Big Beat Steve

That colorful "hang-it-all" is funny. It must have existed in lots of variations. I bought one in that style (though the wire arrangement is simplified) at a vintage fleamarket in the UK sometime in the 90s but in the end didn't fit it because our (50s) coat racks out in the hall are quite different (though based on a wire design too) and offer more room to hang stuff. It still must be stowed away in some box somewhere. That's the kind of odd objects you can get carried away with.

I know. I was thinking of the R&B bit. For want of a more jazz-oriented tome on that subject ... BTW, anybody know of an affordable source for that Teddy Reig autobio?

Got my copy a couple of days ago and am impressed with what I have read so far, but what can I say after all that Jim Sangrey and MG have said? Not much .... Just this ... Though many of the facts are known to collectors he manages to put everything in perspective and ties strings together that have been left separate too often and too long. This book provides the overall picture that deserved to be painted, showing the evolution and continuity of the music to its full extent, INCLUDING all those who were important to the black community and laid out the foundations before the actual term and style of soul jazz really came up. Wherever you look up the book, the capsule bios and references to artists and tunes along the way make you want to (re-)explore them in various directions. Not the worst thing for a writer to have accomplished ... Actually, its broad outlook did not come as something quite as new to me as I had figured after reading earlier comments. The details and narrative may be different but the overall approach of including the "forefathers" and giving them their due reminds me of Arnold Shaw's "The World of Soul" first published in 1970. I read its German edition in the early 80s and appreciated the book above all for its presentation of 50s R&B: The book is about halfway through until the first major building stone of soul music proper - Motown - comes up for the first time. And this does not appear incongruous at all. As for who surprisingly isn't mentioned: Judging by the index, one omission left me puzzled: No mention of Big John Greer? Hmmm ... And about organists, was Hank Jacobs too much of a minor player to be mentioned even among the also-rans? But these are minor quibbles. As for the book not containing enough about record producers, DJs, distributors, MG: Time to re-read "Record Makers & Breakers" by John Broven, then?

Neither do I. Fascinating .... Mine is from 1967. Been in the family from new and found its way to my home in 2000. My preferred relaxing chair, obviously, for listening to my music and reading. I had to have most of the leather redone by a Vitra specialist in 2012 but it was well worth it. Those radios shown above are just fantastic. I have a few older sets, though for reasons of overall style of the "rest" of our house most of them are from the (relatively) advanced European school of design of the 50s (Braun, etc.). As for non-music collecting finds of the past year, not much in my "other" collecting hobby - classic cars and some automobilia that go with them (no, I am no Jay Leno, not even by a VERY, VERY long shot - my wife would kill me ), but a couple of nice finds (that might actually go with the radios shown here earlier, style-wise) were these mags on Paris 30s/40s motor shows:

Talking about reviews, no doubt the way the concerts were set up in Zurich was far more sympathetic both to the artists and to the audience - as opposed to the marathon all-star line-up with one group chasing the other - 9 in all - as part of the mammoth package tour elsewhere during the tour. Orkester Journalen had this to say about the Roland Kirk part of the Oct. 3 concert in Stockholm (otherwise labeled a "fantastic jazz gala"): (It was already 2 am when the set PRECEDING Kirk - featuring the Charlie Parker memorial bop All Stars - started and distinct signs of general fatigue both among the audience and the musicians had begun to make themselves felt:) "Well, the public was lucky to have multi-instrumentalist Roland Kirk - who was in fresher shape - blow some fresh life into them when his turn came, though this hardly worked in the case of Clarke whom he took over from the bop group along with Potter. Kirk himself is a phenomenon and it is nice to see he is appreciated by so many. His phrasing is not all that noteworthy but what he does he does well. His appearance on stage is also a nice feast for the eyes. Kirk put a final point to what in a way was the most remarkable jazz evening that I (the reviewer) have witnessed in Sweden."

This reminds me of the changes that underwent our national #1 jazz scribe, "jazz pope" Joachim Ernst Berendt - only that his engagement with life later on turned out to be a very special one when he went all esoteric. As for Hentoff, maybe time to revisit the archives of his "Jazz Review" on the Jazz Studies site again?

Knew about the German translation but never saw it (it was OOP by the time I got into jazz) but bought a secondhand copy of the original UK printing in 1998 or so at a London secondhand bookseller - and reading it set the stage in an ideal way for Ira Gitler's "Swing To Bop" oral history that I bought not much later. Both desert-island reading matter.

More or less same here. In much the same way that Ira Gitler did he provided lots of interesting info on the back sleeves. RIP.

I am afraid I can only add to the confusion/uncertainties about dates/locations etc. I just checked the Aug./Sept./Oct./Nov./Dec. copies of my 1964 issues of the German jazz mag JAZZ PODIUM, and strangely enough no mention at all is made of any tour of this cavalcade of stars (billed as "USA Jazz Festival" in Sweden - and possibly elsewhere? -, BTW, according to the Swedish ORKESTER JOURNALEN mag. No mention of Newport anywhere) - EXCEPT for their appearance within the scope of the "Berliner Jazztage" festival (24 to 27 September) where the lineup including Roland Kirk indeed appeared at the festival on the 26th and at the Jazz Ball at the "Prälat" in Berlin-Schöneberg (note spellings of both ) on the 27th. Roland Kirk was just one of a long list of stars appearing on one and the same evening, including Pee Wee Russell, Sister Rosetta THarpe, Champion Jack Dupree, a round of beboppers for an "In Memoriam of Charlie Parker" set (feat. McGhee, Stitt, JJ Johnson, Clarke. etc), Dave Brubeck on the 26th and an even longer list of acts on the 27th. But I was unable to find any other information about any other appearance of this huge lineup of stars anywere in Germany in this mag in the issues before, during and after the (presumed) dates. Surprising considering the cost this tour must have involved. It seems like at this time, apart from the Berlin festival, all the "concert" publicity and coverage space in the mag was taken up by the American Folk Blues Festival. I would have expected to see at least brief monthly lists of upcoming gig dates (including this tour package) but no such thing ...

Which record are you referring to exactly?

About Eddie Fisher and Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc. the German Wikipedia entry on Eddie fisher has an interesting bit about Fisher's relationship with the Rat Pack (based on info from Richard Havers' Sinatra bio, it seems) - my translation: Aside from the off-stage mutual respect between Fisher and Sinatra, came to acquire a legendary reputation as a sort of "natural enemy" of Frank Sinatra who started mocking him in public from the 50s on for his alleged lack of singing talent and compared Fisher's singing technique to that of a snare drum. Later on others from the Rat Pack joined in those jokes that became a sort of running gag: Dean Martin, for example, when making fun of his own (often faked) alcohol consumption on stage, was quoted like this: "I need alcohol in order to believe I’m Dean Martin, a singer, a movie star. Without booze, I’m Eddie Fisher." In 1965 Sinatra answered Fisher's Eddie Fisher Today release (Dot Records) with his similarly titled album on reprise: Sinatra ‘65: The Singer Today. I didn't know Carrie Fisher was her daughter either until I read the Fisher obits. But once you know it the similarity is striking. After Carrie Fisher had died, I showed a pic of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (that I had come across in one of my 1955 copies of Down Beat just the day before) to my son (aged 16) who is a huge Star Wars fan (and has seen post-Star Wars pics of her). He was amazed at the visual likeness.

Quite some finds, and off the beaten track of the known and well-played. Enjoy!

The photo isn 't common for sure but isn't totally unknown in printed media. It figures in the "The Beatles - An Illustrated Record" LP-sized book by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler published in 1975. But it is cropped and the two persons on the left are cut off. It also shows up on various Beatles-related sites and blogs.

There was a book written by him and published in the mid-70s titled (very aptly) "The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away". I failed to pick up a copy when I saw it in the shops in London at the time (I had read about him in a capsule Beatles bio a while before) and somehow was not in the mood either to grab it when I saw a secondhand copy in a London shop in the 90s - but one of these days, maybe ...

See here: https://www.amazon.com/Willis-Conover-Broadcasting-Jazz-World/dp/0595407412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483157518&sr=8-1&keywords=Willis+Conover Maybe he WAS more familiar outside the US as for obvious reasons the VOA was listened to mostly outside the US. But he was an important figure. And some may have had this record in their hands too: https://www.discogs.com/de/Willis-Conover-House-Of-Sounds/release/8936394

Amazing! Thank you.

I really wouldn't link Red Norvo with Lionel Hampton. Both have their place, both are great, both are fantastic virtuosos, but their approaches are quite different IMO. The light touch and delicacy of Norvo's chamber music-styled "miniatures" on the one hand was unmistakeably unlike Hampton's exuberant "workouts" on the vibes. Even if you focus on the small-group sessions by Hampton and not so much on his big band recordings that really were one forerunner of R&B there is a sense of Hampton always pushing ahead where Norvo lets things flow ahead easily. Both great, both fine, but different. Very different IMHO. I am saying this because I tend to pick up recordings from the "golden age" by both of them in a sort of "can't go wrong" approach (so I am biased both ways). I guess I have most of his output from his "vibraphone period" of the early 40s to c.1960 and cherish it all - Keynote, Dial, Brunswick, Discovery/Savoy, Decca, Fantasy, "X"/RCA, Contemporary, Liberty, Rave, etc., and not least of all his transcriptions from his early Trio periods that have been issued through the years. And a special mention to "The Forward Look" on the Reference label (privately recorded date from 1957 isued for the first time much later and discussed elsewhere here some time ago. As for the pre-war Norvo xylophone period, this long-OOP LP IMO is a nice introduction and has many of his key recordings from that period: https://www.discogs.com/de/Red-Norvo-And-His-All-Stars-Original-1933-1938-Recordings/master/937056 The Hep label covered that period more in-depth in a series of CDs. Some of his not so obvious recordings from that period, however, have left me a little dizzied - at times he sounded almost like he was trying to "out-raymondscott" Raymond Scott. Though I consider myself a fan, these recordings are among those I prefer to take at smaller doses. BTW, there is a previous thread on Red Norvo's opus here (sorry, can't insert links to previous threads in any other way, it seems - click on the "Red Norvo" header to access the thread):

Yes that's how I felt too when I read that letter. Be thankful for the possibilities that you have, for what you have achieved and for the opportunity to make something of it. Essentially a matter of managing one's life, in fact. As for the scars on one's psyche, of course - but isn't this just where the self-protective strategies to build up a shield to guard you against the bad things that can (and maybe will) happen to you that I've mentioned ought to come to bear? Basically a matter of "I've learned my lesson and this won't happen to me again" approach. Some may be able to handle this better and in a more constructive way than others (at least the first time round) but you just got to learn and do it if you value your existence enough. And don't tell me being financially secure (VERY secure) won't make it easier to accomplish this. Which is where IMO things come full circle.

No, on the contrary - everybody is entitled to make as much money as others will pay them in what they work for. More power to them in that. Jim sums it up pretty well. Complain about it, speak out against those who you feel need to be taken to task for what they did, but since whatever contracts they may have stuck on him probably were legally watertight what does this all lead to in the LONG run? Isn't it really just time to move on after a while, particularly if you really can rightly tell yourself "Whatever I may have lost then, I've more than made up for all that long ago and I have achieved more than enough to be proud of, so f.ck them - this is not going to do me in." Particularly if you have gotten yourself into a situation where you have to fight various other demons anyway, why add to it by scratching those scars that may have been left on you when there is NO need to get them to start bleeding again because you really have "made good" since? A bit like (probably) comparable cases where other artists, in talking about their early days, just quipped "Ah, we were young and didn't know sh.t about the business". Too much down to earth, too reasonable? No, just one possible (and very often essential) PROTECTIVE reaction to guard YOURSELF. Something many of us probably have had to resort to in situations of everyday life that were rather unpleasant and just HAD to be overcome (though it was hard work at first) in order to tackle next day's demands and realities of everyday life. An everyday life we all lead and artists lead too - so how about just managing your life (which basically is just another way of doing something about not being happy with your life)? After all I'd wager a guess managing your life and making something of it that is worthwhile to YOU on a personal level should be a bit easier to start with if you do NOT have to worry about money and material security of your existence anymore - ever. Many, many, many people out there in the world would be more than glad to be in THAT starting position in trying to do something about not being happy in their lives. This is what I was referring to as complaning on a high level. Money isn't everything - far from it, but it will open up almost unlimited possibilities in making something of your life.

Did he starve to death for it? Did he make hardly enough money to eke out a living and had to perform just to make ends meet? Sore about the raw deal he got - yes, understandably so, but he DID make big bucks after this and if it had been on strictly monetary grounds he could have retired quite a while ago and not needed to work for a living even one more single day. So once you've had your say and publicly blamed the ones you find guilty for taking advantage of the fact that you had not realized this business that you got into is a basin full of sharks, how about just moving on and looking forward? Sorry, but to me this really seems like a case of complaining on a high level. Arthur Crudup (and ANY number of his peers among blues artists) would have had reason to be whining (they all DID have to struggle). And how many "normal", decent, hard-working people out there have been taken advantage of in their lives too which left them struggling for the rest of their days and nobody gives a hoot. So ...?

Just bookmarked the site. Thanks, Brownie (et une Bonne Année à toi ) I think I understand what you mean with the Leloir books needing more editing. I like the "Portraits Jazz" book for what it is and for what is in there but from the start the book left me wondering what ELSE there must be in his archives that might give even deeper visual insights.

I can't recall having seen that Leloir/Leeb book. (EDit:) Just checked Amazon and a few sample pages of that book. I guess I could live with those quips by Michel Leeb for a time. But a whole book? IMHO the way the book is layouted it gives too much priority to Leeb, and the Leloir pics loook just like a vehicle for Leeb's jokes (which BTW even on those few sample pages aren't that funny throughout). Pity ... On amazon.fr (of all places!) the book isn't even listed under Leloir's name. So a "Leloir" search won't yield anything! Brownie, as you are close to the source and more knowledgeable about this subject than anybody else around here, how would you rate that book compared to the Leloir/Koechlin "Portraits Jazz" book that I mentioned (ie. with regard to the photographic content)? Just to get an overall idea ...

Thanks Baker. I had not been aware of the existence of that book (never saw a copy during my fleamarket and antique shop excursions in France). So I now grabbed one for the affordable price of 7 euros on eBay.

That "Jazzick" doesn't sound that promising if the captions (which often are a key part of the book) mar the book to THAT extent. Anyone of you out there aware of the book "Portraits Jazz" by Jean-Pierre Leloir (with texts by Stéphane Koechlin) published by Editions Fetjaine in 2010? Very, very nice, covering all eras, and contrary to many books covering the golden age of jazz the majority of the photos is in color. Good texts (quoting numerous reminiscences by Leloir) too. Adding to the other publications mentioned by Baker, the vast majority of the photos in the "Nouvelle Encyclopédie du Blues" by Gérard Herzhaft (published by Grancher in 1984) comes from Jean-Pierre Leloir.

Merry Christmas to you all and a happy new year that may bring you lots of nice black or silver platters.