brownie

Carl Fontana first, Don Lanphere now. The scene is getting empty1 Liked Lanphere's sound when as a 21-year old musician played with Fats Navarro back in 1949 and was happy to rediscover him as a polished jazz veteran when his Hep made their way here.

Some favorite Carl Fontana solo contributions are on: - the Max Bennett Bethlehem album where he is in the good company of Nick Travis, Charlie Mariano, Dave McKenna and others, - the Martial Solal and the Kentonians Swing/Vogue date (his solo on 'Jive at Five' is a marvel), - the Bill Perkins On Stage Pacific Jazz album (that was reissued several years ago), - the Bill Holman Big Band 'Jazz Orbit' date on Andex (he is featured on 'After You've Gone'), - the Louis Bellson Octet 'Thunderbird' album on Impulse (his solo on 'Back on the Scene' is another beautiful improvisation). Not to speak of that 'Great Fontana' album on Uptown.

There was this 2CD 'Miles from the Dark' album by Prince at a secondhand record shop yesterday. Know that Miles and Prince bootlegs are rare items and that Miles makes a short appearance on one track from what is described as a 1987 New Year's Eve benefit concert. But I just have enough of getting those '80s Miles Davis concerts added to my collection. Most of the ones I have bought have been played once and then stored not to be heard again. Do I really need this one? This is on the Sabotage label. An appropriate name! It's sealed. Have gotten it on hold. Price is very cool. Is it THAT rare. There is a mention of the disc being a limited edition of 1,000 copies.

The Tom Lord discography also lists an unissued 'Organic Greenery' track as a thurd side from that session (Stanley Turrentine, Quentin Warren, Donald Bailey). Sam Jones who was on bass on the two other sides was out on that one.

In the Ken Vail book 'Miles' Diary, the Life of Miles Davis' there is a photo taken in October 1945 at the Sportlite Club in New York showing Miles and Dexter with Charlie Parker, Leonard Gaskin and Stan Levey. Dexter played with the Charlie Parker group for a couple of weeks at the time. Sir Charles Thompson was the pianist. The book also mentions a Jazz at the Philharmonic tour in April-May 1948 which featured the Charlie Parker group (Miles, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach) and Sarah Vaughan (with the George Treadwell group) plus Dexter Gordon and Flip Philips. Several appearances are mentioned but there is no indication of Miles and Dexter playing together on stage.

Very sad news. Even it this does not come as a surprise to his fans who knew of his declining health. A great voice is gone...

Barak, the Jan Lohmann 'The Sound of Miles Davis' discography does not list any Miles-Dexter recorded get-together. Our loss...

'Utter Chaos' was not on the original LP 'Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band at Village Vanguard' (Verve MGV8396). It was included in 'The Essential Gerry Mulligan' LP anthology (Verve MGV8567). And it was also the last track on the French Barclay LP edition of the GMCJB at VV which I foolishly gave away after I bought the Verve original.

Jimmy Lyons/Sonny Murray 'Jump Up' (HatArt) Clifford Brown in Paris, volume 1 (Vogue/BMG) Hal McKusick 'Jazz Workshop' (RCA LP) Frank Rosolino w. Sonny Clark (Bethlehem Japanese LP) Thelonious Monk 'It's Monk's Time (Columbia CD reissue)

William Steig was not only a great artist, he was also flute player Jeremy Steig's father.

What I was buying when I visited the Blue Note offices, yes. Went there twice. Wish I had had enough money to buy more...

Never could get my hands on that Pumpkin Donald Lambert. I have the Jazzophile 'Giant Stride' LP which was recorded at around the same time. The LP opens with 'a smashing 'Trolley Song'. Is it very different from the Pumpkin version? While looking for Donald Lambert lore found this on a 'stridepiano.com' site: This must have been Tatum's ghost since the Master passed away in 1956. Also second the recommendation for Joe Turner. Went to hear him a number of occasions when he played in Paris in the sixties at the 'La Calavados' club off the Champs-Elysees avenue.

Classics 5006 has Ike Day with a question mark in the personnel listed for the early 1948 Pershing Ballroom tracks (Hey Tom Archia, McKie's Jam for Boppers, Come Back to Sorrento, Bronzeville Swing). The two other sides from the Pershing Ballroom in the Archia discography (Cabbage Head, 1 and 2) are listed on the Classics CD as having been recorded in July 1948 in Chicagor for Aristocrat. Personnel listed is 'Doc' Jo Jo Adams with Tom Archia's All Stars: vocal acc. by Gail Brockman ?-t/Tom Archia-ts/Willie Jones ?-p/Lowell Pointer ?-b/Hendu Henderson ?-d.

Ike Day is not on any of the tracks on the Tom Archia 1947-1948 Classics CD. Trust you know the CD has all the titles recorded by Archia under his name for Aristocrat and Chess except for an October 1947 session by blues singer Andrew Tibbs with the Archia band but includes two sides issued as 'Skeetz Van & his Orchestra' (with Archia and Gene Ammons) and tracks by 'Doc' Jo Jo Adams with the Tom Archia All Stars!

I was going to pass on that one which I have in various mono and stereo formats but after reading the various comments, looks like I will have to make another purchase.

I have it and like it. Nice and very rare session. Got the Japanese reissue LP when some copies became available in France. I was looking for this session after being disappointed at Vogue BMG when they reissued a lot of excellent CDs several years ago including rare sessions with Bobby Jaspar but failed to include that Sadi date. Jaspar is featured on seven of the eight tracks. And young Bobby Jaspar could blow! Mike, sorry there is no e-mail adress. May be J.A.W. knows a source?

There must have been very few of those McLean 'Action' BN LPs with the NYK label. At that time I was waiting for each new McLean releases with the impatience of a Rooster Ties waiting for the next Andrew Hill now and the 'Action' copy I have is the Liberty one. The liner notes bear the BN 61st adress but the cover and the label have the Liberty tags. If I remember well, 'Action' (the cover has 'Action, Action, Action') came out around 1968 shortly after BN went under Liberty in the fall of 1967. The album was recorded on September 16, 1964 and was not released immediately. The 'Right Now' session that was recorded on January 29, 1965 was released while BN was still owned by Lion and Wolf. It was BN LP 4215. The copy I have has the NYK label. I was in NYK in the fall of 1967 and went to the BN offices on 61st Street to get their latest releases. The McLean 'Action' was not available at the time. Among the LPs I bought then were the Pete LaRoca 'Basra (BN 4205), Bobby Hutcherson 'Components (BN 4213), Joe Henderson 'Mode for Joe' (BN 4227), Wayne Shorter's 'All Seeing Eye' (BN 4232), all of which had just been released.

GOM, my mistake. I have the Ruppli Chess book, not the King. Trust you aware of the Hampton Sisters 1954 session for Savoy that is in the Lord?

The very first jazz organ I heard was being played by Count Basie. Before I ever heard the incredible Fats Waller on the organ sides, there were those 'Paradise Squat' and 'Blues for the Count and Oscar' records. Loved the sound. Basie kept recording on the organ until much later in his career. There is a version of 'I Surrender Dear' on the Basie and Zoot Pablo album with Basie switching to organ that is a delight.

Because the Japanese are serious about jazz and they know that vinyl is better. They issued quite a number of Vogue 10-inchers some 2 or 3 years ago. Some were reissued on 10-inchers, a few - including the Sadi - cmae out as 12-inchers. They also reissued most of them as CDs but have not seen the Sadi in that format.

The 1956 Lou Levy 'Jazz in Four Colors' RCA LP had photos (by Dave Pell) of the four musicians featured: Levy, Larry Bunker, Leroy Vinnegar and Stan Levey but inverted the Vinnegar and Bunker photos. The vibraphone player was identified as Vinnegar, the bass player was identified as Bunker.

The Woody Herman First Herd records still await a Mosaic type box. This does not look like it's going to happen soon. In the meantime, the best currently available introduction to the band would be the Sony 2CD anthology 'Blowin' Up a Storm, The Columbia Years 1945-1947' which has most of the First Herd best sides.

GOM, I have the King Label book by Ruppli somewhere at home. Will check on your Hampton Sisters.

Gene Quill sure could play. He was a very good match to Phil Woods. Also wish he had been given more solo space when he was with the Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band but there was a lot of good soloists in that unit! Loved his solo on 'Inside Out' in Al Cohn's RCA album 'Mr. Music'. And there are a lot more Quill solos to listen to. Also liked what he was doing in a couple of Dot LPs 'Down Beat Jazz Concert' where the cream of the New York musicians - well, a lot of them - showed up in 1958.

Interesting choice. Will dig up the LP album!