Tom in RI

Glenn Wilson

George Adams Serge Chaloff Leo Parker

From the picture and description I don't see how the seller of the Mobley can call the cover NM-. Wouldn't the disclosed seam split alone make it VG+ at best? Those corners don't look too good either. Now I am not generally that fussy but for $2,000 + I expect NM- to be almost perfect.

Seems to me that the Todd Rundgren lp cited in Claude's link was the record holder at the time of its release. The Savoy twofer of Milt Jackson and Lucky Thompson, Second Nature, had sides between 26-28 minutes, and stellar music too boot. According to Allmusic this twofer included 4 sperate 1956 lp's. Still one of my favorite records.

From yesturday's Providence Journal: R&B all-star Porky Cohen left us swinging 10:02 AM EDT on Thursday, April 15, 2004 BY RICK MASSIMO Journal Pop Music Writer Pam Murray Porky Cohen, dead at 79. Porky Cohen played with W.C. Handy and Stevie Ray Vaughn. His work stretches over most of the past century. When he died yesterday at age 79, he took a lot of history with him. But with his huge, classy, round trombone sound, he also put a lot of history out on stages across Rhode Island and around the world for people to take with them. Most musicians are happy to have one career. Cohen had at least two. From 1942 to 1950, he hit the road with the big bands of Charlie Barnet, Lucky Millinder, Benny Goodman and more. Cohen came back to Rhode Island and played with the Dixieland band The Jewels of Dixie, and also worked at Ladd's Music, in Cranston and later in Providence. "He did the road on his terms," says local jazz writer and photographer Ken Franckling. "He didn't stay out long enough to get jaded on it, and he knew that there was more to music than spending your life on a bus. . . . He came home and got a real job. Some guys never get off the bus." Hal Crook, 53, an area trombonist who has recorded and toured the world and teaches at the Berklee College of Music, started taking lessons from Cohen at Ladd's at age 13. "Basically, the guy gave me everything in terms of my musical foundation: How to get a sound, how to play Dixieland -- he's like the godfather of Dixieland, rhythm-and-blues trombone playing. . . . I made my bones playing in his band, the Jewels of Dixie." But Cohen and the road weren't through with each other. In 1979, he got the call to join Rhode Island's rhythm-and-blues stalwarts, Roomful of Blues. "He joined [Roomful] at 54," said Carl Querfurth, who eventually replaced Cohen in Roomful in 1988. "I'm 48 and I left the band five years ago. I said, 'I'm too old to be doing this.' He joined when he was six years older than I am now!" Bob Bell first saw Cohen and Roomful in Atlanta in 1980. "When we walked in, they were playing (the Duke Ellington tune) 'Caravan,' and that was Porky's feature number with the band. And that was my very first glimpse of Roomful of Blues and Porky, walking through the door of this club. There were people literally dancing on the tables. Dancing on the tables! And there's this old guy playing trombone, the eyes bulging out of his head, and I thought 'Wow! This is just fantastic!' " Bell started talking with Cohen during the break, and a few months later he began working with the band. He managed them for 23 years. "He really had a very down-to-earth, professional attitude toward playing," Bell said. " . . . He knew the value of space; he wouldn't play extra notes. He played what fit the song." John Rossi, the band's longtime drummer, said Cohen was "really the most professional musician he'd ever played with," according to Bell. According to Querfurth, Cohen appeared on several Roomful records, including Hot Little Mama, Live at Lupo's and Dressed Up to Get Messed Up, as well as those the band did with Big Joe Turner, Earl King and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Cohen also played on a Charlie Barnet 78 from the '40s. And in 1996, he released Rhythm & Bones, his only solo album, which was produced by Querfurth and featured the members of Roomful as his backing band. "He got a little piece on each of the Roomful records he was on, but I wanted him to have a whole record to lay it out on. So I just said 'If you had a record, what would you do with it?' " The result is big-band rhythm and blues, with a swinging feel and with Cohen leading the way. After leaving Roomful, Cohen played around Rhode Island for the rest of his life, on a freelance basis and in the band Swingtime with John Worsley. People best remember him for his work with Roomful of Blues, but swing and big-band music was his first love, Worsley says. "He was greatly respected throughout the music business, not just in Rhode Island," Worsley says. Cohen was a friend and mentor to a young Doc Severinsen in the Charlie Barnet Band (which also included Clark Terry) in the '40s. Last year, Severinsen, who went on to fame and fortune with the band on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, played in Providence with the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Worsley says he tried to get Cohen to come to the show, but Cohen was too ill. Worsley went to the show, and sent a note backstage to Severinsen. The written reply was swift: "Make sure you get back here." "We went into his dressing room and he closed the door. . . . He said 'I wanna hear about Porky.' " Worsley and Cohen were supposed to work together last New Year's Eve, but they were both ill. Worsley believes that Cohen's last gig was with him for Autumnfest in Woonsocket last October. And as Worsley says, that required a little reverse psychology. "He said, 'John, I don't think I can do it.' So I said, 'Well, just come and watch, and support me.' So he said he'd do that. And I said, 'Do you want to bring your trombone?' 'Yeah, if I'm gonna go, I might as well take my trombone.' Then, when he was there, I said, 'Now, Porky, you don't have to play anything, but do you want me to take your trombone over to the stage or should I just leave it here in the car?' and he said 'No, if I'm gonna go over there, I might wanna play a few notes.' . . . And the music started and away he went. . . . Well, of course he just blew the walls down. And the other players in that band just sat there in amazement at him." "He really could blow. Even as frail and sickly as he was, when he took a solo, watch out."

The liner notes to Jazz Archive 35 note that Don Byas cuts everyone on Honeysuckle Rose.

I saw John Stein play at the Museum of Science in Boston a couple of years ago. Very tasty, picked a disc of his on A Records as a result that has Fathead Newman as guest on several cuts, very nice stuff.

A guitarist deserving more attention is Pete McCann. He has a couple of discs out on Palmetto and is also well featured on the two New York Nonet discs I've heard (lead by Jim Cifelli). Some may find him overly influenced by Bill Frisell by I don't hear it that way. He also takes part in the Palmetto release Duke's Motivation, with Matt Wilson, David Berkman, Joel Frahm, and Ben Allison, an Ellington tribute that has become one of my favorite cd's of the past few years. Another guitarist a little off the radar and playing in a more traditional approach that I think I think deserves more exposure is Clay Moore.

And a rare chance to hear Pres speaking.

I like the Kronos lp cited here. They don't improvise, they leave that to guest Ron Carter. It has been my experience that most jazz fans I've talked to about this lp seem to be left cold by it, I don't know why. Turtle Island Quartet, mentioned above, recently played here in Providence. They gave a "Demonstration" in the afternoon where they played and talked about what they do. From their comments I'd say they see themselves as heavily influenced by jazz. I've enjoyed most of what I've heard from them. Any body here heard Buell Neildlinger's Blue Chopsticks? That features a string trio along with sax and trumpet in a tribute to Herbie Nichols. Richard Greene, who plays on Blue Chopsticks, has also released some jazz pieces arranged for string quartet including Don Pullen's Big Alice. I have a definite fascination for this kind of stuff and would like to be turned on to more.

I stopped worrying about being a completist after it became pretty clear that I wasn't likely going to achieve complete status with artists I am interested in. I was picking up all the Masters of Jazz Wardell Gray issues and had high hopes on that one though. I do still keep an eye out for anything I see him as a sideman on.

I received the following in an email from Mosaic regarding the contents of the upcoming Pullen/Adams select: It will be both Pullen/Adams CDs plus both Pullen trio CDs in a 3-CD set. I assume the trio sets will be New Beginnings and Random Thoughts.

Sad news. The notes to the Bear Family set on Buddy Johnson say that Ella left secular music when Buddy stopped band leading, which was/is a shame. She should have done a set with Roomful of Blues ala Big Joe Turner or Cleanhead Vinson, it might have brought her to the attention of a whole new generation.

I'm too lazy to look it up but I believe Pablo reissued an lp of material recorded by Duke Ellington that was pressed as single copy originally for the Queen of England (as if she didn't have enough perks already!).

The boxes on this issue just didn't stand up well. When I bought mine from Cadence back around 1986-7 or so, they noted that all the Bird boxes they got were damaged in transit. The packaging on the 11 record set from the same people of Bud Powell live performances, on the other hand, was absolutely bullet proof.

Must be a pretty hip place to have Cadence at the newsstand. I don't believe you could find Cadence at any newsstand here in RI.

Oh I have long lusted for a VPI. In the meantine, like Couw, I use the one at my locla used shop. For minor stuff I've been happy with Last solution and a microfibrebrush, available from Cadence. I also use Lemon Pledge on covers where needed.

I recently picked up the Ocium release of the Basie Octet sessions, it also includes a session from 1949 with Gene Ammons and Georgie Auld. I have had most of this music on vinyl since the '70's, the octet material with Wardell Gray is some of my favorite and among the 1st 100 or so lp's I ever bought. That said I would note that the transfers on the Ocium release were, to me, dissappointing. Several sounded as if they had been dubbed from vinyl. I swear my copies on Columbia and Tax have less surface noise.

Speaking of Fortunate Son, see this: http://www.cent.com/abetting/Jon1202.html for more insight into the ZaentzFogarty riff. If I recall correctly Fogarty refused to play CCR songs for a long time since he didn't want Zaentz to profit from them.

As long as were fantasizing here, I'd wish to hear Bird, Ben Webster and Serge Chalof together. And throw Fats Navarro in there. Playing Monk tunes, with Monk on piano, yeah that's the ticket. Max Roach would have to be on drums.

The Trane & Wes would also include Dolphy? You've heard this Jim?

Thanks Barak, that's exactly what I was looking for.

Recently someone posted a mock up of the back of a BN cd cover with all the fonts and sizes. I'd like to get a copy of that but I can't remember what forum or thread that was in. Can anyone help me with that?

Thanks for posting this, I wasn't aware of a new release from him. Another release on Palmetto, The Other Side of Ellington, has some nice moments from Frahm, and its bargain priced to boot.

Interesting to read the comments regarding the fidelity (or lack thereof) on this issue. I was in college when I started getting into jazz and I bought some Charlie Parker records on Everest because they were cheap and I was a poor student. They got me used to listening through the haze of primitive airshot recordings. Sure I wish they sounded better but I listen and enjoy them anyway.