The Magnificent Goldberg

If it was a quartet, it had 2 drummers. Sounds a bit advanced to me. Bill Carney is Trudi Pitts' drummer and old man. Known as 'Mister C'. MG

What's the title, Allen? I think I'll get it. I agree with you about the internet; but it's not different (from my point of view) than the position in the late fifties/sixties when one couldn't hear music other than what the Beeb thought suitable (which wasn't R&B) and I (and others I've met since) had to follow (through the medium of Billboard) record companies like Atlantic, Prestige, BN, Chess, Vee-Jay, Motown, Imperial etc in order to find stuff, relying on the taste of the entrepreneurs to find good music. If those companies, or even successor companies, were still around, the internet would be a good way of following their releases. It's because there's no longer a largish group of useful indies in all fields that the internet is such as mish mash of everything and nothing. MG

I'm surprised the Sonny Stitt has been so popular. Not that I don't like it, but a lot of it is pretty similar stuff. MG

I wonder why what happened in New Orleans didn't happen in Atlanta? Both had thriving music scenes, with lots of important talent - just think of the people who came out of Atlanta's scene - Billy Wright, Piano Red (an influence on Jerry Lee Lewis), Chuck Willis, Little Richard, James Brown, Otis Redding. (I don't doubt that Atlanta's scene extend back before the late 40s, but I don't know anything about it.) I used to think that Atlanta's failure to be noticed was because (unlike Chicago, LA, Detroit, Memphis etc) there were no record companies there, and that Savoy, RCA and Okeh did the most work there, but I'm not sure that is quite true and there wasn't much in New Orleans anyway, with Specialty, Imperial and Atlantic doing most of the significant work there. MG

Ziggy Stardust Ziggy Marley Zigaboo Modeliste

Happy Birthday, Larry. MG

Bobby Benson (to whom Ade made a tribute LP) Bobby Broom Elmore James

This morning - ALL this morning, so far: Various Artists - Complete Felsted mainstream collection - Felsted (Solar) now on 'Swingin' like Tate'. MG

Who's Ray Kelly? He looks familiar and wears the same glasses as me (except mine have a bar across the top). MG

Bumble Bee Slim Guitar Slim Almost Slim

Watneys Brains Buckethead

I don't think it's specifically the internet, Allen; I think this is something that's been going on in the recording industry since the late sixties. In those days, and before hand, of course, the recording industry was controlled (in fact, because of the numbers, NOT controlled) by an enormous number of people with different ideas - that was true to some extent even for the majors, but was particularly obvious as regards the indies, which were locally based. Even within a particular locality, and within a particular kind of music, the different entrepreneurs had quite different ideas about what was good music in their localities and fields of interest; compare PJ and Contemporary; or BN, Riverside and Prestige in jazz; or Chess and Vee-Jay for blues; or Hi and Stax for R&B. In the late sixties and seventies, a lot of these indies were consolidated into, mostly, the majors. Insofar as they weren't closed down and milked for the oldies business, the output of the companies tended to toe the line of what the new owners wanted. This led to some uniformity. It also led to greater power to influence the markets in the hands of the majors; power which, as industrial giants, they understood well how to use. Once a market becomes controlled, it's difficult to make it uncontrolled again, though a social revolution, such as occurred in the forties, can do it. But we haven't had a social revolution since the seventies; only a technological revolution, once more in the hands of the industrial giants. So consumption of music has remained monolithically directed. Of course, many indies have been opened and closed since then, but who would argue that they have anything like the impact of the majors? Musicians start as music consumers. Monolithic direction of consumption doesn't help creativity; doesn't help spread notions of creativity. MG

Porthos Aramis Athos

Harold Ousley Ike The Lombard Jake The Peg

This afternoon Freddie McCoy - Funk drops - Prestige Next Red Holloway - Hittin' the road again - JAM MG

Bleedin' 'ell! MG

A couple of pianner players this morning Earl Hines - Tour de force - Black Lion Little RIchard - Here's little Richard - Specialty (Ace) MG

Bruce Cox Mark Cox Michael Cox

Take it as read, Bev. MG

Dr Pepper Dr Lonnie Smith Piano Red

Stuff - Stuff it! Freddie McCoy - Gimme some MG

Houston Person - Get outa my way! MG

Karl Pilkington Sir Alastair Pilkington Philip Glass

Wendell Harrison Wendell Marshall Oliver Wendell Holmes

Shirley Scott - Shirley Scott trio/Like cozy - Moodsville (Prestige) Sonny Stitt - Good life - Trio (Storyville) MG