jazzman4133

I agree that the Pacific sides are probably the best. The only reason I posted this is because it's at least "some more Groove", which for fans is a reason to buy and listen. By the way, this album is available on e-music as a download. For those not familiar with e-music, they have a treasure trove of great early Prestige, Xanadu, Riverside, Fantasy and many others. Check it out.

Here's a recent re-release of a great acoustic Charlie Byrd album. From AMG: Although Charlie Byrd recorded dozens of quality albums, the 1960s weren't one of his best decades. Although his guitar work was excellent, as always, it tended to get buried in awkward arrangements of the latest Beatles' songs. As a result, his music often sounded cheesy. It's a rare pleasure, then, to listen to Solo Flight, which was recorded for Riverside in 1965. With no distracting accompaniment, Byrd cuts to the musical chase and delivers 11 lovely, succinct guitar suites. He combines a smooth blend of chords and solo runs, much as Joe Pass would later do, on favorites like "Satin Doll" and "Easy Living," along with fun oddities like "House of the Rising Sun." Unlike Pass, Byrd approaches a song like "Am I Blue" in a fairly simple, straightforward manner, more interested in the melody than virtuosity. "You Took Advantage of Me," for instance, runs only a bit over three minutes, mostly because the guitarist has developed all the ideas he cared to develop within that time frame. Many fans of more progressive jazz will find this all a bit conservative, but Byrd fans happily note that his best work has a timeless quality. Solo Flight easily fits into that category. — Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Here's a blast from the past that is most worthwhile for Organ fans. Richard "Groove" Homes is absolutely burnin' on this album. From AMG: Some wags might claim there's already enough organ-based '60s soul-jazz in the Prestige catalog without throwing a previously unreleased album of the stuff on the bonfire. And your first inclination might be to dismiss this trio date, on which Richard "Groove" Holmes is joined by guitarist Gene Edwards and drummer George Randall, as more of the same old. However, though it does boast much of the expected characteristics of the Prestige sound, this live material, recorded at Count Basie's Lounge in Harlem on April 22, 1966, is above average and worth hearing. The sound quality's very good and fresh, but more importantly, the stripped-down trio arrangements boil the soul-jazz genre down to its most powerful essence. Most soul-jazz acts felt obligated to break up their up-tempo numbers with sleepy renditions of standards, but everything selected for release here's mid-tempo or faster, which, frankly, makes the nearly-hour-long program peppier than you'd expect. And at times, the speed of the rhythms verges on the manic, as on Edwards' solo on "(Back Home Again In) Indiana." On the Coleman Hawkins cover, "Rifftide" the pace gets yet more furious, like the vehemence of fellows who've had way too much coffee during their set break, leaving even the seasoned listener gasping for air like a seasick passenger holding onto the rails for dear life. Their version of Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream" is an only slightly less intense soul-jazz reading of a hard bop number. They can play a more solid, shuffling blues groove well too, though, as they do on covers of "Night Train," and Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'." — Richie Unterberger 1. (Back Home Again In) Indiana (Hanley/MacDonald) - 9:32 2. Moanin' (Timmons) - 7:26 3. When I Grow Too Old to Dream (Hammerstein/Romberg) - 5:08 4. Rifftide (Hawkins) - 12:18 5. This Here (Timmons) - 9:10 6. Nica's Dream (Silver) - 7:09

You should definately check out Shelia Jordan and Mark Murphy, together. Album is called "One For Junior". Many places are selling the cassette tape of this for a very cheap price.

A long time ago we saw Marty at one of Dick Hyman's jazz productions at the 92nd St. "Y" in NYC. When the curtain was about to open for the second half of the concert, Marty stepped out (just him) with a stool and a full length mirror. For a minute or so he stared into the mirror and primped and preened himself, he then picked up his guitar and proceded to sing "Just A Gigolo", first in German and then in English. It was great. If you can get his recording of this (its on CD) be sure to do so.

Tooter......I have finally caught up with your extensive additional comments and those of others as well about Ronnie Ross. It is great to see so much additional prose about our favorite baritone player. Please keep up the good work ya' all (North Carolina dialect).

Too bad it's the cover you are interested in because the music is indeed available on e-music. This particular album is thought to be Boogaloo's best effort and it is indeed one of the better efforts in a jazz-funk-latin-blues bag. Great bargain as part of e-music's downloads.

The best modern day example of "stride" is Judy Carmichael. Judy Carmichael is a real rarity, a pianist who came up after 1950 who specialized in the pre-World War II piano style called stride. Carmichael, who was not even born in 1950, started on piano when her grandfather offered 50 dollars to the first grandchild who could play "Maple Leaf Rag." She played music for the first time professionally when she was 19, and was a ragtime pianist at Disneyland when she discovered stride piano. In 1980, she made her recording debut on Progressive, utilizing four veteran players (including Marshall Royal and Freddie Greene). The following year, Carmichael moved to New York, and worked steadily ever since. She recorded more sets for Progressive/Statiras, and then for her own C&D label. Judy Carmichael plays at the same level as the classic masters. Going back a number of years there was a local (NJ) pianist by the name of Donald Lambert who even Fats Waller acknowledged as one of the best. Donald Lambert ranks in jazz history as one of the great unknown stride pianists. In the late '20s, he was a top pianist appearing regularly at rent parties and clubs in Harlem. However, by the 1930s he preferred to stay in New Jersey, playing in out-of-the-way clubs. He recorded four brilliant solos for Bluebird in 1941 in which he strided various classical themes. Other than privately recorded sets from 1960-1962 that were released decades later by Solo Art, IAJRC, and two on Pumpkin, that is all the documentation that exists of Donald Lambert. But even with the low quantity, his brilliant technique and appealing ideas come through and one can understand why he was held in such high esteem by his contemporaries (if not why he avoided New York). If you go to All Music Guide you will find links to Lambert's albums and also those for Carmichael. This one just came out recently for Lambert on CD: Although it does not say it anywhere in the reprinted liner notes by the late Dick Wellstood or the outside of the CD, all of the music on Recorded 1959-1961 was previously released by the now-defunct Pumpkin label. The 14 selections from Pumpkin's LP Classics in Stride are here plus ten of the 15 from Harlem Stride Classics. Donald Lambert was one of the all-time great stride pianists, but living in New Jersey and reluctant to visit New York, he only made one record date, just four titles in 1940. Fortunately some of his live performances from the 1959-1961 period were recorded by fans, including the music on the two Pumpkin LPs and a collection put out by IAJRC. The piano may not be flawless and the recording is not of studio quality (though it has been greatly improved in this reissue), but Lambert's musical mastery definitely comes through well. One is grateful for the existence of his fans, who were wise enough to document the pianist. Lambert swings some classical pieces (including "Anitra's Dance" and Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata"), digs into swing standards, and revives numbers by James P. Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith, and Fats Waller, stomping away. Waller and to a lesser extent Art Tatum are influences, but Lambert mostly plays in his own dazzling fashion. It seems criminal that he was not extensively recorded, but at least there are these priceless performances and a few others to remind jazz listeners what a great talent there once was in Lambert. — Scott Yanow From AMG: Boogie Woogie, or "barrelhouse" is a blues-based piano style in which the right hand plays an accompaniment figure that resembles a strummed rhythm, such as is typically played on the guitar or banjo in rural blues dances. This could be expressed as a walking octave, an open-fifth pounded out with a blue third thrown in, or even a simple figure such as falling triad (as in the work of Jimmy Yancey); the approach varies to the pianist. The style probably evolved in the American Midwest alongside that of ragtime, to which it is closely related. The earliest description of the style occurs in print circa 1880. Elements of boogie-woogie can be found prior to 1910 in piano works by such disparate figures such as Blind Boone, Luckey Roberts and the classical composer Charles Ives. The earliest recorded examples of boogie woogie are found on piano rolls made in 1922 by Cow Cow Davenport, and by the end of the 1920s dozens of boogie woogie pianists had recorded ranging geographically from Texas to Chicago. Boogie-woogie practically disappeared from records during the depression. However, it returned with a vengeance in the late '30s, popularized by a smart Deane Kincaide arrangement for Tommy Dorsey’s band of the 1929 composition "Boogie Woogie" written by Clarence "Pine Top" Smith, a Chicago pianist who is also credited with coining the term. Boogie-woogie enjoyed its heyday in the early '40s, and as a result, one-time Chicago barrelhouse pianists such as Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson found themselves feted as celebrities in New York’s exclusive café society circles. After the Second World War interest in the style subsided, but elements of the sound were absorbed into the playing of early rock & roll artists such as Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. It also remains an important component to New Orleans pop music, as in the work of Professor Longhair and Dr. John. Among living pianists working in nightclubs and cocktail bars, it can be said that boogie-woogie has never truly lost its popularity even today. My suggestion is Meade Lux and Albert Ammons & Pete Johnson. For all of these styles you can try early Dick Hyman albums, especially "Stridemonster" and "Some Rags, Some Stomps & A Little Blues". (These are only on LP.) You might want to also listen to his "Kitten On The Keys" LP.

I had most of the Johnny Smith Roost albums on LP and even when new they were never any bargain when it came to good sound. When the Mosaic set came out I ordered immediately and can say for those of you in doubt about this set that it is great and the sound quality is a vast improvement on the original LPs. From AMG: Johnny Smith is an exquisite jazz guitarist known mostly to fellow musicians and serious jazz fans. This beautifully packaged and expertly annotated eight-CD limited-edition boxed set from Mosaic includes his complete small-group recordings for Roost, most of which have languished out of print for decades. Smith's unique voicings on his instrument set him apart from other players, yet he maintains a lush, crystal-clear tone no matter the tempo or setting. Smith draws from a wide range of sources within the 22 featured sessions, ranging from show tunes and standards ("My Funny Valentine," "Yesterdays," "'I'll Remember April," and "Body and Soul") to jazz compositions by Duke Ellington, George Shearing, John Lewis, and Bud Powell, along with a number of his superb originals, which have been unjustly overlooked. The best-known material comes from the three 1952 sessions which made up Moonlight in Vermont, featuring Smith with either Stan Getz or Zoot Sims, and a meeting with some of New York's busiest session musicians (Hank Jones, George Duvivier, and Ed Shaughnessey). Especially rewarding is the first of two solo efforts by Smith, which draws from the vast Jimmy Van Heusen songbook. The guitarist is never disappointing, even on the few dates which fall outside of jazz. Pick up this valuable boxed set right away before you have to resort to paying an exorbitant price through an auction.

Just got this and thought everyone should know about it. From AMG: What makes this album unique is not just that the play list consists of songs composed by jazz musicians — that's been done before. Here, the "usual suspects" — Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Billy Strayhorn, Hoagy Carmichael, and others — don't dominate the play list. Instead, there are tunes by Artie Shaw, Red Norvo, Joe Bushkin, Stuff Smith, and other musicians, some of whom are not especially renowned for the songs they wrote. (Moreover, the songs by Ellington, Strayhorn, and others are not necessarily the most familiar they have written. Strayhorn, for example, is represented by "Multicolored Blue," which is a 1958 rewrite of his 1947 song "Violet Blue." "Black Butterfly" is Ellington's contribution to the set. The common thread of the music on the disc is that it all comes from mainstream jazz. There's nothing by bop and impressionist jazz musicians like Benny Golson, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. Gerry Mulligan comes the closest to being a "modern" jazz performer. The musicians on this album come from a similar mold. Dick Sudhalter's trumpet and flugelhorn are borne of the Louis Armstrong tradition with strong Ruby Braff overtones. Roger Kellaway, who can play any jazz genre with anybody, anytime, sticks to the more traditional mode. The other players are similarly disposed to mainstream jazz. Long-time standards singer Barbara Lea lends her vocal artistry to pianist Charles La Vere's "It's All in Your Mind" and the less-known Hoagy Carmichael/Bix Beiderbecke track "Someday Soon." The other participants on the session also make important contributions, which enhance the album. Ed Saindon's vibes and Joe Cocuzzo's brushes complement Sudhalter on Joe Bushkin's "Oh, Look at Me Now," with Frank Vignola getting extended solo time on guitar. Sy Johnson's arrangements are important to the artistic success of the album, but it's Kellaway who is the star of the set. More often than not, his piano assigns the mood and tempo, and his duets with Sudhalter are gems of musical collaboration. Listen to them wind their way through Benny Carter's lovely and under-recorded "Only Trust Your Heart." They give a poignant, fervent reading to Ellington's "Black Butterfly." They manage to turn a piece of fluff like "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" into a toe-tapping call and response uptempo, fun-filled romp. There's not a bad cut on the album.

Yes, that's true. Hendricks did a great version of Louis' solo on Stardust. The album is "Freddie Freeloader", Denon 817576302.

Hello Tooter.........it appears we are both here at the same time. Nope........you just left.

The following Ruby's are in my collection. Some are only available on LP but they represent a long history of his work. RUBY BRAFF - GEORGE BARNES QUARTET LIVE AT THE NEW SCHOOL RUBY BRAFF & DICK HYMAN LIVE AT STRUGGLES (This is a live "bootleg") RUBY BRAFF & DICK HYMAN PLAY NICE TUNES RUBY BRAFF & ELLIS LARKINS: CALLING BERLIN VOL. 1 RUBY BRAFF & ELLIS LARKINS: CALLING BERLIN VOL. 2 RUBY BRAFF & ELLIS LARKINS: TWO BY TWO RUBY BRAFF & ROGER KELLAWAY: INSIDE AND OUT RUBY BRAFF & WOODY HERMAN: IT HAD TO BE US RUBY BRAFF AND HIS MEN: EASY NOW RUBY BRAFF AND HIS NEW ENGLAND SONGHOUNDS RUBY BRAFF AND HIS NEW ENGLAND SONGHOUNDS-VOL. 2 RUBY BRAFF AND SCOTT HAMILTON: A FIRST RUBY BRAFF OCTET & BOBBY HENDERSON AT NEWPORT RUBY BRAFF/DICK HYMAN: A PIPE ORGAN RECITAL PLUS ONE RUBY BRAFF/DICK HYMAN: MUSIC FROM MY FAIR LADY RUBY BRAFF/DICK HYMAN: MUSIC FROM SOUTH PACIFIC RUBY BRAFF/ELLIS LARKINS: THE GRAND REUNION RUBY BRAFF/GEORGE BARNES: TO FRED ASTAIRE WITH LOVE RUBY BRAFF/RED NORVO-SWING THAT MUSIC RUBY BRAFF/SCOTT HAMILTON: SAILBOAT IN THE MOONLIGHT RUBY BRAFF: BEING WITH YOU RUBY BRAFF: BRAVURA ELOQUENCE RUBY BRAFF: CONTROLLED NONCHALANCE AT THE REGATTABAR VOL. 1 RUBY BRAFF: CORNET CHOP SUEY RUBY BRAFF: EACH DAY IS VALENTINE'S DAY RUBY BRAFF: HEAR ME TALKIN' RUBY BRAFF: LINGER WHILE RUBY BRAFF: LIVE AT THE REGATTABAR RUBY BRAFF: ME, MYSELF AND I RUBY BRAFF: MR. BRAFF TO YOU RUBY BRAFF: MUSIC FOR THE STILL OF THE NIGHT RUBY BRAFF: ON SUNNIE'S SIDE OF THE STREET RUBY BRAFF: THE BEST OF BRAFF RUBY BRAFF: THE MIGHTY BRAFF RUBY BRAFF: VERY SINATRA RUBY BRAFF\GEORGE BARNES QUARTET PLAYS GERSHWIN RUBY BRAFF\GEORGE BARNES QUARTET SALUTES RODGERS & HART RUBY BRAFF-BRAFF!: RUBY BRAFF ALL STARS RUBY BRAFF-BUDDY TATE WITH THE NEWPORT ALL STARS RUBY BRAFF-HUSTLIN' AND BUSTLIN' RUBY BRAFF-THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY

After checking out this part of the forum I was surprised to find no thread for Zoot Sims. I thought I would start off by entering this picture of Zoot which for the most part, except on my site, is still unpublished. It was taken at the late "Struggles" jazz club in New Jersey just a few months before Zoot's passing. Enjoy it. How about a list of Zoot's lesser known albums and a description of the album, label and if you have it, a picture of the cover. (No Pablos) Also, how about trading some of those lesser known albums?

I'm looking for the following albums and/or CDs. I am willing to either (1) pay a reasonable amount, (2) trade for a copy, either on CD (preferred) or tape. I have a vast collection of jazz, bossa, salsa, vocal on CD and can burn a copy for you if you can do the same for anything I am looking for. I can transmit my list via excel. Johnny Hartman-Import - Savoy COCY 75621 Isreal "Cacho" Lopez-Descargas Cubanoas-TH Rodven 12022/TH116 Saxomania-Sax Connections-IDA 038 Pinky Winters & Lou Levy '"Happy Madness" Verve-Gitanes 1256 Bing Crosby-The Collection-Castle 275. Has "She's Funny That Way". Dale Brunning & Michael Moore "Conference Call" Jazz Live Enterprises 44022 Tete Montoliu-Last Concert In Tarrasa-Discmedi " " -Orch. Talleu De Musica 1988-Justine Don Pullen Plays Ellington-Paddlewheel Barney Wilen-may be under name of Marie Moor-Aigre Douce Alfa Global ALCR 282 Clifford Coulter-Do It Now: Worry About It Later-Impulse 9216 LP Georgie Fame-The Blues & Me-GoJazz 6005 Dick Hyman-Satchmo Remembered-Atlantic 1671 LP Carmen McRae-Sammy Davis-Two LPs on Decca. Bucky Pizzarelli Green Guitar Blues/Café Pierre-CD Hanna Richardson with the Phil Flanagan Sextet-“Something to Remember You By”. LA 5601 Mary Osborne-“Now’s The Time” – Halycon HAL 115 Annie Ross-You & Me Baby-SKL5099 Terry Smith-Fallout, Phillips UK SBL 7871 LP

Hello Tooter: I found you. Keep up the good work.

Thank you one and all for your responses.

I'm still confused about the difference. If a wav. file of the same song is sometimes as much as 4 times the size of the same song as an MP3 doesn't it contain more information? If it does contain more information then wouldn't I be safer in burning the WAV. version rather than the MP3 version? When I was downloading a great deal of albums from e-music (before they changed over to a download limit) they would come in as an mp3 file. Often, after burning the file to a CD there was all kinds of little annoying noises. Subsequently upon a suggestion from another e-music user, I converted each file from mp3 to a wav. file and never had a similar problem occur. By the way, for those of you not familiar with e-music, they have loads of old Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, Fantasy complete albums available for download. Now, however, downloads are limited for the monthly fee to 60 tracks, which could be ten albums. Still, $14.99 (I think) a month is a bargain for ten such albums, many of which are long out of print, especially the Jimmy Raney Xanadu albums which are all there.

I have a near mint copy of Drop Me Off In Harlem LP. Interested in the LP? Trade? No money.

Friends of the great baritone player Ronnie Ross, from both sides of the ocean, have gotten together and made a web site for Ronnie Ross. You can access it by going to Ronnie Ross Homepage. We are very interested in obtaining additional pictures, album covers and discographical information (there's already a treasury of info posted). Details on who to contact on both sides of the ocean are on the site.