The Magnificent Goldberg

Mantovani Elizalde Geraldo

Rev Isaac Douglas & the First Tabernacle of Deliverance Choir of New York City - I'm never left alone - AVI reissue MG

Jesse "Cheese" Hameen (Jesse Kilpatrick, as was) Hamid Drake Sir Francis Drake

That Al Grey is definitely a nice one. Unfortunately, the only other really decent Tangerine release I know is John Anderson, Time Will Tell, a big band recording with Sweets Edison, Bobby Bryant, Teddy Edwards, Harold Land, Jack Wilson among other west coast guys. Back to Percy. Anyone familiar with this 1992 CD? Its culled from shows between 1981-83: I only became aware of it because I stumbled upon a DVD on the same label titled Mark Naftalin's Blue Monday Party Volumes 1 & 2. Naftalin played piano backing touring blues acts at this club in the Bay area and put out these recordings on his Winner label (the "Blue Monday" program actually won local Emmy's, I believe). The DVD is pretty cool, with one show featuring Lowell Fulson solo for 15 minutes, Lowell backing Percy, and then the second show features John Lee Hooker. What's really cool (at least the first time) is that one of the Hooker tracks allows you to use your remote to pick different camera angles. Would be really cool if you could be the director for the whole show! So anyway, I'm thinking about this late-period Percy document. Ought to be good, I just haven't pulled the trigger. It's good, very good. (Of course, I'm a fan.) Band's good, too. MG

I'll try that for the future. Thanks Jim. MG

Montgomery of Alamein Earl Mountbatten of Burma Charles, Prince of Wales

Indeed it did! I tried to get it a few months after release, but it was gone, at least as far as British distribution was concerned. Didn't realise that in the US Rhino were distributing solely on line, or I'd have tried that. One of the faults of the Jazzmatazz listings was that they didn't make it clear that some were limited releases; if that had been clear, I'd have waited about five seconds. MG

Jack Bruce Bruce Springsteen Robert the Bruce

That would be nice! I have Stanley Turrentine's Let It Go (which includes a few tracks from a Shirley Scott solo album) and Queen of the Organ but there's a lot more that has yet to be released on CD. I found yesterday that quite a few of her Impulse albums have been released on CD in Japan. MG

It's been bloody pouring here almost continuously since yesterday afternoon - with a short gap during which we could get a distinctly unspectacular view of the lunar eclipse. This is the best part of Great Britain for rain. MG

Anne of Cleves The Pope (who gets thrown into the river every year where she lived) Julia Foster (who also lived there) (and so did I)

I missed that Rhino too, to my great regret. It's going on Amazon UK for £133 ($266) and upwards !!!! Love Percy. MG

Virgil Virgil Jones Lee Morgan

Ray Bryant - Groove house - Sue orig mono split seam MG

No, you're right - the recordings were made for King. Some were reissued on Bethlehem. MG

Eh? (Two nations divided by a single language) MG I THINK I see what you mean. MG

Oh my God I missed it! Well, I hope it was a real good 'un. MG

No - Rap was always the old Disco. MG

Eh? (Two nations divided by a single language) MG

rhymes with... Mitch Miller No, 'ang on a tick... Gertrude Stein Still not right... Slide Hampton (needs more thought) MG

Looks like there's a typo in there - 1964 should be 1954, I think. But that's a pretty interesting piece. I'd forgotten about the early Jaws on Bethlehem, I think. MG

Doy you have your own dedicated postie MG? AND HE WEARS SHORT TROUSERS! MG

MG

Well, earwig oh! 1 Yay! “The man with the golden arm”! How else to start? Wonderful! Would this be Ray Anthony’s version? It’s a very fun version and swings a treat! 2 The “James Bond Monkey”! Oh YEAHHHHH! So who’s this lot? Oh WMP is telling me it’s someone I’ve never heard of. Well, I wouldn’t have guessed. Perry & the Harmonics – who knew? 3 OK – now I’ve got my word processor covering up WMP, so no more clues. And this is a very, very nice version of “Comin’ home baby”. Another band I don’t know. Well, maybe I do. This is very reminiscent of the Mar-Keys. But it ain’t, cos they never recorded this. And it ain’t the Bo-Keys, either, cos their version is slower. So, this could be the Packers. Dunno, cos I ain’t got the Packers LP. Just listened to it twice over, it’s so nice! 4 Here’s a tenor player I ought to recognise. Phoof! Shades of Plas Johnson! Drums and conga are so right together in this! And that odd piano/celeste player. I think I need a few more listens before a name comes out of the woodwork. Nice stuff, too. 5 Very strange Latinish groove to this one. Kinda lounge, kinda funky. Oh a singer! Singing in what sounds like nonsense Spanish. Ah, it’s a twist! Well! Waddayaknow! This is a real fun set Vint! 6 Very groovy piano & vibes with bongos in the rhythm section keeping that groove goin’ nicely. So much going on it’s hard to hear it all in one go. Is this vibist the guy who played a live gig with Jimmy Smith a couple of years before he died? Torres or something? Or maybe this is something by Cal Tjader – which I wouldn’t be likely to recognise. 7 A funky big band – playing very loud! I recognise these changes but not the tune. Very ‘60s type of material. Love the tenor player – very straight-ahead in the manner of Rusty Bryant, but different. And the alto man has a proper lead sound. Actually this reminds me of some of those cheap albums they used to produce in those days with great studio musicians let a little bit loose! 8 I get a strong Henry Mancini feeling about this track. Well, not sure about whether he’d have a guitarist playing like that. Can’t pin this down at all. Very Booker T influenced organist. Hmmm. 9 I think I know this one. No I don’t. Lovely piano player. Could this be from one of Ray Bryant’s Cadet albums? Or maybe it’s Ramsey? It’s got that Cadet feel about it. 10 More funk! I seem to recognise the sound here. Two trumpet players? Very nice stuff! Oh, here comes the tenor player. Another one I ought to know. Yes get it! Wooooo! 11 There’s so much stuff in this that I feel familiar with, but I’m really not! This sounds like it OUGHT to be Blue Mitchell and Harold Vick, but isn’t. The rhythm section’s not quite right for them. 12 Oh, a nice bit of 6/8 with a lot of Timmons feeling in it. Can’t think who these players are, but I do like them all. 13 Latin groove, par excellence. Oh then we’re off to the races! Oh what an effin’ groove! And to get all this in 3:12! Phew! 14 Tenor and flute playing games with the pianist. Don’t know who these guys are. Like it. 15 Big band with scat singer really wailin’ away! Is (s)he playing along on guitar? Wow! Very interesting. 16 I keep thinking I recognise these intros, then I don’t. Another glorious bit of 6/8 featuring a flute player. I’m not very good at flute players but this guy sounds as if he’s listened very carefully to some West African players. Ah, could it be Rahsaan? It’s a gas! Pianist indeed reminds me of Randy Weston. But I doubt the two have ever recorded together. A lovely thing indeed! 17 More flute. Latin groove. This reminds me of Herbie Mann. But not the band. Seems strange to have a bass solo in such a short track. 18 Another flute player. What’s that strange drum-type thing? “Taboo” – a very funky version, as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if this weren’t one of Cal Tjader’s ‘60s cuts. Equally, it could be a track from the Afro-Blues Quintet Plus 1 that I don’t have. I really like that funny drum thing. I think it’s the A-B Q + 1. 19 Wow! A delicate killer! Actually sounds like soundtrack music from a chase scene. Phew! (again) 20 “Under Paris skies”/”Peter Gunn” What a combination! And how funky! I’m tempted to say a lot of this sounds like lounge music, but it’s much too good for that. Or, my view of lounge music is unwontedly deprecating. 21 This is more stuff that I NEaRLY recognise. These bands are so just off to one side. I luv M! 22 I’ve just gotta shake my head at this stuff. There are nice soloists. Here’s a lovely alto player. And really competent musicians and arrangers generally. But they’re making all these short little tracks. What for? This one is a bit Basie-like. But it’s not really like his style – too fast but, in particular, too short. 23 And here’s another one that sounds like a bunch of European sidemen hired to make some kind of cheapo LP in the ‘60s – but for what market? A market that actually doesn’t listen to the music? I can’t work it out. Oh no, that’s Ben Webster there, surely? No, it’s someone very influenced by him. Were some of these albums intended for the hifi/stereo/32 track recording demonstration trade? 24 And here, amid another of these big bands, is a very nice bit of Jimmy Smith style organ playing. And a slightly rocky guitarist. Bonus track So delightful! That organist has a great bass line. I get an impression of an early 70s British fusion band – Oblivion Express or one like that. But I don’t think it’s anything like as obvious as that. Fuckin’ ELL! I just don’t believe this stuff Vint. OH MY GODDD (to paraphrase Chewy). What a ride! On reflection over a ciggy, I suspect a lot of the funk and Latin band stuff comes off compilations that SouStation1 has got you all worked up about in the last few months. And the big band stuff comes from Command and other similar labels engaged in the hifi business. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. MG

I know comparatively little about Doc Bagby. But like many organists, he was, I think, from Philly. The material with Jaws (and Sonny Stitt) recorded at Birdland for Roost is the best known in Jazz circles, I think. He's remarkably effective on those sides. He was A&R manager for Gotham Records (a Philly label) in the early '50s (and maybe also late '40s - he was definitely in there in 1950). Gotham's big business was Gospel, with a fair bit of R&B. Bagby appeared on numerous Gospel sides featuring the Angelic Gospel Singers, Brother John Sellers at that time, and later with Sister Rosetta Tharpe. In the late '50s, he was A&R man for Val-ue Records, a tiny Philly label, and part owner of Red Top Records, yet another Philly label that vanished into the mists of time. As an organist, Bagby was probably even earlier than Wild Bill Davis! MG Oh yes - so to all them geezers wot think that Quincy Jones and Esmond Edwards were pioneers in terms of African-Americans becoming execs in record companies - Doc was there to show them the way.