Dodo Marmarosa on Spotlite label

[six string]

The Spotlite label is not mentioned in the Goldmine book of jazz. I've never bought anything by the pianist before and I found this lp in a store today. It was cheap ($6.00) so I took a chance. Does anyone know anything about this label and record?

The trio features Harray Babasin on Cello and Jackie Mills on drums.

Song list on side 1

Bopmatism

Dodo's Dance

Trade Winds

Dary Departs

Cosmo Street

Tone Paintings I

Tone Paintings II

Side two

Bopmatism

Dodo's Dance

Trade Winds

Dary Departs

Dary Departs

Cosmo Street

Deep Purple

Tea For Two

Recording date 12/3/47

If anyone can enlighten me I'd appreciate it.

Also a label of Bill Grauer's called Battle, was this a secondary label to Riverside? I bought a Mongo Santamaria album (Watermelon Man!) also and I've never seen this label before either.

[Chuck Nessa]

Ross Russell issued a series of lps in the mid '70s. The Marmarosa was one of these. I distributed them at the time. He was an interesting guy. If you don't have the music elsewhere, nice find.

The Battle disc is a good find too.

[jazzbo]

Those are out on a number of cds. . . Chronogical Classics has the masters I believe all of them, There is a Spotlite cd, there was a cd from Stash (Jazz Vintage Classics I think) and all are on the two cd set from Lonehill. . . .

[J.A.W.]

These recordings were made for Dial, Ross Russell's label. Spotlite owner Tony Williams reissued them on CD in 1995. If I'm not mistaken Tony now owns the Dial recordings.

Tony Williams' Spotlite label website, Dial recordings

Scroll down for the Dodo Marmarosa Dial/Spotlite CD.

Edited March 6, 2009 by J.A.W.

[six string]

Wow! That was fast. Thanks to all for their replies and the link. I've been curious about Marmarosa for a while and this lp was in great shape so I decided to get it. I have another Santamaria album on the Battle label recorded at The Village Gate that is on hold for me. There were so many good records in the store today (the owner had been to the "wherehouse") that I couldn't buy everything I wanted.

[Big Beat Steve]

Sixstring, I am not sure which Goldmine book of Jazz lps you are talking about, but either you ought to remember that this book (in its probably older version by now) has a release cutoff date of 1969, and the Spotlite LPs were issued LONG afterwards (so cannot be in that book) or this guide has a blatant lack of non-U.S. releases.

Anyway, this LP is fine (my copy ahs been played countless times by now) but if you're interested in bebop then it is only the tip of the iceberg - Spotlite isued a HUUUUGE lot of interesting reissue, drawing heavily on the Dial catalog but also on airshots and other indie releases. Worth checking out!

[mikeweil]

The Battle label was a subsidiary of Riverside for ethnic music and other on the verge of jazz - Mongo's last Riverside album was issued on the main label.

Edited March 6, 2009 by mikeweil

[mikeweil]

Spotlite isued a HUUUUGE lot of interesting reissue, drawing heavily on the Dial catalog but also on airshots and other indie releases. Worth checking out!

Indeed - Tony Williams took some effort at issuing every available take and even the rarest session of the Dial label, and drew on other small independent label material and live recordings to fill LPs - I have almost all of them. For someone really interested in the 1940's jazz scene, indispensable.

[AllenLowe]

I think of Dodo as something like Twardzik, harmonically way ahead of the crowd - I also think, in the way he soloed, that he somewhat predicted the way "modal" players would solo. The typical bebop solo circles around on itself, is like an up and down contour or an arc - Dodo's solos often just go straight in a scalular direction, very advanced for their time (and still great solos) -

Edited March 6, 2009 by AllenLowe

[Shrdlu]

I know Tony Williams. He's a great guy and has done a fantastic job reissuing since the late 60s.

His first reissues were 6 (or was it 7?) LPs of all the Bird on Dial. I was so excited when those came out, because prior to that time, all you could get was a fairly haphazard selection on various budget labels, with no information as to the take numbers. And you could not get all of the material.

Tony befriended Ross Russell and got his help in issuing a definitive collection. By that time, all of the original masters were long lost. Tony's sources were the best Dial 78s and LPs that he could find. Ross did come up with one previously unissued take, on a badly worn acetate. I think it was a take of "Moose the Mooche". Tony's LPs had the best possible sound, and, of course, none of the reverb that some of the "pirate" LPs had.

Since then, Tony has put out absolutely all of the existing Dial takes by other artists, such as Diz and Dex.

[AllenLowe]

tony williams was one of the few record people Al Haig spoke well of -