jeffcrom

Dang! Never even heard of that one. Oops, I mean: Leeway, please return my copy of The Haunt that I loaned you. (I keep trying that, but it hasn't worked yet.)

Wouldn't be the first time. Sometimes that Jeff guy drives me crazy.

I wanted to correct myself a little here. After rereading further into Marquis' book, I'm reminded that he does indeed speculate on some aspects of the Bolden story, but when he does, it's clearly presented as speculation, not fact, and it's never without evidence. For instance, in chapter two, Marquis believes it's likely that, as a young boy, Bolden witnessed a parade featuring the Pickwick and Excelsior Brass Bands. Why does he think this? Because the very detailed parade route, which Marquis quotes in full, was published in the New Orleans Louisianan, the city's black newspaper. The route indicates that the parade passed either directly in front of the Boldens' house or just a few blocks away - they moved around this time and it's not clear exactly when. No, it's not a provable fact that Bolden heard the Pickwick and the Excelsior at this parade, but you can bet that I would have been there if I had been a little kid that close to a brass band parade. And in chapter three, Marquis discusses Bolden's schooling. He wasn't able to find any records of where Bolden attended elementary school, but after examining the available evidence, he comes out in favor of Fisk School for Boys, in Bolden's neighborhood. Marquis is careful to point out that the early records of the school had not been preserved, so "it is impossible to definitely verify Bolden's attendance there." But he presents what evidence there is, and it's good enough that, if it matters where Buddy Bolden went to elementary school, I would agree that it was probably at Fisk. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse here. But Allen has spurred me to defend what I think is one of the most well-researched books in the literature of jazz. And yes, Coming Through Slaughter is excellent as literature - it doesn't claim to be history.

If I ever knew that Dave Tough had played with Shaw, I had forgotten. And I've got plenty of flaws and blind spots, but I will immodestly say that, yes, it's hard to catch me on New Orleans music.

Allen, I love you like a brother (I've got your new CD on right now), but the idea that In Search of Buddy Bolden is fabricated is ridiculous, and doesn't hold up to the scrutiny of opening the book for five minutes. Everything - everything - is properly cited. The are a few sources which might be hard for another party to verify, (like Marquis' interviews with people who heard Bolden play), but most of the writing is based on public records, newspaper articles, and material in the Hogan Jazz Archive - all easily verifiable. (You've got me all fired up to listen to that Bocage interview the next time I'm New Orleans.) In fact, the book is remarkable for its lack of speculation, rumor, or conjecture. If a story can't be verified, Marquis discounts it. And frankly, there's nothing in the book worthy of fabrication - the only really dramatic story in the book is that of Bolden's breakdown, and, again, Marquis bases his account on public records and articles in the New Orleans Item and Picayune - and those articles are photographed and included. I don't know what your friend (whose work I highly respect, too) told you - whether it was something general or if he cited specific instances of Marquis making stuff up. If it was the latter, I'd like to see the evidence. If he was talking about other writings by Marquis that are substandard, I can't speak to that, since I haven't read anything else he has written (except for Finding Buddy Bolden, an innocuous little booklet which is basically the journal of his journey into Bolden-land). And I don't know anything about Marquis' personal problems or character flaws, but they don't seem to have affected his work in this book. The detailed research that went into this book is obvious, and I'll take that over a third-hand account which doesn't seem credible to me at all. Unless I see actual evidence to the contrary, I will continue to consider In Search of Buddy Bolden to be a model of jazz research, worthy to stand with Gushee's Pioneers of Jazz. Edited to add: But you've got me reading the book again, so thank you for that.

Shoulda gone with my first instinct on #13. And sorry about the download/track order problem. I wasn't aware of it until I read this thread. Great BFT, Bill.

Here goes. As usual, I haven't looked at this thread yet. I recognized a few tracks, but they've likely been identified by now. 1. Some west coast guys, I guess. The soloists are all good, but only the alto player made me say “wow.” I probably should know who it is, but I don’t immediately recognize him. Good stuff, although the track didn’t totally blow me away. 2. I recognized Covington, Georgia’s own George Adams from the first note, and recognized the recording a minute later. It’s a medley of Nino Rota tunes from Amacord Nino Rota, the first of those Hal Willner concept albums. Before I remembered who the second saxophonist was, I was thinking how good he sounded – I’ll have to go back and revisit some Branford Marsalis, because that’s who it is. Brother Wynton is on trumpet, and Kenny Barron and Ron Carter are in the rhythm section. I’m not going to go look it up right now, but I think the drummer is Wilby Fletcher, who used to play with Tyner. William Fischer did the arrangement. It’s a strange recording – the trumpet sounds like he’s in the next room, which, given Wynton’s reputation around here, would be just fine with some folks. This has never been my favorite track from this album, but I love George Adams, and he sounds good here, as does Branford. 3. I was thinking that I wasn’t getting into this track as much as I should, then the insane piano solo came along. Who is that? It’s crazy. The timbale soloist is pretty hot, too. 4. Sounds like Stuff Smith to me, but you’re probably throwing us some kind of K.C. curveball like Claude Williams or somebody. Well, I’ll make Stuff my official guess. I like his raw sound, whoever it is. The guitarist is good rather than great, and the pianist a step or two above that – he’s pretty good. But it’s mostly about the violin - that’s some swinging fiddle playing. 5. I’m guessing that this pianist is at least a step or two removed from the roots of the boogie woogie style. This judgment may come back to bite me in the ass, but there’s a “cuteness” to this playing, an ironic touch, that grates on my nerves. This is the only track in your BFT which I only listened to once – I couldn’t make it through a second time. And I hope I haven’t embarrassed myself here. 6. This is more like it. It sounds like a live recording by Artie Shaw’s band, playing “There’ll Be Some Changes” made. Shaw was a hell of a clarinetist, and I love the sound of his sax section. Is that George Auld on tenor? The trumpeter sounds like Hot Lips Page – great playing there. I’ll even go out on a limb and guess young Buddy Rich as the drummer. I enjoyed this. 7. Nice swing-to-bop version of “Honeysuckle Rose,” whatever they call it. Good solos by most, with a piano solo that’s more interesting than the others. The trumpet player seemed kind of tentative. I could make some guesses, but they would be just that – guesses, so I won’t bother. Enjoyed hearing this. 8. Dude, this is a pretty bold move – including a fellow O Board member in your blindfold test. The last time this happened, I offended the musician involved with a joke which didn’t quite work. In any case, this is wonderful. It’s Allen Lowe and Matt Shipp, of course, playing “In Da Sunset of Your Love” from Blues and the Empirical Truth. Allen’s playing is so expressive and vocalized, and Shipp comes off like an otherworldly Billy Strayhorn. This is a great track from a great album. 9. I like it. Interesting writing and good solos all around. I’ll guess Bob Cooper on oboe and John Graas on French horn, but I really don’t know who anybody is. 10. “Clean Up” by the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, from the Slither Slice album. The Nightcrawlers are a little more carefully arranged than most New Orleans brass bands. I occasionally find myself wishing that they were a little sloppier, but they’re still very exciting, especially live. I saw them a few years ago at d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street – it was pretty funny; the first set was by an eight-piece band, but more and more folks started showing up and getting out their horns, so by the end of the night there was at least 15 musicians on stage. Great stuff, and another reminder that Matt Perrine is the greatest tuba player on the planet. 11. This took a couple of listens for me to get into it; at first I just thought it was odd, but it really grew on me. Nice, expressive harmonica playing. I generally don’t like that kind of soprano sax sound, but the saxist is playing some interesting stuff. Nice. 12. David Murray, playing “Santa Barbara and Crenshaw Follies,” but I don’t know what album this is from. This is good – back in the day I always found Murray to be an interesting player, although as time went on, I became less impressed, and haven’t really kept up with his more recent music. He swings hard and builds a nice solo here. Now if he would only use a different fingering for high E – whatever he’s using is flat, and it’s driving me crazy! Don’t know who the bassist and drummer are. 13. What the hell is this? You don’t hear this kind of sloppy big band very often – Sun Ra’s band, Brotherhood of Breath, and David Murray’s band all had this kind of casual, unblended attack sometimes, but I don’t think it’s any of those – although the tenor soloist sounds kind of like a young John Gilmore. No ideas, but I got a kick out of this, especially the violin solo. 14. “Summit” by Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green, from the Apex album. I love Mahanthappa’s collaborations with Green and with Indian saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath. This is a wonderful track. I love the way it changes mood when Jason Moran comes in for his piano solo. And of course, the saxophone playing is excellent. Rudresh’s style is not what I want to hear all the time, but it’s very exciting to sample sometimes. Again, great track. 15. I don’t know this recording, but it sounds like it could be one of Dave Holland’s larger ensembles. In any case, it’s attractive, but kind of static – it mostly stays on the same plane. I like it, but would have liked to hear it build more. 16. Is that Steve Coleman on alto? I haven’t kept up with his work since the early 1990’s so I don’t know if this is the kind of thing he’s writing these days or not. Whoever it is, it’s really good. This is music with layers – it’s not “obvious” music. Wonderful last track of an interesting and challenging BFT.

My birthday present from my wife arrived today - the Jimmie Lunceford Decca box. Disc 1 is on right now. The band was still finding its way into its own style in 1934; good, but I'm looking forward to '35 and '36.

To imply that Marquis flubs the transcription of the Bocage interview so badly as to change the meaning doesn't seem credible at all to me.

Well, we disagree on the merits of the Marquis book, but I don't see how you can totally discount the testimony of Peter Bocage, who heard both Bolden and Keppard. I've read other accounts of musicians comparing Keppard to Bolden, but I'm too lazy to track them down right now. And yes, Keppard was undoubtedly a more sophisticated musician than Bolden, but when I hear FK's "Stockyard Strut," with its hard, clipped phrases, and the basic blues phrases of "Salty Dog," it's easy to imagine Buddy Bolden sounding something like that. Of course, we should keep in mind your title for this thread. We'll never really know, unless I find that cylinder recording....

Yeah, to put it bluntly, both Rose and Souchon are full of crap a lot of the time in the Family Album, hence my warning to double-check any info you find there. But it's still a beautiful, evocative book - just not always an accurate one. And glad you guys are enjoying the Hornsby sides. It kind of pissed me off that they were so summarily dismissed in Mike Hazeldine's otherwise excellent book on the American Music label, and that there are no plans to ever reissue them.

Ken McIntyre - Home (Inner City)

I've always thought that the two trumpeters whose playing probably most resembled Bolden's were Freddie Keppard and Wooden Joe. Joe Nicholas said that he learned to play by listening to Bolden. And several musicians who were around at the time thought Keppard sounded like Bolden. Here's Peter Bocage, from a 1959 interview (this passage in included in Don Marquis' In Search of Buddy Bolden): Q: Did anybody or does anybody play like Bolden? A: Keppard, they were most on the same style. The improvisations is always gonna be a little different, no two men alike. I was listening to Ernest Coycault last night, and he didn't really sound like either of the above players to me - but it was very late and I was tired, so I may spin the CD again today and see what I think. And there's a CD which I find very interesting and enjoyable, although in the end it might just be a curiosity: Music of the Bolden Era by a group calling themselves The Imperial Serenaders on the Stomp Off label. It's bunch of west coast trad guys (the most well-known is probably drummer John Gill) who researched what the Bolden band played and made educated guesses at how they may have played it. I love the slow tango version of "Panama," with Gill playing the percussion part from the original stock arrangement, with castanets and exactly one bass drum note. Even if you don't take this CD very seriously, it's a fun listen.

I've got two Alvin Robinsons - Something You Got/Searchin' on Tiger and Let the Good Times Roll/Bottom of My Soul on Blue Cat. "Something You Got" in particular is excellent. I don't have any Earl King CDs - just a handful of singles and a few scattered tracks on CD anthologies, so I'm not the best one to recommend a CD. If you ever go to New Orleans, you should go to Jim Russell's Records on Magazine Street and browse through the hundreds of NOLA singles.

Thanks, Tim. I've got some pretty cool 45s, but I don't think many of them are the kind of thing most of the folks around here are interested in; I'm never really gotten a response when I've posted about my 45 listening sessions. Anyway, here's the New Orleans portion of tonight's playlist: Lee Dorsey - Get Out of My Life, Woman/So Long (Amy) Lee Dorsey - Rain Rain Go Away/Gotta Find a Job (Amy). Lee Dorsey was a good singer, but Allen Toussaint, who produced these, is a genius. Every piano lick between vocal phrases is just perfect. Alvin "Red" Tyler - Snake Eyes/Walk On (Ace). 1958, with Toussaint on piano and some guy named Mac Rebennack on guitar. Roland Stone - Just a Moment/I Can't Help It (Ace). I think Stone was still a teenager when he made this record. About 15 years ago he had a great comeback CD called Remember Me; he died a couple of years later. Bill Sinigal and the Skyliners - Second Line, parts 1 & 2 (White Cliffs). This record is unknown outside of New Orleans, but was very influential in the Crescent City. Sinigal's band, which includes Milton Batiste and Ellis Marsalis, turn a brass band standard into very hip R & B. James Booker - Gonzo/Cool Turkey (Peacock) James Booker - Smacksie/Kinda Happy (Peacock). I'm not sure what these are supposed to be in terms of commercial "product" - they're not really jazz, or pop, or R & B. Whatever they are, they're pretty cool. The Del-Tones featuring James "Mr. Piano" Booker - You Can Be My Rocking Chair/Everybody's Doin Sumthin (Ace). Bobby Marchan's band, circa 1969 or so. Earl King - Street Parade, parts 1 & 2 (Kansu). Another Toussaint production. I knew it had to be Zigaboo Modeliste on drums, and a little poking around the web tells me that it's Toussaint and The Meters backing King on this 1972 record. Johnny Adams - South Side of Soul Street/Something Worth Leaving For (SSS International) Johnny Adams - Reconsider Me/If I Could See You One More Time (SSS International) Johnny Adams - Hell, Yes I Cheated/I'm Afaid to Let You Into My Life (Paid). Johnny Adams was one of the great voices in any kind of music. I've got over an hour of his stuff on 45s, and "Reconsider Me" and "Hell, Yes" are two of my favorites. Professor Longhair - Big Chief, parts 1 & 2 (Watch). Just amazing. Wendell Quezerque's arrangement is wild. Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Feet Can't Fail Me Now/Little Liza Jane (Mad Musicians), A local 45, before their first album and never reissued. Scarcer than hen's teeth, I imagine. Rebirth Brass Band - Put Your Right Foot Forward/New Second Line (Syla). Another brass band single that never appeared on an album, as far as I can tell. "New Second Line" is "Joe Avery's Blues" - the same tune as on the Bill Sinigal record. Young Kermit Ruffin's trumpet and voice are obvious on this record. I've ended so many of my 45 sessions with this 1981 record - it's one of the great New Orleans singles of all time: L'il Queenie and the Percolators - My Darlin' New Orleans/Wild Natives (Great Southern). L'il Queenie (Leigh Harris) is a great New Orleans voice, and the Percolators include future members of the Subdudes and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Sometimes when my wife is out of town, I pull out my boxes of 45s and play them loud. They range from rare to common, near-mint to nearly trashed. Here's part one of tonight's playlist, jazz, gospel, blues, R & B: Clem Tervalon - Eh Las Bas/Streets of the City (Clemente). New Orleans jazz with Alvin Alcorn on trumpet. Tervalon was a trombonist. Cannonball Adderley - Country Preacher/Hummin' (Capitol). This take of "Hummin'" didn't appear on the album - it has Zawinul on acoustic piano. James Thomas and the Pilgrim-Aires Trio - The Family Reunion/Crossing Over Jordan (Perfection). White country gospel from Georgia. Sister Alessie Barney - Strange Things Are Happening/When They Ring Those Bells (Randy's Spiritual). Black Tennessee gospel. Gus Jinkins - You Told Me/Tricky (Flash). Real-deal blues by the pianist/singer whose name was probably really "Jenkins." Mighty Joe Young - Tell Me Something/Henpecked (Celtex). Chicago soul blues. Fenton Robinson - Somebody (Loan Me a Dime)/I Believe (Palos). A blues classic, but you don't hear the original often. Big Lucky Carter - Hurricane Blues/Ohio Bound (Bandstand USA). Memphis blues. Piano Red - Comin' On/One Glimpse of Heaven (RCA Victor) Piano Red (as Dr. Feelgood and the Interns) - Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo/What's Up Doc (Okeh) James Carr - You've Got My Mind Messed Up/That's What I Want to Know (Goldwax). Killer Southern soul. Side one is amazing, with excellent guitar by (I think) Steve Cropper. Preston Love featuring Shuggie Otis - Cool Ade/Shuggie's Blues (Kent) Noble "Thin Man" Watts - I Don't Wanta/Noble's Theme (Clamike). Very tough R & B for 1962. Young Bernard Purdie is on drums. Ready to move on to the New Orleans stuff for part two....

This has long been a favorite of mine.

I refer to it frequently, and do recommend it, warts and all. Just double-check any information you find there! Of all the wonderful pictures, I think my favorite is the 1920 shot of Buddy Petit's Jazz Band on page 169. Petit never recorded, but was considered to be one of the greatest of all New Orleans trumpeters by those who heard him. The short guy bowing the bass on the right is Chester Zardis - I heard him in Preservation Hall 70 (!) years later, three months before he died. His big, fat sound and swing were very impressive.

I'm not one of your customers, as I have the original pressing of the Dixon LP and a nice copy of the of the Arista/Freedom issue of the Hemphill, but I'm really glad to hear this. I hope you sell a ton of both.

Byard Lancaster - Documentation: The End of a Decade (Bellows)

Oh, hell, yes! Glad you like! If you want to hear it, I posted a needledrop of it on my blog (link in my signature)..... Oh, I'm quite familiar with "Walkin' With Mr. Lee." Starting tomorrow night, I'll be a bachelor for a few days, and as usual on those occasions, I'll probably pull out the boxes of 45's - blues, R & B, and lots of great New Orleans stuff. Right now: Pretty Baby soundtrack (ABC). This has long been one of my favorite New Orleans albums, with Kid Thomas Valentine, The New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Louis Cottrell, pianist Bob Greene, and even a vocal by James Booker. I just picked up a new copy today - I've had two previous copies, and they were both very noisy. This one is visually near mint, and it's better than my previous copies, but it's still got a fair amount of surface noise.

Just posted a blog entry (with links to mp3's) about the only unreissued American Music artist, gospel pianist George Hornsby - click here.

Oh, hell, yes!

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes. I had a pretty low-key day. My wonderful wife gave me the shipping notice for the Mosaic Lunceford set and the new Trombone Shorty CD to tide me over until the Mosaic arrives. I've said it before - I'm glad I found this place. Thanks so much, Philly! We're taking our time with the new CD - we're about 3/4 of the way through the recording process. It will include one of my originals ("Doina Blues") and two of my arrangements of traditional tunes - one Yemenite and one Sephardic. (Y'all can Google those terms.) I'm glad you like the first Afro-Klezmer Orchestra CD, but I think that the new one will be light-years ahead of the first one.

Happy Birthday! You're catching up to me....