Who's Who in Jazz (and other cheapo labels)

[RDK]

In a case of record label snobbery, I tend to stay away from many of the discount/budget/Euro bootleg labels - but dammit there's often some good stuff to be found there.

Looking through my stacks of CDs last weekend, I came across this, purchased some time ago for a mere $.79, possibly listened to once (and probably not very seriously at that), and then thrown into the "slush pile."

Actually, the copy that I have has a black and white cover and was released by Aurophon, but it's the same session, recorded in 1977 in NYC (so it's not some Euro broadcast bootleg). This and other Who's Who in Jazz sessions tend to pop up all over the place, on all sorts of budget labels. But my question is why? These aren't boots, are they? Who produced these things and why the questionable pedigree? There's some good stuff to be found here, so who "owns" them?

[mjzee]

I don't have the inside scoop, but as a shopper, what I surmise is that this series was on a label (probably partially) owned by Lionel Hampton. These sessions were all recorded digitally about the same one-month span in 1977, probably to honor Hampton's xx-anniversary in jazz (40th? 50th?). Most of the featured artists had some historical association with him, and he plays on every date. What I've heard from this series has been wonderful music, well-recorded with great arrangements. The Dex is fun (he plays soprano on some tracks), we get to hear Mingus's last date where he played bass, and there are others I've been itching to hear (the Mulligan, the Teddy Wilson).

On the old BNBB, I floated an idea that a Mosaic be done from these sessions. The problem, as you've surmised, is that this material has been licensed to everyone, so there's probably no money to be made from it. Still, can you imagine if there are unreleased tracks?

[Dan Gould]

I don't have the inside scoop, but as a shopper, what I surmise is that this series was on a label (probably partially) owned by Lionel Hampton. These sessions were all recorded digitally about the same one-month span in 1977, probably to honor Hampton's xx-anniversary in jazz (40th? 50th?). Most of the featured artists had some historical association with him, and he plays on every date.

I have a Who's Who label of the Johnny Griffin Quartet, Take My Hand, and Hamp is nowhere to be seen.

[Dan Gould]

Yeah, I think there's a Stitt with Lockjaw and Sweets backed by Eddie Higgins. The club was Bubba's, and Eddie led the house trio for a time.

[brownie]

More on that Who's Who label

http://www.cybermusicsurplus.com/fea_label_wwj.asp

Most of the vinyl albums were released in France by Philips in the late '70s.

Edited February 5, 2005 by brownie

[Stereojack]

These sessions were all recorded digitally about the same one-month span in 1977, probably to honor Hampton's xx-anniversary in jazz (40th?  50th?).  Most of the featured artists had some historical association with him, and he plays on every date. 

Although the original LP's were cheesily packaged, several of them contained marvelous music, especially the Dexter and Mingus dates. All of the records claim to have been recorded in 1977, which I have no reason to doubt, except for the Coleman Hawkins - Hawk died in 1969!

[mjzee]

I don't recall the Hawkins. The original distribution was spotty (it wasn't a major label, and I don't think they even had a major indie distributor). There were alternate takes - the Mingus CDs have a track that wasn't on the original LP.

The same label or owner or whatever later came out with other titles, like the Live at Bubba's that David Gitin and Dan Gould referred to.

I have an 8-disk box set on the Pulse (Castle Music) label called "Black & White Box of Jazz" (no relation to the Black & White label) that has a lot of this material, arranged in a hodgepodge over the 8 disks. The box was extremely inexpensive ($30?). The haphazard order is frustrating, as are the many personnel errors. The music, though, is often very good. Besides the Hampton material and much of the Bubba's (including Wynton with Blakey), there's Getz from Cannes, Johnny Griffin, Paul Horn, Jimmy Hamilton, Pat Metheny with the Heath Brothers, and more, as well as some material they can't possibly have the rights to (Sonny Rollins playing "Everytime We Say Goodbye" with Sonny Clark, Percy Heath, and Roy Haynes, "date unknown" - obviously from the Riverside "Sound of Sonny" album).

From this box set, here are the leaders of the Hampton-related dates:

Dexter Gordon (w/Hamp, Hank Jones, Bucky Pizzarelli, George Duvivier, Oliver Jackson and Candido),

Teddy Wilson (w/Gerry Fuller, Hamp, Teddy, Duvivier, Teddy Wilson Jr. on drums, and Sam Turner),

Earl Hines (w/Hamp, Milt Hinton, Grady Tate and Sam Turner),

Woody Herman (w/Hamp, Roland Hanna, Al Caiola, George Mraz, Richie Pratt and Candido),

Gerry Mulligan (w/Hamp, Hank Jones, Bucky, Duvivier, Grady Tate and Candido),

Charles Mingus (w/Bob Neloms, Dannie Richmond, Ricky Ford, Hamp, Mulligan, Paul Jeffrey, Jack Walrath, Woody Shaw and Peter Matt),

Buddy Rich (w/Hamp, Barry Kiener, Tom Warrington, Candido, Steve Marcus, Gary Pribek and Paul Moen),

and there was a Hamp-led date (w/Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Grady Tate and Candido).

The Italian Comet label has recently released some of these sessions; I have the Dexter Gordon. I think (but am not sure) that Comet is also releasing material originally on Vanguard.

[marcello]

I have the Mingus on vinyl but the sound, to me, is not very good. It has a "boxy" sound; not very expansive or open.

[RDK]

Thanks for the info (or further confusion as the case may be!). This does sound like a job for Mosaic twenty years down the road!