Big Beat Steve

"Al Haig Meets The Master Saxes Vol. 3" (Spotlite SPJ 143), featuring a.o. Herbie Steward's session of Jan. 17, 1950 (Medicine Man/Passport to Pimlico/T'Aint no use/Sinbad the Sailor)

I guess Jay Cameron was almost better known over here in Europe during his early prime. He lived in Paris from 1948 and was a regular on the French jazz scene. His 1955 Album ("Jay Cameron's International Sax band") released on Swing (F) and Vigue (GB) and reissued on CD in the "Original Vogue Masters" series by BMG is an interesting one.

And why not, Chewy?? That record by Paul Bley was recorded in Feb. 1954, and 78s were commonly made and released until 1958.

I have two of his earliest 78s (rec. 1945): Empty Ballroom Blues Pt. I + II (Pacific 603) Rose Room/Mexican Hat Dance (Pacific 613) The first one reminds me of the small-combo post-war swing/R&B combos such as those by Saunders king, Pee Wee Crayton, etc, Rose room (feat. Barney bigard on clarinet) leans a bit more towards typical mid-40s small-band swing, and Mexican Hat Dance shows he'd been listening to the Western Swing guitar virtuosos of the day too.

Are you really serious? Since BN has been such a fetichist label for such a long time, it's been the holy grail for many - not only original pressings but also slightly later pressings, Japanese pressings, etc. And this not only with collectors who either truly go for hard bop and the music that is on BN or who somehow have a habit of building "label collections" (where BN cannot be missing) and who therefore are dead serious about it, but also for collectors who have been lured into the "reasoning" that any self-respecting jazz collector has to own a sizable cross-section of all those "classic" BN items (no matter whether those items sit on the shelves most of the time afterwards because their favorite listening consists of other facets of jazz). So even when somebody clears out a massive jazz vinyl collection the BN's go out first almost automatically. And then there are (or have been) those well-off yuppies and self-proclaimed hip dudes who believe in accumulating artefacts of a certain 60s-style or "post-modern" lifestyle that they want to embrace and, above all, be identified with. This not all that rarely seems to include a good selection of BN's and Impulses too. Believe it or not, I've been told on more than one occasion by record dealers (in unrelated places) that they've been doing excellent business with BN and Impulse (originals or second pressings or, in a pinch, Japanese reissues) not only to the typical collectors but also to lifestyle-conscious people who had those dealers compile a set of "BN essentials" for them to store, stow (and display? and hopefully listen to as well) as part of their "hip" apartment furnishings. Sounds crazy? And all this because they figured this was the kind of cool music they were supposed to listen to in the setting they wanted to build for themselves at home. Do your cooking in those all-stainless steel kitchens or your office paperwork to some Trane background music? Seems to be not all that unlikely. Sounds crazy? It is. But that seems to be part of the story of where those BN's go. So now you may go ahead and guess where they all are ...

Sixstring, I am not sure which Goldmine book of Jazz lps you are talking about, but either you ought to remember that this book (in its probably older version by now) has a release cutoff date of 1969, and the Spotlite LPs were issued LONG afterwards (so cannot be in that book) or this guide has a blatant lack of non-U.S. releases. Anyway, this LP is fine (my copy ahs been played countless times by now) but if you're interested in bebop then it is only the tip of the iceberg - Spotlite isued a HUUUUGE lot of interesting reissue, drawing heavily on the Dial catalog but also on airshots and other indie releases. Worth checking out!

One half of your wants is available here at quite a correct price: http://www.freshsoundrecords.com/search.ph...mdSearch=Search Good luck!

Then let me put it this way for you: 1) I did NOT dwell on the pricing aspect because I do not have an opinion and certainly not enough information on that matter. Besides, it would not be the only industry where consumables are priced much lower for producers than they are for consumers (cf. energy costs in a LOT of countries and industries). So the issue is wider one. And it also includes the aspect of whether you are willing to accept that lower pricing for producing industries is worth it because you want the produce that uses and needs that water. If you do, fine (but introducing saving measures to limit the effects of droughts might still make sense). If you don't, move the production where it really can be said that "food grows where water goes" (as you said), i.e. "where water GOES" and NOT "where water has to be carried piggyback". A drought is still a drought. 2) I did NOT say at all that the water use for irrigating agricultural fields and for watering private lawns is on the same level. BTW, do you have actual figures that underline the relationshsips of the consumption levels of the two "consumer groups"? 3) But if there is a drought then there is a drought and water needs to be saved. Because if water is in short supply it is in short supply for everyone. And limiting water use to really IMPORTANT use (defining what's important is something I'd leave to others but watering one's lawn sounds pretty unimportant to me in such a shortage situation) does not sound like the worst idea to me in such a situation - and even in urban areas there are bound to be more important uses than watering one's lawn - and I know my water bill DOES go up if I do lot of watering of my not so huge lawn during dry summer spell here. So in all logic every little bit should help, especially if you multiply the "insignificant" amount of water used watering ONE lawn by the certainly not quite so insignificant number of people who do this. Of course watering one's lawn would probably be only one such aspect. Washing your private car out in the street would be another one (if that is still legal there) - and sprinkling sidewalks too, of course. 4) Or is it that you insist on continuing to satisfy your own petty everyday whims (such as dousing your lawn regardless of whether insufficient water is available) on the premise that the "big users" are elsewehere and "what I do on top of this doesn't matter"? Or is it a "way of life" that you insist on keeping up? If everybody did this where would you be? Or is it that everybody DOES this and that's why you are where you are? With all due respect, I doubt that I do not know what I am talking about (such shortage situations have occurred elsewhere too, you know, much closer to here, and the politicians' reactions on what water use to outlaw have been similar too), but are you sure that YOU are up to the task of contributing of easing that situation if what you said above describes your stance on EVERYONE contributing to saving water?

Just reading all this in puzzlement ... Can somebody fill me in on the actual and unavoidable link between watering PRODUCE grown by farmers for general food consumption and watering LAWNS as a personal luxury? If you are short on water, limit it to the essentials. I daresay watered lawns aren't essential (at least not compared to water used for agricultural purposes). And that just MIGHT ease the situation ...

Not on bass, but on drums: That's Jack "The Bear" Parker who also recorded a couple of R&B vocal sides under his own name around that time.

5-4-3-2-1 made it to No. 5 in the UK charts (even Come Tomorrow and Ha Ha Said The Clown made it "only" to No. 4) AND 5-4-3-2-1 was MM's FIRST chart entry in the UK. So not that bad if you go by that yardstick (not every pop/rock band can get its first chart entry to No. 1 (not even "that one" British invasion band did - at least not in the UK). And all the rest is a matter of taste.

Just listening to that music (in addition to the reissues in the discog of your link, it's also been on a French Polydor LP that I own). Very intriguing hearing Django in front and as the main featured artist with BIG bands (as opposed to very noticeable rhythm guitarist with only relatively brief solos, e.g. with Alix Combelle's band). And though the Fud Candrix and Stan Brenders bands seen to be relatively laid-back (to give Django more room and accommodate his guitar style better) they could be VERY hard-hitting so by the standards of those times they could hold their own with many white bands (not only European). In short, it's well worth picking up to provide yet another facet beyond that of the Quintet of the HCDF etc.

A VERY nice record! Recommended!

Small wonder they tended to be confused at that time - after all it turned out it was Jonah and not Dizzy who threw that notorious spitball too.

That "Unlucky Blues" (aka "Unlucky Woman") from the MCA Blues Box Vol. 2 set is available elsewhere relatively easily, e.g. on the MCA V.A. LP "THe Swinging Small Bands 2" (Jazz Heritage series Vol. 45) and on "Sounds of Harlem Vol. 2" (HEP CD 1066). So no shortage of listening opportunities ...

@Tom in RI: Great box indeed, that OKEH set. Also recommended in the same vein : The Mercury Blues & Rhythm Story 1945-1955 (8-CD box set) (There are other Mercury R&B boyx sets, e.g. the CD box set with the box in the shape of some 40s Catalon radio but IIRC that one concentrates on relatively fewer and better-known artists with more tracks by each artist) @Jostber: Like I said, there is a time and place for everything, and drawing a line between the sub-genres isn't always easy anyway.

The downhome stuff drives me down the wall into the gutter - the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar the same lowdown lyrics the same guitar ... (... no, not really, there is a time and place for everything, but there's more to DA BLOOZ than just that "Black Snake Moan" etc. ... ;))

Whatever Jostber, Jazzbo, kh1958 and KH Russell said ... :D With one slight exception: Ella Mae Morse ain't bad, but IMHO she's a bit in the "Hey-I'm-a-pop-singer-but-I'd-rather-do-swing-and-R&B-anyway" bag. Nice to listen to but compared to the real gritty stuff it's a bit watered down and cleaned up. That said, Mikelz777, your purchases certainly aren't bad at all, but if really dig much deeper into that genre you'll end up being sorry for all that money spent on multi-label compilations as you invariably will end up with a LOT of overlaps, duplications or triplications (probably most of it, in fact). If you want multi-artist discs, it might pay looking at more focused compilations that concentrate on specific labels, e.g. that Jumpin' Like Mad set recommended by Jazzbo. Or have a look at the Delmark reissue program. Their material does not overlap all that much with other multi-label reissue programs and therefore fills a few gaps quite nicely, e.g. their "Honkers & Bar Walkers" CDs. And BY ALL MEANS grab these - or drop dead! :D http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...amp;release=428 http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?pa...mp;release=7409 All FOUR "Mellow Cats" CDs (scroll down to the bottom of the page for details) are the bees knees - and you're NOT likely to find very much from those discs on ANY other reissue program! And the Ace catalog is worth a second look anyway - their West Coast (Central Avenue) R&B compilations are really fine if you do not have them on LP yet. Finally, if you make the rounds at secondhand outlets and dont mind vinyl, it also pays to go for the "Roots of Rock'n'Roll" 2-LP sets released on Savoy in the 80s. You'll probably have a lot of that on your "Stomping At The Savoy" compilation but these 2-LP sets should explore the subject in much greater depth (so there you are with your duplications ). Enjoy!

I largely agree with King Ubu's review of the Jean-Claude Fohrenbach 2-CD set. Leaning very much towards pre-free 50s modern jazz (which is what I picked up this set for as Fohrenbach's 50s recordings have fared rather badly on the reissue market so far), I was pleasantly surprised to see how his later recordings proved to be a seamless evolution of his earlier work. I'm usually a bit wary of latter-day recordings of 50s jazzmen as you often end up with funked-up, contrivedly free playing, droning, overrecorded basses and other sounds clearly geared to prove they were able to "hang in with the younger cats" but IMHO this one presents a sound and logical evolution of the music. The comparison with Gil Melle (from all I've heard of Gil Melle, which is far from exhaustive) seems to be quite apt.

That one isn't all that recent. I've had my copy for way more than 10 years. Very nice stuff for sure, even though the overall sound and arrangements (especially if you take in the entire CD in one go) is just a wee bit clean and tidy - as was customary for major-label releases of this kind of music (that catered to white tastes in the Alan Freed package show vein too) - and not quite as gritty and down-to-earth and frenzied as a lot of the indie label releases for predominantly black consumption. As for Blowin The Fuse, I agree with Ragu all the way. That set has an awful lot of duplications and overlaps with lots of other reissues so it pays to check the track listings VERY carefully before shelling out (unless you're a total newbie with that kind of R&b, then you can't go wrong anyway with this).

So I guess the Savoy twofer "Signals" (SJL 2231) includes the full reissue of the "sax added" 12146 LP, right?

So - to the minds and ears of those who may have listened to each and every re-re-remastering - how do the two Fats Waller LP boxes and the additional individual LPs (Black & Blue LP series) reissued bvy FRENCH RCA in the 70s/80s (and including his entire studio output, so it seems) compare to all these CD sets? They are not THAT elusive either and they do sound OK to me (though I admittedly am a vinyl nut ).

The Harlequin I have, but it's material from 1942-44. What are the records or disks you are talking about for the 1938-41 material? Thanks so much! I'm not sure we're talking about the same Harlequin disc: The 6 tracks of her London session of 20-05-38 are on "Safely Locked Up In My Heart" (Harlequin HQ 2076, also fetauring Lil Armstrong sessions and 2 tracks from 1939 featuring Una Mae Carlisle as pianist with Danny Polo etc.) 6 tracks from her 02-08-40 and 13-11-40 sessions are on "The Greatest of the Small Bands Vol. 6" (RCA FXM1 7124, Black & White Series Vol. 141) Her 10-03-41 session (4 tracks incl. Blitzkrieg Baby) is on "The Greatest of the Small Bands Vol. 3" (RCA 741 117, Black & White Series Vol. 106) and on "Swing Vol. 1" (RCA LPV-578), and others. Which makes a total score of 16 out of the 21 tracks of the 1938-41 Classics CD. Maybe worth checking out (if that CD really proves elusive) unless you have most of the other (fine!) music on those LPs anyway.

Any yet the stuff on that 1938-41 disc (including the RCA material such as "Blitzkrieg Baby") is among the most widely re-re-reissued material by Una so basically most of the music should be around (offhand I can think of 3 or 4 RCA LPs plus one on Harlequin) if you don't shy away from secondhand sources. The 1941-44 fills a much more obvious gap of recordings that have not been recycled that often.

What do you mean "Alvino Rey or some weird artist"??? His big band (including his Hindsight transcriptions) wasn't that bad at all and could hold its own with quite a lot of SWING-era (not sweet) big bands. I suppose you know June Christy's vocals can be a mixed bag too ...