Big Beat Steve

Considering the price of the entire box, you are asking for a lot ... The question is unsderstandable (and maybe the liner notes come in English though I'd not bet on it) but would be much more called for in the case of those Japanese reissues that include additional liner/booklet info in additon to reprints (and their Japanese translations) of the orignal album liner notes (particularly since a single Japanese CD sometimes may be selling outrageously for as much as this ENTIRE box ).

Yes, that Aaron Bell stuff is excellent for those "strip"-ish sounds and the atmosphere it brings to life. But how West Coast-ish (fake or not) is that lineup of Seldon Powell, Ray Bryant, Keny Burrell, Eddie Costa and Oliver Jackson? Unless you equate movie scores with West Coast-ish sounds. As for that Kapp LP 'John Towner Williams, I bought it (the Fresh Sound reissue LP) some time agao at a record shop clearance sale for a nominal sum and it is worth THAT, but not more. No desert island fare ... The uptempo tracks are OK and swing nicely but what sucks big time IMO are the strings (particularly in the slow tunes) as they turn the entire arrangements into tear-laden,syrupy molasses. Strings (if payed with bows and if they come in hordes) just have no place in jazz IMO.

Thanks, Brownie, I knew there was a criterion by which they'd be able to justify their selections, but I admit I had not thought of this (particularly since this means that sessions are ripped apart just because a horn sits out on this or that track). Even without looking closer at the individual track titles, it seems like this "quartet" policy (i.e Don Byas + rhythm) would lean heavily towards his balladeering. I'd agree with King Ubu - I have a fair share of this kind of his Blue Star and Vogue recordings on vinyl reissues and this will do for me for now.

No doubt the music is fine (particularly for ballad fans) but upon a first cross-check with the Byas vinyl I have from that period and with other listings (such as the "Bebop (Jazz in Paris) CD linked above) I feel this is an odd compliation. Is it really complete? Where are the "Mohawk Special" and "Peanut Butter Blues" tracks from the Oct. 16, 1946 session, for example? Where is the Jan, 13,. 1947 session? Due to the piecemeal reissue policy of the vinyl era I only have part of his Paris recordings and would have welcomed the opportunity of rounding up everything in one go but am a bit puzzled about this one. Not one to complain, given the price of this box set, but is it complete or isn't it?

Threw away most of the OBIs of the Japanese 12in LP reissues I bought, except those where they showed particular artwork details (of that record or of related records of the same reissue series) or other pertinent info not included on the LP. but those were a small minority. When I started lurking on eBay I couldn't help but notice the "included OBI" selling fetichism, and for a while this made me feel a bit funny about having thrown mine away too. So I understand the thread starter's feelings. But in the end reason won out and I've grown rather tired of these strips, particularly since - as mentioned by others - they are in your way when storing the LPs (only 50s/60s originals/VERY old reissues go into plastic sleeves here) and I figured if I had to fold them to store them inside the sleeve so they wouldn't crumple once you removed and replaced the inner sleeve and the disc more than once they'd probably lose their value in the eyes of the fetichists anyway, so what the heck?? As for ArtSalt's comment, "But it always tells guests that you are serious connoisseur..." - good point, but if they'd want to drool about Japanese items here they'd be welcome to "marvel" at the spines of my Japanese Blue Note, Prestige and "1800 Jazz Discs in Europe" Books (published by Jazz Critique in the late 90s) in the discographies's section of my music boookshelves - enough unintelligibility for them to gape at there!

Soooo .... ... the book arrived today. :tup Had inquired on Monday about when the book would actually be available (as I had a doubt about its avilability before its presentation scheduled for Oct. 19) but Ginza told me the book had arrived and should be shipped ASAP. And here it is today - not bad for speed of shipping from Sweden to Germany. Below are a few impressions of the contents. A very fine book IMO. Almost LP-sized, not likely too many of the pics have been seen anywhere before. Tours of Swedish musicians and popular artists as well as guesting jazz stars, but above all, lots of backstage candids, private party and holiday pics, impressions of what tour life was like in the 50s (that's Lars Gullin on the far right in the pic of the Standard Vanguard headed for that wintery ditch, BTW), including in the rural "outback" of Sweden, lots of anecdotes. etc. The pictures are the main ingredient, of course, and worth the price any time, but a working knowledge of Swedish would be a bonus to make the most of the anecdotes (sometimes hilarious and at any rate an important part of bringing the feeling of the 50s back to life) but even without that, this book really is something to enjoy flipping through again and again (preferably while listening to the music that would go with it ...). As for ordering, no problem with ginza.se. As mentioned above, they shipped within the announced time frame after payment through Paypal and in fact did hold true to their EUROPEAN shipping cost of 99 SEK announced on their site. According to the slip on the box, the total weight of the parcel was some 2.4 kg which according to Swedish postage rates would equal some 300 SEK for shipping throughout Europe. Don't know how they manage to do this cross-subsidizing but it did work out fine here, so full marks to them for their service!

"Fake West Coast Jazz - ha, a funny categorization ... though not that far off the mark. OTOH, seems to speaks a lot for WCJ if this immediately brings up an image and atmosphere that matches the West Coast settings in general ... Speaking of which ... @TTK: No doubt you know the "Wild One" soundtrack recorded by Short Rogers for RCA inside out. But what about the same tunes (plus a few in the same vein but not really part of the original soundtrack) recorded by the "Leith Stevens All Stars" for Decca? (Featuring Rogers, Bernhart, Shank, Cooper, Giuffre, Freeman, Smith and Manne as well as other WCJ stars)? Or the soundtrack of "Hot Rod Rumble" recorded for Liberty by a band including Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Dave Pell, Pete Candoli, Ray Linn, Frank Rosolino, Herb Geller, Barney Kessel, Claude Williamson, Shelly Manne et al?

Not an easy one to find... I know, but...........................Keep an eye on http://www.tradera.com/finding.mvc/itemlisting?header=true&search=sabu%20martinez&catid=210809 Or better place a search order. Swedish auction site, almost all Swedes can write English. Use Im Translator and if you read no sales abroad, well sent an email and ask why he discriminate you. ( in 99,99% this will be enough ) Happy hunt!!! p.s. I c`nt read or speak not one single word in Swedish. Discriminate?? You're serious? Try that on all those US ebay sellers who state "US sales only" and you'd be in REAL hot water. There's no obligation whatsoever to sell abroad. Even if it is only because the sellers just can't be bothered with finding out about shipping charges. I'd guess it would be a more appropriate idea to ask them VERY POLITELY if they'd consider shipping abroad if you pay the extra shipping cost. Most will be happy to oblige (has worked for me in each and every case on Tradera - but then again I write them in my own Swedish words, putting in a bit of an effort, faults'n all - and most of the time even on US eBay ).

I have the Uncollected Ellington Hindsight LPs Vol. 1 to 5 and they were recorded between March 6, 1946 and June 9, 1947. Am not famliar with the 3-CD box but given that they cover the same years the CD box might indeed be a reissue of the 5 LPs. The Bruyninckx discography on CD lists only a few tracks on a Hindsight CD (HCD 410) but may not be up to date, of course. Apart from Hindsight, most of these "Uncollected" recordings had only been issued on some Swing Treasury LPs by that time. In case the LPs and the CDs do not include the same material you might stand a good chance of finding those LPs as secondhand items here because they are among the relatively few LPs from the "Uncollected" series that were also issued as UK and German pressings on the London and Decca label, respectively.

Yes, i remember dashin home from school as fast as possible on those Saturdays so I'd catch at least 1 1/2 out of the 2 hours. It did give me an introduction to a lot of names such as Miller, Basie, Ellington, Shaw, etc. as well as more specialist fare such as Luis Russell and Bennie Moten. And I remember a few stories that made me wonder (a bit ...) then but that I got to find to be soooo true before too long, like the show when a diehard Billie Holiday collector was interviewed and mentioned that in order to complete his collection he just HAD to buy this or that LP although he already had 15 out of the 16 tracks on that LP! (That stuck in my memory .... wonder why ... )

Must have been an odd kid myself at 15 in 1975, compared to what I read here from others from those years: Apart from getting seriously into 50s rock'n'roll and rockabilly as well as blues (20s to 50s) at about the same time I started listening to about equal doses of 20s classic jazz and swing on the radio. We had a few weekly half-hour classic jazz radio shows as well as a Saturday noon 2-hour "swing nostalgia" show where collectors were invited into the studio to present their 78rpm treasures (which must have given me my first serious tastes of swing and big band jazz, along with the "Fitch Bandwagon" radio show on AFN). The one specific TRACK that I recall that stuck in my ears from my pre-record buying days was the George Lewis recording of "Ice Cream" (yeah, predictable, I know - but at least it was George Lewis and not Chris Barber! ). Another one (semi-jazz) was Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" (from the "The sting" movie score).

I've thought long and hard about this but for the life of it can't remember EXACTLY which was the FIRST jazz record I ever BOUGHT. Before buying records I had been listening to both early jazz ("classic jazz") from the 20s and to swing for quite a few months on the radio but going through my racks (I still have all the records I bought, except a scant handful) I am pretty sure I approached the subject chronologically and the first JAZZ record I ever bought very likely was that ODJB twofer on French RCA that collected all their early Victor recordings as well as a few 30s remakes. Among the other very early purchases around the same time (bought within a scant few months in 1975 when I was 15) were a 2-LP set (on the French Monkey label) featuring the California Ramblers, another Monkey 2-LP set with early Fats Waller piano roll solos, an LP of James P. Johnson piano solos, the (oft-reissued) set of the 1939 recordings by Muggsy Spanier's Ragtime band, but also a "Best Of" compilation of Duke Ellington (featuring 1929 to 1941 tracks - I remember buying this one because it included "Take The A Train" which IIRC was the theme song of the "Fitch Bandwagon" radio show I used to listen to on AFN at that time) as well as a 2-LP set with the classic Artie Shaw Victor recordings of the late 30s and early 40s.

Enjoyable music doesn't need to be "essential" to be enjoyable. In fact, in many cases it better not be "essential" the way this term is generally used. Because if you limit your listening to a selection of "must-listen" items then you risk ending up with listening with other people's ears and brains ("what am I supposed to have listened to in order to be "of age" in my appreciation?") instead of your very own - and your own TASTE, above all, which you are entitled to develop and expand at your OWN pace, not as per somebody else's listening agenda. If you are into hard bop far enough to be likely to explore and enjoy hard bop IN DEPTH, then GO FOR IT. I for one certainly have a lot more records by comparative obscurities and also-rans in the fields of swing, R&B and West Coast Jazz, example, than I have of the majors in hard bop (of which I have quite a few but feel little need to dig that deeply) and beyond - and I make no excuses at all for it. It's MY taste and MY appreciation of what I like best, not what somebody else wants to sell me as "essential" that I "got" to own. It's a matter of personal preferences, not a matter of working off a listening schedule.

Ted Gioia's book is terrific Tom. It's the best jazz book I've come across. Well, actually second to "Swing to Bop" by Ira Gitler, IMO. (Judging by which jazz books I'd take out how often to re-read them at length) Which doesn't really detract from Ted Gioia's book, though.

That sounds good! It seems it's being reprinted and to be out again in three weeks: http://www.amazon.fr/West-Coast-Jazz-Alain-Tercinet/dp/2863646656/ Interesting ... I wonder if it is a straight reprint or an updated/revised issue. Two copies of the original issue are currently on ebay.fr, BTW, and a couple more are available from amazon.fr resellers.

I had the same feeling upon reading the full review, i.e. Garner's review appeared a bit more positive than the quote linked by Bluesoul made it appear. BUT - my impression of the above "It worked for me, mostly" sentence was that he meant to say "It worked for me, mostly, but I fully realize this very probably will not work for many of you readers out there, so be warned ..." Backhanded by not stating it outright? Possibly ... Maybe you have to read between the lines indeed ...

Since the West Coast Jazz books by Robert Gordon and Ted Gioia were mentioned several times here: After I had got hold of these in the early 90s these books prompted me to explore certain WCJ musicians in greater detail (Hampton Hawes, in particular, as well as the early Central Avenue acts beyond Wardell Gray whom I had been listening to for a long time) but in general were more of a source of in-depth background info on the music I had already been listening to. My real eye-opener in reading up on the subject came a few years earlier thanks to the book "West Coast Jazz" by Alain Tercinet published by Parentheses in France in 1986. The musical and stylistic analyis in the book covers a huge range of recordings that even includes fairly obscure and "insider" artists (no doubt helped by the fact that at that time the vinyl reissue program by Fresh Sound was already in full swing). Too bad this book probably has remained under the radar of most jazz fans interested in WCJ because it was only ever published in French.

My entries into West coast Jazz (as a gradual expansion of my interest in jazz which has started age 14/15, starting with classic jazz and swing and then moving into bebop) came from tracks heard in jazz shows on radio which prompted me to search out the LPs that the tunes that really caught my ear came from. Among my very earliest WCJ records bought were Shorty Rogers' "West Coast Jazz" on Atlantic and Shelly Manne 's "The West Coast Sound" on Contemporary, both of which I bought whan I was about to leave high school and go to University. Others that triggered my curiosity were original pressings of the "Assorted Flavors of Pacific Jazz" and "Something for Both Ears" Pacific Jazz samplers (as well as a more recent PJ compilation reissue) that came my way at a garage sale. Gerry Mulligan's early quartet followed soon after (my first one was an original 10" French Vogue pressing of early PJ sesions which a fellow collector from our 50s rock'n'troll cicrcles came up with one day but as he was into straight 50s rock'n'roll this was "too far out" for him so I was glad to take it off his hands and swap it for something more up his alley). Like the thread starter said, it probably was (and still is) the general feel and groove of the music that (within the scope of jazz) you imagine perfectly fits the idea you make yourself of sunny 50s California or a thoroughly jazz-flavored sunny summer feeling in general (no "angry young men" there ... ). There are moments when the mood you want to be projected in the jazz you prefer to listen to at a given moment is captured best by WCJ (of oucrse there are other moments too, but ... ) And things went from there and still haven't stopped ...

Wow! Must have!

Oh........ how times have changed! The difference between "WAG" and "wag", it seems ...

So ... I have taken the plunge and ordered the book ... And I think I've found a good solution for Europeans wishing to order this book from outside Sweden: I ordered through www.ginza.se and they charge a flat shipping fee of 99 SEK for shippings all through the EU. See for yourself on the above website - go to "Kundservice" (Customer Service) and then to "European Delivery". This is quite a bit more affordable than the shipping cost indicated by Daniel (which appears to be on the low side for actual shipping costs anyway because Bokus.se quoted almost 280 SEK for shipping costs). I paid through Paypal and the order confirmation from Ginza arrived at once. So let's see how long it will take for the book to arrive. Ginza says the book will ship within 3 to 6 days (other sites claim 1 to 2 days) but with international shipments I think the difference will be negligible because you never know where things might be delayed in transit. Not wanting to plug that site (this is my first order with them) but they seem to be a good address for a lot of items connected with music; in fact I remember seeing regular ads by Ginza on 50s music CDs in Swedish collector's car mags that also cover 50s music and related "lifestyle" to some extent. Hope their speed of service will live up to their publicity.

Thanks, Daniel. This is more or less what I figured (from past experience). But considering the price paid for similar books elsewhere ... (Or to put it another way: If the book is of the 28x28 cm coffee-table variety (like it seems) and of a presentation to match, then the book itself isn't THAT expensive, so .... ) I have written to Bokus this morning to inquire and they have acknolwedged recipt but have not replied to my question yet. We'll see ...

Adlibris would have been a bit cheaper but if they don't ship aborad ... Ginza.se have a list price that is a wee bit (not much) above that of Bokus. We'll see ... Maybe some of the Swedish forumists around here might have a hint to add?

It should be available outside Sweden via Bokus. See their English-language FAQs. They specifically list both Germany and France. It just is so that shipping costs from Sweden are not exactly cheap (I've bought from private and professional sellers on a number occasions from Sweden in recent years). And this book weighs close to 2 kg.

Thanks, King Ubu. In fact I have considered this address but had also wondered about www.adlibris.com But I am not sure they ship abroad. Might have to ask ...