The Magnificent Goldberg

I actually haven't got Pee Wee's Modern recordings - just his Imperial and Blues Spectrum ones. You've inspired me to get the two CDs of Modern material issued here on Ace. I'll order them from my blues man in the market tomorrow. Here's a link to vol 2, which gives you a bit of background on Pee Wee. No personnel, however, Ace is pretty good about listing personnel on its sleeve notes so, when I get the CDs, I'll post the personnel. http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...=59&release=723 MG PS Mostly, Modern used Maxwell Davis to do arrangements and play sax. Maxwell is one of the great under-rated sax players.

$289 to hold 600 CDs is adding half a dollar to the price of each CD. Get yourself some wood, some good fixings, and some screw dowells and nuts from the DIY. (They're not bowing upwards - it's something technical to do with the focus and lens.) I have room for aditional shelves above those that are there (though I'm not sure I could reach them - I'm not as tall as NOJ). MG PS The farting Margaret Thatcher has been banished now - I needed the space

Thanks for posting this. My favourite Sansu artist was Betty Harris. I have "Nearer to you", which is one of only two of hers I managed to keep. I did a Google search on Sansu records and came up with this on Harris. Astoundingly, she as managed to retrieve the rights to her Sansu recordings and is proposing to reissue them. Wow! I'm forming a queue NOW! http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/Musi...?oid=oid:157132 MG

I thought I remembered making a mistake and passing over that one. MG

some might beg to duffer. er... Mrs Golden Arm? MG

I think you're being a bit unfair. Here's a ist of BNs that I've bought in the last few years that I think hadn't been available on CD before (except in Japan, maybe, or deleted Mosaic boxes). Ike Quebec - 45 sessions Bob Hutcherson - Now Lonnie Smith - Turning point Stan Turrentine - That's where it's at Sounds of Jimmy Smith Larry Young - Of love & peace Jimmy Smith - Rockin' the boat Stan Turrentine - Never let me go Grant Green - Goin' west Hank Mobley - Flip Horace Silver trio Larry Young - Mother ship Lee Morgan - Sonic boom/Procrastinator Donald Byrd - Slow drag Grant Green - Final comedown Hank Mobley - Thinking of home Jack McDuff - Moon rappin' Stan Turrentine - Hustlin' That's not a bad list. And it's from a fairly biased sample (my taste ) MG

Considering his resume, I'd have to qualify that statement by saying that it depends on who's making the list, and for what reasons. I think it's safe to say that as a 50s-60s LA session player for pop & R&B sessions, he was on the A-list. And the B+/A- list for jazz sessions. The guy could play, and I wish I could see Plas and Houston tear it up together. So I was reading these posts and thinking; "Well, you'd have people like Hawk and Ben and Prez and Trane and Rollins and Joe H in the tenor A list. And people like Hank and Jug and Illinois and Benny Golson..." and I thought "WTF? what's all this A and B and C and D list business? Aloadabolox. Some people get to you, and that is what it's about. Plas gets to me. MG

i may be there as well. i'm supposed to be meeting dick berk there around 11pm. let's try to say hello! That's nice MG

Count me in, please, Dan. I'd prefer discs because I'm too useless at anything else. No rush for me, however, my wife's having the holiday this year. PM on the way. MG

'Course, it doesn't have to be commercial HERE and NOW; just SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME. MG

Happy birthday! 52 is good! 52 is young. You can make your second album when you're 52! Go it! MG

All this talk about needle drops made me go back to Jim's original link. They're CDs!?!?!?! Didn't BN bring out "Lush life" on a CD? MG

Have a good time! MG

didn't Ornette Coleman have one of his first professional jobs with Crayton? Yep. I've never heard Crayton's music, either. It's easy to think of Crayton as a poor man's T-Bone Walker, but he was a bit different - even more laid back and, on occasion, inclined to do a C&W song or two. Very nice guitarist. He made a very good album with Johnny Otis' band in the mid '70s for Blues Spectrum. Much better sound than on his 78s And he was really cool. "Now you're leavin' me baby, Oh yes, Don't forget to close the door." Now that is MF COOL! MG

We had the same cool, rainy sea-fret yesterday morning until I rode up to the top of the Moors. It cleared around 4pm. Back up into mid 20's It's been very pleasantly warm all day; then at 6 o'clock, it got HOT! MG

One of the advantages of being older - and living in America. Those organ room heroes never came to Britain. GG came in '69 to a jazz festival, appearing in a guitar workshop and that was it. The first organ band that did come over here, I think, was Houston Person's, who did a gig at the very expensive Ronnie's in London in '79 or '80 maybe. My mate, who lives not far from London, saw him and it was then that we first heard about the Club Mozambique session - Houston told my friend that BN had lost it. Turns out that he was only partly right, thank goodness! MG

Wait a minute, now I need a quarter for each tone arm. I cant afford that. Do they play 78s? MG

"What is the Booty and how do I know I'm shakin' it?" (G Clinton) MG

Ah well. I see what you mean. I was very glad when "The phantom" came out last year - it saved me having to buy the Mosaic. MG

Don’t you just love that hat! Plas Johnson was born on 21 July 1931, in Donaldsville, Louisiana. Happy 75th to you, Plas! If there is a jazz musician whose solo work has been heard by more people on this planet than Plas, I can’t imagine who it would be. Two whole generations of kids have grown up watching the Pink Panther, on TV as well as at the films. Plas and his brother Ray, a pianist, formed a combo in New Orleans in 1950 and made a single for the DeLuxe label. Then Plas was off on the road with Texas bluesman Charles Brown, winding up in Los Angeles. Then he joined Roy Milton’s Solid Senders, before being drafted and playing in a military band in California. Following discharge, Plas played in a small band around Monterey. When Ray was discharged from his army service, the two hooked up again and joined Johnny Otis for about a year. By this time, Plas was beginning to get a reputation around the LA recording companies. Initially, he did a bit of work for Capitol, but was called more regularly by the R&B firms – Modern, Specialty and Aladdin – which were making lots of big hits. As a result, he met pianist/organist Ernie Freeman and played on his first album, produced by Jerry Leiber. Plas would be a regular member of Ernie’s recording bands for several years. In 1956, Plas and Ray had joined with drummer George Jenkins to form a band called The Strollers. They recorded three albums and a few singles for Bob Scherman’s Tampa label, all of which has been reissued on CD in Germany – “The best of Plas Johnson” Wolf WBJ021. This is very lively, bluesy, stuff. Over the next few years, Plas cemented his position as a studio regular. He claims to have played the solos on the Coasters’ “Young blood” and “Searchin’”, under orders from the studio to sound like King Curtis! (Well, it DOES sound like King Curtis. ) In this period, he also played with Fats Domino, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, B B King, Jesse Belvin, The Olympics The Platters, Peggy Lee, The Four Preps, T-Bone Walker, Nat “King” Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Earl Grant, Frank Sinatra and Larry Williams, to mention only a few of a partial list that Plas has compiled on his website http://www.plasjohnson.com/index.htm He also made two superb albums for Fantasy with Soul Jazz organist Paul Bryant. “Somethin’s happening” and “Groove time” have never been reissued on CD but are the best albums for hearing Plas in relaxed, extended mode, playing himself. In this period, too, Plas became tenor player of choice for Henry Mancini, first working with him on the music for the “Peter Gunn” TV series. This eventually led to his famous work on the “Pink Panther”. No one can play that elastic, bouncing, stalking, sexy tune the way Plas can. I’m quite sure that Henry, like Ellington, designed that theme around the sound of Plas. Plas’ most extended film music performance was in the Peter Sellers film “The party”, a hilarious film, most of the action taking place at a party in the home of a Hollywood mogul, to which Sellers had been invited by mistake. There isn’t much in the way of scored music in this film; since the action is at a party, the music played by a jazz quartet forms the background to almost all the action. This is played by Plas, though the musicians appearing on screen are actors, miming. So, if you concentrate, you can hear Plas and his band playing for about an hour. Trouble is, I find the film so funny, I can’t concentrate on the music all that often! Plas has continued to record with an amazing range of musicians and singers, including Billy Vaughn, Barbra Streisand, Steely Dan, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Rita Coolidge, Milt Jackson, Wild Bill Davis, Jerry Butler, The Commodores, Jimmy Smith, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Benny Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Aaron Neville, Lou Rawls, Dr John, Neil Diamond and another endless list. He was on the first LP by The Mothers of Invention; “Freak out”. No one knows how many recordings he has made. All the while this was going on, Plas was recording as a leader. He recorded frequently in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s for Capitol. Around the same period, he also recorded, pseudonymously, as a leader under the name of Johnny Beecher. I have a wonderfully titled 45 of Beecher’s “Jack sax the city”/”Sax Fifth Avenue”, featuring Bert Kendricks on organ. (Must get that out and play it.) But Plas hasn’t really needed to lead his own band. After the early ‘60s, he idn’t record again until he made two good albums for Concord Jazz “The blues” and “Positively” in 1976 and 1977. In 1983, he made his first LP, “LA ‘55”, (CM101) for his own label Carell Music. Since then, he has issued three more albums, on CD: “Hot, blue and saxy” CM102 (1990); “Evening delight” CM103 (1999); and “Christmas in Hollywood” CM104 (2000). And, in 2001, he also led, jointly with Red Holloway, the wonderful session “Keep that groove goin’” for Milestone (MCD9319). Plas’ CDs for Carell Music are available from CDBaby. Plas is always entertaining; always professional; always recognisable, when allowed to solo. If you’re in Southern California tonight, Plas is appearing at Charlie O’s, Valley Glen, with Jackie Kelso, another veteran of Roy Milton’s Solid Senders (who I thought had died, but who has spent the last 10 years with the Basie band). He was also in the Johnny Otis band and I don’t doubt that he and Plas have been hooking up on and off for over fifty years. I reckon that’s going to be some party! If you miss that gig, Plas is doing a jazz cruise around Mexico in October/November. Houston Person will be on board, too – a tenor battle of epic proportions looks possible! Happy birthday Plas! Have a great time tonight! MG

Isn't this included in the Pearson Mosaic Select? MG

I am pretty sure that the Applause version of Lou's "Lush life" came out before the GXF version on Japanese King. That would make it the original. And it's only $3.99! Beautiful session. MG

After a few days of extreme heat, it turned cool and rainy yesterday - only fourpence ha'penny worth of rain, so I still had to water the garden. I don't think it was like that elsewhere in Britain - it does rain more here than anywhere else. Looks like hot again today, though it's still a bit overcast this morning. MG

Complete sense. Something that's sorely lacking in jazz of today...good times and showmanship. Absolutely. This reminds me of the stuff Pat Martino wrote - or told the interviewer - for the sleeve notes of the CD reissues of some of the Willis Jackson LPs. Willis was always concerned that the band should come across; that the audience should think they were in the right place, at the right time, seeing the right band. That went from clothes to behaviour to music. Just finished B B King's autobiography and he says the same thing. Art may be all very well for some, but give me commercial music any time. MG

Poorly. Sometimes I don't think they even did that. I've got a lot of the late 60s Specialty LPs, reissuing Gospel material from the 40s and early '50s and it all sounds like mono to me, only labelled stereo. Best rechanneling I've ever heard! MG