Harold_Z

COLD SWEAT and LICKIN' STICK are two that come immediately to mind - I know there are lots more.

Yes. There's some really good things happening here and as far as the HOKUM - that's well in the New Orleans and entertainment tradition and convention of the times. Prima was undoubtedly influenced by Pops, but I don't see that as any kind of negative or as anything unusual in trumpet players from New Orleans who were roughly Pops' contemporaries or came a little after him. I think we can safely say there are a lot of trumpeters and entertainers who are NO equal to Louis Armstrong. As a matter of fact - that's an understatement. Prima was one of the major lounge acts - the Jazz was secondary to the entertainment, but it was present, and the jazz went from 50s R&B to Dixieland and everything in between. The band, led by Sam Butera, who was an outstanding musician, swung like mad. The rythym section was VERY hapenning. The act was a MAJOR influence on lounge acts and bar bands in my area of the country, and I suspect it was pretty big elsewhere. I urge anyone interested in this band to check out a video entitled THE WILDEST. I think you will be highly entertained and it will also put the Vegas act into perspective....and you'll get to see some 30s footage of PeeWee Russell...and PeeWee is doing SHTICK with Prima! ...and PeeWee considered his time with Prima as a musical high in his career. There was a good thread at the now defunct board that went into a lot of this. That's just my thoughts at 6:00 AM - I hope this discussion develops more. I'm not going to have a lot of computer time for the next week or so, but I'm looking forward to checking in on it when I can.

All in all, I think this subject STINKS.

I'm speaking as a guy who has been playing Fender Precision Basses since the early 60s. I think that perhaps the Rosewood (being more porous) eventually absorbed grease and various other FUNK from the player as time went on. The necks gradually became smoother, greasier, and ...well....groovier to play. Hence - you had ONE of the LEGIT reasons why vintage Fenders from say 62 thru 65 were so highly valued. Most of the Fenders before that were Maple necks and THOSE necks felt good and sounded good. They sounded good because they were one piece - no glued on fingerboard. SOLID sound. Maybe some Fender historian has the statistics, but I don't think there were many Maple necks made between the early 60s and the early or mid 70s. Guys like Jamerson, Rainey, Jemmott mostly used basses with rosewood necks.

Well...I'm a "lost cause". I think anybody who isn't is probably ashamed to admit it. Lon........Velikovsky...Worlds In Collision...I READ THAT. WAYYYY BACK! I need to check that out again..it's from a time when I really don't remember ANYTHING I read!

All of those are really good. I haven't heard the TROMBONE CHOLLY (thanks, Barak) title, but it's on my WANT list. YOU'RE GETTING TO BE A HABIT never made it to cd as far as I know. I bought it used about a year ago. It's on the Bell label. It's Ruby with Hank Jones, Don Lamond, Don Elliot, etc. A rhythm section including vibes and Ruby. I love it. I'd like to find a cleaner copy, but mine is listenable. BRAFF was reissued on lp and cd in the late 80s on the Sony PORTRAIT series. Ruby with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, etc. Again...great. EASY NOW was on RCA. About half of it was on a cd called MY LUCKY DAY - the rest is unreissued (the session with Vic.) Tony, if the pms are working you'll get a message. If not - contact me through Lon.

Well....Tony, don't think this thread is for naught. It sparked me to dig out my cassette of the Vanguard two lp set and has been my constant companion in the car for about a week and a half. I think I'm on my fourth run thru. Its wonderful. It's also sparked some peripheral listening to things like EASY NOW (a 50s Braff lp that I scored about a month ago) and a revisiting of YOU'RE GETTING TO BE A HABIT WITH ME - another Braff 50s lp. Both are so good that I am at a loss for words. THEY ARE WONDERFUL. ...AND it has me on the QUEST for a Vic cd called VIC DICKENSON PLAYS BESSIE SMITH or something close to that. I should have scored it when I saw it, but didn't have the bread......

I dug every interview I ever heard or read with Artie Shaw. I remember one on wkcr where he was bugged with Charlie Barnet for playing CARAVAN wrong - chromatic all the way down, instead of coming into the last note from below. He was REALLY drug with what he considered a LAME approach. I haven't heard enough Charlie Barnet to really have an informed opinion, but I will always think of that criticism. On the flip - Max Kaminsky brings Artie up in his autobiography and basically says Artie wasn't too cool to him in a tough moment. Maxie was another guy who could impress you with his intelligence.

I used to do this a lot - not as much lately because it is a little more difficult to do with cdrs. Actually, I think I'll just cdr some of my tapes - the hell with the generation loss.

I dig JATP. It's blowing by some of the greatest names in the pantheon of Jazz...What's there not to dig?

My sentiments exactly. Wonderful music !

Also, for some sideman stuff, check out BENNY GOODMAN ON THE AIR 1937-38. This is a 2 disc set on Columbia. It may be OOP but it shouldn't be hard to find at all. I still see it from time to time. Harry is KILLIN' on this stuff and the so is the band. Harry is heavily featured. IMHO This is as good as the Carnegie Hall (which is to say VERY VERY GOOD) and should recieve equal attention. Harry James playing is hot and he had complete technical command of his horn.

Harry's first Chronogical Classic 1937-1939 contains some great sides. I assume they're Harry's earliest as a leader and the band is pretty much Basie cats. Buck Clayton, Herschel Evans, etc. Subsequent sessions included in this disc are a mix of Basie, Goodman. and even Harry Carney from Duke's band. Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson show. It's allstar stuff and a great debut as a leader.

The Hamp cd is a gas. Hamp could "swing you into bad health" as the saying goes. I've been digging the Verve Quartet sides too. Killer stuff. For more on Combelle, check out the "Coleman Hawkins All Star Jam Band" date, a 1937 date available on a number of cds. including Classics. Bean, Combelle, Benny Carter and another French Saxophonist whose name escapes me at the moment. Django's on board too, and among other things, they do a classic "Out Of Nowhere". GREAT SESSION !

I guess I have what was the first side of the 45 - "THERE IT IS - PT 1 on the JB STARTIME set. It's a burner for sure. Just one Wurlitzer (definitely) chorus. Saxes are groovin'! I wonder if the recording date can ever be pinned down - I have a feeling it's earlier than the 1972 date given in the box . Don't know for sure -but it sounds like that to me. Two notes on the bass...and he's killin' them!

Happy Birthday Dan - and many, many more.

Well...I can't name it, but it sounds a lot like something my junior high school music appreciation teacher played in class one day (in 58 or 59) as an example of where the music of the future was going. I thought to myself...... YEAH ...RIGHT.

Curious. Most of Gator's recordings have Yusef but there are a few that don't. He smokes. Great feel.

Jim, is that Yusef Ali/Joe Hadrick on that SOUL NIGHT LIVE lp?

I agree 100% ! THAT's an organ group! For those of you that haven't heard it , check out the "Live" date at the Front room in Newark (on Prestige). That version of ROCK CANDY has got to be a classic, UNDECIDED also...and thos are just two examples. The whole thing burns.

Nothing like starting the day off with a laugh! Good joke Ken.

my experience with Sony cdrs is almost identical to NOJ's - about 10 or 15 in a 50 pack were unusable. I've also had trouble with Sony Disc Man players. They sound fine but often stop reading the cd - usually toward the end - and they skip. The same discs play flawlessly on another (Panosonic) Discman I have. I've had two Sony players that act like that.

I'm beginning to wonder if AAJ is down for the count.

Ditto. I deleted them, suspecting they were bogus, and figured ebay would let me know if there was a problem when I tried to bid on something.

Congratulations! Great news!