jeffcrom

Ray Nance - Body and Soul (Solid State). An all-violin album, with Brew Moore, Tiny Grimes, and Jaki Byard (among others) on board.

Clark Terry Sextet Featuring Ben Webster - More (Cameo mono). Not a Great Jazz Album, but I sure do enjoy it. Mr. Terry's playing on the title tune is enough to make me enjoy a song I don't like at all.

I'm the least photogenic MF on the planet, but I can't resist posting this picture from our set last night. The other saxophonist is Bill Nittler, one of my best friends.

During Michael Smith's tenure in Atlanta in the 1990's, he and I went to see Mr. Blake before a concert at Georgia State University. Michael brought a cassette copy of a recording session we had done. Ran never got past the first tune - he kept rewinding and listening to that first piece, saying "That's so out."

Geez - why do I not have a Roy Eldridge album featuring Budd Johnson and Norris Turney? I'm going to correct that right away. Now playing: Just found a nice mono copy of this one. I always love it when I find a record with the Music Inn record store stamp - that was a long-gone jazz/R & B shop in Atlanta.

Johnny Hodges - Previously Unreleased Recordings (Verve)

I needed something totally different after an intense show tonight, so I'm channeling alocispepraluger: Bobby Hackett - Dream Awhile (Columbia 6-eye stereo). This one is so corny that it makes me laugh at times, but Hackett plays wonderfully.

I'll play by the rules, but my answer changes over time. Right now I'll say Johnny Hodges.

Atlanta's 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, of which I'm a member, opened for Matt Moran's Slavic Soul Party tonight, in their first Atlanta appearance. It was intense. Matt is probably better known as a vibist (with the Claudia Quintet, among other ensembles), but he plays bass drum with this fabulous ensemble.

Congrats to all!

These are the familiar Musicraft recordings from 1946. For a while, MGM owned the Musicraft catalog, or at least part of it. I've got some Sarah Vaughan 78s on MGM which were originally Musicraft.

Ric & Ron Records: Rare & Unreleased Recordings 1958-1962 (Rounder). A box of 10 7" 45's, by Al Johnson, Eddie Bo, Johnny Adams, Edgar Blanchard, Paul Marvin, and Barbara Lynn. This set is fabulous - 50 minutes of New Orleans R & B heaven. The only common tracks are "Carnival Time" by Al Johnson and "Every Dog Has Its Day" by Eddie Bo, and those are included to contrast with the piano-and-vocal demo versions on the flip sides. Those demos are fascinating, but Johnny Adams' demos of "I Won't Cry" and "Walking the Floor Over You" are hair-raising, as is Barbara Lynn's "Found My Good Thing" demo. And some of the previously unreleased "finished products" are outstanding - Edgar Blanchard's "Blues Cha Cha" and "Bopsody in Blue" made me a happy boy, and "Eddie Bo's "Ain't You Ashamed" is as good as anything he ever recorded - I can't believe it wasn't released at the time. Yeah, I had qualms about my impulse purchase of a pricey limited edition Record Store Day product. But once I played it - no regrets at all. These records will get a lot of play at my house.

Frog Joseph - Old New Orleans Dixieland (Dulai). A sweet mid-60's LP; Jack Willis on trumpet, Frog Joseph on trombone, and Louis Cotrell on clarinet were a common front line in the 1960's and '70's in New Orleans, and they were always great together. Frog's funeral in 2004 was beautiful; three trombones and rhythm section played the service, then Frog's son, sousaphonist Kirk Joseph, led the largest New Orleans brass band I've ever seen to the cemetery.

The Guitar Album (Columbia); sides one & four, with Charlie Byrd, Joe Beck, Chuck Wayne, and John McLaughlin. I enjoyed some of these guitarists and performances more than others. The Fabulous Banjo of Danny Barker (Period). Nothing profound here, just good-time trad jazz, but I wanted to hear something with Joe Muranyi on clarinet. The picture is of a CD reissue, but my original LP looks similar.

I went to pick up the two 78 RPM releases, by Ralph Stanly and Luther Dickinson, but I spotted this and couldn't resist: A box of ten 45s of rare New Orleans stuff.

Von Freeman - Doin' It Right Now (Atlantic)

Red Rodney & Ira Sullivan - Spirit Within (Elektra Musician)

Another spin of this great album. I'm glad I found this old post while searching for a picture of the cover - I would have repeated myself.

78 microgroove ? No, they appear to be more like traditional 78 grooves, more widely spaced than LP. They're pressed on vinyl, and the Ralph Stanley is extremely quiet. The Dickinson record has more surface noise, for some reason.

I succumbed to Record Store Day madness, and just spun my new Tompkins Square 78s: Luther Dickinson - Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah/Beautiful Dreamer/Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen/Peace in the Valley Ralph Stanley - Single Girl/Little Birdie Dickinson is the guitarist of the blues/rock band The North Mississippi Allstars - these are very nice acoustic guitar/dobro performances. The Ralph Stanley is fabulous.

The Klezmorim - Metropolis (Flying Fish). The rawest of the klezmer revival bands. They include a tuba doina here - how cool is that?

I'm in.

I've never participated in Record Store Day, but I'm going to one of my favorite stores tomorrow - I want to score the two new 78s(!) Tompkins Square is putting out, by Luther Dickinson and Ralph Stanley.

Cecil McBee - Alternate Spaces (India Navigation). My first hearing of this music in over 25 years. I used to have a cassette dub (it might still be in my closet); I found a nice copy at the little record store down the street from my house.

Another spin of this great klezmer album. The cover says "stereo," but it's mono.