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ghost of miles
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Posts posted by ghost of miles
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Ahoy, Organissimos! I thought it most important that I brin't'your attention t'fact that Friday be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I'm off from work and will be lazin' about, listenin't'me vast plundero'jazz CD treaayes. Joy and good tidin'st'you, mates!
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You're in for a treat with the Krupa/James Capitol set. I found a used copy several months back, and to be honest initially bought it more due to the "what a great deal" and "gotta have all the Mosaics" feelings rather than great excitement about the music. Boy was I misguided. Along with the Maynard Ferguson Mosaic, this one takes the prize as the biggest "My God, listen to what I've been missing!" Mosaic for me. While I do actually prefer the Krupa portion of the box (there is some really swinging music there, and some fine features for players like Red Rodney and Charlie Ventura as well as Krupa) the James recordings are also thoroughly enjoyable.
You know, Tony, the ironic thing is that I ordered the set primarily for the Krupa, too (haven't gotten it yet--it's coming with the three new releases), and thought, "Eh, the James will be interesting too..." and shortly afterwards I went on my James kick. So my excitement about that set has doubled. I also stumbled across a remaindered paperback of TRUMPET BLUES, which looks like a decent bio of James, and I'm really looking forward to the Hindsight set.
Thanks for everybody's recommendations. I'm now eyeing the James/Basie Hep...
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OK, another guy I sloughed off for a long time as a nascent young jazz snob (outside of his early hot work as a sideman, of course). But lately I've been listening to him more, particularly the '39 band, and I just ordered the Hindsight box BANDSTAND MEMORIES 1938-48, as well as the Krupa/James Capitol set. Any other recommendations/thoughts on this trumpeter?
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Excellent!
You guys are priceless--thanks!
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That is quite a coincidence, Swinging Swede! And thanks for the account, Matthew--does it give a date for that performance, BTW? I'm really hoping to track down the specific night...
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Hey all, anybody know of eyewitness accounts or otherwise to the night that Artie Shaw walked off the stage at the Cafe Rouge in New York's Hotel Pennsylvania circa November 1939? He gave up his big band and disappeared for a couple of months--re-surfacing in Mexico, I believe. I don't know if our library's Downbeats go back that far, but I'm very interested in any stories about this night that have been printed anywhere. Surely Shaw's talked about it before (he mentions it fleetingly in the SELF-PORTRAIT liners, I think).
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WL, I'm planning to pick up CRISSCRAFT, which I think just got re-issued by Savoy. (Hell, how can I resist when AMG says its "tones" are Sophisticated, Intimate, Amiable/Good-Natured, Rollicking, Passionate, Reverent, Reserved! B)
) You're right, Hawes does show up on some of those jams... The Fresh Sounds CD I have is the 1959 session that came out on Impulse with the Dorham Jazz Prophets date (both originally ABC?). Wynton Kelly is the pianist. Didja get my PM?
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Recently I've been hitting the Criss Prestige sides hard (and Late's AOTW choice only spurred me on even more). What is it about Criss' playing on these albums that make me return to them again and again of late? Even something like I'LL CATCH THE SUN, which seems to be written off as one of his lesser efforts in that (late-60s) era, still comes across to me with a magical vitality that infuses even material like the title track and "Don't Rain On My Parade"--and when he gets his hands on "I Thought About You" and "Cry Me a River," look out. Damn, I wish he'd gotten to record with Hampton Hawes more. In any even, records like PORTRAIT OF CRISS, THIS IS CRISS, and SONNY'S DREAM are in my CD player all the time these days. The other night I listened to the 2-CD Imperial set, and while it's a fine collection of 1950s Criss (hell, the only collection, I think, outside of the Fresh Sounds CD and some of the stuff that turned up on Xanadu), the Prestige years sound like a great leap forward to me. I still haven't heard THE BEAT GOES ON and ROCKIN' IN RHYTHM, but that's just one of the many, many things I have to look forward to...
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A very cool book (in spite of a few copyediting errors--kinda ironic in a book about journalism) entitled PM: A NEW DEAL IN JOURNALISM 1940-48. PM was an experimental, liberal New York daily that introduced some of the design and content practices that have since become common in newspapers:
And the Bangs book is awesome! Esp. the two-part piece from the June/July 1976 Creem detailing his visit to Jamaica to write about the emerging reggae phenomenon.
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They're goin' fast...
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Mike, yes, it's the 1992 Denon CD. I'm assuming it's OOP, although I haven't checked. Correct track listings would be great. Thanks for the offsetting opinion--I'll probably pick it up tonight.
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I came across this title used last night but didn't pick it up. I'd never heard of A.K. Salim, but the lineup looked stellar. May go back today and buy it, in spite of AMG's negative review:
Any other opinions on this one? Eddie Costa's on it--hell, that alone might make it worth the $7.
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Not an artist I've checked out before, but a buddy of mine recommended his latest on Verve. Anybody have an IMO on this release?
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Really enjoying this so far, wishing only that they'd included even more of his writing for CREEM. The two essays on Miles' 70's work & MAN WITH A HORN return are entertaining and illuminating. And hell, even when Bangs is wrong he's still fun to read.
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Alfred Kazin, STARTING OUT IN THE THIRTIES.
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Michael Fitzgerald and anybody else on the Coltrane list already know about this, but Robin D.G. Kelley, who wrote a fantastic book on African-American Communists in Alabama during the Depression entitled HAMMER AND HOE is at work on a biography of Thelonious Monk. Evidently he's been given great access to Monk's estate; this is the press release that was posted on the JC list:
"Award-winning author and scholar Robin D. G. Kelley, who has beengiven
unprecedented access to the Thelonious Monk estate to write a biography
on
the legendary jazz musician, will visit Duke University's Center for
Documentary Studies (CDS) to conduct research and deliver a public
presentation, "Misterioso: In Search of Thelonious Monk," on August 26,
at 7
p.m. While at CDS, Kelley will be exploring the nature of Monk's
presence in
the jazz loft recordings of photographer W. Eugene Smith, which are
part of
an extensive ongoing research and oral history project at CDS.
In 1957 Smith moved into a loft building in Manhattan's flower
district, a
building that became a legendary haunt of such jazz musicians as
Thelonious
Monk, Zoot Sims, and Roland Kirk, along with countless underground
figures.
For seven years, Smith documented the scene -- both inside the building
and
through the windows -- with many thousands of photographs, and he wired
the
building like a studio and made nearly one thousand hours of stereo
audiotape of the music sessions, none of which had been seen or heard
publicly until recently. Smith's recordings capture the famously
private
Monk scoring charts and talking about his music with collaborator Hall
Overton, who was also a resident in the loft building. Monk also held
full
band rehearsals in the loft."
Robin did not discuss the Smith tapes, so I don't know whether any of
these
captured Coltrane (although, I intend to find out, and will report
back).
However, Robin said that he has been given access to Monk family tapes,
which include three performances from the Five Spot, July 1957. These
are
the only known recordings of that legendary gig with Coltrane, and
include
"Nutty," "Ruby, My Dear," and one other track, the name of which Robin
couldn't recall. He said that the Monk family intends to release these
recordings on it's own Thelonious label. Robin said that at this early
date, Coltrane is clearly struggling with the compositions.
Most of the Monk family tapes are home recordings, made by Nellie.
Many of
these consist of Monk working out his approach to a single tune,
apparently
similar in manner to the 25 minute rehearsal of "Round Midnight" on
Thelonious Himself. Robin played portions of an 84 minute tape of Monk
playing "Getting Sentimental Over You" over and over again, gradually
distilling his conception. Robin said that often on these tapes Monk
initially plays tunes fairly straight, then slowly introduces his
rubato and
substitutions. Robin intends to include a cd of selections with his
book,
which he has yet to complete.
One home recording includes a performance of "All God's Children Got
Rhythm," which Robin discovered Monk was playing from an arrangement
written
by Mary Lou Williams. He said Williams and Monk were close; and that
Monk,
Williams and Bud Powell once shared an apartment and a single piano.
Robin
said that some compositions in Monk's hand can be found among Mary Lou
Williams' papers in Duke's manuscript collection. He also demonstrated
that
Monk borrowed "Rhythm 'n' ing" from a Mary Lou composition (which then
also
circulated and was played under various titles by Al Haig, Charlie
Christian
and others, long before Monk recorded it).
Man, I'd love to hear those tapes!
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Hey Ghost, you didn't get Ella Mae without tellin' me what you thunk of it, did ya???
Heck no, Berigan... I thought I was gettin' it from you for Christmas! Ya won't let me down, will ya? :rsmile:
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Thanks, P.D. I thought (or imagined) that there was more material missing than that.
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The material that Mel Powell recorded for Vanguard is essential (the trio sides with
Ruby Braff and Paul Quinichette are awesome) and has yet to be reissued properly.
Agreed. I have the two CDs that came out several years ago, but didn't he do four or five albums for Vanguard? I know that the CDs were a distillation of his work for the label.
I recently picked up one of Powell's classical CDs used, but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.
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I also have a CD, Hillbilly Music - Thank God! (Capitol CDP 7 91346 2), issued in 1989, which is a compilation of Capitol artists (Gene O'Quinn, The Farmer Boys, The Louvin Brothers, Hank Thompson, Rose Maddox, Merle Travis, Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West, Skeets McDonald, etc.). I don't know if it's still in print.
Paul,
Just got an e-mail from my friend mentioning that very set--he'd just remembered it, but says it's long OOP. Clem might want to keep an eye out for it in the used bins, though; sounds like a good anthology.
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I think the Mel Powell sides are FANTASTIC, and the Sid Catlett sides are a hoot.
Yes, Lon, I'll second your ringing endorsement--I remember you and I discussing how wonderful the Powell material was on that, erm, what was the name of that board again?
Didn't Powell record some music for Commodore? I'm trying to run down all of his jazz stuff. The Capitol sides are a treasure! I think Ocium swiped them for their Powell CD, though.
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Clem, here's the reply from my friend:
I'm not aware of any Capitol '40s & '50s country anthologies, top notchor otherwise. Capitol didn't have tons of country artists early
on--the label was so pop oriented. Tex Ritter was the first one, and
then there was Jimmy Wakely, Merle Travis, Wesley Tuttle, and Hank
Thompson. Tellingly, all of those guys were pretty slick compared to
Ernest Tubb or Kitty Wells. Some artists from that period that are now
associated with Capitol, like Slim Whitman, were actually on Imperial
or other labels that were later purchased by Capitol. Many of the
Capitol country artists have either been anthologized as part of the
Capitol Collectors or Vintage Collections series, or have Bear Family
box sets, so that material is out there.
He goes on to say that he's skeptical that such an anthology will ever be issued, owing to commercial reasons. There might be a market for it, though, with some buyers (and I'm potentially one of them) who have an interest in this stuff, but not enough to pick up individual BF boxes or even the Capitol Collectors titles, which are becoming increasingly harder to find.
You know, Gennett's another label with a country/hillbilly angle to its legacy that doesn't get talked about too much. Gennett recorded some of that music, but the 78s haven't turned up as much as the jazz ones did--partly, I guess, because there was a fanatical breed of jazz collectors long before a similar class of country ones emerged.
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Ahhhhhh... consensus. An awesome set, one of the very best. Capitol Records is also a fascinating story in and of itself, if ya' listen to hillbilly music at all, you can run in parallel worlds with various Bear Family single artist sets. (I am not aware of a top notch Capitol '40s & '50s country anthology. Anyone?)
We need look no further than "Cow Cow Boogie!" The whole Ella Mae Morse saga is an interesting study in and of itself.
Clem, I have a friend who does a great 40s-60s radio show called "Rhythm Ranch," devoted to country, r & b, and pop from that period. (He writes for AMG, too, and did the review of the Bear Family Morse set.) If anybody knows of a good Capitol set, it would be him. I'll drop him a line and report back.
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Mark, I, too, love this set (in fact I just pulled it out last night to listen to the Joe Sullivan/Mel Powell sides). The Carter and Williams material is priceless, and there are nice stray sets of Anita O'Day and Kay Starr, in addition to the other artists already mentioned. There is a fair amount of trad/dixie early on (just a cautionary note--don't know your feelings about that music, but it's not enough to keep me from really enjoying the set. A little bit of it goes a long way for my own tastes). Given the ongoing Mosaic/True Blue sale, this seems like a prime moment to grab the Capitol set.
Monk, Lyrically Speaking
in Miscellaneous Music
Posted
I'd also recommend that Carmen McRae SINGS MONK CD as well, which got re-issued a couple of years ago in the new Bluebird series. I've been listening to a lot of McRae lately, and plan to re-visit that one soon.