Stereojack

Upon reading Darden's response, it is obvious that the editing oif the Fresh Air interview made him seem less knowledgeable that he apparently is. He is already in touch with several of the major gospel researchers/collectors, so it pleases me that he is farther along than I originally thought.

I would like to add Frank Chace to my jazz birthday database, but cannot find a date of birth. Does anybody have one?

I believe it was Brew Moore who said that.

I heard the program as it was aired. While I admire the man's intentions, it was obvious that he was largely unfamilar with most of the discographical research that has already been done in this area. Several times he guessed as to the recording dates of selections that he played, when a simple glance at the Hayes & Lawton Gospel discography would have provided the answers. He also was unfamilar with labels that are well known to most collectors. Hopefully, the airing of this program will put a number of more knowledgeable collectors and researchers in touch with him. I know several serious gospel music collectors, and I believe that the 70% is a gross exaggeration.

Obviously Columbia & Decca must've made a deal. The Stafford Vocalion album I've seen a number of times is not a Christmas album, so there are at least two instances of Columbia-owned Stafford material showing up on a "rival" label. The Vocalion story related by MG refers to recordings made in the late 20's and early 30's, long before Stafford's career. Columbia "owned" the Vocalion & Brunswick names up until about 1939, when they passed to Decca. At that time Columbia switched the Vocalion catalog (lower priced) to Okeh, and the Brunswick (higher priced) to Columbia. Decca revived the Vocalion logo as a budget label in the 1950's-60's. Perhaps there are other instances, but this is the first time I have seen anything but Decca-owned material issued on a Vocalion LP.

Do you know for a fact that these are from Columbia, or are you just assuming? I've seen the Vocalion LP many times, and since she never (to my knowledge) recorded for Decca or any of its subsidiaries, I've never been able to pin down where these tracks come from. It seems unlikely that Columbia would have licensed these tracks to Decca, since Columbia had its own budget label, Harmony. My theory is that perhaps she made a few singles for Decca at some point when she was between contracts, and they were compiled onto this LP at a much later date.

The one I see most often is Arthur Smith's "Guitar Boogie" (1004), originally credited to The Rambler Trio. I suspect this may have been the label's biggest hit. I agree with Chuck. I find the post war indie labels to be an endlessly fascinating area of collecting - a lot more research needs to be done in compiling histories and listings of what came out on these labels, of which there are hundreds! I believe the Alamac reference on the Drive CD may be to the fact that this CD dupicates an LP issued on Alamac in the 1970's.

The Parlan-Tucker-Harewood trio is one of the great unsung "in the pocket" rhythm sections, whether they are backing Booker or Turrentine, or are by themselves.

I suspect that a lot more than 1000 copies were pressed of the first "Ascension". This was on the market for the better part of a year before it was replaced with the second edition. In 1965-66 Coltrane was a very big name in jazz, and it seems that Impulse would have expected initial sales to have been strong. Over the last 30 years I've seen 10-15 copies of it, and, although prices can be unpredictable, I would expect a clean copy of this would bring around $100.00 on Ebay.

Like most of the titles on LRC, this is a bootleg release. The first three tracks are from European broadcasts 1958-1961, last three tracks are lifted from the 1976 Chiaroscuro LP "Idol Gossip". Music is OK, far from essential.

Ike was a terrific musician and talent scout whose abilities were overshadowed in recent years by the reports of his abuse of Tina. I saw the Ike & Tina Revue in the summer of 1970 at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA. Spectacular show!!

If he didn't mention the cover damage in the listing, you should've returned it. If he refused to refund you, then you could have given him the feedback he deserved.

It's hard to go wrong with Jaws - always plays his ass off. One of my favorite live albums is the Pablo Live at Montreux 1977. Also available on video. All of the albums with Griffin, espercially the live ones from Minton's on Prestige. Night Hawk w/ Coleman Hawkins. Heavy Hitter on Muse. The way he comes roaring out of the Basie band on "Atomic Basie", and on the sleeper album "Basie Plays Bond". This has got to be the greasiest version of "Goldfinger".

I believe there are probably several dozen cast members in various productions around the country. Here in Boston, the show has been running for over ten years. While I might never have chosen to attend a show, we were given tickets for Christmas several years ago, and I have to say it was thoroughly enjoyable. The three main guys are in blue makeup so you can't really see their faces, and I understand it's not the same three guys every night, but a rotating cast.

There are so many fantastic sessions on Keynote. Cozy Cole All Stars (2/22/44) (w/ Joe Thomas, Trummy Young, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, Teddy Walters, Billy Taylor) Blue Moon, Father Co-operates, Just One More Chance, Thru' For the Night "Little Jazz" & His Trumpet Ensemble (4/22/44) (w/ Roy Eldridge, Joe Thomas, Emmett Berry, Johnny Guarnieri, Israel Crosby, Cozy Cole) Don't Be That Way, I Want To Be Happy, Fiesta In Brass, St Louis Blues These are two outstanding dates. Also, I gotta say that the Lester Young quartet session is among my favorite Pres.

These are a great place to start. Mel's solid musicianship and Paich's ingenious charts are a great match. I was put off by the hipster thing for a long time, but about 30 years ago, a fan turned me on to "Live at the Maisonette", which I really liked. The cat can really sing! Aside from a few 60's albums on which Mel was forced (?) to sing a few inappropriate tunes like "Secret Agent Man", Mel's catalog is quite strong. In his later years, the voice was not quite as supple, but the style is intact. I like all of his Concord records. Recently on YouTube I saw an early 70's TV performance on which Mel sang the Paul Williams song (made famous by the Carpenters) "I Won't Last a Day Without You". I'd never paid much attention to the song, but I gotta say Mel nailed it! He hits and holds a note at the end that took my breath away. BIG fan here!

When I was kid, there was a chain around Boston called Joe & Nemo's. They specialized in hot dogs, and the best way to have it was "all around" - mustard, relish, chopped onions. I still like it that way today. The first time I went to New York, I discovered sauerkraut on a dog - mighty good! In San Francisco a few years ago, I went to a place that offered fresh chopped tomatoes as an option - liked that too!

This news is really heartbreaking, although it's not hard to understand Jim's frustration with the strain on his time and finances. Like others here, I have no problem with a membership fee or dues of some kind to keep this thing going. If it doesn't happen, I'd like to join the group of people who have expressed their gratitude to Jim and the band for providing this forum. I lurk at another forum, but post a lot more here. Chris, my e-mail is stereoj@comcast.net

A lot of hate out there for "The Little Drummer Boy". Have any of you ever heard Kenny Burrell's very hip version? I HATE "Santa Baby", or just about anything else by Eartha Kitt, for that matter. Don't think I've heard Madonna's version - I've been lucky up to now, I guess.

Many years ago I saw Cecil at a club here in Boston. I went up to him between sets to ask him to autograph an LP, and was caught off guard with how friendly he was. He signed it "Love and Be-Bop, Cecil Payne"

I don't think they've ever topped The Who Sell Out - a masterpiece from start to finish! I gave up on them after Who's Next. By this time they had become just another boring arena act. I loved Tommy at the time it came out, but have been thoroughly tired of it for a long time. Never cared for Live at Leeds. I think they were still finding their way on My Generation, and Happy Jack/A Quick One has a few good songs, but they really hit their stride with Sell Out. Another corner heard from... (edited for typo)

Henry Kissinger Frank Balinger The Jazz Messengers

Just got home from seeing it tonight. Thoroughly absorbing - definitely among the Coens' best. At the end I felt there were unanswered questions, but ultimately decided that the details didn't matter. It was the way the journey unfolded, and the unswerving single-mindedness of the Javier Bardem character, that were at the center of the movie.

Chas Chandler Jeff Chandler Joel Chandler Harris

I'd heard that the band had finally gained the rights to their name, but apparently there are still unresolved issues between Katz and CBS. It could be that Katz threatened legal action, and CBS just decided that fighting him wasn't worth the expense.