The Magnificent Goldberg

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. Two recommendations fro the price of one! Oh wow!!! MG

Kerfala Kante - Biyedi - who knows what label? Sterns recent release but probably licensed from Syllart. MG

First - that Dixie LP is most certainly a bootleg - probably dubbed from the AM three-record 78 RPM album that was the first issue of this material. Rudi Blesh probably had no involvement in your Eddie Boyd LP - I don't think he was doing anything for Buck except occasionally writing liner notes for reissues of his materical. That record probably came about because Buck was living in Atlanta at the time - he issued a lot of records by Atlanta dixielanders during that period. I wasn't aware of that album - I'll keep my eyes open for it. These days Buck still sometimes issues R & B-flavored music on the Southland label. Yes, I have Lorenzo Holden's "Cry of the wounded juke box" on Southland. Holden was an ex Johnny Otis tenor player who, in assn with Ernie Freeman, pioneered the tenor/organ combo on the west coast. The title of the title track sounds more like something Prez would have written than "Lester leaps in", which is what it mostly is. (I hope that's clear.) MG

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. This is very nice - and very short. I should think it's hard to get, too, since Gunther Gretz gave up the business several years ago. An e-mail direct to him might get a result. I had a few direct from him at one time or another. The two great unknowns I'm particularly interested in at the moment are Gnonnas Pedro and Laba Sosseh. Gnonnas Pedro was from Benin and led a band from the early 70s until his death a few years ago. A lot of Latin stuff - like the Star Band/Etoile de Dakar - but with some interesting 6/8 Latin rhythms that came from his own village. Quite a few compilation albums are available, but it's not clear which tracks are duplicates. Laba Sosseh was from The Gambia. Founder member (with Dexter Johnson) of the Star Band, which eventually, after more personnel changes than the Coasters, morphed into Etoile de Dakar. After Dexter's death in the sixties, he moved to Miami and became about the only African musician to make a career for himself living in America. Returned to the Gambia in 1997 or so and made 2 more albums before he died, also a few years ago. I bet Dan Gould can find Laba's albums in the 25c bins in Miami Sterns have new compilations by both artists issued last month and I've just ordered them. MG

Following my recommendation on the Newman thread MG

Didn't see this thread before. Interesting. Just before Christmas 2011, I found a 10" LP of Bunk's Brass Band in the Cardiff 2nd hand shop. It's on the Dixie label but I gather it's the American Music material. 3 tracks per side and a bit sticky from jam butties, but plays fine and I really like it. Was the DIxie label an early bootleg outfit? Re Circle - never realised this was Rudi Blesh's label. I have an LP from the late 60s or early 70s (but before '72 - no copyright date) on Circle - CLP4. It's a soul juazz tenor organ album! Midnight Special, by Eddie Boyd (not the blues singer). This Boyd was an Atlanta tenor player much in the style of Stanley Turrentine. Backed up by Jerry Byrd (g) - who worked with DOn Patterson - and Butch Cornell (org) - who was on Stan's "Sugar" and a few Boogaloo Joe Jones and Johnny Lytle albums - and a probably local drummer called Sam Florence, of whom I've never heard, though the sleeve note mentions a connection with the funk band Brick. Sleeve note by Boyd, with an end piece by GHB - in which he does describe Boyd as a jazz musician ). Oh, the sleeve note mentions COrnell's recordings with Turrentine and Grover Washington, so that must date it to 70 or 71. I've always thought this was a very strange album to find on a GHB label. Blesh's name isn't mentioned. Was he producing material for CIrcle then? MG

You can get it at Amazon.de - but it's a bit pricey E27.90 + post. http://www.amazon.de/Brew-Moore-Quintet-Brew-Quintet/dp/B000009NWG/ref=sr_1_6?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1336759522&sr=1-6 Depends on how much you want it. They've also got one for E138!!!! MG

Ray Charles - Singular genius: the complete ABC singles - Concord - discs 4 & 5 MG

Thanks very much. Got it now. MG

I just downloaded Open Office, to get the free DBMS, rather than paying 120 quid for MS Access. So, when it got down, it said that I needed to load Java script then reboot. So, what's Java script? Where do I get it? Is it free? MG

Yes, me too. Similar to 'Turn me loose'. MG

See, my daughter grew up listening to soul jazz. I didn't expect her to introduce me to something, because she's not keen on soul jazz (Yes, the videos have come out for me now.) MG

I've got all his albums as a leader/co-leader. I wouldn't part with ANY for any reason. Even the rubbish has good points. And some ofthe stuff that looks like rubbish ain't. His first LP for WB - 'Mr Fathead' - WAS rubbish, with some nice stuff in there. But the second - 'Front money' - only looked like rubbish. Damn fine session recorded in Dallas with Roger Boykins (g), WIlliam Richardson (d), Claude Johnson (p, bars), Adolphe Washington (cga) & Cleveland Gay (tbn). If you see this, and it'll be dirt cheap, do not hesitate! Here's the sleeve Looks like Billy Harper posed for the cartoon of Newman Have you ever seen something so perfectly calculated to turn you off? My favourites are (in alphabetical order) Captain Buckles - Cotillion (Label M - out of print) Davey blue - HighNote Fathead (with Ray Charles) - Atlantic (32 Jazz outof print) (yes, get the 4 LP set if you can) Heads up - Atlantic (oop) Keep the spirits singing - HighNote Lonely Avenue (with Roy Ayers) - Atlantic (Collectables twofer) Newmanism (with Roy Ayers) - Atlantic (Collectables twofer) (Damn good twofer that!) Oh, I'd better put in a good word for Blue greens & beans (with Marchel Ivery) - Timeless (Dutch import) because, if Jim hasn't got it, he'll want it MG

Cal Tjader - Huracan - Crystal Clear MG

Thanks Cyril. I looked on her website before I got the CD and saw that her album went double platinum in Poland! On sales of 60,000 !!!!! Are those images that didn't come out videos? MG Same as Billboard. Two years on the album charts and the record gets demoted to the catalogue charts, if it's fallen out of the top 100. MG

He made a 45 for UK Decca in 1959 or 1960 of 'Turn me loose', which he'd written for Fabian, and I saw him do it on TV. Great performance! The songs he wrote for Ben E King's 'Don't play that song' album are great little ballads, Fastrack. MG

I'll go for it. Always room for another Jacquet in the wardrobe. MG

Your images didn't come out Cyril. Do you know anything about those musicians Peter Huber (tp), Arnoud de Graaf and Floris van der Vlugt (ts), Jonathan Bitman (cl) and Daan Herweg (p)? MG

(another I was just about to post when my old machine couldn't be bothered anymore) I went shopping in Cardiff with my daughter last week, for birthday presents for my wife. She gave me a lift home afterwards – it’s a forty minute drive, and played me this album, her current favourite. Well, it was very different – very. So I got a copy, which arrived this morning, and I’m still very impressed. I suppose you’d have to call it pop music, but it’s not much like most of the pop music I’ve heard over the last fifty years. The songs are VERY sophisticated indeed, calling to mind Cole Porter’s wonderful songs of casual and mercenary sex, as I guess they’re supposed to do, and filled with images of film noir, which the sleeve notes – setting the scene for each song – amplify. Here are a few samples of the lyrics. Just one dance “All it costs is just a minute now For one dollar you can show me how I’ll take your hand and then your worries too In just one dance I’ll make your dreams come true.” The other woman “Wear that dress, the one you rely on Slit up high, that shows off your wares When he’s arriving, give him that invitation Keep on wishin, almost all of him cares.” Absolutely me “I don’t want a serenade To hear you say a thing All I need is your attention And a 10 karat diamond ring.” Stuck “You promised me a motorcade and endless perfume A palace in Geneva with a perfect view And dreams painted yellow like the colour of gold And dine with kings and queens until the food gets cold.” Lipstick on his collar “As smug as a robber That a cop can’t catch The lipstick on his collar Doesn’t seem to match Mine.” The accompanying music fits in with the general ambiance – retro jazz from the twenties to forties, but played over funky hip hop beats for the most part and full of interesting solos by Peter Huber (tp), Arnoud de Graaf and Floris van der Vlugt (ts), Jonathan Bitman (cl) and Daan Herweg (p). I don’t know if these guys are well known on the Dutch jazz scene; perhaps some of our Dutch members may know. Real thought has gone into arranging this so that these disparate elements all fit together smoothly but often surprisingly. Caro Emerald is in her late twenties and Dutch (though my daughter informs me that one of her parents is British), a former jazz singer who was ‘discovered’ in 2009 and made this album. It and a couple of singles taken from it, seem to have been at number one pretty well everywhere in continental Europe, though they seem to have flopped here and in America. Subsequently she’s made a live album of, apparently, the same songs. She sings well, with a clear voice and the very clear diction the songs deserve. When she overdubs her backing vocals, she puts me in mind of Bette Midler’s and the early Pointer Sisters’ imitations of the Andrews Sisters – and again, that fits into the ambiance. There’s all kinds of interesting stuff going on in this album. I think I’ll get a lot of pleasure listening to it for a long time. MG

I was about to post this, when my wireless dongle packed up. Decided I wasn't going to replace the dongle - I'd get a new computer. What with one thing and another, I've only just got the new machine connected to the internet. So this is what I got on 25 April ! I’ve liked Bill Black’s Combo forever; since I bought ‘Smokie’ when it came out here in 1959, in fact. And I’ve kept most of the 45s I bought of the band, through thick and thin. I was listening to a few of the 45s a week or so ago and decided that I should really have a few of their CDs. So today’s postbag brought It was usually the B sides of the singles I liked best. These would often be slow blues tunes, usually originals, featuring very relaxed piano and even more relaxed tenor sax, by Ace Cannon. And there’s a lot of this type of stuff on the CDs. And many thanks to Paul, for making me realise that this isn't a compilation also featuring the Mills Brothers but a 2 disc set of their complete Kin recordings! Also, the postman brought this It's many, many decades since I bought a pop record! MG

I've always though ANCIENT was funny peculiar - I before E, except after C. (There are lots of words with E before I, after C or not.) MG

This morning's vinyl Sonny Criss - I'll catch the sun - Prestige (Ace UK) MG

Really nice album! Early this morning Florida Mass Choir - Lord, you keep on proving yourself to me - Savoy MG

BFT97 Well, I got everything, thanks, Ubu, except #3 didn’t come down properly – more likely a connection break that I didn’t notice than the fault of anything you did. So here we go. 1 Well, I thought this was ‘I feel pretty’ for a few seconds. Dunno, but it sounds like a Bavarian marching band trying to swing in 6/8. 2 Oh this is a nice one! Nice clarinet intro, then a tenor player with a very straight tone, then the clarinet player again, but maybe there are two clarinet players. Then an organ solo – funny organ, not a real one – I dislike the sound quite a lot. Maybe this is one of those European organists I’ve never heard; Louiss or Dennerlein, perhaps. 4 Oh, I’m finding it VERY hard not to switch off and go on to the next track. I really don’t like this brittle band sound, or the sound of the alto sax player. Or the arrangement behind the trombonist; all seems highly pretentious to me as well as sounding as nasty as can be. No, sorry, going to make a cuppa… Well, back with a minute to go and the audience is actually applauding! Takes all sorts, don’t it? 5 ‘Round midnight’. Oh, do I recognise this baritone player? Probably not but he’s rather nice. I wonder if it’s Ronnie Ross? 6 Pleasant enough but I don’t find much to interest me in it. 7 Nice intro to ‘Caravan’; very picturesque. I liked the soprano solo a lot, but not the piano solo; he seemed to playing a lot of stuff that impresses musicians but not ordinary people. Ha! Lovely flute quote from ‘Prelude to the afternoon of a faun’; not a theme that gets quoted by jazz musicians too often. I think I could have done without the bass solo. Actually, the band chords at the end of the main measure remind me of Gerald Wilson, but the rest doesn’t. 8 This reminds me of some of the stuff Miles Davis did with the Gil Evans band. Can’t say I like this any better than I liked that. Is that a flugelhorn the trumpet player’s playing? 9 Pretty flute behind the trombonist, whose playing isn’t rough enough for my taste. Pretty flute solos, too. Well, this is all pretty pretty. 10 Another smooth trombonist. Honestly, give me Fred Wesley, Bennie Green, Tricky Lofton, Higg or Kid Ory. OK, when the piece moves up a notch and the tenor player comes in, this is real head-nodding stuff. Oh, then it slows and it’s a drag. Then it speeds up and it’s better. Well, overall, a bit irritating. 11 What kind of sax is that? Or is it some kind of non-standard clarinet? Well, it’s OK. I like the pianist, too. Quite a Harold Mabern feeling about him, though Mabern doesn’t sing-along. I haven’t the foggiest idea who these musicians are, but I’ll enjoy finding out. 12 Oh, this pianist has Hampton Hawes’ sound right down. And the drummer greatly reminds me of Donald Bailey. If this were Hampton Hawes, it would be from the late 60s or early 70s. It’s SERIOUSLY ENJOYABLE stuff! Without great conviction, I reckon it is Hawes and Bailey with, maybe, Leroy Vinnegar, who could always do more than walk. 13 Oof! NEXT! 14 Another I dislike quite a lot, though not as much as #13. And you know, all these changes of pace – well, they’re gratuitous changes of pace, it seems to me – are right irritating. 15 Oh Jeez, not another! This is definitely soundtrack to a circus stuff. I really don’t know why people make music like this. 16 This sounds like some National Anthem. As above. Well, quite a lot of stuff I really didn’t like but some I really dug. And nothing I’m sure I know. Thanks, Ubu, for the trouble you went to for me. MG Ah, just got a correct version of track 3! Sounds like a European band trying out a Soul Jazz piece. Sometimes this can work out OK, like when Bernard Purdie made a couple of CDs with a German radio band. But this is too fast to be soulful. MG

The CD version (heresy here on the vinyl thread?) adds a second recording - The Swingville All-Stars - with Taft Jordan, Hilton Jefferson, Al Sears, Don Abney, Wendell Marshall, and Gus Johnson - a nice addition. I remember that Joe hipped me to this, perhaps back on the old BN Board, when I was looking to hear more Hilton Jefferson. I'm sure I must have known about this, but never heard any of it. Must get it. Is the CD actually listed as by 'The Swingville All-Stars' or by one of the participants? MG The CD was issued as Taft Jordan: Mood Indigo. Thanks Paul This morning's vinyl was Willis Jackson - West Africa - Muse Little Walter - Hate to see you go - Checker (GRT/Chess reissue or compilation) MG