jazztrain

Columbia put out a lot more box sets. Here are some of them. There proably are more. Eddie Lang/Joe Venuti Billie Holiday (2 boxes) Gene Krupa Benny Goodman Original Sound of the 20s Fletcher Henderson Woody Herman Swing Street Thesaurus of Classic Jazz Jazz Odyssey (Sound of New Orleans, Harlem, Chicago in separate boxes) Jack Teagarden Echoes of the 30s Sweet Bands of the 30s Duke Ellington (2 boxes) Rare Big Band Sides Boswell Sisters There also were some French CBS boxes that may or may not have had U.S. counterparts, such as a Fred Astaire/movie soundtrack box, Jimmy Lunceford, and later Duke Ellington. Oh, and there were two large Count Basie boxes.

Allen: I'm almost certain that I remember seeing him in New Haven at a concert with Leo Smith in 1972 or 1973.

Most of the 78 era Affinity reissues (Harry James, Frankie Newton, Red Norvo, etc.) sounded kind of thin to me. I've generally replaced them with better sounding issues on other labels (Mosaic, hep, etc.) where possible.

I saw them as well. I seem to remember the dealer had several odd colored vinyl issues, some of them multi-colored. Can't remember now if the multi-colored one was on Blue Note or not. Can't recall for certain, but I think they were different colors.

Several possibilities to pass along to you for small group sessions on which Harry James was not the leader: Harry James is on the Lionel Hampton session for Victor on July 21, 1938. Others along on the date include Benny Carter and Herschel Evans. The four sides recorded are on the Mosaic Lionel Hampton box. James is on the two sides recorded live at the Hickory House in New York on January 20, 1939 as part of a jam session for which Alistair Cooke served as master of ceremonies. I have the sides on an Alamac LP, but I suspect they may be on a CD that a board member was offering a few days ago. James was on three separate Metronome All-Star bands recorded on various dates in 1940 and 1941. I have the material on LP but suspect that most or all of it has also been on CD. The tunes are King Porter Stomp, All-Star Strut, Bugle Call Rag, One O'Clock Jump, Royal Flush (2 takes), and Dear Old Southland. James is on a late Miff Mole data from February 17, 1937 issued on Brunswick and Vocalion. Four sides were issued. Midge Williams sings on three of them, Chick Bullock on the fourth. Two of the sides are on Frog 20. James is on several Teddy Wilson sessions for Brunswick, all of which are available on various hep cds. The April 23, 1937 session (four sides) includes Johnny Hodges and Buster Bailey as the other horns and are all on hep 1029. The July 30, 1937 session includes Benny Goodman and Vido Musso; all four sides from that date are also on hep 1029. The August 29, 1937 session yielded five sides (one not issued on 78), all of which are on hep 1035. The September 5, 1937 includes the superb "Just a Mood" (parts 1 and 2) and two other sides, all of which are also on hep 1035. Teddy Wilson sessions from October 31 and November 9, 1938 also include James and are on hep 1043.

Thanks Brownie!

Patti Bown? Does it sound like "bone" or like "brown" (without the "r")? I've always said "bone" but have never been sure.

Including the four EPs that he did for RCA in Sweden. And the odd sides that show up on some U.S. EPs. I think Fresh Sound issued a lot of that material, and a Swedish label (Gazelle?) put out the material from Sweden. There's a rather rare South African RCA album as well. His Brunswick/Coral material is actually more of a mess. A comprehensive and complete issue of that material would be welcome.

The Mosaic Select is the way to go with the Zeitlin Columbia material. You get the complete albums plus a fair amount of previously unissued material.

Of course! How about Jimmy Blanton and Scott LaFaro for that matter? For question two (more albums for Blue Note), I wish there were more Ike Quebec albums. Absolutely, and then one obvious name comes to mind: Charlie Christian.

Many good answers already -- Clifford Brown, Eric Dolphy, Wardell Gray, Booker Little. I'm trying to think of others who died far too young who showed great promise and potential. Here are a couple in response to the first question: Frank Teschemacher and Stan Hasselgard.

Boylston Street.

Found the following on line: When initially introduced, 12-inch LPs played for a maximum of 45 minutes, divided over two sides. However, in 1952, Columbia Records began to bring out extended-play LPs that played for as long as 52 minutes, or 26 minutes per side. These were used mainly for the original cast albums of some Broadway musicals, such as Kiss Me, Kate and My Fair Lady, or in order to fit an entire play, such as the 1950 production of Don Juan in Hell, onto just two LPs. The 52+ minute playing time remained rare, however, because of mastering limitations, and most LPs continued to be issued with a 30- to 45-minute playing time throughout the lifetime of their production. However, some albums would eventually exceed even the 52-minute limitation, with single albums going to as long as ninety minutes in the case of Arthur Fiedler's 1976 LP 90 Minutes with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, made by Radio Shack. However, such records had to be cut with much narrower spacing between the grooves, which allowed for a much smaller amount of dynamic range on the records, and meant that playing the record with a worn needle could damage the record. It also resulted in a much quieter sound. (Other notably long albums included La Monte Young's Dream House 78' 17", whose two sides were each just under 40 minutes; Bob Dylan's 1976 album Desire, with side two being just shy of thirty minutes; Brian Eno's 1975 album Discreet Music, whose A-side exceeded thirty minutes; and Todd Rundgren's Initiation, totalling 67:32 over two sides). Spoken word and comedy albums, not having a wide range of musical instrumentation to reproduce, can be cut with much narrower spacing between the grooves; for example, The Comic Strip, released by Springtime Records in 1981, has a Side A lasting 38:04 and a Side B lasting 31:08, for a total of 69:12.

Allen: Already noted by me three posts up and then confirmed by Ted. On the other hand, the quote attributed to me earlier today by jtaylor ("Interesting that the cover shown on the Amazon site is not the one on the disc. Hep advises that it was a mockup, and was changed because the photo was changed...") was not from me.

Well, Saturn was already taken.

Chris: It probably was "On the Streets of New York" which was issued as a 7-inch ep on Mars, which I believe was owned by Woody Herman.

Many of Scott Robinson's albums feature a plethora of instruments, many of them played by him, and many of them unusual or in unusual combinations.

Ted: I assume you mean Doug Pomeroy, not Herb. Looking forward to hearing this.

I have some partial information but won't have a chance to listen to the LP for a while to aurally confirm the information below or to get some leads on the other tracks. "Lonesome Road" (Side 1, #4) is by Max Kaminsky and His Windy City Six: Max Kaminsky (t), Miff Mole (tb), Pee Wee Russell (cl), Joe Sullivan (p), Jack Lesberg (b), George Wettling (d). Recorded in New York City, 1954. Issued also on various Concert Hall, Hall of Fame, and Jazztone LPs. From the same date are "Never Touched Me" (retitled as "New Orleans Joys" on MK 1001 (Side 2, #4)) and "Stuyvesant Blues" (retitled as "Midnight Blues" on MK 1001 (Side 2, #7)). Susie (Side 2, #1) is by Bud Freeman & His Summa Cum Laude Orchestra. New York City, March 25, 1940. Max Kaminsky (t), Brad Gowans (v-tb), Pee Wee Russell (cl), Bud Freeman (ts), Dave Bowman (p), Eddie Condon (g), Pete Peterson (b), Morey Feld (d). That's all I've traced so far. Information is from Bob Hilbert's Pee Wee Russell discography ("Pee Wee Speaks"). Other commitments loom, so that's all for now... Mine is also signed and dated (October 1978). Anyone have an unsigned copy? Those are probably less common.

Who knows, maybe it will displace the Rod Stewart standards albums that I've been subjected to at my dentist for the past several years...

Earl Bostic. Up There In Orbit.

Correct, Chuck! From Meeker's "Jazz on the Screen": >>> NIGHT TIDE / Curtis Harrington [motion picture] Title NIGHT TIDE [motion picture] Director Curtis Harrington Composer David Raksin Place of Publication/Creation USA Copyright Date 1961 Form motion picture Source Information from: "Jazz on the Screen" by David Meeker. Used with permission. Note Feature film (over 60 minutes). Songs "Seaweed" by Jimmy Bond; "The tell tale harp" by David Raksin. Personnel on Camera Jazz group in opening sequence:- Joe Gordon, trumpet; Paul Horn, flute; + acoustic double bass, drums. >>>

Carnivore: A few more points: - Mezzrow was a very limited player in most respects. His talents largely resided elsewhere. Having said that, he could play some effective blues choruses and did so in the recordings that he co-led with Bechet. - No one has mentioned Joe Marsala who I also like a lot. He built a personal style based in part on Jimmy Noone and in part on Pee Wee Russell. His legacy continues through Bobby Gordon. - Jimmy Dorsey (who I mentioned in the "favorite alto player" thread) also often gets overlooked on clarinet. He could do a remarkable Jimmie Noone imitation but had his own style that is recognizable on hundreds of hot dance records (and some not so hot ones as well). Many's the time I go "hey, that's Jimmy Dorsey!" on an otherwise unmemorable record. - Buddy (DeFranco) gets short shrift (the "cold player" rap from Leonard Feather). I've seen him many times over the years and have never not been moved by him.

Carnivore: Abe Schwartz played violin. You must be thinking of either Dave Tarras or Naftule Brandwein, each of whom played with Schwartz at various times.

Allen: I interviewed Buddy DeFranco, probably about 20 years ago, before one of his shows at the Regattabar in Cambridge (Massachusetts) and remember asking him if there were any great "unknown" clarinetists. One of the few that he mentioned was Schildkraut. I remember searching later, largely without success, for any recorded examples of his playing clarinet. I think I found something on one of the Jazz Studio (Ralph Burns?) Decca LPs but don't think that he soloes. Do you know of anything that he recorded on the instrument? DeFranco also mentioned a Philadelphia player (Billy Krechmer). I saw Art Pepper slightly later, also either at Paul's Mall or at the adjacent Jazz Workshop. He only played alto. In the same vein, I remember asking (somewhat presumptuously, in retrospect) Phil Woods if he'd ever consider recording an album entirely on clarinet. His response" "I just did." It was the duo album on Philology with Irio de Paula. Also - Boston, 1975 or '76. I was at Pauls Mall, a jazz club, talking with Art Pepper, when a kid comes over and says, "hey Art, do you still play the clarinet?" Pepper looks at me, smiles, takes the kid's clarinet and plays a bunch of runs - and then takes it on stage and plays an incredible blues on the instrument, very boppish but with a lot of his personal feel. Wow.