John L

Apparently, there are no other known recordings of Ida G. Brown than those two. Those recordings were re-released on a number of lables, sometimes under the names of "Flora Dale," "Sadie Jones," and "Harmograph Ida and her Boys." "Jailhouse Blues" was apparently recorded in February, 1923. That is seven months before Bessie Smith's recording. Ray Smith's notes from the Piron Orchestra disc on Azure say the following: "Ida 'Baby Blues' Brown had broadcast with the Prion Orchestra on their second visit to New York, on station WJZ. Born about 1900, she was a theatre singer who appeared in various shows, including "Baby Blues" at the Lafayette Theatre in New Orleans, from which she received her nickname."

The sessions with Woody Shaw are a blast. Don't hesitate. Among live Freddie, "Above and Beyond" gets a lot of attention. (Take a look at Scott Yanow's over-the-top review for AMG.) I am not so excited by it, personally, but it is just about as huge a display of Hubbard's virtuosity on the horn as you will ever hear. It was supposed to be a quartet date, but the sax player never showed up. Freddie took everything into his own hands. With nights like that, you can understand why his lip didn't make it through the 90s. My own reservations about Above and Beyond are that it seems to deliver more on pyrotechnics than on substance (IMO). I like quite a bit the live disc with Jimmy Heath that was released a few years ago on the M label. For top flight Freddie, don't forget about the Hub of Hubbard.

Thanks. I would appreciate that. I don't know what this refers to. Maybe you can explain it to me. You are referring to his stay in prison, I presume? What implications you are drawing from that? The fact is, Jug got a bad rap. As a drug user (not dealer), they tried to make an example of him to scare others. As far as I am concerned, he was guilty of no crime at all. To me, "spiritual" refers to those elements of humanity and our existence that are too deep for us to comprehend in a usual conscious manner. I don't know. Do you? That is to say that an education in African-American history is enough to understand Gene Ammons without even knowing his biography? It seems to me that you are the one who is drumming up some sort of romantic image of Gene Ammons in your own mind. Maybe you should get a job in that "marketing/fandom industry" that you describe earlier. After all, "black man of the streets" sells a lot better these days in white suberbia than spirituality.

Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, I will put in a good work for this one - some of my favorite Fred, especially "Dark Day"

Well, come to think of it, they don't sound too romantic, do they? More seriously, I don't understand the point.

For all practical purposes, I am not sure if most of the Mingus Debut recordings are in print as we speak. I guess that the box set is still available. But I wonder when the last time was that Fantasy ran off a batch of the Mingus Rarities series? My guess is that Concord might make a 2-fer (they love 2-fers) of the Bohemia recordings and scrap the rest.

Bird played a great version of White Christmas at the Royal Roost in 1949.

Thanks, Brownie.

Given the fact that the Concord catalog is also available on emusic, I would doubt that the Fantasy catalog will disappear from there any time soon. Of course, you never know.

The Al Haig is essential (IMO).

That IS interesting. I have always really liked this date, although mostly due to Johhny Griffin and Blue Mitchell. That front line also graces Mitchell's Big Six and Griffin's The Little Giant. On Organ-izing, they get a chance to stretch out in a looser setting. It sure sounds good to me.

This superior date may not be on everybody's radar screen.

Well, except for "A Change is Gonna Come." That song IS Sam Cooke. I would add a few others as well. "Bring it on Home to Me" is my personal favorite song, not just of Sam Cooke but any singer. Then we have Good Times, That's Where It's At, Having a Party, Shake, and a few others. But there is much too little Sam Cooke, period. His murder was one of the most tragic events in music history. There was so much more to come. Sam had reached full artistic maturity and just obtained the artistic freedom from RCA that he needed. He was set to create the greatest soul music of all time. A Change is Gonna Come was just the beginning...and the end. RIP Sam Cooke

6 hours straight of MF? Now that would be a MF.

Damn. Now I feel guilty again.

I don't want to listen to Bill Evans and have no guilt whatsoever! Then you may not need the book.

ARRGG! I was more than halfway through the book and it somehow fell out of my briefcase on the Metro. But I am off to get another one. (Or maybe somebody stole it. It IS a hot item these days. ) I was really enjoying it, just great thoughtful writing from somebody who has really penetrated the music. Some of the shorter pieces strike me as masterpieces in miniature: the one on Philly Joe Jones, for example. The Hank Mobley section is quite nice. It really got me thinking and re-listening. Yea, that Bill Evans piece is deep, maybe a little too deep for me. I don't feel that I completely understood it. Yet I am always happy for anything that makes me feel less guilty for not wanting to listen to Bill Evans. John

I think that Gerry Mulligan's greatest pianoless quartet was the one with Art Farmer.

I forgot that Bill Coleman was even alive in 1979.

I have really come to appreciate Art Farmer over the years. Has anybody heard the 60s Sextet session that was just released on Lonehill? It looks like a great lineup.

Is this better than the first RH Factor CD? I like Hargrove in general and I like funk, but I found the first CD to be a consistent bore.

King Ubu: Yes, I do have that and enjoy it. But I actually like Gene Harris Trio + 1 even more. It has a bit more spark to it.

That's right. There is probably a better chance that Concord will keep jazz titiles in print than gospel. Fantasy was the only major company that devoted considerable energy to high quality reissues of classic gospel. That is a non-profit activity to be sure.