Big Beat Steve

Talk about digging out ancient topics ... That CD sounds interesting, but the prices on amazon.de - hmmm .... And I wonder why they used such an ill-fitting 70s pic on a 40s music release. If that CD came from an estate linked to Jerome they ought to have had access to more fitting illustrations more evocative of the contents .... BTW and FWIW, I don't find that "It's jazz history" to be an apology or excuse but a reminder to those who (ought to be) in the know that "this band is no big name from the history of jazz but it played its part at the time and it pays to search out the unknowns and explore the often-overlooked niches because THIS is what puts flesh on the bare bones of the music ..." And spot on they are IMO ...

Up - with some edits and additions

Some interesting suggestions (I guess I'll keep an eye on the Szwed, then ...) And how about THIS (below) to complement all of the above for the "early" years? https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Diary-Life-Davis-1947-61/dp/1860741592/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=Miles%27+Diary+Ken+Vail&qid=1561477075&s=gateway&sr=8-1

An interesting document. Thanks for the link! I wonder if I'd care to print out all that for reading ... Though at very first sight I am a bit underwhelmed by the writing style. And quotes do not always seem to be spot-on, either (see end of #501, for ex.).

(Not aimed at you at all but at certain "others":) Ah, so this PD label DOES have some merit going where no other label ever bothers to tread ... Anyway ... the name Gail Madden distinctly rings a bell but I cannot trace where I have read enough of her to make this name stick ... Of the usual suspects of the West Coast Jazz books only the one by Alain Tercinet mentions here in passing as the one who encouraged Mulligan to shuck the piano. Gioia and Gordon do not mention her (at least that's what is evident from the index).

Same problem here (from Germany), though I opened the page on the (US) amazon.com site. Of course when I open the page on amazon.com the site recognizes I am not in the US (I have bought through amazon.com before) but I find this odd. Is it a kindle issue?

"what f.ck the" moments?? Whatchasayin'?

So I figured. I was just alluding to your somewhat lightweight characterization of Elliott as a "New York jingle composer" which is a bit like describing John Coltrane as a Miles Davis (or better still, Johnny Hodges) sideman.

So this was NOT "the" Don Elliott (trumpet, mellophone and vibraphone player who was MUCH more than a "jingle composer")??

Not wanting to press you unduly, but could you check and give an idea to us overseas prospects what the editor would charge for shipping to Europe if an order is placed with them as per your proposal? As you know, the way USPS rates are organized is a bit of a jungle.

I did like it and find it interesting. I know there are some (known) usual suspects here who will give it a roundabout blast and tear it to (virtual) shreds because it is by Feather, but my stance is that ANY autobiography needs to be taken with a grain of salt and should be read as ADDITIONAL info in a wider context of OTHER source documents on the same subject matter and weighed accordingly. And whatever Mr Feather may have said or done during his "active" years that came across as too much of "blowing one's own horn" in hindsight (and no doubt there was plenty of this), it must be said too that he DOES acknowledge a number of errors or misjudgments he commited back in the day and seemed to have come to regret later on. Including in the context of the Esquire history and the 40s mold fig vs sour grapes feuds. One example is that Feather did acknowledge that in the venom spit both ways at that time, Hugues Panassié (of all jazz scribes and critics ...) was one from the opposing camp who did give him an even-handed and factual rebuttal and put him in his place in a way that Feather seemed to have taken seriously. And this despite the fact that Panassié did not really relent at later occasions in blasting Feather whenever he put anything in print that went against Panassié's grain (often connected to what Panassié saw as belittling or withholding the tribute due the elder African-American jazzmen). In short, Panassié's disdain of Feather may have been way deeper than what Feather realized (or cared to comment on). Of course, don't expect to find him confessing all his personal flaws and weaknesses there (I'd know offhand of at least two major and quite telling incidents that have been documented elsewhere but that would be off-topic) - but whose autobiography would include ALL of that anyway?

That's probably because the Coleman Hawkins recordings were done for Commodore. In that case Leonard Feather's "The Jazz Years" autobiography would also provide some backgrund information (p. 79 to 94), including a facsimile reprint of the entire letter that the Granz bio quotes from - and details of the recording sessions of the preceding years and their reception by the market, of course. BTW, in all fairness it needs to be said IMHO that while the 1947 book is extremely lopsided in its coverage and totally (and apparently intentionally) misses the point of what it is supposed to present, OTOH what IS in there (mostly a presentation of the state of the Condonite et al. segment of the jazz world as of late 1946) is quite good anyway and worth reading as historical first-hand documents of the times..

I bought mine (magazine versions) of the 1944 thru 1947 editions on eBay about +/-15-18 years ago whenever one came up at a very good price (relatively speaking). The Armed Services edition struck my fancy (for its convenient size and the historical context) but I found it was somewhat scarcer than the magazine or book editions (which vary in availability too). I checked eBay off and on again over time and found the usual price for the Armed Services edition to be $30 for copies in relatively good condition (including among the listings right now). A bit too much for me, given that I have the other two editions. They must sell eventually, though, as the ones listed don't remain up forever. Actually there is a clean one at $5 on auction right now on eBay that might tempt me a lot but $25 for overseas shipping is pure ripoff for such a tiny book. (P.S. re-my above post: Checking eBay I now see the 1946 yearbook also existed as a hardcover)

The very pocket size-ish Armed Services Edition. Copies of this are the priciest ones on the market these days, it seems, but the main 1944 editions were the two below: Magazine-size and hardcover. As far as I can see only about 14 of the 90 pages included reprints of earlier Esquire coverage of jazz, the rest appears to be new for that edition. The 1945 edition also came in magazine and hardcover versions but I am not sure that hardcover book versions existed of the 1946 and 1947 editions. BTW, a hint "for those who thus desire", a condensed edition with features from the 1944-45-46 editions was published in the UK in 1947: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Esquire-s-Jazz-Book-Peter-Davies-1st-1947-hardback-In-d-j/202426468683?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649.

That's my impression too. And when covering that period, don't forget to include a word on the Condonites/Ernie Anderson clique vs. modernists pollmembers confrontation surrounding the 1947 Yearbook too. Apprently quite a scandal then, but a mildly amusing variation on the moldy figs vs sour grapes quarrels today. Browsing through that issue now, i cannot really find a fitting tune to illustrate that this issue acknowledged that there WERE notable modern recordings then, after all. Except the ones marked below in the excerpt from their page covering "Esquire's 1946 Hot Discography": in that issue:

I think what Ghost is alluding to is the period from the Esquire polls of the 40s up to the final Yearbook of 1947 and possibly the renewed jazz involvement surrounding the "Esquire's World of Jazz" book from 1962. I wonder where the later "Esquire Jazz Collection" CDs would fit in there, except as a vehicle to market the name of the magazine. I cannot give any concrete leads to more Esquire-related recordings as I am not familar with the CDs in the opening post but as there is no label and release no. information to check online I can only guess what is on them. I probably have most of that on various LPs but have no idea what overlaps or omissions there may be on these various reissues. Anyway ... all the essentials of what the typical 40s candidates associated with the Esquire magazine recorded seem to be there in that list.

Hope the two photographs below answer your question.

From the "Before Motown" book, page 148.

It's not just that. Many weren't very articulate when it came to TALKING either. They've jot got other fortes. that's the way things sometimes are - not just with artists. @shrdlu: 1755 was a wee bit BEFORE Eric Dolphy's prime, though. (And continuing a bit OT re-your example:) BTW, the "feruant" "f" being a "curly s" is just that - an s, not an f at all in the first place. Changes of typical handwriting styles over time. The same exists in German handwriting of days gone by too, BTW, even in printing as used up to 1942. And often exceedingly misunderstood by graphical arts dabblers (posing as professionals) who try to imitate (for effect) these antique typefaces today yet totally mix up the two types of "s" (because the two types of "s" are supposed to be used in specifc places in a word ONLY and are not nearly always interchangeable). See the "type face samples" here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktur https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurrent At any rate, the Shakespeare example you give seems to come from the same background and that "F" in your "feruants" never was an "f" in the first place. Anyway ... the point is that ONE trait of not being very good at (and used to) handwriting oneself is that - without being dyslexic at all - you still cannot make the connection between what you SEE in writing (which you are bound to have seen often before) and what you memorize enough to be able to WRITE it correctly. Names are a particularly visible case. (The way he fumbled Stitt's name together into "Sitts" is a classic example.) Not to mention the fluency of your handwriting (which is another indicator).

Amazing that he got 3 of the 4 US musicians' names wrong ...

It may not be a matter of a low level of literacy but the WAY he wrote this IMHO shows someone who does NOT appear to have the habit of writing a lot at all. No fluency in handwriting, just a visible effort at hanging letters together to make them form words. No doubt in this situation all sorts of mistakes can happen.

He worked there, yes, but i was referring to Höllerhagen as one who was born there.

Wuppertal, home of notable 40s/50s swing clarinetist Ernst Höllerhagen: https://www.amazon.de/Sounds-like-Whoopataal-Neuauflage-2008/dp/3898614662 But what's made the Schwebeahn a "cult" institution of the town was this event (souvenir shop items linked to this event are marketed there to this day): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuffi

I knew you wouldn't be disappointed.

Julius Watkins. Photo below (with photographer Susanne Schapowalow - from the book re-discussed right now in the Jazz in Print section) taken at a 1960 European tour with the Quincy Jones band. Schapowalow remembers in teh book that Watkins was a very good chess player and kept the set in place overnight in his hotel room to be able to continue playing against himself the next day.