Mark Stryker

Can anyone provide a definitive recording date (year) for the "Donald Byrd with Strings" album that was recorded in the '50s but not released until the early '80s on Discovery. I've seen at least one discography list it as 1959 but other usually reliable references that have it as 1957. I don't own it but have heard it before -- beautiful album -- but not recently, when I've been listening to so much Byrd I think I could might be able to tell which year by the sound of his trumpet. Thanks in advance.

Thanks ...

"Gospel" is a slippery category. In relation to "A New Perspective" the issue is not whether the singers were either a standing church choir or an adhoc ensemble from the Manhattan School but whether the idiom in which they were singing qualifies as "gospel." Frankly, I'm not sure. We have an unbelievably great African American choir in Detroit -- the Brazeal Dennard Chorale -- that specializes in spirituals but also performs standard classical literature and they go nuts when they are called a gospel choir, because they associate the term with a more sanctified style, more vernacular, accompanied by electric organ/rhythm section etc. There is a formal, refined sound to the choir on the record -- the spirituals are there but its not sanctified as I would understand it. Can anybody offer of precise definition of "gospel" or what's the best way to refer to the choral part of "A New Perspective." Calling Allen Lowe, perhaps?

Don't see it listed here, but if you have and would be willing to part with Thad & Mel set, I'd consider strongly at a fair price ...

Thanks, Larry. Interesting -- I don't know this record at all! From the same year as "A New Perspective." My sense is that perhaps no one had literally married a gospel choir with modern jazz until Byrd did it, but that related ideas and concepts were undoubtedly in the air.

Re: Byrd's "A New Perspective" What are the precursors to the marriage of modern jazz and gospel choir on this record? Anybody do something like this previously?

Don't have the book yet but am curious why Byrd left the Jazz Lab. Can someone provide a brief summary? Thanks

Who doesn't love a Great Find story involving records?. Here's a doozy from a Pittsburgh record store involving 78s by Robert Johnson and a name that was new to me, Bogus Ben Covington http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/art-architecture/rare-lp-spins-into-trade-for-drawing-by-noted-artist-677032/

There's a transcription here: Not all the rhythms are accurate but it's pretty close. http://zimk.blogspot.pt/2013/01/darn-that-solo.html

Fass -- to be clear, I think Tom comes out of a lot of trumpeters, but there's a purity of melody here that I particularly associate with Chet. I also wouldn't say that solo could have been played by a lot of those older trumpeters -- not literally. The great thing about is the distinctivenss of Tom's own voice, absolutely contemporary but clearly rooted. Speaking of others though, the little double-time grace-note figure at the start of the final bridge is a warm wink at Clifford Brown.

Hmm, thanks. Very weird. I just replaced my links and now they do appear to work, at least for me. But they're still just showing up as URLs and not as embedded videos. Anybody know why?

I've been sharing this with a few folks, so I thought I would post. This Harrell solo on “Darn That Dream" is one of the more remarkable things I’ve heard in a long time. The pure melodic content, natural lyric flow and uncliched but accurate way he winds through the changes here is just off the charts. You can really hear the influence of Chet Baker taken to an incredibly high plane of invention. Also entertaining to watch Wayne Escoffery's facial expressions as he listens to the solo unfold. Which Chet did Tom pick up on? This one I think, especially the first two A sections of his solo after the head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_myoWFa4Mz4

Very interesting review, saw Dexter "live" around the same time, maybe a little later. the first time I saw him he opened his set with "It´s You Or No One", which he announced as "a CBS plagiat". Then followed "Fried Bananas" (Dexter: All about something very good to eat), the inevitable More Than You Know (I think he played it all the times I saw him), and the fast Blues "Backstages" with a long solo by Eddie Gladden. Later, in 1981 he was still very strong, played a fanstastic "Gingerbread Boy" and a long "Body and Soul", which was an encore I think. The last time I saw him in 1983, and I think he had slowed down a bit. Started with "Secret Love", then "Good Bait" at a somewhat slow tempo, More than you know (as always), and "Jelly Jelly Jelly" about the same way he does it on "Swiss Nites", but anyway, on that last occasion he didn´t play as much, it took almost 10 minutes until he came on stage, after his rhythm section had played 3 tunes, which I don´t remember since I was waiting for the chief....., I´m waitin for the book his widow is workin on, will be great to read it.... Nice memories. Thinking back, I do remember hearing him play an epic "Body and Soul" when Kirk Lightsey was on piano. He really made that into the centerpiece of a set, using Coltrane's arrangement (vamp on the A sections; "Giant Steps:" substitutions on the bridge) and playing not only the melody but then playing two or three choruses of improvisation. And speaking of "Good Bait," when I heard Dexter at the Jazz Showcase once in college I wanted to get his autograph and the only paper I had was a folder of music, so I grabbed the lead sheet I had copied out of "Good Bait" and he signed that!

Well said, Steve. Mike, never meant to criticize if I came off that way. I should have made the leap to what you probably meant. No doubt your impeccable English much better than my nonexistent German

Confused a little by your response: "Undermine" means "contradict" and if those are the recording dates then they actually support the proposition that Belgrave could have introduced the tune to Ray's band, Also, entirely possible that Marcus learned ths song from live performances or personal contact rather than the recording. Finally, just because the recording credits the tune to Charles doesn't mean that Ray necessarily was trying to "steal" it (though it might). But also possible that producer or others either made a mistake or were tyring to avoid royalties or whatever ... sometimes life is complicated.

I can tell you that Marcus Belgrave has told me that he was responsible for bringing "Blue Waltz" into the Ray Charles book because he knew it from performances/recording by Max's group. Whatever the origins of the tune, Ray didn't write it.

FWIW, here's that Bill Evans moment. Comes at the 23 minute mark ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6UYIxLmfW8&playnext=1&list=PL97C417AA8C698437&feature=results_main

I discovered Dexter right around the same time, and in a similar setting, but not live. It was "Jazz At The Maintenance Shop" (Iowa State U.), which I saw on PBS tv. As I was wont to do back then in such situations, I grabbed my parents' portable audio cassette recorder, and taped most of the show using an external mic. I still remember when my dad came home that evening, and the sound of him opening the garage door and pulling the car in became part of the recording I would be listening to for years. I remember that series. In addition to Dexter, there are shows with Bill Evans, Woody Shaw and Phil Woods. Very rare to see serious jazz on TV in those days and no VCRs -- talk about appointment TV! There are clips on YouTube. I remember at one point in the Bill Evans show between tunes he's complaining about the on-stage sound and says scarastically something like, "I'm sure glad we did a sound check." It's the first time I can remember being cognizant of a certain strand of dry/dark humor from a musician.

Dexter was the first great jazz musician I ever saw live. Fall 1977, Indiana University Memorial Union in Bloomington, Ind. George Cables, Rufus Reid, Eddie Gladden. I was 14 and already into jazz, but it still changed my life. The authority, sound and stage presence were just overwhelming to a kid who could play the heads to "Yardbird Suite," and "Billie's Bounce" and was just connecting the dots with ii V I harmony and the like. I remember part of the set list. "Gingerbread Boy," "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" (with Dexter reciting the first 8 bars of the lyric), a fast blues to close and something else in between. They did a second set and I think "It's Your or No One" was part of that and, if memory is not playing tricks, Dexter played something on soprano. Saw Dexter several more times, but that was the best. Of course, he always phrased behind the beat, but maybe 5 years later I heard him in Chicago and I remember the way he played "Moment's Notice" was so far on the backside that it sounded like the rhythm section had lapped him! Faves: "Go," "A Swingin' Affair," "Our Man in Paris," "The Panther," "Generation," "The Apartment," "Bouncin' with Dex," "Swiss Nights Vol 1" -- I can't tell you how much I listened to those records when I was young. Lot of lessons in Dexter's playing -- melody, warmth, importance of sound. You know, there's a reason why, say, Kurt Elling has based a number of vocalise pieces on Dexter solos -- the phrasing is so songful.

Posted this info in the other thread running on this topic: BN folks say no plans to release on CD. Download will be available as a stream indefinitely.

BN folks told me it's not on docket for release at this time but will be available as a stream indefinitely. Pace Jim, definitely edgier than the LPs released at the time. This may not make a difference for some -- I'm not sure it does for me either, as I haven't made up my mind about a lot of this music. But I listened once yesterday and found it illuminating in the way that it gives a fuller picture of what Byrd was up to. FWIW, making it available as a stream was Don Was' idea.

And the new Wayne Shorter so going there too. Actually, given the state of the record business in 2013 perhaps this is appropriate: "I don't know where jazz is going. Maybe it's going to hell. You can't make anything go anywhere. It just happens." -- Thelonious Monk

http://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/donald-byrd-live-at-montreux-july-5-1973 Blue Note is streaming (for free) the July 1973 Montreux recording.

Thanks for that -- appreciate it.

Does anyone know if the four moody ballads Miles recorded on July 9, 1955, for Debut -- "Alone Together," "Nature Boy," "There's No You" and "Easy Living" -- were originally issued as a 10" or 12" LP? I assume it would not have been an EP at that point, but the timing is very short at some 27 minutes. Here are other details: Miles Davis Quintet Miles Davis (trumpet) Britt Woodman (trombone) Teddy Charles (vibraphone) Charles Mingus (bass) Elvin Jones (drums) Audio-Video Studios, NYC, July 9, 1955 Nature Boy Debut DEB 120, (D) DEP 27, 12DCD 4402-2 Alone Together - There's No You Debut DEB 120, (D) DEP 28, 12DCD 4402-2 Easy Living - * Debut DEB 120; Fantasy LP 6001, LP 86001; Original Jazz Classics OJC 043, OJCCD 043-2; America (F) 30 AM 6051 Miles Davis - Blue Moods = Disques Swing (F) LDM 30035 Miles Davis = Prestige PR 24022 Miles Davis - Collector's Items * Debut 12DCD 4402-2 Charles Mingus - The Complete Debut Recordings * Debut (D) DEP 27 Miles Davis - Blue Moods, Vol. 1 * Debut (D) DEP 28 Miles Davis - Blue Moods, Vol. 2