Tadd and Fats Redux

Fat Girl and Baptiste: Fats Navarro and Illinois Jacquet at a session in the mid-'40s. Photo from Down Beat

If you were to guess the most visited and downloaded entry on this blog, what do think it would it be? That rare Mingus? The live version of Ornette's "Skies of America"? The only record pianist Kenny Kersey ever made as a leader? How about Duke Ellington and Bing Crosby teaming up on "St. Louis Blues," with Der Bingle scatting a chorus?

I might have guessed one of those, too. But I'd be wrong and so would you. Number 1 on Gems is "Fats and Fat Value" from March of last year. There I mused on the worth of this music called jazz and contrasted the value of a Michael Cosmic LP with one by Tadd Dameron and Fats Navarro. Apparently Gems' readers thought the Dameron/Navarro download was worth something, because it sold and keeps selling ("selling" being a term of art – nothing here is for sale except a bridge in Brooklyn).

So, to keep our readers happy, here's Part 2 of Tadd and Fats at the Royal Roost in 1948, another treasure that comes our way via the obsessive/compulsive airchecking of the late, lamented Boris Rose. This one features a few nice vocals by Kenny Hagood and a guest appearance by Milt Jackson. The playing is first rate with Fats in primo shape and Alan Eager displaying his mettle.

The recording has Boris's abrupt starts and stops, and there's a bit of surface sound, but overall I'd say these tunes are in pretty good sonic shape for being in their 67th year (hey, I'm nearly that old!). So enjoy them and let's see if we can outdo the last Tadd/Fats download. As always, from the original vinyl.

(I wonder if I should post the Michael Cosmic ... ?)

Tadd and Fats • Fats Navarro/Tadd Dameron
Sneaker TDFN 829
Airchecks, Royal Roost, New York, NY

Fats Navarro, tp; Rudy Williams, as; Allen Eager, ts; Tadd Dameron, p; Curley Russell, b; Kenny Clarke, d; Kenny Hagood, v. August 29, 1948

1. The Squirrel
2. Good Bait
3. Pennies from Heaven (KH)
4. Anthropology
5. Kitchenette Across the Hall (KH)
6. Lady Be Good
7. Tadd Walk

Fats Navarro, tp; Rudy Williams, as; Allen Eager, ts; Milt Jackson, vbs; Tadd Dameron, p; 
Curley Russell, b; Kenny Clarke, d. September 4, 1948

8. Symphonette
9. The Squirrel #2

As above, October 16, 1948

10. Anthropology #2
11. Our Delight
12. Tadd Walk #2

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/uc3lzrzywl8r1do/Tadd_and_Fats.rar

Fats and Fat Value

Fat Girl and his co-leader Tadd Dameron waxing a session for Blue Note in 1947. They're joined by reedmen Charlie Rouse and Ernie Henry. William Gottlieb photo

What is this music that we love worth? On a personal level, of course, it's priceless. Who can set a value on those recordings that opened our ears, expanded our minds, that thrilled us and touched our hearts? It's easy to get maudlin about it, but those highly individual experiences are the moments that inform the arc of a lifetime. To talk of monetary worth is to miss the point.

But now that that's out of the way, let's get down to brass tacks (whatever that means). The reason we post jazz recordings here on Gems is because much of that material is rare and (for that reason) desirable. Hence it has value. Just a few clicks away from this page is a gargantuan auction site where just about any recording in any format is available at any time night and day – for a price. Sometimes that price is modest, but many times the selling figure for a particular album is, well, astonishing. I can't help but wonder, how are these values determined?

A couple of gems – as far as collectors are
concerned. Musically, I'm not so sure.

Case in point: When I lived in Boston back in the '70s, I haunted used recorded shops eight days a week. Every now and then a deep-groove Blue Note would turn up, or a first-issue Riverside, or maybe even a 10-inch gem on Prestige would (rarely) appear. I'd buy those if I could afford them, but I'd also buy just about anything that looked interesting. I was particularly into the avant garde and I picked up loads of self-produced free-jazz LPs by unknown players. A couple of records of that sort that I came across had homemade covers and were by two gents named Michael Cosmic and Phill Musra. I'd never heard of them, but the records were 99 cents each, so I snapped them up. I don't even think I ever listened to them.

Forty years later I discovered a website that lists the selling price of records auctioned on that big site on the Internet. Maybe you know it? It's called CollectorsFrenzy. They had a listing for both of the Cosmic/Musra albums I bought those many years ago, and it blew my mind. Together these two records sold recently for a whopping $2,220.75! 

So what is this music worth? 

Clearly, in the case of Cosmic and Musra, nowhere near that much. At least, in terms of the music itself. Their sort of stuff these days is termed "spiritual jazz" and is deemed highly collectible. But musically speaking? Nah, no great shakes. 

Which leads me to offer some music that I know is of real value. Maybe not in terms of its "collectibility," but in terms of its artistry. It's also a self-produced effort, another of Boris Rose's offerings. But there's no question about the quality of the music – it's first rate.

These tunes were recorded during several successive broadcasts from the Royal Roost in 1948. They feature the Tadd Dameron/Fats Navarro sextet with special guest Anita O'Day, and the performances are without exception superb. You probably know the airchecks by this band that were released on Riverside back in the '60s. This recording only repeats one of those tunes (or maybe "The Squirrel" is a different take). 

Eager in solo flight, captured by Bill Gottlieb.

Fats is in tip-top shape, rivaling Dizzy for pyrotechnics. Rudy Williams, a former swingtime member of the Savoy Sultans, is a bit out of his element but manages to get over. Tadd comps along competently, but it's Allen Eager who is the stand-out. His tenor navigates the solo terrain deftly and repeatedly impresses. And to think this guy quit jazz to become a ski-instructor!

Anita O'Day sounds relaxed and in command. You can hear how carefully she's structured her act by the repeated "spontaneity" of the "I ain't mad at you" interjection in "How High the Moon." The pianist is listed as Dameron but the guy takes solos that are beyond Tadd's ability, at least to my ears. So maybe someone else is at the keyboard when Ms. O'Day steps up to the mic.

There's a full 60 minutes of music in this download, so give it some time to fully load. The tunes are clipped at the end in classic Boris Rose fashion, so don't blame me for that. But – at least in musical terms – you'll get some real value for your efforts.

As always, these files were dubbed from the original vinyl. The sound isn't perfect (it wasn't when the record was new), but I've cleaned it a bit and I think you'll approve. 

Fats’ Gang!
Fats Navarro/Tadd Dameron/Anita O’Day 
Talcrip TDFN 10230

Fats Navarro, tp; Rudy Williams, as; 
Allen Eager, ts; Tadd Dameron, p; Curley Russell, b; Kenny Clarke, d.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 2, 1948
1. Good Bait

Anita O’Day, v; Tadd Dameron, p; Curley Russell, b; Kenny Clarke, d.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 2, 1948
2. What Is This Thing Called Love?
3. How High the Moon

Personnel as 1.
Aircheck, New York, NY; October 9, 1948
4. The Squirrel
5. The Tadd Walk

Personnel as 2.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 9, 1948
6. September in the Rain
7. How High the Moon

Personnel as 1.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 9, 1948
8. Dameronia
9. Good Bait

Personnel as 1; add Kai Winding.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 23, 1948
10. Eb-pob
11. The Squirrel

Personnel as 10; omit Navarro, Williams.
Royal Roost, New York, NY; October 30, 1948
12. The Chase
13. Wahoo
14. Lady be Good

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/vv29kng7bgmkymx/Fats_Navarro.rar