patricia

I agree. Although sharpness and crispness is usually desired and evident in b+w work, it isn't always the goal of the photographer. Sometimes graininess, and even being slightly out-of-focus works to create a mood or feeling in the finished work. But, just having a particular camera and knowing how the camera you're using and the additional equipment, if any, works has as much, IMO, to do with creating a great picture as owning a top-of-the line saxophone has to do with creating musical magic. Without Wollf, or, in the case of music, we'll say Charlie Parker, the equipment means almost nothing.

Although it may very well been dimly lighted, the studio didn't necessarily have to be, to create the effect. The background virtually drops away with the adjustment of the depth of the photographer's field. Thus, even in normal light, the background can appear to be black. I would guess that if the picture was formally composed, which the picture of Mobley appears to be, a dark backdrop and strategic lighting would be likely.

Why does that remind me of Ricardo Montalban hawking the Cordoba? Ah... you're thinking of Fine Corinthean Leather Tuscadero. I have a friend who was totally hypnotized by the way that Ricardo Montebalm said "fine Corinthian leather". Go figure.

I will disagree again. I don't think it's as a matter of opinions & our subjective views of what constitutes photography as an art form... Good medium format camera with appropriate film and a good lens properly set-up for the occasion, such as a poor-lit studio, always takes a [much] better picture than a Samsung point-n-shoot. Camera is the photographer's eye, not a box-full of screws and gears. I realized it when I was 12 or 13 and joined a photo club. Of course, Dmitry. I do still photography for a living and I don't disagree with you when you say that a skilled photographer can take superior shots with good equipment, properly used. I'm only saying that it's not the defining factor. My own preference and the camera and lenses I use are almost exclusively a Canon AE1, with a 35-70mm zoom, or a 50mm macro lens. I do mostly portraits and close-up ad work. A point and shoot camera was invented, in my opinion, in order to enable anyone to take a decent picture. I like to be able to control every aspect of my work, so the fewer automatic features, the better. But, I stand by my opinion that an artist, whose medium is a camera, can take a picture, like the Mobley one with almost any camera, paying attention to the film speed, basic composition, lighting and exposure. So, you see, I'm not really disagreeing with you. What makes Wollf's work remarkable is his eye.

I think you are wrong. Reason one - a 35mm milk-dish could not have captured Wolff's subjects nearly as well as a classic 6x6 Rolleiflex. It would be technically impossible to produce the images of such quality without a good camera/lens. You're entitled to your opinion. My point was that an artist, such as Wolff, could have taken a great photograph with whatever was available to him. The resulting picture would have been a demonstration of his skill and not a demonstration of the equipment he used, whatever it was. I think that he could have taken the shot with a Brownie box, if that was what was available, using the time-exposure setting and available light, but probably didn't. Great eye for composition. I like it.

I always find it interesting when people consider the equipment used to take a great photograph relevant. It has very little to do with the resulting work. A great photographer can do equally good work with a piece of crap camera as they can with a bells-and-whistles one. All photographs are an example of how skilled the photographer is at transferring to film what they are seeing and nothing else. Like a good painter or musician, even they sometimes can't describe what it is that they do that few others do. There is a singlemindedness that gives them the ability to not only know what belongs in the picture, but more importantly, what doesn't. Ten frames of the same shot are all slightly different from each other and the one chosen, quite often, is not the photographer's favourite. But, as was said earlier, an artist of Wolff's skill's worst shot is probably better than most's best. Almost all the photographers that I know do all their work "up front", which is to say that they intend for everything in the frame to be in the finished shot. They compose as they view the subject through the lens and do no, or almost no cropping at all.

Next up we have the great "JELLY ROLL MORTON"[Ferdenand Lemott], who was born in New Orleans in 1890. As I researched Jelly Roll, I found that much of the information about his career was made up of grandiose claims and dubious facts, by the man himself. He called himself "The Originator of Jazz Stomps and Blues" and was a tireless self-promoter. Not bad traits, but they tend to muddy the biographical waters. This much is sure. His flamboyance was a great part of his early success and certainly made him not only one of the most colourful characters of early jazz, but one of the handful recognized by even non-jazzers. Jelly Roll was playing, hustling and playing pool in the Storyville brothels in 1906 and learned his survival tactics there. He involved himself in the thriving vaudville circuit and worked in a double act as "Morton and Morton" with a partner called "Rose". He was also in music publishing with the Spikes brothers, ran a tailor's shop, promoted boxing, ran dance halls and gambling houses, did a little pimping and also was involved in black-face minstrel shows. At the same time, with his wife, Anita, who was the sister of bassist, Bill Johnson, he ran a club hotel. During his most creative period, in 1923, he was in Chicago and recorded some very successful piano solos for Gennett. These included "King Porter Stomp", "Kansas City Stomp" and "The Pearls", which brought him a measure of attention. When Jelly Roll was not recording, he was touring, both with his own groups and with others' groups, such as Fate Marble and W.C. Handy. He usually denied that anyone else led groups he played with, but they did. Jelly Roll's greatest sessions are considered to be the ones he did with the Red Hot Peppers. According to Baby Dodds, "There was a fine spirit in that group at rehearsal. Jelly used to work on each and every number until it satisfied him! You did what Jelly Roll wanted you to do, no more no less." When Jelly Roll recorded, he would hire what he considered to be reliable musicians for the sessions, mostly Creoles from New Orleans. He paid generously, for the times, $5 for rehearsals and $15 for recording. The material that came out of those sessions was gold, such as "Dead Man Blues" and "Sidewalk Blues". Those two sides are said to have established the Peppers as the number one hot band for Victor. Then Morton went to New York in 1928. It was, for the most part a disappointing experience for him and he began to lose ground. The new big band era was more popular than the small group jazz he preferred. Sadly, though he tried, heroically, he was unable to re-create the success in New York that he had enjoyed for so many years in New Orleans. His contract with Victor had expired and was not renewed. He was finding it more and more difficult to find work and even worked in theatre pits, just to make ends meet. He also was hanging around the Rhythm Club as well as over at Lafayette Theatre, despondant and on a decline. By 1936 he was, as George Hoefer said, "suing the world for recognition". Jelly Roll Morton was playing in a tiny, second-floor club to a small group of dedicated admirers. Among those admirers was Roy Carew. Interestingly, in 1938 there was a recorded series of memoirs, hosted by Alan Lomax of the Library of Congress folklore archives. At one point, Jelly Roll, infuriated by a Robert Ripley radio programme, which described W.C. Handy as "the originator of jazz and the blues", Jelly Roll wrote a scathing letter to Down Beat magazine, which said, in part, "I myself happened to be the creator of jazz in the year of 1902" Well, that reminded the public that he was still alive, although his health was in a definate downslide. By 1939 Jelly Roll was living in New York again and although he called it "that cruel city", nevertheless he made made more recordings there. Sadly, the flamboyant Jelly Roll, troubled by asthma, as well as a serious heart condition, drove to California, in search of a more favourable climate, as well as a hope for the success he had once had. He died, insensate, in hospital in 1941. JELLY ROLL MORTON is acknowledged as the one who took small band jazz to the limits of it's artistic potential. According to Art Hodes, "Jelly Roll was to the small band what Ellington was to the large". Even today, his music has been carried on by such varied artists as Dick Hyman, Pee Wee Erwin, Kenny Ball, Max Harris and even choreographer, Twyla Tharp. Lots of Jelly out there, but my favourite is "Jelly Roll Morton 1924-40 Classics]. This is a six volume chronology of his work and it includes the work he did with Red Allen and Albert Nicholas. Look for it.

Since we mentioned "PREZ" [Lester Willis Young] in connection with Jimmy Rushing, it seems only fair to talk about him next. Lester was born in Woodville, Mississippi in 1909. LESTER YOUNG's full nickname, given to him by Billie Holiday was actually "The President" He is acknowledged as the greatest tenor-saxophonist of the classic years, along with Coleman Hawkins. Dicky Wells described Young this way, "Prez was such a nice fellow, a beautiful, beautiful person. He was full of jokes, harmless, didn't bother nobody, loved everybody. He was the greatest." In the early days of his career, in the early 1930's, Young played with the Blue Devils, Benny Moten and Count Basie's orchestra. How Young got into Basie's band was interesting to me. Apparently, he sent a telegram to Basie, described as "strange and urgent" in which he invited himself into the band in 1934. His presence, of course, was met with wholesale approval at Kansas City jam sessions. But, after he joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra Young was encouraged to find a more personal sound, which he did. He was a natural improvisor, which he had been encouraged to suppress previously, but soon came into his own with Basie's orchestra, setting himself up against Herschel Evans, who was remarkebly similar to Coleman Hawkins in style. As mentioned earlier, Young loved to give his fellow musicians nicknames. His name for Harry Edison was "Sweets", for Buddy Tate, "Moon" and for Basie, a special one, "The Holy Main". Prez was also quite a hit with the ladies. As Tate remarked, "I was tired of looking at chicks running in and out". He was also quite a gambler, crawling back to the bus at the end of the night to what he called the "sweet music of the rolling dice". Many band members remembered a practical joke of Young's, which involved ringing a bell at any of them who made a mistake. He was very self-deprecating and evidence of that was his description of the recording dates with Billie Holiday. He said, "She got me little record dates playing behind her, little solos and things like that." Look for the work he did with Billie. Every side is magic. In 1940 Young left Basie's band, partly due to a downturn in work and partly because of his great friend Herschel Evans' death. He freelanced for a while, as well as co-leading a band with his brother Lee. Then, in 1943 he re-joined Basie's band for almost a year. In 1944 Young had just completed a short film, "Jammin' The Blues" for Warner Brothers when he was conscripted into the military. He described this period in his life this way, "It was a nightmare, one mad nightmare. They sent me down to Georgia - that was enough to make me blow my top." He feared his hostile, racist superiors and ended up in a disciplinary centre where whatever was done to him left him with deep mental scars. When Young came back on the jazz scene, BeBop, new recording techniques and a flotilla of Young imitators, achieving great success with his ideas awaited him. He became very withdrawn and developed his own monosyllabic language to deal with everyday life. He used the terms "eyes" for desires and "bells" for approval and other strange almost code words. But, in 1946 he was still a star and was with Jazz At The Philharmonic, playing against his old arch-rival Coleman Hawkins. He stayed for more than ten years. Young was in and out of the hospital, in the late forties and early fifties, due to poor health. He also smoked like a chimmney, drank way too much, but still managed to put out record after record in his own laid-back style. As his life drew to an end he seemed to get smaller. One night, quite drunk, according to Buddy Tate, he said "The other ladies, my imitators, are making the money." Gil Evans recalled, when talking about a proposed collaboration, "He wanted to make the album, but he wanted to die more. He came in from his home on Long Island and decided to stay at the Alvin Hotel, just across from Birdland. He never ate a thing. Then he got back from Paris, got in the hotel room again and had a heart attack" LESTER "PREZ" YOUNG died in March of 1959. He was fifty years old. Please look for "Lady Day and Prez" [1930 Giants of Jazz] The musical relationship between Billie Holiday and Lester Young was very special and is clearly illustrated on every track on this collection.

Dave, Sounds fabulous. Thanks for the rec. I'll seek this out.

Max Kaminsky, "Dixieland-Chicago Style". This record also has Pee Wee Russell playing like a maniac and the magnificent George Wettling on drums. Love it. Love it. When the final piano has been dropped on me, on a particularly trying day, I just put that LP on and I feel 100% better.

I weep, truly weep for you. It's like a death in the family. Damn!!!

Some years ago, there was wonder and amazement, when Ann Murray, a Canadian singer, was offered a multi-million dollar recording contract. The wonder and amazement were due to her "only" being a singer and not a singer who wrote her own material. This was during the period when almost all the singers being signed to mega-contracts wrote their own stuff. It seems to me that song-writing and singing are two different skills. Having a marvelous voice does not pre-suppose that one is also a poet/songwriter. If the two talents are possessed by the same person, it's almost a lucky accident.

It seems to me that the calculations that the record industry has made, with regard to their loss of revenue, assumes that if the public was unable to share files, that they would buy the CD's. That's not necessarily true. In fact, many of the artists whose work has been downloaded by listeners, would never have been heard and have their CD's subsequently bought, had the consumer not heard what amounts to samples of their work. The comparison made by the ruling here compares downloading songs from the internet with a library having a copying machine on which library users make copies of material which is copyrighted for their own use. Technically, that is against the law also, but they don't expect the public to buy their own copies of whole, expensive, reference books, in order to have access to sections of those books. No money is being exchanged when people share music files, so the large record companies are experiencing an estimated loss on projection figures which are certainly open to interpretation. Can those of you who previously downloaded music say that you would have bought the CD had you not been able to download selected tracks??

Thank you EKE BBB. Yes, Jimmy was certainly a "fine figure of a man", as my grandfather used to say. His voice though was truly unique. I particularly liked the comment about his moving in a "balletic" way, as many large people do. Your picture shows him to be a fashion-forward cat, as well as being very handsome. I thought it was interesting that he went from being "Little Jimmy" to "Mr. Five by Five". He got voluptuous, instead of taller. Even at the last, he still had the voice. Look for his records. Thank goodness Prez and Sweets nicknamed him, or he wouldn't have qualified for this particular "hang" of fine artists.

Jim very ably fixed my sign-on problem and I have abandoned my temperary "newbie" handle [patricia d] and am once again me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Next up we have JIMMY [Mr Five-By-Five]RUSHING, who was born in Oklahoma City in 1902. Both of Jimmy's parents were musical and his uncle played piano in a sporting house. When Jimmy was a young boy, he was known as "Little Jimmy" and was the official pianist the the school dances, or "hops" at Wilberforce University. Although he made a living, while still at school, playing piano, he described his skill at the time this way, "I could only play in three keys. After a time everything began to sound the same to me and it was then that they asked me to sing". Jimmy's voice, which was unique in that it had a dramatic, near operatic vibrato, became familiar through his association with Walter Page's band, the Blue Devils. Jimmy recorded "Blue Devil Blues" with the Benny Moten's band in 1929 on Vocalion. Many of Walter Page's young stars had joined Moten's band, among them Count Basie and Eddie Durham. After Bennie Moten died in 1935, Rushing joined Count Basie's band. Rushing stayed with Basie's band until 1948 and by then, besides singing with the band, he had also appeared in films, including "Funzapopping" in 1943 as well as doing some recording with Benny Goodman and Bob Crosby. When Basie scaled down his organization, Jimmy toured with his own band, which included Buck Clayton and Dicky Wells. He was at the Savoy for two years and was extremely popular when he appeared opposite Basie. Jimmy then freelanced, producing several hits for John Hammond and touring all over America. He also travelled in Europe and when he was in England in 1957 George Melly said of him, "Jimmy's bulk and it's attendant problems, getting in and out of cars for example, soon appeared irrelevant except to give his movements a deliberation, an almost balletic adjustment of weight in relation to gravity which suggested his inner calm." As the 1960's blew in, Jimmy was still working hard, appearing with Harry James, Benny Goodman and Eddie Condon, as well as again with Basie. Later in the decade he appeared at the Half Note with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims. Toward the end of his career, he became a little disappointed in the new generation of accompanists and said, "I never thought the time would come when I would go up on the bandstand, call this or that familiar number and have some of the cats on the stand say 'I don't know it'." Billie Holiday had said much the same thing fifteen years earlier. Jimmy's last recording was "The You And Me That Used To Be" and his voice on that recording was noticibly tired. But, that recording was chosen as the number one recording in the Down Beat poll in 1972. Also, in 1972, sadly, JIMMY RUSHING died of leukemia. He was seventy years old. Please check out "With Count Basie and Bennie Moten" [1930-8 Giants Of Jazz] and also, the afore mentioned, "The You And Me That Used To Be" [1971 RCA] You'll be glad you followed my advice.

The door opens and suddenly, you know what passion really is.

My best friend's parents hit a moose on the highway years ago and it took out their windsheild when it was boosted by the hit, right up on to the hood of their car. Lucky they didn't get killed. Car totalled. Glass everywhere, including in their faces. A mess. Moose got killed. They were probably going around 70MPH. We have to remember that urban sprawl has taken away much of the deer and moose' natural habitat. BTW, Moose are HUGE and they can walk easily through four feet deep snow.

Thank you EKE BBB. As usual, great pictures. Johnny Wiggs looks somewhat annoyed. I'll bet there's a story there!! Also, there's no such thing as a bad picture of Joe Williams. couw, Thank you for the background on CANNONBALL ["cannibal"]. He was indeed a "fine figure of a man".

In Brooklyn New York, in 1922, the jazz-pianist/composer, "DUKE" [irving Stanley] JORDAN was born. Although Jordan's career, because of his long absences from the jazz scene, appears to have been a little erratic, he started out working with Coleman Hawkins and with the original Savoy Sultans in the mid-forties. Then, in the late forties Jordan spent a year with Charlie Parker and nine months with Stan Getz in 1952. During the 1950's he recorded regularly right through to the 1970's. There was a renewed interest in jazz during the 1970's and Jordan toured extensively in Europe as well as recoding his compositions for the Steeplechase label in Denmark. Duke still lives in Denmark, unless he's died and I didn't know about it. Many of Duke Jordan's compositions have become standards, such as his "Jor-du", which was published and credited to a fictitious composer. Jor-du was part of the soundtrack in the French film, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" in 1959. DUKE JORDAN has a wonderfully crisp touch and a melodic style in improvisation which is very delightful to hear. There is a really nice album available, that you might want to look for. It's called "Two Loves" [1973 Steeplechase] and on it is "Jor-du", but also a collection of standards that I think you might enjoy exploring.

One of my favourite trumpet-players is "FATS"[Theodore] NAVARRO was born in Key West in 1923. Fats played trumpet mostly, but sometimes doubled on tenor saxophone. He toured with Andy Kirk from 1943-1944. After Kirk, he went with the Billy Eckstine band, replacing Dizzy Gillespie in 1945 an settled in New York. Fats then recorded with Kenny Clarke, Coleman Hawkins, Eddie Davis and Illinois Jacquet between 1946 and 1947. He then began his association with Tadd Dameron and also toured with Jazz At The Philharmonic, as well as with the Lionel Hampton band. Fats also recorded and rehearsed with Benny Goodman, but never recorded with him. Fats worked with the Dameron sextet, as well as his ten-piece. He also recorded with Bud Powell. Fats Navarro was articulate and highly intelligent, but unfortunately, became addicted to narcotics. His style and his tone are unmistakable. He was seen as one of the most gifted of the bebop era trumpet-players. The most unique quality he displayed was what has been described as a clarion quality which set him apart from other Eldridge-inspired sounds which were adopted by Howard McGhee. Navarro played with McGhee in Andy Kirk's band. Navarro's style is reminicent of the fullness of tone which is associated with Charlie Shavers and Freddie Webster. But, what is different is what could be called a brassy attack that perked up one's ears. He is said to have a sound that is sculpted and not as impetuous as that of Parker, Powll or Gillespie. Because Navarro had a very short life, he didn't have time to reach his full potential, but his disciple, Clifford Brown picked up his baton and ran with it some years later. FATS NAVARRO died in 1950, having contracted tuberculosis at twenty-seven years old.

Right now my vinyl is *arranged* if you can call it that, in the order in which I acquired them[!!!!]. So, that means that they range from jazz, to classical, to r&b, in no particular order. It's a dog's breakfast. I will organize them alphabetically, period. I'm amazed at the care and attention that you all take in organizing your collections. The reason that I prefer strictly alphabetical is that I tend to get positively apoplectic if someone puts a record [or a CD] back in the wrong place. If they had the music out for any length of time, they wouldn't know all the other sub-catagories in which they may fall. If I did that, I would be asking for the house gun, within a week.

NOTE: I'm in the process of moving and am surrounded by boxes and chaos. As usual, I will pack my soundsytem and my computer last, so I will try to tend my nickname "garden" as best I can. In fact, you may not notice any perceptible difference. But, if there is a break of a few days, I'm not dead, just exhausted. Bear with me.

OK, now we have an artist who played piano and organ, as well as being a talented composer and arranger. He was "TINY" [Hartzell Strathdene] PARHAM, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1900. Like most who are nicknamed "tiny", Parham blocked the sun. In 1925 Parham was touring the Pantages theatre circuit. He later was the musical director for a miriad of theatres and clubs. The Apollo was one of the venues in which he was the MD. At the Apollo, Tiny led a showband and that band fetured the high note trumpeter, Reuben Reeves. Parham also recorded prolifically with his own band, leading the band and accompanying blues singers of the day. Some of the compostitions for which he was responsible were "Dixieland Doings", "Blue Island Blues" and "Black Cat Moan". Tiny Parham's work has often been compared favourably with that of Duke Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton. Although Tiny Parham was a well-schooled and dynamic player, during the 1930's, he never moved to New York. He had arranged for King Oliver, Earl Hines and also for club floor shows. By the end of the 1930's Tiny was playing the organ in cinemas, theatres and ice rinks. TINY PARHAM died in 1943.

Peter, I understand what you're saying. But, sometimes you just have to speak up. I, believe it or not, am quite shy and don't like to make waves. But, something as important as whether OUR music has bin-space in a music store would at least have merited a short conversation with those who are in the business of stocking what their present and prospective customers want to buy. There are millions of dollars spent, forcasting what the buying public wants. It's called marketing. Every retailer tries to buy what will sell. And every store judges by what is left in the store at the any of their fiscal year, what they shoud be buying next year. If, at your, and other jazz aficianadoes' urging, they bought jazz and marketed it, and it didn't sell, that would be a valid reason for not stocking it. If, however, the reason that jazz doesn't sell in their store is that they don't have any, then, there's your opening. Just a simple, "Could you show me your jazz section?" might be the impetus for them to justify the omission. Then your enthusiastic pitch may prompt them to, once again, a give our music some bin space. Where I live, it's pointy boot, big-hat central and even the stores with tons of C&W, Rock, R&B and Rap have a small jazz section. So, as I say, I understand your reasoning, but just asking wouldn't cost anything and, who knows?

Now we have the great "CANNONBALL" [Julian Erwin] ADDERLEY, who was born in Tampa Florida in 1928. Adderly, of course, was a master of both the alto and soprano saxophones. Cannonball started out as a music instructor in a school in Fort Lauderdale and took that profession up again after his military service in the Army. But, as fate would have it, he was encouraged by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson to move to New York. Cannonball did and arrived shortly after Charlie "Bird" Parker died. He made a huge impact and formed a touring quintet. That group included his brother, Nat and Cannonball joined Miles Davis from 1957 and stayed til 1959. After his period with Davis, Adderly formed a quintet with Nat. Sadly, Nat died from a stroke and the group broke up. When Cannonball first started out, there were identifiable influences of many other players of the time in his style. There seemed to be echoes of Parker, Benny Carter, Vinson and also Jordon in his early work. Then, as the fifties rolled in, one could hear Coltrane and even Ornette Coleman in that period, when Cannonball played. This is not criticism, but rather a comment on how the admiration of all these earlier artists helped to form Cannonball Adderly's eventual unique style. Cannonball is particularly associated with what came to be known as "soul jazz" and he gave musical substance to that style. Some say that Adderly's music is too commercially motivated, but his work stands up better than many other artists who later came onto the jazz scene. There are two popular tunes, played by the quintet which were written by band members, "Sermonetter" and "Sack o' Woe" and were widely used by other groups. CANNONBALL ADDERLY died in August of 1975.