jeffcrom

Believe it or not, that vocalist 1) actually WAS female, 2) actually went by that name (and by the subtitling moniker "Hip shakin' Mama"). Haven't heard the tracks on the above set so cannot comment on what she sounds like there but at any rate she was no imposter, imitator or latter-day crossbreed of Frankie Half-Pint Jaxon or his ilk. And on the cover of Official 6020 LP "The Orignal Hip Shakin' Mama" (which includes her studio output from 1948 to 1957) she appears to be fairly good-looking, actually. I don't have as complete and issue of this material as some of you - the only vocal track I have is "Embraceable You." The vocal is credited to Chubby Newsome, but it's obviously Little Jimmy Scott. Does the same vocalist perform on other tracks?

I like that one a lot. On my turntable: James Rivers - Ole (J.B.'s). New Orleans soul jazz from the 70's - Rivers is kind of like a hyperactive Hank Crawford. I picked this one up in New Orleans because a very young Carl LeBlanc is on guitar. LeBlanc fascinates me - he has played and recorded with both Sun Ra and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and you can hear him playing with various bands on Frenchmen Street. Unfortunately, he doesn't solo here.

The Complete Edmond Hall/James P. Johnson/Sidney DeParis/Vic Dickenson Blue Note Sessions

I'm not an expert on the Quincy Jones big band, but.... This is a subject dear to me. When I was twelve and had just taken up the saxophone, but sweet mom brought home this album for me: Budd Johnson's Ya! Ya! on Argo. It was the first jazz album I owned, and it still has a place of honor in my collection. I'm sure she just got it because it had a picture of a guy with a saxophone on the cover. Saxophone or not, I was disappointed that it wasn't a rock album like my brother got at the same time. But I listened to it, and liked half of it right away. And I kept listening, and pretty soon I liked all of it. Not only was this album my introduction to jazz, it was my introduction to avant-garde jazz. Richard Davis played on half of the tracks, including "Exotique," on which he plays a wonderfully bizarre arco solo, full of dissonances and quarter tones. It fascinated me right away. So I blame, Richard Davis, Budd Johnson, and my mom for the kind of music I prefer to play now. Budd Johnson is still pretty special to me.

American Music by Bunk Johnson 1945 (Dan). Whenever I visit New Orleans, I look for these Japanese Dan LPs in the American Music series. Many of them have tracks which are not included in the current AM CD reissue series; this one has about half a dozen such cuts.

Jimmy Smith - Bucket (BN mono)

Same here. I've told my wife that, if it's not too much trouble, I would like some of my ashes to be discreetly scattered on Decatur Street (or elsewhere in the upriver side of the French Quarter) in New Orleans.

Julius Watkins arrived today - great stuff; thanks!

Download for me. And if you send me the link sooner rather than later, I'll be glad to mail Hot Ptah a disc from this side of the pond.

I listened to Road Shows 2 tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed it - perhaps more for what it represents than for the music itself. No masterpieces here, but it made me feel good.

Dixieland Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (GHB). This is a 12" straight reissue of a 10" Southland LP - four tracks on each side. There is no leader listed, but it consists of two dates led by trombonist Jack Delaney - one from 1953 featuring the great Lee Collins, and one from 1955 with Pete Fountain. This has long been one of my favorite New Orleans albums from the 1950's; the 1955 session is the one I would play for anyone doubting that Pete Fountain at his best was a great jazz clarinetist. (I say "was" because I saw/heard him last year, and his abilities are greatly diminished.)

I thought Moms was overstating his case, and he probably is, but I'm listening to Ewell's Trio and Quartet album from 1966, and it sure is good. It was issued on Center, and is now owned by Jazzology. I expect that it's been reissued on Jazzology or GHB, but haven't checked.

Don Ewell - Trio and Quartet (Center mono). A 1966 album with three New Orleanians: George Lewis, Jim Robinson, and Cie Frazier.

Lou Donaldson - Signifyin' (Argo mono)

Congrats. Pretty big hands for a newborn - piano or bass, I'd say.

I was just poking around the web, trying to find out more about my copy of Way Out Wardell, and came across this: CLP-5004 - Way Out Wardell - Wardell Gray [1957] Issued in monaural only. Reissue of Modern 1204 with "Sweet Georgia Brown" deleted, leaving only four songs. Some of the Crown LPs list "Sweet Georgia Brown" on the back of the jacket, however. Modern 1204 had a blue cover with a photo of Wardell, while the Crown reissue has a red cover with a different pose from the same photo shoot. Blue Lou/Just You Just Me//One O'Clock Jump/Tenderly Well, my copy is Crown CLP 5004, with the blue cover (but definitely with the Crown name and logo) and the earliest Crown label style. And it has "Sweet Georgia Brown." I'm guessing that this is the very first Crown pressing of the album.

Playing some of my New Orleans acquisitions: George Girard - Dixieland Jazz From New Orleans (Imperial 10"). A really nice album by an ill-fated Crescent City trumpeter I like a lot. Buck Clayton Jam Session - The Hucklebuck & Robbins' Nest (Columbia). This seems to be a first (or at least very early) pressing. It has a brick red "pre-eye" label. It's in decent shape and sounds pretty good. Wardell Gray - Way Out Wardell (Crown). I had been looking for a good copy of this; it also seems to be an early pressing, and it's also in good shape.

Evan was one name I thought of right away when I saw this thread. I hear his influences, but they're so varied and so thoroughly absorbed that I mostly just hear Evan. I was disappointed that he didn't seem to be in town when I was in New Orleans last week, but I did pick up a great new album by him and pianist Tom McDermott (also one of my favorites).

This is my last night of a New Orleans trip which never quite "clicked" until tonight, when I got to sit in with one of my favorite bands in the world, the Panorama Jazz Band. It was a blast.

Here's my profound contribution to this discussion: drunks keep mistaking me for Eric Clapton. It happened again tonight in New Orleans. At least this guy didn't insist on having his picture made with me, like the last one. It may be time to shave the beard. Come to think of it, I look a little like Allen Lowe, too.

Sometimes I suspect that you're not being totally serious.

My so-immature wife came home one day and delightedly told me that she had just heard Dick Hyman playing "Wang Wang Blues" on the radio. She was ridiculously happy over that.

Dick Hyman.

I haven't heard any really outstanding music at Preservation Hall for years, but tonight was a pretty good night. Mark Braud wasn't there - it's a typical New Orleans thing that many of the musicians scheduled to appear at a given venue on a given night aren't there - but the band, led by clarinetist/saxist Charlie Gabriel, was good, and the music made me happy. But Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses really reminded me that in this city, traditional jazz is a living, breathing thing. I don't think that any of the tunes they played were composed after 1940, but the band was lively and creative on every tune. "The Old Rugged Cross" turned into some sort of New Orleans free jazz, if you can imagine that. I love this city.