jeffcrom

One more before bed: Art Tatum - Complete Brunswick & Decca Recordings 1932-1941 (Affinity); disc three. I don't like the mastering of this set - all the surface noise has been filtered out, leaving the music sounding kind of hollow. But I can live with it for the chance to hear this incredible music in its entirety.

Jump Jackson J.J. Johnson Bones Howe

Frank Bridge Otis Spann Lafayette Leake

Pee Wee Russell Plays (Dot stereo). A gorgeous 1959 album of Pee Wee's compositions.

Dizzy Gillespie with Joe Carroll - Lady Be Good/Kenny Clarke - Klook Returns (Dee Gee) Then all my James Moody shellac: Lester Leaps In/Out of Nowhere (Prestige) Embraceable You/Two Fathers (Prestige) Workshop/Keepin' Up With Jonesy (Prestige) Serenade in Blues/Moody's Home (Mercury) The first two are with Swedish bands. "Two Fathers" is subtitled "James Moody vs. Lars Gullin;" it's in the "Battle of the Saxes" series. This is kind of ridiculous, because it's a mellow record on which Moody and Gulling trade choruses on tenors.

Paris Reunion Band - For Klook (Gazell). A Seattle find. This is my first listen, and so far the music seems like less than the sum of its parts.

The N'Orleans Statesmen (Art of Jazz). The album that "won" the Album Covers with Gratuitous Punctuation thread. Thanks for the info, Chuck.

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm grateful for all my friends here - those I've met, those I haven't; even those who aggravate me sometimes. Hope everyone has a great 2015.

What label is that on, Chuck? Back from the gig, and much to my surprise, what I wanted to hear was: Sonny Rollins - Nucleus (Milestone). Inferior mid-1970s Rollins of the kind decried in a recent thread. But then, there's "Azalea," the last tune on side one, on which Newk plays a strange, twisted solo that had me shaking my head in wonder. And that's why I listen to "inferior," post-1970 Rollins.

Crossing into Canada is usually quick and painless; getting back across the border is a pain in the ass. I've spent two minutes going north and an hour and a half going back south at the same crossing. And a petty and personal complaint - I want a Swedish stamp in my passport! I've been to Sweden four or five times, depending on how you count, and nobody has ever once looked at my passport, much less stamped it. All my entries were from other Scandinavian countries, so I guess everyone just figured visitors from those countries were okay. The border crossing just north of Lynden, Washington, where my brother-in-law lives, was the scene of one of those rare, immensely satisfying incidents that seldom happen in one's life. While crossing back into the U.S., I waited in a long, slow-moving line of cars for over an hour. When I was finally almost to the gate, a van zoomed up in the emergency lane on my right and pulled in front of me before I was able to close the gap with the car in front. I was mad. But a minute later, a very polite Canadian officer walked up and motioned for me to roll down my window. "Excuse me sir; did that car pull in front of you?" "Why, yes, officer; he did." "Was he driving in the emergency lane?" "Why, yes, officer; he was." The officer thanked me, walked up to the van, and, no longer polite, pointed to the driver and yelled, "Pull over!" I cheered.

One of my favorites by the Hodges/Davis pairing. Richard Davis and Grant Green!

Lou Donaldson - Back Street (Muse). Live in Paris, 1982.

Charles Brackeen's Rhythm X, from the Clifford Jordan box.

1920s jazz today, from the silly to the sublime, and points in between. Lanin's Southern Serenaders - Shake It and Break It/Aunt Hagar's Children Blues (Emerson, 1921). Kind of an "important" record in early white New York jazz, with Phil Napoleon, Doc Behrendson on clarinet and Jimmy Durante (!) on piano. Connorized Jazz Hounds - Shake It and Break It Blues/Aunt Hagar's Children's Blues (Connorized, 1921). The same tunes by the same band, recorded for a different label. Connorized Jazz Hounds = Ladd's Black Aces = Lanin's Southern Serenaders. Make sense? Jazz-Bo's Carolina Serenaders - Hot Lips/Country Club Orchestra - Broadway Blues (Muse, 1922). The above group has now morphed into the Original Memphis Five, although under another pseudonym here. The anonymous dance band on the flip side is not bad - not jazz, but jazzy. Clarinet Joe and his Hot-Footers - Rabbit Foot Blues/What Kind of Man is You (Harmony, 1925). Clarinet Joe is Percy Glascoe, who recorded a few times between 1924 and 1926. This is the "silly" referred to above. Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra - Four or Five Times/Every Evening (Vocalion, 1928). With Earl Hines. This and the record below are both very worn, but I play them occasionally for the "cool" factor. King Oliver and His Dixie Syncopators - Someday Sweetheart/Dead Man Blues (Vocalion, 1926). I love guest Johnny Dodds on "Sweetheart." King Oliver and His Orch. - Stingaree Blues/Shake It and Break It (Bluebird, rec. 1930, issued c. 1940). This is a reissue, but it's in really nice shape - great music and great sound. Both Oliver and Red Allen solo on each side - a very cool contrast.

I sense more shellac in my future this afternoon, but this morning I did a 78 RPM tribute to Buddy DeFranco: Tommy Dorsey - Tom Foolery (RCA Victor). DeFranco doesn't solo on this trumpet feature (Charlie Shavers, it sounds like), but plays in the sax section. Metronome All Stars - Overtime/Victory Ball (RCA Victor) Buddy DeFranco and his Orchestra - Out of Nowhere/Dancing on the Ceiling (MGM). Bland arrangements, but DeFranco's improvising is uncompromising. He is particularly impressive on "Nowhere." Buddy DeFranco and his Quartet (sic - a quintet) - Pennywhistle Blues/Buddy's Blues (MGM). "Pennywhistle" is kind of gimmicky, with DeFranco staying in the upper register to suggest the instrument in the title. "Buddy's Blues" is really good, with an excellent Jimmy Raney chorus.

I think it's French for what we call DIY. Do you say DIY in the States, too? We do use that acronym, not really in an education sense (at least, that's how it seems to me). I think we would use the word eclectic to describe DIY referring to education. People use DIY here to refer to doing household jobs - such as painting, decorating or repairs - yourself, rather than call out - and pay - a specialist. That's how we colonists use it as well.

After listening to a mid-forties Tommy Dorsey side this morning, a question occurred to me. Does anyone know which alto part DeFranco played during his tenure with Dorsey - lead or second? (Or third, as the second alto part is often labelled on charts.)

Ellington Small Groups, disc two.

The Bud Freeman Group (Stere-o-craft). Another Seattle find, and it's a beautiful thing - Bud with just rhythm section. The discographies say 1958 or '59, but I found a Billboard ad from November, 1957 for the tape issue.

For anyone with any interest in Ayler, this is jaw-dropping monument - not just another box set.

Warne Marsh/Clare Fischer/Gary Foster - Report of the 1st Annual Symposium on Relaxed Improvisation (Revelation). Home, with a nice little stack of records and CDs from Seattle and Bellingham. This one is fine music in mint condition.

Not a huge number of really inspiring concerts this year, but these were: Frode Gjerstad Trio with Steve Swell - Columbia, SC Jack Pearson - Nashville Ujdurma Balkanish (Balkan trio) - Hapeville, Georgia Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel (improv duo) - Hapeville, GA FLAP (avant-rock duo) - Mammal Gallery, Atlanta A bunch of stuff from my October trip to New Orleans, including the Panorama Brass Band on the streets of Bywater, Rebirth Brass Band at the Maple Leaf, Aurora Nealand at Maison, and David Doucet at the Columns Hotel. Not a lot of great shows, but some were among the best I've experienced.

Jimmy Lyons - The Box Set (Ayler)

That's a lot of good listening there! My friend bought the Clifford Jordan box and he loves it. I just spent my first of 3 Christmas celebrations at my sister's house in Ferndale, WA which is just north of Bellingham as you may know. Are you going to get time to head down to Old Town Antiques on Holly street for a little record shopping!? I used to love going there but have not had time to go there in many years...have many fond memories of record shopping in Bellingham at places like Golden Oldies, etc... Some of the wife's extended family lives in Ferndale. I spent an hour or so in Old Town Antiques six months ago, so I'll probably skip it this visit - I'm "allowed" a certain amount of time on my own, away from the family, and have to budget it. I like to hit Everyday Music in Bellingham every visit, because I always find some great CDs there. There is apparently an employee there who likes Brotzmann!

Okay, get this. My wife and I are having three Christmases this year. We're leaving tomorrow to spend actual Christmas with her family in northwestern Washington. When we get back we're going to have fake Christmas with my family here in Atlanta. But tonight we had our little personal Christmas/solstice celebration and exchanged presents. She had asked me what I wanted, and I said, "How about a Mosaic set?" I gave her a Mosaic catalog with the Ellington small groups and the Clifford Jordan sets checked. When I opened my gift, there were both of them - she couldn't decide. Tonight I listened to the excellent first disc of the Clifford Jordan, while loading all of the Ellington into my iPod to listen to on the trip. I think that the Ellington small group material is the "major-est" body of jazz from the 1930s that I didn't have in my collection - although I had heard it, thanks to a friend who gave me CDRs of the set.