Big Beat Steve

IMO Louis Armstrong most of the time remained himself in whatever he recorded and performed - just a category of his own which you may like or may not like and find too easily digestible or not, but that's how he was. But wasn't it so that to those who remained convinced that jazz and fun and entertainment do not rule each other out - particularly after 1945 - he remained rather more in the "sell" (and not much wrong with creating or being a hit with the public, right?) than in the "sell out" camp. I wouldn't give that much attention to those who may have accused him of selling out e.g. in the 50s - at least over here many of the scribes who claimed so were those who idolized beyond all reason those musicians in jazz of whom some fellow musician (from the R&B field IIRC) one once said they looked on stage as if they had not smiled for at least two weeks.

Yes, upon listening to that track again my first thought was "If Prez had been on the date George Handy would have been another one whom he'd have asked "Where's your left people?"

Howzat? Sleeve too high? Or just a rack that's crammed full? I can sympathize with the latter but I have yet to see an oversize LP that is THAT big (unless it's a box set with a way oversize box) ... Anyway ... comforting to see that I am far from the only one who is taking it easier now about what used to be "must haves" (or "must search for by all means").

I think it was more or less "in tune" with what he played and scored elsewhere (Boyd Raeburn). Modern - yes. Bebop? Well ....? But then I suppose that even at that time you couldn't have Dodo Marmarosa, Al Haig or George Walington all the time ... (But OTOH isn't it so that in other - more recent - areas of jazz a mix (or even clash) of styles, even from outside jazz - incongruous as they may be at first) is often hailed as the finest thing and a sign of openmindedness to be embraced? )

Jo, von mir aa. Genieß' die Jausn, au in der jetzigen Zeit!

Phoenix AZ to New Jersey? Just around the corner, eh? WTF indeed.

Thanks for your impressions and evaluation. Actually my curiosity not so much concerned that Mosaic set but rather what I already have of that music (and need to pull out again), which seems to cover a lot of the Mosaic contents.

You're making me curious enough to dig out my Teddy Wilson LPs again for listening. I have a fair amount of his pre-c.1946 recordings, including the May 23, 1934 solos on the 3-LP "Complete Teddy Wilson Piano Solos" box set issued by CBS. (BTW, does the Mosaic include the alternates that the CBS set has?) And what, more precisely - in your opinion - would be the time frame of the "urgently evolving Wilson of the 1930s" recordings that you allude to?

I suppose you're talking about ALAMAC??? Now if you could give a release/catalog number of that LP you are looking for? There must have been at least 2 different Alamacs by the 30s Basie band). FWIW, I have 6 of the 8 tracks on your test pressings (plus "The Count Steps In" as a 7th track) from the 30/06/37 date on yet another Italian P.D. LP (Archive of Jazz 101.581), and that's just one of many reissues according to the discographies.

I'll out myself as an oldster, then: I remember being allowed by my parents to stay up very late to watch the opening match of the 1970 World Cup in Mexico (Mexico-Italy 0:0). Though at 10, I did not follow soccer that closely yet during the Mexican Cup and the first one I really ate up from start to end was the 1974 World Cup in Germany. By 1982 that enthusiasm had long ebbed off to that of a (very) occasional watcher and sports news reader, though, as other hobbies (including 20s to 60s music and record collecting ) kept me more than occupied. Rossi's name is familiar, though.

A document of its time. They did all sort of garish things in these 70s.

Discogs is your friend: https://www.discogs.com/de/Len-Barry-1-2-3/release/2825622 1-2-3 was a huge hit and in accordance with the habits of the day of course an album capitalizing (no, not Capitol ) on that hit was issued. No backing musician lineup given, though (this was not a usual practice with pop albums anyway). But there you have the "other" tracks from that release.

Actually I've repaired (taped along the seams) PERIOD inner sleeves here and there that feature ads for other records from that period. (This sort of sleeve just adds that final period touch to an original IMO.) Provided, of course, the inside of the sleeves hasn't become all abrasive with age. Though in some cases I've then inserted one of these plastic inner sleeves rounded at the bottom. There must be a reason (or a bonus) why people hang on to these original sleeves, or else where wouldn't be so many eBay sales descriptions where they drool about the presence of the "original inner rice paper sleeve" (even if it's one that has NOTHING printed on it).

That's true, but somehow I've found this to be less of a nuisance (or obstacle) than having the LP slide away from the edge of the outer sleeve oncle it's shelved. That makes things even more unreadable.

Fun? I find it a necessary chore to tidy up the items somewhat (cleaning CD cases or replacing broken ones). Compared to that, taping and repairing covers definitely is more fun. (Though I'd understand any onlookers wondering what I am doing ... though not my son ... at age 20 he has become a vinyl junkie himself ). As for removing stickers, this is the main reason I've borrowed the hair dryer of my better half ever so often through the years ... Though I tend to leave really old stickers from long-gone record shops (that sold the item when new) in place. They're part of the history of the record and in some cases (with local finds) part of the history of local commerce.

Of course when you push the record in with the opening first you have to remove the cover too each time you want to spin the vinyl. So this is not the ideal solution for those who want to protect the cover against further deterioration by placing it inside such a clear poly outer sleeve (and leaving it there when they remove the record). In fact I use a variant of your method for storage. I try to put all my originals or older (roughly pre-mid-60s) pressings inside such clear sleeves (to prevent further wear to the covers, e.g. ring wear) but I put them in with the opening of the poly sleeve facing UP. Of course you have to remove the entire LP for listening ot the vinyl (as in your case) but this prevents sliding of the LP inside the sleeve and the spine usually remains legible (unless the poly outer sleeve is waaay oversized, so I am trying to match undersize covers to those relatively few somewhat undersized poly sleeves I have. As for worn spines - very common ... including seam splits to these often ridiculously thin papers used on older US covers, and on many laminated but relatively thin European covers (paritcularly German and UK ones) that did not stand up to frequent handling (over time the LP itself often seems to have burst through the inner sleeve first and then through the spine and bottom of the cover - wonder how so many owners managed to achieve that ...). That kind of spine damage is what first got me to trying to repair them with clear self-adhesive sheeting cut to size, particularly to protect the spines against further deterioration.

Since these clear outer poly sleeves keep coming up, a general question to those who are all for these outer sleeves to protect your LPs from further deterioration (including as an alternative to taping seams that are already split): How do you keep your LPs from slipping and sliding in and out inside your sleeves, which makes handling and storing awkward (and makes deciphering the fine print on the spine almost impossible so you dont easily see which is which), e.g. when placing (and pushing, if the rack is fairly full ) the LP back into its rack? Don't you often end up with the sleeve not wanting to go in and the LP starting to slide out of the sleeve again as you push the LP back into place between its neighbors? LP cover sizes aren't all exactly alike (even US pressings these days, I'd guess), and older UK pressings, in particular, often have comparatively undersized covers, enough to make them a very loose fit in the usual sleeves. So the LPs slip and slide very, very easily out of their sleeves. At least if you line up the open side of the outer sleeve with the open side of the cover where the vinyl is removed and replaced. At any rate I've found it very hard or next to impossible to find "undersized" poly outer sleeves where most European LPs would be a very tight fit inside. What you usually can buy is a fairly generously sized standard affair. You mean Bresna is not supposed to use the door next to his vinyl rack anymore?

Like I said - better to make up your tape strips by cutting them from sheets/rolls of clear sheet as used for binding books/reinforcing covers, e.g. by libraries where the covers do get a lot of abuse. The better brands of these clear sheets are fairly thin and adhere well. And I have yet to see any of these "tapes" turn yellow or brown - the only case where I have seen a bit of darkening (within a couple of years) was on 50s pulp paper pocket magazines where the paper seems to have darkened under the tape. But I have some books and LP covers taped in that manner way back in the late 70s and the repaired LP cover seams and book covers still look very tidy and neat, and no discoloration.

I am with Bresna with regard to outer sleeves and excessive worries (or not) about ring wear. I do tape seam splits on all the covers that show some wear anyway and have only hesitated on really close to mint covers of orignal or early-pressing albums (in these latter cases I try to preserve the covers as they are, taking care not to increase seam splits when removing the record or storing the record outside the sleeve in a clear outer sleeve - which I only use on originals or older pressings up to, say, the very early 60s, anyway). To tape the seam splits I cut strips from sheets of clear and fairly thin (but strong) self-adhesive foil of the type also commonly used by bookbinders. This clear foil does not turn yellow or brown over time, contrary to typical adhesive tape. On typical US cardboard covers of the 50s where you can see the outline of the paper used to hold the front and rear cardboards together and to make up the spine I usually cut the strips wide enough so their outline more or less closely matches the outlines of these paper strips (hope you know what I mean). That way your repair strips overlap about 1/4in with the front and rear cover papers so the clear tape covers all the vulnerable areas. Looks fairly neat if done carefully. On European pressings with more or less advanced seam splits (some British and German labels are particularly vulnerable as their covers are fairly thin) I often use strips cut from older paper that matches the age and tint of the inside of these covers, food these strips along their length, glue the strips and carefully move them inside the cover so the strips can be pushed against the inside of the split area. To do this you have to the the cover open so you have room to move the glued-up strip inside. Works well and is almost invisible (unless you peer into the inside) on these European covers but is out of the question on US cardboard covers. With their flimsy paper folded around the edges to hold the front and back cardboard layers together these stiff covers would burst apart if you'd try to do that there. I realize many diehard first-pressings-only-stored-in-Fort-Knox-type collectors will sneer at this kind of repairs (but like others said - it will be up to my heirs to worry about that) and considering how (otherwise desirable) original records had had their covers manhandled in the past with all sorts of impossible materials to "repair" them (browned clear tape is a comparatively harmless offender - often I have also seen strips of brown packaging paper or of insulating tape or (medical) sticking plaster being used which all do a "fine" job to the spines!!) this kind of repair remains relatively unobtrusive and neat.

RIP To make the thread easier to find for anyone looking for that particular jazzman in the future, could you change the title of the thread to the correct spelling of BotSchinsky?

You mean the tracks listed individually in "Miles' DIary" (pages 27 to 29, 8 May to 15 May 1949)?

+1

Actually I have since read that chapter by and on the one I disrespectfully referred to as a "Johnny-come-lately" (Jason Moran) but I'll reserve my comments until others who have read the book and that chapter have given their opinions. And yes - warts'n all, I still recommend the book wholeheartedly to anyone interested in the "live" atmosphere of 40s and 50s jazz.

He makes his case very thoroughly, and this is an interesting piece to read (and to think about)