The Magnificent Goldberg

Lots of excellent Al Grey albums, from the seventies to the nineties. AL GREY/WILD BILL DAVIS - BLACK & BLUE 33041 7/1972 GREYS MOOD - BLACK & BLUE 33085 4/1973&10/1975 STRUTTIN AND SHOUTIN - COLUMBIA (A) 38505 8/1976 AT TRAVELLERS LOUNGE - TRAVELLERS 3001 3/1977 A GREY FEAT A COBB - BLACK & BLUE 33143 7/1977 TROMBONE FOR FIVE - BLACK & BLUE 33174 11/1977 LIVE AT RICKS - AVIVA 6002 7/1978 TRULY WONDERFUL - STASH STCD552 7/1978 NIGHT TRAIN REVISITED - STORYVILLE 8293 7/1978 GET IT TOGETHER - PIZZA EXPRESS (UK) PE5504 7/1979 OD (OUT DERE) - GREYFORREST GF1001 7/1980 JATP GREY/DAVIS/EDISON - PABLO 2310 882 1982 THINGS GETTIN BETTER - PABLO TODAY 2312 141 1/1983 JUST JAZZ - UPTOWN UP27.21 4/1984 GREY/THILO QUINTET - STORYVILLE 4136 8/1986 NEW AL GREY QUINTET - CHIAROSCURO 305 5/1988 AL MEETS BJARNE - GEMINI (NOR) GM62 8/1988 FAB - CAPRI 74038 2/1990 SWINGIN IN HELSINGBORG - FOUR LEAF (SWE) FLCCD119 2/1990 XMAS STOCKING STUFFER - CAPRI 74039 8&9/1990 90 FLOATIN JAZZ FEST - CHIAROSCURO 313 10/1990 ME N JACK - PULLEN MUSIC 2350 1995 CENTERPIECE - TELARC JAZZ 83379 3/1995 MATZOH AND GRITS - ARBORS 19167 1996 ECHOES OF NEW ORLEANS - PROGRESSIVE 7108 10/1997 Hope this lot come out OK MG

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Irene has died. MG

Bleedin' 'ell, a REAL ALBUM! MG

Oh yes - what's this one, Jostber? What label? Picture? I really need to upgrade my Tiny Bradshaw stuff. MG

MG--it's a 1996 Polygram compilation I bought from the Jazz Heritage Society music club, but it doesn't look like they carry it any more. Here's the track list: Disc One 1. Flying Home (1942) 2. Hamp's Boogie Woogie (1944) 3. Million Dollar Smile (1944) 4. Red Cross (1945) 5. Hamp's Blues (1945) 6. Evil Gal Blues (1945) 7. Flying Home (1945) 8. Stardust (1947) 9. Ribs & Hot Sauce (1945) 10. Blow Top Blues (1945) 11. Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop (1945) 12. Rockin' In Rhythm Parts 1 & 2 (1946) 13. Limehouse Blues (1946) 14. Tempo's Birthday (1946) 15. Jack The Fox Boogie (1946) Disc Two 1. How High The Moon (1947) 2. Three Minutes On 52nd Street (1947) 3. Red Top (1947) 4. Mingus Fingers (1947) 5. Midnight Sun (1947) 6. Chicken Shack Boogie (1949) 7. Central Avenue Breakdown (1949) 8. Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee (1949) 9. Moonglow (1949) 10. The Hucklebuck (1949) 11. Lavender Coffin (1949) 12. Rag Mop (1949) 13. I Wish I Knew (1950) 14. There Will Never Be Another You (1950) 15. Pink Champagne (1950) 16. Memories Of You (1950) 17. Time On My Hands (1950) 18. Easy To Love (1950) 19. Twentieth Century Boogie (1950) 20. Dancing On The Ceiling (1963) 21. How High The Moon (1963) Thanks Jon - looks as if it's this one Which I managed to get cheaply on Amazon.com - it's £30 on Amazon UK !!!! What a fine way to start the day! You've got a hell of a lot of records that I've got - now there'll be one more MG

I got to a meeting half an hour too early once, so I nipped into the coffee bar on the block, to find myself listening to David Newman & Ray Charles "Hard times". MG

If you're as obscure as Mike Douglas (and I've never heard of him) you need an eccentric wig, to make people take notice of you when you're posing with one of the greatest groups ever! MG

Nipper (the HMV dog) Jock of the Bushveldt (Percy Fitzpatrick's dog) Always Comes in Second (Simpsons)

A real museum or a metaphorical one? If it's real, does it contain the underpants he was wearing when Kennedy was shot? MG

Thank you, folks - so that makes (so far) 76 alive and six I don't know about. Better. I'm really pleased to know Clark Terry is still around. I assume all the ones I think are dead really are... MG

The deaths in the last souple of weeks of Hog Cooper, David Newman and Hank Crawford got me to thinking that my record collection was pretty well a collection of the music of dead people. Well, the various African musics I collect are mostly by living people. And Hip Hop, too. And it's probably irrelevant in Gospel music, where my collection is dominated by choirs. So I looked out the 200 jazz musicians I've played most and, after removing a few bands - Jazz Crusaders; Funk Inc; Organissimo; Blackbyrds; Deep blue organ trio; Three of a kind (and finding room for a few more individuals) - tried to identify whether the individuals were alive or dead. This is what I got BILL HARDMAN NOT SURE BILLY LARKIN NOT SURE CLARE FISCHER NOT SURE CLARENCE WHEELER NOT SURE CLARK TERRY NOT SURE CURTIS FULLER NOT SURE DONALD BYRD NOT SURE HAROLD LAND NOT SURE JACK WILSON NOT SURE JOHN WRIGHT NOT SURE SONNY COX NOT SURE SONNY PHILLIPS NOT SURE AHMAD JAMAL ALIVE ALVIN QUEEN ALIVE BENNY GOLSON ALIVE BERNARD PURDIE ALIVE BILL HEID ALIVE BOB DEVOS ALIVE BOBBY BROOM ALIVE BOBBY HUTCHERSON ALIVE BOOGALOO JOE JONES ALIVE CALVIN NEWBORN ALIVE CECIL BROOKS III ALIVE CHRIS CONNOR ALIVE CORNELL DUPREE ALIVE DR JOHN ALIVE ERIC ALEXANDER ALIVE ERNIE ANDREWS ALIVE FRED WESLEY ALIVE GENE LUDWIG ALIVE GEORGE BENSON ALIVE GEORGE BRAITH ALIVE GEORGE FREEMAN ALIVE GERALD WILSON ALIVE GLORIA COLEMAN ALIVE GLORIA LYNNE ALIVE GRADY TATE ALIVE GRANT GREEN JR ALIVE HAMID DRAKE ALIVE HAROLD OUSLEY ALIVE HORACE SILVER ALIVE HOUSTON PERSON ALIVE IDRIS MUHAMMAD ALIVE IRENE REID ALIVE JACKIE IVORY ALIVE JAMES MOODY ALIVE JIMMY PONDER ALIVE JOEY DEFRANCESCO ALIVE JR MANCE ALIVE KANKAWA ALIVE KARL DENSON ALIVE KENNY BURRELL ALIVE LEON SPENCER ALIVE LES MCCANN ALIVE LONNIE SMITH ALIVE LOU DONALDSON ALIVE MACEO PARKER ALIVE MARK WHITFIELD ALIVE MCCOY TYNER ALIVE MEL RHYNE ALIVE MELVIN SPARKS ALIVE NAT SIMPKINS ALIVE NORMAN SIMMONS ALIVE ODELL BROWN ALIVE ORNETTE COLEMAN ALIVE PAPA JOHN DEFRANCESCO ALIVE PAT MARTINO ALIVE PEE WEE ELLIS ALIVE PHAROAH SANDERS ALIVE PLAS JOHNSON ALIVE RANDY JOHNSTON ALIVE RANDY WESTON ALIVE RED HOLLOWAY ALIVE REUBEN WILSON ALIVE RHODA SCOTT ALIVE RODNEY JONES ALIVE RON CARTER ALIVE RON LEVY ALIVE ROY AYERS ALIVE TURK MAURO ALIVE VINCENT HERRING ALIVE VON FREEMAN ALIVE WINARD HARPER ALIVE XIMO TEBAR ALIVE AL GREY ARNETT COBB ART BLAKEY ART FARMER BEN WEBSTER BENNIE GREEN BENNY CARTER BILL DOGGETT BILL JENNINGS BILLY BUTLER BLUE MITCHELL BOBBY TIMMONS BOOKER ERVIN BUDDY TATE CAB CALLOWAY CANNONBALL ADDERLEY CHARLES EARLAND CHARLES KYNARD CHARLES MINGUS CHARLIE PARKER CLIFFORD SCOTT COLEMAN HAWKINS CURTIS AMY DAVE BAILEY DAVID NEWMAN DEXTER GORDON DIZZY GILLESPIE DON PATTERSON DON WILKERSON DUKE ELLINGTON DUKE PEARSON EDDIE CHAMBLEE EDDIE HARRIS EDDIE 'LOCKJAW' DAVIS ERIC GALE ERSKINE HAWKINS ETTA JONES FRED JACKSON FREDDIE HUBBARD FREDDIE MCCOY FREDDIE ROACH GENE AMMONS GENE HARRIS GRANT GREEN GROVER WASHINGTON JR HAMPTON HAWES HANK CRAWFORD HANK MARR HANK MOBLEY HAROLD MABERN HAROLD VICK HARRY EDISON HERBIE MANN HERMAN FOSTER HORACE PARLAN HOWARD MCGHEE IKE QUEBEC ILLINOIS JACQUET JACK MCDUFF JAMES BROWN JAMES CLAY JIMMIE LUNCEFORD JIMMY FORREST JIMMY MCGRIFF JIMMY SMITH JOE HENDERSON JOHN COLTRANE JOHN HICKS JOHN PATTON JOHNNY DODDS JOHNNY GRIFFIN JOHNNY 'HAMMOND' SMITH JOHNNY HODGES JOHNNY LYTLE KID ORY KING CURTIS LARRY YOUNG LEE MORGAN LEO PARKER LESTER YOUNG LIONEL HAMPTON LOU BENNETT LOU RAWLS LOUIS ARMSTRONG LUCKY MILLINDER MILT BUCKNER MILT JACKSON NAT ADDERLEY NAT 'KING' COLE OLIVER NELSON PAUL BRYANT PHINEAS NEWBORN RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK RAY BRYANT RAY CHARLES RED GARLAND RICHARD 'GROOVE' HOLMES ROOSEVELT 'BABY FACE' WILLETTE ROY ELDRIDGE RUSTY BRYANT SAM LAZAR SHIRLEY SCOTT SONNY CLARK SONNY CRISS SONNY STITT STANLEY TURRENTINE TAB SMITH TEDDY EDWARDS THELONIOUS MONK TINA BROOKS TINY GRIMES WES MONTGOMERY WILD BILL DAVIS WILD BILL MOORE WILLIS JACKSON WYNTON KELLY That's 72 I think are alive and a dozen I'm not sure about (some confirmations from the knowledgeable would be good). I'm quite encouraged to find that so many favourites are still alive. MG

Thanks for that contribution on Hog Cooper, Steve. I didn't know he was on "Reconsider baby". MG

Risk taking is a good point. Jimmy Smith's first would be another good example. Who knew that you could sell this stuff like crazy in 1956? In any case, you gotta have some JOS, or Big John, or Baby Face. And don't forget earlier stuff: Sidney Bechet's "Summertime"; Ike Quebec's "Blue Harlem"; And something from the Ammons/Lewis session that started it all. MG

Sorry, I should have said, "who's that with Pearl Bailey?" MG

Is that Pearl Bailey? MG

I've no Byas at all, so I'll read this tomorrow. Someone in America bump it before you go to bed, please. MG

I'm surprised to see Mory Kante being promoted by Polydor, as he recorded for Barclay. Was Polydor handling Barclay in the US in the late eighties, Chris? MG

A musician with more soul. Hank was born Bennie Ross Crawford Jr in Memphis on 21 December 1934. He grew up with the blues. And he grew up with Bebop. As Hank began to develop his musical skills, Memphis was the centre of blues innovation; B B King, Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Earl Forest and Ike Turner were all working on a more urban sound to the blues than the older generation of blues singers, who had moved to Chicago, were producing. And Hank, like many of his peers, was caught up in it; in late 1951, aged nearly 17, Hank played alto on B B King’s first hit single, “Three O’clock Blues”. So were many of his classmates: Calvin and Phineas Newborn; Booker Little; George Coleman; Frank Strozier; and Harold Mabern. Hank, like the others, had a passionate interest in the new music that was coming out of New York; Bebop. The evenings after school were spent practicing Charlie Parker solos, the nights were spent at the Midnight Rambles, hosted by Rufus Thomas, playing behind blues and R&B singers, like King, Bland and Ruth Brown. Hank’s sound was that of the great lead alto players, Tab Smith in particular, combined with the stone blues sound of “Parker’s Mood”. The combination gave Hank a sound much tougher than Parker’s; a sound that cannot be denied; an urgent, wailing, sound that is the essence of the blues. His approach to ballads was sincere and solid, but always informed by the very basic blues. Hank’s alto sound carried almost the whole weight of his expression; he wasn’t a man whose vision drove him all over his horn; there is little improvisation in the formal sense. But there’s that sound! And the phrasing! After school, Hank pursued his musical education at Tennessee State College. In 1958, he was hired by Ray Charles to take the baritone sax chair in his small band. Hank’s baritone playing is quite unlike his alto playing; Hank is an excellent Bebop baritone player. Hank stayed with Ray until 1963, during which time he learned much about arranging from Ray. Check out his arranging behind Percy Mayfield on Percy’s “My jug and I”. He also became the straw boss of the band, which grew from seven pieces to a big band in that period. When Leroy “Hog” Cooper joined the band in 1960, Hank took the alto chair. When Ray left Atlantic in 1960 to sign with ABC, Atlantic promptly signed Hank to a recording contract and Hank recorded some of his finest albums using his colleagues from Ray’s band. His arranging skills were at their most supreme on three of these albums: “From the heart”; “True blue” and “Dig these blues”. The voicing of the horns is as perfectly mellow as could be imagined. He also began to play piano on these recordings. His piano style sounds extremely primitive in the manner of the old time barrelhouse players. After eleven albums for Atlantic, Hank was signed by Creed Taylor and released eight albums on Kudu. One, “Wildflower” is probably the finest example of Taylor’s successful attempt to make “themes in search of a car chase”. The records are not really as bad as they seem, largely due to Hank’s uncompromising blues sound, but though he had three hit albums, this must be regarded as a poor patch in Hank’s career. After CTI collapsed, Hank went back to doing arranging work. He formed an association with Dr John and provided the horn arrangements for B B King’s Grammy-winning “There must be a better world somewhere”, as well as for one of Lou Rawls’ best albums, “Shades of blue” and Jimmy Witherspoon’s “Midnight lady called the blues”. In this period, too, he began to record for a new label that sought, unsuccessfully, to step into Creed Taylor’s shoes; Versatile. He played alto and baritone on Grant Green’s last album, “Easy”, and he and Calvin Newborn recorded a joint effort, the superb “Centerpiece”, on which Hank played mostly electric piano. He and David Newman, with Calvin, visited Britain in 1982, where Hank once more recorded on piano with Calvin on the great album, “From the hip”. He was, at the time, preparing for his first album following signing a contract with Fantasy. Hank made 18 albums for Milestone, five of them jointly with Jimmy McGriff (plus two with McGriff for Telarc). The Milestone period represents the greatest, sustained, body of top drawer work by Hank. (The exception is “Bossa International”, a live set recorded in Nice, with Ritchie Cole. As might be expected, Cole runs rings around Hank, who would have been more at home had he brought his baritone sax to the gig.) Hank’s last recording, in 2000, was, in my view, his best. “The world of Hank Crawford” covered the entirety of Hank’s musical vision; Salsa, ballads, Bebop, shuffle blues, funky Soul Jazz classics, and Swing. I saw him twice; with David Newman and Calvin Newborn at Ronnie’s, the first time I’d ever been. I sat with him during one of the off sets and found him to be a very pleasant man; he was astounded to hear I’d been following his career since 1960! I saw him again in 1988, with Jimmy McGriff and Bobby Broom, in Bristol. But that was an Acid Jazz gig; a thousand or so kids in a barn of a place with no room for the musicians to mingle or even sit down! (My wife was more impressed with the nicely turned legs on Jimmy’s B3 than with Hank’s playing ) So glad I managed to see him in both contexts! (And thanks Jim for your personal story, too.) Here’s a list of Hank’s albums as a leader or co-leader More soul – Atlantic 1356 - 10/1960 The soul clinic – Atlantic 1372 - 10/1960&2&5/1961 From the heart – Atlantic 1387 - 11/1961&4&5/1962 Soul of the ballad – Atlantic 1405 - 2/1963 True blue – Atlantic 1423 - 6&10/1963&3/1964 Dig these blues – Atlantic 1436 - 4&12/1964 & 2/1965 After hours – Atlantic 1455 - 10&11/1965&1/1966 Mr Blues - Atlantic 1470 - 10&11/1965&1&3/1966 Double cross – Atlantic 1503 - 10/1965&11/1967 Mr Blues plays Lady Soul – Atlantic 1523 - 2/1969 A funky thing to do – Cotillion 18003 - 12/1970 Help me make it through the night – Kudu 06 - 8/1971&1/1972 We've got a good thing going - Kudu 08 - 9&10/1972 Wildflower - Kudu 15 - 6/1973 Don't you worry 'bout a thing – Kudu 19 - 6/1974 I hear a symphony – Kudu 26 - 6&7/1975 Hank Crawford's back – Kudu 33 - 1976 Tico rico - Kudu 35 - 11/1976 Cajun sunrise – Kudu 39 - 2&3/1978 Centerpiece - Versatile BDS5730 - 10&11/1978 (with Calvin Newborn) Midnight Ramble – Milestone 9112 - 11/1982 Indigo blue - Milestone 9119 - 8/1983 Down on the Deuce - Milestone 9129 - 6/1984 Roadhouse symphony - Milestone 9140 - 8/1985 Soul survivors - Milestone 9142 - 1/1986 (with Jimmy McGriff) Mr Chips – Milestone 9149 - 11/1986 Steppin up - Milestone 9153 - 6/1987 (with Jimmy McGriff) Bossa international - Milestone 9180 - 7/1987 (with Richie Cole) Night beat – Milestone 9168 - 9&10/1988 On the blue side – Milestone 9177 - 4&8/1989 (with Jimmy McGriff) Groove master - Milestone 9182 - 1&3/1990 South-Central – Milestone 9201 - 2/1990&8/1992 Portrait - Milestone 9192 - 3/1991 Right turn on blue - Telarc Jazz 83366 - 1/1994 (with Jimmy McGriff) Blues groove - Telarc Jazz 83381 - 7/1995 (with Jimmy McGriff) Tight – Milestone 9259 - 4&5/1996 Road tested – Milestone 9274 - 6&7/1997 (with Jimmy McGriff) After dark - Milestone 9279 - 2/1998 Crunch time – Milestone 9287 - 11/1998 (with Jimmy McGriff) The world of Hank Crawford – Milestone 9304 - 2/2000 RIP Hank. MG

I don't know which hits me harder - David or Hank. Hank had, I understand, been ill for some time and had retired from music as a result. So it's less of a surprise. But, God, I loved those guys' music! RIP, Hank. MG

I notice there isn't a an awful lot of jazz much earlier than the fifties. You might want to follow what Papsrus and I have been doing recently and getting a load of swing bands in. I've found this tremendously rewarding over the past couple of years. But you do have a Lionel Hampton I want (not to mention the Cool Aid Chemists ) - Hamp - The Legendary Decca Recordings Of Lionel Hampton (2CD) Can you post the details of this please, Jon? MG

Cab Calloway - The scat song - Quadromania MG

I see you've got a number in twice, Jon. Crusaders, The Lighthouse '66 Pacific Crusaders, The Lighthouse '68 Pacific Crusaders, The Jazz Live At The Lighthouse 1966 1966 Pacific Crusaders, The Jazz Live At The Lighthouse 1968 1968 Pacific Are these different editions of the same albums? MG

You laid off too, SS1? This is a bad period the board's going through. MG

Now I've had a chance to read it, that's a very nice article. I was surprised he inserted the "Von" into his name to fool people into thinking he was white. Surely, no white person would think they could make money recording Rev C L Franklin sermons and releasing them as albums of 3 or 4 78s? MG

Thank you Paul. Good reading material for later today. MG