jazzbo

There were three cds from Decca/GRP that are wonderful and now out of print; these reissue perhaps the most important tunes (perhaps not, everyone's "important" can be different) ---worth seeking out, these were well produced releases in great sound. Also there is (was?) a Johnny Dodds cd on Decca/GRP which included some great Armstrong (double Armstrong actually, Lil was around as well) and is worth seeking out. I confess that I bought the Definitive discs were released years ago just to have as much as I could under one roof. Much of it may not be "essential" unless one happens to be an Armstrong NUT. (I am . . . in several senses). Don't overlook the "Autobiography" two cd set out on Verve---that IS essential.

Augustin mentioned this release on another thread, and mine arrived from Cadence last night and was eagerly listened to once through. I can heartily recommend this to Ray Nance fans who don't mind a bit of sonic roughness. The disc opens with an excellent Ray Nance feature with the Horace Henderson Orchestra, good in all ways, for the great Nance performance, for the band performance, and for the arrangement. Then follows seven fascinating tracks with an Ellingtonian small group. . . Webster, Guy, Blanton (not on all numbers), Greer . . . . Sound is not GREAT, but not really bad for privately recorded sessions of this nature. Webster appears on both tenor AND clarinet, and is clearly in great form. Everyone is having fun. Relaxed. . . . This is the pearl of the necklace in many ways. . . though there are other highligts a plenty on this disc. Two Earl Hines Orchestra (a very small one!) are included that can also be found on the Earl Hines Delmark cd of material with Ellingtonian sidemen (and vocalist Betty Roche, no sideman she!) Two very atmospheric Eddie Heywood Orchestra selections follow, in great sound. The disc continues with three very relaxed quintet selections on Esquire Records recorded in London with Dick Katz at the piano. Nance is definitely the focal point here! Relaxation continues to be the key with five selections by Ivory Joe Hunter as the bandleader; Ray really shines on these on violin, perfectly complementing the pieces and moods. The disc closes with a track from Babs Gonzales that had appeared on the Blue Note cd (now out of Print) and continues the relaxation in a Babs-orific way. . . . This is a great addition to the scanty number of discs that feature Ray Nance as "leader". . . . Ray was one of a kind, and I'll continue to hope that more of his work is reissued!

Marc, finally was able to get the Ed Motta dvd. You're right, FANTASTIC!

J. C. Moses

I believe it is. Also there is a link for a page called "Extra Raw" on a google search that won't open for me, but the breif summary page mentions "Eleventh House keyoard musician, the blind Mike Mandel". . . .

Neil Peart

Looks like it according to this page: http://www.ski.org/Rehab/DBGilden/JWilliams/acknow.html Yes, those old synths. . . have been enjoying the 90 minute or so "Making of Poptical" section of Ed Motta's dvd where they are in the studio recording "Poptical" and one of the three keyboardist is playing/programming an onld analog synth and it all looks so fun! They get some great keyboard sounds on that ablbum!

There are so many great jazz drummers that it's not surprising that in a "Favorites" thread hundreds and hundreds don't eventually get mentioned. Frank Butler contributed strongly to many great sessions! I love a lot of the prebop drummers . . . Baby Dodds. Wow. George Wettling, a Dodds fanatic himself. Zutty Singleton. Sonny Greer--very unique, Sonny. As the lovely Elis says, Jo Jones. . . swung as hard as anyone ever (and was the Mayor of TasteTown). Dave Tough. Gene Krupa. Kaiser Marshall. So many!

Okay Guy, I'll try not to respond to their baiting! Maybe my Nance cd will be waiting for me at home tonight. . . .

Just don't get me started guys. . . I really dislike the whole RatPack concept of cool, musically and extramusically.

Yeah, and I just don't like his work. It's me. I do think that his personality---especially if you watch him live often---intrudes into the work in a different manner than a lot of the instrumentalists you mention; their personalities don't seem as pronounced in the music as Sinatra's does to me. He SOUNDS like the kind of asshole I hate to be around. And so I don't hang with Frankie. . . . I can recognize his importance, though I think others (Pops, Bessie, Billie) may ultimately be more important for American pop and jazz music. But I just don't like him.

"The Job" eh? Now THAT was a good show!

What he said!

Yes, "Piano Portraits" and "I Love a Piano" . . . good stuff indeed.

My guess is that Reiner's source is Michael Cuscuna himself, he's been close to him lately!

Wow, this is wonderful music, and this is going to be a bullseye Select!

AND MANY MORE!

Bought myself an early birthday present. . . . Muddy Waters Hoochie Coochie Man: Complete Chess Masters, Volume 2 1952-1958

Looks great! Nothing like Sims in quartet when he is ON and in great company!

though I didn't buy this two in one packaging, bought the two separate cds (great thick booklets)

Yes Patricia, that's a FINE lp!

Yep, and if I walked and walked there was a store that sold "cut outs' (the top half of the cover was cut off) of older issues for five cents each!

I so wish they had done a Ditko Gobby in Spiderman 1!

Ditko still trips me out. I think he took an Eisner influence (just my guess) and really found a personal style. . . .

Orion was cool. I scratched my head at a lot of those Kirby DCs when they came out, but Orion was cool!