Jim R

Interesting. Here's what I know about SOLID. The cover brownie describes was used for the U.S. issue (LT 990), which I owned. However, I have a 1991 Japanese book of various artists' discographies called "Jazz Heroes Data Bank", which shows a different cover for SOLID. It doesn't list its GXK number (only LT 990 is given), so I wonder if that cover was ever actually used. All the images in this book are in black and white, but I can easily tell that the art for this LP (which I never saw in person, BTW) was designed by the same (Japanese) artist who did the covers for OLEO, NIGERIA, GOODEN'S CORNER, MATADOR, etc. It's in that same vein. Anybody else ever see that cover?

Hamburger Hamlet... that brings back a memory (changing the subject just slightly ). One of my older brothers moved to L.A. back in the 70's, and I went down to help him move his stuff. I remember eating at a Hamburger Hamlet, and they served these HUMONGOUS glasses of beer... the size of a frigging birdbath, it seemed. I think (?) they called it a "schooner". Wow. Do they still sell those? Anyway, back to the topic at hand...

Brad, some of the Japanese issues shown above had U.S. counterparts in the LT (aka "Blue Note Classics" aka "rainbow") series- those LP's with the wide white border around an often irrelevant (but usually tasteful) color photo. Examples of this are NIGERIA, CLUBHOUSE, CHANT, CONFIRMATION, MR. NATURAL, etc. Some, such as SWEET SLUMBER, were exclusive in their Japanese versions- at least initially (SWEET SLUMBER later became LUSH LIFE in the U.S., for example, with a different cover). I can't tell you why different covers were chosen for various issues here and in Japan. What surprised me a bit in terms of some of the eventual U.S. CD issues is that neither the LT nor the Japanese art was used (such as with SOLID, COOL BLUES). For Jimmy Smith's ON THE SUNNY SIDE (aka STANDARDS), they didn't even use the original title. Gets kind of confusing... but as long as the music is being reissued.... whatever.

I remember that as well. Fortunately, I was able to find a number of the above titles (NIGERIA, MR. NATURAL, CONFIRMATION, CHANT, CLUBHOUSE) in the LT series, and in some cases as cutouts (maybe $4 a pop). Then again, I spent a lot on some of the Japanese LP's (SWINGIN', FREEDOM, REMEMBERING G.G., OLEO, GOODEN'S CORNER). It took me almost ten years to find GOODEN'S CORNER, and before I knew it, all that Grant Green stuff with Sonny Clark was widely available from Mosaic. BTW Eric, the Mobley wasn't the only cover that the Japanese "recycled" for different issues. Other examples were the covers from Sonny Clark's TRIO and COOL STRUTTIN'.

oops. B)

Re the Mobley- the art for BNJ 61006 is almost identical (except for the lettering) to BN 1560

Remembering Grant Green Green Guitar Blues (Bucky Pizzarelli) Blues Up And Down (Griffin/Davis) Down With It (Blue Mitchell) It Might As Well Be Spring (Ike Q) Spring Is Here (Stan Getz) Here We Come (Three Sounds) Come Fly With Me (Sinatra) Me And The Blues (Joe Williams) ...

CLUBHOUSE was issued on CD in the U.S. with that cover in 1990.

Four of the tracks were released in the U.S. on BN-LA573-J2 (70's twofer series). Some titles from the session were released in Japan only. Further titles were released on United Artists (THREE BLIND MICE, VOL. 2).

The TOCJ of STREET SINGER has a different cover from the one above. A lot of the above covers were included in the second and third BN album art books ("Volume 2" and "The "ultimate collection").

I'm photographically/technically challenged as well, so I'll use a combination of visual aids taken off the net and my amazing capacity for descriptive writing. I have part of my collection stored with my humble stereo system, in a custom-designed cabinet (manufactured by Modernica of L.A., based on the designs of Charles Eames). In terms of basic structure and size, it looks like this: Instead of white sliding doors to hide the stereo equipment, mine has maple "dimple doors" (see below); and instead of open space on the bottom shelves, mine has four drawers- two in each cavity on the bottom left and right (see photo of larger unit below). I can get about 480 CD's into the 4 drawers. Most of my individual CD's are stored in two white melamine shelves that I bought at a garage sale for a couple o' bucks each (made up for all the dough I coughed up for that Modernica piece). The shelves are adjustable for maximum capacity, and they're deep enough that I can display some CD's facing forward in the front (I get tired of always looking at spines). I rotate my favorite covers, so it makes for a nice system of displaying art.

I don't think "ignorance" is the right word. If the music doesn't do much for you, it doesn't do much for you. Maybe it will in the future. I think the impact of VIRTUOSO may be greater for guitar players who have spent some time working on creating their own chord-melody arrangements, but even that doesn't mean that everybody in that category should be knocked out by it musically. Hopefully they can appreciate it from a technical standpoint, but that's a different matter. I think the special thing about Pass (as I mentioned above) is his fluency. He was a master at playing all over the fingerboard and changing keys (basically just knowing the fingerboard inside out and upside down) and playing at a variety of tempos, in a variety of settings, excelling both at playing chords and single lines, and always being (or at least appearing) comfortable. Only a monster player can pull that off all the time. One thing that really strikes me about VIRTUOSO is that his execution and command of the instrument make it sound like it's easy to play like that.

Yeah, although like Roberts, I wish there had been more recordings that really featured his playing. Galbraith has a great reputation among his fellow-guitarists, and it's hard not to respect somebody like that from all the glowing reports you read, but so often his work was part of a large ensemble or orchestra and difficult to really appreciate (kind of the way I've always felt about Freddie Green). Anyway, he was pretty prolific as a session player, and appears on quite a few recordings in my collection- from vocalists (Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O'day, Carmen McRae, Dinah Washington, Helen Merrill, Johnny Hartman, Eddie Jefferson and Joe Williams) to orchestras/large ensembles with Claude Thornhill, Jimmy Cleveland, Cannonball, Art Farmer, J.J., Michel Legrand, Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller, Stanley T; to smaller groups (Tal Farlow, Coleman Hawkins, Kenny Burrell, Hank Jones, Milt Jackson, John Lewis...). Pretty impressive list of credits.

GOOD PICKIN'S is probably my favorite Roberts recording. That was out of print for SO long, it's ridiculous. For years and years (while scouring the earth for guitar recordings to sustain my habit) I wasn't even aware of its existence. MR. ROBERTS PLAYS GUITAR always seemed to be available on reissue vinyl, but GOOD PICKIN'S was something you had to really do a lot of networking to get your hands on (a cassette copy, in my case). The one thing that's always been frustrating about trying to appreciate H.R.- he didn't record enough as a leader. And even when he did, he was often poorly produced (and he probably should take some of the blame, what with his reputation for being a "wacky" kind of cat). There are bits and pieces of good solid jazz on some of his Capitol albums (compiled on 3 CD's by the Euphoria label in 2001), but many of those tracks are way too short, and some of the material is pretty weak (which goes for many of his later recordings as well, IMO). His Concord album was very good, but there was only just that one. Bottom line- I wish he had been more prolific as a leader. He really had a fantastic sound in the earlier part of his career, and was a gifted player. Joe Pass was simply one of the most fluent and masterful guitarists in the music's history. There are aspects of his style and sound that prevent me from choosing him as a personal favorite, but observing what he did with a guitar in his hands (no matter the setting, from solo performance to ensemble playing) is enough to make anyone think twice about continuing to play (or take up) the guitar. Speaking of personal favorites, these guitar threads always seem to give me the impression that Barney Kessel (though obviously one of the most important and accomplished players of all time) is not all that popular with a lot of people. IMO, he ranks very very high in terms of achievement and influence. He also happens to be one of my favorites, but I think the quality of his work declined as years went on (unlike Burrell, Pass, Farlow, Raney, and others). At his best, I think he may inspire me more than any other player (his instructional video is very inspiring and enjoyable too). To think how many years he has been silent now due to his stroke... it's very sad. What a great career.

Just yesterday I stumbled onto the Warner Archives CD reissue of that Rosemary Clooney Reprise album with Nelson Riddle. I have to thank that guy who led BFT #4... what WAS that guy's name...

I probably should have added that the security device is located directly adjacent to the register(s) in these stores, so it only takes a moment for the cashiers to do this. Anybody in (or formerly in) retail have any thoughts on that?

Been there and done that. I've seen that other scenario many times, too (where the machine beeps its ass off, and no security or store employee is anywhere in sight... and if they are, they act like everybody should know they're just supposed to ignore the stupid machine). Ludicrous.

At a few of the local chain and independent stores where I buy CD's, the security system is effectively bypassed (I guess they know the technology doesn't work properly and will only cause them headaches if employed fully). The cashier hands the customer the merchandise AFTER the customer has walked through the detector device. Seems to work very well, too. Is there some good reason why Borders, B&N, Tower, etc, don't do this?

I agree about Tal requiring close attention. WOW, is it refreshing every time I go back and listen to his work. He played some "impossible" (and I don't just mean in terms of his hands/reach) chords... where you go "whaaaat was THAT?" and hit rewind! Kessel makes me do that a lot too. The way those guys just pulled those chords out of a hat... on the fly... all I can say is they must have taken there guitars EVERYWHERE when they were young (and I've read some stories that would support that idea). I'm also glad that Rene' Thomas was mentioned. GUITAR GROOVE is a must have, IMO. I'm practically a Thomas completeist, and for me that album is one of his very best. I never really warmed up to Getz's DYNASTY, which is late-period R.T. (1971?), and less straight ahead than most of his work.

So... if I wish you a happy birthday right now... I'll not only NOT be late, I'll be... early? This is a FIRST, ladies and gentlemen! Oops, I almost forgot... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Uncle Joe"? Oh, wait- that's Joe Milazzo. (I wonder who else around here is old enough to get that one)... Happy belated birthday, JG.

Absolutely right. I misunderstood you- sorry.

Wow, this topic really took off in the time it took me to compose that last post. Tal Farlow ("the octopus"). 1. His phrases were longer than the average bear- er, I mean, guitar player. If a saxophonist tried to play some of Tal's lines, they would have turned blue and feinted. 2. He was known for his incredible skill at playing solos in harmonics (lightly touching a string one octave above where it is fretted, producing a light bell-like sound). Other players have done it, but Tal did it with great style. BTW, somebody mentioned Tal bending notes more than other guitarists. I must disagree. Oscar Moore, Barney Kessel come immediately to mind... Jimmy Raney. A great bebop musician who just happened to play the guitar. What else can you say... he wasn't about guitaristics, tricks, etc. Just a great musical mind and a pure, direct tone. He was a big influence on Grant Green, BTW.

Checking in late... and thanks Tony, but I don't think you "needed" me! B) Great posts- and so thorough... I'm glad you all got here before me. I'll add a couple of thoughts (and forgive me if I repeat anybody). First of all, in terms of recognizing Wes, KB, and Grant, I think it has more to do with their musical soul (or personal voice, or whatever you want to call it) than with their guitars or even their techniques. Those other things are important too, but it's the musical concept(s) that they employ that are most responsible for their recognizability (don't worry, I consulted a dictionary ), IMO. That's probably true of all great jazz artists. Wes' chord choices, Grant's relentless bluesy soul, and Burrell's hard-swinging lyricism... the "velvet whip", as Russell Malone once described it. In terms of equipment, it was mentioned that certain guitars/amps generally produce a certain sound (but that it's only part of the equation). This is so true. Two L-5's equipped with humbuckers, played through the same Fender Twin, will sound quite a bit different in the hands of two different players- especially if they have developed their attack, touch, and personal tonal concepts. At any rate, there is still that underlying character that a certain choice of guitar/amp can produce. During Grant's classic Blue Note era, he was using a Gibson ES-330, which was a model not widely used by jazz players. It's thin, hollow body and single coil pickups contributed to Grant's distinctive sound. This reminds me- Wes and KB also used guitars with single coil pickups in their early years, but went on to use humbuckers. One of my favorite things about following Burrell's career is to marvel at all the great sounds (tones) he created over the years. He always sounds great- in fact I'm sure he would sound wonderful with the proverbial homemade cigar box guitar- but he definitely produced different tones at different phases of his career. Since I'm conversing with other guitar players here, I'd love to hear your thoughts about favorite Burrell recordings in terms of his sound. In the early years, he was using a Gibson ES-175 with (single coil) P-90's. A great, biting sound which could be compared somwhat with Grant's 330 sound. Later on, in the early 60's, Kenny started using "Charlie Christian" pickups (see my avatar), first on a 175 and later on an L-5. Check out his sound on "Moten Swing" (the Columbia recordings formerly issued as "Bluesin' Around"). There are three different sessions on there, and on some of the tracks he's using the CC pickup, with heavenly results. "People Will Say We're In Love" is one of the tracks where I just sigh and try not to think about how much I struggle to get a sound like that. Burrell was somehow separated from that L-5 (it was either lost or stolen), and soon after that he acquired his 1956 D'Angelico New Yorker (with a Dearmond 1100 floating pickup). A slightly different sound than he was getting before, but equally as heavenly. This is the guitar he uses on the aforementioned Christmas LP, and he also used it on "Night Song" (Verve), among others. In Burrell's hands, that 18" work of art produced by the American "Stradivarius" of archtop guitar luthiery brought forth a sound that to me is to have fallen down and died. Unfortunately, those guitars are now selling for astronomical prices (Burrell's D'A was sold for approximately $75,000 some years ago), and even those 1100's are almost impossible to get one's hands on anymore. Sorry, I guess I get carried away on this topic. Anyway, for me, with Wes it's always been less about his tone for some reason. I actually used to dislike his tone... a bit too brittle and distorted at times (I think Tony and I discussed this a long time ago... I'm getting a Deja Vu). He made up for it (IMO) by being the greatest jazz guitarist who ever lived. B) People like to talk about the octaves, and with good reason. To me, however, the most astonishing signature technique that Wes employed was his chordal solos (or solos in chords, not to be confused with chord/melody soloing). Unbelieveable, to this day.

Ah... I thought the third track was "kiss me right" (on my 1988 CD, the two bonus tracks are programmed 3rd and 4th, and "kiss me right" is 5th. I assumed it was originally 3rd. Okay, on "the gringo" I do hear the familiar theme (kind of a sketch of it, actually) that Horace quotes at the beginning of his solo... a familiar latinesque hard bop thing... and I don't know what it is either... I like these brain-teasers, though- part of what makes quoting so appealing to me. I think it's fair to say I'm notorious for being a Dexter fanatic. I probably have two (or three) times as many Dexter CD's as most normal people have CD's, period. There are a few guys here on the board who I think are catching up with me, though. I've initiated a few "great quoters" threads on different jazz boards in the past... can't recall whether we've had one at Organissimo or not. Maybe I'll do a search. It's a bit of a controversial topic, as some folks dislike too much quoting- especially when it's done to the extreme, without any flair (cleverness, humor, etc). Even Dexter was probably guilty of that at times, but I generally eat it up anyway. B)