Big Beat Steve

Just did a little checking myself ... Online antique book sellers list the 1959 book from 380 euros! And even the German edition of the JAzz 1955-1959-1961 book of the early 90s (Nieswand Verlag) starts at some 98 euros. I remember it wasn't cheap when I bought it new, but this ... (and the price of your Dutch edition?) ... Oh my ...

That 1959 book "JAZZ" seems to be very rare, and tends to go rather expensively on eBay if a copy ever comes up. So for those who'd like to enjoy the pics from this tour in a real book, try to get hold of Ed van der Elsken's book "JAZZ 1955 - 1959 - 1961" published in 1988 in Japan, then in 1991 in the Netherlands by Fragment Uitgiverij and in 1992 by Nieswand Verlag in Germany. A GREAT book featuring not only more pics form this Hampton tour but also a LOT of other great jazz pictures from that era. In fact (according to the accompanying text) this book is an expanded version of the original book that Durium shows in his blog.

Trying to find some rational explanation to some aspects mentioned here: No doubt a great many black American jazzmen moved to Europe after 1945 or in the 50s to escape racial problems back in the States. Many of these had found they were held in great awe and respected as artists wherever they went in jazz circles in Europe, i.e. among promoters, journalists, fans, club owners, etc. Quite different from what many of them probably had experienced back home in everyday life where racial barriers must have been more prominent even outside the South, even in their work as musicians. In Europe (France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, etc.), on the other had, they were regarded as artists and stars (and some sort of "Crow Jim" attitude prevalent among certain fans certainly helped too) and were usually treated with great respect. However, this concerned the fields of everyday life these musicians usually moved within. No doubt less friendly feelings may have existed elsewhere in European society, or maybe indifference or ignorance, but these musicans were not really exposed to it in everyday life so may not usually have perceived it as such. And this ignorance or inability to distinguish between somebody needing insulin injections and some junkie trying to get a fix (and after all a lot of musicians were junkies indeed so this picture may have been somewhat difficult to avoid by those who otherwise did not get into touch with jazz but just had read about these things in the gossip press) may have led to what happened in Eric Dolphy's case. Inexcusable in the case of a doctor, but do we know all the details of the actual circumstances?

Wasn't there a rather detailed thread on her not all that long ago here on this forum (on the occasion of her passing, I think)?

That particular records reminds me of something odd I've been wondering about for a long time: A few years ago I bought this record along with other Basie LP's in one single lot from a private seller, and this K.C.7 item came in a mint IMPULSE gatefold cover (U.S. pressing); however, the record inside was on the MCA "rainbow" label (with light blue background) and stated both the MCA AND the Impulse record No. on the label. Did somebody replace a (maybe worn) original record with a more recent pressing or were there pressing runs that combined the older original cover and more recent vinyls/labels (maybe because there was an overstock of covers to be used up)? Anybody got an idea?

To prevent others from (maybe) getting lost, better point out that the original label of this was IMPULSE and that this is the "new" version" of The Kansas City Seven (and not to be confused with the early 40s lineup including Lester young that recorded for Keynote). I agree with all your other special recommendations (though my 60 or so Basie LP's - plus some CD's - place a bit more emphasis on the 30s and 40s, but I also appreciate the Verve and Roulette era very much - plus certain Pablos).

Aren't we all? At least in the eyes of the "music-consuming average masses"? :D Yeah, and I'll hafta get that one too!

Saw this advance info a couple of months ago. Any news on when this book will finally be available and at what price? That site doesn't seen to be updated too often in this respect.

MG, you're talking about the "Real Crazy" studio sessions issued on Vogue or about the live concert recordings from the European tour (September, 1953) issued on IAJRC LP 31 as well as on various CD's on the Stash and Natasha labels?

Sure I did see those RELIC comps. There must have been some 200 LP's of them or so. They were all over the place in the 80s and early to mid-90s at all the specialist record dealers' stalls at REAL rock'n'roll concerts everywhere. The vinyl is OOP but should be available secondhand here and there, and I think similar compilations are now avilable on CD in frightening quantities anyway. Only bought a sampling of that Doo-Wop stuff myself over the years, though (mostly black groups). It's nice to listen to for a time but can get repetitive in the long run. The Italo doo-wop groups can get a bit of a drag too, and I admit I can pretty well do without the girl group and Phil Spector items.

Too bad! I need a copy of that one too!

Maybe we will just have to agree to disagree but just to get this straight: When I referred to "accessibility" I was definitely not implying any comparison with Hawes' other Contemporary albums but was rather trying to hint at the fact that some of those around here apear to prefer something more elaborate that they have to "work their way into" (at least that's the impresion I often get here from a lot of posts discussing a lot of different jazzmen). At any rate, I found "All Night Long" very accessible and also quite fluently swinging and just enjoy listening to it intensely (rather than dissecting). Now if I am tin-eared I probably am just as tin-eared as Ted Gioia, Robert Gordon, John A. Tynan and Ron Wynn. So be it then ... BTW, re- "For Real": As another often-overlooked Hawes outing from that time I'd like to mention "The Sermon" from 1958, recorded just before he was to serve his prison term (but the music remained in the can until the late 80s).

Interesting to read ... I stand corrected as far as this forum being the right target for such questions is concerned ... The Patsy Montana track with 2 widely differing recording dates illustrates the problem I mentioned above. Some of those tunes were recorded repeatedly by the artists so you really would have to be familiar enough to identify the recordingy aurally. BTW, I do think #14 actually ought to read "LA VALSE DE MARIAGE".

Wish I knew ... Seriously, I realize you must de desperate for info, but it still is that old-time hillbilly music probably is not the favorite music that immediately comes to mind to most JAZZ fans. (In my case, it is a side interest but not my main focus, hence my other comments) There is a sort of Western Swing miniature discussion platform somewhere out there on the WWW (I think Rich Kienzle has a hand in running the site that incorporates this discussion platform) and this would at least be somewhat closer style-wise. I don't have the link right now so you would have to google it up.

Try his "Band In Boston" LP (i.e. its reissue) released shortly after the "Splendored Gig" LP. Another nice one would be his very first LP: Jazz In A Stable on Transition TRLP-1 released in 1956 (one of those LP's on the Transition "cult" label that fetch silly prices among collectors on eBay but the reissues should be far more affordable).

Is there a hillbilly/old-time fiddling/string bands/early country discussion forum out there somewhere? That might be a far better place to ask this question. I think I've listened to this Trikont CD at a friend's home (a keen hillbilly collector). Funny stuff but needs to be taken piecemeal. Will check my Mainer's Mountaineers, Delmore Bros. and Patsy Montana LP's later to see if I can come up with dates. As for Roy Rogers and the Sons of The Pioneers tracks, anybody around here who's got the Bear Family box sets to look up this info? The Carter Family should also be well documented. In case of Bill Monroe, who know how often he recorded that Muleskinner Blues? Same for Bob Wills. I think he did this Blue Yodel #1 for the Tiffany Transcriptions. Was this the only version? If not, which is which? Or anybody who's got "The Decca Hillbilly Discography" handy?

You talking about "Life Is A Many Splendored Gig"? At least FS bothered to reproduce the original artwork when others (except the Japanese and VSOP) mostly slapped silly updated/"modernized" covers on their vinyl reissues. OK, this may be far less important in the CD age but I admit that the Mosaic Select "corporate identity" artwork leaves me cold. I just happen to prefer other styles when it comes to packaging. That said, I could very well imagine some early Pomeroy reissues on the Uptown label. Might tie in nicely with their Serge Chaloff CD...

King Ubu, you know there ARE other labels (lots, in fact) that DO reissue FINE jazz music that is well compiled and thorougly annotated! In short, there IS a life in jazz reissues outside Mosaic!

Re- All Night Session, I must admit this was one of those cases where I bought the LP's after reading a favorable rewiew/recommendation (I just happened to come across the set of all 3 shortly after having read Ted Gioia's "West Coast Jazz"). Yes - I do like all three recordings, but on the other hand I never really compared them in greater detail with his other Contemporary albums of that time nor with the "Poll Winners" (and I like all of these too). Could it be that "All Night Session" is too accessible and too effortlessly swinging for some and therefore not demanding enough on their ears (so they automatically consider it too slick and not "stimulating" enough? ) Sometimes I feel people just rate and compare things to death; as if recording A necessarily has to outdo or top recording B, etc. Some items just aren't really comparable and ought to be listened to and enjoyed on their own terms.

Good you hear you escaped safely, but here's some sincere sympathy from another classic car lover and owner ... Hope you recover enough money to buy another tidy example. Good luck scouring Hemmings ...

Too bad ... It's news like this that make you realize how much time has passed since the 50s. Time to give his "Band In Boston" LP (and some others) a spin tonight ...

Yeah, and according to the tracklist posted further above the Fresh Sound double CD duplicates the IAJRC LP for the studio takes and a First Heard LP for the live cuts so both vinyl and CD addicts are served evenly this time. P.S. @Stereojack: Thanks for the info!

Well, it's the other one - "Teen Rock" - that I have. Any big-league jazzmen uncredited on that one? Speaking of "Fratenity Rush": I wonder if the tune "Creole" on that one is the same title that was also recorded by the George Williams Orchestra (on the "The Fox i Hi-FI" album on Brunswick) around the same time for the same target audience?

Another Thumbs Up for anyting recorded by the Boyd Raeburn band, especially the HEP reissues featuring his airshots and transcriptions plus the Savoy/Denon reissue! Other Raeburn material from various sources was reissued on the following LP's: "Hep Boyds" (Golden Era LP-15014) "1944-46" (First Time Records FTR-1515, maybe also pressed as OTY (Onward To Yesterday) 1515) "More 1944-45" (Circle CLP-113; these are Lang-Worth transacriptions, there were other reissues on Circle which I haven't heard) "Experiments in Big Band Jazz" (Musicraft MVS 505) Not too many duplications with the HEP vinyl reissues but I am not sure about the HEP CD's which probably include additional material not included on the HEP LP's. Any YES - the Earle Spencer band of the mid-40s is VERY MUCH worth a listen and certainly no joke. I have the material included on the Fresh Sound CD set mentioned above on two LP's issued years ago on IAJRC 41 and First Heard 16. Great stuff! In the same vein, I suggest anybody interested in bands like Raeburn's also check out the Tom Talbert Orchestra. Try to get hold of his "1946-1949" CD on Sea Breeze SB-2069. Amazing! Finally, a word of caution about those who explore Boyd Raeburn for the first time. In the mid-50s he did a few oddities for the Columbia label that were .... well ... just odd: A big band finding itself out of its traditional audience trying to cash in on the teen market instead. Their LP's carried titles like "Teen Rock" and "Fraternity Rush". Need I say more? "Teen Rock" is wort the price of admission for its great period-like cover photo; the music is OK though tame by jazz AND R'n'R standards. Picture it as big bands trying the impossible; making big band music palatable both to mid-50s adults and to youngsters raised on rock'n'roll. (Alan Freed did a far more convincing job with his star-studded bands at tha time) At any rate, it's not really comparable with the progressive 40s Raeburn sound.

There are 30 songs on this CD, and those two are not among them. The two tracks that MG mentions are on Big John Greer's reissue LP "R&B in New York" (Official 6026). This thread made me pull out that LP once more. It's been a long while since I last listened to it; small wonder after having listened more closely now: This LP includes 16 of his RCA tracks from late 1951 to 1955, and though Greer did a few goodies (such as "You Played On My Piano" with the abovementioned Dolores Brown) he obviously was often aiming quite clearly at the pop end of R&B. The A&R men at Victor apparently wanted him to be another Ivory Joe Hunter. According to the discographies, the percentage of title tracks of his earlier (ca. 1949-51) recordings that sound a bit more gutsy seems to be higher so let's hope this 30-tracks CD emphasises his uptempo material a bit more. At any rate, there is little reason for those who like their R&B with a beat to bemoan the fact that his "collected works" on Bear Family have gone OOP. Many of his 4-track sessions aparently yielded about one uptempo tune per every 3 pop ballads. Ho hum ...