Mark Stryker

Mike -- thanks much for this. Appreciate it.

More: Entry for Buddy Collette in first edition of "Encyclopedia of Jazz" says he played with Gerald Wilson 1949-50. Supports the later date -- though this book is by no means infallible, but it was the players themselves I believe who filled out questionnaires with career detaiks for inclusion.

Thanks. Lord has this entire session and those four sides as 1947. I tried digging into the matrix numbers via online discographies and ended up with no good info but a pretty reasonable headache. Hmm, thinking more about this: Wilson rather famously shut down his first band in 1947 because he wanted to study more. A 1949 recording date doesn't make sense in the context of that timeline -- yet it does make sense viz other factors like the Afro-Cuban angle. Speaking of headaches ...

Can everybody tell I'm writing about Gerald Wilson at the moment? Today's mystery has to do with the Afro-Cuban piece called "Guarachi-Guaro." Tom Lord's discography says Wilson's band recorded this in 1947 on Excelsior 542 with the title spelled "Guarchi" (Parts 1 and 2). However, in the Chronological Classics series devoted to Wilson, the CD1946-54 shows this having been recorded in 1949 -- I'm going by the back cover, which I can see online. I don't have the CD itself to see if there's more specific discography notes insides. So, which is correct? And who wrote the song itself? More fodder: Dizzy Gillespie famously recorded the same arrangement for Victor in December 1948 and had been playing it since the fall of that year. It's always spoken of as a chart that that Wilson wrote for Dizzy. The label credits Dizzy with the composition and Gerald with the arrangement. Is the melody Dizzy's or is it a traditional song that was "adapted." Or is it Gerald's. The dates matter. If indeed Wilson wrote the chart in 1947, then that's REALLY early Afro-Cuban jazz --contemporary with even preceding the recordings of "Manteca" and "Cubana be/Cubano bop," which were done in December 1947. One more intriguing note: Wilson's recording includes both flute and oboe. Who in the band would have been playing those woodwinds in that era? The great Bill Green -- a pioneering black studio musician played both instruments and he worked a lot with Wilson later (he's on Big Band Modern in 1954 and appears in the later bands on Pacific Jazz). But Green is not listed in discographies that I've seen as playing with Wilson in the '40s. Thanks as always for the research assistance or informed speculation. .

Thanks. I actually checked with the Basie organization and the current music director Scotty Barnhart says he didn't know of the suite and as far as he know it's not in the band's library. Next step is the Wilson family. I'm intrigued ... Re: "Out of this World." There is a vocal version captured in air checks from the Jubilee radio program in April 1946 with Herb Jeffries. I have it on this CD. Worth the investment. https://www.amazon.com/Jubilee-1946-1947-Gerald-Wilson-Orchestra/dp/B00KB49KSI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494542886&sr=8-1&keywords=gerald+wilson+and+jubilee

Getting warmer: Found a reference in the Pittsburgh Courier of May 8, 1948. Columnist Billy Rowe's writes: "The critics reserved some fine words for Count Basie's 'Royal Suite,' which he put to instruments for the first time during his recent Carnegie concert." Unfortunately, the columnist gives no indication what exactly the critics said ,,. Still, nice to confirm that the concert actually happened.

Thanks -- I had seen the Smithsonian interview. I've also seen short news stories in Billboard and other places that reference an upcoming Basie concert at Carnegie in April and the "Royal Suite" but have found no review after the fact yet. https://books.google.com/books?id=mWZjiRBQJBkC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=count+basie+and+royal+suite+and+carnegie+hall&source=bl&ots=dGy3hEqnN8&sig=8FCY6iObtAl1rILLiBDPooMvr2k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX0LD6j-jTAhWqsVQKHT41BnkQ6AEIIzAA#v=onepage&q=count%20basie%20and%20royal%20suite%20and%20carnegie%20hall&f=false

Here's another question for the group: Does anyone know if a Gerald Wilson work for Count Basie, "The Royal Suite," which apparently was premiered at Carnegie Hall in April 1948, was ever recorded in full or in part under that title or something else? Wilson spoke about it frequently, but never in much detail and information is scarce and it's unclear the size, scope and character of the music. I've seen references to it being as few as three movements and as many as seven.

Anybody know any details about the pianist named Vivian Fears? She played and recorded with Gerald Wilson in the mid '40s and also appears to have cut a few tunes in 1964 as a vocalist issued on a Crown LP that's otherwise includes what appears to be bootleg Billie Holiday Decca material. Fears appears to have also recorded as Vivian Glasby in the mid '40s with Fletcher Henderson. Wilson seems to have found her in Chicago when she was working with Henderson. I came across an ad in a Los Angeles area newspaper in 1969 in which she's billed as Vivian Fears, the "female Nat Cole." Not crucial to me, but my curiosity is piqued.

FWIW -- Jimmy Bunn was a key member of Gerald Wilson's first big band and is on the remarkable sides the band recorded for several labels between 1945-47, among them "Groovin' High," recorded in 1945 -- the first big band chart on the song -- months after Gillespie after introduced it on record.

Speaking of not mistaking niceness for weakness, Basie's time is incredibly strong in the opening sequence of "Whirlybird" that started this thread. I mean, everything he plays whether he's moving "slow" or "fast," perfectly clarifies where the beat is and what the tempo is. The time of the entire band is emanating from the piano bench. Smile, Count. You're on Candid Camera 50 years later and you're killin' it.

Have not heard this material but would like to. The first three musical tracks -- "Fried Bananas," "Strollin'" and "You've Changed" -- appear to be those from the October 25, 1976 gig at the Village Gate that was available at one point on a Spanish bootleg CD. Anyone know the source of the rest of the material? Would think it's probably from the either that same night or another night during the run at the Village Gate.

Coda 1: That big picture over Parran's shoulder in which you see a large owl-like demon is almost assuredly an oil on paper by Bob Thompson,a major figurative expressionist painter, very much jazz influenced, who died an overdose of heroin in 1966, about a month shy of his 29th birthday, He's the inspiration behind Archie Shepp's "Portrait of Robert Thompson (as a young man)." Coda 2: JD Allen is from Detroit.

Depends. Corn isn't typically ready until mid July and after.

I have no idea about Lovano's recording status, but the group he calls his Classic Quartet just completed a long tour both in the states and abroad, and he'll be co-leading a quintet with Chucho Valdes that will be touring later this year, including a stop at the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Nothing really that odd. This was originally produced for a BBC radio program honoring the 40th anniversary of Coltrane's death. Though they are listed as co-leaders, Liebman was the point person on the original performance not Lovano, and I assume Dave probably negotiated the right to issue the recording on his own if he could find a label. Fast forward nearly a decade. Liebman either never found someone interested or perhaps never got around to it since he's always doing a zillion things at once. When Zev Feldman at Resonance learned about the recording, he and Liebman started talking and, well, here we are. Coda: The Saxophone Summit was/is a rewarding group both live and on record. What I like is the way the group really becomes a different quartet with each saxophonist.

If you owned a record store, you would be like Jack Black in this scene (as would I).

Great stuff. https://ethaniverson.com/david-sanborn-on-phillip-wilson/

Hell, yes. Rename the bridge for Sonny. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/a-quest-to-rename-the-williamsburg-bridge-for-sonny-rollins

Funny story that. In the early '80s when I was in school in Urbana, some friends of mine drive up to see Lockjaw at the Jazz Showcase. They talked to him and asked about his set-up. I don't rember the specific now but it was a super- open Metal Otto Link mouthpiece and a ridiculously hard reed. (The rule of thumb is generally the more open the mouthpiece, the softer the reed.) I do rember that Jaws explained why he played that combination by saying, "I got a bite!" -- meaning he gripped the mouthpiece with a lot pressure in his embouchure-- biting down on the mouthpiece). I love Lockjaw.

Anybody know anything about the September label (September Records?). This fantastic Barry Harris records appears to be on the label. I'm listening via Spotify, but I've never actually seen it or heard of the label. I'm assuming it's a European label since this was recorded in Holland, yes? Solo : Barry Harris (p) Monster, Holland, July 29, 1990 Hallucinations September (G)CD5111 [CD] I know that you know - That secret place - My heart stood still - I should care - So far, so good - Monk's mood - Ruby my dear - Blue Monk - How high the moon - A tribute to the Duke - Just as though you were here - Don't blame me - I'm old fashioned - Cherokee

I wrote a piece for the Detroit Free Press about "Stardust"(nee "Star Dust") in 2002, when the song turned 75. Doug Ramsey reprinted it a few years back on his blog with permission. I included a list of 10 notable or curious versions at the end. http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2011/12/correspondence-on-hoagy.html

Blythe's debut on record: Horace Tapscott's "The Giant is Awakened." April 1969, a month shy of his 29th birthday The Giant Is Awakened : The Horace Tapscott Quintet : Arthur Blythe (as) Horace Tapscott (p) David Bryant, Walter Savage, Jr. (b) Everett Brown, Jr. (d) Los Angeles, April 1, 1969 The giant is awakened Flying Dutchman FDS-10107, Novus 3107-2-N [CD] For Fats - - The dark tree (*) - - Niger's theme - - Note: Novus 3107-2-N [CD] titled "West Coast Hot"; rest of CD by John Carter, January 3, 1969. (*) This title also on RCA 2-1984. (*) This title also on RCA APL2-1984 titled "Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz in the '70's"; rest of LP by others. All above titles also on Novus (Eu)ND83107 [CD] titled "West Coast Hot"; rest of CD by John Carter, January 3, 1969

Obituary: http://wbgo.org/post/arthur-blythe-powerful-alto-saxophonist-who-gracefully-straddled-styles-dies-76#stream/0

Footnote: Columbia released "Illusions" and "Miss Nancy" as a single in 1980. If that's not surprising enough, "Illusions" was the "A" side. http://www.45cat.com/record/ae71227