The Magnificent Goldberg

He died, but I don't know when. I remember Bob Porter mentioning in sleeve notes for someone else's record that Freddie and Sam Lazar (and maybe some other organists) had died, but I can't remember which album it was. MG

Wow. Could you detail my car? No; you've got the same muck behind your ear as I have. MG

PS If I had to choose one Freddie Roach, I'd choose "All that's good", "Brown sugar" and "My People". Ooops! Well, otherwise I'd choose 'em all. MG

Beat goes public is a record label; a subsidiary of the UK reissue specialist company Ace. Freddie isn't funky like Jimmy McGriff, Leon Spencer or Charles Earland; he plays like a person who happens to be a friend of yours. But he's funky all right; he comes from deep down in the black community. Some of his records are great dance material, but he never took James Brown on board in the way that Freddie McCoy or Lou Donaldson did. "Brown Sugar" was the one with Joe Henderson. Freddie's intention with that LP was to capture the feel of going out at night and dancing and socialising. "All that's good" has the fabulous Conrad Lester on tenor (he's also on "Mo Greens Please"). I think Conrad only recorded four or five times and is the greatest of the great unknowns. It also has Calvin Newborn on guitr, another man who recorded rarely, but always wonderfully. Freddie here tried to create the feeling of a storefront church, without actually doing any gospel tracks. There's a small vocal chorus on this one. "The Soul Book" is a fairly straightahead album, in which Freddie tried to capture a number of different feelings associated with the word "Soul". "Mocha motion" is closer to a conventional funk album than any of Freddie's others. He also sings on one track; a blues for the black soldiers dying in Vietnam. "My people (soul people)" once more seeks to interpret a number of different facets of the black community. Freddie sings on one track, plays piano on another (the best groove on the LP - "Drunk") and plays flute on another. The tracks are all fairly short. This album is by a larger band than Freddie normally used. He has James Anderson (who later recorded with Jimmy Ponder and John Patton) on soprano, Conrad again and Roland Alexander on tenor, Kiane Zawadi on trombone and euphonium, Henry White on fluegelhorn, Eddie Wright on guitar and Eddie Gladden on drums. Despite the size of the band, the arrangements are light and loose. OK, so I love freddie Roach... MG

Here is a list of Freddie's recordings: IKE QUEBEC - HEAVY SOUL - BN 84093 (26/11/1961) (US BN32090 Jap TOCJ9166 24bit) IKE QUEBEC - IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING - BN 84105 (9/12/1961) (Jap TOCJ9057 24bit) WILLIS JACKSON - THUNDERBIRD - PR 7232 (31/3/1962) (US Prestige PRCD24218 - "Keep on a-blowin'") TWO UNISSUED IKE QUEBEC SESSIONS FOR BN (25/5/1962 & 1/6/1962) FREDDIE ROACH - DOWN TO EARTH - BN 84113 (23/8/1962) (Jap TOCJ9595 24bit) FREDDIE ROACH - MO' GREENS PLEASE - BN 84128 (21/1&11/3/1963) (Jap TOCJ6640 24bit to be issued 21 Dec 2005) FREDDIE ROACH - GOOD MOVE - BN 84158 (29/11 & 9/12/1963) (US BN24551 deleted, Jap TOCJ4158) FREDDIE ROACH - BROWN SUGAR - BN 84168 (19/3/1964) (duff session from day before) (US Water 148) FREDDIE ROACH - ALL THAT'S GOOD - BN 84190 (16/10/1964) (Jap TOCJ4190) DONALD BYRD - I'M TRYIN' TO GET HOME - BN 84188 (17&18/12/1964) (Jap TOCJ4188) UNISSUED FREDDIE ROACH BN SESSION (16/9/1965) FREDDIE ROACH - THE SOUL BOOK - PR 7490 (13&28/6/1966) (enough unissued for another LP) FREDDIE ROACH - MOCHA MOTION - PR 7507 (5/1/1967) (The above 2 LPs are available in GB on Beat GoesPublic CDBGPD122 - 2 on 1) FREDDIE ROACH - MY PEOPLE (SOUL PEOPLE) - PR 7521 (22&29/6/1967) (was issued on CD in Japan, but I missed the last copy which was in stock a couple of months ago - damn!) All the TOCJs (except "Mo greens please") are deleted, BUT you can get them from MUNDO here: http://www.mediawars.ne.jp/~mundo/collect/file/f-roach.html Mundo deal in currently available CDs but also keep copies of interesting deletions. Note: you can't use a credit card; Paypal or some form of cash. To my mind, there is only one of these albums that isn't essential to a good collection of Soul Jazz; the Donald Byrd. Even though that's also got Grant Green and Stanley Turrentine on it, the arrangements of the brass and voices are much too heavy. Freddie was SO talented. No other jazz musician wore his heart so evidently on his sleeve in his music. And that heart was located deeply in his culture and people. Freddie is a musician you just have to love. His album titles tell you where he’s coming from all right. And if you don’t get it from the titles, he wrote most of his own sleeve notes, so there’s no excuse. MG

DON'T SPEND MONEY! I RUB MY THUMB BEHIND MY EAR AND THEN RUB THE STUFF OFF. TO MY WIFE'S DISGUST, IT WORKS ON FRIDGES AND ALL SORTS OF HER STUFF. MG

No, it's not on v 4.4. MG

'Struth! How do we get that out into the world? MG

Since Soul Stream hasn't posted a discog, here's a preliminary list: JOHN PATTON DISCOGRAPHY – PRELIMINARY LIST LLOYD PRICE SPECIALTY TRACKS ? LLOYD PRICE ABC TRACKS ? LOU DONALDSON - THE NATURAL SOUL - BN 84108 (9/5/1962) FRED JACKSON SESSION – INC COWBELL BOOGIE – BN 21484 (21/6/62) LOU DONALDSON - GOOD GRACIOUS - BN 84125 (24/1/1963) JIMMY SMITH - ROCKIN' THE BOAT - BN 84141 (7/2/1963) Patton on tambourine! GRANT GREEN - BLUES FOR LOU - BN CDP7 21438 (20/2&7/6/63) JOHN PATTON - ALONG CAME JOHN - BN 84130 (5/4/1963) JOHNNY GRIFFIN & MATTHEW GEE - SOUL GROOVE - ATL 1431 (14/5/1963) GRANT GREEN - AM I BLUE - BN 84139 (16/5/1963) HAROLD VICK - STEPPIN' OUT - BN 84138 (27/5/1963) LOU DONALDSON - A MAN WITH A HORN - BN CDP7 21436 (7/6/63) JOHN PATTON - BLUE JOHN - BN 84143 (11/7&2/8/1963) LOU DONALDSON - SIGNIFYIN' - CADET 724 (17/7/1963) DON WILKERSON - SHOUTIN' - BN 84145 (29/7/1963) RED HOLLOWAY - THE BURNER - PR 7299 (10/10/1963) LOU DONALDSON - POSSUM HEAD - CADET 734 (28/1/1964) UNISSUED H VICK SESSION FOR BN (27/5/64) (2 tracks) JOHN PATTON - THE WAY I FEEL - BN 84174 (19/6/1964) JOHN PATTON - OH BABY - BN 84192 (8/3/1965) ART BLAKEY - HOLD ON, I'M COMING - LIMELIGHT 86038 (27/5/66) Patton pseudonym Malcolm Bass JOHN PATTON - LET 'EM ROLL - BN 84239 (11/12/1965) GEORGE BRAITH - LAUGHING SOUL - PR 7474 (1/3/1966) GRASELLA OLIPHANT - THE GRASS IS GREENER - ATL 1494 (1/3/1966) JOHN PATTON - GOT A GOOD THING GOIN' - BN 84229 (29/4/1966) CLIFFORD JORDAN – SOUL FOUNTAIN – VORTEX 2101 (12/10/1966) GRANT GREEN - IRON CITY - COBBLESTONE 9002 (1967) JOHN PATTON - THAT CERTAIN FEELING - BN 84281 (8/3/1968) JOHN PATTON - BOOGALOO - BN 31878 (9/8/1968) JOHN PATTON - UNDERSTANDIN' - BN 84306 (25/10/1968) JOHN PATTON - MEMPHIS TO NEW YORK SPIRIT - BN 35221 (9/6/69,2/10/70) JOHN PATTON - ACCENT ON THE BLUES - BN 84340 (9/6&15/8/1969) JOHNNY LYTLE - EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE - MUSE 5158 (31/10/1977) JOHN PATTON - SOUL CONNECTION - NILVA 3406 (7/6/1983) JOHN ZORN - THE BIG GUNDOWN - ELEKTRA/NONESUCH79139 (9/84-9/85) JOHN ZORN - SPILLANE - ELEKTRA/NONESUCH 79172 (8/86-9/87) JIMMY PONDER - MEAN STREETS-NO BRIDGES - MUSE 5324 (19/6/1987) JIMMY PONDER - JUMP - MUSE 5347 (28/3/1988) JOHN PATTON - BLUE PLANET MAN - PADDLE WHEEL (J) KICJ168 (12&13/4/1993) JOHN PATTON - MINOR SWING - DIW 896 (21/12/1994) JOHN PATTON - THIS ONE'S FOR JA - DIW 919 (26/12/1995) RICHARD PIERSON – OPENING STATEMENT – THE JAZZ LABEL LTD TJL001 (1997) I've got all this stuff apart from the Price material, the Clifford Jordan, the Zorns (did JP appear on two?), and the Pierson, so I can vouch for it. The only Price record I'm sure Patton was on is "Where were you on our wedding day", which I have got, because he co-wrote it. A friend once saw a Price LP in which Price, in the sleeve notes, said he thought that John Patton was destined for stardom. He had good taste in pianner players, that man; Harold Mabern worked for him in the late 60s. The date for "Grass is greener" is different from what is in standard discographies (1 Mar 1965). I can't believe that Patton & Green would have waited over a year to redo "The Yodel" and "Soul Woman". I think there's a clerical error somewhere. I'm positive it's Patton on the record the Blakey fans LOVE TO HATE! There is someone called John Patton who plays French horn with the Aardvark Orchestra, but I think it’s a different geezer. Anyone know anything about him? Anything I've missed? Any other points? Any info on his Lloyd Price recordings? MG

Lord lists the Dawn single as follows: Lou Bennett [b3733.70-4] Lou Bennett (org) prob. Glenn Brooks (g) prob. Phil Harris (b) unknown (d) New York ?, c. 1957 Googa mooga Dawn 234 Diggin' Ilene - MG

I doubt that this is a union problem. It certainly doesn't mention the unions in the article quoted. It's much more likely to be a Civil Servant problem; make up a set of rules, then shoehorn or bludgeon in all the exceptions they forgot about when making the rules. MG

Operator error Operator error MG Again Again

On REALLY cold, sunny Winter days, West African music rather does it for me; Bembeya Jazz National and Lemzo Diamono in particular. It also makes me want to go there... MG On REALLY cold, sunny Winter days, West African music rather does it for me; Bembeya Jazz National and Lemzo Diamono in particular. It also makes me want to go there... MG

Yeah, I've got "Soulful drums". Much though I'm a McDuff and Dukes fan, "Soulful drums" really isn't up to much. And to add insult to injury, it's coupled on the CD with my third copy of "Hot Barbecue" - which is also on the BGP edition of "Live" and on the LP twofer with "New boss guitar". Grrr! The CLASSIC version of "Soulful drums" is the one on "Screamin'" If you've got that, (and hasn't every McDuff fan?) you've got it. I haven't got around to Silken Soul yet. You get more than half of "Walk on by" on this CD, and that's an LP I have always regretted flogging when I was on the dole in 1969. I've got a couple of the other tracks on different LPs. The title track is off another LP I unfortunately had to flog. It's tremendous; in my view, the most exciting piece of big band organ arranging ever! MG

I love Hawes' playing, too. My favourites are: At the piano - Contemporary (OJC) I bet "Killing me softly" puts people off, but once he, Ray Brown & Shelley Manne get down to it, they FLY! High in the sky - Vault - another one that flies The Green leaves of Summer - Contemporary (OJC) Live at Memory Lane - with Criss, Teddy Edwards and Joe Turner I also have a wail of a CD by Sonny Criss on Fresh Sound with 4 trax from 1949 and 3 from 1957. It's dreadfully short - 20m 9s - but who cares? The one I don't like much is "Movie musicals". The strings seem to make this totally wet. Am I listening to it wrong? I need to get "Four" and "For real", which I think are the only Contemporarys I haven't got, before Concord kill them. MG

I'm not sure I know what you're all on about. I just compared my vinyl version of "Into Somethin'" with the Connoisseur version and can't tell the difference. I haven't got the Mosaic. I also compared the vinyl version of "The way I feel" with the TOCJ version and the Mosaic Select. On the mosaic, there's a duff bit a few bars in, lasting a couple of seconds maybe, as if there's a bit of muck on the tape. Is that what it's about? MG

I reckon this is the best album Ponder has made since "Soul Eyes" in 1991. In a year or so, I might say it's even better. MG

I'm with LAL - get the Fantasy stuff before those buggers at Concord wipe it all out. As for seeing any more old Fantasy stuff emerge under the tender auspices of Concord; forget it! MG

As far as I can see, apart from some 1946 Dizzy Gillespie material on which both men played, there are only two Stitt/Jackson albums. One is the 1947 & 1948 material, originally recorded for a Detroit label, Sensation, then reissued on LP Galaxy 204, and reissued again on OJC1771 - "In the beginning". The 1947 tracks were recorded by a band under Bags' leadership, the 1948 ones by "Lord Nelson" aka Sonny Stitt. There are also some 1948 tracks on that OJC CD by Russell Jacquet, featuring Stitt, but not Bags. They were also recorded for Sensation. The other is the 1979 Milan concert, issued in Italy as "Loose Walk". MG

I thought I had all of John's recordings (after he left Lloyd Price) except for "Soul Fountain" by Clifford Jordan and the track on that John Zorn LP, but when I checked just now, I found he appeared on an album by Richard Pierson in 1997. Has anyone got that? What's it like? Where can you get it? - It's not listed in AMG. MG

I've had these albums for a couple of months now and "Money" is really HOT! I'm a great fan of Nat; I don't think he was second to Cannon because he was "less talented". I think it was because of the kind of person he was. First, he chose to use the cornet, which is a softer instrument than trumpet. Second, if you listen to the albums he made towards the end of his life - particularly "Workin'" - you'll find him taking second place to Vincent Herring, despite the fact that it was Nat's band! As Cannon said, he came from a very distinguished family. I can't recollect any other band that was so together, musically and personally as the Adderleys, with the exception of Houston Person and Etta Jones bands, over a period of over 30 years. Seeing them live was wonderful. Hearing them live on the "A night in Roppungi" album that I got a few months ago is just as good. MG

Does anyone know why this album is vol 1? There's no vol 2 by Groove. Was there a vol 2 by someone else? MG

It's good to read that again. Lou tells it stright. Perhaps you could scan in the sleeve notes to his "Play the right thing" CD, which he wrote himself; it's even more truculent than the interview on "Back Street". About Lou's royalties and sales, I wouldn't discount what he says. But it might need to be seen in te light of the following: Every musician who put a Blue Note album on the pop charts in the early 1960s left Blue Note shortly afterwards to record for another label. Francis Wolf visited Europe in the summer of 1970, to produce Hank Mobley’s “The Flip” in Paris, and was interviewed on the BBC’s jazz programme one Sunday night. He explained why he and Alfred had had to sell the company to Liberty. Blue Note was a cheapskate company with high standards. Normal first year sales of their albums were about 7,000. The breakeven point was about 2,500. But only about half the albums the company recorded came out at the time. Clearly, the company was profitable, since the records would sell for years, or decades, but not spectacularly so. Alfred Lion and Francis Wolf wanted to record the musicians they thought were best. To manage that, they needed to offer the musicians something they couldn’t get from other companies; and to do so within very tight budgets. They came up with the idea of a cash payment that would be greater than the standard Musicians Union scale. The kick was that there were to be no royalties. All went well until Jimmy Smith, Donald Byrd and Lou Donaldson got records onto the pop charts. Not having read their contracts, they went to Blue Note and asked for their royalties and were told, and I quote, “fuck off, you don’t get no royalties! You were paid cash.” Blue Note could evidently handle losing one big name a year; when Lee Morgan and Horace Silver came to them together, they couldn't sustain their business practices. So they sold Blue Note. I doubt if "Alligator Boogaloo" sold 150,000 in its first year. It stayed on the pop charts 11 weeks and on the R&B charts 10 weeks (not a year). The single scraped into the hot hundred at 93 and didn't make the R&B chart at all. However, it's conceivable that Lou's management did a deal with Liberty for his "back" royalties, which he wasn't really due but could have ben promised. If so, $40K doesn't seem unlikely since "The Natural Soul" had been about as big a hit as "Alligator Boogaloo" and "Blues Walk" had sold well without making the charts. I think Lou is more likely to have a clear memory of money going in the bank than his chart performance. Wouldn't anyone? MG

I like the name of a German jazz drummer - Torsten Zwingenberger (citizen of swing). But also Mickey Bass, whose real name was Lee Otis Bass III (credited as such on Timmons' Chicken & Dumplin's) And Ray Pounds on the drums (oh does he?) MG

This is academic bullshit. You can't know you're maximising sales unless you can set up a control, in which you do something else instead; in fact many other elses. MG