jeffcrom

This again. I'm convinced that this is one of the first great jazz albums, even more so than the Chicago and New Orleans albums Decca put out around the same time.

Have a great one, James!

Lou Donaldson - Possum Head (Cadet stereo)

Lots of damage here, too - this is a privately run camp, not affiliated with the school system.

Well, sgcim, this is a day camp - we all go home at 3:00, so nobody drives anyone else too crazy. And the kids are mostly really sweet; there are a few knuckleheads, of course, but not too many. Three days in, and these young musicians are improving by leaps and bounds. We decided on solos for "The Preacher" today - we're going to have a trombone solo by a very talented young lady, followed by a trumpet battle between two young men. One told the other, "Build it up and make it hotter and hotter." I love these kids.

Steve, the fact that the brass are the strong group in this band is just coincidence. It just happens to be a very young, raw goup of saxophonists who signed up for the camp this year. Being a saxophonist myself, I like hearing the saxes balance the brass, too. But it ain't gonna happen with this band. Anyway, thanks to all for letting me vent. Although I was sleep-deprived this morning, it was all for the best. The new chart sounds good, and (with a little work), is within the capabilities of the most inexperienced of the saxophone players. And two of the weakest members of the band, the drummer and the piano player, apparently went to the woodshed when they got home yesterday, and have improved enormously - in one day! Both charts started to gell today, and the band and I had a blast at rehearsal. Three more rehearsals, and we should be in shape for the concert on Friday. I just love teaching motivated kids.

To answer a question from another thread, one thing I've learned here is that everybody hears things differently. As much as I like the Arthur Blythe Adelphi album, Illusions on Columbia is by far my favorite Blythe record - it floors me every time I spin it. And I like most of the other Columbias, too, although many are certainly open to the criticism of being too-carefully-produced or contrived.

Okay, I just taught the first day of a middle school band camp - the third year which I've taught this one. I teach the saxophones, conduct sectional rehearsals with the saxes, trumpets, and French horns, and direct the jazz big band. The past two years, the jazz band has been pretty good, and we've been able to play some pretty good charts after only four days of rehearsal, one hour a day. Well, this year, the jazz band is packed with All-State quality trumpet and trombone players. But there's only one saxophonist who has a clue, and the rhythm section is beyond green. While warming up, I asked the drummer to play a swing pattern. He looked at me as if I was speaking Martian. So I asked if he could play me a rock beat. Nope. I asked if had played drum set before, or just snare drum in band class - he had played drum set "once." So I taught him basic swing and rock patterns, and told him not to even look at the music - just swing or groove. Even so, the swing arrangement I had picked out was beyond the capabilities of the saxes. (They were more or less okay on the contrasting Latin/rock tune, Mr. Puente's "Oye Come Va.") So I got home at 4:30 and immediately started on an arrangement of Horace Silver's "The Preacher" featuring the brass, mostly, with very simple saxophone parts. I wrote for an hour and a half, stopped to cook dinner, went to a two-hour rehearsal for a gig later this week, then wrote, edited, and printed for another hour and a half. But I think I've now got something the band can play. But, damn! I not only want my check at the end of the week, I want a medal or somethin.'

Nope, but it's liable to last longer.

I'm a Don Elliott fan, in a mild, but real way, if that makes any sense. Music for the Sensational Sixties is a hoot, musically and visually. And his "jazz version" of the now-forgotten musical Jamaica has charts by no less than Gil Evans. I haven't spun that one for quite a while - I'll correct that soon.

Back in the day, from my vantage point 800 miles away, I thought of the India Navigation label as the "loft jazz" label. Many of their first 25 releases or so seemed designed to document the loft scene. Some of their albums were recordings of performances in lofts like the Ladies Fort, but even those recorded in studios or in larger clubs documented players usually found in the lofts, at least at that time.

Charlie Persip and Superband - In Case You Missed It (Soul Note)

George Coleman - Amsterdam After Dark (Timeless). Really enjoying this one.

Oh wow, with Marion Abernathy! One of my favourites. Does she sing on all those sides? MG She sings on two of the four: "Stormy Mood" and "Baggin' the Boogie."

Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack (Clean Cuts). A gift from Paul, who didn't like it. I do, so thanks! It's also one of the best-sounding LPs I've ever heard.

I love that one, even though my copy is pretty noisy.

Yeah, I'm up to half a dozen Clara Smith 78s, along with a fair number of tracks on CD. I really love her work - she was only a step behind Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey.

Okay here's the first bunch, starting with some bebop on Dial, all in really nice shape: Howard McGhee - Thermodynamics/Sonny Berman - Nocturne (Dial, 1946) Don Byas - Humoresque/Stormy Weather (Dial, 1947). Recorded in France and leased from Blue Star. Bill Harris - Woodchopper's Holiday/Somebody Loves Me (Dial, 1946). I was hoping that this was a different take of "Woodchopper's Holiday" than the one I have on CD, but no such luck - it's the same. and an odd one: Hank Jones - Night Music: Fantasy for Piano and Jazz Band/Jean Germain - The Chase (Bartok) (Dial, 1947). "Night Music" is actually from a Howard McGhee date; I guess Ross Russell thought it was "modern" enough to be paired with a Bartok piece. Then some very cool blues from the 1920s. All of these are worn, but sound surprisingly good, even the Paramount. Priscilla Stewart - You Ain't Foolin' Me/True Blues (Paramount, 1924). With Jimmy Blythe on piano. Clara Smith - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down/You Don't Know My Mind (Columbia, 1924). During "You Don't Know My Mind," I was struck with how amazing it is that music recorded 90 years ago can move me so much. Memphis Mose (actually Georgia Tom Dorsey with Tampa Red) - Hear Me Beefin' At You/Pig Meat Papa (Brunswick, 1929). In a very nice original Brunswick sleeve. Some 1950s blues/R & B: Jay McShann - Hands Off/Another Night (Vee-Jay, 1955). Strongly in an R & B, rather than jazz style. Kid King's Combo - Banana Split/Skip's Boogie (Excello, 1952 or so) Roy Brown - Everybody/Saturday Night (Imperial, 1956). Some nice tenor by Mr. Lee. Little Walter - You're So Fine/Lights Out (Checker, 1953). I had been wanting at least one 78 by the great Walter Jacobs. I come across them occasionally, but they're usually pretty chewed up. This one has the type of even wear typical of a jukebox record. "You're So Fine" was apparently pretty popular in the bar - it's pretty noisy - but the side I like, the slow chromatic harp instrumental "Lights Out," sounds pretty good. One one early jazz record to end with: New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Sobbin' Blues/Angry (Gennett, 1923). The side with Jelly Roll, "Sobbin' Blues," has a chip which affects the first three seconds or so; otherwise this one sounds good. This group contains most of the best of my midwestern finds, but there are more to come.

I got home from a trip to the midwest last night with a stack of over 20 78s in my suitcase, including some really cool ones. I've cleaned and played the first batch, and I'll post about some of them tomorrow. Only one didn't survive the trip, and it turns out that I already had that Fletcher Henderson side on another label, so I'm not heartbroken. And when you have a carefully wrapped stack of 78s in your carry-on luggage, you attract a good bit of attention from the TSA security agents. In the X-ray machine, it looks like a large, solid cylinder designed for nefarious purposes. In the meantime, here's a 1945 session that I "completed" just before my trip. I've had the first of these excellent records for several years; the mailman brought the other one (won in an auction) the day before I left: Bob Mosely & All Stars - Stormy Mood/Bee Boogie Boo (Bel-Tone) Bob Mosely & All Stars - Voot Rhythm/Baggin' the Boogie (Bel-Tone) The first record looks like the picture; the second has the colors reversed: black on gold. Besides pianist/leader Mosely, Marshall Royal, Lucky Thompson, Charles Mingus, Lee Young, and trumpeter Karl George are on hand. The music has elements of swing, bop, and jump blues. These sides are really enjoyable. Lucky plays some nice solos, and Mingus has one great Blantonish solo.

For those who were taken by track four, and who have a turntable, I came across a sealed copy of The Right to Work State and All That Jazz in Lincoln, Nebraska this past weekend. The store is Recycled Sounds; their email address is recycledsounds(at)hotmail(dot)com. If I remember correctly, the price was $12, and I got the impression that the store owner would be willing to ship it. I actually intended to pick it up to pass along to any interested member of the board, but the owner was an incessant talker, which drove me crazy and made me forget to go back and pick it up when I bought a few items for myself.

Okay, I'm home now. Here's the Martin Williams article that describes the rehearsals for the concert - Rehearsal Diary. Click on page 119 and scroll down. This should clear up some things. The Jazz Abstractions album was a studio date from several years earlier, but Dolphy was involved in the third stream movement. He played with Orchestra USA, and on several Gunther Schuller concerts.

Piano Red - Happiness is Piano Red (King). Red live in Underground Atlanta, c. 1970. You can hear beer bottles hitting the floor.

I haven't replied to this yet because I'm away from my home and books, but yes, that's more or less the case, if I remember correctly. Schuller presented several "third stream" pieces, some featuring Dolphy, then the three Dolphy quartet tunes and the jam session. Someone (Martin Williams?) wrote an article about the final rehearsal for the concert. The classical musicians were apprently amazed at how casually the jam session was organized.

Ben Tucker: Remembering a Bassist and Citywide Icon

I like both of those records a lot - including George's singing!