The Magnificent Goldberg

Well, I haven't got those. (Sung to the tune of 'One meat ball') You get no sleevenotes with one download. Can you scan them, Jim? MG Is that REALLY a Ray Ellington album? MG

Kind of, but more like übü roâ really père ubu is okay, too, though biologically I'm no one's père Huw Warren I've heard on the radio. That spelling makes more sense, I couldn't really see any other options how to pronounce it. But what's the proper spelling of Pugh then, Pew? That's not exactly a funny name ... Herr Kirchenbank, in German Exists in English, too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Pew Pantagruelian - how's that? In German, it doesn't exist at all, of course, but I assume you were just making fun anyway! Thinking about it, there are certainly many spellings of Celtic names. Allan is spelt like that in Scotland, where I was born, but Alan in England, Alun in Wales and Alain in Brittany. They all mean harmony. MG

Bought a few downloads from Amazon UK today, two found because I was shopping around after looking through the prices of the recent (or future) Japanese releases of Atlantic R&B & jazz material and the BN LT and LA series and deciding that almost all of what I wanted could be found on Amazon UK at much less. Some actual CDs on order, too. Kerfala Kante - Kaira - CK7 Herbie Mann - Mellow - Atlantic Buster Smith - The legendary Buster Smith - Atlantic Jeez, this is a fantastic album! With a great band, including powerful solos from Hog Cooper. Nothing I've heard of Buster prepared me for this! Not a swing album at all; mainstream soul jazz. Good lord! MG

Oh, I think I see. MG

BFT104 Well, here we go then, after the horrors of Halloween – and we only got three bunches of kids coming round for trick or treat, so I could have listened to this then 1 Something recognisable about this, but I can’t put my finger on it. I have a kind of early sixties Hollywood feeling about it. I’d guess about Phil Woods on sax. I know that shrill trumpet player. Don’t recognise the baritone player or the trombonist. Or the pianist, though I think I’ve heard him before, too. 2 Oh I know this one! ‘Soft’ written by Tiny Bradshaw in the Basie mode. Quite a few recordings of this tune in my collection. Funny, I was listening to this one, the original, the other night. Red Prysock soloing on tenor sax. Recorded on my 9th birthday, 6 Oct 1952, in Cincinnati. From this http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-great-composer-mw0000675614 3 Oh, here’s another nice one. More modern than the Bradshaw, but looking back to that feel. The trumpet section sounds a little too much to me. Otherwise it’s really nice. Soloists? Alto player is quite modern and snaky. 4 Oh, interesting. Jagged band lines. Wild soloing. Basically unattractive but kind of fascinating. 5 Oh, that Bo Diddley beat! And then it’s not Bo, nor is it ‘Mustang’ And at ten minutes, it couldn’t be. It’s nice, is what it is. I could definitely stand ten minutes of this, as the trumpet starts and Bo turns into a lovely, hip shuffle. Oh, this I feel I ought to have in my home! Now it’s the piano player’s turn. These players are all kind of familiar to me but I’m just so wrapped up in the music, typing in time, that I really can’t be asked to identify anyone! As the ensemble comes back, we’re back to Bo. And a laid back chase. Had to stop the BFT then, just to write some more. I’d like it if the trumpet player were Sweets Edison. I’d like it if he weren’t, too, because I can’t imagine players of Edison’s class setting out to make a record like this for ten minutes. My guess is, they’re relatively minor figures, who just wanted to do this groove on record, not with the intention of making a name for themselves, but just because it’s there. But these guys don’t sound like minor figures; they’re all saying, ‘Damn right, I am somebody!’ I also think this is kind of more recent than I expect. Lovely but way too short!! 6 Well, back to business… Is that Thad Jones on the flh? Can’t say I like the synth strings much, but the trumpet or flh player is doing such melodic stuff, I’ll forgive anything. Noting the wide intervals he’s using, could this be Woody Shaw? Well, he should have had Johnny ‘Hammond’ Smith on organ, not the synth. 7 Old bop. No, new improved pop. Well, is that a Basie piano break? Or is it a piano break played by Basie? This is Basie, surely, a Kansas City 7? So is that Prez or maybe Paul Q? 8 Another Basie-like job. Can’t begin to guess this band, because it’s too long to be from the 78 era, or I’d say Andy Kirk. 9 Klezmer? Oy gewalt! Jeff has slipped one in behind your back, HP! Oh, now we have the Joe Henderson-style tenor and move away from Klezmer. Very good imitation Henderson. Oh, I know that guitarist’s sound! Now stop playing Klezmer and let me think!!! Bucky Pizzarelli? 10 Oh yes! Jay McShann playing summat he made up as he went along. Well, I don’t know really. 11 Time for a ciggy in the back yard. Back now. This kind of grabs the attention, but I don’t think I’m in the mood for it. Well, starts swinging at 2:30, for the pianist to come in. I know that break the strings are playing from something; reminds me of a Gershwin tune. Now it’s gone all slow again. Makes me think of the way Roberta Flack almost destroys a melody by singing it miles too slowly. 12 Piano & organ. Playing the blues but not, but then yes. The guitarist sometimes comes in when he’s not needed. And oh, there’s vibes in there. I don’t think anyone’s playing in their ‘natural’ style here. Two guitarists. I suspect this is a blues band jamming with some jazzmen. 13 An oldie. Very funny-sounding piano. Is the speed varying a bit? I’m finding the quality of the recording a bit distracting. A radio broadcast from a ballroom in the early 40s? Well, is this one Andy Kirk? 14 ‘A train’ live, before a REALLY enthusiastic audience. Not Duke Ellington though. I wonder if it could actually be Billy Strayhorn in the piano chair? 15 Very off to one side, this. Not doing much for me, I’m afraid. And even less as it goes on. Oh, is that nonsense guitar by Paul Schofield? Or is he an actor? Phew, glad that’s over. 16 Some extremely competent, but uninteresting, guitar. Not Melvin Sparks. Some wonderful stuff in this, HP. Many thanks, particularly for #5. Please don’t tell me this is the only cut like it on the album and the rest is St Louis BAG avant material MG

Which late 60s Prestiges does this remind you of? MG

Oh, almost anything on Muse or Xanadu MG

Yes, in dollars. 600K pounds. MG

Certainly Pugh and Hugh are pronounced pyoo and hyoo on this side of the Atlantic (Pugh is a Welsh name, by the way) but we'll wait till the Americans wake up to confirm it's the same there. You know what I mean - seeing that Duke is dyook here, but dook over there. Can't imagine he's called Jim Pooh, mind you. Hugh (properly spelt Huw) is a Welsh name, too. MG

I can't be sure, but I think I heard that Gregory Green, Grant's oldest son, who works as Grant Green Jr, got that guitar in the end. MG I hope so. Skinner auction listing from 2007: http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4296426 2009 article, stating that the guitar was sold by Benson to NY dealer Rudy Pensa: http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Mar/Grant_Greens_D_Aquisto_New_Yorker.aspx Perhaps Pensa sold it back to Green's son, but I haven't found anything about that thus far. I believe it was before 2007 that I heard that, so maybe it was old info, duff info or relating to a different one of his father's guitars. MG

Never heard of this one. They deserve each other! MG

That's what I thought. There's mention of renovation. Perhaps it's in a rather old fashioned condition. Only one bedroom with en suite... Wish I had six hundred grand MG

Today's vinyl Randy Crawford - Secret combination - WB (UK) John Coltrane - Africa/brass - Impulse (Germany) Pharoah Sanders - Thembi - Impulse Pharoah Sanders - Journey to the one - Theresa Hampton Hawes - The green leaves of summer - Contemporary (Vogue uk) mg

This evening Jimmy McGriff - Black and blues - Groove Merchant (South Africa) now Horace Silver - Silver's serenade - BN Liberty next Freddie McCoy - Soul yogi - Prestige MG

Not music, but these arrived from Brownie this evening. Zowie! MG

They've arrived, delivered just this evening by the Chinese lady diagonally across the roundabout from us - their address is similar to mine and the rain had smeared it badly. Goodness, it's heavy! Thanks Guy. MG

I can't be sure, but I think I heard that Gregory Green, Grant's oldest son, who works as Grant Green Jr, got that guitar in the end. MG

This afternoon Florida Mass Choir - Higher hope - Malaco David Newman - The weapon - Atlantic Charles Earland - Perceptions - Mercury The George Clinton influence at its peak! Terrific fun! MG

This morning Ray Charles & Betty Carter - ABC (Dunhill transparent vinyl) David Newman - Bigger & better - Atlantic Jimmy McGriff - The mean machine - Groove Merchant Les McCann - Tall dark & handsome - A&M MG

This evening Lou Donaldson - Live in Bologna - Timeless Now Gene Ammons - The happy blues - Prestige (OJC) Next Houston Person - Harmony - Mercury Really nice sleeve with HP's daughter on sax. MG

STRUTH!!!! MG

Oh, I disagree - for me, there's too much discussion of art and not enough of entertainment. YMMV MG

Don't let other people - even us - tell you what to do; do what seems sensible to YOU. MG

Good to hear it. The weather here is consistently shitty; the South Wales Valleys are the rainiest area in Britain. And our valley is windy, which we should have realised from seeing the windfarm accross the other side. We complain to the management, but it never gets any better. Seeing something like this makes you realise that it's not really too bad. MG

Warmer bras. MG