John L

Mike: As it turns out, I do have a copy of that Denon CD. What you suspect is correct. The bonus tracks are nothing replications of the previous two tracks of One O'Clock Jump and Jumpin' With Symphony Sid, both of which were on the original LP. Strangely enough, the sound quality is different, suggesting that they may have come from another tape of the same concert. As usual, Japanese Denon (Savoy) takes the cake for careless packaging.

I am not sure that my copy of "Jazz Immortals" has any bonus tracks on it. I will check when I get home. Shrdlu: This is a private live tape that Savoy purchased a while back, and not a professional recording. It first came out in the Jazz Immortal series. I purchased it as an LP on Savoy in the 1970s called "Pres Lives." Even though it is not a professional recording, I consider it to be absolutely essential Pres, some of my favorite. Lester is in tremendous form on this one, especially on an extended 10-minute slow blues.

This 1968 Byard Lancaster session with Sonny Sharrock (g), Eric Gravatt (d), Jerome Hunter (bass), and Keno Speller (congas) was just reissued on Water Records (Water115). I had never heard it before and bought it out of curiousity. I find the session to be rather uneven, but the high points are quite striking. Lancaster has a very personal approach to the alto based on a nuanced and highly lyrical use of bends and slurs. Sonny Sharrock and Eric Gravatt give very tasty support throughout. This one is staying in my rotation for a while. Anybody else heard it?

That tune is a response to one of the baddest doo-wop songs ever; "Get A Job". Can't remember the groups name. It was a big urban hit. Hence the Miracles spin-off. I believe the group, Sha-Na-Na, derived their name from the opening of "Get A Job". If anyone can remember the name of that group, I would appreciate it. You are thinking of the Silhouettes.

And that reminds me of when Homer Simpson goes to the Frying Dutchman restaurant for all-you-can-east seafood. They kick Homer out and then he goes to attorney Lionel Hutz who tells him, "Mr. Simpson, this is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, 'The Never-Ending Story.' Episode 9F06 I find it amazing how many good one-liners they can fit into a single Simpson's episode.

The definition of "such things" would seem to be critical here. That sounds like one of those fantastic sharecropping deals that they used to offer ex-slaves in the South. After paying off the operating costs, land rent, and outstanding debts, you can keep 91% of the profits.... At any rate, it might help get your music more widely heard. I imagine that would be the real benefit.

E-music has been sending these out on a regular basis for a while. The fact that some vague notion of "reasonable usage" is put in the small print of a contract somehow leads E-music to believe that "unlimited downloads" is not false advertising. And what is "far beyond one's personal use" supposed to mean? Obviously, if someone purchases unlimited downloads for three months, he or she is going to continue listening to the acquired downloads after the three month period is over. I bet that it would not hold up in court. If they want to impose limits, then they should impose them explicitly. It sorts of reminds me of the restaurant where I ate on Saturday. They have a huge advertisement on the road. "Fresh Crab: All You Can Eat for $25" The "small print" when you get there is that they impose a 2 hour limit. That may sound like more than enough time to eat all the crab you want. NOT! They start counting the time from when you are seated. They don't rush to take your order. Then only bring you a few small crabs for "starters" and make it extremely difficult to get their attention after that. If you do get your order in, you have to wait a long time again before getting a couple more crabs. Before you know it, you have burned a full two hours and you are still hungry.

I like this one too. Fred Jackson had a lot of soul in his horn. Does anyone know what happened to him?

This CD contains remakes, not the original recordings: AMG review. My bad. Scratch that from the list, then. Hey, don't scratch that one so soon. As long as its the real Sonny Til et al, I'm game!

Nice list! It would be nice to get an Orioles collection on that list. One of my favorite Doo Wop disks is The Orioles, "So Much Feeling" (Blue Moon BMCD-3054) I guess that Blue Moon might fall into the category of bootlegs, however. Fans of jazz-oriented Doo Wop should definitely check out early Four Tops recordings that were made before they were integrated into the Motown machine. Some of their earliest efforts have been included on Chess Doo Wop compilations. But I especially recommend the Tops' "Breaking Through (1963-1964)" that was released in Motown's Lost and Found series a few years back. Fantastic vocals, harmonies, and arrangements, done mostly under the leadership of the late and vastly underrated Lawrence Payton.

Chris: I don't know much about the "Official" label. I used to pick up Official disks at a store in Paris when I was living there. I know that Roots and Rhythm in El Cerrito, California tries to stock them. You might contact that store. It still lists the T.V. Slim disk, although it could already be out of stock. It is T.V. Slim, "Flat Foot Sam" (Offical 5660) http://www.rootsandrhythm.com/ Official has released a number of full disks of superb music from unjustly neglected artists. Some of my favorites are Jimmy Wilson and His All-Stars, "Jumpin' From Six to Six." (Official 5256) Intense down home minor key blues from California with Lafayette "Thing" Thomas on guitar. Absolutely brilliant! Music to die for! Baby Boy Warren, "Stop Breaking Down" (Official 5901) Classic post-WWII Detroit blues, some with Rice Miller "Sonny Boy Williamson" on harp. Papa Lightfoot and Sammy Myers, "Blues Harmonica Wizards" (Official 5254). Good early stuff from Myers, but it is the Lightfoot that needs to be heard to be believed. Incredible blues and (yes) jazz harp. Chuck Willis, "My Story" vol. 1 and 2 (Official 58301 and 58303) The early recordings. Top notch R&B There is also Smokey Smothers, "...Sings the Backporch Blues" (Official 779) Includes virtually all of Smothers' recordings, not just the "Backporch Blues" LP. Smothers is an interesting down home blues artist who has a cult of hard core fans. To be honest, I can enjoy him in small doses, although he wears thin on me rather fast. Freddy King does add some very tasty guitar to some of the tracks, however.

Official Records put out a whole 70-minute CD of T.V. Slim not long ago (Official 5660). Along with Flat Foot Sam, you get Flat Foot Sam #2, Flat Foot Sam is Back, Flat Foot Sam Meets Jim Dandy, and the rest of 'em. Actually, when T.V. wasn't doing the wide-inch-screen flat foot floogie, he could sing some really low down Louisiana swamp drag blues. There are plenty of those on this compilation.

I am not much of a Dave Douglas fan, but I sure like his contribution to Misha Mengelberg's Four in One.

This is too fantastic to believe. I have always stared at those pictures from the Town Hall concerts and though if only, if only, if only I could stare hard enough to actually hear something. I CAN'T WAIT! Rooster: The last newly-discovered Bird might be the 1952 Boston concert. But this is of another, much rarer vintage. This is previously unheard monumental jazz history. An if the music is as good as Jim S. says it is (and I believe that it is), all I can say is FUCKING HELL!

I just had a chance to hear the new Howard Tate. Quite a nice comeback record. The voice is still there. But I still want to know just how, in the year 2003, Ragovoy could persuade Tate to sing something as utterly foul as "She May Be White (But She Be Funky)." That one is even too awful to work as parody.

I heard somewhere that copy protection, at least the initial technology that was used, can interfere with sound quality. Is that still true with what they use today?

This is what I like about cyberspace. This thread reminded me that I hadn't listened to Extrapolation in roughly three years. So I threw it on. It was like discovering an old friend. Inspired music, indeed!

Thanks, Dr. J. I've never even heard that one before, and am more than intrigued.

Barry White was one of those special people who was unquestionably born for music. He had a whole world of sound in his head that he brought to life. As I understand, he hardly read or wrote (written) music. But he would come to the studio not only with abundant fresh compositions, but with complete orchestrations in his head, i.e. every part for every instrument in the Love Unlimited Orchestra. Barry White was unique. I am a fan, and I will surely miss him. RIP

If you ask me, this 1956 Paris concert was even stronger (recently rereleased in HighNote) Another piece of essential Lester that I just recalled: The 1940 jam session with Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian. Speaking of Pres and Charlie Christian, I also give VERY STRONG seconds to the recommendation for the Spiritual to Swing sessions. Also essential!

One of my favorites is the live date from 1950 that has been issued on Savoy under a number of different titles, most notably in the "Jazz Immortals" series. Pres was REALLY on for that date, especially for an extended sublime 10-minute slow blues. If you like the early Pres, try to find the titles he cut with Glenn Hardman and Lee Castle in the 1930s. The musical context is terrible, but somehow Pres manages to float above it all with some tremendous extended solos. He has more space here than usually was the case with Basie. I give strong seconds to the Classics series as opposed to the complete Decca. In fact, as brilliant as some of the Decca solos are, Pres plays a lot more on the Columbia material.

Well, the Aladdin recordings contains some of my very favorite music, and it would be very hard to find a better return on $20. Following the above advise and going for the Aladdin recordings would not be a bad move. Still, a strong argument can be made for the Proper Box as a much better introduction to Pres. This box, which contains twice as much music, includes a strong selection of the recordings that put Pres on the map, first with Basie, the KC6, and Billie, and then with small groups (including the Aladdin sessions). Masterpieces abound. You not only get more music for your money here, but a complete overview of Pres at his most brilliiant in many contexts. The majority of Pres' most celebrated work is here. The only serious argument that I could think of against the Proper box is that, if you eventually become a Pres freak like me, you will want it all and the Proper box will eventually become redundant. As an introduction to Pres, however, it looks unbeatable for quality and price.

I have always really liked Frankie Newton. He has a certain lyrical quality about his playing that I find very attractive. I would put him near the top of any list of underappreciated trumpet players. The Jasimine set is also beautiful and definitive. By the way, I don't think that Chuck's post was meant to be taken seriously. Newton may have been a Communist, but so what? More power to him. Some great jazz musicians have even been Republicans. (As tempted as I might be, I don't even draw the line there.)

Joel Dorn reissued that album in 1997 on a double 32-Jazz disk that also including the Roomful of Blues/Big Joe Turner date. It is now out of print but, as you say, not too hard to find. Good stuff!

Ah, to be 22 again. The paycheck isn't the only thing I would be picking up.