John L

RIP Strange coincidence. I've listened to a Carrie Smith record maybe three times in my life. For some reason, I put one on in the car this morning.

I never would have guessed. Where does that fit chronologically with your pursuit of blues, soul/R&B and gospel? Pete - At the time, I was listening mostly to soul/R&B, with a little bit of rock and blues as well. Grover Washington and Stanley Turrentine were getting play on FM R&B stations, as well as getting spun at parties that I was going to. Even though I already loved the blues back then, my deeper interest in vintage blues and gospel actually followed my initial fascination with jazz.

I remember that Grover Washington (Mr. Magic) and Stanley Turrentine (CTI recordings) got me interested enough in jazz to start looking in the back catalog. Maybe the most important single record was Louis Armstrong July 4, 1990/July 6, 1971 (A 2-LP collection of RCA recordings). The first Armstrong record that I bought was advertized as being "his greatest recording confirmed by Satchmo himself, bla, bla, bla." It turned out to be just the opposite - one of his weakest recordings live with the All Stars in the latter 60s in poor sound with very little trumpet. I felt disappointed, but fortunately didn't give up and bought another one: the RCA recordings. I still remember the shivers that went down my spine the first time that I heard Pops blow on those 1932 RCAs. There was no certainly turning back from there.

Yes, and if you want to economize a bit, their single disc collection contains almost all of the masters. I own the box, but play the single disc (without the multiple alternates and breakdowns) much more often.

For starters, you might try The BB King Kent series is also wonderful, my favorite BB in top quality sound and production.

He was unique. RIP

Sad news. RIP.

Another vote for Blue and Sentimental - one of my favorite records. Ike always sounded good. I like Ike for Ike is easy to like.

That one got constant play in my house when my son was little. It was a record that both of us loved to hear.

As I recall, some reputable people have heard the tape and verify that it is Coltrane and Wes. Other than that it is from California, I don't remember if a more specific location was named in anything that I read or heard.

Yes, a Coltrane with Wes tape surfaced about 7 years ago or so, but still few have heard it. I haven't. Apparently, they were trying to sell it for CD issue for a hefty price and nobody would pay it, and partly because the sound quality is not supposed to be great.

Thaks for this Paul. I've got a couple of his albums (Hoodoo & It's my life) and I've been vaguely thinking I'd like more. Hoodoo Man and It's My Life are the other two essential Junior Wells albums. It's My Life is more uneven, but the high points are really there. I don't really agree that those two albums pale by comparison to the music on Blues Hit Big Town. They are quite different, a different vintage. But I do share the enthusiasm expressed about Big Town - stone classic early-mid 50s Southside Chicago Blues, and music doesn't get much better than that.

I've been getting jump starts from water in the morning for years, three glasses of it. I just make sure and put a lot of coffee in it.

For Д.Д., a bit of history on I-VAN-ov vs. I-van-OV: В XIX в. (по крайней мере в начале и середине века) фамилия преимущественно употреблялась с ударением на а — Ива́нов. Сейчас она чаще используется с ударением на последнем слоге — Ивано́в. Вариант Ива́нов в начале XX века ощущался как присущий дворянству, хотя исторически это далеко не обязательно: есть как дворяне Ивано́вы, так и недворяне Ива́новы. This text says that at least until the second half of the 19th century, I-VAN-ov was the more common pronunciation. By the beginning of the 20th century, I-VAN-ov was often (although not always) used for the gentry, while I-van-OV became more common among the masses. Now, I-van-OV is more common.

Guys, I don't know where you get this sort of information from. i-VA-nov is not impossible theoretically, but would be a very unusual last name in Russia. It exists. I know a I-VAN-ov. It is not clear to what degree the correct English pronunciation of many Russian names should have the same stress as in Russian. For example, a lot of Russian names have the stress on the last syllable. Since this is unnatural sounding in English, the stress is often shifted, usually to the first syllable: Tolstoy, Pasternak, Mandelshtam, Gorbachev, Khruschev. Similarly, if we wanted to be faithful to the Russian, we would need to pronounce Valery Ponomarev's name as panamarYOV.

Stresses on Russian names can be confusing. For example, a common last name is Ivanov. But there are actually two different last names spelled this way: I-VAN-ov and I-van-OV.

Smart Amazon, idiotic me. I bought it for 9.99.

The subject of this thread and mention of Teddy Pendergrass reminded me that I have only recently really started listening to Beres Hammond. He can evoke Pendergrass as well as anyone, and Marvin Gaye as well, but also has his own Unique thing going - a great classic R&B/soul singer packaged as a reggae artist.

Smithsonian is offering a download of the liner notes with the recipes for free: Liner notes

:tup

My listening habits change a lot, but I never go too long without doses of Lester Young and Thelonious Monk. I always crave Pres and Monk. Just one? OK. Pres.

Yes, I would say that the few studio recordings that Pres made in 1950-1951 were not at the same level as most of the live recordings from the same time.

Much as I love him I find some of the early Granz dates (with Hank Jones and John Lewis) weak, as well as his playing on Pres and Sweets. For me, '49-51 are among his weakest years, then he comes back swinging with Peterson in 1952, and transcendent with Basie at Newport. Our tastes diverge here pretty strongly. I think that 1949-1951 were some of Lester Young's greatest years on record, beginning with the last Savoy session and including all the tremendous live recordings from 50-51. By contrast, I find 1952 to be weaker. I find the Oscar Peterson session to be good, but not top drawer. 1953 was even weaker, and 1954-1955 the weakest years. Pres came back strong in 56. As an additional clarification, I agree about Pres and Sweets, but that session dates from 1955.

Much as I love him I find some of the early Granz dates (with Hank Jones and John Lewis) weak, as well as his playing on Pres and Sweets. For me, '49-51 are among his weakest years, then he comes back swinging with Peterson in 1952, and transcendent with Basie at Newport. Our tastes diverge here pretty strongly. I think that 1949-1951 were some of Lester Young's greatest years on record, beginning with the last Savoy session and including all the tremendous live recordings from 50-51. By contrast, I find 1952 to be weaker. I find the Oscar Peterson session to be good, but not top drawer. 1953 was even weaker, and 1954-1955 the weakest years. Pres came back strong in 56.

Sure, I agree, but there are enough interesting moments in the music for me to enjoy parts of it (hm, that probably says something about my musical taste... ) Yes. Often banal, more rarely mediocre. With Shostokovich, it is a sublime moments rather than consistent brilliance. But those moments are worth it all.