jazztrain

For many years, the mere presence of Wynton Kelly on a session was enough of a reason for me to buy it. Needless to say, this resulted in many purchases.

Accoridng to some information on the web, Sound Enterprises was in Hollywood, California and was owned by Leo de Gar Kulka. Frankly, I consider the Crown series to be superior to the Time-Life series. Time-Life are note-for-note recreations of big band classics, with little room for creativity. The Crown series are loosely based on the originals, with arrangements that vary from similar to radically different, and with many great soloists - not only many members of the original bands, but guest appearances by top soloists, and even a couple of vocals by BB King! In a number of instances, arrangements are expanded to allow more solo space. While these may not please the nostalgia audience, the music stands on its own much better. The original pressings of this series were packaged like audiophile recordings, with a lot of space on the back touting the stereo process, and the records are on red vinyl. I don't know if these were sold at budget prices originally, but within a couple of years they ended up in the cheap Crown series with the noisy pressings. If you can find clean copies of the originals, they sound great! I've even seen reel-to-reel tapes of some of the early Crowns, so clearly they were going after the growing audiophile market originally. They also say "Recorded at Sound Enterprises". Has anybody ever heard of this studio?

You may also be missing one side of Odalisque.

I think I've seen this item offered before. The description and disclaimer are familiar. I suspect it didn't sell the last time.

PHILLQ: I was just reading this thread and the phrase "diminishing returns" quickly popped into my head before coming to your post. My experience is that it typically gets more and more difficult (and often expensive) to find each successive item needed as you approach "completeness" for an artist. It's often an elusive goal for artists who are still playing and for those for whom live tapes exist. In many cases, the rarest and most elusive items are somewhat disappointing. In many cases, the items are rare because they sold poorly when originally issued. In many cases, the recordings may not have been all that compelling to begin with, thus lessening the chances of them being reissued. I can think of at least a few cases in which I've tracked down albums after 20 or more years of searching, only to find, once I heard them, that they were nothing special musically. I think a lot of us fall victim to the desire or need to possess everything by an artist, much as stamp or coin collectors, for example, want to fill up an album or run a series. The excitement of the hunt often blinds us to what we really need. However, having said that, there's still a wealth of amazing music that is hard to find and that has never been reissued. Thus, the hunt continues!

Thanks Chuck. Fixed the link above. Bad week for guitarists...

Link to obit in New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/arts/mus...8lucie.html?hpw

This website indicates that "Easy Living" was included in both the 1937 and the 1949 films of the same name: http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions-0/easyliving.htm

Lazaro: I've never heard the 1944 session. The Johnny Dunn records are worthwhile. I have the four sides from the March 13, 1928 Johnny Dunn session on a VJM LP (VLP 27 - Doc Cook / Johnny Dunn). Bushell solos on all four tunes, on alto sax on "Sergeant Dunn's Bugle Call Blues" and on clarinet on the other three ("Ham and Eggs", "Buffalo Blues", and "You Need Some Loving"). It almost sounds like a soprano saxophone on "You Need Some Loving" but it's probably clarinet. It all has the feel of a Jelly Morton session. Morton is credited as composer on two of the tunes ("Ham and Eggs" and "Buffalo Blues"), and many features of the arrangements clearly have his touch. Bushell is also on a slightly later Johnny Dunn session (without Morton). The two sides were reissued on an Arcadia LP.

Lazaro: Morton and Bushell both appear on a March 13, 1928 session for Columbia by Johnny Dunn and His Band. I know this is not a "Morton" session but wanted to pass along the information for completeness. The identify of the mystery clarinet player on the March 5, 1930 session by Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers has been the subject of debate for years. Here's some information from Laurie Wright's "Mr. Jelly Lord": >>> "Brian Rust talked to Wilbur de Paris about this session in the company of Omer Simeon in the dressing room at Ryan's. After considerable thought Wilbur de Paris suggested that the clarinet might be Ernie Bullock, a suggestion with which Omer Simeon agreed. Wilbur de Paris stated that different reed men were used for all the 1930 sessions in which he participated, and aural evidence lends some support to this statement. In the past, Omer Simeon, Albert Nicholas, Eddie Barefield, Barney Bigard, Garvin Bushell, George Baquet and Russel Procope have been suggested as participants. All have denied their own presence and have sometimes been able to show that they were otherwise engaged. In any case, aural evidence does not tie in with what we know of their work. When questioned about the clarinet in 1935 by Ken Hulsizer, Morton himself said it was a white man employed by Victor as a house musician, who, although he played the notes and tried hard, just didn't have it in him. This may have been a leg-pull, but if not, it seems strange that none of the musicans who have been interviewed have recalled recording with a white musician at a time when 'mixed' session were still relatively uncommon. It is equally strange that Morton should have persisted with a man who, on his own admission, was unable to play the way Morton wished, and for this reason alone, it is unlikely that the 'white man', if he was used at all, is on more than one of the three March dates." >>> I may have some other information on this if I can put my hand on it. If so, I'll post more. - Jon

The Jazz Discography website lists the following two sessions (likely the ones that mikeweil mentioned several years ago). Perhaps it's one of these: Grant Green and others Grant Green (g) and others NYC, August 5, 1965 65VK427 Iron City March Verve unissued 65VK428 Angel - 65VK429 Fat Judy - 65VK430 Samba De Orfeu - 65VK431 Chim Chim Cheree - Grant Green and others Grant Green (g) and others: same personnel NYC, September 1, 1965 65VK458 Things Ain't What They Used To Be Verve unissued 65VK459 Moon Over All - 65VK460 I Can't Stop Loving You - 65VK461 High Heel Sneakers - 65VK462 Blues Train - 65VK463 Sunday, Monday Or Always - 65VK464 Fever - 65VK465 Dream - 65VK466 Uptown -

There's a mention of Sonny Salad in Stephen Taylor's "Fats Waller on the Air" in reference to a performance of "Always" on a September 18, 1937 "Saturday Night Swing Club" broadcast. An excerpt from Bob Inman's diary refers to "11 year old Sonny Salad from Schenectady, playing a fair clarinet" on the tune backed by the band. There's also a reference to Sonny Salad likely being a member (on reeds and flute) of the Sinatra Symphonette, a group that backed Sinatra on the twice weekly "To Be Perfectly Frank" program that aired on the Blue Network (and later on AFRTS) from late 1953 to the spring of 1955. Here's a link (see FAQ 4): http://www.songsbysinatra.com/faq/faq_b3.html

Brownian Motion wrote: >>> The names of some of the people in the band sound familiar, and I was wondering if anyone knew what some of these guys went on to do. Butch Waller Chris Boutwell Ed Neff Bruce Nemerov Elon Feiner >>> Just finished a project, so I have a few minutes to see what's out there before starting something else. Here goes, since you asked: Here's a link to a page with some information on the album you reference: http://www.discogs.com/High-Country-Dreams/release/1546513 Here's a link to a page with information on another album by the group: http://www.discogs.com/High-Country-High-C...release/1545369 Butch Waller is the leader of "High Country": http://highcountrybluegrass.com/ So, "High Country" still survives after all these years. Chris Boutwell plays (or played) with the "High Lonesome Bluegrass Band": http://www.highlonesomeband.com/AboutUs.asp Ed Neff is the leader of "Ed Neff & Friends": http://www.edneff.com/about-ed.html Here's some information on Bruce Nemerov: http://brucenemerov.pbworks.com/ Elon Feiner is a bit more problematical. One site indicates he was on the two High Country albums referenced above and that he also used the name "Lonny Feiner." Another site provides the following: "Elon Feiner was the bassist for High Country (Butch Waller’s bluegrass band) when they released their 1972 album on Raccoon Records. Lonnie Feiner has since moved to Portland, OR and continues to play bluegrass, sometimes under the name Eldon Finger. " There is a Elon Feiner in Portland, Oregon. Probably the same guy. Or the same four guys. That's enough, lest I be accused of being a "High Country" stalker. Where should I send my bill?

Another one worth checking out is the "Legendary Little Theater Concert." The story, as I recall, is that his appearance there and the subsequent album really helped bring him to back in the public eye after a period of relative neglect.

I got one several years ago from KAB: http://www.kabusa.com/slbd78.htm

Presumably these are drawn from the Audiophile LPs. Dare I ask if this set is complete?

To close the loop on this, here's the CD listing from Tommy T along with notations providing the LP from which each track came (where 1-A-2, for example, refers to Volume 1, Side A, track 2). The conclusion is that the 3-CD set provides everything on the four MJR LPs, albeit in a somewhat different order. Disc: 1 1. Love You Madly 1-A-1 2. Sophisticated Lady 1-A-2 3. I'm Beginning to See the Light 1-A-3 4. Black and Tan Fantasy 3-A-1 5. Warm Valley 1-A-4 6. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me 1-A-5 7. "C" Jam Blues 1-B-1 8. Caravan 3-A-3 9. Everything But You 1-B-2 10. Mood Indigo 1-B-3 11. Just Squeeze Me 3-B-1 12. Come Sunday 1-B-4 Disc: 2 1. The Creole Love Call 4-A-1 2. I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues 4-A-2 3. The Shepherd 4-A-3 4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore 2-A-3 5. Black Butterfly 4-B-1 6. Take Love Easy 4-B-2 7. The Jeep is Jumping 4-B-3 8. Heaven 4-B-4 Disc: 3 1. In a Mellotone 2-A-1 2. Solitude 2-A-2 3. It Don't Mean a Thing 2-B-1 4. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart 2-B-2 5. Satin Doll 2-B-3 6. In a Sentimental Mood 2-B-4 7. Don't You Know I Care 3-A-2 8. I'm Just a Lucky So and So 3-A-4 9. Prelude to a Kiss 3-B-2 10. All Too Soon 3-B-3

My recollection is that there were four LPs on MJR of this material (two of them as a "two-fer" plus two single LPs). Anyone know if this CD reissue is complete?

Perhaps. There are these two sessions on Verve with Torme and Whiting, but I'm not sure that they would be described as "duo" recordings: >>> Mel Torme And Margaret Whiting With Russ Garcia Orchestra Mel Torme, Margaret Whiting (vo) Russ Garcia Orchestra Los Angeles, CA, November 9, 1960 23361-7 All You Need Is A Quarter Verve MGV 2146 23362-6 Waldcat-Tall Hopes - 23363-10 Hey Look Me Over Verve V 10230, MGV 2146 23364-4 Do-Re-Me / Fireworks Verve MGV 2146 * Mel Torme/Margaret Whiting - Broadway Right Now! (Verve MGV 2146) * Margaret Whiting/Mel Torme - Hey Look Me Over c/w What's New At The Zoo (Verve V 10230) Mel Torme And Margaret Whiting With Russ Garcia Orchestra Mel Torme, Margaret Whiting (vo) Russ Garcia Orchestra: same personnel Los Angeles, CA, November 10, 1960 23365-8 If I Ever Would Leave You Verve MGV 2146 23366 (Camelot) I Loved You Once In Silence - 23367 (Irma La Douce) Our Language Of Love - 23368 Far Away From Home (Angelina) - 23369 Cry Like The Wind - 23370 Make Someone Happy - 23371 From A Prison Cell - 23372 What's New At The Zoo Verve V 10230, MGV 2146 * Mel Torme/Margaret Whiting - Broadway Right Now! (Verve MGV 2146) * Margaret Whiting/Mel Torme - Hey Look Me Over Do you think that should be "Mel Torme Verve"?

The "original" issues of many of the Columbia LP box sets include rather nice booklets and generally have much better sound than the later reissues. The later reissues, as you note with the Swing Street box, omit the original booklets, have the discographical information printed on the box, and, in some cases, have inferior sound.

I seem to remember commenting on this issue in last year or so. There's a distinctive "whistle" that is audible on lots of Victor 78s. It becomes more and more prominent as you go deeper into the record. Many people who have lost the ability to hear high frequencies don't notice it, but it's definitely there. In fact, one way to tell if an engineer has lopped off too many of the highs on a transfer from a Victor 78 is the absence of the whistle. Chuck is right; the "whistle" is in the original master. I just purchased a cache of mostly unreissued (or poorly reissued) jazz 78s and began to play them at home last night. Once again, I was blown away by how good they sound. Yes, there's some surface noise at times, but if you listen through the surface noise, there's a wonderful life-like warmth and presence to the sound, almost like you're right there at the performance. The shrillness on many CD transfers is due to excessive filtering of the highs.

Carol Sloane is still alive and singing.

Send them up here (along with the others). I'll play them for you!

Augustin: I can supply a copy of the review of the Morse Auditorium concert from the Boston Globe if you want or need it.

Tom McIntosh. I distinctly remember seeing musicians like Tommy Flanagan, Milt Jackson, and perhaps James Moody, among others who always seemed to play at least one of his tunes.