Big Beat Steve

10 months after the fact?? My my ... My point (which has been made and even explained) is that IMHO finding an original (as opposed to a later-day pressing) of course is nice and satisfying from a collecting/history point of view if the price is right (or, better still, a downright "great price") to the buyer. And like I said TEN months ago, why not share this with others and discuss it with like-minded collectors? Nothing wrong with it IMO. But beyond a certain "top dollar" limit IMHO it becomes insane and a matter of "original pressing fetichism" which cannot really be explained by the greatness of the music anymore either, particularly if it is an item that would be available in any number of decent, good-fidelity repressings priced much more reasonably. In those high-$ realms the border towards pure speculation (as long as top$ markets continue to exist somewhere on other continents, for example) becomes blurred fast. Just my 2c. All said earlier. And that's my point. And no doubt that of others.

Has this ever been reissued? Jepsen does not list it. Seems like Nick Fatool is the only really known name (jazzwise) in the lineup.

I know, Marcel (but thanks anyway). That's why I mentoned that CD (to exclude it from the reissues I was looking for). Somehow, somewhere there must be another one out there. Or there is another tune with the same title by another artist that I might have gotten mixed up.

Thanks for mentioning these recordings, Romualdo. I bought the "Ouverture to Dawn" 3-LP set from Official quite a few years ago secondhand at a giveaway price. Time to spin them again, maybe. By coincidence I pulled them out last night, searching for a related Timme Rosenkrantz recording of Erroll Garner (of which there were many, according to Bruyininckx). While perusing a 1947 copy of ORKESTER JOURNALEN last night I came across a review of "He Pulled A Fast One" Pt. 1 + 2 on Jazz Star 4750 credited to Tmme Rosenkrantz All Stars along with two other 78s featuring tracks from the 1945 Town Hall Concerts and credited to the same "All Stars":I have the Town Hall recordings and am 100% sure (well, almost ) I also have the above one (that title distinctly rings a bell) but was unable to find it in my (substantial) vinyl collection. Not on any of my Garner LPs, not on any V.A. LPs I checked. Bruyninckx. lists the session like this: I know I don't have any of these releases, including the "77" vinyl (a Doug Dobell reissue, I suppose). Are any of you aware of any of any other reissues (beyond the ones listed and apart from the "Chronological Classics" 1944-45 volume of Erroll Garner) of these tracks from the past 30-40 years (that I may have missed searching for)?

"Modern Jazz Festival" on (American) Jazztone, you mean? I don't know about your copy of this guilde du Jazz pressing but mine has the record title in French on the front and in English on the back of the cover. But Jepsen's discography marks the Dawn tracks explicitly as being released on EUROPEAN Jazztone J-1245. Maybe an indication to confirm your suspicions?

Intersting to see you mention this compilation. Time to spin it again, maybe. I've no idea if it really is that scarce. Maybe Stateside but over here? (I found my copy two years ago at a weekly fleamarket during my holidays in Southern France - used but not totally abused, and at 1 EUR what can you say? ) At any rate, I am far from sure if qualifying this sort of V.A. jazz album from that period as "hodgepodge" really does this kind of albums justice in each case. Remember many V.A. albums (particularly in the "Jazztone" market segment) were intended as "introductions to jazz" at a time when 12in LPs were comparatively expensive, at least over here. Not many would purchase jazz 12in albums by the armload. Quite apart from that, I find this particular compuilation even less of a "hodgepodge". On the one hand, a lot of the tracks seem to come from the Dawn label, so it might actually serve as an introduction to the catalog of that label, much like their own "Critics' Choice" album (DLP 1123). And what is more (much more IMHO) is that in additin to the tracks you highlighted this album contains more rarities as it rounds off the ACTUAL sessions for Dawn. I haven't checked all the tracks but at least the tracks by Gene Quill (Rubbin' The Genie), Zoot Sims (When The Blues Come On) and Paul Quinichette (If I'm Lucky) were not included on their respective featured LP releases on Dawn but were additional tracks (or "leftovers" or whatever) assembled here. Much like some of the "Jazz West Coast" series and other samplers on the Pacific Jazz label. Not the worst kind of album compilation to satisfy discographically minded vinyl completists, don't you think?

Yes, but this would mean the overview would start at the start of the current fundraiser, i.e. Dec. 1 (since Dec. had already been overpaid by several 100% ;), covering the cost for several months), right?

Out of sheer curiosity: How come only "this" month's donation balance is displayed now and the results of December's donations are not shown anymore? IIRC the $150 requested were "overpaid" by a multiple figure by the end of December so should cover the costs incurred for several months. Might be useful to know that a certain backlog is there (just in case ...), isn't it?

I'd say if you have been comatose and unresponsive for 4 years or more following that stroke the end is a relief and a blessing for everybody concerned. R.I.P. He will be remembered for his 50s recordings, along with his fellow Honking Sax Men heroes. I spun his "Cornbread & Cabbage Greens" CD in remembrance yesterday before coming across this review. Robert Christgau sums up his work pretty much to the point. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=1733

Not so sure about small-town (or medium-sized town) U.S.A. in the early 50s. Local dancing bands (including big bands) still did have a loyal audience there that kept the clubs going for occasional visits by the big names. Of course that's quite different today. But maybe it's not even quite as unthinkable today as it was one or the other decade ago. I think the pendulum swings a LITTLE bit back here and there. Unless you lump only "far-out jazz" into the jazz category.

Maybe what she meant to say was "Despite HAVING BROKEN his leg in two places .... "(during the war or wherever ...) Further on down in the text there are a few instances that seem to indicate a lack of proofreading too ... But an interesting, down-to-earth story indeed. I wonder how many families lived through situations of "missed opportunities" like this ...

You mean this music relaxes you so much that instead of working up a steam behind your wheel about those road hogs out there you just ease back in your seat and sigh to yourself "WTF??" I need some of that sometimes!

IIRC this photo appeared on the SHORPY website some time ago, and I immediately had a hunch this might make some beautiful cover picure for a down-home blues anthology. So I guess Yazoo had thought so first too (or is this a VERY recent reisue)?

Honestly, no idea about his current availabilty overall (crooners are pretty much off my radar in my pre-1945 jazz or "hot dance band" interests ) but his records used to be around for quite a long time. I remember when I was browsing the London record shops in my "collecting beginnings" in the second half of the 70s there used to be tons of Al Bowlly LP reissues in all the "oldies"/"nostalgia"/"swing" racks so at that that time he still must have been very much a national hero (much like Carlos Gardel in Spain - and Latin America). Maybe a discography (accessible online for reference) would be a good starting point as some jazz collectors might be able to provide info on where the recorsdings by specific orchestras that he most often recorded with would be available in comprehensive reissues, therefore including the Al Bowlly vocals too)? Have you tried the Vocalion website? Among more jazzier items, they reissue lots of British "nostalgia" music too.

Yes, me. Certainly not reading this from Hoosier State. At first I thought it was just here (Mozilla) but am somewhat relieved now this happens to others too.

I've only got one of his 2-LP "hit" compilations on RCA Camden (therefore predating his Monument period as far as I can tell) which was bought mainly for the presence of "Percolator" (a tune that for some reason got VERY regular airplay on oldies radio shows here in my very early music collecting days from the mid-70s and does get stuck in your ear once you've heard it). Some of the tunes there show his R&B roots, others are VERY MOR-ish. Apart from that, his presence on many Nashville country recordings of course makes him impossible to pass by if you listen to that kind of music at all. I agree, though, that it was Sil Austin and the other 50s R&B tenor sax men (from Plas Johnson through Red Prysock or Sam The Man Taylor - one who also did VERY MOR stuff that you would not associate with R&B at all - and all the others) rather set the pattern for white sax men and not the other way round.

True, MG, due to the length of the tracks and the featured sax men stretching out this Austin/Prysock LP is not like his others. But apart from that one I always liked the ones shown below (of which I was able to get quite affordable original pressings) better than his soft mood sounds like on "Plays Pretty For The People" (a phrase I had always associated with Louis Prima anyway). Comercial - yes (in a way very much of its time, as JSangrey says) but powerful blowing anyway. So to me he was not so much a black Boots Randolph (nice analogy anyway) but rather a somewhat grittier Earl Bostic. (Yes, those matching covers are corny but very period-like and a document of their times )

Actually several albums' (three 10-inch LPs) worth of music. ;)

A random note about jazz musicians looking down on (down-home) bluesmen: The "Before Motown" book about jazz and R&B in Detroit has statements by black jazz and R&B musicians from the early 50s that clearly put down John Lee Hooker, stating "he couldn't play shit".

Yes I guess this was a sign of the times, though I wouldn't call it intentional ignoring but just different priorities regarding importance. And I'd venture a guess that the inclusion of so many second or third-rate (white) big bands from post-war years (that may be fine to include for completists but a bit of overkill and leading to a distinct bias if they are included to the exclusion of other, more notable black bands) reflects the personal experience and career of Leo Walker who probably was in the midst of things in the years after WWII. But of course the 40s/50s were a time when you often still had a blind spot when it came to what happened "across the tracks". Overall, with all the books out there the information you have available TODAY is quite O.K. (and internet helps too ;)), though of course the IN-DEPTH history of black territory bands still is not covered THAT well. There IS one book that balances the score somewhat: "SWING OUT - Great Negro Dance Bands", by Gene Fernett, first published in 1970 and reprinted later with unchanged contents (except for an "updated" cover). Certainly far from exhaustive but very nice in the way it is done - if you can live with the fact that we take information for granted in this world of the internet that was hard or impossible to come by in those pre-internet days. OTOH the fact that 1970 was a time when many of the old bandleaders were still there to be interviewed helps too, of course

NOW I know why Gringott's struck me as so unmistakably British and why I felt I had experienced that atmosphere myself before! That said, I cannot complain about the depth of their stocks. My hit rate during my stopovers there in the 90s was comparatively high.

Yes, Dave, these are the ones I was thinking of. But also this one: "The Big Band Almanac" by Leo Walker published by Ward Ritchie Press, Gardena, CA (at least the 1978 first printing I have was; later editions if those existed - may have been published elsewhere) The book complements George T. Simon's book well, though I have a feeling that the author is a bit biased towards white and commercial (not necessarily very jazz-minded) big bands and digs deeply into what was left in the way of big bands after 1945. Or to put it another way, all the bigger names among the black big bands are there, of course, but the coverage of the white bands is much more in-depth, right down to really obscure or local bands. Example: The (black) Floyd Ray band (a fine swing band, though underrecorded) does not figure there but Barney Rapp and Carl Ravazza are (right where his entry might have been too) - huh?? A useful book anyway ... And for somebody interested in the music of that period (particularly if not only all-out jazz big bands) they are all pretty essential reference works. P.S. Re-Guy Lombardo, no put-down intended, his commercial success speaks for itself, but don't expect him to rate highly among those who favor swinging (JAZZ) big bands. All I meant to say (using him and Horace Heidt as examples) was that during the swing era jazz (i.e. the swing style of jazz) was indeed pop music but not all pop music played during that era was swing. See?

No, it definitely was not Foyle's. I did shop at Foyle's during my stays in '75, 75 and 77 and a.o. bought Ross Russell's "Bird Lives" as well as Bill C. Malone's "Country Music USA" there. Not sure that I was stumped by the way they arranged their books because I remember I had no trouble finding these two books coming from totally different publishers (and was very pleased with my finds, particular with the latter which I had perused at the local Amerika Haus library prior to that trip). But now that you quote it I seem to remember that multiple queuing before taking away the books and heading down in their rattletrap elevator. Overall Foyl'es hadn't changed that much when I went there again throughout the 90s. The shop I mentoined above (possibly on Regent Street) was totally different - huge, much more modern sales area on the ground floor. No multiple stories to the best of my recollections.

I KNOW we'll never get a box set along these lines... Yet offhand I'd not mind such a box set that includes THESE, for example: LD 045 Willie The Lion Smith LD147 Raymond Le Sénéchal Sextet: Modenr Jazz in Paris LD182 Alix Combelle avec Buck Clyaton LD 184 Geo Daly LD 203 Beryl Booker with Don Byas LD 209 Frank Foster LD 212 Fats Sadi Other reissues may already exist but these might not be the most "obvious" choices for such box sets and might therefore fill some gaps worth filling .

You are probably right but what I meant is another box in THIS format compiled in order to plug holes. Honestly, casual buyers would not notice (some of the material of #1 is already too obscure for superficial listeners-in anyway) and advanced collectors would enthuse ...