Big Beat Steve

RIP and thanks for your contributions. He always appeared very much down to earth to me.

A much larger-sized scan image would help.

I would't totally disagree with you. I pull out the CD about once a year and find it quite OK and fitting for the calm and relaxed Christmas Eve setting so I enjoy it each time. But I can well imagine some of the tunes come across better when performed live in a suitable setting. In general, what I find a bit of a drag about some bands fo this type is that they often come across as too "clean". They seem to be too intent on showing all facets of their instrumental skills and forget to just "BLOW". The violinist on this one, for example ought to have listened a bit less to latter-day Joe Venuti and Eddie South but more to Stephane Grapelly or even to Stuff Smith. I've only one other HCSF CD (bought after recommendations on this board along with the above one years ago) but when it comes to today's "Hot Club" small groups, I do prefer the Hot Club of Cowtown.

All I know is that THIS kind of Christmas tree "decoration" would make me feel freezin' icy cold in no time at all ... http://www.shorpy.com/node/505?size=_original#caption Different traditions, I guess ...

Merry Xmas and a music-laden New Year to everybody ...

You've memorized your Ross Russell well ...

I've had this for about 20 years now. Usualy i like to pair/mix it with this one: https://www.discogs.com/de/Various-Mr-Santas-Boogie-Santas-Secret/release/3909425 Re-your reference to Wardell/Dexter's Jingle Jangle Jump, how about combining it with Tom Archia's "Swinging for Christmas" feat. Gene Ammons (Aristocrat 606, reissued several times, including in the Classics (B&R) series).

Just had a peek in. Looked OK to me.

As it happens this LP is on the Charlie Parker Records "The Complete Collection" box set that (of course) also features the "BIrd is Free" LP referred to above. https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Parker-Records-Complete-Collection/dp/B006ZUKBJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513878154&sr=8-1&keywords=charlie+parker+records+the+complete+collection (a bit overpriced there, though ...)

King Ubu is right from his point of view, but although I do not know what your approach to jazz from this period is, I'll try to make it more succinct: IMO it is essential to anybody who loves swing-era jazz. Because it adds something new and something substantial to the recorded history of a music where most if not all has been thought to have been discovered and out long ago. (o.k., not counting Benny Goodman ... ) And while I am not holding my breath on this I still hope somehow that some day someone who has been digging through the discs and (?) reels of this find will come up and say "Hey, I just discovered Mr Savory DID record that 1943 Earl Hines big band too!" Btw, any news yet from Jazzmessengers that they will get this in stock too? (Just wondering whether to preorder direct or wait for Jazzmessengers to get on board)

This unfortunate way of adding "bonuses" to pretend the buyer gets extra value through extra playing time of a CD has been going on for a long time and is neither flesh nor fowl IMO as often the extra material is added at random. I did not particularly like this with certain Fresh Sound reissues (as these bonuses often split up existing sessions so do not add much for those who'd like sessions in their entirety so if they get the entire sessions somewhere else these bonuses are useless - if they do not already have them anyway) but this has also happened with reissues on other labels. So there are many guilty parties. Even if it is not even a matter of "thieves" (non-retroactive P.D. laws, remember? ) In this particular case, however, I cannot see how the buyer could have been misled. The back cover clearly says where the extra tracks came from and since the lineup is a totally different one it cannot have come from the Up at Minton's session anyway. Reading the fine print of line-ups and recording dates has become a required art IMO ever simce they started to reissue stuff on CD. Too much attempts (often inept ones) to fill up CDs with RANDOM (instead of carefuly collated) tracks when the original LP playing time would have been a bit meager. And is that Comin' On session really that obscure - release/reissue-wise? What I find much more annoying when it comes to misleading buyers in the reissue field is crediting recordings to persons who NEVER were the original leaders of the session (and in some cases not even the #1 featured soloist) and not even mentioning this in the "fine print". Has happened VERY often with artist compilations. Of course it is tempting to market the music under a name that became a "major" name after the (original) fact but these reissues actually should be labeled as V.A. reissues. (Wishful thinking? Yes, of course, but still ...)

Same here. I'll spring for this for sure. Almost too good to be true. (I suppose it will be a long while, though, before we get to know if Jazzmessengers will carry this? ) The best news about this IMHO and TO ME, though, in the link above was that the Goodman material will remain "in limbo". I was half afraid anybody who'd release this in a "physical" format would jump for more of the most obvious "biggest" names. But honestly, there already are so many BG airshots and live recordings from that period out there that I guess most can do without more versions of '"Rachel's Dream" or whatever in that vein (UNLESS of course that there are substantially more recordings of the sextet featuring Charlie Christian and playing tunes that so far have NOT been preserved for posterity - but how likely is this, I wonder??).

Interesting to read these assessments by the "elder statesmen" of this forum. Maybe this description of how it "hit" people describes how it hit me too. I've never been much of a Coltrane fanatic (and make no excuses for it - if you get into the various styles of jazz somewhat chronologically instead of in "backwards chronology" there is MUCH else out there in jazz). Free jazz never was my cuppa, I did not feel a need to get as deeply into hard bop as into swing, R&B, bebop and WCJ, and as I've had most of the the classic Miles Davis quintet LPs from the 50s for a very long time this covered my immediate Coltrane needs and I held off on others (particularly since his own (Prestige) LPs from the same period permanently seemed to be out there). Now we had a public TV channel here that filled the late night hours (after the regular programming had ended) with cycles of hour-long previews of the upcoming TV schedules for the week ahead - to the background of late-night jazz and other stimulating "mood" music (i.e. certainly not just "soft" music). One night, a good 15 years ago, I happened to zap into that channel and the music caught my ear. This just seemed to be right, not for this late hour but overall .... This jazz impressed me enough to stay tuned in much longer than I'd normally do for this kind of preview, and eventually the "fine print" of the credits came up and said the music came from the "Blue Train" album. Within a few days I found a newish BN reissue LP of it at one of our two still decently stocked local record stores. I still haven't added substantially to my Coltrane LPs but this one was a "must have" ...

This one, maybe? (Missed it at the time, unfortunately, hope it gets rebroadcast one day) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_f%C3%BCr_die_Russen_%E2%80%93_To_Russia_with_Jazz As for Bill Crow's memories being "non è vero" - I'd give it to him that they WERE "vero". He wasn't the only one remembering this kind of behavior. Just read Terry Gibbs' autobography and HIS reminiscences of "The Fog" (aka "El Foggo" ).

Those clips won't play here in Europe so - one question: If I get this right they incuded a larger part of the more advanced examples from the book at long last for CD 2 (which is what the LP did not include, right?). How does the sound compare? Good, cheap secondhand copies of the LP should not be hard to locate here so I am wondering what would be the clincher for the CD (except that I'd like to hear the Tadd Dameron tunes but OTOH am no "late Goodman" completist at all).

I thought so too.

My Goodman records don't (yet) extend that far but maybe this is of some use? https://www.theguardian.com/news/2013/apr/14/benny-goodman-moscow-observer-archive And while you listen to the music, relax and sit back in your chair and treat yourself to this: http://www.billcrowbass.com/billcrowbass.com/To_Russia_Without_Love.html

Here, for example: https://www.abebooks.com/California-cool-West-Coast-cover-art/12194090782/bd

My thoughts exactly when I opened this thread. I have a couple of Esquire EPs bought secondhand in the UK in the 90s (and also 2-3 78s), and 2-3 years ago I picked up the below LP at a fleamarket during our holidays in Southern France. Sadly pretty shot but interesting just for the cover and at a price of 1 euro you can't go wrong. Besides, I already had Prestige 7003 (OJC facsimile reissue) with the music in mint shape. The elderly seller who disposed of quite a few jazz records of his at the same low price (somewhat more recent releases, in better condition but clearly "enjoyed") told me he had bought this particular LP - his first LP (or jazz LP?) - as a youngster while on a school exchange stay in London in the 50s. Nice story and one more reason to reserve a spot for it.

Keeping my fingers crossed this will work out alright again soon. Get well really soon and stay on it.

Seeing this with some delay ... I have that LP and it sits next to the Onyx/Xanadu reissues of 40s swing/early bop on my shelf so this might give you an idea how I (just me) rate it. As for the rarity of the contents, it all depends on how comprehensive your collection of 40s/early 50s jazz is. Some examples: The Ike Quebec tracks are from one of his Blue Note sessions, the illinois Jacquet tracks were out on Aladdin, the Gene Ammons track was on a Prestige 78 but apparently was not incuded on the later Prestige vinyl reissues (because it had a vocal? "Oh - lowly R&B!" ) so is rare in vinyl form. The Allen Eager track originally was on the Jax label (rare enough) but was also reissued on one of the "Al Haig meets the master saxes" LPs on Spotlite. So .... the contents were rare when this LP was issued in 1973 (unless you had the 78s) - as the liner notes say: "It is hoped that there will be no duplication with existing LP issues in the US" (as of 1973 ...). But now and with the benefit of long-time collecting?

Very nice. Thank you!

Must have missed this thread at the time, but even album covers (e.g. EmArcy MG36003) have pics that can be used without interfering cover artwork. Or how about this one?

Speaking from experience , these low-down-at-the-bottom areas for filing paper items are about the worst storage place because this is where dust inevitably gathers fastest. You'd have to pull them out often for cleaning. Or do you have a siding glass panel in front? As for the shelving itself - excellent. I will have to think about vertical partition walls for my setup too. 15in-wide shelves without partition as it is now (or even apprix. 22in as it is going to be in the new shelving) really is too wide if the shelves are relatively full. BTW, speaking about the extent to which your compartments are full (or empty), have you ever had any problems with 78s warping in such storage where the 78s remain at an angle and not all upright? I have had one very odd case a long time ago - a Nellie Lutcher 78 on Capitol which i had filed on one of those wire-type record racks that were common in the 50s. Over time (several years) it warped very distinctly - to the extent of becoming unplayable, and to a lesser but quite noticeable extent this happened with a Tennessee Ernie Ford 78 (again on Capitol - were they more prone than other labels?) too. I definitely remember they were flat (at least 98% flat) when I bought them. No heat or sun exposure either - and other 78s stored in the same rack were unaffected through the years. So all in all I fill up my shelves fairly well to avoid this happening - but am getting wary if things are too full because literally "pulling" them out and pushing them in again is a huge risk you need to avoid with fragile 78s.