Big Beat Steve

Thanks! From the samples I've listened to now, I tend to agree (though Ol' Man Mose ain't bad - and would be danceable). Gogi Grant also seems to have a more interesting voice for that kind of material (at least to these ears ). Of course Johnny Mandel as the leader of the backing orchestra is in a totally different league and he and the likes of him would almost be a case of "buying unheard-unseen" - at that price anyway . Though in both cases I'd really like to be able to do WITHOUT those saccharine background strings on certain tracks ...

The passing of Connie Francis' reminds me of an oddity in her discography: A question to those with esoteric (or should I say "wide-ranging"? ) enough tastes to be able to reply to the following: Is anyone among the forumists familiar with this CD by Connie? https://www.discogs.com/de/release/2521147-Connie-Francis-Connie-Francis-In-New-York Any opinions on what the music would be like? (I.e. jazz vocalist-wise, not that I have undue expectations on out-and-out hipness, but some adequate dose of swing throughout would be appreciated.) Some time last year I saw this CD in the "1 EUR" sale bins at my favorite local brick-and-mortar store. However, having already picked several other "finds" from those crates that day, being unfamiliar with the leader name of the backing orchestra, and unsure abut how "jazzy" her singing is on these tracks after all, I let it sit there and haven't checked that corner of the bins since. Did I make a mistake (though ... at 1 EUR you cannot really go wrong)? Or is this nothing to write home about even in the "pop jazz" field of that era?

Yes, like these. 👍

Judging from my (mostly) German-pressing black-and-white-cover Black Lion LPs (predating the CD-only reissues, of course), DA Music (Deutsche Austrophon) already was on board when Alan Bates produced reissues for Black Lion. Including those from George Wein's Storyville label of the 50s. So later on (in the CD era) DA Music above all had a "corporate identity" of their own (i.e. those black-and-white covers) that additional takeovers apparently had to fit in with. Personally, apart from those ill-fitting 70s/80s photographs combined with music from the 50s (or even before), I don't find these covers that horrible. Yes, they are fairly nondescript but there have been lots worse in the reissue field, including by the majors/corporates. And which smaller reissue label would have kept the original artwork throughout anyway if they had sourced their music from multiple different original labels? Disregarding exceptions to the rule such as Fresh Sound, can you imagine one and the same reissue label (such as Black Lion here) reissuing on the one hand (for example) Storyville material inside the original cover artwork with their classic Burt Goldblatt photographs and on the other those "brain-sectioned" semi-naive artist head drawings on the Fontana covers (such as in the case of the Ted Curson LP above)? And whatever other labels' original artwork in between ... Not likely to happen - understandably so IMO. Years and decades after the original releases they wanted their records to be seen as "Black Lions" in the shops, not a mess of various replica repros of long-defunct original labels. For better or worse for the collectors ...

If found cheaply, the RGJ public domain box set I listed in my earlier post should be perfect for you to get a fully playable copy of that disc, then. It includes both LPs.

A bit OT, because because I cannot add more about the Polydor connection of Freedom ... But as for the black-and-white (predominantly black) Black Lion covers that you mention, they were very typical of Black Lion LPs, and these very often came on reissues of music not just a few years old, but decades-old, sometimes dating back to the 78 rpm era. In fact, Black Lion has always seemed like a reissue label to me (maybe my tastes dictated where I came across Black Lion LPs). Earlier Black Lions (released in the 70s and distributed by Intercord here, by Audiofidelity in the USA and by RCA (!) in France) had white covers and differently-styled artwork (reissuing music from Eddie Laguna's label and from the SwingTime label, for example). The typical black covers must have come along in the 80s (typically with LP catalog numbers in the 60000s). Those black ones reissued a lot from the Storyville label of the 50s (Ruby Braff, Zoot Sims/Bob Brookmeyer, Lee Konitz, Jackie and Roy, a.o.), but also some extremely early Miles Davis. Not sure what you mean with "inferior-looking" covers, but to me the main snag with these was that they almost always used MODERN (very recent) photographs of the artists, which was extremely out of tune with the musical contents inside.

Polydor was EVERYWHERE. It was THE #1 record label in Germany from 1945 until some time in the 60s or 70s. Up to 1953 with a red label, then with the typical orange-colored label, later (from the 60s onwards) with a red label again. They released virtually any style of non-classical music over here, and (from what I have seen and/or have in my collection) were present in the UK, France and Sweden too (plus certainly other countries too that I am not too familiar with). Even Australia! German Polydor released jazz LPs from the 50s onwards. A Polydor catalog from August, 1954, lists a handful of jazz items, listed specifically as "Records for Export". I have some of them - German pressings but English liner notes. But no doubt these "export" records were sold in Germany just as well. Though the affiliations and links with other countries and labels are hard to pin down and would certainly be a subject for record researchers. My copy of "Midnight in Munich" (45504 LPH) is a German pressing (English liner notes, cover printing date 09/55 according to the samll print) but I also have a copy of the same record with German liner notes and a different cover that is on Brunswick (86016 LPB) and has a cover printing date of 06/53. OTOH, my copy of "Jazz Made in Germany" (45508 LPH) is an AUSTRALIAN pressing ("Distributed by Philips Electrical Industries Pty. Ltd."). Same with, for example, the Kurt Edelhagen LP "Come On And Hear" (46001 LPHM): This catalog number is both on the German pressing (English liner notes) and the Australian pressing. Similarly for pop (R'n'R-ish) and semi-jazz records I have seen (and bought) on French Polydor. In some countries Polydor also released jazz records that were not just licensing deals but productions of their own, e.g. in Sweden (Bertil Löfdahl quintet a.o.). In later years Polydor seems to have struck licensing deals in all directions too: One of my Oscar Peterson LPs from the "Exclusively For My Friends" series (on MPS) is a UK pressing on Polydor (with MPS in the small print and the red Polydor label on the vinyl). And depending on where and when you bought your records over here, you were just as likely to get the 40s jazz reissues on the Don Schlitten-produced Onyx Label not as a US Onyx pressing but on either German or UK Polydor (red Polydor label)! These are just some I have and recall, but this shows that you were and are likely to bump into the Polydor label almost everywhere. So ... researchers, have a go! General info on the label history also is on Wikipedia.

I learnt the pitfalls of these (oh so sticky) on-cover stickers the hard way in my early collecting days c.1977 - on the "Pres & Teddy" LP reissue on Verve. It had a diamond-shaped "Verve's Collectors Classics" sticker on the front of the cover that I tried to remove, but to no avail. Some glue stuck stubbornly, some paper remnants too. In short, the mess stood out like a sore thumb (and I had not heard of the hairdryer or oil removal trick yet). So, desperate for the visual impact, I decided to cover the mess up by cutting a similarly shaped diamond sticker from self-adhesive sheeting of an inconspicuoous color. Better than having to look at the mess each time ... Many years later I managed to remove everything after all (don't recall if by hairdryer or oil or ...) with only a few inconspicuoous dings and nicks remaining. At any rate, the same diamond Verve sticker is still on the cover of my copy of "Pres and Sweets". I sometimes keep the sales blurb stickers from the shrink wrap or the cover itself, but not always. It depends if they add a "period" touch or not. The other day I relegated a Jimmie Lunceford LP to my fleamarket vinyl crate but hesitated for a moment because it still has a fairly large UK "Recommended price" tag from the old pre-decimal currency system (priced at "19/11") on the front cover but found it would not remove easily so I did let it go. What I systematically salvage, however, are the record shop self-adhesive labels they used to stick the open side of the inner sleeves shut before selling so no buyer would be able to return the record AFTER playing it. Don't know if this practice was current in the US, but over here it existed well into the 70s, and I've retrieved several (though of course they are always split in the middle) that remind me of long-gone and nostalgically remembered record shops.

Too bad one didn't know such an interview was in the works. This would have been the perfect occasion to prod him for replies to a few questions that came up when reading the book. (Had meant to post a few impressions here but got sidetracked over and over again ...)

Yes, I downloaded the discographical listings for several labels earlier this year and had no problem acessing other labels either. Checked again a couple of days ago and everything seemed fine. I hope they will stay accessible for a long time to come!

Beyond the Basie Orchestra, I'd been exposed to him early on on the "Pres and Sweets" LP on Verve. Nice enough by any yardstick. For "starters" (or to refresh memories), I'd suggest this as a taster: https://www.discogs.com/de/release/9854593-Harry-Edison-Seven-Classic-Albums (yes, this sort of compilation is understandably frowned upon in some circles, but to listen in before upgrading it's not the worst starting point.) I wouldn't really describe his style as "sweet", BTW - that term brings to mind lots of other trumpet men, starting with a sizable deal of the output of Harry James, for example (yes I know he could do differently too - particularly with his post-war big bands). And, re- the starting post, why would it be "generally true of the swing guys" that they did not produce "great albums"? Could it be that such statements maybe come from where the inclinations are above all towards "modern jazz" (hard bop and beyond)?

Thanks, everyone, for your input. Visibly a case of "to each his own" (quirk). I can see that it is nice to have the insert with the Japanese pressing, and whenever they were still present I of course kept these in the sleeves of mine (if only for reference to the lineup and recording date that often weren't specified explicitly on the original covers reproduced faithfully (warts and gaps and all) on the JPs. (And yes, the thumbnails of other LPs available are instructive and sometimes fun too.) But this, now ... ... isn't this a bit of over the top? Mythic art object? Aesthetic completeness? Though I realize tastes and approaches do differ. Yet to me they aren't really part of the cover artwork either. At least not on facsimile reissues (which is all I have in the way of Japanese pressings). After all they were never present on the US originals so accurately reproduced for reissue in Japan. In fact it is for this reason I at first found they actually detracted from the original artwork. But collectors ARE a strange breed. I remember on one occasion at our annual local record clearance sale day there cropped up a whole bunch of some visibly new (but slightly water-damaged) original late 50s copies of some (fairly unimportant) Mexican combo on the (U.S.) HIFI label. I did buy two copies of them (at 1 EUR each), though, because they all had their unopened original plastic inner sleeve with all the HIFI label imprint running round the entire cirumference - just to salvage these inner sleeves and put them inside the covers of the HIFIJAZZ LPs (Richie Kamuca a.o.) I have on my shelves. As a sort of final touch of orignality ...

Which reminds me of another question that probably has been dealt with here before, but still ... What's so special about these OBI strips and where's their interest enough to (apparently) often make its presence a make-or-break criterion in the sale of Japanese pressings? After all it's just a colored strip of wraparound paper with mostly "unitelligible foreign hieroglyphs" on it that adds ... well .. WHAT exactly to the enjoyment of either the music on the LP or the glossy, well-reproduced facsimile cover of the typical Japanese pressing? What do they do to REALLY enhance the LP itself? After all it is obvious to anyone from the fine print that we're in the presence of a Japanese pressing. 😕 When in place they detract from the enjoyment of the cover art IMO, and when put inside the sleeve so they are out of the way some will certainly groan and consider them devalued because the OBIs then have to be folded and creased to put then inside the sleeve ... I realize us collectors are a quirky breed who mostly have their own quirks about what details they value higher in their personal collections (I for one, for example, would place extra value - though not too much so - on a cover that has a record shop sticker or stamp from a long-defunct "cult" record shop from way back in the day ... And no doubt others would favor other details. Maybe original rice paper inner sleeves, particularly with the label imprint of the record company ... or inner sleeves with thumbnail pics as adverts for then-current LPs from the label's catalog (all of which I'd understand and sort of sympathize with) ... or whatever ... But THIS - the OBIs? Seems to me that some time a couple of decades ago someone out there launched a mass trend trendy enough for all too many to feel compelled to hop on the bandwagon ...

Just wondering ... Seeing that description and the imagery it is supposed to project, would you go along with Stan Kenton's/Bob Graettinger's CITY OF GLASS? Or would this be too far out?

The below 4-CD-plus-book set may not be the bestest recent one in terms of filling a widely-felt gap or objective per-CD value for money but IMO it must rank among the best in terms of "labor of love" without regard to economics and probably slim chances of making money with such a "niche within a niche market" project. The book alone is a magnum opus for such a set and does a good deal to offset the hefty list price. (And I'm not saying this because I luckily scored a copy of this at a giveaway price early this year. )

Last afternoon's local purchases: Mary Lou Williams, The Asch Recordings (2-LP box set on Folkways FA 2966) Fairly reasonably priced (for our latitudes ) at 15 EUR. (Box VG+, haven't played the records yet but they look totally unmarked) And then, a chance purchase ... Emmett Miller Acc. By His Georgia Crackers Crackers (green vinyl on The Old Masters TOM-1) for a mere 2,50 EUR in close to NM condition from the Special Offers bin. 😃 Actually an item that had crossed my mind a couple of weeks ago after I had re-read Nick Tosches' "Country, The Twisted Roots of Rock'n'Roll". He dwells at length on and enthuses about Emmett Miller (as does Allen Lowe in some of his writings) as a unpigeonholable one-of-a-kind early country-cum-blues-cum-jazz "crossover" artist and even mentions this TOM reissue in his book. So, having found one or the other early jazz TOM LPs at my "go-to" record shop in their Sale bins, I wondered, "Would it be totally unlikely that a copy of that one comes my way there before long too"? Well - lo and behold, there it sat now, waiting for me to give it a new home ... (among a handful of other TOM LPs featuring 20s jazz bands, but I skipped these for the time being). (Yes I know Miller's music has been reissued elsewhere since, too, but this would have meant mail-ordering from who knows where ...)

And if it was just "the man in the small print on the label" himself? Heinie Beau? The leader of the backing orchestra. He was a reed man and a seasoned session man, certainly well-versed enough to do his "white Maxwell Davis a.o." act here.

You are referring to the "Tribute to Cannonball" LP?

Great news! Will be keeping an eye on this and preordering. 10 months till publication might be an unbearably long time, though.

Side 1, track 3.

Yes - it's like you say. Though, what puzzles me was and is that my books, records and CDs are in a room indeed lit by daylight, but not exposed to direct sunlight, except in very rare occurrences during limited periods of the year. And still they tend to fade. Some worse than others (FWIW, as an OT remark, I've found the covers of many books by the University of Illinois Press are particularly fade-prone). BTW, while we're quoting song titles in our posts ... , should I spin THIS ... https://www.discogs.com/de/master/673133-Shelly-Manne-His-Friends-Modern-Jazz-Performances-Of-Songs-From-Lil-Abner ... later today in deference to that song quote in your post, I wonder?

😁 Certainly a nice compilation and a nice try to (re)create a period-looking cover, but with this subtitle Bear Family shot themselves right in the foot. (Sez me, the collector not only of music but also of collectible cars, as well as "linguist" ). Some English native speakers will probably have wondered about what the "tuned cars" may be doing there in the title. To explain: In German, the (Anglicism) term of "Tuning" refers to hotting up an engine or car, whereas - as you in the US will certainly agree - in its original english core meaning, "tuning" just refers to setting up ("tuning up") an engine (or suspension, for that matter) properly so it works perfectly as it should. Bear Family rather ought to have written "Hopped-Up Cars" (to use a period term) here. Oh well ... True, unfortunately, but CDs need not even be located right by the window to see the booklets inside the jewel cases fade over time. My music rooom that holds most of my collection has a fairly large window (and yes, "My Window Faces The South" ). But my CDs are a good 4 meters (more than 13 ft.) away from the window at the back wall of the room (and part of the CDs are on a rack at right angles to the window), and the net curtains at the window are always drawn. Yet certain colors (red, in particular, as you say) of the spines did fade. I've noticed this particularly on the Chronological Classics CDs. BTW, I've also noticed this on certain orange or similarly-colored LP spines. Although, as in the case of certain book dust jackets or paperback covers, I tend to put this down more to printing ink quality. Because some suffer, and some don't.

I was surprised to find out in the last few years there are more (mostly relatively youngish) 78 rpm collectors here in the greater area than I figured. Not very many overall and sometimes with rather specialized niche-within-a-niche collecting tastes but they ARE there. To the point that at least one place out of town does attract enough interest to stage record hop evenings where the DJ spins strictly 78s only. (Something that has been happening in certain "in-crowd" collecting hipster circles in our capital Berlin for some time. But down here ? ) Otherwise, similar to what you say - I myself usually limit myelf to 78s that have never been reissued on LP or CD (or at least not on easily accessible reissues) - or ocasionally others that are so dirt cheap that you cannot resist, even if you have the reissues. But I don't go out of my way anymore to search high and low for 78s.

Am I mistaken or took it a comparatively long time for the Savory set to get sold out? Was this maybe too specialized fare for the typical Mosaic clientele geared more towards more (or much more) modern jazz? At any rate, glad I got it when it was brand-new.

Well worth reading any time. I am in the middle of it right now (taking it in in small instalments over time ...). I must admit that, given the prohibitive price for the printed version everywhere, I at long last went a different route. In January I took out a copy from my regional State library (through interlibrary loan), took it home, ran it through my photocopier (which yields very decent photo reproductions too) and made my personal paperback out of it ("for permanent reference").