thomastreichler

I must most respectfully most disgree! I definitely am with JSngry here. IMHO "Ben Webester and Associates" is a great date, where Budd Johnson outplays Ben and Hawk; swingin' rhythm section too (Les Spann, Ray Brown, Jo Jones) Budd Johnson is also heard to good advantage on: "From Boogie to Funk" on Gitanes (from the Jazz in Paris series), a 1960 date led by Bill Coleman with members of the Quincy Jones Big Band, at that time touring Europe with "Free and Easy" (Quentin Jackson, Patti Bown, Buddy Catlett, Joe Harris) "Swing Time" on Prestige Swingville under the leadership of Claude Hopkins "Live and Well in Japan!" a live date by an All Star group led by Benny Carter on Pablo with among others Joe Newman, Cat Anderson, Cecil Payne, Nat Pierce, George Duvivier, Harold Jones "Arvell Shaw and the Swing Legacy All Stars", a 1956 date with Taft Jordan, Vic Dickenson, André Persiany, Gus Johnson (I only have it on lp, the label escapes me at the moment) "Jazz from a Swinging Era" on Lonehill, these are All Star sessions (1967 live and studio) under the nominal leadership of Buck Clayton "A Buck Clayton Jam Session" and "A Buck Clayton Jam Session 1975", both on Chiaroscuro

I am a big Basie fan too; my collection consists of roughly 75 cd's covering 1937 until 1983, most of them are big band recordings, but I also have some small groups including all the sessions with Oscar Peterson. IMHO his best bands were the ones from 1937-1944 and the new testament band (1957-1960). Apart from the already mentioned Decca and Columbia sets and the three Mosaic sets I would like to add the following recommendations: - Jubilee Alternatives (Hep): these are sensational V-disc recordings from 1943-44 in great sound - Count On The Coast Vol. 1, Count On The Coast Vol. 2, Basie's Golden '58 (all on the Swedish Phontastic label): The New Testament Band in full flight recorded live, great sound too - The Kansas City Seven (MCA): Wonderful small group session with Thad Jones, Frank Wess, Eric Dixon - First Time! The Count Meets The Duke (Columbia): meeting of arguably the two most important big bands in jazz

These are wonderful recordings and proof that Pee Wee is equally at home in a swing / mainstream setting as in the dixieland / chicago style he is mostly associated with.

Found in a used cd store in Strasbourg, France: Sidney Bechet - Pleyel Jazz Concert Vol. 2 (Vogue) Eddy Louiss - Hommage à Claude (FIP) Martial Solal - The Complete Vogue Recordings Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Vogue)

I strongly second this recommendation. These five cd's collect all the recordings Johnny Hodges made with Wild Bill Davis, as well as some bonus material like the whole album "Stride Right" (Hodges with Earl Hines, originally released on Verve). Some of these sides - with the exception of the live Atlantic City session - until now were only available on cd on expensive Japanese imports, some were not available on cd at all. Sound is good, though some tracks were taken from lp's.

Searching for piano-related threads I came across this one and would like to add some more recommendations of solo albums by artists not or scarcely mentioned before. The majority of the albums in the Maybeck Recital Hall series on Concord are very fine. Some personal favourites of mine: Alan Broadbent, Marian McPartland, Roger Kellaway, Mike Wofford, Gerry Wiggins, Ellis Larkins, Dave McKenna, Dick Hyman, Gene Harris, Ralph Sutton, Monty Alexander, Kenny Barron, John Colianni, Hank Jones Dave McKenna: Giant Strides, Left Handed Compliment, My Friend The Piano, Shadows 'N' Dreams, Easy Street, all on Concord Ray Bryant: Montreux '77 on OJC, Plays Blues And Ballads on Jazz Connaisseur Raymond Fol: Echoes Of Harlem on Gitanes (Jazz In Paris) Earl Hines: Four Jazz Giants on Solo Art, Tour De Force, Tour De Force Encore, One For My Baby, West Side Story all on Black Lion, Piano Solos on Laserlight, Live At The New School on Chiaroscuro, Plays Duke Ellington on New World, Plays Cole Porter and Irving Berlin on Swaggie Dick Hyman: Face The Music - A Century Of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen Songs, All Through The Night all on Musicmasters, In Recital on Reference Mike Jones: Stretching Out on Chiaroscuro Roger Kellaway: The Art Of Interconnectedness on Challenge, I Was There on IPO Oscar Peterson: My Favourite Instrument, Tracks both on MPS Ralph Sutton: At St. George Church, Brandon Hill, Bristol, England on Arbors Art Tatum: Twentieth Century Piano Genius on Verve Fats Waller: The 1935 Transcriptions on Naxos Dick Wellstood: Live At The Sticky Wicket on Arbors Stefano Bollani: Solo Piano on ECM Jessica Williams: I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart on Hep

These are great. I also recommend these: Stefano Bollani -I'm In The Mood For Love Eddie Higgins - If Dreams Come True

Oscar Peterson, My Favourite Instrument (MPS) added (post #5)

This one has some great Charlie Shavers (I have these sessions on a compilation by the Doormouse label under the title "Session at Midnight / Session at Riverside"). Edison and Shavers are not playing together, they're on different sessions, the one with Shavers among others also has Billy Butterfield, Lou McGarity, Coleman Hawkins, Osie Johnson. He is on some of the Norman Granz Jam Sessions too, a highlight being the one with Charlie Parker, Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges. Shavers has some strong moments on Ernie Wilkins' "The Big New Band Of The 60's" (I have the Fresh Sound edition). Recommended are the sessions with Budd Johnson on "The Stanley Dance Sessions" on Lonehill (I know ..., but they are not otherwise available). Charlie Shavers has many great recordings in the 40's as a sideman of Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet. Finally I second the recommendation for "Hawk Eyes" by Coleman Hawkins.

I totally agree. I kinda had the feeling that everyone thought that except Tommy T. My judgement with regard to the quality of Waller's sidemen was primarily focused on Herman Autrey and Gene Sedric. I think nobody would deny that these two were not on par with the top soloists of the time on their respective instruments; think of Bill Coleman (who actually recorded with Fats), Henry 'Red' Allen, Rex Stewart, Jonah Jones, Roy Eldridge, Cootie Williams or Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins. Insofar Autrey and Sedric were IMHO not first rate. What I did concede is, that they served their purpose very well. I also totally agree with you on your opinion about Al Casey; he was indeed an outstanding guitarist (if you read my first post carefully you see that I did not call him second rate). "Second rate" on that level is already a pretty high level by 30s/early 40s swing standards. I really wouldn't rate Gene Sedric that low anyway. If your criteria were applied uniformly to musicians of that time the small-band swing output by musicians such as Pete Brown, Skeets Tolbert or the Savoy Sultans et al. (not to mention Boots & His Buddies) would not have had any right to exist. As has been pointed out by others - and this cannot be stressed too highly - it is really the group as an entity that is the key to the quality of the music. The total equaled much more than the sum of the individuals. They did serve their purpose of providing immensely swinging, entertaining jazz music. Maybe you ought to look at Fats Waller's Rhythm as a band that slightly predated bands like Louis Jordan's Tympany Five - a band that IMHO falls into the same category, and the parallels (including the sideman credentials) are obvious in many respects. Another point to consider, the music they recorded was supposed to be consumed two pieces at a time, i.e. both sides of a 78 rpm disc, and not in one go by listening to complete box sets of the entire recorded opus non-stop. When listened to more in a piecemeal fashion they might come across quite differently. Overexposure can blur the impact too, you know (unless you are a diehard fan). Guess it's time to pull out one of my RCA Memorial box sets tonight again ... I generally agree. First of all, the term "second rate" was not used by me. And I am far from stating (never did) that every output by others than the big names did "not have any right to exist". As you say, sometimes the total can equal more than the sum of all the parts, and on the other side a gathering of superb individuals may produce a less than satisfying sum. I also hope I made clear that I love the recordings by Fats and his rhythm very much, because of the overall impact of the group as an entity and of Fats' singing and playing. The only statement I made was, that Autrey and Sedric as individuals were not the best musicians in the business (there were better soloists), first of all in order to point out that it must be other qualities than the individual strength of Autrey and Sedric as soloists that make the music that satisfying.

I totally agree. I kinda had the feeling that everyone thought that except Tommy T. My judgement with regard to the quality of Waller's sidemen was primarily focused on Herman Autrey and Gene Sedric. I think nobody would deny that these two were not on par with the top soloists of the time on their respective instruments; think of Bill Coleman (who actually recorded with Fats), Henry 'Red' Allen, Rex Stewart, Jonah Jones, Roy Eldridge, Cootie Williams or Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins. Insofar Autrey and Sedric were IMHO not first rate. What I did concede is, that they served their purpose very well. I also totally agree with you on your opinion about Al Casey; he was indeed an outstanding guitarist (if you read my first post carefully you see that I did not call him second rate).

Good point. In those days the record companies generally were dictating to the artists what to record. My conclusion that Fats chose the material himself was made rashly. It indeed is amazing how Fats managed to turn these dull songs into worthwile and highly entertaining music.

Listening to some mid 30's recordings by Fats Waller and his Rhythm I wondered what it is that makes Fats Waller such an important figure in jazz. The search function revealed a few threads dealing with certain recordings and recommendations but so far there is no discussion of Fats Waller "the musician" as such, so I thought I'd start a new thread. Let me start with my interpretation and considerations and then I'll be interested in reading your thoughts on this topic: Fats without a doubt was an outstanding piano player; technically more than averagely accomplished, one of the pioneers and early masters of stride piano. with a powerful left hand a right hand capable of producing octaves, tenths and cascades of runs all over the keyboard. His solo piano recordings are consistently exciting and he directly influenced pianists like Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Art Tatum, Johnny Guarnieri, Thelonious Monk, not to mention the second and third generation stride pianists (Ralph Sutton, Dick Wellstood, Dick Hyman). His small group and big band recordings are more of a paradox. The material he chose to play is - with the exception of his own compositions and a few others - rather lightweight. Most of the musicians he employed were far from being the best in the business. Herman Autrey was a competent trumpet player but not more, Gene Sedric was a mediocre reed player (his clarinet playing to my ears constantly on the verge of being out of tune). None of the members of the rhythm section was memorable in his own right (with the exception of Al Casey) but they swung hard and were able to build a tremendous impetus. None the less the "Rhythm" sides are highly entertaining. This is happy exuberant music, showcasing the great talents of Fats as a pianist, jazz singer and entertainer. The rest of the group fits well into the overall mood and and least swings tremendously, even if the solo contributions of the likes of Autrey, Sedric and Rudy Powell are less than memorable (compare Autrey to Bill Coleman who occupies the trumpet chair on a few sides, the latter being the much more interesting performer). That said I love Waller's solo recordings as well as the infectuous "Rhythm" sessions. He is one of those musicians who, due to their early deceases (as Bix, Bunny, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Blanton, Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro etc.), let us wonder what they would have accomplished had they lived longer. In Fats' case we are at least blessed with a rich legacy of recordings over a period of two decades.

Benny Carter was a true giant of jazz. An uncompromising, ever tasteful and captivating musician, a superb arranger and ambassador of jazz. He - together with Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter - arguably was one of the three most important alto-saxophonists in jazz and a more than competent trumpet player. Here are some of my favourite recordings of BC: Jazz Giant (Contemporary) Swingin' The Twenties (Contemporary) Further Definitions (Impulse) Additions To Further Definitions (Impulse) The King (Pablo) Live And Well In Japan (Pablo) A Gentleman And His Music (Concord) Meets Oscar Peterson (Pablo) Central City Sketches (Musicmasters) My Man Benny, My Man Phil (Musicmasters) with Phil Woods Harlem Renaissance (Musicmasters) and as a sideman: several sessions under the direction of Lionel Hampton (late 30's, early 40's) Ben Webster - King Of The Tenors (Verve) several Norman Granz Jam Sessions on Verve (especially the one with Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker) Helen Humes - T'ain't Nobody's Biz-ness If I Do (Contemporary)

Over the last to days: The Complete Capitol Recordings Of Woody Herman (purchased on the occasion of the second chance opportunity of few weeks ago) For the most part this is great music - an unjustly underrated period of Woody's career. The Herman herds of the Capitol period (1948-50, 1954-56) bring together first rate musicians (section players and soloists) and superb charts by some of the best arrangers of the time. By the way, until listening to this set I wasn't aware of how great a big band drummer Chuck Flores was. There are some oddities none the less: the somewhat corny dixieland sides (kind of a throwback to Woody's vaudeville days) and the slightly commercial tracks using vocal groups. But the rest is pure big band jazz outstandingly performed.

Woody Herman, Road Band! added (post #5)

I own this set since it first came out a few years ago. It indeed is a stunning set of swinging music by four (or five)giants on their respective instruments.

The Complete Capitol Recordings Of Woody Herman (Mosaic)

Edit post #5: Item sold

I second that recommendation. These recordings are terrific from every point of view: they feature (for the most part - even Strayhorn was not everytime consistently on the same high level) marvelous compositions and arrangements, the Dutch Jazz Orchestra plays them with absolue authority and the soloists are first rate.

Yes, this is a nice one.

I very much like the water color drawings of Leo Meiersdorff. He did the cover art on several Chiaroscuro albums (see my avatar). Anybody else who likes his art? Are there other labels with Meiersdorff drawings on their covers?

I am a big fan of Phineas Newborn, who IMHO is one of the giants of jazz piano. I have the following records and I love them all: Here Is Phineas (Collectables) Fabulous Phineas (BMG) Plays Again! (Blue Moon) with an italian rhythm section, sound is mediocre World Of Piano (OJC) The Great Jazz Piano Of Phineas Newborn Jr. (OJC) Phineas, The Newborn Touch (OJC) Harlem Blues (OJC) Please Send Me Someone To Love (OJC) As sideman: Roy Haynes, We Three (OJC) Howard McGhee, Maggie Is Back In Town! (OJC) Teddy Edwards / Howard McGhee, Together Again! (OJC)

Paolo Fresu / Richard Galliano / Jan Lundgren - Mare Nostrum (ACT)

Tete Montoliu - Hot House (Steeplechase) twofer