Stereojack

Jim, My deepest condolences, Jim. I know that this is little comfort, but take some consolation in the fact that he went quickly without a long protracted illness, even if it is about 20 years too soon.

Ruby has a string of fine releases on Concord which can usually be had for short money. I've got most of the Arbors discs as well, and there isn't a dog among them.

I didn't get that at all! I think Juno was taken with Bateman's character because she saw him as a real cool older guy, and he was perhaps a little flattered. As she got to know him, she realized that he was somewhat shallow and immature, and that it was his wife (who at first seemed like a typical yuppie) who really cared about the baby. I think that the whole relationship between Juno and the couple helped Juno to see past first impressions in her perception of people, to "grow up", if you will.

I think Stan Getz' playing (and Desmond's for that matter) is anything but simple! Even in the most mundane of settings, he always manages to play with great inspiration and artistry.

That is the second cover. Original cover looks like this:

I think this is a lovely record, despite its faults. The American rhythm section is stiff, which is why many subsequent bossa nova records by American musicians (including Getz) employed actual Brazilian players. This was many people's first exposure to this music, and I think it's difficult to find fault with Stan's playing, whether or not one likes the other musicians. Stan took to this music like a fish to water, although later on I believe he got tired of audiences' demand for more bossa nova after he felt he had said all he had to say within the style.

I loved the film - hated the music. But then again, this is music that teenagers are supposed to like, not old farts like me, so I thought the music was appropriate, I guess. I like the fact that Juno's parents were not portrayed as clueless, but as genuinely concerned. I liked the way our first impression of the adopting couple was the opposite of how they turned out. I found the smartass dialogue off-putting at first, but eventually we realized that this kid was not as smart as she thought she was. The ending, as corny as it was, got to me. Some have observed that the film seems to take an anti-abortion stance. I don't agree. I think it's possible that abortion clinics can also be staffed by the occasional insensitive worker. This is a young kid weighing her options, and deciding she'd rather have the baby.

I've got the first album, and it's decidedly jazz oriented. Not long after he made it, he hit big with the straight pop tune "Wonderful Wonderful" and realized that greener pastures were elsewhere. Also, although the charts are nice on the first album, I'm not convinced that Johnny is all that convincing as a jazz singer.

Most of Taylor's records are easy listening shlock - he plays well, but the settings are pretty light. If you can find any of these, they contain his best work: "The Big Beat" (MGM) "Jazz For Commuters" (Metrojazz) "Claude Cloud & His Orchestra" (pseudonym for studio group w/ Taylor, Leroy Kirkland, & Panama Francis) (MGM) The Claude Cloud LP contains the original version of "Cloudburst", one of Sam's greatest recorded solos, later covered by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...-86-815836.html Independent.co.uk Humphrey Lyttelton, broadcaster and jazz musician, dies aged 86 By Sadie Gray Friday, 25 April 2008 Humphrey Lyttelton, the jazz musician, journalist and radio presenter, has died at the age of 86. Humph, as he was affectionately known, was still working and planning a tour with his band right up to his admission to hospital on 16 April for surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. He died at 7pm this evening in Barnet Hospital, north London. His admission to hospital had forced the spring series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, the Radio 4 comedy show he presented for 30 years, to be cancelled earlier this week. In an email to members of the show's fan club, its producer, Jon Naismith, had said he was "otherwise fine and in good spirits". Last month, Lyttelton had given up his role as presenter of BBC Radio 2's Best of Jazz, saying he was leaving to "clear a space for some of my other ambitions". He had been at the helm of the show since 1967, introducing thousands of listeners to many different styles of jazz. At the time, the Radio 2 controller, Lesley Douglas, said: "Humphrey Lyttelton is not only a giant in the world of jazz, but has also remained a giant of music broadcasting for the past 40 years. The world of music broadcasting will be poorer without his weekly show." He was still touring with his eight-piece band, performing sell-out shows around the country, although his forthcoming tour had been cancelled due to his illness. Lyttelton was born on 23 May 1921 at Eton College, where his father was a housemaster, and where he duly became a pupil. He first picked up a trumpet in 1936 and, after spending the Second World War as an officer in the Grenadier Guards, became a pioneering figure in the British jazz scene. On being demobbed from the Guards he spent two years at Camberwell Art School, an experience he later called upon when he joined the Daily Mail as a cartoonist in 1949. He went on to work as a journalist for Punch, The Field, and the British Airways magazine, Highlife. Lyttelton formed his first band in 1948 after spending a year with George Webb's Dixielanders, a band that pioneered New Orleans-style jazz in the UK. The Humphrey Lyttelton Band quickly became Britain's leading traditional jazz group, and continental tours gave them a following in Europe. In 1949, he signed a recording contract with EMI which led to a string of records in the Parlophone Super Rhythm Style series and which have become highly sought after. 1956 was a good year for Humph. Eight years earlier, at the Nice International Jazz Festival, Louis Armstrong had said of him: "That boy's comin' on," and now the King of Jazz asked Humphrey Lyttelton and his Band to open a series of shows in London for him. The same year, Lyttelton became the first musician to enter the top 20 with a British jazz record, "Bad Penny Blues", which stayed in the charts for six weeks. By the late 1950s he was branching out, enlarging his band and experimenting with mainstream and non-traditional material, and shocking his established fans in the process. In 1959, the band made a successful tour of the United States. He was a keen amateur calligrapher and birdwatcher, and in 1984 formed his own record label, Calligraph. He composed more than 120 original songs during his career. In 1993 he won the radio industry's highest honour, a Sony Gold Award. He also won lifetime achievement awards at the Post Office British Jazz Awards in 2000, and the inaugural BBC Jazz Awards the following year. Lyttelton played for the younger generation too: he performed on Radiohead's track "Life in a GlassHouse" in 2000, later joining the band on stage for a concert in Oxford. He said it was one of the most moving experiences of his musical career. Throughout his life, keeping a sense of humour remained a priority. On announcing his death, his website carried his words: "As we journey through life, discarding baggage along the way, we should keep an iron grip, to the very end, on the capacity for silliness. It preserves the soul from dessication." Query: Independent.co.uk The Web Go ©independent.co.uk Legal Terms & Policies | E-mail sign-up | RSS | Contact us | Syndication | Work for INM | Advertising Guide | Group Sites | London Careers

Just received word of the death of British jazz great Humphrey Lyttelton http://www.humphreylyttelton.com

A giant - RIP, Jimmy.

(shudder) Although I know there are plenty of tone-deaf people out there, it amazes me just how clueless they can be sometimes.

Love the pics! Keep 'em coming! Hope this birthday is a great day!

CONGRATS TO BOTH OF YOU!!!

I don't know of Andy's current activities. He did teach locally for many years, but he is getting on in years, and has had a few health issues, to boot. I got to know Andy slightly in the eighties, and I will say that he is a very nice guy, and of course, a superb musician! In the film I recognized him more from his playing than from how he looked, especially since the film quality is not all that great, and I only knew Andy as an older man who usually wears glasses.

I think the tenor player is Andy McGhee. The trombonist is not Cleveland, but I can't say who it is!

I believe Saluga was also a member of the popular comedy troupe "Ace Trucking Company".

How about my personal fave - Art Blakely?

I'll take that as a compliment.

It's not Earl Hines, but I will be interested in hearing if you have this exact track on that set, or if Earl Hines recorded this track, and the band I put on the set ripped Hines off! Holy shit! Stereojack NAILED this one! Yes, this is the track from the Reader's Digest box I was referring to. If you ever find that "flabbergasted" emoticon, let me know! Way to go, Jack! How'd you know this one? For that matter, Berigan, how the heck do YOU know about it? Zurke was the pianist in Bob Crosby's band in the late 30's. This is a band I've known and enjoyed for decades. I recognized Zurke's style. I do have the recordings he made with his own band as well, but I don't know them well enough to recognize the track.

Have listened through this disc a couple of times, and now I'm ready to commit - 1. This has got to Jabbo Smith! What an exciting player. This track gets the second disc off to a very nice start. 2. “Old Joe’s Hittin’ the Jug” – Stuff Smith, with Jonah Jones on trumpet, and, I think, Cozy Cole on drums. LOVE Stuff!! Here’s a band I’d love to have seen live, had I been born 30 years sooner. 3. “Gin For Christmas” in rechanneled stereo! Even with the crappy mastering, it’s hard to contain the excitement. Of course, it’s Hamp at the drums, and Ziggy Elman on trumpet, can’t remember who else. A classic side! 4. The Rhythmmakers – “Who Stole The Lock”. Red Allen sings & plays trumpet, Pee Wee is delightful, can’t remember the tenor (Bud?) or the trombone (great trills!). A classic session. 5. “You Can’t Cheat a Cheater”. I think you’re throwing us a curve here, my man. That’s Tommy Dorsey on trumpet, with Eddie Lang, and the pianist (Artie Schutt?) doubling on harmonium. I’ve always marveled at how Tommy’s personality was so different when he played trumpet. On trombone, he plays with great beauty and control, and on trumpet he’s a wild man! Then again, maybe this is Phil Napoleon on trumpet – they both recorded this tune. I’ll stick to my first guess. 6. Tram, Bix & Lang – another curve. Bix is on piano until the very end. 7. I think this is Dick McDonough, a marvelous guitarist who died young. Beautiful playing, and a lovely tune. 8. George Barnes – “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”. I found this Okeh 78 some years ago, on which the billing was The Georgie Barnes Trio. Can’t remember who the sidemen are, but Barnes (barely out of his teens when he cut this) sounds great! 9. Red Norvo – “Dance of the Octopus”. This was considered pretty avant garde back in 1933. If I recall correctly, Benny Goodman’s playing the bass clarinet. A delightful side. 10. That’s Tiny Grimes on guitar, I’m pretty sure. I think this may be a Blue Note date, with Ike Quebec on tenor. Or is it John Hardee? 11. This sounds familiar, but I can’t place it. Really nice late 1920’s Harlem jazz – maybe Charlie Johnson? 12. Harlan Leonard – “A La Bridges”, featuring the legendary Henry Bridges on tenor, and Fred Beckett on trombone. A beautiful side by a great Kansas City band. Nice selection! 13. This is a little busy, and slightly pretentious - possibly Boyd Raeburn? Nevertheless, I give them an A for effort. 14. Another swing-to-bop attempt from the mid-40’s. Can’t name the band, although I think the alto bears a strong resemblance to Jimmy Dorsey. Haven’t heard anything quite this forward-looking from JD, but I guess anything’s possible. 15. This has to be Chick Webb – “Liza”. Probably Taft Jordan on trumpet, and the great Chick Webb in one of his rare solos. A great band , a great drummer. 16. A strong Basie feel here, but I really have no idea who this band is. The band plays with spirit, but the chart is rather mundane. 17. I seem to recall this title – “Swinging In the Groove” – Jan Savitt. Strong trumpet and tenor, can’t remember their names. Nice boogie woogie piano. Cutty Cutshall on trombone? 18. A nice track, dubbed from a less-than-mint 78. I like the sound of the sax section a lot, very mellow. Damn, I know this band, but can’t come up with a name. Hilton Jefferson on alto? 19. Very fine trumpet player. Good playing all around. Nothing is coming to mind here, although I like the band’s feel, especially when they kick it up a notch in the final chorus. Sudden ending! 20. Recalling Venuti-Lang here, although this sounds like it may from a little later, mid-30’s I’d guess, with the “jump” rhythm. Maybe a western swing outfit? 21. Nice quasi-country guitar in the first chorus, fine muted trumpet. Clarinet opens with the famous “High Society” quote. No ideas on this one. 22. Bob Crosby? A nice slow-boogie feel. The reeds with the clarinet lead are very nice. I’m a big fan of the 30’s Crosby band, I would suspect that this was made in the early 40’s. Fine trombone solo. 23. A nice segue – this follows the previous track with a similar rhythm. I think this is John Kirby’s “Twilight In Turkey”. Didn’t figure it out until I recognized Charlie Shavers, then Billy Kyle and Buster Bailey. Not a typical Kirby performance, but excellent nonetheless. 24. The Boswell Sisters!!! MUCH LOVE for the Boswells, and for Connee after the sisters retired. Is that Dick McDonough on guitar? The arrangement is a tad precious, but these babes sure swing! Jimmy Dorsey again? Bunny on trumpet? 25. The singer is a little deadpan, slightly reminiscent of Annette Hanshaw, but I don’t think this is her. The trumpet soars on this – Jack Purvis? 26. “Shake That Thing”. Acoustically recorded. Can’t pin this band down, but I like them. Can this be the California Ramblers? I thoroughly enjoyed this disc, and the challenge to identify the individuality of each band is great fun!

The extra high bid was for the Post-It.

I watched the show after reading your post (I usually tape the show and watch it the next day). It looked to me that the drummer was playing live, at least the few times that I could see him.

Gulp! I've got that record - time to give it a listen!