Duke's Day

The Duke on the air: A broadcast from around the time of this offering. This one obviously emanates from a radio studio and not a restaurant, with Artie Whetsol and Juan Tizol in the background. Photographer unknown

It's Ellington's 116th birthday anniversary, and we here at Gems could not let it pass by without offering our devoted followers a little something to celebrate. So, here's the Duke on the air, doing remotes for the United States Treasury Department in an effort to move a few War Bonds during the last big one.

Jacob Lawrence, Panel 18: "The
migration gained in momentum."

But ... before we get to the good stuff, a little story. Long-time visitors to this blog may recall that a while back we posted an Ellington download taken from Victor's original 78-rpm release of "Black, Brown and Beige." Many of you were appreciative of the dub, despite its audio limitations. All well and good, and Gems moved on to other postings. 

But about four months ago, I was contacted by a very nice woman interested in "Black, Brown and Beige" – specifically, in that odd paper sleeve that Victor issued the Duke's magnum opus in. This person, it turns out, works at the Museum of Modern Art here in the Big Apple. She was helping to produce their next big exhibit, a complete showing of artist Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series," a 60-painting pictorial narration of the African-American migration to the north between the world wars. In searching around the interwebs for a source for that "Black, Brown and Beige" album which the museum wanted to use in the exhibit, she found Gems. One thing led to another, and the upshot was we were delighted to supply MoMA with our copy of the album for the Lawrence exhibit. 

Gems' copy of Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige," an unusual gatefold paper jacket album, is seen at the top, on display at the Museum of Modern Art. Next to it is the original program from the Duke's 1943 Carnegie Hall concert where "BB&B" was originally presented. Gems photo

So, never underestimate to power of the web. You never know who's out there checking you out. The show, by the way, is highly recommended. The presentation of Lawrence's work is excellently done and the ancillary material, including films of Billie Holiday and Marian Anderson, is superb. 

On to this posting's offering. In the last year of World War II, Ellington was tapped by the U.S. Treasury Department to do a series of broadcasts to promote the purchase of War Bonds to fund the war effort's final push. Duke did a year of Saturday programs, each an hour in length. They were preserved on acetate discs and many decades later, a group of Ellington fanatics released the entire year's worth of shows on a series of 50 LPs. In my years of collecting, I've managed to find about 30 of these discs and hope one day to complete the set. I can't post all 30 here, so I thought instead I'd upload the first and last album in the series. 

So here's Duke in 1945. He plays the "Perfume Suite" on the first disc, which, you will notice, uses the original, provocative title for the second movement, "Violence." The second offering, the "Bonus" LP, is a remarkable document with a tribute to FDR broadcast shortly after his passing in 1945. Poignant! As an added treat, there's also a 1953 aircheck from the famed Blue Note in Chicago. Don't miss Ray Nance's romp on "Basin Street Blues"!

You'll note that these files are not broken down into individual tunes, as the records presented them as one continuous cut. I've appended the liner notes to the first LP here (if you copy and paste the file to your desktop, you should be able to read it). Unfortunately, there were no liner notes to the Bonus LP. The covers are, as you can see, minimalist. The files, as always come right from the virgin vinyl, no cleaning needed. The download is a big file (200 megs), so give it some time. Happy birthday, Duke!

Duke Ellington Treasury Series 1945 Vol. 1

DETS Treasury Show #1
Duke Ellington orchestra including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, 
Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Joya Sherrill, Kay Davis, Al Hibbler.
Aircheck, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY, April 7, 1945

1. Take the A Train
2. Blutopia
3. Midriff
4. Creole Love Call
5. Suddenly It Jumped
6. Frustration
7. I’m Beginning to See the Light 
8. Love (The Perfume Suite)
9. Violence (The Perfume Suite)
10. Dancers in Love  
(The Perfume Suite)
11. Coloratura  (The Perfume Suite)
12. Air Conditioned Jungle
13. I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But the Blues
14. Subtle Slough
15. Passion Flower

Duke Ellington Treasury Series 1945/1953 Bonus Album

DETS Treasury Show Bonus

Duke Ellington orchestra including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, 

Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Ray Nance, Joya Sherrill, 

Kay Davis, Al Hibbler, Jimmy Grissom.

Aircheck, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY, April 7, 1945

1. Moon Mist

2. New World A-Comin’

3. Nobody Knows the 

Trouble I’ve Seen

4. Mood Indigo

5. Dirge

6. Chant for FDR (American Lullaby)

7. Come Sunday

8. A City Called Heaven 

(Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow)

9. Creole Love Call

10. Moon Mist

Aircheck, Blue Note, Chicago, IL, August 1, 1953

11. Take the A Train

12. Boo-Dah

13. What More Can I Say

14. Frustration

15. Basin Street Blues

16. Duet

17. Ballin’ the Blues

18. Satin Doll

Find them here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ing66gi4fxvlw4g/Duke_Ellington_DETS.rar

Enjoyment of Jazz

In December of 1949, a striking full-page ad appeared in Down Beat touting the latest effort by producer and label owner, Norman Granz. This time it wasn't about another of his JATP tours. Instead, it promoted a unique album that Granz had created called "The Jazz Scene." It was a premium item, costing all of $25 for 12 sides. The illustration is by David Stone Martin.

Predicting the future is never easy. Predicting the future of this music we call jazz is darn near impossible. How many times have we heard "the big bands are back"? Or that X (insert "Dixieland," "soul jazz," "psychedelic," "fusion," "hip-hop," etc.) is the next big thing? Remember the Fender Rhodes? Steinways were the keyboard of the past. Anthony Braxton was the next Charlie Parker one year, unemployed and scuffling only a few years later.

So your guess is as good as mine when it comes to jazz's destiny. Who could have predicted Wynton Marsalis? Not me.

Norman makes a point.

But back in the late 1940s, jazz's leading impresario took a stab at jazz prognostication. Norman Granz decided to issue an album that would feature some of the music's finest talents and would offer a glimpse not only of the contemporary scene but also of what lay ahead for jazz. To grab the public's attention, Granz planned to market this recording as a special collector's edition, limiting the total pressing and selling it at a premium price. The records would be packaged in an elegantly designed case, accompanied by detailed notes and beautifully executed photographs by Gjon Mili of the artists involved.

This milestone Granz christened "The Jazz Scene." 

Released in early 1950, "The Jazz Scene" went for a stiff 25 bucks and was capped at 5,000 copies, with the stipulation that "no copies will be available after the first edition is sold." It was received with accolades by the jazz press and got a special two-page review in the industry's unofficial pub, Down

Down Beat's 1950 review of
"The Jazz Scene."

Beat magazine. To increase the album's appeal, Norman numbered and signed each copy. Buyers were secure in the knowledge that the music contained within was authorized and approved by jazz's Sol Hurok. The fans regarded the album as a must-have, though for many the price was prohibitive.

A portion of the music on the "Scene" was provided – no surprise – by members of Granz's stable of artists. Among them were Charlie Parker (recently signed), Lester Young, Bud Powell and Flip Phillips. Norman also recorded non-Mercury artists Willie Smith, Ralph Burns, Neal Hefti and George Handy. He seemed to have favored the arrangers on the album, hinting that at least some of jazz's future lay with writers rather than with improvisers. 

"The Jazz Scene" in its
original 78 rpm issue.

Of the compositions, George Handy's "The Bloos" stands out. It's at once anachronistic and startlingly original. It couldn't be written today, but it's unlike anything being written in 1949, too. Michael Levin called it a "satire" in his Down Beat review, and that seems about right. There are no solos, and it's the arrangement that gets top billing. Handy retired from music not long after this, claiming that the "music biz and all connected stinks."

Of the Parker contributions, "The Bird" is a piece based on "Topsy" (if I recall correctly) that runs almost five minutes – the longest performance Bird ever recorded in a studio setting. It's good, but not first rate Parker and kind of peters out at the end. According to Phil Schaap, Charlie was upstairs making "The Bird" when Neal Hefti was downstairs with the orchestra recording "Repetition" and "Rhumbacito." Parker stopped by on the way out of the studio and asked if he could sit in on the former tune. The result was Bird soloing over Hefti's arrangement during the latter half of "Repetition." A spontaneous collaboration and it works. 

Gjon Mili's photo of Harry
Carney at work.

The Ellington sides are really features for Harry Carney and an unnamed string section. Duke figures in only as the composer of the two tunes. My understanding is that Ellington did not like Granz and pretty much had nothing to do with him (until late in his career), so for Norman to credit these tunes as he does is a bit of false advertising. That said, Carney sounds great, and it's nice to hear Billy Strayhorn tickle the ivories.

The true gem on the album is Coleman Hawkins' stellar "Picasso." According to the notes, the Hawk spent many hours formulating this free-form, solo saxophone masterpiece, and it shows. Hawkins did two or three other solo improvisations after this first effort, but "Picasso" stands out as a remarkable document by jazz's elder statesman of the tenor sax. If you've never heard it before, you're in for a treat.

The album was originally released on 78 rpm discs with a Mercury/Clef imprint. Despite Granz's pledge, the recordings were eventually issued again (and again), first on various LPs and more recently on CD. These dubs were taken from an American Recording Society release. The ARS was a record club of the variety popular back in the '50s, and it had a special deal with Granz to reissue Clef and Verve releases for its members. Each ARS record came with detailed liner notes – something the originals often lacked.

The liner notes for the ARS release of "The Jazz Scene."

The sound quality of this album is very good considering its age. We've cleaned things up here and there, and you may notice the occasional click, but mostly these files are broadcast quality. As always, they were taken from the original vinyl.

The Jazz Scene

Various Artists

Mercury/Clef

New York, NY; Various dates, 1949

1. Repetition 

Neal Hefti Orchestra featuring Charlie Parker

2. I Want to Be Happy

Lester Young with Nat Cole, Buddy Rich

3. Tanga

Machito with Flip Phillips

4. Introspection

Ralph Burns Orchestra with Bill Harris, Herbie Steward

5. Sophisticated Lady

Willie Smith with Dodo Marmarosa, Red Callendar, Jo Jones

6. Frustration

Harry Carney with Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford and strings

7. The Bloos

George Handy

8. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm

Bud Powell with Ray Brown, Max Roach

9. Sono

Harry Carney with Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford and strings

10. The Bird

Charlie Parker with Hank Jones, Ray Brown, Shelly Mann

11. Rhumbacito

Neal Hefti Orchestra

12.Picasso

Coleman Hawkins

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h2nc925q5r8qwaz/Jazz_Scene.rar

88s on 78

Burning up the keys: Johnny Gaurnieri accompanied by drummer Sam Weiss and "singing bass" player Slam Stewart. Gaurnieri was the consummate session man in the mid-'40s but this is one of the few recordings he made under his own name. Photo by Gems

Old technology tends to pile up around the Gems household. Particularly when the venerable technology is in the form of shellac platters. I've been meaning to upload dubs of some of Gems' hundreds of 78-rpm recordings for a while, and finally some spare time has arrived with the end of summer. So here's hodgepodge of interesting stuff, some of it extremely rare, some available on compilations, but all of it great jazz of the pianistic variety.

Leading off the program is Hazel Meyers, a little-known singer who had a career primarily on the Vaudeville stage. But here she sings some topical blues in a convincing manner, with the great Fletcher Henderson accompanying. Of special interest on these performances are the excellent muted cornet fills by the legendary Joe Smith, a musician whose work with Bessie Smith we all know.

There's also Duke Ellington and the boys doing "St. Louis Blues" on a 12-inch Columbia disc. Nothing too unusual about that, except that the vocalist is a crooner named Bing Crosby. I had no idea the Duke and Bing ever got together, but here's the evidence (and Bing scats a chorus just to prove he's no square as the piece closes). 

Clarence Profit was a New York swing pianist who spent some time in the Caribbean. He's all but unknown today, but in the '30s and early '40s he was thought of in the same class as Teddy Wilson. He recorded this date for Decca in 1940, four years before his death at age 32. 

The Joe Bushkin date features a young Zoot Sims on tenor. If you're a drinker, don't miss Johnny Gaurnieri's "Hangover" – it'll give you a hangover just listening. Herman Chittison was another talented swing player who fell through the historical cracks. He recorded a number of well-received 10-inch albums for Columbia in the '50s, but this is one of his earliest dates. Continuing with obscure pianists, Cyril Haynes was completely unknown to me when I came upon his Comet recording. He worked mostly in New York and was with the Savoy Sultans for a time, but here he's joined by Dick Vance from Andy Kirk's band and the great Don Byas. 

Pat Flowers was a Fats Waller devotee, even recruiting some of Fats' original band members after Waller passed. Flowers is usually dismissed as an imitator, but he sounds good to me on this Majestic date. Hazel Scott reprises her spot in the movie "Rhapsody in Blue" with a bit of nice piano and a stiffish vocal on a Gershwin classic (the movie was about George's rise to fame).

Avery Parrish, Erskine Hawkins' pianist, revisits his hit "After Hours" on a Dud Bascomb selection (Bascomb was also in the Hawkins band), and we get to hear Earl Hines leading a thoroughly modern-sounding big band on a rare ARA recording. Erroll Garner plays his inimitable style on a couple of tunes on the virtually unknown Acorn label. 

Count Basie's up next with a couple of sides done for Norman Granz. These have been reissued, but I've included them because they're so tasty I couldn't resist. Finally, it's the Lion with a blues and a chestnut, swinging hard in post-stride fashion. His is the only record I've ever seen on the Blue Circle label. 

Speaking of labels, here's a sampling:

As always, these files were dubbed from the originals with just a minimum of cleaning and editing. So be prepared for surface hiss and slight pops and clicks. If you can tolerate that, I think you'll really enjoy these long-lost treasures. 

Piano Rareties, 1923-1953
Various artists, labels

Hazel Meyers, v; Fletcher Henderson, p; Joe Smith, cornet.
New York, NY; October 30, 1923; Vocalion 14709
1. Awful Moanin' Blues
2. He's Never Gonna Throw Me Down

Duke Ellington Orchestra w/Whetsol, Williams, Nanton, Tizol, Brown, Bigard, Hodges, Guy, Braud, Greer, plus Bing Crosby, v.
New York, NY; February 11, 1932; Columbia 55003
3. St. Louis Blues

Clarence Profit, p; Jimmy Shirley, g; Ben Brown, d.
New York, NY; September 11, 1940; Decca 8527
4. Dark Eyes
5. Azure

Joe Bushkin, p; Ernie Figueroa, tp, Bill Harris, tbn; Jack Sims, ts; Sid Weiss, b; Specs Powell, d.
New York, NY; May 1944; Commodore 511
6. Oh, Lady Be Good
7. Fade Out

Johnny Guarnieri, p; Slam Stewart, b; Sammy Weiss, d.
New York, NY; November 7, 1944; Savoy 554, 555
8. Firebird (Guarnieri)
9. Hangover (Big Head) (Guarnieri)
10. That Old Black Magic
11. I'm in the Mood for Love

Herman Chittison, p; Jimmy Shirley, g; Carlton Powell, b.
New York, NY; December 8, 1944; Musicraft 315
12. How High the Moon
13. The Song Is Ended

Cyril Haynes, p; Dick Vance, tp; Don Byas, ts; Al Casey, g; John Levy, b; Harold West, d.
New York, NY; 1944; Comet T5
14. Across the Road (Haynes)
15. Cedar Manor (Haynes)

Pat Flowers, p; unknown b, d.
New York, NY; late 1940s (?); Majestic 1010
16. Ain't Misbehavin'
17. Original Blues (Flowers)

Hazel Scott, p, v; orchestra cond. by Toots Camarata, from Warner Bros. movie "Rhapsody in Blue"
New York, NY; May 3, 1945; Decca 23429
18. Fascinating Rhythm 

Avery Parrish, p; Dud Bascomb, tp; Paul Bascomb, ts; Tiny Grimes, g; John Simmons, b; Sid Catlett, d.
New York, NY; 1946; Alert 102
19. After Hours

Earl Hines, p; orchestra including Benny Green, Scoops Carey, Wardell Gray, Kermit Scott
Los Angeles, CA; April 1946; ARA 156
20. Straight Life

Erroll Garner, p; Pat Simmons, b; Alvin Stoller, d.
Los Angeles, CA; March 29, 1949; Acorn 305
21. I Want a Little Girl
22. This Can't Be Love

Count Basie, org; Joe Newman, tp; Paul Quinichette, ts; Freddy Green, g; Gene Ramey, b; Buddy Rich, d.
New York, NY; December 13, 1952; Clef 89102
23. KC Blues
24. Stan Shorthair

Willie "The Lion" Smith, p; Harry Goodwin, tp; Jimmy Archey, tbn; Cecil Scott, ts; Pops Foster, b; William Purnell, d; Myra Johnson, v.
New York, NY; August 15, 1953; Blue Circle 500
25. When the Saints Go Marching In
26. The Lion Steps Out

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?cb8clc1bu48q7ze

The Maestro's Masterpiece

Edward Kennedy in Europe with a few of his fans not long after the conclusion of World War II, and a few years after his first groundbreaking Carnegie Hall concert in 1943. Photo from the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz

Here's a belated birthday tribute to the immortal Duke Ellington (his 114th was April 29th). It's an interesting artifact from the Duke's first great Carnegie Hall concert from January 23, 1943. It took almost a year to get Ellington and the band into the studio to record selections from the concert's major work, "Black, Brown and Beige," and when RCA finally issued them they did so using their 12-inch format – a size usually reserved for classical music. The album, appropriately entitled "Black, Brown and Beige," was first released with the conventional "photo album" packaging – hard-board covers, cloth spine, multiple pockets inside. But then, for some reason, RCA put out a second version with the records contained in a simple folding paper sleeve. The new format anticipated the jacket designs for double LPs by twenty-five years, and must have been a hopeful, cost-saving experiment. Unlike vinyl LPs, though, 78-rpm discs are brittle and subject to breakage, and I can only assume that many of the Ellington records shipped out in these avant garde covers must have come back broken. The jacket offers scant protection for the shellac platters.

That said, I was lucky enough to come across an unbroken edition of "Black, Brown and Beige" in the paper sleeve a few years ago. It's been carefully kept on the shelf ever since, and with the arrival of the Duke's natal day I thought I'd get it out and share it with Gems' visitors. I doubt these records have been played in nearly 70 years, so it's definitely time.

This music you've heard many times, I'm sure, and it's readily available in numerous formats, so there's nothing really rare in this offering. Except the packaging. As you can see, there are some great liner notes and photos, and RCA sweetened the deal by including a program from the original concert. I've scanned them all and have included them here. The music itself is extraordinary, mostly through-composed with only a few solos, and should rank right up there in the popular consciousness with Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Maybe someday, but until then, enjoy this masterwork in celebration of EKE's birthday.

These are the original 78s, so there's surface noise and the accompanying pops and clicks. But this is how fans heard music back in 1944, and we strive for authenticity here at Gems.

Black, Brown and Beige
Duke Ellington Orchestra
Duke Ellington, p; Rex Stewart, cnt; Shorty Baker, Wallace Jones, tp; Ray Nance, tp, vln; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, tbn; Juan Tizol, vtbn; Otto Hardwick, as, cl; Johnny Hodges, as; Chauncy Haughton, cl, ts; Ben Webster, ts; Harry Carney, bar, cl, as; Fred Guy, g; Junior Raglin, b; Sonny Greer, d; Joya Sherill, v.
December 11, 12, 1944; New York, NY; RCA 

1. Work Song
2. Come Sunday
3. The Blues
4. Three Dances

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ir18v442rx1ly68/Black_Brown_Beige.rar