Brian Rust 1922-2011

[brownie]

Brian Rust, a legend in the field of jazz discography, died yesterday.

Announcement on his website.

[AllenLowe]

wow, I assumed he died a while ago.

[jeffcrom]

Sorry to hear this. I keep the two volumes of the 4th edition of Jazz Records by my chair in my music room - not a week goes by that I don't refer to them at least once.

[Christiern]

I also thought he was long gone. His discographies are amazing pieces of work, and even more amazing is the fact that they were made in pre-computer times. I heard that his wife did ll the typing—if so, she should have had equal billing!

What would some of us have done without Rust's work?

[mikeweil]

To cap it all, consonant with the origin of this publishing house’s name, a popular cataloging and discography software program is appositely yclept “Brian.”

The work of such men too often goes unheralded - but as Christiern said, what would we do without them .... R.I.P.

[EKE BBB]

Very sorry to hear that Brian Rust died. I use the CD-Rom edition, and go back to it very frequently.

A true legend in the field of jazz discography!

[Stereojack]

The man was a pioneer. I don't know if a day goes by that I don't consult his books.

[gmonahan]

Wow--talk about truly unsung heroes. Bless Brian Rust. R.I.P.

gregmo

[JohnS]

Sad news. As said above, a pioneer and an unsung hero.

[Big Beat Steve]

I keep his 4th Ed. 1897-1942 edition handy for reference too and use it fairly often.

Thanks, Mr Rust, for seeing this through where lots of others (after Delaunay's initial work) have failed to complete the full A to Z run.

One may disagree about Mr Rust's emphasis on the artists and bands he selected for inclusion, especially concerning his omission of certain swing-era bands. It is quite obvious he was very much a "20s jazz man" in that apparently any band that had so much as a snippet of "hot solos" on its records warranted inclusion whereas he was quite a bit more selective in his swing-era inclusions. But nobody's perfect, tastes differ and he DID pave the way for others to follow.

[Stereojack]

One may disagree about Mr Rust's emphasis on the artists and bands he selected for inclusion, especially concerning his omission of certain swing-era bands. It is quite obvious he was very much a "20s jazz man" in that apparently any band that had so much as a snippet of "hot solos" on its records warranted inclusion whereas he was quite a bit more selective in his swing-era inclusions. But nobody's perfect, tastes differ and he DID pave the way for others to follow.

Rust addressed this issue with the release of his excellent 2-volume "American Dance Band Discography" about 30 years ago. Sadly, the book is long out of print, and desperately in need up a revision.

[Big Beat Steve]

I had a hunch it was like that, Stereojack, but never having seen that Dance Band discography myself I wonder to what extent he (by necessity) duplicates the contents of his jazz discography, e.g. in the case of the Dorseys etc.

OTOH he omitted the Tony Pastor big band from his jazz discography although their jazz content probably was higher than that of other big bands listed.

No big deal - Walter Bruyninckx fills gaps like this as far as I can see.

But assuming one would go after that Dance Band discography to complete the info on other swinging big bands that may have been omitted elsewhere, does this mean one would have to thumb through pages and pages of saccharine listings by Sammy Kaye, Russ Morgan, Kay Kyser, Wayne King and all the rest as well?

[EKE BBB]

Rust addressed this issue with the release of his excellent 2-volume "American Dance Band Discography" about 30 years ago. Sadly, the book is long out of print, and desperately in need up a revision.

This book was updated by Richard Johnson and Bernard Shirley and is available at http://www.rustbooks.com/books2.php.

Regards,

Agustín

Edited January 7, 2011 by EKE BBB

[Stereojack]

But assuming one would go after that Dance Band discography to complete the info on other swinging big bands that may have been omitted elsewhere, does this mean one would have to thumb through pages and pages of saccharine listings by Sammy Kaye, Russ Morgan, Kay Kyser, Wayne King and all the rest as well?

Yes, but the focus of the book is not on jazz. I find it especially helpful in sorting out the studio bands that recorded for ARC, Grey Gull, and the like. I'm going to have to look into the revised version.

[Christiern]

Pictured above are some of my incomplete discographies—I'm sure many of us have them around. Actually, the only complete one I have is Jepsen. I refuse to buy Lord's error-riddled rip-offs. A few years back, when it seemed that discographers were doomed to give up their task in early- or mid- alphabet, I thought someone should just start at Z and work back. Seemed like an obvious, if not wholly satisfactory, solution.

[Victor Christensen]

Pictured above are some of my incomplete discographies—I'm sure many of us have them around. Actually, the only complete one I have is Jepsen. I refuse to buy Lord's error-riddled rip-offs. A few years back, when it seemed that discographers were doomed to give up their task in early- or mid- alphabet, I thought someone should just start at Z and work back. Seemed like an obvious, if not wholly satisfactory, solution.

Hi Chris

I have a ? for you, maybe not this topic, but maybe you know why Riverside did not use Van Gelder, but Reeves instead, was it Grauer or Keepnews that did not not want to use him ?.

Vic

[Chuck Nessa]

Riverside did use Rudy early on and Keepnews has written (can't remember where) Grauer signed a contract with someone else. Maybe Chris knows but this would be before his involvement.

Pictured above are some of my incomplete discographies—I'm sure many of us have them around. Actually, the only complete one I have is Jepsen. I refuse to buy Lord's error-riddled rip-offs. A few years back, when it seemed that discographers were doomed to give up their task in early- or mid- alphabet, I thought someone should just start at Z and work back. Seemed like an obvious, if not wholly satisfactory, solution.

Jepsen started in the middle of the alphabet - where Blackstone left off.

[mjzee]

Riverside did use Rudy early on and Keepnews has written (can't remember where) Grauer signed a contract with someone else.

In the liner notes to Monk & Coltrane: The Complete Riverside Recordings, Keepnews wrote:

"All four of the sessions reproduced here were held in the same place: the only recording room (despite the plural spelling of the name) at Reeves Sound Studios in Manhattan, on Second Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets. It was Riverside's home studio for our first several years, under terms of a deal made by my late partner, Bill Grauer, an arrangement which I had not been involved in making and which I originally resented. The studio was too big for our mostly three- to five-man sessions, I insisted; it was a hard and angular space and too well-lit - but I had to live with what had been done. We had contracted to use this studio, mostly at night, for an annual-guarantee total amount that came to only a small fraction of what similar recording time, computed on a normal basis, would have amounted to just about anywhere else. In our original chronically impoverished but highly ambitious condition, it was a lifesaver. When I later discovered that the studio's previous jazz-recording use had been by Milt Gabler, in the early years of his pioneering Commodore Records, the very first of the independent jazz labels, I had no trouble recognizing that as a meaningful omen."

[Christiern]

Orrin was always second banana at Bill Grauer Productions.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

that brings up a good point, i do not know whats up w/ the B.G productions......so does that encompassing something larger, of that of which Riverside is a part of? Was Bill G. the one w/all the $, and orrin was just in charge of the jazz division? where did all the $ go?

[Brownian Motion]

Rust's NYT obit-

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/arts/music/25rust.html?hpw

[Christiern]

Bill Grauer Productions was not a part of any larger entity. There was no "jazz division," but we had a nice restroom. All the money? Riverside was a shoestring operation kept alive by manipulation (and a little help from Herman Gimbel). Orrin, as far as I know, was not involved in the finances, which is why the whole thing collapsed when Bill died. It was said that he really didn't, that the coffin was full of rocks, and that he relocated to Switzerland. I don't believe any of that, but I am inclined to take seriously the rumor that Herman Gimble was the beneficiary of a seriously substantial life insurance policy on Bill.

[EKE BBB]

Three nice eulogies of BR have been published in the last issue of VJM, written by Malcolm Shaw and other two friends/colleagues.

[BillF]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/31/brian-rust-obituary?INTCMP=SRCH