Harold_Z

I agree. That's what I was attempting to convey in my post when I said "singer, entertainer, actor, etc., but cinematic conveys the concept in a much clearer concise way. I think that's a big part of Sinatra's oeuvre.

Good question, Jim. I don't really think there is an absolute answer, but the real WOWS seem to come about on the ballads when the delivery, chops, and soul come into play. You sit back and say YEAAHH....the cat had it all together! .....and then you listen to "Come Fly With Me" (the album). It's swingin' like an MF for the most part and then he hits APRIL IN PARIS - starts it on the bridge- and it's WOWWW again. I think he was into the contrast - he KNEW the effect of the change up. (Apparently he knew a hell of a lot ! He knew who the best arrangers were. How to get the best contractors or musicians. State of the art recording at that time. The Capitol shit is CADILLAC all the way!! Too much so to be an accident.) The corn factor seemed to creep in later -moreso on the Reprise material than the Capitol - but that's natural considering the passage of time, advancing age, etc - . He was a giant, but he wasn't infallible. Sinatra's a special case. He's a singer, an entertainer, an actor, an icon. He's larger than life in many ways - espescially to us North Jersey guys who grew up with him as a soundtrack to our lives. I mean he was THERE all the time. Radio, Jukebox, TV and family time on the Victrola (intentional use of an antiquated term). We were innundated with him - and for awhile I was sick of him - but not for long. I'd be working a gig and during the break "Skin" or "Time After Time" or some other great tune would come on the Jukebox and I'd be drawn in...and if the band happened to be the type of group where we would play that stuff, I realized that the tunes were great. The changes were great. It was GOOD MUSIC and I was playing and swinging and having a blast.

Of late I've had the same experience as Kevin on several occasions. I think Django's has become a loose confededration for many used cd outlets. I know I see the same bar code label on every disc I order from them and ALSO at the local CD WORLD and CD WAREHOUSE. If a cd sells in a store and the inventory isn't updated quickly - you get the email that the item is not available. I'll continue ordering from them if the price is right, but it sucks when they don't come through.

I dig Sinatra's records. All I can add to the ESSENTIAL list is "Come Dance With Me" and "A Swinging Affair". The Capitol stuff is probably a great place to begin. Frank is at his peak - the arrangements, recording, band are all outstanding and consistently so. That having been said - the Capitol stuff is not the ONLY stuff and the Reprise things mentioned are excellent also. I've just begun to explore the Columbia material. I started with a disc called "Frank Sinatra Sings his Greatest Hits". Many of the songs were later done for Capitol and the comparison is interesting. Columbia emphasised "the crooner" aspect over "the swinger", but two of the tunes in this cd, "I've Got A Crush On You" and "Body And Soul" contain absolutely GREAT Bobby Hackett solos. I heard "Crush" on the radio recently, recognized Bobby, and decided to seek out the recording. It was well worth it. A pretty good BOOK about Sinatra is "Sinatra ! The Song Is You" by Will Friedwald. It's about the music, not the sensationalist aspects played up and distorted by some "journalists".

Sorry to see "The Thin Man" go. When I was a kid one of the Newark or maybe NYC disc jockeys used to use HARD TIMES as a theme. I heard it countless times and always enjoyed it.

Circular breathing is only the first step. Circular HEAVY breathing is where it's really at.

The only way to avoid it is to not put off putting in the right jewel case. What seems like a shortcut at the time turns into a major time consuming pain in the ass. I have a related problem - I try to keep things in some kind of order, but I have run short of shelves and have been stacking cds on the floor and in shoeboxes. Sometimes I have a pretty hard time finding something I want.

Wasn't there a song by Kim Carnes about Sammy's eye ?

I also like to walk and listen thru headphones. I get A LOT of listening done that way.

I'm not shillin' for EBAY, but I know some of you guys will be interested, espescially if it doesn't go sky high. CONDON SET

Great show. I liked almost all of the talent presented - and YES ! Tammy Pescatelli was very appealing to the eyes. A theory: I think the deal made beforehand was that all of the ten finalists would be kept before the camera as much as possible - that win or lose, you would get as much exposure as possible. When all is said and done I think Alonzo Bodden has provided the most laughs for me.

It's a good set. Lon described it really well. Small group Swing and Dixie and it's interchangeable. I think it's revealing that jazz went through it's New Orleans/Chicago period into the Swing deal and that the 40's Dixieland/Nicksieland (which led to the 50s NYC Dixie scene) incorporated the Swing deal as much as the earlier New Orleans/Chi deal. In other words 40s NYC Dixie was as much a 40s thing as BeBop, in so far as it couldn't have happened any earlier than it did.

Who do I almost always instantly recognize? These guys: Armstrong, Bechet, Monk, Wild Bill, Hodges, Bud Freeman, Albert Nicholas, Pee Wee, Ayler, Trane, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Bird, Ben Webster, Max Kaminsky, Bobby Hackett, Jack Teagarden, King Curtis, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree, Jack McDuff, Larry Young, Eldridge.... on and on. A tenor player friend of mine used to refer to guys like this as "rugged individualists.

Bertrand, going by memory, I'd say that came out around 1966 or so.

Yes - same tune. That's one of JB's Jazz records. I like it - It's for real in that the players are involved with what they're playing - they are NOT mailing it in. Its not about the strongest chops or most involved changes. JB plays "enough" organ to get across his groove. Back in the 60s many R&B or show bands played a lot of this type of material to open shows or as "warm up" numbers for the band. A lot of musicians who did not get the oppoortunity to play jazz full time were able to get there jollies in this way. Besides all that - the band grooves.

Same here.

I can't stop Loving You Born To Lose You Don't know Me All of the above got a lot of pop Radio play when this lp was first released. They were the hits off this album - but it's a remarkably consistant and interesting record. Ray realized that R&B and Country were flip sides of one coin - and apparently he realized it for some time. A few years before this release he did Hank Snow's I'm Moving On for Atlantic. Don't miss Vol 2. More of the same and including Ray's GREAT version of You Are My Sunshine, with the great Margie Hendrix chorus after the Basie style big band chorus.

AT LAST - the PERFECT illustration of the phrase ALL OF THE ABOVE !

I like it and I would say it's fairly of a piece with many other GG Blue Notes. IOW - if you're a GG fan, there's nothing here that would turn you off.

It's a Putney Dandridge session - and Yes, Artie Bernstein was a great player - thoroughly professional.

Let's just say I'm preparing for my retirement.

Singing AND playing... Louis Armstrong CHANGED music. Profoundly.

P.D. SAID: "Also... trivia question.. What was the recording where Armstrong's voice was heard for the first time.. hardly a vocal by my terminology, although I have seen it credited as such." Pops' "Everybody Loves My Baby" with Fletcher Henderson. Louis sings a tag to end it. Not on the other takes. I think this was a 3rd take.

Fats the piano player Fats the singer Fats the composer ....and it's ALL good. Nah...GREAT! He had it goin' on ! Never a dull moment with Fats. Lon's got it right. GET EVERYTHING !!

Usually King Oliver's solo on "Dippermouth Blues" is mentioned as the first jazz solo. Louis first solo is "Chimes Blues" - both recorded the same day in 1923. BUT....that IS a clarinet solo by Larry Shields on the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's 1921 "St. Louis Blues"....and probably somebody can come up with other early solos. Louis the singer or Louis the trumpet player ??? WOW...I can't do it - they're inseparable.