorus. To my annoyance, neither Willems' "All of Me" nor Wright's "King Oliver" make any mention of Armstrong's role during this recording session (outside of just mentioning him), so I don't even get to make an argument-by-authority. This is my favourite recording of this song. Jeffcrom included the Lil Hardin/Johnny Dodds (New Orleans Wanderers) 1926 recording, which many consider definitive. I prefer the fire of Armstrong and Bechet to the more restrained heat of Mitchell and Dodds (though, as I suspect I mentioned in that BFT, there is a sustained note Dodds slides into when he enters that gives me goosebumps every time). Given what you said when you signed up for the BFT, I suspected you'd get this one. Here's the animated short that accompanied it. A true delight. 20 has been identified above (so don't peek if you don't want to know). 24 is just plain hard, unless you Googlify the lyrics, of course. Thanks for playing! No worries. Pitch in whenever you find some time or feel like it. I wasn't too surprised that it took that long to positively ID 11, though I am a little surprised no one threw out the name as a guess. (Though I think people are very shy about guessing outside their comfort zone. Believe me, I understand! I don't dare wade into the modern stuff--apart from occasionally to make nasty comments.) And, yes, as Hot Ptah mentioned, no one has dared touch 10 yet. Go ahead and lay the knowledge on us! Jeff? Are you reading this? I think it's fair game for you to wade in and mop up now, too. Let's argue about Perdido (maybe), and then I can also explain why I picked tracks 11, 21, and 23, and how you very narrowly escaped hearing a terrible, terrible recording as track 25.

Thanks! That looks awesome!

It's a gorgeous, gorgeous piece of music and I'm with you all the way on your comments. I like to play this one at swing dances every now and then and watch people be a) confused and b) delighted despite usually not knowing what to do with the intro or the piano solo. That gong at the end always makes me smile. I actually know that this is a band you haven't listened to much, because you once told me so. (No searching through past comments and messages!) That's not Jess Stacy. I suspect that if I tell you what that someone yells you'll be able to figure it out, though, because you're a smart cookie. So I won't tell you. I think you can probably figure it out if you listen carefully on good headphones. (For the rest of you: the moment we're talking about is around 1:56. There's also a name yelled around 2:29.) I considered putting the King Oliver "Dippermouth Blues" on this BFT, but ended up spending too much time arguing with myself over the merits of the Gennett and OKeh takes. (True story.) I think I was a bit misleading: the tune I don't think will help too much. In fact, I'll tell you it's Bucktown Blues. However, maybe the trumpet solo? Or the trumpet break in the intro? Further useless hint: I had a hard time finding this CD. In the end, on the trip where I was determined to look out for it, I ended up meeting the trumpet player you hear and he had one copy left. (Another almost-name-drop! I'm on a roll.)

Yup! I'm mostly happy in my little corner of the tent, but it's occasionally amusing to venture out and hear what the other corners are like. I'm glad you enjoyed track 22. As I mentioned in reply to another message, that's definitely the most "modern" of the recordings on here. I hope that some of the others will prove interesting, even if they're not exactly your preference.

This is absurd, but here we go... MG's comments in bold, my answers non-bold. (Edit: Oh, c'mon now... And now it *doesn't* insist on concatenating it to my previous message. The forum software has a mind of its own, doesn't it?) 11 Now we’re definitely moving into unknown territory. I think this is what’s known as Chicago Jazz and sounds like what we furriners here call ‘Dixieland’ or ‘Trad’. I think it could be anyone and almost certainly is. I love your description. You'll find out who it is soon enough--I won't hint any. 12 Phew this is nice! Just piano and trumpet. Could it be Tatum? Never heard him; too much piano for me. You've never heard Tatum?!?! I don't have enough question marks and exclamation marks at hand. I have to use these things: ‽‽‽‽ Anyway, not heard Tatum... Luckily this BFT will have fixed that. This, however, is not Tatum. Hot Ptah correctly identified it above. 13 Cor, ravishing rhythm section! I think the clarinet player might be Buster Bailey. Could the guitarist be Al Casey or, more likely, Teddy Bunn? Nope on all counts. Thom Keith was going the right direction on this and the previous track before he started second-guessing himself. 14 OK, after a quick cough and drag, on we go, with a long one. Big swing band with bicycle bells. Lots of gimmicks in here. Must be a white band. I’m going to guess Benny Goodman, because it’s so efficient and well organised. Thom Keith identified this (but I didn't confirm it at the time--it seems like we're well into post-all-your-spoilers territory, so less coyness from me from here on out). It is indeed Goodman. I assume Jeff knows, but any of the rest of you lot know more about this recording? Page, if she gets around to posting, maybe...? 15 Bet this is Woody Herman’s band. Sounds as if it’s a live recording. Well, it could be Goodman again with Krupa on drums. Oh yes, live. On balance, I’ll plump for Goodman & Krupa. Nope, but Thom knew it again. 16 ‘Tea for two’ played by clarinet and rhythm; oh and trumpet. I reckon this is someone I know I’ve hardly ever heard – Pee Wee Russell. Oh, a live job again. Vibes player sounds like Hamp but has a lighter touch. Dunno Guv. Very enthusiastic, like a JATP job. Like a JATP job, indeed (though not JATP), but it's not. It's not Russell. (Hey Thom, did you mean "Two to Tango" when you mentioned Lester's vocal version? Or is there a vocal of "Tea for Two" that I don't know of...? The "Two to Tango" is somewhere between hilarious and very sad.) [...skipping a few...] 19 Strauss waltz – the skaters? By a slightly amplified guitarist with very SERIOUS chops. Could this be a guy who’s been often mentioned on the board – Oscar Aleman? I know I’ve NEVER heard this player before. And struth he’s damn fine! WOW! Yes, it *is* traditionally a waltz! I don't think (any of the) Strauss(es) used it as a theme (or if they did, I'm blanking now), but it is a well known tune. Hardbopjazz identified the artist immediately--it's not Aleman. (Aside: Aleman is absolutely worth hearing, especially since you expressed interest in Django.) 20 Sister Rosetta Tharpe but not with Lucky Millinder’s band. Not a bad guess at all! Jeff correctly identified this. There's definitely some Sister Rosetta in her voice. 21 No, I’m lost here; gotta getta cuppa tea. Start again. Sounds like a fifties recording. Everyone’s taking a turn and then another one, but I think the pianner player’s the boss here. Well, this is just a bunch of jazz musicians playing jazz. Jeff couldn't ID this either (which pleased me immensely, of course). It's later than you guessed, and it's, perhaps surprisingly given both your and Jeff's comments, all about the trumpet player. 22 Very interesting time here. Sounds like an old player teaching young ‘uns what all this modern stuff is all about… REALLY. (Or it’s Ray Bryant ) No comment for now. I already mumbled something in response to Jeff's comment. 23 Modern recording of a New Orleans Band. Very nice indeed. A New Orleans Band by sound, but geographically quite far removed from New Orleans. 24 This has to be recent – ie since the sixties. Smiley. Nice. Glad you enjoyed it! Picking was difficult. I had slightly lesser known bands like you mentioned in my two previous BFT's, and the result was that most people were completely lost. I figured I'd try this instead. People may still be lost, but there's a lot more to connect the tracks (and to talk about) here--I think? Hope? Something? Thanks for playing, and for sticking your neck out with guesses! Curious to hear any further thoughts you might have, of course.

(Good job on 1, 2, and 3. All correct.) Hey! I want this Hines and Grappelli CD! Is it this one on, "Stéphane Grappelli Meets Earl Hines" on Black Lion? http://www.amazon.com/Meets-Earl-Hines-Stephane-Grappelli/dp/B00CK7N40E/ I can make an immediate recommendation here: the Django JSP series really is quite good. This particular session is on the "Paris and London (1937-1948)" set, but the others are fine, too. (I don't have the Django Mosaic, but I hear it's beautiful.) I also have a very enjoyable Definitive (I know, I know...) release called "Django Reinhardt & His American Friends: Complete Sessions". It has, among other delights, the 1937 recordings of Django and Grappelli with Eddie South. Two of these are also on the Jazz Archives release "Black Gypsy", but I'm not sure where to get the other four if you want to avoid our Andorran friends' releases. As for pure Grappelli, I have to admit that I always find him strongest with Django. (Still, I want to hear the Earl Hines thing.) Maybe someone else has a good recommendation for Django-less Grappelli? The Ellington "Jazz Violin Sessions" comes to mind, and it's certainly fascinating (Grappelli! Nance! Asmussen on viola!), but it never really made me sigh in ecstasy like I thought it would when I first saw it or read about it. Identified above by Hot Ptah. You're correct on the guitarist. This is one of those "I wish I'd been in the studio!" sessions. Or one of those "No, wait, I'm glad I wasn't, because I wouldn't want to have thrown them off!". It's fantastic stuff. This was the first thing Basie recorded after leaving Kansas City. He couldn't use his own name because he was already under contract to Decca. This is the first we can hear of Lester Young on record, and I suspected many of you would know the track (or at least recognize Young), even if you don't particularly like early jazz. Note that this is before Freddie Green joined the band, so the All-American Rhythm Section is short a(n actual) guitar here. The singer is indeed Bessie, as Hot Ptah also identified. I suspected that most would be able to guess at the identify of the singer, and I was hoping that the trumpet player sounded enough like himself to be identified, too. So I'm curious: did you guess Armstrong just because it was 20's and I said these were easy, or did it sound like him to you? You get an extra point for knowing "Ride, Red, Ride", you show-off. Many years ago, I felt the same way about Duke: I wanted Basie and none of that silly Ellingtonia. I've changed my mind. I love Ellington now--more so than Basie, even. I'm not sure I agree that "Main Stem" is more entertainer and less genius than "C-Jam Blues". I like both an awful lot--will have to think about it more. "C-Jam Blues" is a favourite with lindy hop (jitterbug) dancers today, and I play this recording often at dances. (Don't kill me: sometimes I play the Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra/Wynton Marsalis 1998 recording from "Live in Swing City" instead. It's much slower and the recording is modern (so crisp). It helps beginner dancers...that's my excuse. It's a good recording, but it doesn't come close to the 1942 Ellington.) Heheheh... No, it's earlier, and it's not Bechet. I can kinda hear where you're coming from with Bechet, but it's not even close, I'm afraid. Good. I like surprising people. It's not Dodds. I quite like this clarinet player, too. Later on he also played alto sax. (Side note: I got into an idiotic argument with someone who is featured on this BFT (shameless almost-name-drop!) about whether this clarinet player played alto or tenor on certain recordings. I have no life. Also, I have to admit I don't quite remember the details--we might have been arguing whether he played alto or c-melody.) I think you'll be surprised when this one is identified. (Or have another listen, and surprise yourself?) Nope on all counts. Are you thinking of Johnny St. Cyr, who was on "Savoy Blues"? No, it's not him. Random factoid: Lonnie Johnson (guitarist on some other Hot Five sides) and *this* guitarist recorded together in 1929, and the stuff they produced was wonderful. The brass player is the key here, and should be the easiest of the bunch to recognize. Ugh. The board is freaking out because of the many quoted areas of text...

Let the record show that Hot Ptah's identifications are all correct. Good job! What is that, 8 points? Don't spend them all in one place.

I confirm and deny nothing, NOTHING I SAY. Forgetting the tenor player for a bit, who's the rest of the gang?