Big Beat Steve

Neither does John Chilton's "Who's Who of Jazz", FWIW. Sorry, my mistake about attributing that Timeless reissue to Frog. Thanks for the clarification.

How about this one (if a copy can be located)? https://www.frog-records.co.uk/products/cbc-1-022?variant=32396355207251 Frog Records should be a sign of quality. For those who are not averse to (or even prefer) vinyl, RCA released "Vol. 1" of Tiny Parham in their Black & White Series (Vol. 89) in the 70s. I picked up a copy of this at a clearout sale for the affordable sum of 1 EUR two weeks ago - nice ... There should be a Vol. 2, then (which could hold all of his remaining records originally released, except the 1940 session which was not on RCA) but I am not sure if this Vol. 2 was ever released. I have been unable to find it in listings of this series.

This more or less corresponds to the impression of the little-focused hodgepodge of contents I had of the Pittsburgh Jazz book, for example. In the case of the Detroit book I cannot blame them for straying into non-jazz fields (they do!) because the book title doesn't imply it is strictly about jazz. And the Chicago Blues book for my money rambles on too long about the Mississippi Delta "past" of the typical (?) Chicago blues artists' biographies. And then goes on to pillage the Delmark record catalog for odds 'n' sods pics of record covers - as if Delmark was about the only label important to Chicago blues. Not mentioning the fact that overly milking the LOC photo archive is not that big a research feat. Regarding the texts/captions, in "my" books they are of variable quality, relevance and depth so should be seen as providing glimpses of additional information (none of these books are comprehensive histories). My impression is that some books in this series were done by amateur authors interested in the subject along the lines of "hey I know my stuff so I can write a book too" - which CAN be done by amateur authors - and sometimes better than by certain pro writers, but NOT by everyone out there 😉. (And no - sideswipe at the Chicago book - being an author of cookbooks does not automatically a superlative author of music books make - at least IMO 😉) Which probably is why among the four I have the King Records book (by Randy McNutt) stands out. Even discounting his name the captions rather more reek of authoritative background knowledge. But still ... whenever found at the right price (below list price) they all have their value. As for that "scary looking" Vivian Garry - come on, she wasn't that scary ... See the pics below 🙂 from the same source as Larry Kart's photo (William Gottlieb, in the public domain courtesy of the LOC) And no - Arcadia does not specialize in jazz (but which publisher does?). But they do cover niche topics that might not find a publisher elsewhere at all. Clearly not the case of the one you unfortunately picked up and not of "my" Chicago Blues book either, but elsewhere that's the point of this series, I think. To give an example: The two first ones from that publisher I ever bought were "Hot Rodding in Ventura County" and "Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County". I have no connection with these places at all; my point of attraction were the period photographs of the rodding scene and their flair, and this should be the general-interest selling point for many "gearheads" in that milieu everyhwere, regardless of the geographical limitations of the books. And these clearly were done by someone very knowledgeable. In the same way I'd love to see better-done specialized books on a clearly defined place and period of time to cover the local jazz scene, for example. Yes, there ARE jazz books like that, some very interesting (because jazz has never existed in a vacuum) and are well-written, but others smell very much of the (political or societal) agenda that the author clearly had and then wrote the book, arranging the facts so that they fit his agenda. And it is not likely that the number of books featuring such an approach will diminish in the "wokeness" days we live in today. And then there are those "scholarly" authors out there who seem to be intent on proving that they ARE able to handle (and work into their text) ANY word listed in Webster's (and then some more ...) - and the more high-brow the words, the more often they rate a use in their text. 🤨😄 A real pity if the actual subject of the book is one that you find very fascinating but would like to see not quite as heavily clouded by and cluttered with scholarly linguistic navel gazing.

Too "scholarly", then? It wouldn't be the only one among the books that fit this topic.

I never saw that book you mention. A quick internet search of the title got me on its trail, though. BUT ... I have several others from that series which I bought when they showed up cheaply on Amazon (waaay less than the $21.99 on their covers): two from totally different areas of collectible interest (which I think were the first I bought from that series and which ARE quite nice for those interested in the subject), and four in fields related to yours: - KIng Records of Cincinnati - The Birth of the Detroit Sound 1940-1964 - Chicago Blues - Pittsburgh Jazz I took and take them all as pictorial add-ons to the subjects in question and like them for what they are but probably did not expect too much from them in the first place. But even these I have are of variable quality: I find the King book rather well-done and a good illustration (literally) of anything written on this label, either R&B or Country or Rockabilly or ... The Detroit Sound book I bought as an extension to the "Before Motown" book by Bjorn and Gallert which I like a lot. It goes in many different directions and is not nearly as focused as Before Motown (and seems very spotty in its coverage) but that may not be a bad thing. The Pittsburgh Jazz and the Chicago Blues books IMO are a mixed bag. Certainly worth a look and purchase if found at a good price but some of the contents look like a random hodgepodge of apparently rare and intriguing shots on the one hand and a grab bag on aspects often treated elsewhere on the other (the Chicago Blues book in particular). The captions often seem to be aimed at the casual reader who is not necessairly a fanatic music collector. And as for the specific local details mentioned of the respective cities, I am not nearly enough of an expert to judge their full accuracy. But if I were to re-use anything unfamiliar I'd double-check. But like I said, I would never consider anything from that series the definitive word on the respective subject, but as pictorial add-ons with photographs (preferably) not easily acessible elsewhere they serve a purpose.

From the "Images of America" Arcadia publishing series??

That's it. "Jazzvolle Vol. 1" (Dawn DLP1101 - the other half features the Gene Quill-Dick Sherman Quintet). According to the discographies this was an entire session specifically for this LP and no leftovers. Their full-length LPs (DLP1108 and DLP1117) were made up of subsequent sessions.

I would have thought so too (groove protector lip = later pressings) and would be the first to confirm this in the case of the German Louis Armstrong LP form my haul (this one is definitely post-1960). But the 4 Lads LP from this same haul? Did they (re)press these in 10" format (in the US, anyway) after the 10" LPs had been superseded by 12" LPs as the standard format? So I wonder when the "cutoff date" was. Or was it a matter of which record company (or pressing plant?) we are talking about?

I'd "usually" agree for the typical 10" LPs from the period up until approx. the time they were superseded by 12" LPs. I've often noticed their squared-off "flat" outer edge, similar to 78s. But was this "always" the case? Out of the haul of close to 30 10-inchers I scored last Friday I found (without even checking all of them, nor the ones that already fill my racks) that the Eartha Kitt "That Bad Eartha" (UK pressing), Louis Armstorng "Blues in The Night" (German pressing, probably early 60s) the Four Lads Stage Show (US pressing, definitely back from the 50s) - see my posts on the previous page of this thread for pics - do have the groove protector outer lip. As does one or the other of my other early 60s European 10" LPs I checked to see if they all have that lip. As for more recently released and pressed 10-inchers (from the mid-80s onwards), they are about just as likely having that groove protector outer lip as not. So I wonder ...

Is there really such a noticeable difference of the thickness of 10" LPs from the 50s compared to 12" LPs of the first-generation pressings period of the 50s? Elsewhere (e.g. France) 10" records had a much longer market and shop life (well into the 60s) and I found their thickness evolved in parallel with that of the 12" vinyls. I can't even say they flex less than the average 12" records of roughly the same age. Of course theys are nowhere near as flexible as the proverbially paper-thin pressings of some 70s or early 80s vinyls, but as there were (virtually) no 10" vinyls in those years you cannot compare them age-wise anyway.

And it has been graced by a 12in "maxi EP" 😉 reissue with nice period-appropriate cover by none less than Bear Family Records (released in 1989). Measly playing time 😉 but I just had to have it at the time (original EPs in those pre-internet days were inaccessible) and I've kept it even after getting a copy of "Short Stops". The "Wild One" LP by Leith Stevens on Decca isn't bad either.

Took the plunge and snapped up the copy on German eBay. After I had bookmarked it the seller sent a message to offer a 8% discount. Nice gesture and though still not cheap it is a wee bit more "affordable" now at some 58 EUR including shipping. Looking forward to reading it - particularly next time I take time off to spin a series of Savoy twofers.

"Music after Midnight" on Brunswick BL 58040. Your description as "shrill" fits my (very basic) impression of one major trait of his style on his somewhat later leader dates from the 50s (particularly on RCA) that I have heard. Somewhat contrary to the way Bill Crow described Tony Scott as overbearing and running his own show everywhere, it seems he did adapt to the settings, however, when called for. During his stay in Sweden in 1957 (where he created quite positive vibes on the national jazz scene - both on-stage and off-stage) he recorded 4 EP's worth of music with a Swedish-Danish rhythm section in March 1957 where he sounds sort of loose and high-flying and strangely staccato at times (rather rough characterizations, i know ...). Some, such as his treatment of "All The Things You Are" are unexpected but still rather fitting. At others he is markedly lyrical and low-key. Similarly, at a concert with the Harry Arnold Big Band (the formerly aka "Jazztone Mystery band") in February 1957 (issued on Dragon) he sounds subdued or introspective in some of his features, even in front of a big band. There also is a recording from May 1957 of him appearing with the (German) Horst Jankowski Trio at the jazz festival in Ljubljana (Yugoslavia) in May 1957. And this is almost a case of "classic" chamber jazz. He seems to have gone to lengths to tune in to the chamber jazz style of the Jankowski trio so the set comes across as a sort of well-done "very much modernized Benny Goodman".

Thanks for that review. I have the record in question and my initial impression of it was that it is somewhat atypical compared to his other LPs of that period: a reworking of some well-known warhorses, well-done but more straightforward (probably due to the presence of the other luminaries) compared to some of his other sessions where he is more to the fore on his own throughout. Next time I revisit it I guess I will put this review within reach. Let's see where this leads me. 😉

@BillF: Hope you got this at an affordable price. 😉 I've had my sights set on this one for a time too but wherever I looked the prices just were insane (something like $70 or thereabouts).

Actually that "Rock'n'Roll Hop" is fairly tame, including compared to other 50s jazzmen jumping on the Honking R&B/R'n'R bandwagon such as Boots Brown (Shorty Rogers), Leroy Kirkland, George Wiliams, early Rusty Bryant, a.o. It must have been the "name" itself. 🤨

To close this off, maybe the item below is not a "great" find among my today's haul but I think is a find with a "great" and certainly somewhat funny PERIOD feel IMO. Among the 45s there was a Les Brown 45 with a home-made cover (according to Discogs this one originally was sold in a generic Coral sleeve so maybe this explains that?). The lineup and tunes were written on the back of the sleeve, and according to these "Bernie's Tune" was coupled with a tune simply called "Hop". Checking the label I noticed that something had been neatly taped over: This made me curious and on checking my discographies I found the tune in question is called "ROCK'N'ROLL HOP"! 😄 Could it be that the owner of this record would not for the life of it have been caught playing "that no-good rock'n'roll jungle music"?? 😂 This tampering won't do anything to increase the "value" of the record but this record certainly DOES tell a story (of sorts).

And then ... And an amazing thing .... see the next four items: I have no idea if all of these LPs came from one and the same collection but at any rate they must have taken in the collection of an Art Tatum diehard. FOUR 10-inchers in one load cannot be that current ... Odd side note: By coincidence not all that long ago I bought original 2-EP sets (very clean and not overpriced either) of the above Benny Goodman Trio and Art Tatum Trio LPs on Capitol at the same shop. Now I have them in both formats ... 😄 And to finish off, a few oddball items (that at that kind of money you just pick up for the fun of it or out of curiosity ...) The condition overall? Some covers are rather battered (the US cardboard covers just cry out for seam splits, and these 10" cardboard covers at the time often seem to have been an even tighter squeeze around the vinyl than later 12" pressings, and the stitched German covers don't wear well either - and the browning tape residues from age-old repair attempts just are the pest! But who is one to complain at these prices?). I will have to do a lot of careful repairing of some of the cardboard covers, in particular (from the inside), and others are well worth that 1 EUR each just for the cover artwork. Amazingly the vinyls overall are fairly clean. VG+ in many cases, and even "VG" (which objectively speaking is an euphemism anyway) look like they play OK too. So far I did not see any with really feelable scratches, and most should respond well to cleaning. Seems like they all came from "well enjoyed but still cared for" previous owners' homes. Needless to say, I was pleased. 😉

So ... I rummaged through the 10-inchers and lo and behold, hit several caches that seemed to have been waiting for me. (Of course I do have a good part of the music on more recent reissues and even some of these items but at that price you just cannot let this kind of items sit and go unnoticed. Better to pass them on to others later on ... ) : Next, some of those semi-generic-cover German Brunswicks of the early 50s: The above "Midnight in Munich" 10-incher (a sort of key record in recorded German jazz of the early 50s) was one I had paid fairly solid money for for a copy on international Polydor on eBay about 15-20 years ago. Such is life ... now I have two different pressings and covers ... ) Next ... 😉 (Click on pics to enlarge) .. Cont'd ...

This morning I went to the periodic record clearout sale at the #1 of our remaining local brick-and-mortar record stores again where everything was priced at 1 EUR per LP or CD (50c per 45) today ... (Seeing how crammed full the record wall in my music room is I should not have gone there but I guess most of you know how it is ... 😉) I found a batch of vinyls , including some nice ones such as one of the Texas-Mexican Border Music anthology series on Folklyric (Norteno Accordion Vol. 2), Tiny Parham on RCA Black&White, the Harlem Stride Pianists anthology on RCA, Woody Herman's Big Band Goodies on Mercury (1965), and a couple of items I already have but am sure I can pass on to like minds, e.g Wynonie Harris on Route 66, Louis Jordan from the Decca period, et al. The below 12" originals/early pressings also came my way, and at that price you can take chances even somewhat outside your core interests: The Folkways anthology (Vol. 8 - Big Bands) has its booklet too. As for period originals, I had half hoped the'yd clear out some of their jazz EPs, but not so, though I did find a few nice ones (e.h. one of the Jimmy Giuffre Tangents in Jazz EPs and several Jazztone EPs). But my habit of closer scrutinizing any stacks of 10-inchers that sat among the usual 12-inch items this time paid off handsomely. But that's for the next post ... 😃

Did you receive my PMs and my mail (that included the scans) sent yesterday?

Thanks for the link! Not that I'd claim I would be able to grasp the finer points of Schuller's analysis but I imagine it will be interesting listening attentively to the tune with the text within reach.

I own the book and can check and scan later. Edit: Just pulled out the book. You are right about the pic of Paul Chambers. Mark, please send me a PM so we can agree on the details beforehand of how you'd best like the scan (beyond what you stated in your OP).

Is this essay available online somewhere, maybe?

I have the "Moanin' Low - Torch Songs by Lena Horne" 78 rpm album on RCA. Haven't listened to it in a long time but I see this one is on the right side of her records, then.