jeffcrom

Good evening, Brother Mobley. Your post made me chuckle, but I'm not sure where to even start responding to it. How 'bout your very loaded first sentence? Whatever you think of Mr. Toussaint's output, it ain't "schtick." And I'm not arguing that every note he has played or sung is brilliant. But I think that his output, as a writer, producer, pianist, and yes, performer, adds up to an amazing contribution to American music. Okay, but as a solo performer.... I like The Bright Mississippi quite a bit, but, no, I don't pretend that it's any more than it is - a nice, pleasant look at the New Orleans jazz tradition. But what the hell is "Pickles," from 1970? It's some kind of swamp funk piano concerto - four and a half minutes long, and it can't quite decide whether it's in a major or minor key. And the song "From a Whisper to a Scream" - who else would come up a line like, "I took her kindness for granted, as if it came with the wallpaper" in a pop/R & B song? Mr. Lowe doesn't like his voice, but damn! It's not a strong voice; not a pretty voice - but it's real, and suited to the material. (I just flashed on Hank Mobley's description of his own sound. Y'all know it.) And over and over again I hear in Mr. Toussaint's output a tweaking of convention - when he's getting close to what's expected in a pop or R & B song, he'll go somewhere else. I've said before that you and I might just live on different planets, but on mine, writing those great horn charts for The Band is not any kind of sellout. I can't address the Elvis Costello collaboration, since I haven't heard it, but if you think it's coasting, I say good for the septuagenarian Allen Toussaint. Dude has done so much for American music that I say let him coast if he wants to. I don't always get your putting down one musician by comparing him/her to another, but I sure like me some Lizzie Miles - and some Fats, too. For a lot of reasons, Allen Toussaint among them, everybody here should pick up the best of all the Katrina relief albums that came out after the storm - Our New Orleans 2005 on Nonesuch. Carol Fran singing "Every Day is Not the Same" in Creole French is pretty amazing.

I wanted to acknowledge the passing of New Orleans R & B legend James "Sugarboy" Crawford yesterday, at the age of 77. Sugarboy and His Cane Cutters, with Snooks Eaglin on guitar, made the first recording of the New Orleans Indian song "Iko Iko" back in 1953; it was issued on Checker as "Jock-a-Mo." More here. I paid tribute this afternoon by spinning the Checker 78 of "Overboard"/"I Don't Know What I'll Do," the follow-up single to "Jock-a-Mo." "Overboard" is one of the most manic R & B songs ever recorded; Sugarboy chants the lyrics, mostly on one note, over an insane tempo. RIP, Mr. Crawford.

Joe Albany - Birdtown Birds (Inner City)

You are hereby banished to Maine! Oh, wait.... The problem is that you're trying to make objective judgements about someone I can't be objective about, since I think he's an American hero. That's all. I will say that a much better cut from the Wild Sound of New Orleans than "Java" is a little thing called "Whirlaway." When I was playing in a blues band (mostly keyboards), I used to play that one on piano. Except that, on a good night, I managed to play about 80% of what Mr. Toussaint played. Usually it was more like 60%.

The GHB sets are still in print and available from Jazzology - they also include all the complete alternate takes - no harmonica track or spoken intros by Mezz. The sound is good, as are the liner notes by Paige VanVorst. (Although I'm sure that Chris's are great as well!) Apparently, Jazzology has the U.S. rights to the recordings, and Storyville the European rights. The GHB sets aren't particularly cheap, but they may be a good alternative if you find them at a good price, or have trouble getting the Storyville box. One little annoying thing about the GHB issue is that the originally-issued take of each tune is not indicated. I may sit down with a good discography and mark the master takes in my booklets.

Pee Wee Russell - The Spirit of '67 (Impulse). This record is just... wrong. It's all wrong. But I love it.

I'm listening to the Burton In Concert album now, and it's a very strong performance - maybe the best recording by that quartet. My early-70s copy is mastered at a very low level, so that the softer passages compete with the surface noise. Might be a reason to buy the new issue. But don't listen to me - I like the Burton/Jarrett Atlantic album. It ain't a masterpiece, but I like it.

Gary Burton - In Concert (RCA Victor) Wanted to revisit this one in light of the thread about the upcoming reissue. I like it.

Geechee Recollections (Impulse)

Allen's a friend. That post just struck a nerve with me, since Toussaint's one of those guys I consider to be a national treasure.

I will admit that this post really set me off, to the extent that I just turned off the computer and walked around for awhile. Everyone's taste and judgement is different, but to me, talking bad about Allen Toussaint is like talking bad about Abraham Lincoln, or something like that. In a calmer mood, I'll say that I don't think this performance represents him at his best - at least the parts I saw. But I'll also point out that Toussaint is one of those musicians who is way more than the sum of his parts.

Thanks, Phil & Allen!

Bud Shank - Magical Mystery (World Pacific). This doesn't get pulled off the shelf very often, but tonight seemed right for Bud and Chet to play some trippy 1960s sounds.

Hope he has many more birthdays to come.

Stayed up late last night and listened to early electrical 78s - with headphones, so I wouldn't wake up my wife. I hardly ever listen to 78s through headphones, but last night it was a very enjoyable experience. (I was going to call it an eye-opening experience, but that's a little bit of an overstatement, probably.) I won't list the records individually, since I'm sure I've mentioned them before, but I spun Bix with Goldkette and Whiteman, some Louis with Earl Hines and Zutty Singleton, a 1930 King Oliver, and a couple of McKinney's Cotton Pickers. They sounded fabulous through the cans - maybe because my Sennheiser headphones are probably better than the Bose bookshelf speakers I use with my 78 rig. (A drummer I used to play with used to say, "No highs, no lows - must be Bose.") Like Clunky, I usually boost the highs on my equalizer to compensate for the RIAA curve, but leave the bass flat. With the headphones, there was way too much bass, so I adjusted the EQ to more of a true RIAA compensation curve, and the records sounded great. The Armstrong Okeh disc of "Squeeze Me"/"No Papa No" was a revelation to me when I got it, and headphones further enhanced it. The record is in excellent condition, and I can hear everything that Zutty Singleton is doing - unlike almost any reissue I've heard.

Carey Bell - Last Night (Bluesway)

Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, etc. - Jazz Maturity... Where It's Coming From (Pablo). Hate the title, but I like the music.

Old and New Dreams - Playing (ECM)

Okay, this is why I buy obscure 1920s dance-band records when I find them for a few bucks, even if I don't know what I'm going to get. Picked up a few the other day, in two different antique stores north of Atlanta. The Sam Lanin disc turned out to be a dud, as about half of his records do. On the other hand, the "California Wonderer's" (sic) on Gennett turned out to be the California Ramblers, as I suspected. But the real winner was a red Vocalion from 1923: "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans"/"You've Got to See Mamma Ev'ry Night" by Gene Fosdick's Hoosiers. I love this record! The A side was recorded in January, 1923, and the flip is from December, 1922. The melody is always in sight, but there's usually someone improvising around it, often the excellent, anonymous trombonist. The band swings very nicely, in a NORK kind of way. Listening to this brings to mind Max Harrison's statement that Bix and the Wolverines didn't emerge from a vacuum - there was a midwestern jazz style that developed in the earlier 1920s that the Wolverines were a part of. Dudley Fosdick, Gene's brother, plays mellophone on side B. I was familiar with his later work with Red Nichols; apparently he later was a successful studio musician, and after that, a music professor. It looks like the Hoosiers recorded four 78s, all in the space of a few months. The whole lot has apparently been reissued on a Retrieval LP, and I'll bet that their stuff is now out on CD somewhere. I'll be looking for the other 78s.

Yes to the two posts above. My shock came from the fact that it was sold to me as a CD, at full price. If you're going to sell a CDR, label it as such and price it accordingly.

I'd burn a copy of that -- I've had troubles over the years with CDRs that have pasted-on labels. It might be a chemical corrosion thing. Your own burned copy might very well outlast the one you bought. (I have found it's usually safe to use a felt-tip to write on the 'new' disc...) Yes; the few commercial CDRs I have bought - a Soul Note from Amazon (I missed the line in the description about it being a CDR) and a couple of Documents - I back up right away.

I thought about posting this in the "death of the CD" thread, but thought that it deserved its own thread. A few weeks ago I bought a sealed Riverside Original Blues Classic CD, Sonny Terry and His Mouth Harp, from an excellent local brick-and-mortar CD store. (Shout-out to Decatur CD!) I took it home and played it - sounded great for an early-50s recording. When I took it out to play it again a few days later, I noticed, to my surprise, that it's a CDR with a pasted-on label, not a silver CD. There is nothing on the packaging to indicate that it's anything but a regular CD. There's also no mention on the Condord website or the Amazon listing about it being a CDR. I took it back to the store - not to complain or to get my money back, but to see if Warren, the owner, knew that Concord was doing this. He was shocked, and first thought that it might be a bootleg. He ordered another copy directly from Concord - it was also a CDR. I kept the album, because I like the music, and doubt I could find it any other physical format. But I surmise that Concord is quietly substituting CDRs of some low-demand items, and not mentioning it.

First review, in Stomp and Stammer: Abdul the Rabbi is the curious but ultimately appropriate title of the new album by the 4th Ward Afro Klezmer Orchestra. A playful cycle of original compositions and reimagined traditionals that juxtaposes genres and generations, cultures and customs, resulting in a thick, dizzy, electrifried jazz/folk/funk/rock stew, Abdul proves richly entertaining, a clear creative progression from their previous CD. While overwhelmingly an instrumental ensemble, the title track features lyrics and vocals by Zano of Atlanta hip-hop act Social Studies. The 4WAKO are playing the East Atlanta Strut on Sept. 15th and an album release show at 529 on Oct. 27th, and may or may not be opening a House of Ribs and Chinese Food next year.

I, too, like my eye teeth, but at the top of my want list for many years have been the two SRP albums by Don Pullen and Milford Graves. By the way, I was listening to Don Pullen when I saw and opened this thread.

Lee Morgan/Hank Mobley - A-1: The Savoy Sessions (Savoy). Didn't realize until I got this one home that it's just Introducing Lee Morgan with a first-issue bonus track. That's okay - I'm glad to have the extra track. And the Cecil Taylor 1957 Newport set from: Masters of the Modern Piano (Verve).