Big Beat Steve

They're essential sides. Most of them are available on the Classics Mezz Mezzrow 1936-1939 CD. Also on a Hugues Panassié Sessions CD from the Hot Club de France that I see around off and on. Will try to pick it up for you! That would be most kind! I've never seen any Mezzrow Classics around here! The Mezzrow Classics are going for $85 on Amazon! I do have the 4 cuts with Bechet on an RCA cd but Brownie if you can find a reasonably priced cd of the Panassie Sessions for me too I'd appreciate it. Does this mean that I can sell my (60s/early 70s) "RCA Vintage Series" LP of the Mezzrow-Bechet-Ladnier Panassié sessions for top money now?? It went into my duplicates bin because I'd preferred to keep the RCA Black & Blue series LP with the same material (and 1 or 2 alternates) instead. So - King Ubu, seeing that we are not that far apart, if you want that RCA Vintage Series LP, drop me a PM.

That would be this one ... And Ed Hall indeed does not seem to be present on the 3 Gustav Brom tracks on the above LP.

Don't have the LP and its liner notes on hand right now to check but the photograph(s) illustrating the paragraph on Gustav Brom in the liner note booklet DEFINITELY show the Brom band performing with Edmond Hall as the featured soloist. Would they unnecessarily create false expectations by showing a featured star who does not actually perform?

DON'T just say "King Records" - this might too easily be confused with THAT real KING label from Cincinnati! The "King Jazz" records from the 40s were something different altogether. As for the musical merits of MEZZ on these - ho hum ... I've long had some of the LP series of those King Jazz recordings released on the Storyville label. In my book these are one of those cases where the put-downs of Mezz, stating he essentially only noodled and doodled scales up and down on his clarinet, were not THAT far off the mark . And stating in the "LP" liner notes something like "I am a giant and Sidney Bechet is going to help me to prove it" ... aw, c'mon. Bechet actually is the one who pulls it all together, and Mezz is just an also-ran. Anyway ... let's face it, Mezz was and IS overrated, and vastly so, yet it's amazing to see how Hugues Panassie's pet dog Mezz Mezzrow seems to gain more and more accolades again the longer the earwitnesses of the era are dead. ;)

Brownie, these names actually aren't that unknown. Gustav BROM was extremely well-known all over Europe. And Karel Krautgartner and Ludek Hulan as well as Jan Konopasek (among the sidemen) had made themselves a good name too. And Karel Vlach had been a major name since the 40s. Anyway, @ sdx ... ... it is true that there is not track list as such on the back cover that gives a clear indication of which band is featured on which track. This may seem odd but has to be seen in the light of the age of the record as this was not all that unknown on European vinyl of the 50s, particularly in Austria and Germany, though usually on budget-type labels and not on such elaborate presentations as this fold-out cover LP with pasted-in booklet. Actually the answer to your question is in front of you if you have the album: Those who are familiar with the GERMAN language of the liner notes (and assuming they go to the trouble of reading them, which after all is what liner notes are there for, and these are pretty instructive) will find their answers there (others will have to deduce from the track titles in italics which bands they belong to) as the individual bands and their musical samples are taken care of one after another. Therefore: Tanzorchester des Tschechoslowakischen Rundfunks (Karel Krautgartner) = Concertino für Alt-Saxophon und Jazz-Orchester Jazz-Studio 5 = Der Herr mit dem Zylinder / Blues auf der Haltestelle Ferdinand Havlik = Semaphor Metronom Combo = Der zweite Versuch Prager Dixieland Band = Fullhand Karel Vlach = Vindobona / Der alte Blues Gustav Brom = In Memoriam Oscar Pettiford / Dudelsackmotiv / Segelboot So there y'are ...

Am not sure if the track info on amazon.fr is correct and complete for that Zoot Sims CD from this series, but according to their site this CD only includes the 7 tracks (rec. 16/03/56) from the Ducretet-Thomson LP that was also reissued on this LP in the 80s: The 4 tracks from that "other" session done under the supervision of Ducretet-Thomson (Charlie Was In Rouen/Crazs Rhythm/Charlie Went To Cherbourg/I've Found A New Baby)that was released on Club Francais de Disque J95 (and also on other "Club" labels such as DSC (German) C65) are not listed.

Agree with Jeffcrom. Music such as this (or almost any other, from ANY period) has to be seen in the context of its times too, and the Bobcats (or even the full orchestra) did not fare that badly at all jazz-wise. Lack of depth is largely a matter of personal opinion. In those days jazz (luckily) was primarily intended to entertain. And who says what would be considered "depth" in jazz of more recent decades by some in fact wouldn't just (and not unduly so) be considered "effects for effects sake" or "calculated screwyness" by others? Emperor's clothes, you know ... Back to THIS music, maybe it would be worth looking a bit beyond the commercial releases of bands such as Bob Crosby's? In the 70s/80s there was an LP series of previously unreleased transcriptions on a label called First Time Records (FTR) (later repressed with the same covers on a label called Onward To Yesterday (OTY)). The Bob Crosby platter ain't bad at all (like most of the entire series). And the HINDSIGHT volume on this band can be ear openers too. Some of the tunes on these LPs swing in rather an intense manner. Don't know if and where these have been CD'd in more recent times but those who search will certainly find.

@Jeffcrom and MG: If you want to get the lowdown on Brother Woodman, read "Central Avenue Sounds" (collated by Clora Bryant et al.). Among its oral histories of early post-war Westcoast jazz, it has a HUGE chapter containing his reminiscences (and those of the other two musicianly Woodmans too). No mention of any involvement with Edgar Hayes, though.

No trouble, really. It's just a summary of a private project they are planning, focusing on "Our Sons" and looking for (testimonials by?) men, jazz musicians and sons of jazz musicians. And the main text dated 2009 calls for interested (and qualified) persons to make themselves known. But yes, there is a note saying they do not wish to be bothered by commercial producers anymore as they do have their own producer and otherwise are self-sufficient. Thats the gist of it; sorry, translating it all would be a bit much and pointless for casual onlookers anyway.

tried to buy a copy a few months ago but it had already become rather pricey.... http://www.amazon.com/Death-Bebop-Wife-Grange-Rutan/dp/1881993426/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263389302&sr=8-2 Indeed! Ouch ... 669 bucks .. this is SICK! And even at well beyond 100$ this is where I would really say that (in-)"accessibility" of culture comes into play.

Among the jazz books published in 2009 that I have explored closer (though I am not quite finished with reading them yet), it is these two I like best: - Traveling Blues - The Life and Music of Tommy Ladnier (Bo Lindström, Dan Vernhettes). I can only second what Brownie said on this book. And as long as other (larger, U.S.) publishers get away with comparatively shoddy printing quality, this one really is top-notch for its money in this reproduction quality department alone, not to mention its painstakingly researched text) - Le siècle du jazz - Art, cinéma, musique et photographie de Picasso à Baquiat (published by Flammarion as a catalog to the jazz exhibition shown in Paris and Barcelona in 2009 - Thanks, EKE BBB, for making me aware of this through your blog!) No doubt the Fats Navarro biography Infatuation (by Petersen & Rehak) would also figure among my favorite 2009 jazz books but I have not had a closer look at it yet since I bought it earlier in 2009 so I cannot really comment. Among other, earlier-published jazz (or jazz-related) books I've read in 2009 and liked particularly are: - Bouncin' with Bartok - the Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik (Jack Chambers) - How Britain Got The Blues - The Transmission and Reception of American Blues Style in the United Kingdom (Roberta Freund Schwartz) I won't go into what I liked less here and at any rate, there's still so much to read among the recent music book purchases on my bookshelf, including quite a few excellent (50s) rock'n'roll and "roots music" books.. Thanks for alerting me to this book, Brownie! It will figure high on my shopping list for my next trip to France!

Why not double the pressing run of all the MOSAIC's and lower the price, they'll obviously sell as well. (And thus make culture much more accessible as well ) Ya see, if this is what your reasoning is, then you will have anwf'l lot of fields of action ahead of you. (Besides, the only mention of selling out a printing run of 500 I can see in the earlier post relates to the bio of Edmond Hall, so something entirely different altogether ... )

What point is there printing a LOT more if this means you will very likely end up with lots and lots of unsold stock that - at best - in the end finds its way into the cut-price books sales bins and therefore leaves you with a sure-fire loss if you eventually have to sell them at clearout prices well below cost? The market for such books IS limited (especially when figuring in that there probably are smart alecks around even in THIS hobby who figure they will hold off until the books just crop up there - i.e. in those cut-price bins. If I were a publisher I'd have second thoughts about such a policy too). Anyway I look at it - after having had a very close look at this book I can't find that price of 40 or 45 euros (or whatever it was exactly minus shipping) to be all that expensive - not giving the contents, the presentation, the printing quality, in short, everything. On a side note, it has to be taken into account that overall book prices have always tended to be somewhat higher in France than elsewhere in Western Europe anyway (on the other hand, this means publishers there will be willing to take chances in special-interest subject matters that hardly any publisher in my country, for example, would touch with a 10-foot pole, least of all in such a lavish presentation). I would not have been too surprised seeing this book in a French bookstore for the equivalent, i.e. some 280 or 300 Francs, in the late 90s. So buying power-wise, prices have actually come down a little., And whatever there is to be paid on top of the actual book price is just something that no publisher can be held accountable for. Blame it on the post office terms ... and like I said, U.S. publishers and booksellers have been known to be far more unscrupulous in THEIR terms when it comes to shipping overseas. Besides, I really don't get it about that "access" thing. Sure access to (cultural) information is important and I'd really appreciate seeing a lot of items being far more affordable too. Yet seeing how each and almost everybody seems to be drooling about this, that and yet another MOSAIC and shelling out big bucks for THAT and going to GREATEST efforts in trying to "upgrade" (for often minimal or debatable sound improvement) in this or that reissue money cannot really be a priority issue even with many of those who at other times state how they have been living on a budget. A question of one's priorities, I guess. But that's life ... And not something to put off old-time jazz fans who might be in the market for this Tommy Ladnier bio. Others will much rather invest in the umpteenth Trane book but you can't have 'em all, least of all at pulp paperback prices. BTW, how come nobody seems to be complaining about the price of Japanese platters (AND books) that find their way out of Asia? those who insist on cutting down on the general price level, will find a well-crowded field of action there. And just for a US-Europe comparison - not all that long ago I got myself a copy of the "Charlie Parker & Jazz Club Memorabilia" book published by the Jazz at Lincoln Center library (thanks again, Baker, for your assistance!) and this set me back a whopping 75 bucks PLUS shipping! Calculate that for yourselves and see how that figures in comparison with the Euro amount of the above Tommy Ladnier book. While I do enjoy the book and marvel at the number of collectabilia shown there in full color, one thing has to be said quite clearly: With a book like this printing quality is the A to Z of the entire book, and there this one is a letdown in quite a few instances. Blotchy colors that make the originally sharp-contoured lettering look blurred, lack of contrast, insufficient resolution that makes it difficult to appreciate the finer details of the objects at that printing size (the plight of DIGITAL preprinting stages, I wonder??) etc. etc. In short, quite a few of the illustrations really suffer from ... well, I'd almost call it substandard printing. Or - another pet peeve of mine - take the abominably lousy B/W photo printing quality in Bob Inman's "Swing Era Scrapbook" published by Scarecrow Press (not cheap either, easily on a level with that Tommy Ladnier book)! In short, U.S. publishers have not showered themselves with unlimited merits in the printing quality alone in these two cases yet have not refrained from making people shell out heavily too. That much just to put things into perspective ... (as I do not figure these are isolated cases at the top end of what U.S. music books sell for). Whereas the Tommy Ladnier book - quite apart from the written contents that make the diligence of research obvious - really shows how things ought to be done when it comes to the reproduction quality of B/W, sepia and full-color illustrations in a book. So I would be more than willing to pay a bit more if they really got their act together in that department (and compared to the two above-cited books I did not even have to pay extra ... so I really am quite satisfied. In short, of course it would be nice to bring down the costs of a lot of productions but in the end it is a matter of one's personal priorities and nobody will ever be able to afford everything, and once you've reached a certain level things just are going to cost if done properly. And when compared to the two cases mentioned above (no doubt both cross-subsidized by well-established institutions, i.e. Lincoln and Rutgers, respectively), this apparently privately published book does not fare bad at all. In fact, it fares exceedingly well IMHO. Just my 2c

You are 100% correct, Dan, especially with the bit about whining about the oh so high shipping cost. Shippping the other way often really is a ripoff and U.S. sellers evidently have little qualms about taking advantage of overseas buyers (I could name a case of a (special-iterest) book recently released where the editor unashamedly takes $25 for shpping one book to Europe and $50 for shipping two although combining both in one parcel should (and by all accounts does) net significant savings). Don't know what kind of intra-US selling he intends to subsidize that way. So ... the door swings both ways anytime. I have had my book given to me as a Xmas present so have only worked myself through an initial part of the book. But looking at your cross-references, footnotes, all the genealogy thing (which you automatically find yourself immersed in as you go along, even if you probably never were into that before) clearly shows this as an extremely thoroughly researched labor of love that leaves no stone unturned. As has been said on another (jazz-related) occasion, I doff my hat in sincere appreciation!

Sad to say time flies by and that generation of pioneers inevitably steps down one after another. R.I.P. BTW, not wanting to belittle the CBBB in any way but to hardcore German jazz fans a major legacy of his undoubtedly will be his activities on the MOD label(s) in the 50s. The reissues of the rare MOD originals on the Jazz Realities label are highly recommended, and for an additional appreciation of Gigi Campi's groundbreaking promotional activities the "Jazz in Köln" book by Robert von Zahn is recommended.

Not a mixed bag at all IMHO but a nice example of early "crossover" (or "jazz-rock" if you are willing to lump Country in with rock) and, at any rate, a glimpse of what Western Swing could have become if it had continued to really evolve into the 60s. Chet Atkins could swing his butt off too when he felt like it. I like both albums a lot, and it's a real tragedy Hank Garland suffered that severe car accident and was unable to continue recording. (Incidentally, the album cover of Hank Garland's solo album shown earlier in this thread must be that of a fairly recent reissue. This album is actually called "Jazz Winds From A New Direction - Introducing the Modern Guitar of Hank Garland" and will be listed as such in discographies.)

FWIW, over here in Germany the "list price" for 12in LPs most often was 17 or 19 "Deutschmarks"(DM) in the very early 60s. Prices seem to have been rather more uniform and in line with catalog "list prices" in many shops (I have quite a few late 50s/early 60s LPs still with their 19 DM price pencil-written in a corner of the sleeve or indicated on a price tag) and special offers or downmarked prices were comparatively rarer than from, say, the mid-70s when I started buying LPs. Typical EP prices were 7,50 DM in the early 60s. And this at a time when the hourly wages of a skilled worker were about 3 DM! Little wonder so many period "Eurojazz" LPs are that rare.

Well, Brownie, at the time 98 DM (close to 350 FF) apeared like a lot of money to me for a book that "thin". But of course once you flipped the book open to have a closer look you were smitten by the overall presentation so I just had to have it. Thanks for that link, BTW. Quite a few of the photos shown there were not included in the Jazz In LA book.

Yes - R.I.P. His "Jazz In L.A." book, though frighteningly expensive when new, is one I never regretted shelling out for. Yet no matter what pics he may have taken of Chet Baker and other jazz celebrities, I'd venture a guess his most famous legacy to posterity is that series of concert shots of Big Jay McNeely that yielded that famous stage close-up of Big Jay blowing away lying on his back and working the (WHITE!) teen-aged audience into sheer frenzy. A picture that not only immmortalized the essence of the Honkin' tenor sax but also the transition from R&B to Rock'n'Roll. I'd venture to say all those jazz celeb pictures, no matter how fine they may be from an artistic point of view, pale by comparison because others such as Claxton, Leonard, etc. often had the same artists in their focus too. BTW, no doubt a great many who never heard of Bob Willoughby's name may have seen at least one picture of him without being aware of it: One of his shots from that Big Jay concert showing a couple of girls going bezerk in the audience was included in the 1955 international photographic exhibition "The Family of Man" by the Museum of Modern Art (that was revived for another international tour through various museums a couple of years ago).

One I bought recently and which has surprised me pleasantly as a prime example of some more pre-Swing era big band music (the music might well have fitted into the Jazz Oracle catalog, not only for its cleanly restored sound where John R.T. Davies had a hand again): TEXAS & TENNESSEE TERRITORY BANDS 1928-1931 (Retrieval RTR 79006) featuring Blue Steele & His Orchestra, Slim Lamar & His Southerners, Mart Britt & His Orchestra, Sunny Clapp & His Band O'Sunshine, Phil Baxter & His Orchestra (also known as Phil Baxter's Texas Tommies, according to a mention in the "Black Beauty, White Heat" book). Outside the big metropolitan centers, those Texas bands sure were among those who really had their act together.

That's correct, the Mikulski connection. Except that his first name is Bernhard and not Hermann. At various times through the 80s (and beyond) you saw German pressings of Prestige/OJC etc. releases marked as being distributed by "Mikulski GmbH", Mikulski-ZYX", "ZYX" etc.

I think the key to understanding is that "you want to be talked about". Sorry if the formatting of this reply looks weird but somehow ever since the new forum layout came along the "Answer" page on my screen ever so often fouls up in a BIG way. That silly "Fonts"/"Sizes" tab list overlays the top few lines of the entry field and cannot be moved so you either have to type blindfold or go down in the Answer box to make space for an editable line where your cursor moves and you can actually se what you ar etyping. Never happened with the old O layout so o... ?

I rather think that it's the Guardian who is kidding around, and Wynton has nothing to do with this story. The article reads like a jazz insider joke to me. My theory is that Wynton himself send this Raphael or Ramon himself to the Larry Ochs concert, and because he's the prime suspect of jazz fundamentalism, he's now actively playing the innocent. Coming to think of it (and to re-read the sotry), you've got a point there. But wouldn't they expose themselves to a lawsuit if they stuck a story like that on somebody just like that? Anyway, I think it's not so much WM's action but the term "Jazz Nazi" that is controversial. If you have to use strong words to describe this kind of jazz funamentalist (?), you might as well call him a JAZZ TALIBAN. Or would that strike other sensitivities?

Agree with Brownie. Calling the cops because you think the music is "not jazz" is silly (even if by purist criteria it may be so, this "fan" ought to have known better, given that a lot of "recent" jazz falls into the "anything goes" category, like it or not). And making a hero out of somebody like this is even sillier (though maybe just a cleverly launched publicity stunt). But it definitely is not a case of a "jazz nazi". A term like this is way beyond reason.

On vinyl??