Stereojack

In the 1960's Shorty got many arranging gigs for pop sessions when horns were used. Shorty was a journeyman arranger, and skillful enough to provide what was needed in a number of non-jazz settings. jack

I was disappointed in the sound on this set. It sounds like home recordings casually made with one mike (which is what it is). Some of the musicians are a bit off mike. The music is good but not great. It's always nice to hear Zoot blowing, and I agree that the book is nice, but I can't consider this set essential. Boris Rose's stuff is usually off radio or television and I have mostly found the sound to be acceptable. This set falls below that, IMO. When this first came out it was priced pretty high, around 40-50 bucks, IIRC. $6.99 is a great price! jack

I get regular e-mails that claim to be from Ebay and Paypal, with requests to "update" my information, or I may lose my account. The logos look very official. These are scams to get your password - DO NOT RESPOND!!!!! jack

Let's Cool One Coming On the Hudson Ask Me Now All the others......

I don't believe that there is any connection between Evidence and Scorpio. If I can weigh in here, the Scorpio reissues run the gamut from very good to not so good, depending on which label thay are licensing from. I suspect that in many instances, they are actually manufactured by the company which owns the material. We have encountered a high incidence of warpage on many of the Atlantic titles, but have had no such problem with any of the other labels. I have only listened to the ones of which I didn't have the originals, and have had mixed results. I can report on those, and people can project from there. Baby Face Willette's "Mo' Rock" (Argo/Cadet) sounded like it had been digitized. I probably would have been happy if I didn't have an original to compare it to. My original is in mono - wanted to get this in stereo but was not completely happy with the sound. A. K. Salim's "Afro-Soul / Drum Orgy" (Prestige), an original of which I don't think I'd ever seen, sounds great, and I might mention that this is a killer record! As someone else has mentioned, the Vanguards that I've heard, the two Dave Burns LP's, sound really good, and when does anyone expect to find originals of these? In some instances, especially with CBS titles, they can't seem to get the mono/stereo thing right. Pony Poindexter's "Pony's Express" is in mono, where my original is in stereo. Many of the Columbia LP's as issued by Scorpio show mono covers. Some of these play mono, others stereo. There seems to be no pattern here. I have several customers who I know to be audio conscious, and they have given the Blue Notes thumbs up - again, they show mono on the jacket. Whether they play mono or stereo is anyone's guess. For the price, I think that the quality is acceptable overall. Serious audiophiles may have problems here and there, but in general these reissues are a good thing. jack

They BOTH were actually, but both joined after "Tequila". jack

If it looks, smells & tastes like dog shit, don't step in it!

I don't think either one influenced the other. Both Zappa and the Beach Boys have roots in 1950's doo-wop, and each would reference that style on occasion - partly tongue in cheek, partly with affection. jack

In recent years my estimation of the Xanadu label has grown substantially. The label was dedicated to quality jazz with very few (if any) commercial sellout releases. I have most of the catalog (which fortunately can still be had for cheap), but still need to fill in a few holes. Favorites: "Al Cohn's America" Tal Farlow - "Fuersrt Set" & "Second Set" Barry Harris "Plays Tadd Dameron" Jimmy Raney - "Solo" Wardell Gray -Live in Hollywood" The Sam Noto albums Xanadu at Montreux series Just to name a few from a fine catalog. jack

I had the LP years ago, originally picked it up just to hear the hits in stereo. The sound is nothing to crow about. Charles' voice appears in one channel on most of the tracks. Without checking, I think that all of these same tracks are in stereo on the 3-CD box of his Atlantic R&B sides that came out several years ago.

I remember an episode of the Cosby show where a few jazz musicians appeared - one of them was Oliver. Is Cosby from Philly? Perhaps they knew one another back in the day.

Well, yes, anuthing's possible, of course. I lean toward the theory that the discographers goofed. Such things happen pretty often.

Scott seems to always use a bass player on her sessions - often the great George Duvivier - which made me think less of her for years. A while back someone recommended her album "One For Me" (Strata East 7430), on which she doesn't use a bass player, and her playing seems pretty solid to these ears. Will have to give this and the Turrentine album another listen soon.... jack

Is it possible that one of the dates, more likely the Transition, was recorded on July 5? Europeans would express July 5, 1956 as 5/7/56, whereas Americans would say 7/5/56. Ron Hearn and I have run into numerous examples of this kind of transposition in compiling our birthday listings. jack

Yes, they are 78's. I imagine that they may have also been issued on 45, but in 1951, the 78 was still the dominant format. jack

Whenever possible, one should inspect the records themselves. Discographers all steal from one another, and if the first guy (or the guy he got it from) makes a mistake, then the mistake is perpetuated. That said, I can provide details about two of the Galaxy 78's, because I have them: Galaxy 702 Charley's Quote (8109) These Foolish Things (8114) Galaxy 703 Vibra-Tharpe (11150) Chopsticks-Mambo (11160) jack

Ray Hall at Webster Hall, NYC

I listed a few this morning with no problems. I did notice that the pictures are now bigger within the ad, and I'm using the same methods I've always used.

Tommy is one of the few pianists I can recognize by his sound. He has a unique and very personal touch, not to mention his impeccable taste and imagination.

Most items sold on Ebay are sold by auction. This means that there was more than one person willing to pay a premium for this item. I don't see how you can label a dealer as greedy just because he puts an item up for sale and the price reaches $900. The buyers determine the prices in an auction. The fact that this went for a lot of money indicates that this is what the set is worth, like it or not.

Yes, they are all true stereo. Most unusual. We have all encountered isolated stereo recordings that predate the acknowledged (late 1957) stereo era, but this is the first time I've found one on Fantasy. And while I'm on the subject, there is more than one OJC that plays mono where the original LP was stereo: Dave Brubecks's "Reunion" (Fantasy 8007) and Gigi Gryce "& the Jazz Lab Quintet" (Riverside 1110) are two that come to mind. Both were recorded in early 1957.

I have listened to the track, and although the composers are given as Waller & Williams (composers of Squeeze Me), the tune is actually Just Squeeze Me, the Ellington composition. I don't have the Stallings LP - is the version on that an instrumental? If so, we have solved the mystery.

They don't seem to be exactly the same. 1. Fascinatin’ Rhythm (Gershwin) A 2. For Heaven’s Sake (Levey-Webb) B 3. Mambo Macumba (Tjader) A 4. Autumn Leaves (Kosma-Prevert-Mercer) B 5. This Can’t Be Love (Rodgers-Hart) B 6. Cherry (Redman) B 1. It Ain’t Necessarily So (Gershwin) A 2. I’ll Remember April (Raye-DePaul) B 3. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (Cahn-Chaplin) B 4. Yesterdays (Kern-Harbach) B 5. I Concentrate On You (Porter) A 6. Squeeze me (Waller-Williams) B A – August, 1954, San Francisco Dick Collins, John Howell, Al Porcino, Charlie Walp (tp), Cal Tjader (vbs/cencero), Manuel Duran (p), Carlos Duran (b), Edgardo Rosales (cga), Bayardo Verlarde (timbales/cencero/bgo) B – September, 1954, San Francisco Cal Tjader (vbs/cencero), Manuel Duran (p), Carlos Duran (b), Edgardo Rosales (cga), Bayardo Verlarde (timbales/cencero/bgo) I couldn't find "Cherry" or "Squeeze Me" in Jepsen, but the liner notes seem to indicate that they were made at the same session as the other "B" tracks.

Although the original LP's were cheesily packaged, several of them contained marvelous music, especially the Dexter and Mingus dates. All of the records claim to have been recorded in 1977, which I have no reason to doubt, except for the Coleman Hawkins - Hawk died in 1969!

I have the LP - Fantasy 8019, stereo. According to the Jepsen discography, this was issued in mono on Fantasy 3221. Here's the kicker, however: Jepsen says this was recorded in August and September, 1954, yet it is a true stereo recording! Some of Fantasy's "stereo" releases are fake stereo, but not this one.