Teasing the Korean

Jazz purist = grumpy old white man.

Thank you! Yes, I invite anyone to post videos of albums I've missed, especially Adventure in Time and The Sons of Sauter-Finegan.

These kinds of albums have remained generally available and affordable in the US. There are dealers and sellers who try to get top dollar for them, but sooner or later, the albums will all show up for someplace at a reasonable price. However, the ones with Jim Flora cover art tend to be much more expensive.

I think that album was released in 1955, so it very well may have been him.

They don't credit any of the individual players on my copy, unfortunately.

The next entry in our Bachelor's Guide to Sauter-Finegan is another that I don't have: Straight Down the Middle - RCA LPM/LSP 1497 Cover art: Two side-by-side color photos of white couples dancing. Now drinking: Lemon ginger tea This is apparently the first S-F album recorded, or at least released, in stereo. This is one I've seen in the bins, but have always passed up. It's title and cover art always turned me off, as if it were saying, "Nothing too wild here, just good, straight-ahead big band music for polite couples to dance to." Were they trying to differentiate themselves from their label-mate Esquivel? At least half of the tunes are standards. Here is the title track, kind of what I expected, with a few percussive space-age accents. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing I would pay more than a buck or two for, assuming it were in great condition. If they have Jim Flora covers, forget it. People buy them for the cover art. I too am stumped.

My LP copy credits only the soloists, so I don't know.

I'd forgotten that he plays on those two great Dizzy LPs on Philips, with Lalo Schifrin. Love those records, mixing jazz, bossa, and Eastern-tinged grooves.

Dunno, I no longer have a copy.

So he must have overdubbed then.

So EB overdubbed the other guitar parts?

So who plays on that Philips/Fontana album other than Kenny Clarke?

Thanks. Totally digging it!

I recently got the Jazz Guitarist: Elek Bacsik LP on Philips, PHS 600-079. Never knew of this guy but I'd seen him on those Serge videos. Kenny Clarke is on drums, but I don't see any other musician credits on my copy.

In another thread, I discuss: Disproportionate Numbers of Freckled Redheads in High School, College Jazz Bands

Some PD labels work with the original labels and use master tapes. Are there any copyright details on the set you bought?

From reading your posts, my overall sense is that both you and I gravitate toward the tracks with "serious" content, but that I tend to like the serious stuff wrapped in shiny paper. And I agree, "Rain" has been one of the standout tracks so far. I am looking forward to reviewing the re-make on their first UA album, but I won't get ahead of myself. Thanks. It may be that they sourced the tracks from vinyl but did a very good job. I would have to hear it. Looking forward to the review of Adventure in Time!

About 20 years ago, a friend of mine bought a high-end record cleaning machine by VPI. I had never known of these things. He swore by it, but I was skeptical. "Tell you what," he said. "Do you have a record that you can't get clean? Bring it over and I'll show you." And without missing a beat, I knew which album would be my test subject. It was a second-hand LP I'd picked up some years before, with a pervasive layer of mystery substance. I'd tried to clean it, but the job was clearly beyond the ability of my $19.99 Discwasher. So my friend cleaned the LP on the VPI, and I was truly amazed. It was virtually stone mint after the yuck had been removed. The experience inspired me to buy my own record cleaning machine, though I chose a Nitty Gritty. It quickly paid for itself after I'd cleaned and unloaded on eBay a few scarce thrift store acquisitions. So what was that album that my friend's VPI brought back from the brink on that fateful day 20 years ago? It was - as you may have guessed by now - the next entry in our Bachelor's Guide to Sauter-Finegan. Under Analysis - RCA LPM 1341. Cover art: Humorous color photograph, featuring musical instruments lying on a psychiatrist's couch, while our heroes stand by methodically jotting down notes. Now drinking: a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa The concept here is that our heroes take classic big band arrangements of tunes, and use them as a jumping off points for their own interpretations. Maybe knowing the originals provides more of a context, but as big band music is not my forte, I am taking these arrangements at face value. Side 1: Avalon - Uptempo, with lots of percussion and bells playing countermelodies. Space for solos. I like this. Space-age and swinging. "Space-age and swinging" - That sounds like an RCA above-logo phrase, does it not? Chant of Weed - Again, percussion, this time wood blocks. Moody and slow with lots of whole-tone action. Space for soloing along with nice ensemble work. This is great, typifying what I love about space-age bachelor pad music. Star Dust - The mysterious Bobby Nichols is featured on trumpet. Oh, no, it's a vocal number, the ubiquitous Andy Roberts again. Incidentally, I have nothing against vocals. It's just that sudden appearances of lyrics in an otherwise instrumental program jerk you from a dream state into the literal. Got a Date with an Angel - The harp is in the lead. A horrible intro with vocals. This one lands someplace between 1950s moderne space-age and Doodletown. I can't tell if I love it or hate it. Or both. OK, I think I'm starting to like it. Rockin' Chair - It's starting out as a ballad. I've never heard it this slow. Trombone in the lead, harp behind it. After the first 8 bars, it kicks into a slow groove with some nice ensemble work behind the trombone. Liza - Uptempo, brassy, and loud. The lead switches every 8 bars to different novel combinations of instruments. This is like serious big band Esquivel, but with more jazz cred. Trombone solo in the middle. Rugolo-esque space age percussive accents behind the solo. This is killer. The ending is a little bombastic for my taste, but you can't have everything. Side 2 Thinking of You - Mid-tempo swing. Ensemble work with bassoon and low-register marimba providing counter melodies. Twinkly bridge. Now some alto flute in the last 8. Crazy, brassy buildup into the second chorus. God, I love this. In a Mist - Well, the tune speaks for itself. The lead is taken by the marimba, played by, of course, Joe Venuto. Again, gorgeous ensemble work. Lots of shifting colors. I Get a Kick Out of You - Andy is back on vocals. Loud, big, and brassy. Andy is afraid to sing about cocaine. It sounds like they are mildly riffing on Sinatra's version, but with a full-band blast where Nelson did only a kick drum. And they don't do the half-step modulation at the coda, like Frank and Nelson. An OK track, but unnecessary, especially since Sinatra had already released the definitive reading. It's a Lonesome Old Town - Slow and moody, with alto flute, tuba, and interesting ensemble work involving the woodwind section, harp, celesta, oboe, and brass, in varying textures. OK, a sudden Star Trek-esque brass blast from out of nowhere, followed by a marimba solo with harp in the background. A tuba solo (!), with lots of interesting colors, at the coda. How Am I to Know - Mid-tempo swing, jazzy and space-age. Saxes take the melody in unison, with trumpet supplying an improvised counterpoint, with harp. Space for soloing. Again, some percussive Rugolo touches behind the solos. A big, brassy passage, before a more subdued final 8, and then a big ending. Overall: As Meatloaf famously sang, 9 out of 11 ain't bad. I was not fond of the two vocal numbers, but that is my hang-up, not yours. Overall, this album is very cool, modern, jazzy, and space-age, more or less at the same time; and, importantly, the Doodletown Index is maintained well within safety levels. I would recommend this album, without hesitation, to fans of either 1950s ensemble jazz or space-age bachelor pad music. I am not finding any of these tracks on the InterTubes. Does this album really exist, or is it merely an opium-induced vision?

And so we continue our bachelor's Sauter-Finegan odyssey with an album that isn't quite Sauter-Finegan. Liebermann: Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra - RCA LM 1888. Cover art: Moderne abstract painting Now drinking: Strong black tea with orange blossom honey I have two recordings of this oddity, comprising side 1 of the RCA Red Seal LP being discussed, and this is my favorite among the two. Our heroes' band is paired with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Fritz Reiner. While this piece should appeal to me in theory - more or less a twelve-tone composition blending jazz orchestra and symphony orchestra - it doesn't quite do it for me. It starts out promising, and every time I play it, I think to myself, "I'm gonna like it this time," but it never holds together enough to keep my attention. This is the kind of piece that a university professor of jazz composition would probably praise for its "architecture," but I will take Jerry Goldsmith's "jazz" scores for The Twilight Zone over this any day. On the other hand, there is not the slightest hint of Doodletown to be found. The execution, as you would expect, is dead on. Side 2, Richard Strauss's Don Juan, has no Sauter-Finegan involvement. EDIT: I just re-listened, and I truly liked it more this time than I ever have before. I am either getting more mature or more forgiving in my musical assessments. Enjoy!

Bumpity bump. My wife went to an estate sale yesterday and picked up the Haydn box set and Jimmy Dorsey 10" album, both with Jim Flora cover art. I married well. Can we move this thread to the artists sub-forum?

Thanks for the heads up!

The CDs. The distortion wasn't major, but I heard it in a few places. Maybe I'm distorting.

So I'm listening to the two Blue Note albums I have: Something Personal and Easterly Winds. I got these years ago, not knowing anything about Jack Wilson, and I think I listened to them only once. (Sorry; I have accumulated too many albums.) As soon as I put on Something Personal, I knew instantly that this was not Rudy Van Gelder. The piano really rang, and the bass had a lot of presence. Sure enough, I checked the credits, and it was recorded in LA. It is a nice recording, despite what sounded like a little distortion in places. Then I put on Easterly Winds, and there was that Englewood Cliffs sound. Pure Blue Note, meaning I had to hit the mono switch to bring up the bass and piano a little. Very nice records, though. I wonder if the one tune about the parkway at 5 pm inspired "The World is a Ghetto."

What was his hair like? That must have been a factor also.

I have no idea who is even alive anymore, including Benny Golson. Happy 90th!