Dialing up Roy

Little Jazz blows big horn with the 1953 Metronome All Stars. With Eldridge are, from left, John LaPorta, Teddy Wilson, Max Roach and Kai Winding. The recording date was at Fulton Studios on June 9, 1953, in New York City, not long after the offering in this posting was recorded.

Here's another good'un. I nearly busted a gut when I found this Gem at a local church rummage sale. Original Dial 10-inchers are ultra rare, and what this one was doing in a box of of the usual Al Hirt and Mitch Miller favorites was, and shall remain, a mystery. But there it was, in near pristine condition. I snatched it up and forked over the selling price of four bits without a moment's hesitation. Last of the big spenders!

It wasn't Dial LP1, the first independently-produced long-playing record by Charlie Parker, but it was a genuine Dial, the fourth LP released by Ross Russell, owner of Dial Records. It came out in 1953 and featured trumpet great Roy Eldridge, a compilation of several dates he did while on a junket to Paris in 1950 with the Benny Goodman Sextet. BG and the band did several gigs during the month of June before heading back to the States. Roy, having found Paris to his liking, stayed behind, learned a little French and found a few places to play. He remained for nearly 18 months. Viva la France!

While there, he went into the studio for the Vogue label and cut numerous sessions with both French and American musicians. These sides were selected from dates that featured the Raymond Fol Orchestra, a duet with Claude Bolling and a quartet with Gerry Wiggins and ex-patriot Kenny Clarke. Little Jazz is in top form, sounding like he did fifteen years earlier but with a slightly modern tinge. He also sings a little – listen to his subtlety modified lyrics on "Black and Blue." 

These sides were mostly reissued Stateside back in the '80s on two Inner City compilations, but I just know Gems fans will appreciate hearing them in their (semi) original form. The sound is excellent and required only a few touch-ups. From the original – and I mean original – vinyl, as always.

Roy Eldridge & His Orchestra
Dial 304 (originally on French Vogue)

Roy Eldridge, tp; Gerry Wiggins, p; Pierre Michelot, b; Kenny Clarke, d.
Paris, France; June 14, 1950.
*Eldridge, tp; Claude Bolling, p.
Paris, France; March 29, 1951 

1. Wild Man Blues*
2. Poco Mania (Nuts)
3. If I Had You
4. Fireworks*

Eldridge, tp, v; Benny Vasseur, tbn; Alberty Ferrari, ts; William Boucaya, bar; Raymond Fol, p; Barney Spieler, b; Robert Barnet, d.
Paris, France; October 28, 1950

5. Black and Blue
6. I Remember Harlem
7. L’isle Adam
8. Trumpet Lament (Tu Disais Que Tu M’aimais)

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?cckjh44n5ly8vlx