sidewinder

Even by ‘Rare as Hens Teeth’ standards, that one must be off the scale !

Yep, I would have liked to see more of some of those rare bits of film at the club. Dizzy in 1975 with what looked like a UK Big Band plus his usual rhythm section of the time doing ‘Manteca’?... Awesome ! That said, I thought it was a great documentary and told the story of both the club and of Ronnie and Pete King themselves as individuals, very nicely. The Ella at Ronnies from 1974 shown afterwards was priceless too. Joe Pass !

That statement can be debated ad infinitum and I don’t think any of us who weren’t there first hand and exposed to the horrors - either in Germany or elsewhere on this Continent - can make judgement. Sadly, Dresden’s strategic location as a border rail marshalling area and pressure from the Russians to support their advance probably sealed its fate. As I said in my original comment, a very good book which provides a balanced, unbiased account and can be recommended.

I have several of the Ralph Steadmans that are on there. The Mose Allison ‘Back Country Suite’, the Gil Evans and the ‘Informal Jazz’. Real period pieces ! Dig that 16rpm Prestige Jai and Kai with the Warhol cover that Stefano was showing during his talk.

Seconded !

Shame that there wasn’t more about/from co-founder Peter Newbrook in addition to Carlo. Newbrook did some interviews as part of that ‘Oral History of British Jazz’ project lodged with the British Library and it is a shame that at least a transcript wasn’t included on the site. Otherwise, they did a very fine job ! I’ve heard several people mention bumping into Carlo on Tottenham Court Road carrying bundles of his latest pressings. No doubt on his way to Dobells etc.

This is cool - part of this year’s LJF. Nice site dedicated to Esquire Records. https://esquirecover.club/ Nice to hear the recollections of Val Wilmer and Ron Atkins in particular. Also big to Stefano Wagner in Switzerland for sharing some of his fantastic Esquire and Prestige LP sleeve collection and for the enthusiasm !

Well up to the standard of the ‘old’ Blue Note.

More jazz on BBC4 this weekend, at the start of the LJF season (virtual edition). Highlights tonight - excellent documentary about Ella plus a 1965 BBC recording with the Johnnie Spence Orchestra (including Tubby Hayes) and the Tommy Flanagan Trio. Really excellent stuff. Followed by a repeat of ‘Jazz Divas Gold’. Sunday night has an initial broadcast of the new Ronnie Scott documentary. Equally unmissable.

Thanks for the heads up on that one. Crikey - good to see that Trio 3 are still going strong. Nearly 25 years since I saw them !

That’s the one that was based on Vonnegut’s first hand experience of being bombed in Dresden as a POW/slave worker billeted in a slaughterhouse shed, I believe.

The only time I saw Kessel in performance at a club the seating I had was on a sofa right in front of Barney. Intimate and wonderful ! By coincidence this afternoon my local shop had a 2nd hand copy of that big paperback biography of him that is largely a discography. The sheer size of it discouraged me from purchase.

Nope ! The availability of that beer North of the border was probably limited to Alberta/BC. Never saw it out East. I remember people stocking up on it at Wal-Mart at discount when they crossed the border into Montana or Idaho, filling their trunks. Some of the local Canadian brews were better though e.g. Rickard’s Red.

Wes Montgomery’s first 2 A&M sessions on BGO CD. Needed to replace my cassette version of the ‘California Nights’ early 70s bachelor pad issue. My local outlet now goes into lockdown again..

That brings back memories. Used to buy 6 packs of that stuff, imported North of the border. Better than the usual dishwater of that era..

The Berendt ‘Jazzbook’ in the English paperback was one of the first books on jazz I ever read. Still have it. Unlike Rex Harris’s abomination, it actually covered modern jazz very well.

CD1 - sonically excellent.

Damn good !

Huge kudos to Resonance - they are shipping out a replacement disk 1 to me. Excellent customer support.

Not the greatest sound on that Tubby reissue though. The original Fontana and recent Universal reissue are better.

Talking of Halloween, this is an interesting one, which I enjoyed hearing again. Audio recreation of an imaginary 60s TV play which was wiped. Fortunately, they were able to find and use the BBC Radiophonic sound effects. Scared the bejeezus of half the population back in the day ! The Road

That Surman/Warren is brilliant !