The Magnificent Goldberg

The Rolling Stones Henry Stone Stone Monkey

I'm sure you're right that Rudy pretty well defined what jazz was "supposed" to sound like, simply by being there when all those albums were made. But speaking personally, comparing his sound to the sound of the Don Schlitten productions for Prestige with Richard Alderson at the dials, there's no contest between RVG and RA, which is effin' awful (and I think the pressings were different, too). And RVG is noticably better than Ter Mar studios. Riverside was very good; Contemporary was splendid, but not greasy enough for me MG

Thanks folks. More for next month MG

I'm not even going to look until NEXT MONTH!!!!! Thanks Dan MG

Who's this by? MG

I don't know, Tom. Sick claimants are rising fast throughout Europe, while objective measures of people's health are improving. What has happened - and Merthyr Tydfil just up the road from here is the UK's sick benefits capital, and I KNOW what happened there - is that the business has become institutionalised; it has become accepted in the community that: a) sick benefit is better money than dole; b) sick benefit does not require the recipients to prove that they are looking for work (as dole does); c) so long as no one snitches (and in a place like this, there is sufficient community solidarity that no one does) it is possible to take informal (undeclared) employment - known as being "on the hobble" - while claiming sick benefit. This is primarily a feature of areas of declining heavy industry. It's not, of course, quite the same as taking sick leave from your job but I rather suspect that the unemployment culture of an area rubs off onto the working people of the area. And yet I feel you're right - it's better to let cheats succeed than screw the genuinely ill. But suppose there are more cheats than honest people? MG

Not another one I haven't got! I quite like Bross Townsend on the showing in the Brooks album and on Bernard Purdie's CD "The 3 B's". MG

I seem to remember it being the Van Gelders' lounge. Englewood Cliffs had a separate studio - another errant memory surfaces - wasn't it a Frank Lloyd Wright job? MG

It's hard to see on my copy, but I just took it over to the window and, indeed it is - 1986, not 1980. Thanks Niko. MG

I just got this, courtesy of Dan who pointed out that it wasn’t so hard to get as I had found it a few years ago. I’m so pleased that I want to celebrate Bubba, the last of the big sound tenor players; a man whose style seemed to be compounded of the influence of Ben Webster and Ike Quebec with a significant dash of the honking tenor tradition. Bubba was born in 1922 and his first brush with fame was when he joined Sonny Thompson’s band in 1949; he stayed with him until 1956. He also got Tina a brief job with the band. Thompson was THE blues pianist of the Midwest in those days and Bubba appeared on recordings by Lula Reed, Wynonie “Mr Blues” Harris and Paul Tate, as well as making many fine instrumentals with Sonny. After leaving Sonny, Bubba worked for a couple of years with R&B/Soul singer Dee Clark, then joined Phil Upchurch’s combo. I credit that Upchurch combo with making the first modern Soul Jazz organ hit single – “You can’t sit down” parts 1 & 2 was recorded in December 1960, shortly before Ray Charles’ “One mint julep”. When I got that single home in 1961 and heard it for the first time, I really didn’t know what I was listening to. You really CAN’T sit down to this! After a year or so with Upchurch, Bubba joined the band of bluesman Jimmy McCracklin, with whom he stayed another couple of years. In 1966, he helped form a band called the Four Souls, with Charles Williams on alto; Don Pullen on organ; and Bill Curtis (who left the band in 1972 to form the Fatback Band) on drums. But did they make some cracking records!!! These were all made in the early 70s and issued under Charles’ name on Mainstream. When Bill left, the band broke up. In the meantime, Bubba had had a break from the band and visited England, where he worked with Bob Downes’ Open Music (the range of stuff this man got into is amazing! But he didn’t play trumpet with the Skatalites in the mid-sixties – that was another Bubba Brooks). But gigs were few in the 70s until Bubba joined Jimmy McGriff, then Bill Doggett, with whom he remained for twenty years (he appeared on Bill’s “Midnight slows vol 9” LP for Black & Blue in 1978). During that period, he also played with the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band (and recorded with them in 2001). And he made many more trips to Europe and began to make records under his own name. In 1995, after 45 years as a sideman, made two albums as a leader for Swiss labels: “The big sound of Bubba Brooks” on Claves Jazz, with Michael Howell and Bross Townsend; and “Smooth Sailing” on TCB, with Kenny Drew Jr on piano. Now, here’s a bit of a mystery. I now find these two albums were recorded on the same day - 22 May 1995 – in the same studios – East Side Sound Studio, NY – produced by the same man – Aleardo G Buzzi – with the same engineer – Lou Holtzman – but with different personnel, for different labels - both located in Switzerland. What’s the story behind this, I wonder? (Answers on a postcard, please. No prizes.) The following year, he recorded “Polka dots and moonbeams” for TCB, this time with Dr Lonnie Smith on organ. Now I’ve heard the Claves I can say that all three albums are splendid examples of the hot small group tradition. Soon after, Bubba hooked up with organist Bobby Forrester and drummer Tootsie Bean and gigged regularly around New York. It was with Forrester that Bubba made his final recording, early in 2002, “Organic chemistry” (Lolliop) was recorded a few weeks before Bubba died (and not long before Forrester died). MG

OK - well, I still think "The look of love" is a crossover attempt - first BN with strings. MG

I love Jimmy Forrest. His Prestige/New Jazz albums from the early sixties are all very good indeed. How can one choose between "Forrest fire", with Larry Young and Thornel Schwartz, and "Sit down and relax" with Calvin Newborn and Hugh Lawson? Those Prestige recordings became early goals of my soul jazz collection. Jimmy didn't record much as a leader. These are all the ones I know about. Night train (1951-53) - Delmark (featuring his R&B #1 hit single from 1952 and other wonderful stuff) All the gin is gone (1959) - Delmark (with the Sweets Edison rhythm section + Grant Green) Black Forrest - Delmark (same session) Forrest fire (1960) - New Jazz Soul Battle (1960) – Prestige (jointly led with Oliver Nelson & King Curtis) Out of the Forrest (1961) - Prestige Sit down & relax (1961) - Prestige Most much (1962) - Prestige Soul street - New Jazz (unissued bits and pieces from Prestige sessions) Live at Ricks (1978) - Aviva (jointly led with Al Grey) Truly wonderful (1978) - Stash (jointly led with Al Grey) Night train revisited (1978) - Storyville (jointly led with Al Grey) (the Storyville and Stash releases are from the same session as the Aviva, with extra tracks and duplicates) Heart of the Forrest (1978) - Palo Alto (and give the drummer some! Randy Marsh) OD (Out dere) (1980) - Greyforrest (jointly led with Al Grey) Two others to mention are Jack McDuff - Tuff Duff (1960) - Prestige Jack McDuff – The honeydripper (1961) - Prestige I guess my favourites of all of these (the Stash LP is the only one I haven't got) are Forrest fire Honeydripper Sit down and relax Heart of the Forrest OD (out 'dere) (also Don Patterson's last recording) But the most special moment on them all is on "The moon was yellow" from "Sit down and relax. The sound he gets as he approaches the climax is the most gloriously soupy and yet powerful sound I've ever heard from a tenor player. And of course, it should be mentioned that he worked with both Ellington and Basie. "Night train" is based on an Ellington tune - "Happy go lucky local". MG

That one makes me grin too ! Isn't there also a copy of George Braith's 'Extensions' on the floor too that she is oggling? That picture is on the inner sleeve of the French Pathe Marconi DMMs. Now the funny thing is, I didn't think that was funny. The young lady is black and I think that makes a difference to how unlikely it would be. And the other LP is Jimmy Smith's "I'm movin' on". MG

Marvin Gaye Marvin Rainwater Marvin, the paranoid android

I've spent the evening listening to all three of my Syliphone CDs by Kouyate Sory Kandia (which are almost everythng he ever recorded). I've loved his music ever since I first bought a pirate tape of his sixteen years ago, but tonight it just sounds special to me. (All of these are available on e-music.) I started off with "Kouyate Sory Kandia" It's a reissue of SLP12 plus a couple of tracks half-inched from Vogue France. The only unsatisfactory element of this is that there's sufficient space for "PDG", which takes up all of side one of SLP17 ("PDG") to have been included. Other than that, this is a most incredible album. On the LP's side 1, Sory Kandia is backed by the Ensemble National "Djoliba" - using completely traditional instruments. On side 2, the backing is by Keletigui et ses Tambourinis (I am anxiously awaiting Sterns release of a box set of Keletigui & co, following Bembeya Jazz & Balla & ses Balladins). KSK's style is authentically classical, but he is easily able to work, and work miracles, with the great Mandinke big band of Keletigui. Many of his songs are still well loved in Guinea and an entire LP side of a modern medley of Syliphone hits was devoted to his songs. All of this CD is great, but there are two utter masterpieces included. One, with the Ensemble, is the famous historical song "Sakhodougou". The other, with Keletigui & co, is "N'na", another well known song praising the mothers of the world. If you've never heard him, Kouyate Sory Kandia has one of the great voices of the 20th Century - a powerful tenor voice with great mobility and capable of projecting great drama and emotion. And these two songs just swept me away this evening. So much so, that I just had to go on to "L'epopee du Mandingue" This is most of a three volume LP set by the same title: SLP36, 37 & 38. KSK is accompanied here only by bala (played by Kouyate Djeli Sory, a member of Keletigui & co), kora (Sidikiba Diabate from Mali - who may be Sidiki Diabate, Toumani's father) and an uncredited player on bolon - one of these: The material is all historical praise songs, sung with perfect classical poise. Then I went on to "Tour Afrique de la chanson" This was originally issued as SLP20 and now has a couple of extra tracks from KSK when he was a member of Les Ballets Africains, plus the missing track from SLP37; the 18 minute masterpiece "Lamban". It is only a bit of a tour of Africa. KSK attempts songs from the Cameroun and Zambia as well as Mandinke, Bambara and Peul songs from Guinea, Mali and Senegal; most of this is, therefore, on home ground for him. Still, the other material is well done. All the original tracks from the LP are backed by Keletigui & co. I really can't recommend these CDs - particularly the first - too highly. It's expensive to get the CDs - Sterns are flogging them for £12.95, which is a damn sight more than I paid for them in the African music shop in Brussels in 1999! I think, though, that they're a lot cheaper on e-music. So, now that's finished, what else can I play but Keletigui & ses Tambourinis' second incarnation (their first was as Orchestre Syli) as Orchestre de la Paillote (where the band still plays). MG

I reckon the best Crusaders stuff is in their live albums for PJ: Lighthouse Lighthouse '66 Lighthouse '68 Festival album Lighthouse '69 was supposed to be coming out on CD last year, but didn't appear. Forgot about these, the other day. MG

Salford Van Hire (Dutch painter? ) Mark Radcliffe Barry Unsworth Harry Worth Peter North I've forgotten William IV

Well, I await with bated breath Amazon's announcement that the entire Mali K7 catalogue is available on CD. MG

Just remembered that I have on tape a lovely early fifties blues - "Lost in Korea" by Sherman Johnson - I think it was on the Sterling label but not sure. Complete with machine gun fire in the background. Ah, I see it's available here http://www.answers.com/topic/shout-brother-shout And it was on the Trumpet label. MG

I can understand this. If EMI gave BN a budget to store all their releases, why not HMV India? Regal Zonophone? Mali K7? Pathe Marconi Cote d'Ivoire? Pathe Marconi France? Toshiba-EMI? Capitol? hEMIsphere? And so on and on and on. And a lot of those libraries would have the same albums in them - BN TOCJs and Pathe-Marconis and Spanish BNs and lord knows what. The company went bust without all that! But nonetheless... (Small is beautiful.) MG

Henry Crun Minnie Crun Eccles

I was having a poke around the Amazon sites - ordered another Buddy Johnson Classics from Amazon Germany then, as I was heading for France, happened to see, in the list of other sites at the bottom of the page, that there was an Austrian site. So I followed the link but it looks as if it's Amazon.de - that's the address in the adress line. I guess there's some point, but I can't see it. What's the score with this? MG

I'd also recommend Nat's 'You, Baby' which has a similar feel to 'Calling Out Loud'. I had a poke around on all the Amazons in Europe and US and only found an LP of "You, baby" for $36 - so I thought I'd wait for a more propitious price to come along. But I'm glad to have these recommendations. MG

Chicken George The Red Rooster Henny Penny

Two more of the great big bands turned up this morning. As Buddy Johnson's is my favourite big band, I thought I ought to extend my measly two LPs into a more comprehensive selection, so I've started with these, which were fairly cheap - though postage from France is expensive. I only have about four of the tracks on the two CDs already. Great swinging band; wonderful songs; great singers. Who could ask for anything more? MG