Pee Wee Russell - Everest recordings

I was gonna do a clarinet week, this was to be the first offering. I plan to do lots of things. Sometimes things don't work out as planned. You should still give an ear to this lp. An Everest recording, there is little info to be gleaned from the sleeve.

I remember a time when I would have viewed this music as "simple". I could not have been farther off base and I am so glad I came to appreciate the long history of jazz.

Pee Wee Russell

1. Out of Nowhere
2. Pee Wee Blues
3. I Used To Love You
4. Oh! No!
5. That Old Feeling
6. I've Got The World On A String
7. Exactly Like You
8. It All Depends On You
9. If I Had You

Pee Wee Russell - clarinet
Ruby Braff - trumpet
Bud Freeman - tenor sax
Vic Dickenson - trombone
Karl Kiffe - drums
Charles Potter - bass
Nat Pierce - piano and arrangements

FS-233 stereo

Mel Torme - radio transcriptions

These recordings could not sound better on this stifling summer evening.
These sides are from radio transcriptions recorded in the late 40's, the formative years in Torme's career. These are nothing more than a fascinating bit of nostalgia.

This no additional info provided with the lp, which was reissued in 1978 on Glendale records.

I keep threatening to post some vocal lps and hopefully I can get some more up here eventually.

Mel Torme

1. Isn't It A Lovely Day
2. I Can't Get Started
3. Stranger In Town
4. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
5. I Cover The Waterfront
6. Country Boy
7. How Are Things In Glocca Morra
8. The Blues
9. April In Paris
10. How Long Has This Been Going On?
11. Cottage For Sale
12. Gone With The Wind

material licensed from the C. P. MacGregor library

GL 6007

The Definitive Jazz Scene Vol 1 - Impulse Comp

It seems like I have owned this record forever, pulling it out every couple of years to be floored once again at all the great music it has that I just never run into elsewhere. Cah-rist! Ellington and Hawkins! Coltrane! Webster! Mingus! Tyner! and more Hawkins!
Of the series of three, and none of them are weak, this is probably my favorite. The two Bean tracks are simply outstanding. And this is the part where I mess with you...this issue has far more detailed notes about the recordings sessions including anecdotes, which the following lps tended to lack. Of course I can't share them with you due to the digital block in my brain.

But I will share as much info as my poor tired fingers will allow....

The Hawkins/Ellington tune was recorded after the session had ended and Hawk talked a few guys into playing one of his favorite Ellington themes, Basie looks back at his roots with a new incarnation of his Kansas City Six. Mingus makes my soul soar with this version of Freedom, while I dig the soprano version of Trane's selection. Hawkins sneaks in again with Shelley Manne on an outtake from their lp. Ben Webster showcases Ellington's "Single Petal Of A Rose". Webster shows up again on Clark Terry's bonus track.
You're gonna have to trust me here...there ain't a bad track on this compilation.
Without doing a whole lot of homework, I will assume that most of these tracks have appeared across the board on the respective artist's releases, but at the time this vinyl was the shit!!

The Definitive Jazz Scene
Vol. 1

1. Solitude
2. Trey of Hearts
3. Single Petal of a Rose
4. Tippie
5. Lisa and Pam
6. Big Nick
7. Avalon
8. Freedom
9. Hammer-Head Waltz
10. Flapstick Blues

1. Duke Ellington - piano, Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax, Ray Nance - violin, Sam Woodyard - drums, Aaron Bell - bass 8/18/62
2. Count Basie - piano, Thad Jones - trumpet, Frank Wess, Eric Dixon - flutes, Freddie Green - guitar, Ed Jones - bass, Sonny Payne - drums 3/22/62
3. Ben Webster - tenor sax, Hank Jones - piano, Richard Davis - bass, Osie Johnson - drums 3/11/64
4. Terry Gibbs - vibes, Kenny Burrell - guitar, Sam Jones - bass, Louis Hayes - drums 1/16/64
5. Shirley Scott - organ, Earl may - bass, Jimmie Cobb - drums 8/22/63
6. John Coltrane - soprano sax, McCoy Tyner - piano, Jimmy Garrison - bass, Elvin Jones - drums 8/11/62
7. Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax, Shelley Manne - drums, Hank Jones - piano, George Duvivier - bass 2/5/62
8. Charles Mingus - bass, narration, Eddie Preston, Richard Williams - trumpets, Britt Woodman - trombone, Don Butterfield - tuba, Jerome Richardson, Dick Hafer, Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy - saxophones, Jaki Byard - piano, Walter Perkins - drums 10/20/63
9. Clark Terry - trumpet, Phil Woods - alto sax, Ben Webster - tenor sax, Roger Kellaway - piano, Milt Hinton - bass, Walter Perkins - drums 3/13/64
10. McCoy Tyner - piano, Jimmy Garrison - bass, Albert Heath - drums 6/4/63

Impulse A-99

Benny Golson - The Other Side Of Benny Golson

I love the warmth Golson coaxed out of his horn on these early lps, this being his fourth as leader.
The addition of Curtis Fuller on the front line and the absence of a trumpet, give this lp a laid back summer night feel.

There's not much I can tell you jazz fans about the band, all familiar faces. This is just a nice record I don't see much. Enjoy!

And don't you dig the cover, a precursor to what would become standard in the hippie movement in just a few years.

Benny Golson
The Other side of..

1. Strut Time
2. Jubilation
3. Symptoms
4. Are You Real?
5. Cry A Blue Tear
6. This Night

Benny Golson - tenor sax
Curtis Fuller - trombone
Barry Harris - piano
Jymie Merrit - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

recorded Nov 12, 1958

Riverside 290

The Women / Classic Female Jazz 1932 - 1952

Ever find yourself killing time in a mall? You might find yourself wandering around some chain store. Used to be that they would always have these dump bins with ridiculously priced cds. And certainly not worth digging through...50 to 1 you find something even remotely interesting.

Whoever kept me waiting in this mall, deserves a kiss on the cheek..forever. Sadly I don't remember the girl, but I remember standing in that store and thinking "This looks pretty cool" and buying the disc. Obviously my priorities are skewed.

There is so much old fashioned goodness spread across this disc, it's crazy. How this stuff ends up in dump bins is beyond me.

The Women / Classic Female Jazz Artists 1939 - 1952


1. Harmony Grits
2. Boogie Misterioso
3. Conversation

Mary Lou Williams' Girl Stars

4. Hesitation Boogie

Mary Lou Williams Trio

5. Oops! My Lady!
6. Low Ceiling

Beryl Booker Quintet

7. A Woman's Place Is In The Groove
8. Operation Mop

Vivien Gary Quintet

9. Blitzkrieg Baby (You Can't Bomb Me)
10. Beautiful Eyes

Una Mae Carlisle

11. Vi Vigor
12. Don't Get It Twisted

International Sweethearts Of Rhythm

13. Calling All Bars
14. Mighty Like The Blues

Hazel Scott w/ The Sextet of the Rhythm Club of London

15. Nice Work If You Can Get It

Edythe Wright w/ Tommy Dorsey and the Clambake Seven

16. My Castle's Rockin'

Alberta Hunter

17. Baby What Else Can I Do

Ethel Waters

18. Rockin' Chair
19. Georgia On My Mind

Mildred Bailey

20. Mutiny On The Bounty

Helen Ward w/ Gene Krupa and his Swing Band

21. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You

Helen Forrest w/ Lionel Hampton

22. Barbara's Carol

Barbara Carroll Trio

23. Transblucency (A Blue Fog That You Can Almost See Through)

Kay Davis w/ Duke Ellington and his Orchestra

Bluebird 6755-2-RB

Kronos Quartet - live cassette

Pre-internet days, somebody sent me or I bought this cassette. Through the mail. After reading a trade magazine, most likely printed on newspaper quality stock.That's what we did back then.

You remember...you could always run across great deals in the back of Goldmine...if you had a magnifying glass.

Kronos can be difficult to pin down. You may think that they flit from genre to genre a bit, given all they have recorded. I sat in a hotel room with David Harrington one night. I saw the cds strewn around the room that he was listening to the night before a performance. The man absorbs everything. And yet, I was able to turn him on to a cassette of Cannonball Adderley's "Accent On Africa" lp the next night after the performance.

Without Kronos flitting from genre to genre, I would have overlooked a lot of music I have come to enjoy. It's not often when you can actually cite one single group that led you down many paths you may have missed.

This recording is from Terry Riley's 50th birthday celebration. Kronos was also on the verge of releasing their new record, as you will hear.

Unfortunately the years have not been kind and I have lost any specific info I may have had about this recording.

Since today is Terry Rileys birthday, I give you this.

Kronos Quartet
Live
1. Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector
2. G Song
3. The Wheel/Mythic Birds Waltz
4. Cadenza On The Night Plain

Kronos is at this time...
David Harrington - violin
Hank Dutt - Viola
John Sherba - violin
Joan Jeanrenaud - cello

Kronos tape

Duke Ellington - Monologue

More of the indomitable Duke. Nice stuff from a powerful time. 11 of the 16 tracks are from 1947, the other 5 from '51. While these bands don't always contain Ellington's most famous players, there are no slouches in this bunch and plenty that would achieve fame with Duke in the ensuing years.
I see a smattering of these songs elsewhere but I would have to do research to see if they are the same recordings. I rarely indulge in research. Sometimes I indulge in a buzz and read the credits. I have not read enough credits to be considered an authority but I know that in my bones these are fine Duke Ellington songs. Some swing like a mother, while others paint that panorama that only Duke can create. Sometimes I wonder if these versions were released elsewhere, but not often.

Duke Ellington
Monologue

1. Three Cent Stomp
2. On A Turquoise Cloud
3. New York City Blues
4. Hy' A Sue
5. Golden Cress
6. Lady Of The Lavender Mist
7. The Clothed Woman
8. Monologue (Pretty and the Wolf)
9. Stop Look, and Listen
10. Rock-Skippin' at the Blue Note
11. Change My Ways
12. Sultry Serenade
13. Women
14. Fancy Dan
15. Brown Betty
16. Smada

The 1947 sessions include at various times Sheldon Hemphill, Harold Baker, Al Killian, Francis Williams, Wilbur Bascom, Ray Nance, Claude Jones, Lawrence Brown, Tyree Glenn, Wilbur DeParis, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Al Sears, Harry Carney, Fred Guy, Oscar Pettiford, Junior Raglin, Sonny Greer.

The 1951 sessions featured Harold Baker, Fats Ford, Cat Anderson, Nelson Williams, Ray Nance, Juan Tizol, Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, Willie Smith, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Wendell Marshall, Louis Bellson. (tracks 3, 8, 10, 14, 16)


CBS 63 563

Jack Sheldon Big Band - Jack's Groove

Shit photo, I know. Sorry. (Actually thanks to Old Hippie Rick for supplying a better cover. The shit one is reproduced below.) Great record. And one I don't see around much.
Serious West Coast cool in a large band format. There is a small window of time when these dudes were awesome at this.

Sheldon was a veteran of the scene and assembled a crack crew for these sessions.

Recorded at two different sessions, I have no idea why the latter date is presented first.

Jack Sheldon and his Exciting All-Star Big Band
Jack's Groove

1. Green Dolphin Street
2. I'm Also A Person
3. I Had The Craziest Dream
4. Arrivederci
5. Brown Cow
6. Anyhow
7. Julie Is Her Name
8. Aplomb
9. Sunset Eyes
10. J.S.

1 - 5
Jack Sheldon, Conte Candoli - trumpets
Stu Williamson - valve trombone
Vince DeRosa - french horn
Lennie Niehaus - alto sax
Billy Root - baritone sax
Pete Jolly - piano
Red Callender - tuba
Buddy Clark - bass
Mel Lewis - drums

recorded LA, 12/58

6-10
Sheldon and Chet Baker - trumpet
Art Pepper, Herb Geller - alto sax
Harold Land - tenor sax
Paul Moer - piano, arrangements
Buddy Clark - bass
Mel Lewis - drums

recorded LA 8/57


Fresh Sounds cd FSR-CD 70

Shit cover...

Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra - Hodge Podge

Recently a discussion about "swing era" bands came up with a few friends. The usual was bandied about. But surprisingly when Duke was mentioned, most folk almost always referred to the the Blanton/Webster phase.
I spent a couple of days wrestling with whether or not Duke was a swing band and how I was going to explain my position. A listen to Cottontail chased those thoughts straight from my head.

It's simply crazy how much Duke recorded back in the day. Even crazier is how there was enough time for his compatriots to record all this stuff under their own names.

However they worked it out, we are all richer because of it.
Nary a famous orchestra song among the bunch. Awesome...but I bet you could track these songs down elsewhere easily enough.

Johnny Hodges and his Orchestra
Hodge-Podge

1. Jeep's Blues
2. Rendevouz With Rhythm
3. Empty Ballroom Blues
4. Krum Elbow Blues
5. I'm In Another World
6. Hodge - Podge
7. Dancing On The Stars
8. Wanderlust
9. Dooji Woodji
10. Savoy Strut
11. Rent Party Blues
12. Good Gal Blues
13. Finesse
14. Home Town Blues
15. Dream Blues
16. Skunk Hollow Blues

Johnny Hodges - alto and soprano sax
Cootie Williams - trumpet
Lawrence Brown - trombone
Harry Carney - baritone sax
Duke Ellington - piano, arrangements
Billy Taylor - bass
Sonny Greer - drums

track 13 - Hodges, Ellington, Greer only
track 15 - Billy Strayhorn replaces Ellington on piano
track 16 - Jimmy Blanton replaces Taylor on bass

recorded 1938/39
1974 Columbia products reissue

JEE22001

Clifford Brown - all stars

I know I just offered up some Clifford Brown recently, but during one of those massive filing sessions I ran across this. And lest it get lost in the shuffle, I present it now....

Just two long tracks. Caravan feels like it was shot out of a blunderbuss, while Autumn takes its time developing. Each has their merits. I can't even for the life of me, imagine what it would have been like to see this stuff in a small bar!

Caravan is one of my favorite all time songs. I freaking love the way this band treats it.

Clifford Brown
all stars

1. Caravan
2. Autumn In New York

Clifford Brown - trumpet
Max Roach - drums
Herb Geller - alto sax
Joe Maini - alto sax
Walter Benton - tenor sax
Kenny Drew - piano


Emarcy EXPR-1007

in glorious mono