The Magnificent Goldberg

Gawdblesher Guv. MG

Goddam! So hung up on Arnett I didn't even think #6 might have been two other tenor players! Another one I've got but didn't recognise! MG

Well, what a blast!!!!! Straight into it. Spilled my tea at the end of the first track. 1 Boppish number from Hawkins – Coleman, that is, not Erskine. V forthright sound to the trumpet player. I don’t know him. I don’t think I know the pianist, either – ah but here comes a few rather Monkishly rhythmic bits at the end of his solo. I suppose it could be Monk – I know they worked together in the forties but this track is too long to be from then. Oh, didn’t Monk and Hawk make an LP together for Riverside? I think it was that one where he’s sitting in the kiddie kart on the cover. 2 Latin number by semi big band – soprano sax solo. Lots of saxes. Then tenor solo. Very attractive, varied arrangement. I like the way the saxes come in with different riffs. Now alto solo, then baritone. Fours with soprano & tenor. Sometimes too much drummer but overall, he’s ace. Maybe that feeling was just at the beginning and once you’re in the groove, then it fits. 3 “It’s all right with me”. Don’t know this singer at all. Wonderful band behind him, interestingly arranged and swinging like the clappers! Cor! What lovely chords! I really can’t think of any well known singer – and surely this guy is well known – ah, is it Johnny Hartman? Never heard him before. What a singer! 4 Fuckin’ ‘ell, that is one filthy alto player! Don’t care who it is! Just groovin’ to him! Jesus Christ! What a preacher!!!!!! Second solo I’m thinking it must be someone else I’ve never heard much of like Dolphy. Or McLean. 5 “Falling in love with love” by smooth tenor with very nice sound. I like the whole band. Everyone’s pulling together. And the bass player sounds really very much nicer than most to me – I usually don’t get bass players but I can hear this guy clearly. No idea who any of these people are. But that doesn’t seem to matter. 6 “Go Red go”. As far as I know, this recording doesn’t exist. I thought I had every version Arnett cut of this tune; but this isn’t any of them. And he only did it once with organ. It has the ambiance of that version with Jaws, with Wild Bill Davis on organ, so maybe Wild Bill is here, too – but it’s not Jaws – someone more like Buddy Tate. I dunno, perhaps this is some previously unissued thing from Black & Blue. Anyway, I want this version, too. 7 Lovely baritone sax sound in the statement of the tune. There are elements of this tune I think I recognise, but I don’t really. I think I recognise the first tenor player sometimes, too, but he’s not one I normally listen to much. Golson, maybe. He writes tunes I haven’t heard that sound familiar. Don’t know the next tenor man. Trumpet player I would like to be Blue Mitchell, but I don’t think it is. I think I’m going to guess at something by Golson with a larger group – there was an LP called “Take a number from one to ten” which ended up with a large group; perhaps this comes from that. Bass player is another lovely player. 8 Lovely walk-on. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:kzfoxqtgldae I see there are some bonus tracks on the CD, though I think of it as side 2 track 2 (#6 here). This took me forever to identify, even though I’ve got it. I don’t find either of the horn players at all easy to identify. But once I started concentrating on the rhythm section, everything slipped into place. 9 “If you could see me now” Nice trumpet player, though he’s got a slightly shrill tone that I’m not greatly enamoured of. Love the way he’s playing the tune. Don’t think I’ve ever heard this guy before. Nor the pianist, who sounds quite dark. Don’t think I know the tenor player either, though he seems a mite more familiar. Probably these are all guys off my regular patch. 10 Another familiar intro. Yes, another I’ve got. Gerald Wilson? Damned if I know what, though. Ah, it’s this. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:jifrxqyhldke Side 1, track 2. 11 Preaching, somewhat avant tenor player, live. Once the rest of the band comes in, it’s not avant at all. But I don’t know who this guy is. I just think I want to buy lots of his records. I didn’t catch the names of the rhythm section when he announced them. Maybe this is Clifford Jordan, but somewhat farther out than I’m used to? 12 “Coquette” A nice old tune played by a nice old trumpeter who sounds suspiciously like Louis Armstrong. I keep not buying hundreds of Armstrong records – I only have a couple - but this’ll make me correct that. (That’s if it’s him.) But it ain’t, ‘cos of the guitar, which I don’t associate with Armstrong’s All Stars. This is really a kind of perfect example of small group swing. Makes me think about Commodore’s small group sessions, which I’m not at all familiar with. After a bit of sleuthing, I came up with Edmond Hall, Emmett Berry, Vic Dick, Heywood etc. Oh and it’s Al Casey on guitar. Well, maybe there is some doubt because it isn’t much like the Casey I’ve heard. This is more a Freddie Green style of comping, I think. Still, let’s say it’s that 1943 session for Commodore. I guess it was in a Mosaic box. This is telling me how much more exploring I have to do in this area. And how good it’s gonna be. 13 R&B song by a lady who is more than slightly familiar. The first Soul Jazz albums I ever bought were by Dakota. I haven’t got this but I think it comes from this LP http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:gbfqxq95ldje. Who’s the tenor player? Oh, now that IS a surprise. Another for my list. 14 Oh, jungle drums day in day out. You’ll be all right as long as the drums keep playing. What happens when they stop? Bass solo. Don’t know these musicians I think, but they’re all right. 15 Piano player. Style seems a bit familiar – must have heard him before but I really don’t know this guy. Let’s try Hugh Lawson, for no better reason than that I haven’t seen anyone mention his name for a while. Are there two pianists here? If there’s only one, he’s playing a helluva lot of piano. That last track is the only one I haven’t really liked a lot. What a damn fine bunch of stuff you’ve put together, Jack!!!!! Thank you very much indeed. Lots here I think I want to buy (Godammit!). MG

No sweat. MG

Marginally better than having to cope with Dame Edna Everage at 6:30AM. There must be some positive things about not being in Australia MG

(Sung to the tune of "O come all ye faithful") Why are we waiting? Why-y are we waiting? MG

Yes, never occurred to me but that also rings true. MG

I am more than overawed. MG

I Googled to find the ones I found last night. I could give you that site, but postal charges would probably be uneconomic for this. Does Google over there offer you the option of limiting your search to Swiss sites? MG

Just noticed that two of the books on a half-empty shelf had fallen over in the night. MG

Have a really good one, Jon. (And happy birthday, also) MG

That looks interesting. I was wondering about this a few months ago. MG

It seems so, but we'd gone to bed and it didn't wake us up. Four minutes to one and work tomorrow? (today) MG

Wow! That's a bit ultra rare! Suggest you write to Greaeme Counsel and tell him you've got this. He might get Sterns to reissue it if yours is in good nick. MG I may be wrong about this, but I believe that it was reissued on CD about 15 years ago. Don't know by whom. "Au coeur de Paris" was issued on CD about that time. Never saw the earlier album on CD. MG

Tell me something new! (And less worrying, please.) MG

That's a most interesting thing. It's not CDs that suck, it's albums. And if you mainly want individual songs, no point in buying CDs. This is a bit of a paradigm shift. MG

British label, mainly Classical, that did some very good modern jazz (Michael Garrick, Norma Winstone etc). Part of the Decca group. AND MADE SCORES - PERHAPS HUNDREDS - OF LPs OF STEAM TRAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And they all sold quite well!) MG My dad was an avid model railroader and had many of these records. Riveting stuff. The REAL "Blue Train". GREAT NEWS FROM MOSAIC: THE COMPLETE ARGO TRANSACORD SERIES!!!! MG

Yes. But, unfortunately, I worked out that hitting the red X on the MS-box very fast stopped it after a bit and, damn! there was this bird on screen as it went! MG

Just ordered it - from Amazon via the link. 10 days or so - I don't mind waiting. MG

I hope not. ... I can handle cracked jewel cases, loose discs and all that, but busted prongs is a pain in the ass. Gotta pull the damn thing apart to get all the artwork out and stuff it it a new case. ... If you can buy new cases that hold 4 CDs, get a few for me MG Here's one (I think): Wow! My man told me you couldn't get them. After seeing your link, I did a Google in the UK and found someone flogging them. Thanks Paps! MG

Wow! That's a bit ultra rare! Suggest you write to Greaeme Counsel and tell him you've got this. He might get Sterns to reissue it if yours is in good nick. MG

British label, mainly Classical, that did some very good modern jazz (Michael Garrick, Norma Winstone etc). Part of the Decca group. AND MADE SCORES - PERHAPS HUNDREDS - OF LPs OF STEAM TRAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And they all sold quite well!) MG

I hope not. ... I can handle cracked jewel cases, loose discs and all that, but busted prongs is a pain in the ass. Gotta pull the damn thing apart to get all the artwork out and stuff it it a new case. ... If you can buy new cases that hold 4 CDs, get a few for me MG

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...mp;#entry756854 MG

Just got an e-mail from Sterns. Tracks are 01 Wamato 04:25 02 Deni Wana 03:57 03 Reine Nyepou 06:20 04 Ndaren 04:19 05 Be Ni Son 04:35 06 Djama 05:12 07 Kania 04:56 08 Zawi 03:30 09 Alhamdoulilah 05:05 10 Meilleurs Voeux 05:17 11 Demembalou 04:38 12 Meres D'Afrique 03:52 I haven't heard this. It was released last week. This was a GREAT band. I have "Au coeur de Paris" and it is really very fine indeed. I'll be getting this pretty soon, I guess. MG