Big Beat Steve

Must have been on a blowout sale for a long, long time, that book. I got my copy from a friend in 2005 who had bought it dirt cheap from a "remainders' stock" bookstore over here and kindly got me another copy after I saw the book at his home.

Agreed about Desi Arnaz. From what I've heard his recordings may be a bit "hollywoodized" but they are nice starters into Latin big bands from that era. MG, you might want to read up on this subject matter in THIS book: http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/latin-jazz.html This should give you an expert overview of whom to search out. And then there are the reissues from the HARLEQUIN label (part of the Krazy Kat/Interstate labels straight from the UK): http://www.interstate-music.co.uk/harlequin/harlequinindex.htm No idea how well distributed they (still) are at this time as the label(s) seem to have slowed down their reissuing activities a lot in recent years so some may be OOP for good.

True, the subject has been covered well. Maybe what is and remains most interesting about all those stories (particularly from the 78rpm era) is not so much about collecting in the sense of adding the 10,001th item to one's personal collection but the stories about how those discoveries were made in the first place, e.g. if you read the stories about "collecting hot jazz" in sources such as Ramsey/Smith*s "Jazzmen" of 1939, in the 1944 Esquire Jazz Book, in "Black Beauty White Heat" ... Anybody probably wishes for a time machine, if only for a one-day visit. And IMHO anyway, those stories of incredible finds on the Old Hat Records website just remain fascinating. Since every such story of rare finds or finds in unlikely places is a personal one, those stories wil always strike a sensitive chord with some because those who collect in one way or another can relate to them. Just like in all other fields of collecting.

Did you ever get close to or move in the circles of classic car collectors? I've been into that scene for almost as long as I've been listening to and collecting jazz (a.o.) records (and have accumulated my share of items there too ) and I can tell you that "collectionitis" can get just as much out of hand and assume colossal proportions as in the case of record collectors, and the stories surrounding those explorations, finds and discoveries can be just as bizarre (and fascinating, of course). Apart from the fact that the objects of those collections tend to be MUCH more cumbersome, all other facets are very much comparable and probably even worse, i.e. even more obsessive, than in the case of records, because as often as not those collectors tend to accumulate "related" collectabilia too - very often with every car stored away go NOS parts, books, catalogs, garage signs, gas pumps, whatnot ... as long as the things are considered worthy of keeping by whomever ... and the distinction between collecting and hoarding is a very, very blurred one. Just for a teaser, check out the videos on the LEE HARTUNG COLLECTION on Youtube. and then see if you can find any record collector who has hoarded THAT much (comparatively speaking) AS WELL AS associated items (printed matter, for example) that go with the music on those records. Which one would that be? In Search of The Blues? I may be mistaken (it's been a while since I read it) but i cannot recall it dwells that heavily on the collecting aspect of exploring blues music.

Recommended. This is one odd 50s "crossover" jazz record if there ever was one. Very intriguing and very enjoyable to listen to.

Not really. Considering what as a matter of fact IS PLAYED under the label of "classic rock", you cannot lump in just what you feel is "classic" by your terms. That would be rather irrelevant to the term "classic rock" the way it IS applied. Of course "classic rock" is just a marketing label but things being the way they are "classic rock" just refers to rock from the 70s "Hard Rock" era plus some (a bit before, a bit after, a bit different style-wise ....) but that's that - as pointed out by others above. To those who came of age in their listening habits in the 90s, 90s rock may well be "classic" by now but by and large that isn't what is being included in "classic rock". Claiming "Hey, that's the rock I find "classic" so that's classic rock" - sorry - not so. That tag has different connotations. Just for a comparison, the "rock" I prefer and consider "classic" to my ears is just the REAL rock'n'roll and particularly rockabilly and black r'nr roughly from the 1954-59 era (plus selected recordings and bands from the years after, up to maybe the mid-60s) but that's just me (and it's music for the most part recorded before I was even born ...). And OF COURSE I don't pretend I'd ever like to sail under the "classic rock" banner with the rock I prefer to listen to. BTW, Shawn has nailed it IMO as for the lack of imagination in their programming. Same thing here - for the most part ... Seems like they insist on doodling music where they are sure that ANYBODY (even those who were the most casual listeners back then) can sing along. Not much that would mean a new discovery of hidden gems only those in the know are immediately familar with. Talk about soothing your listeners' audience ... Not any more discerning than MOR pop radio stations where the MOR pop on the airwaves is just "golden oldie" singalong fare too.

Agreed with Shawn and GA Russell. The way "Classic Rock" has been marketed over here for a very long time, this essentially refers to what orignally was refered to as "Hard Rock" in the late 60s/early to mid-70s (Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Golden Earring, etc., and then all the "rest"). No doubt some will also include all the post-British Beat rock bands from approx.1967 when they started growing their hair longer, added tons of amplifiers, fuzz, etc. (Doors, Hendrix, etc., etc., Blues Rock, and probably Psychedelic Rock too) and also including the second wave of bands after the orignal hard rock era, i.e. up to about 1980 or so, give or take a few of those later years. In short, rock from that era that wasn't just "pop". And, yes, "rock" most definitely is not the same as (the genuine) "rock and roll". Amazingly, some key bands from the Hard Rock/Classic Rock era such as Black Sabbath are touted as the "old heroes" of Heavy Metal today and seem to have a cult following among the younger 'Metal set today. Things coming full circle?

Would love to spring for both, but so far the easily accessible sources over here are fairly expensive (and ordering them individually from the US - oh well, with the postal rates being what they are these days ...). Also, there are some overlaps with what I already have for both of them so not all of it is new. Anyway, very tempting ... So ... does anybody who has the Chubby Jackson CD also have the MOPAQUE LP that inclues part of the live recordings now reissued on the Uptown CD? If so, how do these two releases compare soundwise? Does the CD actually offer a significant sound improvement?

Wait till chewy reads this! He'll come breathing down your neck to hear the REST of the story at once! (Hey, this is HANK trivia! How cool is that .... !)

Yes, makes you wonder where they pulled these out and who they think they can kid all the way.

Provided these people find record shops at all anymore (not to mention those shops that stock "special-interest" sets like this at all - bargan or not. Less and less likely) But of course David Ayers got a point there. "Young ones" (your definition, please? ) probably wont get into this head over heels, but as for newbies, I dunno ... There are worse introductory sets than this, and there IS a subculture of people who are very much into 40s/50s/60s music, lifestyle, "Mid-Century Modern" etc. in their own lives (in a way that goes well beyond simple nostalgia), and not all of them have discovered WCJ yet. Far from it. Yet some just might ... One of my friends (not quite in his mid-40s yet, i.e. "young" compared by many jazz listener yardsticks), for example, started out mainly with 60s garage rock'n'roll and 60s soul, then added and expanded into 40s/50s R&B, swing, a good dose of post-war Latin, and the other day he mentioned it was about time he'd explore bebop a bit more seriously to complement his swing and R&B interests. So why not WCJ too if in the mood for it?

As you say ... should be a good newcomers' introduction to WCJ. I already have almost all of these on vinyl but am half-tempted to get this as a set to stuff in the car and enjoy when the mood gets me while on the road ... (Hey, at THAT price ...) I am a bit underwhelmed by the Dave Pell LP selected, however. I find that one a bit lukewarm and IMHO others by him would have been somewhat better suited (even if only to dispel any attempts of would-be disparagers of the music to come up with funny descriptors such as "cute" or "effete" ).

I agree that Ace service is fine but your story is giving me the creeps. I have quite a few Ace CDs from around that time and would hate to see them disintegrate and become unplayable now (so far they play fine). Guess I will have to check if ripping/CD-R'ing still works alright.

Possibly, though I cannot recall having seen him in those shops (despite the fact that the above happened sometime in the mid-90s when I regularly stopped by Mole and Ray's during my stays in London). Relatively thin, maybe in his late 40s, somewhat long, greyish hair, and a long coat of undefinable vintage (and time since last cleaning/impregnating ).

One more reason to finally get to Sweden again, it seems ... An interesting place indeed. As for "lightweight" tastes, oh well ... ...if the discussion were led in English (I can read and write Swedish pretty well but have next to no knowledge of the pronunciation), I'd certainly be in a position to defend my tastes and return the arguments ... You know, ever since that day I went into a specialist bookstore in London (might have been the music dept. at Foyle's) quite innocently asking for a (then hard to get) copy of John Chilton's "Let The Good Times Roll" biography of Louis jordan and then getting the verbal flak from another customer about where the world had come to and what a title like that could possibly mean and what about the "sublime" in the arts (and this from one of those types of evidently close to down and out self-professed but failed artists whose outward appearance would have made a good modern reenactor of Spitzweg's "Poor Poet" character), I can take a lot of self-assertions of allegedly superior taste in stride, all things being relative ... !

So ... what ARE the typical prices like at his place (above the typical level at the BIRKAJAZZ online shop, for example?), and what if it transpired that the customer does NOT care for free jazz? Would the customer still get some sort of service if he were on the lookout not for avantgarde but for some not so commmon items of swing, cool or (in particular) Swedish 40s/50s jazz? Just curious ...

Ha, looks like at THAT But it Now price (if that's something like their actual market value) these books were some of my better investments when I bought them back then ... :D

Yes, that was my initial reaction too but honestly, I was too lazy to check (among those I already have). I also would ahve a hard time imagining Martial Solal (see cover pic) as a typical cool pianist, though the alto saxist at the right in the rear looks treacherously like Arne Domnérus (who'd be rather more cool). I just picture that reissue as "50s European modern jazz".

MUST HAVE - despite numerous overlaps with other reissues (at least for those who have been into this side of jazz for some time) and a French share (cocorico! ) blown up out of all proportion compared to the other countries covered (well, "briefly touched upon" would be a better word).

What if Wayne Shorter tried to make fun of the ACTUAL Venus de Milo in this title?

I bought my copy of Sounds and Songs under similar circumstances (at a record fair where this one stood out - at an OK price - among a host of totally differently slanted records of 50s music and, above all, was one of those 50s jazz obscurities I always have had a soft spot for) in the late 90s. A bit later I picked up the Half & Half album on Capitol through eBay. It's no desert island music for me but I enjoy them for what they are (a sort of "Hey, the Four Freshmen play their own instruments in a jazzier way" thing) and when the mood hits me I pull them out every now and then. One kind of cool musical "mid-century modern" vibe that I enjoy very much occasionally. Don't get me wrong, but going by the kind of impression I have got of you through the years on this forum I'd say you won't grieve to death if you miss out on that record. Jazz-wise, it just MIGHT be a bit too polished for you.

The NYT seems to be kind of late (VERY late) to the game. This "resurgence" has been going on non-stop for the better part of 20 years - all through the much-maligned "neo-swing" period in the 90s and up to now, and the "festival in Sweden" (Herräng) mentioned in the NYT feature is in its umpteenth edition by now. Not to mention numerous other festivals that have been held for years. Check out the Youtube clips of the "Camp Jitterbug" finals in Seattle, for example. Good to see there are so many people out there who enjoy and live jazz again for what it was intended for in the first place! BTW, the '"acrobatic lindy hoppers" (Whitey's Lindy Hoppers) from the Youtube video above included not only Frankie Manning but also Norma Miller who, as the now last survivor, gave numerous appearances at festivals and workshops over here. But there were/are other "survivors": The girl from THIS video ... (yes, you can swing to Kay Kyser too!) was a featured guest at festivals in Europe up to recent years and what she still could do at 88 was nothing short of amazing. And the guy in the dark jacket (Ray Hirsch) from this video (featuring the band of Skinnay Ennis) ... was among the guests of honor (along with Norma Miller) at the Rock That Swing lindy hop festival in Munich earlier this year.

"Yes Sir ..." was BIG over here and drove me NUTS whenever I had to hear (i.e. endure) it, not only because of the sloshy vocals and background sounds but because of the ABUSE of the word "boogie" (disregarding its non-musical connotations for a moment ) to this budding jazz and R&B fan. They could neither boogie nor woogie for the life of it but still disco-minded teen music consumers over here were firmly sold on the idea that THIS was what (musical) "boogie" was supposed to be. BERK!