jeffcrom

Yeah, being a New Orleans music obsessive fan, I've got all the AM CDs that have been mentioned in this thread except for the John Casimir - thanks for making me look bad with that one. I have a special fondness for both Percy Humphrey and his older brother Willie. Percy had a unique, clear lead trumpet style that was driving and exciting while being totally pre-Armstrong in terms of rhythmic conception. And Willie Humphrey, at his best, was one of the most imaginative improvisers within the New Orleans tradition. He would sometimes run the entire range of the clarinet in a measure or two, and he was a master of macro-syncopation - his variety of phrase lengths was the equal of Charlie Parker. I think that you're right on the money in your assessment of the John Handy First Recordings CD. Capt. John always sounded good, but Kid Clayton wasn't such a much.

Billy Lyons Alfred Lion Vida Blue

Sahib Shihab - All-Star Sextets (Savoy twofer)

It's available from Jazzology, but of course, there are absolutely no details on the website. It doesn't even say what format it's in, but I'm pretty sure it's only on VHS. You can always call Jazzology in New Orleans - last time I called, George Buck answered the phone himself.

What are the contents thereof? I'm not totally sure, but I know that back in the 1950's Bill Russell prepared, but never released, an 8mm silent film of Dodds demonstrating some of his percussion techniques - there was to be a 10" LP that you were supposed to be able to sync to provide the soundtrack. I believe that most of the Dodds video is this film, but I don't remember all the details. This has been on my list to pick up for years - I'm not sure why I haven't done so yet.

I've got New Orleans Piano Players, which is interesting enough, but not essential, in my opinion, unless you're a Joe Robichaux completist. Included is the audio of the only surviving test pressing from Robichaux's 1936 unreleased Decca session. But the American Music video which really slays me is Sing On: A Film of New Orleans Brass Bands. This is a VHS tape which had not been reissued on CD the last time I checked. Much of it consists of silent clips with appropriate brass band recordings dubbed in, but it does have the newsreel clip from 1929 on which you can hear 30 seconds of a brass band playing "Shake That Thing" with John Casimir squealing away on top. And there's 15 minutes from 1962 of the Eureka BB in a New Orleans TV studio. They play three numbers which are on the same level as the Atlantic album of the same period. I'm a little embarrassed that I don't have the Baby Dodds video, which I think is also only on VHS.

Look in your mailbox tomorrow or Monday.

Jazzology was George Buck's first label, started in 1949 to issue a session by Tony Parenti (with Wild Bill Davidson and Art Hodes, among others). That's still Jazzology 1 in the catalog. The label was not very active until the early 1960's, when it expanded rapidly. The original idea was that Jazzology would issue Chicago-style dixieland and GHB would issue traditional New Orleans music. At some point Buck began buying other labels - Jazz Crusade, Progressive, Circle (Rudi Blesh's label, not the German one), MONO, Icon, Solo Art, Audiophile, American Music, Southland - and now they own all those amazing Paramount recordings from the 1920s. So Jazzology's holdings are huge! These days most of their New Orleans historical reissues come out on American Music, with newer New Orleans recordings coming out on GHB, although some appear on Jazzology. They use Southland for blues, Circle for big bands, Audiophile for vocalists, Solo Art for piano solo recordings, Black Swan for the Paramount material, Progressive for "modern music" (Buck won't call it jazz), and Condon-style stuff still comes out on Jazzology. There's some amazing stuff (along with plenty of forgettable music) in their catalog.

PM sent on: 20 Lou Donaldson The Time is Right (TOCJ 6546) – no obi 13 Don Wilkerson Complete Blue Note Sessions 2-CDs, cut in spine 8 Ken McIntyre Stone Blues (OJC) 8 Horace Tapscott Arkestra Flight 17

I had read both explanations, and I was too lazy to investigate whether or not Lewis & Co. were in the union at that point. Thanks for the clarification.

Okay, more pontificating, this time about AM's non-Russell recordings. AMCD-70, New Orleans Funeral and Parade by the Eureka Brass Band (mentioned by Hoppy T. Frog) is every bit as amazing and "important" as the best of the Bill Russell recordings. This was the first recording of a working NOLA brass band, and it's deep. The best moments of AMCD 110/111, Eureka Brass Band In Rehearsal 1956, are nearly as good. AMCD-76; New Orleans 1946. The meat of this one is the Original Zenith Brass Band, a pick-up band put together by Kid Howard. It's the first studio recording of a brass band, and fills in some gaps in our knowledge of the kind of music the early brass bands played - there are some 6/8 marches and 19th-century pop songs here, for instance. You can hear the alto and baritone horns better than on the Bunk's Brass Band recordings. Most of the rest of the CD is the Eclipse Alley Five, with George Lewis and Jim Robinson. AMCD-48; Kid Thomas - The Dance Hall Years. This is actually my favorite Kid Thomas album - two live sessions (one from the 50's and one from the 60's) of Mr. Valentine's band playing for dancers. You'll hear "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Blueberry Hill" rather than "Clarinet Marmalade" or "Jazz Me Blues." AMCD-84; Barnes-Bocage Big Five 1954. Like no other New Orleans jazz you've ever heard. It's like every member of this five-piece band is playing a different style, but it all works somehow. Must be the humidity and the gumbo. There aren't that many records featuring Creole trumpeter Peter Bocage, and he's at his best here. The "Barnes" is Emile. AMCD-104; George Lewis - Jam Session. A more complete version of what some folks (not me) believe to be Lewis's best album. Jam Session was originally released on the Paradox label, and features Lewis's favorite trumpet player, the rough and ready Elmer Talbert, who died shortly afterwards. It's good, but I prefer the short-lived band with Talbert's replacement, Percy Humphrey. This was has a gold label and cover; I'm not sure what that means - maybe they wanted a unique color for this renowned album. Moms asked about the George Lewis Oxford Series, which runs to many volumes. George and the band visited Miami Univ. in Oxford, Ohio every year for many years, starting in 1952, and their concerts (and private parties, rehearsals, and church services) were recorded by the University. I can't imagine many people wanting to hear all of it - I certainly haven't. Kid Howard was not in good form during those years, for one thing. I love Volumes 1 through 3, when Percy Humphrey was in the band. These have a red label; most of the volumes with Kid Howard have a dark blue label. Of the Kid Howard discs, Volume 17 is worth a mention. It's a church service and was released in part at the time as Spirituals in Ragtime. I like it, in spite of Howard's weak lip. And I like the Mutt Carey/Lee Collins/Hociel Thomas/Chippie Hill CD mentioned by Moms a lot. I don't have the John Casimir CD papsrus talks about, and I really hate him for having an AM CD that I don't have.

Yeah, that's a good/interesting CD. I didn't list it in my top ten or so because (A), you've got to stop somewhere; (B), most of the music consists of alternate takes of pieces which are on other AM CDs, and ©, much of the CD is taken up with Dodds talking - which is very interesting, but it doesn't hold up that well to repeated listenings, at least to me. I find that I don't pull this CD off the shelf that often, although I'm glad I have it. Later: I just learned that the forum software turns a C in parentheses into a copyright symbol.

I love Stadler's music.

Well, I'm not sure that I can be entertaining and/or confrontational enough for Moms, but I know this music pretty well, and here's what I think: I'm going to confine myself to the American Music yellow-label series. These are all recordings made by Bill Russell, mostly for release on American Music during its first incarnation (1944 to the early 1950's). The blue-label AM CDs are recordings made by others, but which are of similar style and documentary value. There are also a few AM CDs with red, green or gold labels - these indicate various esoteric things about their origin. There are some great CDs in all of these series, but I don't want to pontificate for too long. All of the following CDs are excellent and "important," for whatever that's worth. I'm listing them in approximate order of value - my opinion only, of course. AMCD-1; Bunk Johnson - King of the Blues. 1944 recordings that represent the beginning of the label. If you think Bunk Johnson was a worn-out, toothless trumpeter past his prime, you're not listening very well. The nine-minute "Midnight Blues" is beautiful, and Bunk's note choices in "Careless Love" are stunning. And the interplay between Johnson, George Lewis, and Jim Robinson is subtle and fascinating, and very different from the "classic" New Orleans-style records of the 1920's. AMCD-6; Bunk Johnson - Bunk's Brass Band & 1945 Sessions. The brass band sides are the reason to get this - the first recorded example of this amazing New Orleans hybrid music (except for 30 seconds of a 1929 newsreel). This is one of only two recordings of the old-style NOLA brass band instrumentation, with alto & baritone horns instead of saxophones. I can't say enough about how wonderful these recordings are. The rest of the CD is by the same band that recorded the 1944 sides, and they're pretty good, but you can tell that they were all getting a little tired of each other by this point. AMCD 100 & 101; George Lewis & His New Orleans Stompers. These were George Lewis's first recordings as leader, and they're probably his best. Alfred Lion originally released these on his Climax label (they weren't of high enough technical quality for Blue Note). The then-unknown Kid Howard blows the roof off. AMCD-2; George Lewis With Kid Shots. Slightly later, but still very fresh-sounding Lewis, and the only recordings on which trumpeter Kid Shots Madison is prominently featured (he died young-ish). It includes the first recording of Lewis's famous "Burgundy Street Blues." The success of that record led Bunk Johnson to sardonically refer to Lewis as "The Composer." AMCD-5; Wooden Joe Nicholas. This may be as close as we'll ever get to hearing what the earliest jazz sounded like, at least the rough, bluesy strain, as opposed to the more sophisticated Creole stuff. Wooden Joe is loud and simple, but not crude - he knew exactly what he was doing, even if he could only do it in two or three keys. AMCD-7; Big Eye Louis Nelson - 1949 Sessions and Live at Luthjen's. Some beautiful beginnings-of-jazz Creole clarinet here. Possibly even better than the stuff Bill Russell recorded is 20 minutes of the clarinetist (whose real last name was probably DeLisle) with a four-piece band at a New Orleans dancehall, recorded at around the same time. AMCD-4; George Lewis - Trios & Bands. There's some overlap with other issues here, but the tracks with Lewis with just banjo and bass are simple and beautiful. They're maybe not even jazz, just really nice music. AMCD-11; Dink Johnson/Charlie Thompson - The Piano Players. Dink played piano, drums and clarinet, but he's mostly on piano here. He was Jelly Roll Morton's brother-in-law, and his playing was kind like a somewhat simplified Jelly. Charlie Thompson was a seldom-recorded St. Louis ragtime/blues player, and deserved to be better known. AMCD-10; Kid Thomas Valentine - The First Recordings. I love Kid Thomas' crude (I'll use that word here), pre-Armstrong trumpet style, which never changed or developed - he sounded the same in the 1980's. Emile Barnes is on this one, and I like it better than Barnes' yellow-label AM CD. And for lagniappe: There is an AM CD I love which is only available with the Jazzology Press book Bill Russell's American Music; it's full of outstanding rare tracks. That book is a must for anyone with a serious interest in this music, by the way. I should add that there are weaker tracks on all or most of these CDs - alternate takes that are sloppy, or takes when Bunk was drunk or pissed off. But don't let those distract you from the best tracks. I have five American Music 78s which have one or both sides that have never been reissued on LP or CD - even bootlegs. Just let me know when you're coming if you want to hear them. And Bunk's favorite drink was port wine.

Steve Lacy - Clinkers (Hat Hut). Here's one that I bought new, and it's a recording which is much easier to obtain these days. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to order Hat Hut F, but it was an eye-opening record for me back in 1978 or '79. There's a one-sheet catalog insert with all nine (!) Hat Hut releases - A through I/J, which was a Joe McPhee double album. I was struck with how good the record sounded, and it amused me that it's only been played on one turntable - I bought my current table in 1978. It sounds even better now, with a better cartridge, amplifier and speakers.

Oh, yeah! I like Lacy too much to have a single favorite album, but Disposability is in my top half dozen. It's one I did pay pretty dearly for, back when the original Italian LP was the only way to get it.

If I may ask Jeff, where did you get all of your obscure Lacy records from? Lacy is one of my favorite musicians - perhaps my primary musical hero - and I've been listening to him since around 1974. So I got some of my obscure Lacy records when they came out. Even when they were in print, many of them were hard to track down, but finding a cooperative record store clerk was helpful. Some I have found in the years since in used record stores. Obscure Lacy doesn't turn up often, but I haunt all the record stores in Atlanta, and have found some nice stuff over the years. It was only about a year ago that I found The Kiss in a suburban Atlanta store - absolute mint condition for ten or fifteen bucks. And I got quite a few from Ebay vendors, before Ebay got as crazy as it is now. Shots was an Ebay find - from a French seller, if I remember correctly, and at a good price. These days Ebay is not as good a source, unless price is no object. And it is for me - I'm seldom willing to pay "collector's" prices. No, I don't have either. And although I certainly wouldn't pass up a copy, the Space Who LP has always struck me as an artificial collector's item with inflated value. Is it really that much better than other Lacy solo recordings from the period? I guess at the top of my Lacy want list are Stalks and The Wire, both from his first Japanese tour. Still looking for Sortie, too, although I know that it's available on a pirate CD these days.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! Enjoy unwrapping your presents.

Steve Lacy - Shots (Musica). Duets with Masa Kwate on traditional Japanese percussion.

Steve Lacy - The Kiss (Lunatic). A solo concert from Hiroshima, 1986; stunning.

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Goin' to the Meeting (Prestige mono)

I've been listening a lot lately to an interesting record which I found a couple of weeks ago: "I Know Why," the only issued side by George Morrison's Jazz Orchestra. Gunther Schuller discusses Morrison for several pages in Early Jazz, and includes an interview with him. It's a Columbia disc from 1920, and it's not really jazz, in spite of the presence of young saxophonists Jimmie Lunceford and Andy Kirk, but raggy dance music - and for that, it's pretty good. Ted Lewis is on the other side, so that one doesn't get played too often. I'm going to reread the Schuller stuff tonight, I think. After a couple of spins of Morrison's Jazz Orchestra, I played the 1938 Jelly Roll Morton Jazz Man 78s: Finger Buster/Creepy Feeling (Jazz Man 12) Honky Tonk Music/Winin' Boy Blues (Jazz Man 11). I just got these. The Jazz Man session isn't as well-known as the slightly later General sides, and had represented the last major gap in my Jelly Roll Morton collection. I had been researching the various issues when I found these on Ebay. I'm not sure that I made the best choice - these are really noisy records, although they look to be in pretty good shape. In any case, the music is excellent.

Miles Davis - Complete Jack Johnson Sessions, discs 4 & 5

Lester Young - The Complete Studio Sessions on Verve; the quartets with John Lewis from discs one and two.