Sidney Bechet

[romualdo]

I've just picked up the Sidney Bechet Kaleidoscope/Vogue (1989) CD - Salle Pleyel 31 Janvier 52. It is supposed to contain the whole concert (minus 5 unissued titles).

The majority of the titles from both the Blue Note 10" LP's (7024/5) appear to be derived from this concert (two songs from 7025 come from the later March 12 concert).

The March 12 date was apparently released on a double CD (660504) - can't seem to track this one down. Was it released in the same Kaliedoscope/Vogue series?

Most Bechet Pleyel CD's for sale on Amazon (US/UK/France/Germany) are usually poorly detailed (re label & tracks) except for the Masters of Jazz (Italian?) release so it's difficult to know if I'm looking at the right one. I've never seen a double pleyel set advertised.

Have the two concerts ever been released as a single set (2 or 3 CD's?)

[brownie]

The March 12 date was apparently released on a double CD (660504) - can't seem to track this one down. Was it released in the same Kaliedoscope/Vogue series?

Yes, it was reissued in the Kaleodoscope Jazz series Concert 12 mars 1952. Click on Concert Pleyel for the CD content!

[romualdo]

The March 12 date was apparently released on a double CD (660504) - can't seem to track this one down. Was it released in the same Kaliedoscope/Vogue series?

Yes, it was reissued in the Kaleodoscope Jazz series Concert 12 mars 1952. Click on Concert Pleyel for the CD content!

Thanks Brownie - now I just need to track it down

[l p]

from an online bechet listing:

" Subsequently Vogue issued a

CD box comprising all Bechet's studio recordings (*), but - in general - the 'master takes' only.

(* = The box number is 74321165972, and the individual CD numbers (although I do not think the individual

elements have been officially released) are 1169512/522/532/542/552/572/582/592/602) "

what is the name of this box set?

thanks

[John L]

The box set was called "Sidney Bechet Integrale Studio 1949/1958." It packaged together 12 or so discs that were also released separately or in packages of three. It was available for a very limited time. I was in Paris when it came out. I didn't allow myself to buy it right away because I had already spent a lot of money on music in the last month. The next month I started looking for it, but never found it again.

Edited December 6, 2013 by John L

[brownie]

The CD version (6 CDs) looked like this:

[John L]

Brownie - There was a CD version with more than 6 discs, 12 I believe, housed in a cheap box. It was the complete Vogue recordings of Sidney Bechet. I have about 6 of the individual discs.

[gmonahan]

The CD version (6 CDs) looked like this:

I was lucky enough to find that set at a rack-job at Charles Degaulle Airport, of all places. Go figure!

gregmo

[John L]

Sorry, I guess that there were only 9 CDs. http://www.cdmail.fr/affich_fich.asp?refcdm=CDM005841

[l p]

thanks for the info.

i have a 4 cd box called "Tresors". seems to be complete vogue studio recordings 1949-1952.

if anyone knows where i can find the complete 9cd box, please PM me.

thank you

[l p]

what years does the 6cd version cover? it would be strange for them to release a 9cd from 49-58, and then also release a distilled 6cd version covering the same frame.

i don't think that alternate takes is a factor, as i'm guessing that neither box has alternates.

there has to be a 9cd version, because these catalog numbers are for 9 cd's

1169512/522/532/542/552/572/582/592/602

[John L]

Brownie is refering to the same CDs as I am. As I wrote, they were released also in smaller sets and individually. As I recall, the complete 9 disc box came a bit later, and was only available for a very short time.

Here are the discs that I have (it turns out, 4). The first three I bought packaged together. They contain all of the Vogue studio recordings through January, 1952

The only other disc that I have in the set has recordings from late 1954 to early 1956

[gmonahan]

The cds in the 9-cd box were fairly basic, with single-fold covers just listing tracks, dates, and personnel (no liners). There was a very small supplemental booklet that came with it with an essay on Bechet's life by Jean-Pierre Jackson, but with little on the specific sessions. I don't have them scanned, but here are the titles in order with dates covered in parentheses (apologies to my French friends for leaving off the accents!):

1: Bechet Creole Blues (1949-50)

2: In the Groove (1950-51)

3: Petite Fleur (1951-52)

4: Embraceable You (1952)

5: Nuages (1952-54)

6: Un Ange Comme Ca (1954-56)

7: Passport to Paradise (1956)

8: Premier Bal (1957)

9: Souvenirs de la Nouvelle Orleans (1957-58)

Volume 8 includes the two sessions with innovative French pianist, Martial Solal.

gregmo

[kh1958]

thanks for the info.

i have a 4 cd box called "Tresors". seems to be complete vogue studio recordings 1949-1952.

if anyone knows where i can find the complete 9cd box, please PM me.

thank you

Thanks for the reminder; I'm been wanting more late Bechet, so I picked up this Tresors set for a pittance on amazon (less than $8).

[l p]

i can confirm that the easily available 4 cd box called "Tresors" is an exact duplicate of

1: Bechet Creole Blues (1949-50)

2: In the Groove (1950-51)

3: Petite Fleur (1951-52)

4: Embraceable You (1952)

from the above box set.

and a slight date correction

old

5: Nuages (1952-54)

new

5: Nuages (1953-54)

[jazzbo]

Thanks, I just picked up the Tresors set.

[mjzee]

Does anyone have this and can opine upon it?

[king ubu]

pretty entertaining stuff - there's a previous thread with some discussion here:

[king ubu]

the "Trésors" set being discussed here would be this:

right?

[jazzbo]

Oui.

[king ubu]

Merci, monsieur! Je vais donc l'acheter!

[jazzbo]

Tres bien. C'est si bon.

[l p]

http://www.unitedmusic.ch/store/index.php?id_product=8&controller=product&id_lang=4

 

Sidney Bechet ‎– Sidney Bechet En Suisse / In Switzerland

Label:

United Music Foundation ‎– 7640160390103

Format:

Box Set, Numbered 
4 × CD, Mono 

Country:

Switzerland

Released:

10 Dec 2014

https://www.discogs.com/Sidney-Bechet-Sidney-Bechet-En-Suisse-In-Switzerland/release/6678782

 

about 2/3 of this box set seems to be previously unissued. only one place to buy it, and it's about $180.

 

[gmonahan]

As much as I love Bechet, that's just a bit rich for my blood!

 

 

gregmo

[dhadzis]

Actually this box set is not to be seen as the average Bechet reissue but rather as a "no compromise" project which actually consists in an 12" x 12" 216-page art book with 4 CDs of Bechet's Swiss recordings thoroughly restored and mastered from the best surviving original audio sources. This box set actually weights 2,5kg (5lb) !

The aim of this project, which took 2 years in the making, was to document the story of Bechet in Switzerland for future generations, with some 250 photos, most of which have never been seen before, as well as some 140 documents consisting in all Swiss tour programs from 1926 (Black People tour) through 1958, local press articles and announcements, as well as some legendary documents such as the never-seen original Ernest Ansermet article published in the Revue Romande in 1919, and André Wagnière's private guestbooks signed by Sidney when he came to his place in the 50's. At the bottom of this page, you will find a video preview of what is in the book: http://www.unitedmusic.ch/index.php/en/projects/sidney-bechet-in-switzerland

Extensive research in a wide range of Swiss press archives has taken place to also document all of Bechet's Swiss concert dates and venues (from 1926 to 1958), thus correcting all errors from current biographies. And a bilingual essay (French/English) by Bechet's French biographer Fabrice Zammarchi explains Bechet's intimate relationship with Switzerland.

As for the audio restoration and mastering process, you can judge for yourself here: http://www.unitedmusic.ch/index.php/en/projects/audio-clips

Finally, I would like to point out that an average record company would never have been able to put together such a project, sincec it would have never been financially viable.

It took a Swiss nonprofit for the preservation of the recorded music heritage, the United Music Foundation, to make this happen.

As a result, this unique box set has been praised by the press and awarded twice (including the Coveted Best Reissue Award by the French Academy of Jazz). It also served as the basis of a TV documentary on Bechet in Geneva with previously unseen private footage. http://www.unitedmusic.ch/index.php/en/news/press-review/72-press-sidney-bechet

Finally, I would like to correct one point: this box set is not only available from the United Music Foundation's web store but also from the Jazz Record Center in the US: http://jazzrecordcenter.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2899

Kind regards,

David

Edited February 21, 2017 by dhadzis