jeffcrom

I went a little nuts today and bought a collection of 78s. There are around 250 records, including lots of junk that I'll dispose of, but I decided to go for it after I had looked through half of the first box. The heart of it was some jaw-dropping early country, including a Henry Whitter on Okeh, a Billy Cox on Gennett, and lots of early Carter Family stuff. There was also a Rev. J. M. Gates sermon on Okeh in nice condition, and a couple of skits from Shuffle Along by Miller and Lyles, who wrote the script for that groundbreaking show. There's jazz scattered through the records as well, from early stuff like a Bennie Moten and a Halfway House Orchestra to Charlie Parker and the Mulligan Quartet on Fantasy. I have cleaned the first dozen and am about to start spinning. I probably won't leave my house for a week.

Coleman Hawkins - Accent on Tenor (Urania)

Yesterday I spun my entire collection (five discs) of Earl Bostic, on Gotham and King. On a couple of the sides, it oddly amusing to realize that it was John Coltrane holding the whole note on tenor at the end - that's all he does on the Bostic records I have. Today, a mixed bag of gospel, blues, and New Orleans R & B: Prof. Chas. Taylor - I'll See It Through/I'm Stumbling (Savoy, 1958) The Pilgrim Travelers - Amazing Grace/Gonna Walk Right Out (Specialty, mid 50s, I guess) Jazz Gillum - Keep on Sailing/Fast Woman Blues (RCA Victor, mid 40s) Sonny Terry - Lost John/Fox Chase (Library of Congress, 1938) Smiley Lewis - She's Go Me Hook, Line & Sinker/Please Listen to Me (Imperial, 1956) Bobby Charles - No Use Knocking/Laura Lee (Chess, 1956) A great little record with a great band; Lee Allen solos on each side.

I usually only download music when I can't get it any other way. I recently bought (from iTunes) an EP-length album, St. Peter Street Serenade, by the Preservation Hall Hot 4. It included music, videos, and a really nice PDF booklet - complete credits, personnel for each track, and photos.

Okay... I (literally) don't have the $$$ to mail out discs, but hopefully jeffcrom or Big Al can help us out here. Yes, I'm the guy now - I'll send him a disc.

Hank Marr - Greasy Spoon (King)

Brother Vernard Johnson and the Washington State Youth Choir - Give Up to God (Glori)

The Golden Wings of Atlanta, Georgia - It's a Needed Time (Meltone) Local 80s gospel.

Fantastic album! It shows, among other things, what a great rhythm guitarist Danny was. A little while after this came out, I spent the morning in the Barkers' living room - Danny and Blue Lu played and sang many of these songs for my first wife and me. Yes, I've got it. Like you, I can only take it in small doses, but it's fascinating. The bands were from Alabama and were recorded by Frederic Ramsey, but beyond that, I don't know much about them. This was one of the first N.O. brass band albums I had, too. It's got some great stuff on it - a good sampling of four bands. The personnel listing for the Chosen Few tracks is not accurate, for what that's worth. I bet that when Tuba Fats gave the producer the tape, he gave him a personnel list from memory. I'm slowly burning my homemade Frank's Place VHS tapes to DVD, but haven't gotten to that episode yet. Like at least one other person on this board, that's my all-time favorite TV show.

Just listened to a 10" LP that I bring out a couple of times a year - Marching to New Orleans by Ken Colyer's Omega Brass Band on British Decca. It amuses me that the fourth New Orleans-style brass band to record was a bunch of Brits - they beat everybody except Bunk's Brass Band, the Original Zenith, and the Eureka Brass Band to records. Of course, Colyer spent time in New Orleans, and probably played plenty of funerals and parades while he was there. He learned his lessons well - the music is good, but somewhat more staid and predictable than that of the New Orleans bands. Still, a pretty cool album.

I meant to add for anyone who just wants a taste of this music - the N.O. brass band album I would take to a desert island is Jazz at Preservation Hall 1 by the Eureka Brass Band. As papsrus pointed out, it's on sale at Oldies.com.

A little more background, then some recommendations. The brass band scene was not healthy by the end of the 1960s. Most of the brass band musicians were getting old enough that they didn’t want to do parades anymore, and few younger musicians were taking up the style. For awhile, Harold Dejan’s Olympia Brass Band seemed to carry the entire brass band tradition on their shoulders – they were about the only organized band who would still play funerals and social club parades. The revival came with the (unrecorded) Fairview Baptist Church Band and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Danny Barker was concerned about the brass band tradition disappearing completely, so he approached the pastor of a church in his neighborhood, offering to teach music to local kids. The brass band he formed attracted many of the young New Orleanians who formed the basis for the next generation of brass band music: Tuba Fats, Leroy Jones, Gregg Stafford, Gregory Davis, Darryl Adams. The Fariview band morphed into the Hurricane Brass Band, which in 1975 recorded a locally-distributed album for the Lo An label. Leroy Jones and His Hurricane Marching Brass Band of New Orleans is a sloppy and intense statement of independence by a bunch of guys who were only 17 to 23 years old. Good luck finding a copy – it took me years. A few years later, the Dirty Dozen turned from a jokey, kazoo-and-percussion band into a real brass band. They were the first brass band to realize that they didn’t have to play “Bourbon Street Parade” and “Just a Closer Walk With Thee.” Their first album came out on Concord in 1984, and I still remember the impact it had on me – it’s full of funk, Monk, and bebop. The Dirty Dozen had already changed the local scene by the time My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now came out – every band in the city was taking their cue from them, in the way that the Rebirth Brass Band is the biggest influence now. Okay, some recommendations. This is all just my opinion, of course – take it for what you will. Especially with the more recent bands who only have a local reputation in New Orleans, CDs tend to go out of print pretty quickly, but in a few cases I’m listing OOP albums anyway. The essentials: Bunk’s Brass Band and Dance Band (American Music) The first recordings of the music. Eureka Brass Band – New Orleans Funeral and Parade (American Music) First recording of a working band. Some folks prefer Music of New Orleans, Vol. 4 on Folkways – available as an on-demand CDr. Can’t go wrong either way. Eureka Brass Band – Jazz at Preservation Hall 1 (Atlantic) A joyful noise. More abandonded than either of the Eureka’s earlier albums. Reissued on the Mosaic New Orleans set and on Collectables from Oldies.com. Young Tuxedo Brass Band – Jazz Begins (Atlantic) Also reissued on Collectables. Even wilder than the Eureka album above. The last few choruses of “Lord, Lord, Lord” or “Bourbon Street Parade” will take the top of your head off. Olympia Brass Band – Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans (GHB) The Olympia recorded a lot, and some of their stuff is kind of trite/touristy. The main part of this CD is a beautifully recorded session of excellent music from the late 60s. It’s paired with some material I haven’t heard (I have the Audiophile LP). Dirty Dozen Brass Band – My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now (Concord) – or – Mardi Gras in Montreux (Rounder) –or – Voodoo (Columbia) These are their first three albums, and capture the band at its freshest. Rebirth Brass Band – The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf (Mardi Gras) The Rebirth is the best brass band in New Orleans today. This one captures their regular Tuesday night gig at the Maple Leaf. Turn it up! Various – Straight From the 6th Ward (Tipitinas) This one is already out of print, but it’s so good that I had to include it. It includes two track each by five bands: The Lil Rascals, The Rebirth, The Treme, The New Birth, and the 6th Ward Allstars. None of the tracks appear elsewhere; they were all recorded for this project. It’s a great survey of some of the best brass bands in New Orleans. If you know all that stuff pretty well, here’s some further stuff to explore: Original Zenith Brass Band – New Orleans 1946 (American Music) A pick-up band recorded a year after Bunk’s. A slightly more controlled sound than Bunk’s. Onward Brass Band – The Last Journey of a Jazzman (Nobility) The funeral parade of pianist Lester Santiago, recorded in 1965. The music is amazing, but it’s marred by an overdubbed narration. You’ll probably only find this one at the Louisiana Music Factory. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band – Buck Jump (Mammoth) - and - Funeral For A Friend (Ropeadope) The Dirty Dozen’s two best albums of the last few years. Not strictly brass band music – they use guitars, keyboards and drum sets these days. Rebirth Brass Band – Rollin’ (Rounder) My second favorite Rebirth album. Hot 8 Brass Band – Rock With the Hot 8 (Louisiana Hot) No pun intended, but this young band is one of the hottest in New Orleans these days. Tuba Fats’ Chosen Few Brass Band (Jazz Crusade) Soulful and sloppy. Algiers Brass Band - Lord, Lord, Lord (Sound of New Orleans) Out of print, I believe. A local band with a real down-home flavor, playing mostly traditional tunes, but some funk. New Birth Brass Band – New Birth Family (Fat Black) Almost as good as the Rebirth, in my opinion. I love their version of “Over in the Gloryland.” Various – A New Orleans Visit Before Katrina (Arhoolie) Among other things, this album has the best recordings of the Treme Brass Band, even though they have three albums out on their own. The 20 minutes or so of the Treme here were recorded (with good sound) on parade, and the music is stirring. Jeez - sorry about the long post. As you can tell, I'm enthusiastic about this stuff.

In honor of Danny Bank: The New York Saxophone Quartet (20th Century-Fox - 1964)

Which restaurant? The French Market Cafe on Decatur Street. It was Easter, and the parade had a great band which seemed to be composed mostly of members of the Algiers and Pinstripe Brass Bands. When I finally got back to the restaurant, my table, food and records were still waiting for me. Like I said, I gave the waitress a big tip.

Woody Shaw - United (Columbia)

Beautiful.

No worries!

It's funny - many of the artists mentioned in this thread are musicians I didn't like very much once upon a time, or liked just enough to want one or two albums by - like Brubeck and Lou Donaldson. And my affection for most of them has grown over the years. I seem to be in a Brubeck phase right now, for instance.

More clarification: As I drove around today running errands, I had Buck It Like a Horse by the Lil Rascals Brass Band cranked in the CD player. The Rascals are trombonist Corey Henry's band, and they play in a style similar to that of the Rebirth. The music had jazz in it, but not just jazz; it had funk in it, but not just funk; same for reggae, hip-hop, and gospel. To me, it didn't sound like jazz, or funk, or reggae - it sounded like New Orleans brass band music.

I'm in for a download.

Why do you say this? Seriously - I'm very interested. Is there some technical and/or stylistic marker that makes brass bands NOT jazz, even per se? Because, especially considering some bands at some times, jazz was only part of what they did. (Disclaimer: I'm not really interested in defining what jazz is and isn't - that has never seemed like an important question to me.) Take the Eureka BB's New Orleans Funeral and Parade album - of the 30 minutes of music on the original issue (there's a lot more on the CD), less than 10 minutes would sound like jazz to most people. The rest of the music consists of slow funeral marches, mostly played from written music. And when I say I don't really think of N.O. brass band music as jazz per se, that's not meant to be a value judgment, like it's "less than jazz," or "too fun to be jazz" or "too funky to be jazz" or anything like that. The more you live with this music, the more it seems like its own music, with its own conventions and traditions. If anyone wants to think of it as Jazz with a capitol J, that's fine with me, though. If it helps to know where I'm coming from, I just did a quick count - I've got over 50 CDs of New Orleans brass band music. I'm not going to count my vinyl, because it's mixed in with my other jazz. (How's that for a contradiction? See how seriously I take my position?) But I have a lot, including the Dirty Dozen's first two singles, which came out before the Concord album and which have never been reissued. And seeline, I've spent a lot of time in New Orleans, and I really think most of the musicians in that wonderful city don't think about whether it's jazz or not. I think they just play music.

And in person, the impact can be overwhelming. I once jumped out of my seat at a sidewalk cafe in the French Quarter when a brass band parade went by - I couldn't help myself. I left my plate of red beans and rice and $200 worth of records sitting on my table and followed the band for about 40 minutes. When I got back, I gave the waitress a BIG tip.

The California Ramblers 1925-1927 Volume One (The Old Masters)

I've been listening to 78s just about every day lately. Today's assortment made no sense - just a bunch of stuff I felt like hearing: James Moody - Lester Leaps In/Out of Nowhere (Prestige, 1949) Moody with a bunch of Swedes. Arne Domnerus sounds good on "Nowhere." Dave Brubeck - A Foggy Day/Lyons Busy (Fantasy, 1951) Paul Desmond! George Barrere - Dance of the Blessed Spirits/L'Arlesienne Suite #2 (Columbia, 1913) One of the first great classical flutists to make records. California Ramblers - California Here I Come/Cover Me Up With the Sunshine of Virgina (Columbia, 1924) Hot dance music, with some great Adrian Rollini breaks in "California." Benson Orchestra of Chicago - That's Georgia/Morning (Victor, 1924) I've always liked this near-jazz band. They don't have the jazz pedigree of the California Ramblers, but they compare favorably. Don Redman - Lazy Weather/Moonrise on the Lowlands (Perfect, 1936) Harlan Lattimore's vocals are the fleas that come with the Don Redman dog, but the band swings. There's some beautiful five-part sax writing on "Lazy Weather" - worthy of Benny Carter.

Very cool, Allen.