John L

Thanks, Allen. That is interesting. So you believe that the first Roost session was from 1947 because Bud was playing in a clearly different manner than on his Blue Note and Clef sessions from 1949?

I saw them last night in DC - quite intense! I am sure you will enjoy it.

Yes, I have always loved how Mal sounded on that out-of-tune piano. It almost feels like he deliberately worked his solos around the distorted pitches.

This is evidently a mistake made by Mercury records at the time. Bird recorded three tunes at the session. So it makes sense that there were three different names for the tunes: Segment, Diverse, and Passport. They then made the mistake of issuing Segment and Diverse as two takes of the same tune. Alternatively, two different tunes were issued under the title of "Passport." The tune issued as Passport in 1952 was a different tune than the alternate take of Passport that appeared on a number of reissues after that time. Verve issued the three different tracks together for the first time when they released the complete Charlie Parker on Verve box. Discographies now usually refer to these tunes as tune X, tune Y, and tune Z. The 2-CD set The Unheard Bird issued the complete session for the first time that has multiple takes and breakdowns for all three tunes.

Yes, I finally did get a confirmation email about 7 hours after I made the order.

Well, I pre-ordered and I have to say that this will probably be the last set that I buy from Mosaic. It has just become too unpleasant an experience to deal with them. As usual, I received no confirmation of my order, just a note saying that my order is under review. Then I noticed that my account had been charged immediately for the money. That surprised me a bit, as Mosaic usually does not charge until shipment. I am OK with being charged now. But I would like a receipt. I would like a confirmation number. I would like an invoice. Don't just take my money and give me nothing.

This is the kind of set that I just can't resist buying even if I don't know how often I will listen to it.

RIP. One of the giants.

This year marks his 100th birthday. I love his music.

What? No "Golden Lady?" No "Love's in Need of Love Today?"

Yes. The upgrade in sound will be the primary contribution of this release. As you write, it should be particularly substantial for October 1, 1964. The other two tracks from July 28 may not have had a CD release but they have been circulating for some time.

RIP. I always really appreciated him, and will continue to do so.

I had accumulated a couple thousand LPs by the dawn of the CD age. I resisted CDs for about 5 years. Then I took the plunge and never looked back. Now I don't even have a turntable.

I guess that Roy Haynes is probably the only one left who played with Parker regularly as a member of his group.

Nice!

Well, this would appear to be the last two tracks, which indeed have never been issued before (from the Losin discography). As Mhatta wrote above, they were apparently discovered in 2012. I look forward to this release. February 6, 1941 (2 items; TT = 8:22) Unknown venue, Kansas City MO Private recording (Acetate) (B-) Charlie Parker (as); Bernard "Buddy" Anderson (tpt); Orville "Piggy" Minor (tpt); Harold Bruce (tpt); Joe Taswell Baird (tb); John Jackson (as); Harold Ferguson (ts); Bob Mabane (ts); Jay McShann (p); Gene Ramey (b); Gus Johnson (d); Joe Coleman (voc) 1 I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (inc) (G. Bassman-N. Washington) 4:23 Opening theme, vocal chorus, Parker solo (1:52-3:27), vocal (fade out) 2 Margie (C. Conrad-J.R. Robinson-B. Davis) 3:59 Ensemble introduction, vocal chorus, band chorus + Minor tpt solo, McShann p solo, eight-bar ts solo (3:32-3:43); closing theme These promotional recordings were rediscovered in 2012, and the masters are in the John B. Tumino Collection at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Although "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" is incomplete, it includes a beautiful 32 + 4-measure solo by Parker at a relaxed tempo. The relaxed eight-measure solo following McShann's half-chorus on "Margie" is not by Parker. Chuck Haddix claims the solo is by Parker -- Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2013), p. 48 -- but it is a tenor saxophone, probably played by Bob Mabane.

I wish that I could sell Jimmy all the evenings I have had with Van Morrison.

Duke Ellington: Immigration Blues, The. Blues I Love to Sing, Blue Bubbles, Tishomingo Blues, The Blues With a Feelin', Harlem Flat Blues, Blues of the Vagabond, Rent Party Blues, Jungle Blues, Old Man Blues, Big House Blues, Rocky Mountain Blues, Home Again Blues, Wang Wang Blues, Blue Again, When a Black Man's Blue, Blue Tune, Blue Harlem, Blue Ramble, Blue Mood, Bundle of Blues, Blue Feeling, Farewell Blues, Diminuendo in Blue, Crescendo in Blue, Riding on a Blue Note, A Blues Serenade, Mighty Like the Blues, Blue Light (Transbluescency), Informal Blues, Lady in Blue, Blue Goose, Mr. J.B. Blues, Blue Serge, I Don't What Kind of Blues I Got, Blue Tears, C Jam Blues, Blue Belles of Harlem, Blue Skies, Go Away Blues, How Blue the Night, I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues, Blue Cellophane, Carnegie Blues, Blutopia, New York City Blues, Let's Go Blues, Ballin' the Blues,

Wow! Thank you very much, Romualdo!

This has been my favorite lately. It is a little pricey ($23 a pound) but delicious.

Well, all 37 sides have been released before 100s of times. When they say that they are releasing them for the first time, the catch would appear to be "in release order." That is to be distinguished from previous releases that usually follow chronological order. It is difficult to imagine that they will be able to improve on the extraordinary sound quality of the Archeophone Records release from 2006. I have the vast majority of the other music presented here as well. While it is interesting how they compiled it, I don't think that the sequencing on discs 3 & 4 will make for frequent play. I would have much preferred including King Oliver's other great recordings instead. Those could use some good new remastering. And the price is quite hefty. This is the kind of package that I would usually grab right away, but I think that I may pass this time. John

I wouldn't call people jazz snobs because they like to listen to and discuss jazz, but don't always hear everything going on in the music. Maybe one of the reasons why these people like to discuss jazz is because they want information that would enable them to hear more? (I can speak for myself ) My idea of a typical "jazz snob" is somebody who sticks their nose up at other kinds of blues-rooted music as being inferior.

Yes, I recall that Bob Bowman shares both views - that Stax was never the same (i.e. the equal) of what it was in the 60s but that CBS and Union Planters played a major role in bringing it down.

Thanks, Soulpope. What you write here is indeed broadly consistent with the story told in Bob Bowman's book as well as Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music. It is, in fact, a fitting end to a fairytale-like story that we might want to believe. The first part of the story is a Mom & Pop startup that somehow created an environment in Memphis in the early 50s where black and white musicians could work together in harmony like a small family, and end up creating something very profound against all odds. That part of the fairy tale is true. So it is fitting that the end of story should be that the shattering of this small family through commercialization, greed, expansion, and the rise of racial tensions following MLK's assassination in Memphis would bring a decline of musical quality and management that would eventually take the company down. That story feels very compelling...except that I am not sure that it is true. While I had always sort of accepted this story, I have always been bothered by the apparent inconsistency between this story and what I hear in the music. When I listen to volumes 1 and 2 of the complete Stax singles, I really don't hear a fall in musical quality at all. Only by the end of Volume 3 does it sound like something is not right, although some good music was somehow still made until the end. I really appreciated the recent documentary because it presented a different perspective, and mostly that of Al Bell. This perspective may also be biased but it feels more compelling to me in light of the extraordinary music Stax continued to churn out in the 1970s. On another point, the term southern soul is indeed used in different ways. The reference in my post was to the current musical genre of "Southern Soul" that still has strong popularity in the US South (Ms. Jody, Pokey Bear, Omar Cunningham, etc.) and is commonly referred to as "blues" in the African American community. Those Don Davis-produced Stax sides for Johnnie Taylor are still covered quite often in current Southern Soul circles, and are widely recognized as pioneering music for establishing the current Southern Soul genre.

In some ways, I think that the Southern Soul focus at Stax became even stronger with time, even as it evolved. Yes, some influences from the "North" were brought in. But it could be argued that they were consistent with the particular stage of development of the music. The smooth Stax sides that Don Davis produced for Johnnie Taylor arguably became the blueprint for the further development of Southern Soul to this day.