Big Beat Steve

Not according to the FS website. But since they seem to be re-reissuing their LP catalog (often combining 2 LP's on one CD) not all hope is lost yet. I was indeed glad to get hold of that Fresh Sound LP. The cover art alone would have been worth the price of admission to me but the music is something else too, of course - though (as in the case of "The Wild One") it is a bit out of tune with the kind of music that you'd expect the protagonists of the movie would have been listening to.

There has been a thread dedicated to these recordings here some months ago, launched by the guy who did the remastering for a recent CD re-reissue of those concert recordings IIRC. The big point made was that fidelity had been improved considerably for that recent CD reissue (though this is not the CBS or Jazz Factory reissue show in Marcello's links). The search function ought to yield it. That said, I'm still quite happy with my CBS LP of those recordings.

Before Italy-based Italians (not umpteenth-generation expatriate Italians ) chime in, here's my 2c: Get yourself a load of ADRIANO CELENTANO discs! Perfect for every Italo occasion, starting with his "Azzurro" classic and - for a change - right up to his 50s r'n'r cover sung in Italian! And if you're more in a (retro-)swing mood, try RAY GELATO MEETS THE GOOD FELLAS.

Oh ye of short memory!! Forget about Star Trek muzak and check out his soundtrack to HOT ROD RUMBLE (1957). THATS' where the (cool) jazz connections are. :D

Of course there is. It's just that the essential has already been said. Being (a.o.) a 40s jazz nut, in fact Johnny Guarnieri has always been one of those where I figured if he's in the line-up it's bound to be good (and I've never been disappointed). As for records to check out, there was a JG LP on the IAJRC collector label that tied up a few loose ends as it brought together great performances (mostly from the 78 rpm era) that had been scattered here and there and therefore had been unjustly overlooked. Would have to look at my copy of the LP tonight for more details.

Could you bring yourself to thin out your own collection in a SUBSTANTIAL way in your lifetime to ease the plight on your nearest and dearest after you've left the building? Better appoint a knowledgeable and trustworthy caretaker in good time (and tell him so) to make sure your beloved ones won't dump your prized collections or be fooled into throwing it into the greedy hands of a cutthroat wheeler and dealer who'd give only a tiny fraction of even its wholesale worth.

Maybe so, and to each his own opinion and likes and dislikes, but does this force anybody else beyond that "inner circle" that you seem to be alluding to to automatically agree with this (or to put it another way, does this mean that it is wrong to ask questions about whether or why this dislike is well-founded?) Note that I am not taking sides in this "feud" between those concerned, but I certainly am rather unimpressed by personal dislikes of this sort, and reserve the right to come to my own conclusions and say so. Today it's Phil Schaap, tomorrow it's Scott Yanow (again), then it's Stanley Crouch's turn again, and then somebody else may be getting in the line of fire, and if you take a look at some of those engaging in this kind of feuds, how can you as an interested (and slightly bemused) observer AVOID the impression that sour grapes play a not too small part in such put-downs? Maybe the best way to avoid leaving such an impression would be to back up accusations and resentments with hard facts about what those coming into the line of fire have been found guilty of. Might be enlightening in more ways than one .... (But then again, the forum admins probably would disapprove ... )

Dave, I don't know about buying craziness in those "emerging collecting countries" in Asia at all (the way they sometimes calculate is unfathomable to the "old world" ), but as for Europe, have you ever figured out the cost of shipping such bulks? And then the customs duties come on top of that. This would break the viability of almost ANY deal of not so valuable/reissue items to European buyers. This kind of records IS around here and I'd bet most collectors who'd be in the market for collections of this size will already have a substantial part of it and/or find a substantial part of it are just duds or of no real interest to them. Even prime collections of nothing but originals suddenly become fairly expensive if you add shipping (even as by-loads in 20ft containers - and you'd have to find some trustworthy soul who'd take on your by-load anyhow) and customs duties. And make no mistake about it - Europeans are not gullible enough to NOT know about the weak dollar. So if you charge them a Euro total amount that would net you a nice profit they'd start wondering before buying. Good luck anyway.

Indeed! Dragon is a label justly renowned for doing a good job on its reissues. It's on DRCD 255. Here are the details (from the Dragon website). & The American Stars 1956 Forecast - You Go To My Head - Vacker flicka - A Night In Tunisia - Introduction - Dig - I'll Remember April - Oh, Lady Be Good - Looking For A Boy - Lover Man - A Foggy Day - I Got It Bad - Love For Sale - Half Nelson - These Foolish Things - Stella By Starlight - A Night In Tunisia - The Theme Rolf Ericson trumpet; Cecil Payne or Lars Gullin baritone sax; Freddie Redd or Duke Jordan piano; Tommy Potter or John Simmons bass; Art Taylor or Joe Harris drums; Ernestine Anderson vocal Now compare for yourselves.

Discovered this thread only yesterday after a week's absence and found both the article AND the entire thread highly entertaining (and only human, in a way ... ). I've no idea if in this case it really is a matter of one jazz writer being sore at another (and do not feel entitled or qualified to judge) but I must say that there have been quite a few posts on this board through recent years where I've had the impression they really boil down to "sour grapes" feelings among jazz writers/critics/producers (sort of "I could have done this job better than he did" or "I ought to be where this guy is now" feelings, you know ...). So IMO both sides of those rants really need to be taken with a grain of salt (hey, even Scott Yanow or Stanley Crouch can't be THAT bad .... :D, though MANY forum posts made them look even lower than low). Obviously I've never been able to listen to Phil Schaap's show (though I have read items of his here and there and have heard his statements in the occasional documentary) but reading the article I somehow felt strangely connected to this guy. He isn't the only radio character obsessed about his subject. Reading the article brought back memories of my studient days in the 80s when I regularly listened to a radio show called "Les Cinglés du Music Hall" (which might be translated as "The Music Hall fanatics") on French radio hosted by Jean-Christophe Averty and focusing on (mostly French) variety singers and orchestras of the 20s to 40s to an extent that can only strike you as extreme. Not to mention the fact that the host carried on in a state of permanent and extreme agitation throughout the show (only moderately toned down by the second speaker who served as a sort of cue guy) (If Brownie reads this, he certainly will be laughing ) I remember one show was made up of an entire hour of every conceivable late 20/early 30s version of "Just A Gigolo". Certainly something for diehards! But interesting even to early jazz fans as many of the orchestra accompaniments of the recordings provided quite a bit of hot jazz. In the same vein, carrying on forever about the meaning of "Okiedokie" is something where I can imagine it can get on some people's nerves ... but on the other hand, nobody is forced to listen if Schaap rambles on for too long, but as long as there are some who find this interesting (and there must be...) ... and aren't we collectors also prone to searching for unexplored territory and trying to discover minute trivia one way or another in our own collecting ways? Making up "facts" of course is impardonable and if he really is guilty of that (how about some irrefutable proof for things that have been made up, though?) his bluff ought to be called loudly and clearly but the bottom line is that if only half of the article is true this guy must strike a chord with quite a few collectors. And in today's world of streamlined, formatted radio and musical background information being extemely superficial and aimed at the utterly clueless (who need to be fed only tiny snippets of easy digestible info lest they be made aware of their cluelessness which of course is not to happen as they then might be lost as listeners ... ) this is quite an accomplishment. Every specialist radio show aimed at specialists is to be encouraged. There are too few of them anymore for our kind of music.

Just a note for those who have an eye on Hans van der Elsken's 1959 "JAZZ" book: A very nice facsimile reedition of the original 1959 Dutch edition of this book has recently been launched by Editions 7L in Paris: http://5b4.blogspot.com/2007/12/jazz-by-ed...der-elsken.html Shop price 20 euros. Recommended!! The facsimile is really very, very accurate and the rear cover barcode imprint is about the only thing to set it apart from the original. Hopefully this will also bring the sky-high prices of the originals down to a more reasonable level.

At roughly that time both U.S. AND European jazz magazines (and I've read a few of them from that era) complained persistently about the FLOOD of jazz records that hit the market. Sort of musical overdose ...

If starting prices of 102.81 EUROS with Amazon sellers is cheap to you, then NO - it is NOT that expensive ...

Yes, sad news. The list of those from the really classic era of jazz who are leaving the building is getting longer and longer really fast and I am afraid it won't be long before not a single link to that past will be left. (Many happy returns therefore to Johnny Griffin!) To make a change from other tribute record spinnings, I think I will put on this "Rock That Boogie" LP on Groove (RCA) tonight.

Agreed with MG. And as mentioned before in another thread, there were Sounds Inc., for example (though that was the early 60s prior to the Beat boom). And don't forget the more genuine Skiffle bands of the 50s, many of which really brought a genuineness and sincerity to the music that had been lacking elsewhere. Granted that a lot of British 50s Rock singers were copycats but many of them still managed to portray a sense of freshness and boyishness at a time (post-1958) when a lot of U.S. Rock'n'Roll (not to mention Rockabilly) had already been polished, streamlined and toned down by the industry bosses and A&R men. And after all, not all of the U.S. 50s Rock acts were that creative or genuine either. And was there anything more painful during that time than those pre-Rock era acts trying to get to grips with the R'n'R beat? Listening to crooning balladeers (who'd rather have modeled themselves after Sinatra, Haymes & Co.) fumbling with uptempo material with a beat (supplied by overproduced arrangements played by unsympathetic studio musicians to make matters worse) in most cases is laughable at best. @Bev Stapleton: Will do. But it's going to be along read. So far I've only made it into the first few chapters that dwell on the c.1949-50 start of grassroots jazzmen (Colyer, Barber, et al.) that were to become part of the Trad scene (the early amateur band attempts of one John R.T. Davies also get mentioned). So the book starts out early and so far it's been jazz all the way. And though I certainly am not the biggest trad or revival jazz fan in the world I found it hard to put the book aside.

Received my copy today. A whopping 500 pages (whew ... looks like it's going to be a LONG read, and from what I've picked up at random while thumbing through it, a highly interesting one), and not a single picture in the entire book so this does not look like another "nostalgia" item (as feared by MG) but rather something much more meaty.

Agree with John L and Paul Secor re- his early 50s recordings (Modern, Gold Star, etc.). The must be a huge number of compilations of his work so I'll leave recommendations to those more familiar with what is and has ben available but Ace should always be a safe bet. If you want vinyl, some nice ones (compiled with the lover sof more energetic blues in mind) are these (rec. 1954, mostly Herald material): Bad Boogie - Diving Duck DD 4308 Flash Lightnin' - Diving Duck DD 4307

The Japanese Blue Note discography lists the following musicians for the sessions making up this LP: Albert Hall, Johnny Dankworth, Don REndell, Ralph Dollimore, Johnny hawksworth, Alan Ganley, Harry Klein, Tony Kinsey. Rec. March and Mary, 1954. Strangely enough the BN ad in Metronome mentioned above credit this LP to "Mike Nevard's Meldoy Maker All Stars" but according to the discographies it is no MM All Stars session and Mike Nevard (a MM scribe, it seems) is just a fake leader name, it seems. Haven't been able to find this session under any of the musician names I checked in either Jepsen or Bruyninckx (and not under "Cool Britons" or Mike Nevard (who does not have any entry at all) either). Wonder where this session hides ... By coincidence, Mike Nevard also shared credits with Jutta Hipp on a double EP issued on MGM, and the liner notes to that one mention involvement by Leonard Feather. So I figure both the MGM and BN sessions by both groups were set up by Leonard Feather in Europe with a view to having them released (originally released!) in the U.S.

BN 5056 was released well before the Hickory House albums. This certainly was no "afterthought" to anything and no rehashing of "unreleased" sessions either. I don't think the minds of agents on the lookout for music to release worked that way back then. And there's no big deal with all this. Even in the 10in vinyl era U.S. labels DID issue sessions by European jazz groups, and not all of them were just leased items that had been released in Europe before but some of them were in fact recorded specifically with the intention of having them releaed in the US. The Metronome 1955 Yearbook (obviously printed at the very beginning of the year at the latest) carries a BN ad that lists BN 5056 among its latest releases. No word on any 1500 LP release anywhere there nor in the year's discography included in the yearbook (no doubt BN buffs will be able to pinpoint the time that the first BN 1500 series LP hit the record stall not only to the day but to the very minute. ) So this should narrow down the timeframe of the release date. BTW, a concurrent release on BN that was also mentioned in the ad was 5052 "The Cool Britons" featuring as British all-star band. Can't check right now but I think this was first released on this BN 10in LP too.

Nice thread, especially as I am in a similar fix right now. I need to expand my storage space for both my CDs and my 78s (10in records) and had hoped IKEA had something affordable and sturdy (I know what they have in wooden-color finish would match what I have in my "music room"). So I need something with flexible storage shelf heights (reduced height on the upper shelves where the CDs are to go, and a bit more than 10in on the lower shelves where the 78s are to go). However, overall height would be limited to not more than 1 meter sharp. Would I have to settle on the lower version of the BILLY racks (which would just a bit too high, though, for the space I have available). Haven't found anything in the IKEA catalog or in the shop - isn't there anything flexible as far as compartmenting goes or did I overlook something? Any suggestions appreciated!

@Bluesnik: You are of course right about the origins of BN 5056. This session was recorded in Frankfurt (Germany) on 24 April, 1954 by the Jutta Hipp Quintet. However, I am not so sure it was a "leased" session in the sense that the Fats Sadi 10in LP on BN was, for example. In fact, BN 5056 was the first and only issue of these recordings back then. They were not reissued until the late 70s when 6 of the 8 tracks appeared on the German L&R label (along with the tracks Jutta Hipp had recorded for MGM just prior to the BN session).

Bev, that quote from the review does sound interesting. I'll be looking forward to reading the book (on the basis on my interest in the music of the era - including the European seeds of Rock - I've read others on that subject before, though they cover the ground from different angles). That link to the Swedish book was only to point out (as you probably guessed) that if anybody buys books on the same subject and era focusing on places such as Sweden - like I did - then this book on how Rock got started in Britain certainly should have its points of interest too. (And BTW, that Swedish book is really lavishly produced - it's one of those coffee-table items that just by thumbing through it makes you wonder "If they do such a production on an oddball subject such as this why can't they do one just as nice on .....")

Indeed. Durium really ought to know better.

Looks like an interesting background read for those interested in the era (even for non-Brits) so I ordered my copy from Amazon. And after all, if you got yourself this one http://boktok.wordpress.com/2007/10/25/sto...ngar-1955-1963/ and loved it you ought to find something substantial of interest in THIS book too. So thanks for passing this info on, Bev!

I picked up a facsimile LP reissue of this Studio 4 LP a couple of years ago through eBay as I'm always after obscurities of 50s/early 60s jazz and also on the assumption that there must be something to it since the few original copies that came up for auction fetched prices that were just SILLY - SILLY - SILLY! As said by others before his tone takes some getting used to but this IS great and forceful playing. Couldn't say, though, if I prefer this or the Jaro/Xanadu album. And thanks, Chuck Nessa, for your recollections of the moments spent with J.R. Must have been quite a time.