jeffcrom

I recall, from reading Michel RUppli's Savoy discography about thirty years ago, that World Wide was also a budget label that LUbinsky used to reissue Russian classical records. But it was a long time ago I read it so I can't be certain. I didn't buy the book because the coverage of gospel music was crap. MG I've got the Savoy discography, and I can't find anything like that, or any explanation of what the label was. There's a listing of World Wide LP releases on page 427; it's an odd assortment. There's a few jazz albums, some Latin records, a couple by the Charleston Club Orchestra, but only one classical record - a Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto perform by Emil Krauss and the "Regent Symphony Orchestra." I agree that the coverage of Savoy's massive gospel output is pretty poor.

Mine has a different cover: It still seems like a minor crime to me that this is the only place all four takes of "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor" a la Bolden have been issued. There's a lot to be learned/enjoyed by listening to them one after another.

Frank Wess/Bobby Jaspar/Seldon Powell - The Spirit of Charlie Parker (World Wide) I found this mysterious 1958 LP, on a label I had never heard of, a couple of days ago. As I looked at it more carefully before playing it tonight, I saw all sorts of things that screamed "Savoy" - Ozzie Cadena was the producer, Van Gelder did the recording and mastering, World Wide was located in Newark - even the typeface looked like Savoy's. A little research revealed that World Wide was indeed a Savoy label - there were about 20 releases, mostly non-jazz. My guess (I couldn't find any confirmation of this) is that World Wide was formed as a stereo specialty label - the front cover makes a lot of the stereo angle, and the back cover notes devote as much space to "The Story of Stereo" as to the music. The music is pretty good, not earth-shattering. There are four long tracks - all Charlie Parker tunes, and mostly featuring flutes. Eddie Costa plays piano and vibes, which was the determing factor in my decision to go ahead and grab this album. These four tracks apparently showed up on a mid-1980s Savoy album called Flutin' the Blues: Bird Lives, with a couple of Herbie Mann tracks added. It looks like that album went out of print pretty quickly - information about it is pretty scarce on the internet. As far as I can tell, only one track, "Now's the Time," has appeared on CD, on a Japanese Savoy sampler. So has anyone else heard of the World Wide label?

There's a great record/CD store - large and well-stocked with new and used discs - just north of the Seattle Center, where the Space Needle is. It's Silver Platters, 701 5th Avenue North. There's a cheap-ish parking deck just west of the store, on the other side of the street.

I've written this before, but it bears repeating. If you read Jeff's posts, check out his blog and his web site and the links on it. Fascinating stuff. Thanks, Paul. Right now some of the links to rare 78s are broken due to a website meltdown, but I'll have that fixed in a couple of days.

Mal Waldron/Steve Lacy - Journey Without End (Japanese Victor)

And Louisiana Red. Yeah, I've got that nice Emanem reissue.

I should add that Unexpected has two Steve Lacy compositions which I don't believe have appeared anywhere else: "Swirls" and "Loops."

The Office is the only television show I watch regularly. When I saw this on Thursday night, I knew that I had just seen the greatest 20 seconds of television ever. That 20 seconds made up for Season 7.

Got mine from Dusty Groove for $8.99. Not a bad deal at all. Do you know that label at all? This is #6...just wondering what else they came out with. The only other Kharma LP I have is #7, which is an interesting one, in a cool-idea-that-doesn't-quite-work kind of way - Unexpected by Kenny Davern. The trad jazz clarinetist/soprano saxophonist goes avant-garde, with Steve Lacy, Steve Swallow, and Paul Motian.

Well, I'm glad that this is not just the Jeff & Clunky thread. And I've repeatedly mentioned the sonic immediacy of listening to 78s, but it might be worth repeating the story of the evening I had my friend and fellow saxophonist Bill over to listen to some 78s. When I played some Lester Youngs (on Aladdin and Mercury), he was just beside himself. His comment was, "He sounds like he's in the room with us." The shellac was still calling to me tonight, so I finished the evening with some late night Bix with Paul Whiteman. I assume that I've mentioned all of these records before; Bix solos on the first side of each record: Lonely Melody/Ramona (Victor). I still remember the day in 1976 when I bought this record for a dollar in a junk store in Savannah. For many years between then and now I had no way to play 78s, but kept one box of them, moving it when I moved, knowing that one of these days I would be able to play 78s again. You Took Advantage of Me/Do I Hear You Saying (Victor) Because My Baby Don't Mean "Maybe" Now/Just Like a Melody Out of the Sky (Columbia). Bix is brilliant on the first side. Selections From "Show Boat"/Ol' Man River (Victor 12"). What a great record. Bix has a 12-measure solo in the medley, and Paul Robeson does the vocal on the flip side.

Don Pullen featuring Sam Rivers - Capricorn Rising (Black Saint). I've had this record for 35 years, but haven't spun it in a couple.

Roland Alexander Quintet plus Kalaparusha - Live at the Axis (Kharma)

I've spent some time over the past week re-evaluating my relationship to the O forums, and the internet in general, without coming to any firm conclusions yet. Posting in this thread seems like a particularly strange exercise to me right now. Who cares what obscure jazzy dance records from the 1920s I've been listening to? But for what it's worth, last night I spun all my 78s by the Varsity Eight (or the University Six, as they were known on some labels). They were a slightly smaller offshoot of the California Ramblers. If only one title is listed, then the flip side is by a straight dance band of the time. I Love the Girl Who Kisses (Cameo, 1924) Copenhagen (Cameo, 1924) Beets and Turnips (Cameo, 1924) Cheatin' On Me (Cameo, 1925) Yes, Sir! That's My Baby (Cameo, 1925) Oh! If I Only Had You/I Ain't Got Nobody (Harmony, 1926) Changes/There's Something Spanish In Your Eyes (Velvet Tone, 1927) Except for the last record, which is mostly a vehicle for the vocals of Arthur Fields, these are all pretty good. All but the last disc have the great Adrian Rollini on bass sax, and he usually gets in at least a few solo breaks, if not a full-length solo. The Dorsey brothers and Red Nichols show up on various sides, and even the lesser-known musicians contribute some pretty good jazz. For whatever reason, this music means something to me, and hearing it from the original 78s means something to me.

Pee Wee Russell/Red Allen - The College Concert (Impulse) Willis Jackson - Grease 'n' Gravy (Prestige stereo)

Not that he had just one "pace," but Von Freeman excelled in "the Chicago tempo" - faster than medium, but not really way up there.

That's a great record! Some nice Buster Smith alto on that. The one on the Decca album is 627 Stomp/Piney Brown Blues, also a real good 'un.

Johnny Hodges - The Eleventh Hour (Verve mono). Home from a very loud gig, and my ears hurt. This album is the medicene they needed. Oliver Nelson's string arrangements walk the line between meeting expectations and confounding them.

Thanks for an interesting BFT, Bill!

So where are you from? And what's your ethnicity? And how does that affect the validity of your opinions? With all due respect, I suggest you stick to your own battles. I don't know that I have any battles here to stick to. But the implied attack based on geography and ethnicity seems kind of, well, primitive. I don't see what those characteristics have to do with the validity of JSngry's opinions - or anyone else's.

So where are you from? And what's your ethnicity? And how does that affect the validity of your opinions?

Defunkt - Razor's Edge/Stranglin' Me With Your Love (Revisited) (Hannibal). This 12" single represents Joseph Bowie's funk band at its absolute peak. Brother Lester B. is on hand to provide weird/tasty licks. The following full-length album, Thermonuclear Sweat, is nearly as good. But "Razor's Edge" is the peak. The groove is deep, the lyrics are hardcore, the twin guitars are just nasty, and the horn section sounds like Fela's. After spinning both sides, I'm going to play "Razor's Edge" again before bed.

About 50% of the time, I don't know precisely what JSnrgry means, either. But it's usually interesting enough to be worth thinking about. Not always - I won't be exploring the discography of the Crotchy Spots, for instance.

Duke Ellington - All Star Road Band Volume 2 (Doctor Jazz)... which was reissued on CD (minus one track) as All Star Road Band, while the original All Star Road Band double LP was reissued as All Star Road Band Volume 2. Go figure.