jeffcrom

James Moody/George Wallington - The Beginning and End of Bop (Blue Note). A really nice reissue that I bought around 1977. Ernie Henry sounds great on the Moody sides.

Thanks. I'm not that smart, I have just had a pathetic life - much of my time the last 30-plus years has been spent playing and listening to jazz. Like many people here, I've got a ridiculously large record/CD collection, but I probably have more earlier jazz than many people here. Most of what I recognized was because I have the exact or similar tracks by the same artists in my collection. And if you check the last BFT, the Hammond organ one, you'll see that I crashed and burned. I don't think I correctly identified anyone on that test. That's why I was glad that this one was heavy on artists I knew. Just an obsessive jazz geek. And it's killing me that I can't identify track #4.

Kid Sheik Colar Kid Howard Kid Thomas Valentine

Alex, I'm really enjoying this. Some of your selections are fairly obscure, but they seem to land right in my wheelhouse. Here's round two: 10. Bunny Berigan – no one else sounds so hot and exciting in the low register. At first I couldn’t figure out what this was, but I knew it was something I knew. I thought the tenor player was Bud Freeman, but that didn’t seem quite right. Then I recognized Eddie Miller, and everything fell into place – “Chicken and Waffles” from 1935. I’ll admit that I couldn’t place anyone else on the recording, and looked up the rest of the personnel. Great drumming and stride piano, who I didn’t recognize until I looked them up. Very nice recording from an interesting, eclectic group. 11. Another seemingly eclectic group. I think I recognize Bid Sid Catlett and Pee Wee Russell – and maybe Jess Stacy? I’m assuming that the trumpet player is also the singer, but I don’t know who it is, unless it’s Wingy again. Maybe this is from an Esquire all-star concert or something like that. Very nice, with the trumpet as the weak link. 12. Somebody recent playing Ellington’s “Cotton Club Stomp” in stereo. I’m glad there are bands doing these great older numbers. The saxes seem to be taking an “original instruments” approach – or at least playing on old-style mouthpieces to get that 20s sound. I’d love to hear this live, although I’ve got to say that, as far as recordings go, I’d rather hear the original. 13. One of the great sessions in jazz history – Sidney Bechet and Muggsy Spanier, with “Sweet Sue.” The unobtrusive rhythm section is a perfect for these two giants. Someone on the board recently asked for a rating of these sessions from one to ten. I rated them a nine, because I thought there were a few better Bechet sessions. I was wrong – it doesn’t get better than this. 14. No idea who it is. Excellent dixieland playing, for the most part – I could do without the kazoo, if that’s what it is. I don’t like the kind of dramatic, show-biz jazz singing that the singer turns to by the end. I wonder if the excellent trumpet player could be the ill-fated George Girard, and the clarinet player sounds like a New Orleans guy, but I don’t really know. 15. Artie Shaw with Count Basie, from an Armed Service Radio Service broadcast. I recognized Shaw right away, but I doubt I would have figured out that it was Basie except that I have this on CD. Your copy is a lot better than mine, though – I’m jealous. A truly amazing clarinetist. 16. Okay, don’t freak out – I know this one. Once again, recognizing one player helped me figure out what it is – “Algiers Stomp” by Mills Blue Rhythm Band. I’ve always liked this underrated band, and when they had Red Allen as the main trumpet soloist, they were pretty powerful. I think that’s Tab Smith on alto and my homeboy J.C. Higginbotham on trombone. I don’t know who the clarinetist is, but I wonder if he played a favorite Red Allen lick near the end of his solo (the up-and-down arpeggio lick) as a dig at his bandmate. Very nice stuff. Again, I'm having a blast. Part three soon.

Dave Burrell: High Won-High Two (Arista Freedom)

Globe Unity Orchestra - Pearls (FMP)

Willie "Big Eyes" Smith Willie Smith, alto saxophonist Willie "The Lion" Smith

In a Lestorian mood, like probably a lot of folks tonight. First up: JATP/Lester Young - Carnegie Blues (Verve)

I picked this OJC CD up this week. I've wanted to hear it since reading Max Harrison's discussion of some of the tracks years ago. Haven't heard it yet, but it's a distinctive cover.

Okay, there were so many tracks to this one that I'm going to post my comments in sections. Here's the first third. 1. Wingy Mannone - mid thirties. Wingy’s okay, but I like listening to him mostly because he usually had good musicians on his records. I don’t recognize anyone else here, but the clarinet and tenor are pretty good. 2. Nice jivey little late-twenties record – good fun, but not great. One of several nice sounding alto sax players in this set. No idea who anyone is. 3. I’ve never heard this particular track before, but I think it’s from the 1929 Beale Street Washboard Band session with Herb Morand, Johnny and Baby Dodds, and Frank Melrose. (I have another track from this session in my collection.) Johnny Dodds actually recorded quite a bit with this instrumentation, but the trumpet sounds too strong to be Natty Dominique, who was often in the trumpet chair. Nice stuff – Johnny is one of the greats of the clarinet. 4. I have a feeling that I’m going to kick myself when I find who is in this nice little quartet, but I don’t know. Excellent trumpet that reminds me of Jabbo Smith, but it’s not anything I’ve heard before. The clarinet is good, too, as is the bassist, but the guitarist is great. I like it. 5. I absolutely hate this. I don’t like the singer; the trumpet and accordion are okay, but the clarinet player.... I usually subscribe to the “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything” school of thought. But this guy (or girl) is an abomination to jazz. He or she sounds more like Wilbur Sweatman on a bad night than any early jazz player. This is the only track I couldn’t listen all the through a second time. 6. “I Found a New Baby” by Django Reinhardt backing up – well, I don’t know. The trumpet player sounds like trumpet is not his first instrument, but it’s not good enough to be Benny Carter. I like the slightly wild clarinet playing the most, but the short, harmonically wayward piano solo is pretty interesting, too. 7. Dickie Wells in Paris, playing “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” with Django and Teddy Hill’s trumpet section – I think from 1937. What a great player and what a great record. I think that’s the wonderful Bill Coleman doing the last bridge. 8. Very cool. No idea who it is. Fabulous trombone solo – it sounds like Claude Jones to me, but that doesn’t make sense in context. I like the dissonant touches in the arrangement. Looking forward to finding out more about this. 9. More jive. Could it be The Spirits of Rhythm? There is a good guitarist and an okay player of ukulele or some string instrument like that. Fun, but nothing I need to hear again. I'm enjoying this one, with the one exception noted above. More comments soon.

I'm not a Herbie Mann fan at all, but I've been making people listen to side two of Live at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go for years. There's only one tune, "Philly Dog," and Sharrock has a solo near the end that's absolutely insane.

Glad it's not just me - Blue John has always been oddly unsatisfying. But That Certain Feeling - yeah!

Well, my main stereo rig is in my living room, but I have a 78 rig set up in my little music room where I practice and where my records and CDs are stored. It's a nice little setup for 78s - mid-60s Miracord turntable with a cartridge designed for 78s, an old Pioneer receiver, and Bose bookshelf speakers. Sometimes I'll hang out there for an hour and just play 78s, but I also tend to let my LPs and CDs pile up after playing them, so I'll play 78s while I'm reshelving my music. I'm glad I rediscovered them. I stopped at a flea market on the way home from work a couple of days ago - among the usual 78 junk was "Kansas City Shuffle"/"Yazoo Blues" by Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra from 1926. Kind of worn, but it still sounds good. And yeah, early rock and R & B sound great on shellac. Johnny Ace on Duke doing "No Money...." Damn!

I'm certainly not a Maneri expert, or familiar with all of his recordings. But I like his music, and have a suggestion if you're not connecting with it. Listen to the last track of Pantiots Nine. It's an eleven-minute duet with Maneri on clarinet and Greg Silberman on piano, recorded live at New England Conservatory in 1981. The tray card calls the track "Jewish Concert," but the liner notes suggest that the title should be "Jewish Fantasy - At the Wedding." Maneri's playing here suggests that his use of microtones is derived more from Jewish and Greek clarinet traditions and from the blues than from any avant-garde classical source. Hearing this track helped the pieces fall into place for me - maybe someone else will have the same experience.

Can't believe I forgot this one yesterday - Marian McPartland's Twilight World album (recorded when she was 89!) contains versions of "Turnaround" and "Lonely Woman." Both are very original, while true to the spirit of Ornette's tunes. I expected "Turnaround" to just be another blues in C in Marian's hands, but nope - it's definitely a very idiomatic improvisation on the OC piece.

Lots of mention of Geri Allen here, with good reason - she's one of the best pianistic interpreters of Ornette's music. But nobody has mentioned her mid-90s Blue Note album Eyes in the Back of Your Head. It includes two duets with OC, "Vertical Flowing" and "The Eyes Have It," both co-credited to Coleman and Allen. I don't like the way Ornette's saxophone is recorded, but the music is excellent.

Fanny Brice Baby Snooks Snooks Eaglin

I'm having a blast with this one. Full reply soon.

Spanky DeBrest Buckwheat Zydeco Chubby Jackson

It is indeed...one of my favourite places. And, unlike Stonehenge, free and rarely crowded. I spent a wonderful day in Avebury about 14 years ago. That part of England is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

I'd put it at a 9 - I would only put the best of the Victors, the best of the Blue Notes, and the best of his early-20s masterpieces ("Cake Walkin' Babies," "Texas Moaner," "Old Fashioned Love," etc.) above it. If you are only interested in that session, it's available (without the two alternate takes) on this CD.

Thanks for the recommendations. Picked up More Smiles on vinyl, and they also had At Her Majesty's Pleasure, which I'll go back for. I have the Oktav CD of Shihab and the Danish Radio Jazz Group - don't know if that's the kind of thing you're talking about. Exploring jazz never ends - ain't it great?

I'm not going to go through my collection piece by piece, but I know it's heavily US-centered. I do have more stuff from Japan than you, and a fair number of European recordings (mostly avant-garde), but I could only guess how they're broken down by country - I'm too lazy to count. And of course, like any Sun Ra fan, I have quite a few albums from Saturn. Off topic: Bev, is your current profile picture from Avebury?

Head out to the Rearward/Schema website forthwith ! And take some $$. First it's gonna be back to the Atlanta used record store where I got Sax No End - they had a couple of others by the band. Better 40 years late than never....

Clarke/Boland Big Band - Sax No End (MPS) Damn! I don't know why I never paid any attention to this band before now. Probably because I've had kind of a prejudice against "conventional" modern big bands, as opposed to more esoteric ones like Gil Evans' band. But this is a blast. And where has Derek Humble been all my life?