Gheorghe

It was part of my musical developement. It was all around that time. The Lost Quintet is great, but sometimes the atonality of Chick Corea on Fender Rhodes gets on my nerves. I don´t need everything polished and like outbursts into atonality, but the Fender is not the best instrument for that, it´s more for a funky sound, but for Cecil Taylor like excursions the acoustic piano sounds better.

I would say the tune "Round Midnight" itself was not really written for a saxophonist like Dexter. I never really liked it when Dexter played "Round Midnight" or "Ruby My Dear" (which was from the "Manhattan Symphony" session, but issued on "Great Encounters". That´s it, I love the tune Round Midnight, but not the way Dexter plays it, and by the way, I couldn´t imagine that Monk would have used Dex as a saxophonist in his quartets... The grossly overproduced version of "Midnight" in the film itself ...... two basses, all that effort for a tune....., it is the part of the film, where Dexter (Dale Turner) get´s the opportunity to make a studio record in France.....

I saw Mingus playing the bass with a big cigar in his mouth. But smoking while playing I don´t think this is really confortable, but I have to enjoy a cigarette for relaxment. That means after a gig. I never could smoke while playing, or standing or walking and even don´t like to talk, if I smoke a cigarette since I enjoy it in certain situations of happy solitude.

I remember I bought those brown or yellow 2 LP sets from Verve, the 1946 with Bird on it, and a 1944 with a very hot solo by Illinois Jaquet. I think I bought it because there was a club in Vienna (Jazz Freddy) and in the small hours Mr. Freddy the great Jazz DJ usually would spin those JATP´s and people danced to it and shouted and yelled. And I also liked it, but it seems it was the atmosphere, the beer consumation. Anyway, great and wild solos. JATP and Lionel Hampton Big Bands, that was what he would spin in the small hours. But at home, where I usually listen to music much more to study how a group works together, how the drummer fits to the horns etc.... or just closing the eyes and enjoying a great solo or a beautiful theme, I think nowadays JAPT with it´s conservative drumming and somehow "stiff and very straight swing" would be of lesser interest for me....

I also have it with this cover. I think I bought it in the late 70´s in Basel/Switzerland. Since during that time there were not many individual biographies about leading jazz artists of the 40´s (I already had the two Bird books , the one by Reisner and the one by Russell with the fictive essays about a night in Brussel and with Dean Benedetti), but I think other books still were not written. I think Diz´ book "To be or not to bop" came out a little later...., there was still no book about Bud . The Ira Gitler book was the first one that gave infos about Bud´s return to Birdland and his last performances at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall and was written when Bud was still alive.

The first Non-Steeplechase release I had, and actually the first Dexter LP I had when I was a teenager, along with Dexter´s contribution on Dizzy´s "Blue ´n Boogie" from 1945, was the Black Lion LP from 1967 with Kenny Drew. Nils Hennig and Albert Heath. I like especially the drum sound of Albert Heath. Yes, I was aware of that, they issued a lot of material later. I think I have some, that I got from the widow of a friend and fan.

Right !

Yes, I was aware of that, they issued a lot of material later. I think I have some, that I got from the widow of a friend and fan.

That means I had only Cheese Cake, Neptune and I want More. I had decided not to buy "Cry me a river" since it was only one half Dexter. Later I listened to the dexter side and like the ballad, but "April" is not really up to Dexter´s standards. After "I Want More" I lost the trace, I didn´t intend to collect them further......, but we played "I want more" with a nice saxophone player, who later became a doctor....

Yes, those are the MPS albums we had. The "Koko", see I am not sure it was 45 years ago, maybe it can be the Album "Supersax Plays Bird", I saw the cover and it seems to be similar to the one I had bought. Maybe "Koko" is one of the titles, I remembered it only as the "Koko" album. It was an expensive hard cover Japanese LP. There was also another one titled "Salt Peanuts" and it had some nude girls in a cup of salt peanuts as cover photo.....

On some bootleg label there was a 2 CD set of Dexter at Vanguard in 1983. It was recorded on 27 februarie 1983, when Dexter celebrated his 60´s birthday. It´s quite painful to hear, in any case much worse than what @mhatta posted from 1988 in Japan. The playing list is among others "Secret Love" which was also the first tune on the terrible performance I saw just 2 weeks before, than it has the obligatory "As Time goes By", which is only a shadow of the wonderful version on "Manhattan Symphony" only a few years earlier, it has "Soy Califa" much to fast for what was Dexter able at that time, a rambling performance of "Hi Fly", a tune that sounded so great on "Gotham City", and I think it ends with "Jumpin´ Blues"... I had bought it out of curiosity but never listened to it again....

At that time I fell so much in love with what Jackie does on that encounter with Dex, that I was looking after similar records, and the "Ghetto Lullaby" from the same period, also live at the Montmatre really amazed me (and my friends). I also remember the green and the blue 1966 live performances "Dr. Jackle" and "Tune Up". I think, "Tune Up" was released a bit later, not in the 70´s, but in the 80´s.

Supersax got very much listening around here. It was very common here, I think it was MPS albums, and I had a japanese album "Koko" too.

This Newport rebels is really fantastic. Roy Eldrige was 10000´s of miles ahead of his time. He could play with all the "then" modernists..... In my case, in the 60´s I was too young to hear Swing Stars. There were some left in the 70´s. I think Count Basie Orchestra once performed with Frank Sinatra. I missed that. It´s even possible that Benny Goodman had played in Viena in the 70´s. I saw a Lionel Hampton Big band somewhere in the late 70´s it must have been a festival, and there also played some Hampton Alumni from the old days. I think Arnett Cobb was among them. Oh yeah, I saw Arnett Cobb once at the Jazzland. He moved on cruthes but really played some great swing saxophone, and though he sure was ill, he still enjoyed some good glasses of whisky and cigarettes.... a real strong Texas man.... And sure, I saw Woody Herman once in 1979 with the Herd and once in 1985, this time with an Allstar Band of mostly Concorde Artists..... So I think that´s all the artists that was still alive and could be heard then.....

no love for this one ?

oh yes, this was beautiful times for bop freaks. Yardbird in Lotusland is most of the first CD of the new "Bird in LA". My favourites from "Spotlite" are the Howard McGhee Machito "Afro Cubop" and the Billy Eckstine. But there were very much: Bird in Sweden (a 2 LP set), Bird in Paris, "Apartment Sessions" "Early Bird" etc.....

This is jim Hall´s daughter ? He feed´s her with Bockwurst . I remember I ate some "Berliner Bockwurst" and "Thüringer Rostbratwurst" at an anual festival in Viena Prater where a delegation from GDR came and offered their culiaric specialities. This was in the 70s, 80´s , oh boy I ate and drank too much (Corn and Radeburger ) . Here´s two other ones with children.

Definitly one of his best things. This and Filles de Kilijanjaro are favourites of mine. I remember that ostinato bass figure on side 2, all kids who could hold a bass guitar first tried to play that riff. Me too, I was a piano player but knew the basics of bass fiddle and so if somewhere there was a bass guitar around, I´d play that bass figure and other kid´s would say "wow!"

Is it possible that Dexter´s life , though not as chaotic and short as Bud´s life, had paralels ? Celebrated Bop Star in the 40´s , long decline in the 50´s with long prison periods, a slow resurection after that with some substantial BN records, then leaving the States and a long stay in Europe, and a first celebrated comeback in the States, where things (drinking) again got out of control and led to embarrasing performances, with the only difference that Dexter somehow rallied a bit in the last years, but it was too late since his body had given up.... ? Only that it lasted longer. Dexters stay in Europe lasted 15 years, Bud´s only 5 years, Dexter´s comeback to NY lasted 5 years, Bud´s comeback less than 2 years..... Anyway, Dexter in 1983 must have been similar to Bud´s weak performances at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall.....completly drunk and unable to play....

Wow first time I had a look at a blog.... I read the review about Joe Pass with Nils Henning and Martin Drew. Joe Pass sure had an incredible tehnique. Once I taped one of his Pablo Records from the 70´s I don´t know which one. But somehow...at first listening I thought "wow" but it´s not the music I would spin all the time. I saw Oscar Peterson with Nils Henning and Martin Drew at a festival in 1983 and at least then I wondered why Peterson doesn´t appear with some brothers from the States. He was a mega star mostly among mainstream music lovers, but seemed to be afraid to get in touch with musicians of the younger generation......, at least that was my impression then. Paquito d´Rivera ......one amateur bassist I knew had one of his albums I think it was titled "Explosion", he was enthusiastic about it and I taped it on cassette. First listenings also same effect: "wow" that grooves, so much power, so perfect. This was around the time I had divorced from a short marriage and once I was drivin through town with a borrowed cabrio and some girls in it and played to tape of "Explosion" on a quite loud volume and the girls screamed and liked it. I thought wow girls listenin to a so called jazz album. But somehow, as time goes by, after a few month I had forgotten about it. It´s fine music, very well played but it seems it was just for a short period in my live.....

It is possible that Buddy Terry was not so well known over here. I just had a look at google and the musicians who played on his albums are very well known. But he himself doesn´t seem to be very popular among fellow fans or musicians of my generation..... One of the guys had Dexter´s "Tangerine" which I borrowed and taped. It sounds good and I like that combination of veterans like Thad Jones, Hank Jones and the very young Stanley Clark, who sounds great. Then I had heard the Gene Ammons in Montreuw with the Hampton Hawes trio (on fender rhodes, Bob Cranshaw on electric bass and the veteran Kenny Clark). Sounds strange now and maybe acoustic purists hate it, but during my youth this was a very usual sight, a Fender Rhodes and a Fender bass. You even had difficulties to find a young acoustic bass player. When I felt "ready" enough to organize a group I came by to the Viennese Jazz Conservatory and asked who are students at the bass class and there were 20, among them only 2 on acoustic...

I saw them all live at one or the other occasion, Joanne with Joe Henderson, Paquito with a Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Odean Pope several times with Max Roach....

Brings Memories back. A friend of mine was an absolute fan of RTF, and though I´m not the biggest fan (I listened more to the "Headhunters" with Herbie, or to Miles´ "Aghartha" , but it´s very good music, and I rediscovered the RTF lately when my wife bought me "Mothership Returns" which is excellent. I I "discovered" Brew Moore on the Spotlite LP "Howard McGhee Afro Cubop" , where he plays very fine, and than on the 1950 bop session with Miles, Brew, J.J. Johnson, Tadd Dameron, Curley Russel and Art Blakey, which is also very fine playing by Brew. Later I bought the Steeple Chase album under his name, from Montmatre 1965, very fine. Though he was so much influenced by Lester , he could hold his own in the fastest company....

I have listened to it yesterday. Thank you for sharing. I might say to my astonishment, that Dexter sounds much better than on the last occasion I saw him live. That was in 1983 and it left us all embarrassed , so weak it was. But here it´s such a fantastic band that seems to help him out. With such a fantastic drummer like Billy Higgins even that tired old Dexter doesn´t play so much laid back than he did in the late 70´s early 80´s, so he sure has difficulties to manage to get through. Round Midnight maybe is too slow. Blues Walk is better than I expected. Dexter quotes "Farmer´s Market" at one moment, and then Cedar Walton also quotes the same tune. Bobby Hutcherson is great, and above all the Buster Williams Billy Higgins connection. Society red is also cool. Dexter quotes "Blues in the Night", Cedar quotes "Salt Peanuts" and "Now is the Time", and Buster Williams quotes "Blues in the Closet'". Again, Bobby Hutcherson is fantastic. I´m not a fan of listenig to late recordings of artists, they make me sad, but this is much better than the "adio experience" I had in 1983 with a completly drunk old man, almost unable to play or even stand on the stage. This tour must have costed a fortune. Dexter was under contract by BN again, but it´s sad they didn´t record the band in the studio too. It might have brought Dexter a lot of money.

From what period is that ? I heard a Shepp plays Bird album lately, with Siegfried Kessler, Bob Cunningham and Clifford Jarvis. That´s the group I heard in the late 70´s. Also heard a quartet with Ken Werner, Santi Debriano, John Betsch , and some more, I don´t remember them all.....