Jim R

No. CHEROKEE includes material from the July 3, 1957 session with McFadden and Bailey (on which J.S. began by experimenting with the piano*); plus one track ("somebody loves me"), and unused track from the May 8, 1957 session that produced JIMMY SMITH PLAYS PRETTY FOR YOU. *He recorded with Lou Donaldson the next day (7/4/57; the "Jimmy Smith Trio + L. D." session), and one piano track ("cha cha j") was actually used.

Actually, they included "little girl blue" (as well as the other tracks from that "On The Sunny Side" LT series album) on the 1998 CD "Standards". It also includes previously unreleased tracks (also with Burrell and Bailey) from 5/24/59. Recommended.

Oscar Moore was a huge influence on Kenny Burrell (and no doubt many others). Art Tatum had employed the trio format as early as 1932, according to what I've read. With Cole's success, Tatum reorganized a trio with Tiny Grimes and Slam Stewart circa 1943 (fabulous music!). Fats Waller had a trio (gutarist was Al Casey) in the 30's. Clarence Profit had a trio (Jimmy Shirley on guitar) in 1937. Guitarist Leonard Ware had a trio in the 40's. From a guitar point of view, Charlie Christian influenced everybody, and the Goodman quartet was no doubt an influence on the small group sound in general.

If you goin' out, you gotta don the TREADS to be hapnin' wit da THREADS, youknowwhatI'msayin'? Sorry. How about Vick's STEPPIN' OUT?

Count me in. I have to admit that I had pretty much overlooked him until that Elite edition disc came out. Gotta offer up some rare props to the folks (meatheads ) at Universal/Verve for THAT one. Aside from all its other attributes, I was completely dazzled by Cleveland's playing on that. There's more to the possibilities with the ol' bone than some folks would have us believe! (On the other hand, I DO enjoy a good trombonist joke now and then) B) FWIW, here's some data re Cleveland's Mercury/Emarcy albums: Introducing Jimmy Cleveland And His All Stars Emarcy (Verve VEE) (36066) 1955-08-12; 11-19,22 Jimmy Cleveland,Ernie Royal,Lucky Thompson,Cecil Payne,John Williams,Barry Galbraith,Paul Chambers,Max Roach,Quincy Jones (arr); Hank Jones,Oscar Pettiford, Osie Johnson; Jerome Richardson,Wade Legge,Joe Harris hear ye hear ye,you don't know what love is,vixen,my one and only love,little beaver,our love is here to stay (2 takes),count ‘em,bone brother,i hadn't anyone til you,see minor Cleveland Style (Mercury 36126) 1958 Jimmy Cleveland,Art Farmer,Benny Golson,Wynton Kelly,Eddie Jones,Charlie Persip, Jay McAllister,Don Butterfield out of this world,all this and heaven too,posterity,long ago and far away,a jazz ballad,jimmie's tune,goodbye ebbets field A Map Of Jimmy Cleveland (Mercury 20442/60117) 1959 Jimmy Cleveland,Ray Copeland,Ernie Royal,Jerome Richardson,Don Butterfield,Junior Mance,Bill Crow,Art Taylor swing low sweet chariot,a hundred years from today,marie,jay bird,the best things in life are free,stardust,jimmy's old funky blues Rhythm Crazy (Emarcy 26003) 1965 Jimmy Cleveland,Art Farmer,Benny Golson,Jerome Richardson,Hank Jones,Milt Hinton ,Osie Johnson crazy rhythm,old reliable,we never kissed,tom kattin',our delight,reminiscing, tricotism

That was probably the first one I heard, but it belonged to a friend's older brother, who also had: I'm not sure it was my first, but I was inspired to buy this: The one that really got me started, though (about five years later) was:

It's kind of vague for me. It would have been when I was in high school (early 70's), when there was a lot of jazz influence in "rock" music of the day... but to try to focus on the first that most people would label "jazz"... it might have been Eddie Harris & Les McCann's "Swiss Movement"... or maybe one of the Crusaders' albums. The Crusaders were the first live jazz I saw (twice), and that made quite an impression. Of course, I'm sure I heard some jazz well before that (maybe Pops or Basie or Ella or ? on TV variety shows in the '60's), but my parents owned few recordings, and no jazz. There was lots of music in our house when I was a kid (from my Mom's piano or my Dad's radio), but mostly classical and pop standards.

Thanks Marcus. B) For now I'll have to dream...

Hey, can I get a little of that Copacabana breeze too? Randy, you've got another mail...

I agree of course, and with regard to recent efforts from Duke, I can recommend both volumes of "Conversations In Swing Guitar" with Herb Ellis, on the Stony Plain label. In the same vein, if you EVER get a chance to see Charlie Baty (Little Charlie and the Nightcats), do not miss him/them either. Equally versatile as Mr. Robillard, and very energetic and creative. None of the CD's do him justice. An amazing player.

This is one that I fell in love with a few years ago while searching the Smithsonian website: Rupert D. Turnbull / Untitled / 1938

Great to see you here, Vic- it's been a long time! I hope you'll find a way to post once in awhile. We need to have as many Dexter Gordonsen ( ) fans around here as possible. Happy new year to you too.

I've always thought Clapton was somewhat over-rated (over-worshiped is probably a better way of putting it). That's not to say I haven't enjoyed a lot of his work, nor that he's not a great guitarist and musician, but the rock star hype is just that, to a degree. I actually prefer Clapton in a setting other than straight ahead blues, for reasons that have already been mentioned. The last few times I've heard him, he was doing Freddie King tributes, and unfortunately it just wasn't happening at all. Clapton to me usually sounds like his blues solos could be coming from sheet music. He doesn't have that spontaneous phrasing and soul that the great ones have (I agree with the "relaxed intensity" comment). I think some of the best Clapton blues playing I ever heard was the live recording he did with F.K. ("1934-1976"). What could have been more inspiring to him than to share the stage with his idol? There are probably a lot of blues players of his generation that have made Clapton s**t his pants over the years (Robert Cray, Duke Robillard, Charlie Baty, Ronnie Earl...).

The first one I heard (circa 1981), and the one that opened my eyes to Grant- NIGERIA (the session with Blakey from the Sonny Clark quartets), has remained my favorite above all the other great ones. THE LATIN BIT is probably my choice for "most overlooked" GG session.

I didn't think I'd ever heard any of Pepper's work, and only just realized that he appeared on an LP I had about 30 years ago: He played flute and saxophone on that, but it's been so long since I've heard it, I only vaguely recall some of the flute work (on "beautiful woman"...?)...

Wow, there are more options that I thought. Here's what I use:

Yeah, it's really all about terminology here for me. I see your distinction, and understand your views re background/ambient music. No serious disagreement, but I suppose I may "value" Guaraldi's music a bit more than some others. I think this thread got off on the wrong foot for me, and I just wanted to advocate the music as strongly as I could within the somewhat negative context of the discussion. I honestly can't really do that very effectively, because I only own about five of his recordings myself (plus a couple of aforementioned sideman appearances). Bottom line- check him out (thoroughly) and decide for yourself (which someone with more vision already stated above. B) ).

Like I said above, I don't think there's a "severe" argument brewing here, but I think I'll disagree on this point (I agree with everything else, I think). To my ears at least, Guaraldi doesn't really (entirely, exactly) fit with the term "light". I might use that to describe Andre Previn, or Bobby Hackett, or Mundell Lowe, or any number of cats who did those "Mood Jazz in Hi Fi" albums back in the polite cocktail era of the 50's... but not Vince. Emotional intensity is something I DO find in (okay, not all, but some of) his work. The track I included on my BF test (IMO) is enough to shatter any notion that Guaraldi was easy listening. To me, that track is intense with emotion- joy. A lot of his recordings have (for me) a certain melancholy, pensive quality (not unlike Bill Evans) which does stir my emotions (if not always to an "intense" level B)). In terms of iventiveness and stylistic originality... to be honest I'm far from being an expert on V.G.'s career, but back in his time on the planet I thought he was something of a leader in terms of incorporating latin influences into jazz (working with Bola Sete and Cal Tjader, etc). Groundbreaking, probably not, but also not status quo. I also think he had a distinctive sound. I'm not an authority on piano techniques and styles, but to me Vince sounds pretty unique and original. How much of that was natural and how much was by design, I don't know... FWIMBW, here's a bio piece (alerting me to the fact that there's still some VG I need to track down!!): Vince Guaraldi, widely acclaimed jazz pianist best known for his cheerful, uplifting work with Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang, got his start in the music biz with a record entitled Blues Groove by Woody Herman in 1956. It is here that his piano playing is clearly heard only on the final three tracks. Then, in November, he gained more valuable creative playing experience with Gus Mancuso, recording in San Francisco. Perhaps his first recorded performance that merits as stellar piano music and recommended listening is the composition "A Hatful of Dandruff." Guaraldi ended 1956 by making a guest appearance on a poorer quality record headlined by Nina Simone. In January of 1957, Guaraldi made a great stride career wise, sitting in with the Cal Tjader Quartet, playing such beautiful melodies like "Thinking of You," another original composition, showing his ever-increasing potential and promise. During the end of the '50s, Guaraldi laid down some witty and intimate piano work with the likes of recording stars Frank Rosolino and Conte Candoli. Though Guaraldi received a wonderful chance to record with Stan Getz in February of 1958 with Cal Tjader and his sextet, his playing abilities were lost in the shuffle of Getz' Latin grooves and the sextet's swinging sound. In December of 1959, Guaraldi crossed paths with African roots singer Mongo Santamaria, but did not perform anything that was deemed magical. The pianist took more recording opportunities with Cal Tjader, including the album Black Orchard which received somewhat of a warm welcome among jazz audiences. Finally, with his shining work on 1959's West Coast Jazz in Hi Fi, Guaraldi got more opportunities and more playing time, contributing an important role to the record with fervent and passionate piano phrasing. A rare and charming performance recorded in January of 1962 with Jimmy Witherspoon was perhaps the only dubbed song that featured Guaraldi playing along with a lead vocalist. Entitled Jazz Casual: Jimmy Witherspoon/Jimmy Rushing, it is here that listeners can feel the deep creativity and percussive brilliance of his trio bandmates Monty Budwig on bass and Colin Bailey on drums. During the late '50s and early '60s, Guaraldi spent countless gigs shaping and honing his craft, showing deep affection of his talents under the apprenticeship of Cal Tjader and Woody Herman. As a featured performer, Guaraldi's first solo work appeared on the album, Modern Music From San Francisco, with help from his quartet: Jerry Dodgion on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and John Markham on drums. Recorded in 1955, the record expresses his personality through style and form, with originals called "Dr. Funk" and "Ginza." An April 1957 recording of A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing is a good chunk of some of the best of Guaraldi's early work. With breathtaking meter and rhythm, Guaraldi and friends play classics such as "Autumn Leaves," "Yesterdays," and "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing." These three songs are featured on his 1964 breakthrough recording Jazz Impressions. The reflective and witty recording Jazz Impression of Black Orpheus is a perfect recording where each song is performed with the highest sense of musical quality. It was his artistic and commercial breakthrough, featuring captivating, crafty material such as "Samba de Orpheus," "O Nosso Amor," "Generique," and "Manha de Carnaval." Each of these four songs were part of the score for the smash hit French/Portuguese film Black Orpheus, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. The success was perfect timing for Guaraldi and a crop of fine jazz musicians that were making the most of the recent Latin and bossa nova craze to hit America in the mid-'60s. Original hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" went on to win a gold record award at the 1963 Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Jazz Composition. Guaraldi put together charming renditions of "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Jitterbug Waltz" for his 1962 release, In Person. A scintillating performance with guest saxophonist Paul Winter and guitarist Bola Sete put the piano composer into some candid company in early 1963 with his record Jazz Casual. In the following years, though the recording dates are unknown, Vince Guaraldi brought with him his talents and playing experience to record a special tribute to the armed forces, this time on a well-praised record entitled The Navy Swings. The record's title reflects a weekly 15-minute public radio broadcast that gave jazz musicians an opportunity to get their music heard in the 1960s. Made during the height of Guaraldi's sessions with Sete, the time spent over the radio waves was splendid and magical to say the least. With the creation of the much-heralded A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Vince Guaraldi got his first chance to dive into the genius mind of Charles Schultz, composing music with great charm and grace. Although the special was not aired on network television, Guaraldi used his time to begin his magical quest to score some of his greatest music, all boosting Schultz's Peanuts gang to greater notoriety and fame. It was the 1964's "Linus and Lucy" theme that propelled the pianist and cartoon artist into the stratosphere, later being released on future Peanuts collections, including the warm and reflective masterpiece, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Released and first broadcast to a national television audience on December 9, 1965, Peanuts fans and American's alike were hooked to the insatiable and delightful tunes of Guaraldi. It would go on to be respected as the most requested and the most heralded of all holiday jazz albums. With Fred Marshall on bass and Jerry Granelli on drums, the album unfolds in magical and radiant fashion. The trio prances through delightful gems such as "Skating," a tune that captures the essence of falling snow with flair, and the energetic "Christmas Is Coming." Thrown in for good measure are the uniquely paced "Greensleeves" and the soothing "Christmas Song." Though much of his fame has been centered on his musical exposure with the Peanuts gang, Vince Guaraldi continued to create breathtaking music on the ebony and ivory keys well into the mid-'70s. An eclectic and beautifully arranged record, Alma Ville was perhaps one of Guaraldi's finest achievements as a pianists and composer. Given a five-star rating by critics and audiences alike, the Warner Brothers album was a strange and rare find, though the playing is deemed marvelous, with the artist's ever-growing talent and shining potential ever so apparent. With some up-tempo pieces and fast sambas featured, the cut "The Masked Marvel" is a must listen. With such tremendous grace and majestic prowess, Vince Guaraldi will always live in the minds and hearts of jazz and music fans of all ages, all who dare to open their ears to such gracefully played music. He died on February 6, 1976, leaving behind his work in 15 Peanuts television specials and one full-length feature film. Despite his popularity during the time of the '60s, it is known that Guaraldi didn't release any records for a long while after 1969, giving listeners only three records to taste his life and his music. In 1998, Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits was released on the Fantasy label, which gives the listener a great palate of Guaraldi's original compositions, a cheerful jazz treat. ~ Shawn M. Haney, All Music Guide

Why are you comparing Vince Guaraldi to two female singers? Vince Guaraldi was a jazz pianist. I'll agree that his recordings were toward the less adventurous end of the jazz spectrum, but to doubt that he was a jazz artist is to have overlooked a lot of his work, IMO. Personally, I can't help but feel uncomfortable accepting the notion that Vince's work ought to be thought of as "good background music". I understand why you guys are saying that, but to send that message to those who aren't familiar with him yet seems just a tad unfair to me. I dislike the whole idea of background music (music to be played softly so that people can talk over it and ignore it I mean, I know there are types of music that deserve that sort of application, but Vince Guaraldi? Really? Okay, I'll admit that there's generally not much to sink one's teeth into in terms of harmonic exploration, but I could say that about Errol Garner (for example) too. Oh well, if there's an argument here, it's probably not all that severe... I'm going to go play "In Person", and then revisit that Richie Kamuca/Bill Holman "West Coast Jazz In Hi FI"... and then perhaps that Conte Candoli session that Guaraldi appeared on...

1-12. Still not my thing, but I must say an educational experience- especially now that we have Jim's analysis. Another one I'll have to go back and re-examine. 1-13. Picked out Zoot, and was close on the date of recording, but Benny G didn't even occur to me. I KNEW that altoist (Woods) was a bopper at heart! It will be interesting to go back and listen to this again closely, now knowing the circumstances and history. Thanks for the insights, JS! 1-14. Well, I missed everything but the song title (and the fact that the rhythm section was really happening... duh ). This is an album I remember passing up on many occasions, thinking I would buy it eventually. I never did. So much jazz, so little time (and $). 1-15. Hines! Well, ain't that FINE... and DANDY! B) I was right regarding Hampton, and also (I guess) regarding the fact that this was a later session (later than the heyday of these artists and this style, that is... BTW, when WAS this recorded?). I also knew that something was up with those fours (a curveball I couldn't quite hit)! In my tradition of studying the history of jazz bassackwards, I've only relatively recently paid much attention to Earl Hines. This is a great example of why it's great to have so many artists (young and old, living and dead) to keep on "discovering".

1-1. I felt pretty confident about Silver being the pianist, except for on that intro, which still fascinates me to a degree. It just seemed juxtaposed to the piano sound I was hearing later in the piece, which was of course much more Silver-like in feel. That intro still has me wondering what else Horace may have done in that era (I have none of those LP-only recordings) which would have me fooled in such a positive way. BTW, when I mentioned hearing an Ellington/Strayhorn influence in that intro, that was about the highest praise I could come up with. This thing would have been a real gem if the "intro" was all there was, IMO. 1-2. When I mentioned the David Seville and the Chipmunks record, I just assumed that the recording fit their typical sped-up routine (which was why I joked about slowing it down... and even more jokingly insinuated that Jim could have or would have done so in burning it to his disc). At any rate, now I need to go back and check out that #11 chord- if I can find it! 1-3. Very surprised, and need to go back and listen to that again (and most likely, again). 1-4. Had the Sly Stone album, saw Woody Herman (at Disneyland) back in the early 70's, getting better and better at using Google™ I still don't like it, though (especially Upchurch! Yecchhh! ). 1-5. Went from stating that it was not a "Big name" soul singer to being clued in by almost everybody that it was JB, to conning Jim into giving enough hints for me to find the AMG page showing the LP. A real team effort. One of these days, I've got to get me some goooood soul recordings... maybe even a compilation, for starters. 1-6. Well, I did recognize Rosey's voice, but was completely unaware of the existence of this album, as well as the story of her relationship with Riddle (I may have heard something about it years ago, but I hadn't stored that information in my head... not enough room in there). I said it (admitted it) before, and I'll say it (admit it) again- I think this is great stuff. I definitely would like to hear the rest of the album. 1-7. Got the tune, enjoyed the newness of the style (not my usual territory), and of course searched this website to look for Jim's references to this recording (after Big Wheel had already nailed it, that is). Despite this (the approach, not the composition itself) not being my usual territory, it was close enough to keep me interested, and this is something that I might just pick up... for the right price, of course. 1-8. I knew this was a great veteran player with a marvelous command of his instrument and of the music, and with a marvelous sense of humor. Why it didn't occur to me to guess James Moody is (in hindsight) beyond me. Frankly, I was so overwhelmed with the scope and depth of the music on these two discs, I think I got a bit lazy about focusing on this track. I think I figured the answer would "come to me"... but I have to admit that those who guessed Stitt almost had me prepared to buy in. So, the bottom line... I NEED MORE MOODY. A perfect example of a great artist whom I have taken FAR too much for granted over the years. 1-9. Give me time... I may catch up eventually. 1-10. See 1-9. 1-11. Damn... I watched the Ken Burns series, and I STILL couldn't figure this one out. Lazy again. ============================== Waiting for Jim to reveal further tracks... ==============================

That must be the OTHER "Three Sounds"...

Happy Holidays Dan, and to everyone here on the board.

Interesting, Mark. I think I almost feel the opposite way. Ever since Loma Prieta, I get a LOT more alert when an earthquake begins. I remember being out in my backyard during the 1984 (?) 6+ Morgan Hill quake, and although I was standing on flat cement I felt like I was standing in a boat on ocean waves. I had felt many quakes before that one, but it was one of the first that really felt like I was "taking a ride". Still, it was over fairly quickly and I don't recall anybody gettting hurt. I still felt like a California quake "veteran", able to withstand just about anything nature could throw at me. Loma Prieta changed my whole perspective. I went from getting ready to watch the Giants / A's World Series pregame to (30 or 40 seconds later) literally yelling at my house to stop shaking (I later found out that was a pretty normal reaction. ). Never having been there, I was curious what the old clock tower in Paso Robles looked like (its collapse today is what killed those three people, according to the reports I've heard), and I tried a Google search for pictures. Interesting... all I found was a beautiful, cheerful painting...

I was logged on to the site this morning, and around 11:15 PST had just opened JSngry's thread with the answers to BF test #4, when I felt the telltale signs of an earthquake beginning to occur. I've lived here in the Bay Area my entire life, and have felt many earthquakes including the 1989 Loma Prieta quake which caused so much death and destruction. Today's quake was felt relatively mildly here (about 150 miles north of the epicenter) in terms of movement, but the duration was above average (I felt it for at least 15-20 seconds). It got me out of my chair, which the average earthquake will not do. I have since been following the radio and TV (local news, as well as CNN coverage), and after initial reports that no major damage or injury occurred, it was later reported that at least 3 people were killed in the town of Paso Robles. No names have even been reported as of yet, and I don't know anyone down in that community, but having felt the earth move myself today, I feel connected to those folks down there. At least 3 people and their families will not be experiencing joy this Christmas, and my heart goes out to them.