Jim R

How odd. I hadn't seen any of his work in many years, and just yesterday I noticed him in an "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode where he played a sidekick to a villain. RIP.

Vanna Tony Sanneh Roseanne Roseannadanna

Truman Burbank Liar Liar Lloyd Christmas

Han Solo Hope Solo Napoleon Solo

The Oakland A's have a player named Coco (in my mind, I spell it "Cocoa") Crisp. They also have a player with the last name of "Balfour"... and he's a pitcher! But I digress.

Seems to me I read that one of the Cowsills is part of the band that's backing the Beach Boys on their 50th anniversary tour. Yes, that would be John. The other surviving brothers are Bob and Paul; and Susan is still active, afaik. Billy (the one who was in The Blue Shadows) passed away in 2006, a few months after Barry had apparently drowned in New Orleans during Katrina. Edit: I see BFrank came in just ahead of me regarding Susan. I agree about her talent. Check out that Blue Shadows album if you haven't already! Really good stuff.

I'm not sure that "finally catching on to" describes it in every case, but a short list of some artists I've either discovered or more closely focused on in the last couple of years: Chet Atkins LIttle Milton Robert Ward Tad Robinson ...and it's only one album, but this is one of my favorite discoveries in many years, a Canadian band from the early 90's: Stumbled onto this after a brief exploration one day into (what ever happened to the members of) The Cowsills.

Shel Silverstein David Copperfield The Canadian Brass

The reason I bumped it was because I was listening to their FM broadcast at WLIR (Ultrasonic Studios?), Hempstead NY, from May 1974 (PRIME time). If you haven't heard this... well, use the internet. I think most of it can be heard on Youtube, btw. Nice finish.

Bump...

Forgot to mention this excellent German label (operated by a fine guitarist by the name of Heiner Franz), which has been going on somewhat "quietly" for quite a few years now. Some great players have recorded for them... http://www.jardis.de/html/current.html

When I look at the responses here, and then look back at your question, and then look again at the responses... I'm not sure if you're sure what you wanted, and whether you're getting what you asked for. Some very good suggestions here already, but quite a few of the players mentioned are anything but "rare" in terms of having considerable fame, and numerous recordings (some on major labels). I'm also not sure how "straight" you prefer your "straight ahead". At any rate, it's all good, I'm just not sure how much you've already heard, or what exactly you're looking for. The actual "rare" ones are kind of pointless to recommened, because... well, they're rare. You're not going to find them, most likely. I'll add these names, all highly recommended: Louis Stewart Ron Eschete' Joshua Breakstone Mark Elf Reg Schwager

An older brother turned me on to "Music From Big Pink" when it first came out, and I became a fan of The Band immediately. It wasn't until years later and after the band broke up that I really started to appreciate the individual talents of each of the group's members. Helm really stood out for me.

Jeff Chandler as Cochise Rock Hudson as Taza, Son of Cochise (Google and find the name of the) guy who played Sheriff of Cochise

I (belatedly) got into her Capitol material about ten years ago. We've had some threads here on the subject (here's one: ). "Hollywood- My Way" is one of my favorites. The material is well-chosen, and the popular melodies of that era really seem "right' for her, in the same way they were for certain instumentalists like Hampton Hawes, Stanley Turrentine, and some others who showed great taste (imo) in selecting and performing them.

When my wife informed me that he had passed away, and said he was 93, I thought it had to be a mistake.

Ensign Charles Parker Old Man Dorf

Mike Hammer Sander Vanocur The L.A. Clippers

Roger Penske Drew Pinsky Adam Carolla

That's the one. I think they drew from quite a variety of sources, including Mercury/Emarcy; Argo/Chess; Atlantic; and probably many others in addition to bootlegs. I've forgotten what it was now (a Getz disc, I think), but I remember buying one that misrepresented the music it contained. When this label first appeared, I seem to recall another company name that appeared on their releases, in addition to the "Jazz Hour With" title. I don't know if they had a subsidiary, or what. Anybody remember that?

Robert Cray Band @ San Francisco Blues Festival, 1979. They did record a kind of lackluster, slick studio session in L.A. with a few other musicians, but man were they great on stage.

I saw him in 1981 also, here in the Bay Area. Dual bill with Sarah Vaughan. Goosebumps just thinking about it.