mikeweil

That edition of the Tjader Quintet played short sequences in two motion pictures made in 1957, The Big Beat and Salute To Song. It also appeared on the tv show Stars of Jazz (# 32) on February 11, 1957, see James Harrod's blog on Calliope Records. There is a tv recording from Paul Marshall's Club Night (the other band is a Milt Jackson Quartet) with Clare Fischer made sometime in 1978: http://youtu.be/iiEBUJtWB5M There is more, but buried under truckloads of youtube clips with just pics accompanying clips dubbed from discs ...

The problem is that "vulgar" is a more or less derogatory term when used in such a way, implying that jazz rhythm sections were more "sophisticated", "refined" or whatsoever. I dare say that jazz fans or critics/writers using such terms do not fully understand how African American ryhthm functions. On a superficial level, Afro-Cuban rhythm is closer to African than Jazz rhythm - and here comes the whole out of date thing about African music being "primitive", "primal" etc. in comparison, which is, please forgive me, total nonsense ignorant of the ingenious development of African and Afro-American music (of which jazz is a part, too, but with comparatively higher European influences). There are many things in the rhythms of Machito's or any other Afro-Cuban rhythm section that are very sophisticated and there are many more jazz musicians who have no idea how it works than who have. It's the European part of our education that still makes many music fans downplay the importance of rhythm, and it's not really helpful in appreciating rhythm all by itself. Re: Bauzá - Machito himself has been reported to have said that Mario Bauzá was the music's architect, he himself was just the mason. It was Machito's Band, he was the frontman and gave the opportunity, but Bauzá created the arrangements, and most importantly, the guajeos. But it took the singer and all the band members to bring it to life, especially the rhythm section with one of the greatest son pianists, René "Flaco" Hernandez, bassist Bobby Rodriguez, bongocero José Mangual, congero Luis Miranda, and timbalero Ubaldo Nieto (all heard on the track with Howard McGhee). Jim, this is worth checking out - McGhee and Brew Moore blow on top of the Cuban brew just like Bird did. There is a nice Tumbao CD with most of this stuff: On the cover, from left to right, Machito, his sister Craciela, and Mario Bauzá.

I, too, can see the ads but not the widget ... p.s. okay, I got it now ...

The release of this double CD was almost cancelled as the label couldn't identify some of the tunes. I offered my help and had them all within a few minutes. Tjader biographer contributed some info on the band and time span, helping them correct the personnel and all. This is a very causual gig with lots of tinkling an talking between tunes. A great opprotunity to hear lengthy solos from everybody and the only live recording of that Tjader band with Luis Kant, an excellent underrated conga drummer (the same band without Kant recorded Jazz At The Blackhawk). Read more in the liner notes and in the upcoming Tjader biography, scheduled for release in late spring 2013 (I contributed the discographical part). The tapes, btw, come from a Californian collection of radio broadcasts etc. - there are some great shows to check out. http://www.acrobatmusic.net/

From James Harrod's blog: SHOW #7 AUGUST 6, 1956 The Buddy DeFranco Quintet: Buddy De Franco, clarinet; Marty Paich, piano; Howard Roberts, guitar; Ralph Peña, acoustic double bass; Frank De Vito, drums. Lucy Ann Polk, vocal. http://callioperecor...3015-james.html The personnel listings on the Calliope LPs often were educated guesses assuming the bands that had recorded similar repertoire at the time had played on the shows - the De Franco session is another case where a totally different band was on the show. The Definitive CD copies the wrong personnel listing, although they correct the misidentification of "Now's The Time"; but the people running that label seemingly had no idea how the material on the Callope LPs came into existence.

Thanks Chris, for that explanation. I'd say there are some guys in charge who think they know better, or have no idea about the masters you had stored, and have modern spoiled ears, or any combination of that. I would have loved to get the Columbia double LPs with Chris' comments back then, but you never could be sure you would get all of them here in Germany, and I hated gaps in such collections - for the same reason I never got the nice Lester Young and Billie Holiday twofers released around that time. The Zweitausendeins box set was a bargain I could afford. I will give it a spin later today ... Amazon states the JSP's will be produced as CDRs on demand?! I think I will try some FRog CD first ... John R.T. Davies is the man. I went for the JSP Satchmo he did two weeks ago, and what I hear is more than all right with me.

Is there any of the Bessie Smith Frog CDs the experts here would recommend for starters? I tend to listen/buy in chronological order, but in this case I would prefer starting with some musical highlight.

James Harrod wrote about everything one wants to know about the Callope LPs on his magnificent blog on the subject: http://callioperecords.blogspot.de/ Be careful with Lord - while it's a useful piece of work, there inevitably are numerous errors contained.

I was afraid so ....

Well, the trio with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier is hard to top, but I love the Atlantic LPs of the 1980's with Herlin Riley, too - Rossiter Road in particular. Riley plays rather heavily on Blue Moon, maybe he was requested to do so? I dunno. When I saw Jamal a few years ago with Idris Muhammad, he was more precise and focussed than on this new album. I may be picky, but that's only due to the level Jamal himself has set.

This one interests me:

I've got his Xanadu LP and the albums with Raeburn - I must admit I always liked his voice and phrasing much better than Sinatra's .... R.I.P.

I've got the LP box set that Zweitausendeins licensed from Columbia. It came without any booklet, just ten LPs in the box in plain white paper sleeves - that's why I got the Bessie Smith Companion and Chris Albertson's book. There's a note in very small print on the back saying "Produced by John Hammond . Chris Albertson" - so that should be said 1970's Columbia remastering?

The Camel : Bosse Broberg, Bertil Lovgren (tp) Idrees Sulieman (tp,as) Christer Boustedt (as) Bernt Rosengren, Goran Ostling (ts) Sahib Shihab (bar) Goran Lindberg (p) Bjorn Alke (b) Ivan Oscarsson (d) Ole Jacob Hansen (perc) Fredrik Noren (perc-1) Jamila Sulieman (vcl,perc-2) Stockholm, Sweden, March 19, 1964 The camel (1) Col (Swd)SSX1008 Dawud's bossa nova (1) - Sad and strange (js vcl) - Long for the blues (2) Idrees Sulieman (tp,as) Bernt Rosengren (ts-3) Lars Sjosten (p) Bjorn Alke (b) Fredrik Noren (d) Stockholm, Sweden, March 20, 1964 Blues for Emanon (3) Col (Swd)SSX1008 I remember Clifford - I'll remember April -

Now there's a rarity .....

Basra is among the legendary 1960's Blue Note albums - I was glad when I finally located a copy of a Japanese reissue in the 1980's. I remember how myterious the Douglas LP sounded to me back then. Another legend has passed ... R.I.P.

Mingus' illegal daughter?

Nice idea - that was a very good band, even better when I saw them in person. That could become my first ECM purchase in years

I'll send another helping in a few days.

Yes!!! I wonder why Cuscuna did not include them on the CD reissue of that fine album ... I guess he had no idea.

Oh those darned typos (in my post, that is ...)

DL for me, too - although I have not much hope that my commitments will allow for extended listening nor comments. Besides normal work chores, we will move home to a different part of town starting next week, so for me, stress galore will continue right until the end of this year. But nevertheless, some nice music is always fine .... Just send the links to my pm box, which always has some space left for a download link ...

I know you're not too serious about that suggestion, but it really is not, as those "modern" harpsichords tuned to a=440 Hz, high string tension, case and soundboard construction adapted from modern grand pianos sound pretty awful - when they were built, our knowledge about harpsichord construction between 1600 and 1800 was not as advanced as it is now. Ancient harpsichords have far more overtones and a much richer sound. I'll look for harpsichord recital recommendations in Zurich in the magazines I subscribed - try and go hear a good instrument live.

Good to read he's well taken care of ... all the best on the way.