BFT #56 disc one answers.....

[BERIGAN]

Geez Louise, why did I put so many tracks on each disc???? I like to write, but I ain't a wordsmith like Sangrey!!! Well, here's the first part....as I mentioned before, some cds have no scans on the web, period.

1. Fiddle Dee Dee. Lionel Hampton. Off the Classics sampler cd.

ldr- Lionel Hampton; cl, as- Marshall Royal; p- Sir Charles Thompson; vib- Lionel Hampton; g- Irving Ashby; vn- Ray Perry; b- Vernon Alley; d- Lee Young;

I only have this track on this classics sampler cd,(Not on amazon that I can see, cd had no bar code, wasn't for sale-got at tower either as a used cd, or perhaps something you got with the purchase of a Classics cd) don't have the moola for the recent Mosaic set...This is the track that was missing!!!

I have 2 of the 3 early 90's Hampton small group Bluebird stuff, and it ain’t on either of them. Have the French RCA B&W 2 cd set, not there either. Without that sampler cd, I’d have missed this, and that’s a shame! They must have just listened to a bunch of Reinhart/Grappeli sides before going into the studio, don’t you think???

And excellent ears all those that noticed Ray Perry's Violin was electrified!!! I never did! Some more info....

http://www.fiddlesessions.com/apr06/electric.html

2. Menelik, The Lion of Judah.

Rex Stewart and his Orchestra. Rex Stewart Cornet. Lawrence Brown Trombone, Harry Carney, Baritone. Ben Webster, Tenor, Duke Ellington Piano, Jimmy Blanton, Bass, Sonny Greer, Drums. July 3rd, 1941

You will see quite a few samplers on this BFT!!! Grabbed this ASV cd years ago since I saw familiar performers, performing tunes I didn‘t know…. I was very surprised when I heard this track for the first time. was just blown away by the into!! I laughed, but damn did this tune hold my interest! I picture a funky Lion playing this now when I hear the song

3.Turn Left. Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Nate Kazebeir, Johnny Napton, Shorty Solomson, Trumpets, Don Mattison, Sonny Lee, Nat Lobosvsky, trombones., Jimmy Dorsey, Milt Yaner, Altos, Sam Rubinwich, Alto and Baritone, Herbie Haymer, Frazier, Tenor saxes, Joe Lippman, Piano. Guy Smith Guitar, Jack Ryan, Bass. Buddy Schultz, drums. Dec 9th, 1940/ From the OOP Decca Cd, Jimmy Dorsey And Orch, Contrasts.

First time I heard this song, it didn’t make much of an impression…it was track 14 out of 20.…perhaps I was suffering the kind of fatigue folks playing both cds from this BFT suffered from! But, I had long commutes to work, so it gave me time to listen to whole cds each way…and then the beauty of this song finally came to the forefront for me. I can’t think of many pre war tunes that start with a bass intro.

I tend to like the atypical songs from bands like Dorsey’s. At least I assume it's atypical. Wish there was more of the early 40’s Dorsey available today…his arrangers were getting more and more creative with each passing year….of course, this cd is out of print now….

(Not the cd I got the track from, but this 2 cd set from Jasmine is only 16.98 and has this tune, and a fair bit of his hotter tracks)

4. Back Beat Boogie. Harry James Nov 30th, 1939. Harry James, Claude Bowen, Jack Shaeffer, Jack Palmer, Trumpets Truett Jones, Bruce Squires, Trombones, Dave Matthews, Alto, Drew Page, Clarinet, Claude Lakey, Bill Luther, Tenor. Francis “Jack” Gardner, Piano. Bryan Red Kent, Guitar. Mickey Scrima Drums.

Harry could get hairy if he wanted to! I love his non syrupy , non balled playing so much, wish he played with a bit more abandon more often,but his first bands were not that successful, and the tripe payed a lot of bills I guess.….and later on he mainly played everything in a “Jazz” style. Or is that in the Basie style???

Live At The Three Deuces 1947

5. Characteristically B. H. Bill Harris, Trombone, Charlie Ventura, Tenor, Ralph Burns, Piano, Bob Leininger, bass, Dave Tough, Drums. Live, 1947.

After listening to a lot of Woody Herman, I wanted to hear more Bill Harris, was I ever glad I took a chance on this cd! (Volume 2 is good, but not quite as good)He and Ventura make a perfect tandem, it’s a shame they couldn’t play with either for a longer period of time. You can imagine they both wanted to be top dog…Dave Tough is on at least 2 tracks here….how many drummers could play with the Clambake Seven and A swing to bop group like this??? And no one guessed Ralph Burns, not even Stereojack!

A great remembrance from Bob Brookmeyer on the web, on Harris….

"When I began playing trombone in 1943, the selection of people with distinct personalities that you could slice like bread were legion. Dickie Wells, Vic Dickenson, Trummy Young (what a player!), Jack Teagarden, Lawrence Brown and my hero, Bill Harris. These are only a few—there were many. On hearing Bill, chills went down my back—a physical shiver. The last time we met was 1963, in Las Vegas, where he was playing a 6 a.m. gig with Charlie Teagarden. He and I hung for an hour, then he got on the bandstand, and—at the very first note—sent chills down the back of a jaded, successful and angry 33 year old male child. Now THAT'S communication, personality, ta-dum, ta-dum, whatever. That illustrates the possibility of establishing a living relationship with the generation before me..."grandfathering" I think it has been called. There was someone that I could grow FROM." Bob Brookmeyer

(Got this track off of A long of out print cd called The Jazz Age: New York in the Twenties-No scans of it-this timeless cd was the one I couldn't find with the better audio)

6. Anything. Napoleon’s Emperors. Phil Napoleon, Trumpet. Tommny Dorsey, Trombone. Jimmy Dorsey Clarinet, and Alto. Joe Venuti, Violin, Frank Signorelli, Piano. Eddie Lang, Guitar. Joe Tarto Bass. Stan King, Drums. May 14th, 1929

The trumpet sounds a bit dated…but, then again Phil Napoleon pre-dated Louis and Bix…just about everyone! Can’t for the life of me figure out how this song wasn’t recorded more often….Seems far more relaxed than anything else I’ve heard recorded on or around 1929.

More later, I promise!!!

Edited April 16, 2008 by BERIGAN

[BERIGAN]

tracks 7 to 15...

Honky Tonk Train Blues. From Hep records

7. Tea for Two. Bob Zurke and his Orchestra. From the cd Honky Tonk Train Blues. Wilton Hutton, Sterling Bose, Chelsea Quealey, Trumpet. Emmet Milligan, Bob McReynolds, Trombone. Gus Ehrman, James Clifford, Alto, John Gassoway, Tenor. Ernie Caceres Clarinet, Baritone. Noel Kilgen, Guitar, Leonard King Bass. Al Sidell, Drums. January, 18th, 1940.

Wildly varying views on this track it seems! Heres some info from a different cd set(The big Band 1923-1952-which some other tracks were taken from) on Zurke, and this track…better than I can put it, since I am strictly a jazz layman.

The eccentric piano style of Bob Zurke (1912-1944) was equally influenced by the early boogie woogie pianists and the novelty style of Zez Confrey….One of the bands most striking assets was joie-de-vivre difficult ot capture in the studio, but Tea for Twuo sounds as though it was performed at a wild party, and the enthusiasm is infectious. Probably arranged by Fud Livingston, it is a wonderful showcase for the leaders rambunctiously folling piano. The well constructed tenor solo, sounding much like Bud Freeman or Eddie Miller, is by John Gassoway. Loren Schoenberg continues…To me, Zurke’s last chorus with it’s “kooky” reharmonization, has much in common with Monk’s Classis 1956 recording of this number.

On this cd, track I took is off a JSP cd, I can't seem to find a scan of....

8. Panama. Luis Russell and his Orch. Luis Russell, Piano. Henry Allen, Otis Johnson, Trumpets. J.C. Higginbotham, Trombone. Albert Nocholas, clarinet, SS. Charles Holmes, Alto, SS. Greely Walton, Tenor. Will Johnson, Banjo/guitar. Pops Foster, bass. Paul Barbarin, Drums. David Bee, Arranger. Sept 1930.

Pure pedal to the metal Jazz energy! It’s only 1930, but they “get” what swing is. A band that clearly loved playing , and playing together. Having the bass so well recorded sure doesn’t hurt things , does it??? Thank God Luis Russell won $3000 in 1919, and was able to move from Panama to the U.S.!

Bunny Berigan and the Rhythmakers. Volume 2, 1938:Devil’s Holiday.

(out of print, now going for $47 on amazon)

9. Shanghai Shuffle. Bunny Berigan and Orchestra. Fletcher Henderson arranger. Berigan, Trumpet. Steve Lipkins, Irving Goodman, Trumpets. Nat Lobovsky, Ray Conniff, Trombones. Mike Doty, Joe Dixon, Cl/Alto. Georgie Auld, Clyde Rounds, Tenor. Joe Bushkin, Piano. Dick Wharton, Guitar. Hank Wayland, Bass. Johnny Blowers, Drums. Transcription from June 27th, 1938.

The one and only Berigan track! And notice how he doesn’t even solo till the song has been playing for over 2 minutes!!! Also, this tune was one of 20 (20!!!)transcription disc tracks they recorded on that date!!! This cd came out in the early 90’s and not all the tracks are anywhere near this good,(Berigan has without a doubt the worst male singers ever in the history of mankind) but a few are. Some of the players were still alive and when they heard these tracks for the first time, they said they said that “they” sounded like a loose black band playing at midnight…and they are right!

Since Mr. Sangrey was talking up the alto player…Joe Dixon(Mainly a clarinetist) ”…I never thought I would be listening to this 54 years later. That [alto sax solo] must be me. Didn’t that sound like Benny Carter? I enjoyed playing alto, but nobody ever wrote it-for me anyway. I was a great admirer of Carter and Hodges. “

And since he mentioned the the sax section….Who better to talk about that, the drummer Johnny Blowers? “Wonderful sax figures. You had a strong ensemble going behind every chorus. They didn’t give Joe Dixon alto solos[on record]but he had a good sound and he played some wonderful sax choruses when we were on the road”

10. San Sue Strut. Casa Loma Orchestra 1929-30 HEP cd. Bobby Jones, Frankie Martinez, Joe Hostetter, Trumpets. Billy Rauch, Pee Wee Hunt, Trombones. Glen Gray, Pat Davis, Altos, Les Arquette, Tenor. Howard Hall, piano. Gene Gifford, Banjo, Guitar, Arranger. Stanley Tennis , Bass, Tony Briglia, Drums. Febuary 11th, 1930

JS put it better than I could, about this track “I can feel the time getting on top of itself all through this one. "Rushing" is the wrong word, it's more like how you feel the first attack of the beat in relation to the duration of it.”

To me, I’d describe it as tension slowly building thru the whole track. And it’s quite unlike the other tracks they recorded around this time. Sometimes this band was belittled for their precision, but I thought it was their strong point.

Buddy Rich was a big fan of the drunner Tony Briglia, calling him the shit….

(Now out of print, you can still pick this all instrumental 22 track cd for $4.00 on amazon!)

11. Spirit is Willing. Glenn Miller Orchestra. R.D. McMickle, John Best, Billy May, Ran Anthony Trumpets (May and Best solos)Glenn Miller, Howard Gibeling, Frank D’Annolfo, Trombones. Tex Beneke, Al Klink, Ernie Caceres, others Reeds. Jack Lathrop, Guitar, Berman “trigger” Alpert, bass. Maurice Purtill, Drums. Jerry Gray arranger. Feb 19th, 1941

How about that??? You could win a lot of bets with jazz folks on this one. Miller band did good stuff before it was an air force band…

12.Twilight in Turkey. Tommy Dorsey, and his Clambake Seven. Pee Wee Erwin, Trumpet, Tommy Dorsey, Trombone, Johnny Mince, Clarinet, Bud Freeman, Tenor. Howard Smith, Piano. Carmen Mastren, Guitar, Gene Traxler, Bass. Dave Tough, Drums. Dean Kincaide, Arranger. April 15th, 1937

Man, I love this track! Most of the Clambake Seven tracks are Dixieland’s, decent and all that, but this is the by far best track I ever heard from this group.

.13. Serenade. Herman Chittison Trio.1944-1945

Herman Chittison, Piano, Jimmy Shirley, guitar. Carlton Powell, Bass. December 8th, 1944.

Small image of this cd. Doesn‘t he look like a cool cat though??? I probably found this used, and was quite impressed with his playing….need to get more of his stuff…this cd is out of print, and now about $40 on amazon.

ß---great 2 cd set, that’s cheap on amazon!

14.Swing Out. Red Allen and His New York Orch. J.C. Higginbotham Trombone, Albert Nicholas, Clarinet, Charlie Holmes Cl/SS/AS. Luis Russell, Piano. Will Johnson, Banjo. Pop Foster, Bass. Paurl Barbarian Drums. July 17th, 1929.

Another tune you can’t help but tap your feet to! Red seems to not get the praise he deserves , if you ask me. He has a lot of fans of course, but still….the man made some great recordings and kept his chops and imagination thru 40 years on record.

And JC Higginbotham , a trombonist that just doesn’t get mentioned often enough the other players of his prime era…I seem to recall Coleman Hawkins of all people, was jealous of his talent back in their Fletcher Henderson days. He went out of his way to push his buttons so his solos wouldn’t be as good as they could be….

(available on several cds, including this one)

15. Heckler’s Hop. Roy Eldridge and his Orchestra. Roy Eldridge, Trumpet. Scoops Carey, Joe Eldridge Alto. Dave Young, Tenor. Teddy Cole, Piano. John Collins. Guitar. Track Parham, Bass. Zutty Singleton, drums. January 23rd, 1937.

Who needs coffee, when there is music like this! Roy has to be one of the most purely exciting jazzmen ever to record…as others have said, more than just the bridge from Louis to Dizzy. And a few here mentioned the playing of his brother Joe on Alto….

More to follow! Unless I drop dead.

Edited April 16, 2008 by BERIGAN

[BERIGAN]

Ok, to finish off the rest of Disc one....

(Out of print, but available on Amazon used, for only $3.35-the next 3 tracks come from this cd)

From the cd The Jazz Arranger, volume 1928-1940. You always know the sound quality will be swell on a Columbia cd, when you see the worlds, “digitally Remastered Directly from the Original Analog Tapes!

16.Deep Jungle. Ben Pollack and his Orch. Arranged by Dean Kincaide. Yank Lawson, Charlie Spivak, Shirley Clay, Trumpets. Joe Harris, Beny Morton, Trombones. Matty Matlock, Clarinets. Dean Kincaide, Gil Rodin, Altos. Eddie Miller, Tenor. Gil Bowers, Piano. Hilton Nappy Lamare, Guitar. Harry Goodman, Bass. Ray Bauduc, Drums. Dec 28th, 1933

One track I kinda-sorta wish I hadn’t chosen, but still an interesting track. I was going to put Fletcher Henderson’s Queer Notions on from this cd, but I heard this track, and thought, what the hey???? Not very typical Ben Pollack sound to this track.

17. Benny Rides Again. Benny Goodman and his Orchestra. Alec Fila, Jimmy Maxwell, Cootie Williams, Irving Goodman, trumpets. Lou McGarity, Red Gingler, Trombones. Benny Goodman, Clarinet. Skip Martin, Gus Binvona, Bob Snyder, Altos. Georgie Auld, Jack Henderson, Tenors. Bernie Leighton, Piano. Mike Bryan, Guitar, Arite Bernstein, Basee. Harry Jaeger, Drums. Eddie Sauter, arranger. Nov. 13th, 1940.

Thought this might fool some folks with Cootie playing with Goodman, but you guys are too slick! Always interesting to hear guys from the pre war era get a chance to stretch out for 4 ½ minutes, like in this Eddie Sauter arrangement.

18. Uptown Rhapsody Teddy Hill and his Orchestra. Bill Hillard, Frankie Newton, Shad Collins, Trumpets. Dickie Wells, Trombone. Russell Procope, Clarinet, alto. Howard Johnson, Alto. Teddy Hill. Tenor. Cecil Scott, Tenor, baritone. Sam Allen, Piano. John Smith, Guitar. Richar Fullbright, Bass. Bill Beason, Drums. April 1st, 1936. Chappie Willett, arranger.

Don’t have a whole lot from Teddy Hill, but have liked what I have heard. And of course have Frankie Newton, Dickie Wells, Cecil Scott, and Russell Procope in the same band sure doesn’t hurt!!! Don’t know a thing about Chappie Willett, does anyone here know much about him???? Seems like a damn good arranger to me, this band doesn’t sound like any other band of the time….

(Hey a cd still in print!)

19.Hoohihi Oe Ke Ike Mai. Manny Klein and His Swing a Hulas. Manny Klein Trumpet. May 2nd, 1938.

Not much info on this track. I have this track on two compilation cds. Starts off slow typical ballad style, but takes off from there….who thought this up??? Hey let’s put a funky Hawaiian vocal group with Manny, sure, it’ll work! I don’t know if it’s really jazz, but I sure like it!

Hey, want to hear more Manny Klein??? Well, there is no Manny Klein cd out there, amazingly enough. Amazingly I say, since, since jazz producer Michael Brooks said Manny Klein was the most underrated jazz man of the 20th century!!!! I don’t know about that, but he is a guy who is usually mentioned as fooling folks into thinking he was Bunny Berigan on some tracks, since he was bouncing around the same crowd in New York in the early 30’s and worked no doubt when Bunny was in no shape to. Going into the Hollywood studios no doubt helped him financially, but didn’t help his long term fame, not that he cared. A brief bio on Manny http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...ej0xlfje5cqq~T1

Jabbo Smith, 2 cd set from the French Label Jazz Archives. Complete 1929-1938 Sessions (Man, no joke, I’m going to sell off all my cds and retire, the cheapest one on Amazon used is $51!)

20. Ubangi Man- Charles Lavere and his Chicagoans-Johnny Mendell, Marty Marsala, Jabbo Smith, Trumpets. Preston Jackson, Trombone. Joe Marsala, Clarinet. Boyce Brown, Alto, Baritone. Charles Lavere, Piano, arranger. Joe Young, guitar, Leonard Bibs, Bass. Zutty Singleton, Drums. March 3rd, 1935.

I loved this from the first second of the very heavy drums(What the heck is he beating on, anyway???) I was going to be really clever and have back to back Jabbo Smith tracks… (Jabbo doesn’t solo here, just in case you were wondering) then the wild solo that I ended having to make the first track on disc 2 since, for reasons I still don’t know, or understand…I couldn’t put any more tracks on disc one, even though there was 9 minutes of room left. Where was I??? Oh yes, Ubangi Man. I like the melancholy , latin tinged sound of this tune, even the kind of uneven, what do we do to fill out the rest of this song, sound…oh well….

Ok, now who will help me right about the 26 tracks from disc 2????

Edited April 17, 2008 by BERIGAN

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks very much for this Conrad - in particular for pointing out where some of these fabulous things aren't very typical of the bands' usual work - and also, where they are typical!!!

There's a damn lot of work gone into this, it's clear. Thanks very much.

MG

[JSngry]

And for those who rejected the Charles Lavere cut out of hand, I suggest going back & comparing it to any number of Horace Silver pieces.

[Guest Bill Barton]

Thanks for all of the details, BERIGAN!

This is a fun CD. And, man, I have new (or at least more enthusiastic) respect for Ralph Burns as a pianist after finding out that he's on that track with Bill Harris & Charlie Ventura. That's a fine solo. That track is probably my favorite on disc one.

And never in a million years would I have guessed that "Fiddle Dee Dee" was Hampton with Irving Ashby. That's another nice track. It's (I think) the first I've ever heard Ray Perry.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

And for those who rejected the Charles Lavere cut out of hand, I suggest going back & comparing it to any number of Horace Silver pieces.

OK Guv. I'm glad to say that I now know better than to dismiss any suggestion of yours.

MG

[Bright Moments]

great job conrad!!!