Grand Award records - The Blues

Acclaimed by Music Critics. Approved by Music Educators. Treasured by Music Lovers. These Grand Award records can be some fun stuff. Since I'm no discophile I am unaware if this stuff has been issued elsewhere. I put it here to share with anyone else who wants to swing to these grooves. This batch being a bunch of jazzy blues. Dinah belts em out with Lucky Thompson's All Stars. Don't miss Mingus locking down the groove on these. The last couple of cuts are by Betty Roche who is cool but she's got Ellington alumni and Earl Hines on piano. You never hear this shit on PBS!

And a David Stone Martin cover...oh yeah!

1. Blues For A Day

2. Rich Man's Blues

3. All Or Nothing

4. Beggin' Mama Blues

5. Chewin' Papa Blues

6. Pacific Coast Blues

7. Wise Woman Blues

8. Blues On My Weary Mind

9. Trouble, Trouble

10. I'll Get By

11. Design For Jivin'

1-7  Dinah Washington Sings the Blues w/ Lucky Thompson's All Stars
Lucky Thompson - tenor
Milt Jackson - vibes
Charles Mingus - bass
Karl George - trumpet
Jewel Grant - alto sax
Gene Porter - baritone sax
Wilber Baranco - piano
Lee Young - drums

8-11 Betty Roche Sings with the Earl Hines Septet
Earl Hines - piano
Johnny Hodges -alto sax
Ray Nance - trumpet and violin
Al Casey - guitar
Oscar Pettiford - bass
Flip Phillips - tenor sax
Sid Catlett- drums

G.A. 33-318

Earl Hines plays Cole Porter

Amazingly, before Hines recorded this tribute of solo piano pieces in 1974, he had never before recorded a single Cole Porter tune, nor was he to do so after.
Hines is great at capturing that feeling a love about Porter tunes when done right. All classy but firmly tongue in cheek. Unfortunately Hines sticks strictly to the the known masterpieces.I wish more folks would dig out some hidden gems.

Earl Hines play Cole Porter

1. You Do Something To Me
2. Night And Day
3. Rosalie
4. I've Got You Under My Skin
5. I Get A Kick Out Of You
6. What is This Thing Called Love
7. Easy To Love

Earl Hines - piano
recorded 4/16/74 at RCA studio, NYC

Earl Hines/Paul Gonsalves - It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing

Here's a gem I don't play enough. A straight forward session with half of the tunes being Ellington compositions, I doubt you'll find much in the way of surprises. Yet the whole session exudes that joie de vivre that separates off the cuff recordings from the completely structured recordings we most often hear these days. It had to be quite something to arrive at a studio and hear two masters just go on without any preconceived arrangements, just a handful of songs they wanted to record together.
I always perceive Hines in a solo format. I'm not sure he always plays well with others but this session belays those fears.

My cover is different that the one pictured above and is as credited in this post.
Here is BL-306

1. It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
2. Over The Rainbow
3. What Am I Here For?
4. Moten Swing
5. Blues Sands
6. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good

Paul Gonsalves - tenor sax
Earl Hines - piano
Al Hall - bass
Jo Jones - drums

produced by Stanley Dance and Michael James
Recorded in NYC 12/15/70
Blues Sands was recorded 11/29/72 and is an unaccompanied piano solo.

1974 Black Lion Records