Henry Red Allen

[Neal Pomea]

Am I the only person to think Red and Monk would have been wonderful?

I sure wish this had happened! Absolutely! Monk could have kept up.

[montg]

I don't doubt that Red and Monk would have been wonderful, but I'm having a hard time getting my head wrapped around it. Other than Hawk did Monk record much with players who started in the 20s?

I love the way Red slurs and blurs and just generally surprises from bar to bar, all in a completely authentic, organic way. It pains me to hear some contemporary trumpet players try and do those slurs, it just sounds childish. Red was all about the troof. I'd love to hear that Columbia lp, btw--maybe MC could combine that with the RCA session which, sadly, is long oop.

[montg]

Oh yes — if anyone has a jpeg for Henry Red Allen Plays King Oliver, I'd love to see the original cover. Thanks!

The cover is reproduced (in miniature) in the booklet of the Verve 2-fer called "Swing Trumpet Kings".

Don't know another source at the moment.

I think it would have been fun to hear Red playing with Monk.

I'm not able to figure out how to post the picture here, but it can be found at this link:

redallenplayskingoliver

[Chuck Nessa]

I don't doubt that Red and Monk would have been wonderful, but I'm having a hard time getting my head wrapped around it. Other than Hawk did Monk record much with players who started in the 20s?

Mr Pee Wee Russell.

[montg]

I don't doubt that Red and Monk would have been wonderful, but I'm having a hard time getting my head wrapped around it. Other than Hawk did Monk record much with players who started in the 20s?

Mr Pee Wee Russell.

Thanks, I completely overlooked the Pee Wee and Monk meeting.

Elder Don, regarding post-32 Red > post 32 Pops.... I just went back and listened to the Red plays King Oliver session from Verve and I'm struck by how different Red and Pops were in the 50s, despite their similar early backgrounds. Are they even comparable? Red's at home in a lower register, where his phrasing and tonal surprises are so fun and interesting. Pops' approach is operatic and powerful, upper register purity, and of course all the rhythmic genius. fwiw, probably nothing, but it's hard for me to imagine Red and Ella doing an album together in the 50s.

[Late]

I'm not able to figure out how to post the picture here, but it can be found at this link:

redallenplayskingoliver

Thanks montg! That's exactly what I was looking for. In the booklet, the cover art is right on a crease. I just wanted to back up the session in my iTunes folder, and it's always nice to find the original cover art to accompany the music. I found the other two covers on eBay — the Edison/Clayton was signed by Sweets!

[brownie]

My secondhand vinyl of Red Allen Plays King Oliver looks a bit better!

There is no cover credit on the album

[Brownian Motion]

Red post-1932 > Louis post-1932 = FACT. i'm sure there's some candyass Horselover/Satch fan here who will bellyache about it but hey... hey! it's a shame popular hegemony barely lets the troof be spoken. (i sing it, muhfuh.)

Pops took the lead again '67-'72 but that's mostly thanks to Ornette.

xxoo,

edc

Ornette? Red Allen died in 1967. He was outplaying Pops to the end.

[Brownian Motion]

Now that Mosaic has gone into single album releases, they should reissue the Columbia session 'Feeling Good'. What a superb LP this was! One of the most inventive trumpet playing ever. It was a 1965 live quartet date (with Sammy Price, Bennie Moten and drummer George Reed):

Is this the same live 1965 date released on CD on Storyville?

[mmilovan]

Something from YouTube with a rather impressive band!

Oh... what a band... they can swing the death man...

I can recognize Hawk, Pee Wee, Jo Jones, Milt Hinton, Dickenson... but piano, guitar and other trumpet I can't...

And now the question:

who's playing trombone here?

Now from this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP6vNHsRfUM...ted&search=

this is part of an answer what band supports Red -

"If this is 1946, I would suggest the following as well as Rd and J C., How about Don Stovall(as), Al Williams(p), Benny Moten(b), Alvin Burroughs(d). Any confirmation out there?"

"JC" is probably abreviation/initials of J.C. Heard, right? Sounds like him...

Edited April 12, 2007 by mmilovan

[Stereojack]

I can recognize Hawk, Pee Wee, Jo Jones, Milt Hinton, Dickenson... but piano, guitar and other trumpet I can't...

This is from "The Sound of Jazz"

Nat Pierce, Danny Barker, Rex Stewart

[Stereojack]

"JC" is probably abreviation/initials of J.C. Heard, right? Sounds like him...

J. C Higginbotham , trombone

[mmilovan]

Big thanks in getting this straight, I've missed the drummer given in that comment

Edited April 12, 2007 by mmilovan

[brownie]

Now that Mosaic has gone into single album releases, they should reissue the Columbia session 'Feeling Good'. What a superb LP this was! One of the most inventive trumpet playing ever. It was a 1965 live quartet date (with Sammy Price, Bennie Moten and drummer George Reed):

Is this the same live 1965 date released on CD on Storyville?

The Storyville (originally on Merritt) comes from gigs recorded in June 1965. The Columbia album also has tracks from June 1965 and also August 1965. All from those Roslyn, R.I., club dates.

[ghost of miles]

Late, if you ever see this Hep CD floating around, grab it:

Includes Horace Henderson's swingin' version of "Ol' Man River" (featuring both Red & Hawk)--it's all great stuff. I think Hep still carries the title, even though Amazon doesn't show it as readily available stateside.

Edited April 21, 2007 by ghost of miles

[montg]

Thought I'd bump this thread up, Monday was the centennial of Red's birth.

[Brownian Motion]

Red appeared at Newport in 1957 with Jack Teagarden, J.C. Higginbotham, and Kid Ory, and was recorded by Verve. It's criminal that this date has never made it to CD.

[Chuck Nessa]

As Uncle Skid will testify, Red is one of my favorites. I have compiled 3 cdrs for the car - one with Henderson/Hawk, one with Luis Russell and one of records under his name. They travel with me.

[montg]

Red appeared at Newport in 1957 with Jack Teagarden, J.C. Higginbotham, and Kid Ory, and was recorded by Verve. It's criminal that this date has never made it to CD.

The two songs where Kid Ory joined Allen @ Newport are on the the Kid Ory Mosaic. And there may be another song or two from the concert on the Best of Newport '57 CD Verve released in 2007. Small consolation, I know. It's shame Granz didn't record Allen more in the 50s.

[papsrus]

Late, if you ever see this Hep CD floating around, grab it:

Bump just cause I'm sniffing around for some more Red Allen titles. Notice a couple of copies of the disc mentioned above with Coleman Hawkins is available at amazon for a reasonable price now.

Edited February 2, 2010 by papsrus

[Christiern]

My man, my man!

That was his favorite expression, the one he greeted you with.

[Swinging Swede]

I thought it was

Wamp! Wamp!

[flat5]

He wrote a blues that goes chromatically down from 5 to 1 six times with a one note variation the fifth time. Anyone know what the tune is called?

Edited March 22, 2010 by flat5

[Brownian Motion]

Some recent activity on the Red Allen reissue front--

This 2 CD set contains five different dates from the 1950s, two of them featuring Red. A 1955 band with a front line of Red, Tony Parenti on clarinet, and Tyree Glenn on trombone plays six warhorses and a blues. Two years later Glenn and Red return, joined by Buster Bailey on clarinet and Boomie Richman on tenor sax to play nine overly-familiar tunes, with Willie "the Lion" Smith hammering away in the rhythm section.

[mikeweil]

Red appeared at Newport in 1957 with Jack Teagarden,  J.C. Higginbotham, and Kid Ory, and was recorded by Verve. It's criminal that this date has never made it to CD.

I was lucky to find a Japanese issue of that LP when a local bookshop closed down - such enthusiastic playing!