jeffcrom

Milton Babbitt.

Gil Fuller's two Discovery 78s showed up on a Savoy Bebop Boys LP twofer, but don't seem to be out on CD. And this seems to be the only session under his name in the 1940s.

Bud Shank Plays Tenor (Pacific Jazz stereo) Anthony Braxton with Muhal Richard Abrams - Duets 1976 (Arista/Freedom)

MEV / AMM - Live Electronic Music Improvised (Mainstream)

Gil Evans (Ampex). Layers upon layers of wonderful things going on here. I find this 1969 album almost painfully beautiful.

The 504 CDs I have are all legit, but I haven't bought any for a couple of years, so I don't know what they're up to these days. (I have most of their older releases on LP.) I've stopped buying any new jazz or blues CDs put out by the Concord group (Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Pablo, etc.); I've been burned too many times. If I want something on those labels that I don't already have, I seek out a used copy.

Earl Fouché

I read this and had an emotional moment. In some ways, Vista is Marion's "Atlanta" album - several of his old Atlanta colleagues join him on that album. One of them was drummer/vocalist Allen Murphy. I did a gig with him after his stroke, and tied his tie for him, since he was unable to.

Found a small stack of modern jazz in excellent condition on my recent West Coast trip, including the entire first "Birth of the Cool" session: Miles Davis - Budo / Move & Godchild / Jeru (Capitol) Lennie Tristano - Sax of a Kind / Marionette (Capitol) Tadd Dameron - Sid's Delight / Casbah (Capitol) Stan Hasselgard - Sweet and Hot Mop / I'll Never Be the Same (Capitol) Red Norvo Trio - Swedish Pastry / Night and Day & Cheek to Cheek / Time and Tide (Discovery) Walter Gil Fuller Orch. - Tropicana / Blues for a Debutante (Discovery) I like 78s for many reasons; one is that sometimes a 78 in good condition sounds better than the same music as transferred to CD. I have all this music except for the Gil Fuller on CD, so I did some comparisons. The Miles 78s do not come close to the sound of the RVG CD; they seem thin and compressed compared to the CD. The Tristano record sounds distinctly better than my CD version, which seems to have the high end rolled off. The Dameron 78 sounds very much like the Malcom Addey CD transfer, but has a bit more presence. The Hasselgard and Norvo records sounded different from the CD versions I have, but not "better" or "worse" - just different. For instance, the Norvos sound almost larger than life on the my CD, and are perhaps more natural-sounding on the 78s, despite a bit of surface noise. I like both versions.

I came home from Northwest Washington with some great records this time - 78s, 12" LPs, and these two 10" LPs: Jazz at the Philharmonic (Stinson) Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Pacific Jazz LP 1) I have the Mulligan material on CD, of course, but this copy of the first PJ LP sounds magnificent.

Louis Armstrong - I Double Dare You. This 1938 recording with his big band just might Pops' masterpiece of the period between the early-30s Victor records and the Town Hall concert. The final trumpet chorus is about as good as anything he ever did. My homeboy J.C. Higginbotham is on fire, too.

Arnold Ross!

Mickey Katz Plays Music for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, and Brisses (Capitol mono). Been listening to lots of klezmer lately. This is the closest Katz came to "serious," straight klezmer. No real slapstick, just some silliness here and there with Katz's occasional Yiddish/English lyrics.

Harmonica-themed listening today: Gus Mulcay - St. Louis Blues/Farewell Blues (Diva, 1926). Mulcay was mostly a novelty-style harp player; this is the one record of his which Rust thought worthy of inclusion in his discography. William McCoy - Mama Blues/Train Imitations and Fox Chase (Columbia, 1927). Great record by a Texas blues harpist, in very rough condition. DeFord Bailey - Alcoholic Blues/Evening Prayer Blues (Vocalion, 1927). Nice record by the first star of the Grand Ole Opry. Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers - Washington and Lee Swing/Goodnight Waltz (Conqueror, 1931). Gwen Foster was the harpist in this all-star early country band. Henry Whitter - Rabbit Race/Farewell to Thee (Okeh, 1924) & Lonesome Road Bues/Wreck of the Old Southern 97 (Okeh, 1923). A pioneer country recording artist. The first record is in really nice condition.

I concentrated on the Gennett label tonight - the good, the bad, and the ugly: Ladd's Black Aces - Long Lost Mama/Two-Time Dan (1923). The Original Memphis Five under another name. Bailey's Lucky Seven - Sweet Indiana Home/Joseph Samuels and His Master Players - The Sneak (1922) Bailey's Lucky Seven - Easy Melody/Covered Wagon Days (1923). Bailey's Lucky Seven was a pop/dance band with an ever-changing cast (although trumpeter Phil Napoleon was usually involved). The music is not great, but I love this second record, which I found on July 4th in Moorhead, Minnesota. It is in an original sleeve (both sides are marked with the catalog number in pencil), with Gennnett releases by Jelly Roll Morton and The New Orleans Rhythm Kings listed. The front has a stamp from West Piano Company in Moorhead. Coney Island Jazz Band - The Music of the Wedding Chimes/Johnson's Big Five - Gates of Gladness (1919). Jazz in name only. I suspect that these two anonymous ensembles are one and the same, since the matrix numbers are adjacent. Chubb-Steinberg Orchestra - Because They All Love You/Willie Creager's Orchestra - Show Me the Way (1925). A young Wild Bill Davison plays a hot duet with a clarinetist on side one. New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Angry/Sobbin' Blues (1923) New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Mr. Jelly Lord/Clarinet Marmalade (1923). The cream of the crop of tonight's listening, with Jelly on piano. Josie Miles - Baby's Got the Blues/Kansas City Man Blues (1923). Fair-to-middling blues.

MIles Davis/Gil Evans - Complete Columbia Studio Recordings. Disc one - the more-or-less original version of Miles Ahead this afternoon, and now, after the gig, the alternate version on the same disc. I'm really enjoying it - it's nearly as beautiful as the original.

Ellington Indigos (Columbia mono)

Okay.

As should be apparent, my post above was based entirely on his recordings. That's all we have with lots of our musical heroes. I'm still glad I visited all them graves, though.

Moms' posts sometimes drive me crazy, but I'll give him this - as far as I can remember, he never resorts to ad hominem arguments. So I won't begin to question his motivations. But as to his conclusions.... Sure, Robert Johnson's current reputation is partially the result of revisionist history. But that doesn't negate the power of Johnson's best recorded performances. Moms makes some grudging concessions on this point in his last post. I think he and I would agree that Johnson was inconsistent, and recorded some weaker, derivative sides. The amazing, beautiful sides outnumber the weak ones, though; there are certainly more than four or five excellent ones. Concerning the lyrics, I think Moms is taking one aspect of Johnson's output and exaggerating it. There are plenty of traditional verses in his songs, and I don't see that as a weakness. But there are also things like "Kind Hearted Woman," "Come on in My Kitchen," "Love in Vain," "Hell Hound on my Trail," even the well-known "Crossroad Blues" that are filled with original, even poetic lyrics. And hey, even though all the lyrics are traditional, "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" will always be my favorite version of "Rollin' and Tumblin'." The assertion that Johnson was a poor guitarist is the most baffling thing that Moms has said in this thread. It seems obvious to me that he was one of the better Mississippi Delta guitarists - not the equal of Southeasteners like Blind Blake or Blind Willie McTell, or even of his student Robert Lockwood, but pretty damn good. On almost every song there are multiple layers of stuff going on in the guitar parts. And listen to "Sweet Home Chicago." I've never listened to this recording without marveling at Johnson's touch - like Glenn Gould, he calculates the weight of each bass line and countermelody, and plays each at the proper dynamic level - all at the same time. This is guitar playing at a pretty high level. The Lou Donaldson/Charlie Parker analogy is way off base. A closer (though still not perfect) analogy would be King Oliver. With the Creole Jazz Band sides, he brought the contrapuntal New Orleans jazz style to its highest point, even as that style was going out of style. Johnson's position regarding the Delta blues is similar. I like to keep it clean with Charley Jordan as much as anyone; he's an excellent guitarist and an engaging singer. But he's not on the same level as Johnson. There's a flatness, a sameness to many of his sides - an internal sameness, meaning that every verse sounds about like the last one did. That's true even of his best songs, like "Keep It Clean" and the one you posted. None of this is meant to indicate that I don't love me some Charley Jordan - just saying that he's a talented, enjoyable minor figure. In contrast, listen to the internal variety in most of Johnson's songs. Take "Kind Hearted Woman" as an example - Johnson constantly varies the melody (melodies, really) and accompaniment. And of course, the most important part of music is that mysterious quality that involves "lifting the bandstand," as Thelonious Monk said. To my ears, Robert Johnson lifted the bandstand more often than not, in a way that the other musicians you posted didn't. I urge you to forget about the "white boy bullshit" and give another listen. Oh, and I would advise any interested party to visit all three of Robert Johnson's graves. It will take you about two hours. I personally suspect that he's not in any of them.

Two complete sessions on 78 - complete as far as master takes are concerned, anyway: Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five on 7" Bell microgroove 78s from 1953: Bell 1023 - Besame Mucho/That Old Feeling. This record, according to the original sleeve, cost 39 cents. Bell 1027 - Stop and Go Mambo/Tenderly. This slightly later catalog number sold for 35 cents. The whole Bell concept, with its 7" 78s, was kind of odd and mysterious. This is probably their best-ever session, though; Tal Farlow and Hank Jones are in the band. Baby Dodds' Jazz Four on Blue Note, from 1945: BN 518 - Winin' Boy Blues/ Careless Love BN 519 - Feelin' at Ease/High Society

Yep. Lydian is basically a major scale with a raised fourth.

Olympia Brass Band - New Orleans Street Parade (MPS)

The Early Benny Carter (Everest). Wonderful music from Carter's 1936-37 stint in England. This is an inferior, incomplete issue, but it's the way I first heard these recordings back in my college days, so I'm fond of it. And the sound is acceptable if you fold down the fake stereo into mono.

If I remember correctly, it was a compromise between Keepnews and Henderson. Keepnews was planning on issuing a second album of the Lighthouse material, but at the last minute, Henderson decided that he wanted the album to be of his new group. They compromised, resulting in In Pursuit of Blackness.