jeffcrom

Sonny Rollins - The Sound of Sonny, from The Freelance Years

My first, 17-year marriage ended in divorce in 1995. It was very painful at the time - it wasn't my idea, until after six months of confusion I decided it was, if that makes any sense. In any case, five years later I married a calm, brilliant, wonderful woman. Every day I feel lucky - really. As awful as it was at the time, my divorce was a blessing.

Karl Berger / Dave Friedman / Tom van der Geld / Wolfgang Lackschmid - Vibes Summit (MPS)

Part of this discussion reminds me of separate conversations (in person or online) with Paul and The Magnificent Goldberg. I find that I don't want to listen to "great" music all the time. I often want/need good, approaching-good, not-really-that-good-but-interesting, mediocre, and mostly-bad-with-good-parts music. (A lot of 70s BN falls toward the right of that continuum.) I listen to this stuff for different reasons at different times - I don't want to give full attention to the music at that time ("great" music forces my attention its way), I want variety, I want to learn something, I want something "lighter" than great, I just enjoy it. I mean, take Donald Byrd. I could listen to The Cat Walk, Royal Flush, and Free Form for the rest of my life and know that I'm listening to the best work that musician produced. But if the pleasures of Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Nights, and (God help me) occasionally even Black Byrd are don't reach the heights of those earlier albums, those pleasures are there (for me, anyway), and they're different enough that I want to sample them sometimes.

Hutcherson's Live at Montreux has been mentioned twice, but I would like to "third" it and elaborate. It's really good - my guess is that it's exactly the kind of thing you're looking for. It's a hard-bop/post-bop quintet playing four excellent compositions, two by Hutcherson and two by Woody Shaw, who is Bobby's front-line partner. Hutcherson's and Shaw's soloing is really fiery. I'm guessing that this album is overlooked because it was released at the time only in Europe and Japan; It was only released in the U.S. in 1994.

I'm not familiar with this "avant garde" jazz you speak of, but I'm in for a download.

Last night my saxophone trio opened for the Steve Marquette Quartet out of Chicago - Marquette on guitar, Mars Williams on reeds, Nick Mazzarella on alto sax, and Anton Hatwich on electric bass. They played two improvised pieces. Mars Williams was as powerful as you would expect, but my main reason for posting is because of how much I enjoyed listening to Nick Mazzarella. He has a beautiful sound and a big dynamic range, along with great ideas and technique. And he's a nice guy. We swapped CDs, I'm looking forward to hearing his two trio CDs, from 2009 and 2011. He also told me that he just finished recording a saxophone quartet CD with Williams, Dave Rempis, and Ken Vandermark. Looking forward to that.

Marilyn Crispell / Doug James - And Your Ivory Voice Sings (Leo)

The last comment confuses me a bit. Freddie *is* here playing rhythm in the background. (Though, man, he's hard to hear.) It confuses you because it's inaccurate and poorly worded. First of all, I had forgotten that Green plays here, and I should have noticed. What I was trying to say was that I wish Christian hadn't played rhythm when he wasn't soloing - it's too heavy/clunky for my taste.

Over the last few days, I've been spinning Caruso 78s. Record collectors really differ over the desirability of these. Some are not interested because most Caruso titles are common; there are only about 30 really rare Caruso titles. But there are also Caruso enthusiasts who will only listen to his music on the original 78s. I've got close to 30 Carusos, and I've got to say that listening to one of his 78s, pressed from an original stamper, in good condition, on good equipment, is a glorious experience. I won't list everything I've played the past few days, but one of the most interesting is Opera Disc 76062, "Mi par d'udir Ancora" from Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, recorded in April, 1904 in Milan. Here's the story: American Victor and European HMV were sister companies; each issued Caruso's records in different parts of the world. This aria was issued in Europe shortly after it was recorded. It was given a Victor catalog number, but never issued in the U.S., for some reason. Cut to 1914. One of HMV's major pressing plants was in Hanover. When World War I broke out, the German government took over the plant, and the Deutsche Grammophon company was formed. Cut to 1921. A guy named Max Hesslein formed the Opera Disc label, and started issuing imported classical recordings in the U.S. He leased his material from DG, which had masters of all of Caruso's pre-war HMV recordings at its Hanover plant. So the Opera Disc "Mi par d'udir Ancora" was the first U.S. issue. The Opera Discs pressed in Hanover sounded excellent - better than American Victors, according to many collectors. The problem was that Hesslein didn't pay Victor, HMV, or Caruso, so his products were bootlegs, even if they were high-quality bootlegs pressed from original stampers. By 1923 Victor had shut down Opera Discs through legal action. But now the Opera Discs are prized by collectors. I have a couple, but I especially like this one, which is in excellent shape. I couldn't find a picture of 76062 online, but the label looks like the one above.

Okay, since just about everything has been identified, most of what follows is just comments. I hope that some of it is worth reading. Since I started backwards, I'll end going backwards. 16. An all-star band from the 1944 Esquire concert. This is one amazing “Tea for Two.” Barney Bigard is in excellent post-Duke form, Roy Eldridge is great, and Art Tatum’s grasp of harmony is just plain scary. Lionel Hampton is the vibes soloist, and Jack Teagarden plays tasty licks in the final ensemble. Big Sid Catlett is one of my favorite drummers and Oscar Pettiford is on bass. Coleman Hawkins and Al Casey are also on board, but not as prominent. I’ve been browsing Esquire’s annual Jazz Books from 1944, 1945, and 1946 lately, and they’re fascinating. The panel of experts who voted on the all-star band in 1944 were more or less in consensus, but 1945 really saw a split between the modernists and the moldy figs. Anyway, the books are interesting snapshots of critical opinion at the time. And, related to the theme of “It’s all meat from the same bone” (more on this later), those who were distressed by the “advanced” harmonies of the beboppers ignored the fact that Tatum and Hawkins had been doing that stuff for years. 15. Artie Shaw, of course, as others have said. You picked a really obscure example – the tune is “The Man From Mars,” which Shaw never recorded in the studio, as far as I can tell. The clarinet playing is just stunning. A few years before, Shaw was competent clarinetist, but by this time, he was perhaps without equal in terms of clarinet technique. And his sound was very individual and beautiful. I don’t know who the trumpet and trombone soloists are, but that’s George Auld on tenor. I love the sound of the Shaw sax section from this period; Les Robinson was one of the great lead alto players. And young Buddy Rich kicks ass! 14. I much prefer the issued studio recording Goodman made of “All the Cats Join In.” There’s a passage for his sextet, with vibes and guitar, that’s a nice contrast with the big band. All the overdubbed stuff just annoys me. 13. This session has been criticized for not reaching the heights that Armstrong and Bechet hit in the Clarence Williams Blue Five records 15 years earlier. I prefer to enjoy these 1940 sides for what they are – a relaxed meeting of two established masters. And Claude Jones is one of the most underrated trombonists in jazz history. I can’t say enough about how good Bechet sounds here. 12. I love, love, love this record. Brilliant playing by the first genius of jazz and the only musician who could really keep up with him at the time. They had such mastery of time that they do some amazing things with rhythm here – stretching, delaying, overlaying – but it always comes out right. This was the avant-garde of the time. 11. I was kind of surprised at all the “Is Louis really on here?” discussion of this record. Yes, the cornets are trading phrases in the first strain, and can be heard playing in harmony after those traded licks. That’s Louis playing the triplet pickup to the second strain, I think, and he plays the lower harmony in that strain – his vibrato is different from Oliver’s. That kind of technical stuff aside, Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band is one of the great ensembles in jazz history. It worked so well because, although there’s a lot going on, everyone understood his/her role. I hear new things every time I listen to them. And “Canal Street Blues,” with its bluesy swing, is one of my favorites. 10. The beginning of the jazz ballad. Lester Young carried a copy of this one in his tenor case, supposedly. Trumbauer had interesting ideas, but his playing sounds wispy and unswinging in the end. Bix had even more interesting ideas, and his playing had guts and heart. Just beautiful. I’ve never thought that Eddie Lang was a very good soloist (for some of the same reasons I feel that way about Trumbauer), but he was a masterful accompanist, and he’s brilliant here. 9. This record drives from beginning to end. Jelly knew how to organize a performance for maximum effect. I love his raw singing here, and hooray for Omer Simeon! 8. When Benny Goodman heard the Basie band, he wanted to remake his own band in that image. He didn’t succeed, but he did record this rehearsal session with Charlie Christian and a bunch of Basie-ites. It’s delicious music. I wish Christian had lived long enough to record with Lester Young more than the couple of times they managed it. The only way this music could have been better would be to have Christian there just as a soloist, and to have Freddie Green play rhythm guitar. 7. Simple brilliance. Listen to Ellington’s touch at the beginning – it’s almost Monk-like. Ellington had a band of amazing individual voices that were able to blend wonderfully. It sometimes distresses me that younger players in a more or less “mainstream” jazz style sound so much alike. With Ellington, you can hear every individual voice when the sax section is playing, but it still blends. 6. I’m liable to take some flak for this, but this was the least interesting recording I’m posting about today. It’s exciting and swings hard, but it’s kind of one-dimensional to me, whereas the Ellington recording has so much more subtlety while swinging just as hard. 5. I love Louis Armstrong’s work accompanying blues singers – he did a lot of it in the 1920s. He’s actually kind of inconsistent on the Bessie Smith records he’s on, but he’s brilliant here. Was there ever a slower version of the song than this one? Bessie is head and shoulders above every similar singer of her time, even Ma Rainey. She gets all over me. 4. The session that introduced Lester Young to the world at large. What a wonderful solo – light and fresh, but beautifully constructed. Props to everyone else, too, of course. 3. What can you say about this? Django was one of a kind, and Grappelli is wonderful here. 2. A great band, and Billie when she was young and fresh. I actually prefer her later work, even though her voice had deteriorated. I have never before noticed that someone honks their car horn outside the studio just as Goodman goes to the bridge. Teddy Wilson made it sound so easy…. 1. When I was a kid, I knew that Louis Armstrong was supposed to be a genius, but I didn’t understand why. I occasionally heard “Mack the Knife” or “Cabaret” on the radio, and they were fun, but not the work of a genius. Then I checked a Louis Armstrong LP collection out of my local library. When I heard the opening cadenza of “West End Blues,” I instantly got it. The way Louis plays with time here is amazing. A masterpiece. I love older jazz, but I love new stuff, too, and feel that it’s all connected. I never liked Kid Thomas Valentine until I heard Lester Bowie. I loved Bowie’s playing, and it enabled me to hear what Kid Thomas was doing. All meat off the same bone. Really enjoyed this BFT, even if I did have "rules" imposed on me!

Budd Johnson - Blues a la Mode (MJR)

That's a cool record. It doesn't even bother me that it sounds like crap.

As usual, I've played many more 78s than I've posted about, but this new find is pretty cool: Eddie Bo - I Cry Oh/My Heart Was Meant for You (Apollo). Eddie's first record. Or not, depending on what source you go to. But I think it was his first, from 1955. IN any case, I'm a big Eddie Bo fan, so this was a fun find.

Albert Ayler - The First Recordings (GNP Crescendo)

My wife is out of town, and as I often do when I'm a temporary bachelor, I have broken out the 45s. I won't list everything I played tonight, but here are some highlights: Miles Davis - Molester, parts 1 & 2 (Columbia stereo). This is an early, alternate mix of "Black Satin" from On the Corner. Little Jeno Tucker - It Ain't No Use/Don't Look Now, But I've Got the Blues (Rooster Blues). This is Little Jeno's only record, recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi around 1990 or so. His brother-in-law Big Jack Johnson is on guitar. This record means a lot to me personally. Little Jeno, who died in 2000, was revered in the Clarksdale area, I think both for his talent and because he was such a nice guy. I met him about five years before this death in Stackhouse Records in Clarksdale. He was very modest and seemed pleased that I knew and owned his record. He didn't want to talk about himself, but he went on at great length about his teenage son - he was very proud of him, and called him a gentleman. I'll always remember our conversation, and think about him every time I play this record. Johnny Woods - Long Haired Doney/Three O'Clock in the Morning (Oblivion). A rare one by the great Mississippi harp player, from 1972. Woods and Fred McDowell had a near-telepathic musical connection, but McDowell's only contribution to this solo record is to say, "Go on, boy!" and chuckle. And that's his Pontiac Mr. Woods is standing in front of.

Hell, yeah! There's an Eddie Bo album on which the great Johnny Adams and Dollis trade verses with Eddie on "Every Dog Has His Day." The Big Chief more than holds his own, not only with Mr. Bocage, but with Adams, who is one of the great New Orleans voices.

Twilight Monologues: Four Piano Solos in Hiroshima (Lunatic). Masahiko Sato, Aki Takase, Ichiko Hishimoto, and Takashi Kako play one piece each from 1984 concert series. Masahiko Togashi - Guild for Human Music (Denon)

Bo Dollis, longtime Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias New Orleans Indian gang, died today at home. He was 71. Under Dollis' leadership, the Wild Magnolias were the first Mardi Gras Indian gang to fuse the traditional songs and chants with New Orleans R & B and funk. The process started in 1970, when Dollis and the Wild Magnolias did some "experimental" (for lack of a better word) gigs with The Gaturs, Willie Tee's funk quartet. There is a stunning recording of Dollis and The Gaturs performing the traditional "Ho Na Nae" at the 1970 Tulane Jazz Festival. It's very tentative at first - it takes a few measures for The Gaturs to figure out what key Bo is singing in - but by the time it ends six minutes later, it's some kind of incredible psychedelic Mardi Gras funk. After that performance, Dollis and the Magnolias went into the studio and recorded a single: "Handa Wanda," parts one and two. A couple of years later, they recorded another single and a full album for Polydor, with Tee, his brother Earl Turbinton on saxophone, Snooks Eaglin, and others. Many other albums followed, and the Wild Magnolias performed frequently as a band, not just a Mardi Gras social organization. For many of those years, the great guitarist June Yamagishi, a Japanese transplant, was the sparkplug of the band. I saw Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias perform a couple of times; one pre-Katrina performance at the Funky Butt on Rampart Street was one of the funkiest shows I've ever witnessed. The band was great, and Dollis just soared. Part of the ensemble was a Wild Magnolia in full Mardi Gras regalia who didn't sing, didn't play percussion, and didn't even dance; his sole function was to stand there and look pretty. So long, Big Chief.

George Adams - Nightingale (BN). Not one for the desert island, but I'm enjoying it tonight.

Serge Chaloff - Boston Blow-Up! (Capitol). A gorgeous copy, which I found at the late, lamented Magic Bus on Conti Street in New Orleans. This "Body and Soul" ranks with the best-ever versions of the tune.

Cool! Do you have any extra copies, Jim? Now playing: Oscar Pettiford - Orchestra in Hi-Fi (ABC Paramount)

Cor! Scepter didn't half produce some albums you wouldn't expect! I used to have a James Moody LP ('Running the gamut') on Scepter and the form also owned Hob, on which the Swan Silvertones, Thompson Community Choir and James Cleveland appeared (and which also reissued Harmonizing Four material from Gotham). All funded, I guess, by Chuck Jackson, Maxine Brown and Dionne Warwick. MG And initially by the Shirelles. And you could probably thrown in B.J. Thomas later on. Sure - is the Shirelles' name remembered in the US? Seldom see it mentioned over here, or any albums in the second hand shops. MG I know that Shirley (Owens) Alston performs at oldies shows over here. And back to MG's first post - I have a nice Art Farmer album on Scepter. The Tuxedo Jazz Band album was recorded in Germany while the band was on tour in 1964 and originally released on SABA there. Don't know the details of how Scepter got their hands on it.

My copy is also designated as stereo, but actually mono.

10" LPs tonight: Miles Davis - Enigma (Blue Note) Henri Renaud - Modern Sounds: France (Contemporary). Jimmy Gourley is great on this. Jonah Jones - Jonah Wails (Angel) Jimmy McPartland/Dizzy Gillespie - Hot vs Cool (MGM). A 1952 "battle of jazz" recorded at Birdland. Louis Armstrong - New Orleans Days (Decca) Wooden Joe Nicholas - A Nite at Artesian Hall (American Music) The first is new - the "Black Friday" issue from a few months ago. The rest are originals from the 1950s.