jazztrain

Perceptions and taste can change over time. I remember not being especially moved by the album when I bought it years ago on LP, but it grew on me slowly over the years. I revisited it after picking up the CD earlier this year and liked it a lot more, especially the writing for the woodwinds that mikeweil previously noted.

I remember liking UMMG a lot.

Ghost: That's odd. My CD has the personnel listed and also credits Fischer with the arrangements (which, I agree, are quite nice). It appears to be one of those Polygrams made in West Germany (817 107-2). It's a 1984 reissue, but I recall finding it used earlier this year.

Kalo: I was about to recommend "Folk Jazz" and just noticed that you already had (see below). If you're interested in Bill Smith, you might also check out some of his other recordings which include: - "Concerto for Clarinet and Combo" (issued as one side of a Shelly Manne record on Comtemporary) - "The American Jazz Ensemble in Rome" (RCA) - "The American Jazz Ensemble - New Dimensions" (Epic) I also have some more recent recordings that he did with Enrico Pieranunzi. By the way, he also has recorded several albums of modern classical music under his full name (William O. Smith). Been listening to Music to Listen to Red Norvo By semi-obsessively over the past few months. An excellent record (with a Duane Tatro composition as a bonus!) that sounds to me like a west equivalent of the MJQ, with added horns (Smith on clarinet, Buddy Collette on flute). Smith's playing is excellent on this one, as it is on another OJC I bought only a few weeks ago, Folk Jazz by the Bill Smith Quartet - Smith on clarinet with Jim Hall, Monty Budwig, and Shelly Manne - playing a range of folk material from old English tunes to American spirituals. An overlooked gem. I'll have to check out his stuff with Brubeck.

I've been listening to music from the entire Ella Fitzgerald song box CD box on my Ipod while driving to and from work the last few weeks and finally finished. Two items stand out as particularly moving: - "I Didn't Know About You" (from Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1), and - "I Remember You" (from Ella Fitzgerald Sings Johnny Mercer Songbook)

Jeff: Ironically, I just read something about the Leadbelly/Golden Gate Quartet session last night in the recent "Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways" (Richard Carlin). His take on the session, as I recall, is that the GGQ was too "uptown" or sophisticated for Leadbelly and that they really weren't compatible. That struck me as a bit odd, and I made a note to go back and revisit the session. One of my favorites. The track that is getting to me right now gets to me every time I play it - the 1940 RCA recording of "Midnight Special" by Leadbelly and the Golden Gate Quartet. This can be such a silly, throwaway song if it's not done well, but this version has the perfect feel and tempo. It's especially touching if you know the story behind it - the Midnight Special ran on the Southern Pacific tracks near the prison at Sugarland, Texas, and the inmates believed that if you were lucky enough to have the train's headlight shine on you, you would soon go free.

This site gives 1968 as the recording date: Dillards Perhaps it was recorded before Mitchell left. Some sources suggest that Mitchell moved overseas so that he could concentrate on playing jazz. To update the earlier post, the original LP issue was on Together STT 1003. The initial CD reissue in 1992 was on Sierra OXCD 6008. A later (2004) CD reissue, with bonus tracks, was on Rural Rhythm RHY 1022. There's always the possibility that it was another Red Mitchell. However, here's a link to the CD liner notes to another Dillards album: CD Liner Notes Note the following quote (appears to be from their producer John Dickson): >>> "I was not so much looking for a fusion between folk and rock, but ways to enhance folk music," he elaborated in the author's 2002 book Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution. "At first, using jazz musicians Red Mitchell, Jimmy Bond, Bud Shank, Billy Higgins, and Frank Butler, and sometimes cello. I wanted more music: countermelodies from the bass instead of just playing changes. This was followed by [David] Crosby [playing] with [guitarist] Tommy Tedesco, [drummer] Earl Palmer, [and bassist] Ray Pohlman. The above musicians and Glen Campbell [with whom the Dillards played on two Dickson-produced 1964 LPs credited to the Folkswingers] were among those I made experiments with, looking for sounds to support folksingers. Working with the Dillards convinced me that better players were possible, as well as [of] the virtues of group singing." >>>

From the hillbillyhollywood.com website: >>> In 1969 Doug recorded "The Banjo Album" - (Together Records) which featured The Original Gang of Four - (Don Parmley, Byron Berline, and David Lindley), (which also had an unbilled Gene Clark, John Hartford, Red Mitchell, Milt Holland, Andy Belling and Don Beck). >>> The album was reissued in 2004 on CD with four bonus tracks on the Rural Rhythm label: The Banjo Album

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