The Gift That Keeps On Giving

How many of these do you have? Clearly, Chet Baker was a big seller for Dick Bock's Pacific Jazz label. This bit of seasonal promotion comes from the Dec. 12, 1956 edition of Down Beat magazine. Only $3.98 each, and in high-fidelity mono! Those were the days ...

Well, jazz fans, it's been quite a while. Sorry for the long absence, but I've been working on several big projects in the past year and I somehow couldn't find time to feed Gems. But with the holiday season upon us and the New Year looming, I'm going to try to get back in the groove. So best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas (as Mr. Trump would have it) or a happy holiday season, whichever you prefer. My New Year's resolution – more great downloads on Gems of Jazz!

Cosmic Collector's Item

The mysterious Phil Musra blows "Egypt" on a 2009 Tube of You video. His twin brother, Michael Cosmic, is even more obscure, even though Cosmic's 1974 free jazz LP "Peace in the World" is one of jazz's most sought after albums.

I was in graduate school way back in 1976, working toward a Masters in fine art at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park (admittedly, I was never shrewd about career choices). One afternoon I was walking to the studio, and I cut through a small park a few blocks from my apartment. Because it was a hot summer day and early in the morning, there weren't many people around. But right away I noticed two guys standing under a shade tree next to a park bench. They were both blowing saxophones, doing a bit of free improvising, and raising quite a din. It wasn't unusual to see musicians performing on the street in Hyde Park and the neighboring community of Woodlawn, since many AACM members lived there. But these two guys I had never seen before, and I knew most of the AACM players by sight.

Michael Cosmic

It turns out the saxophone duo was the Cooper brothers, better known to the world as Michael Cosmic and Phil Musra. They were in Chicago, having left Boston earlier in the year, to study improvisation at the AACM's school of music. They were getting in a little alfresco practice time so as not to disturb the neighbors – and they were also hawking product. On the bench was a box of LPs that were for sale. Being a supporter of creative music, I naturally had to buy one – an album titled "Peace in the World" by Michael Cosmic. The record was clearly a self-produced effort, and I didn't expect much. But it was music of the sort I was a big fan of, so I was glad to spend a few bucks. And it was nice to meet the guys who had recorded it, if only just for a few minutes. I took the LP home and stuck it on the shelf, and it's been there ever since.

Fast forward 40 years, and in one of those inexplicable twists of cultural fate, Michael Cosmic's first opus has become the Holy Grail of record collecting. I've written about it before on Gems, expressing shock over the LP's $2K-plus price tag, but it wasn't until I received numerous requests that I considered offering it as a Gems download. So here, by popular demand, is "Peace in the World." I believe that digitizing it for this posting was the first time I actually played the album all the way through. 

So how's the music? Ehh. Standard free jazz fare from the mid-1970s – not bad, but nothing extraordinary. "Spirit jazz" is how this sort of open-ended improvising is described today, especially when issued on self-produced discs. If the covers are hand-drawn, so much the better. Cosmic's record with its Xeroxes fits those categories, so that explains some of its appeal. But its valuation far exceeds any rational estimate of its worth, so I can only guess that the crazy price is just another example of the sort of mania that gripped collectors of Sun Ra platters a few years back. My advice to those of you who have a copy? Sell now before the market collapses!

In an interesting note, either Phil or Michael – I didn't know who was who – wrote down their contact info on the back of the LP cover. They were apparently living on South Woodlawn Avenue near 50th St. at the time. I don't think they stayed in Chicago long, and I don't know if they performed anywhere but in the park. I'm pretty sure they never appeared as part of an AACM unit. So I was lucky to meet them, and luckier still to get a copy of "Peace in the World." 

These files are wavs, so expect a longer download time. They were created, of course, right from the self-produced vinyl, with no cleaning of the sound required. Now that's cosmic!

Peace in the World

Michael Cosmic

Michael Cosmic, pic, ss, p; Phillip Musra, ss, ts, fl; Leonard Brown, ss, ts; John Jamyll Jones, b; Huseyin Ertunc, d; Eric Jackson, perc.

Boston, MA; December 6, 1974

1. Arabia

2. We Love You Malcolm X

3. Space on Space

4. Peace in the World

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?6rczmy375s5exb5

Tenors Anyone?

Jaws performs at The Bell in Hertfordshire, England in 1982. Photo by Denis Williams

Here's an EP you don't come across every day, and I don't believe its music has ever been reissued on CD (isn't everything on CD these days?). Contained in this offering are some of the very earliest recordings by Eddie Davis and Morris Lane, two tenor players who were renowned for their fatback, honking sound in the days just before rock 'n' roll burst on the scene and spoiled everything.

These sides were originally recorded for the Lenox label, 78 rpm shellac discs that were issued at a time when long playing records were on the horizon. Lenox was an imprint of Continental Records, a division of Remington Records, and they were eventually reissued in long-playing form on the parent label. For some reason, they also were released (with corrected titles) on a sort-lived Remington subsidiary named Pontiac. Confused? Me, too. But that's the release that we have here, and I gotta say, for a cheapo budget album, this one was in pristine condition. I don't think it had ever been played. 

Morris Lane in flight with the Hampton orchestra.

So here's Jaws before he'd acquired his nickname, blowing with Johnny Acea on piano, the great Gene Ramey playing the floor fiddle and Butch Ballard on drums. As you might expect, he plays rough, big-toned tenor, simple and melodic on the ballads, hot and aggressive on the up-tempo numbers. The real revelation, though, is the Morris Lane selections. I'd always thought of him as an unremarkable horn man in Lionel Hampton's orchestra from the 1940s and '50s. But here he plays with real verve and command – no honking or walking the bar. The band behind him is unknown, which is unfortunate because the trumpet, trombone and piano players are all excellent. Can you tell who the trumpet guy is? He sounds familiar, and a Gems of Jazz no prize to whoever can name him (or her?). There's a vocalist, too, probably one of the band members, and check out "Big Trees." It's weird enough to be one of Sun Ra's early R&B records.

So here are eight selections from 1947-48 of two tenor players, one well known, the other not so much. There's surface noise, but I believe it was there in the originals, and I don't think it will trouble you much. I cleaned it a bit, so not to worry. These are also wav files, so you audiophiles should be happy. From the original vinyl as always, gang (although in this case I think it's probably styrene).

Tenors Wild and Mild 
Eddie Davis/Morris Lane
Pontiac PLP 523
*Eddie Davis, ts; Johnny Acea, p; Gne Ramey, b; Butch Ballard, d.
New York, NY; 1947-48
**Morris Lane, ts; unk. tp, tbn, p, b, d, v.
New York, NY; 1947-48

1. Sepember Song **
2. Music Goes Down Around *
3. Big Trees **
4. But Beautiful *
5. Leapin’ on Lenox *
6. Ready for Action **
7. Ravin’ at the Haven *
8. After Hours Bounce ** 

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zvuxmztgk3cubgs/Davis_Lane.rar

The Happy Red Mitchell

Red Mitchell plucks while leader Hampton Hawes plinks in a Los Angeles club session from the mid-1950s. Unknown photographer

I don't know much about Red Mitchell. I have his Atlantic record with Harold Land and some stuff that Harry Babison recorded with him privately, but that's about it. So I was happy to find this EP in a lot I picked up on eBay a few years ago. It's one of Red's few recordings under his own name, and it's a fine example of West Coast jazz from the period. 

Born Keith Moore Mitchell in 1927, Red came from a musical family. His younger brother, Gordon "Whitey" Mitchell, was also a bassist. Red was a native New Yorker and started playing the stringed instrument late – after a stint in the army during World War II. He began his career working for vocalist Jackie Paris, and then moved on to gig with Woody Herman, Charlie Ventura, Red Norvo and eventually Gerry Mulligan's piano-less quartet. 

Here he's in a more conventional setting, with the standard rhythm section and front line. But the music is well-played and convincing, and Red gets in a few very nice solos. As always, these files have been dubbed from the original 10-inch vinyl, and they are hi-res as requested by one visitor, so they'll take a bit longer to download. Patience has its own reward!

Happy Minors
Red Mitchell
Bethlehem BCP 1033

Mitchell, b; Conte Condoli, tp; Bob Brookmeyer, tb; Zoot Sims, ts;
Claude Williamson, p; Stan Levey, d. 
Los Angeles, CA; February 1, 1955

1. Happy Minor (Mitchell)
2. Bluesology
3. Once in a While
4. Long Ago and Far Away
5. Gone with the Wind
6. Kelly Green (Mitchell)
7. Scrapple form the Apple

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?fj4cnifsb0ambsr

Moody's Swedish Pastries

The Great Moody and trumpeter Dave Burns watch a soloist during sessions at WOR Studios for the Blue Note album, "James Moody & His Modernists," Moody's first as a leader. That was in 1948. Photographer unknown

Sometimes an artist can have too much talent. Virtuosity can be a trap, creating a never-ending spiral of expanding expectations. The virtuoso's fans say, "Wow! That was amazing!" Then they say, "Amaze me again!" Each new performance brings expectations that have be exceeded to be met. And exceeded again. 

It seems like James Moody got caught early on in this cycle, at least in the recording studio. I have countless records of Moody blowing wild-and-crazy solos with nameless rhythm sections. It's usually the theme, five solo choruses, theme again and out on these sides. James was such an extraordinary soloist that record producers tended to just put him in front of a microphone and let him blow. There was little concern for the artist's development, for his interaction with the other players in the band, for moving the music forward. It's almost as though Moody became a trained seal, a novelty act.

Lars Gullin

Of course, defaming James' artistry by trivializing it as mere exhibition is more than a little elitist – and maybe even a little racist. This guy could play, and he had ideas to spare, at least when it came to filling a chorus. His fans knew it, and that's why his records sold like hotcakes – and why producers had him make endless more. The one place where Moody avoided this trap was, oddly enough, in Scandinavia. 

James Moody left the States in 1948 for Europe. He spent much of his time in Sweden, and there he found musicians sympathetic to the new music that he was playing. Stockholm had boppers like baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin, alto player Arne Domnerus and pianist Rolf Larsson, and they wasted no time getting into the studio with Moody for a series of very fine recording sessions. One of the tunes Moody tossed off during these dates was "I'm in the Mood for Love," which, as we all know, became the smash hit "Moody's Mood for Love" in the USA when King Pleasure got hold of it. 

Moody's Swedish sessions aren't too hard to find these days if you look, but when I was coming up they were like hens' teeth. That's why I was delighted to come across this posting's download. Vintage Prestige EPs are as rare as their counterparts on Blue Note, and almost as fervently sought. This one turned up in what I can only think was a former DJ's record collection, judging by how many promotional copies it contained. The records were all in well-used condition, but this Moody album was slightly better than most. I have cleaned up the sound, removing many clicks by hand, but CD quality it ain't. If you can stand a little hiss and an occasional click, I think you'll find this a very satisfying listen. And, of course, I don't need to say the files came from the original vinyl (although I just did!). Dig!

James Moody Favorites • Volume Two
Prestige PRLP 125

James Moody, ts, as, all selections, plus:

Rolf Larsson, p; Gunnar Almstedt, b; Anders Burman, d; unk. strings.
Stockholm, Sweden; January 25, 1951 
1. Cherokee

Lars Gullin, bar; Rolf Larsson, p; Gunnar Almstedt, b; 
Anders Burman, d.
Stockholm, Sweden; January 24, 1951
2. Hey! Jim (Moody’s Bounce)

Sixten Eriksson, tp; Lars Gullin, bar; Rolf Larsson, p; Gunnar Almstedt, b; Jack Noren, d.
Stockholm, Sweden; January 24, 1951
3. Moody’s Got Rhythm (Andrew Got Married)

Thore Swanerud, p; Yngve Akerberg, b; Sven Bollhem, d.
Stockholm, Sweden; October 18, 1949
4. Over the Rainbow

Leppe Sundwall, b tp; Arne Domnerus, as; Carl-Henrik Norin, ts; Lars Gullin, bar; Rolf Larsson, p; Gunnar Almstedt, b; Anders Burman, d.
Stockholm, Sweden; January 23, 1951  
5. Am I Blue

Personnel as 2.
6. Two Fathers (Two Feathers) 

Personnel as 5.
7. Again
8. Embracable You

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?i42m91boanfdybd

We Heard Ya Talkin', Nat

Discussing jazz and politics, from left, are Cecil Taylor, Ben Gore, Hentoff, Paul Krassner, Leroi Jones, and owner Art D'Lugoff, at the Village Gate in 1965. Photo by Jerry Engel/New York Post Archives

By now you've all heard about the passing of writer, columnist, critic, producer and activist Nat Hentoff. At 91 years of age, Brother Hentoff had plenty of time to make his mark, and he did so not only in jazz but also in civil rights, politics and other relevant fields. I don't need to tell jazz fans about his contributions to the music. I'm sure nearly all of us has at least one of his volumes about the art on his or her bookshelves. I started with "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya," an oral history the then 30-year-old Hentoff put together with Nat Shapiro in 1955. It was not only an excellent introduction to the music and its players for a callow youth such as myself, but it was also a great read.

So here's a tribute to the great scribe, something that I came across about a year ago in one of my forays into the Hudson Valley's collection of second-hand stores and thrift shops. It's a steel-backed acetate disc, the kind I've featured on this blog before, usually in the form of home recordings. This one, though, is a professionally made audio transcription of a radio broadcast. It was cut by Ace Recording Studios in Boston, probably in mid-April of 1952, and captures a 30-minute program hosted by a young, soft-spoken DJ. That DJ? Nat Hentoff.

Yes, this offering is a transcription of Hentoff's jazz radio show, "The Record Album," heard on WMEX-AM in Boston. It's marked "Interview," and when I found it I was hoping that it would have Hentoff conversing with a giant like Duke Ellington or Count Basie or maybe even Dizzy Gillespie or ... gasp! ... Charlie Parker. But it turned out that the featured guest was one of traditional jazz's often overlooked re-creators, trombonist Wilbur DeParis. I was disappointed, I confess, but then I listened to the interview. Mr. DeParis was an erudite, perceptive, articulate gentleman whose views on jazz were much closer to my own than I would ever have suspected. I also realized that this is very likely the only audio interview with DeParis that has survived, so that alone makes it special. 

I have no idea what the provenance of this disc may be. Did it come from Nat's personal collection? From a purging of the WMEX archive? We'll never know. But it's a marvelous period piece from early in Hentoff's remarkable career, and it captures the sound of live radio from back in the day. The record store ad that Nat delivers to open the show will definitely have collectors salivating. If only we could make it on down to the Book Clearing House on Boylston Street for a bagfull of those albums selling for less than a buck each!

A word of warning about the sound: This disc has been seriously mistreated over its six decades of existence, and the sound is hissy, scratchy and clicky throughout much of the conversation. But the words are clear and there are no skips or dropouts. It's worth a download, if only to hear once, because it's a sliver of jazz history and because it's Hentoff. Nat mentions the DeParis brothers' version of "When the Saints Go Marching In," and I've added their studio recording of it below, just to give you a little music to go with all the words. As always, these files come straight from the original disc to your ears!

Wilbur DeParis Interview
with Nat Hentoff
"The Record Album," WMEX-AM
Mid-April 1952, Boston MA

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?ns87pe9fhgd9fwq

Happy Hipster Holidays

A Hi-De-Ho Happy Holidays greeting from Mr. Calloway from a full-page ad in the December 15, 1942 edition of Down Beat magazine (then a quarter-fold tabloid). 

Best wishes to all of Gems' web friends for a swinging holiday season and a syncopated New Year. Let's hope 2017 will be an improvement over 2016. But whatever the future holds, you can depend on Gems of Jazz to post more obscure treasures, curious rarities and other jazzy oddities over the next twelve months. Here's a favorite of mine from Babs Gonzales that, if you've never heard it before, I think you'll dig. Best wishes to all!

The Doctors Are In

The Chicago Flash, aka Gene Krupa, stares in amazement as Eddie Shu blows hot in the mid-'50s. I have no idea who the bass player is. Do you know? Unknown photographer

Sometimes, when you're flipping through odd sides in a record bin (remember those?), usually in the section marked "Miscellaneous," you come across an artist whom you've never heard of. In the case of this offering, two artists who were largely unknown, to me anyway. I was shopping in one of the few remaining record stores in Manhattan a few weeks ago, and I came across this old Bethlehem release, priced moderately enough (the only kind of price Gems' tight-wad host considers). I purchased it, even though I hadn't heard of one of the players and only knew of the other from his association with Gene Krupa.

The album was issued on Bethlehem, a '50s company that, from about 1956 until 1964 or so, issued hundreds of LPs by artists known and unknown. I don't why they put out so much product, but they covered everything from Ellington to Mingus to Herbie Nichols and Ruby Braff. They especially featured singers, the more obscure the better. Ever heard of Helen Carr? Terry Morel? Jerri Winters? How about Marilyn Moore? Me neither. But they all recorded for Bethlehem.

Stan Kenton's crew at a 1940s recording
session: from left, Bill Jurney, Lennie Mitchell,
Ken Hanna, Bob Hardaway, Bart Caldarell
and Bobby Drasnin.

So here are a couple of guys who weren't vocalists, the "Jazz Practitioners." The LP features the saxes of Eddie Shu and Bob Hardaway, a reissue of two EPs that were released earlier, one for each artist. Eddie Shu, aka Edward Shulman, worked with Tadd Dameron, George Shearing and Lionel Hampton before spending four years as part of Gene Krupa's trio. This is the only recording he made as a leader (I think), and he sounds great. A bit like Georgie Auld, maybe even a touch of Don Byas, and on alto, Eddie Harris. If you don't know him, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The other horn man here has an interesting back story. His old man, it turns out, was "Bugs" Hardaway, the cartoon artist who created Warner Brothers' venerable wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny. He also came up with Woody Woodpecker. You would have thought Bob would have gone into the cartoon business, but no. He's an excellent tenor player, muscular and inventive, sounding a little like Sonny Rollins (squint your ears).

The side guys are all excellent, too. Larry Bunker does double duty on drums and vibes, and Bobby Scott plays some nice piano. Roy Haynes is an added plus. Marty Paich was still paying the bills as a piano player, not yet the studio arranger and conductor he would become.

So here are the jazz docs, quite capable practitioners as it turns out. The sound quality of the files is quite good despite the LP's venerable age. The copy here is actually a reissue on the Rep label, a Crown imprint. Crown licensed Bethlehem recordings and issued a few on Rep before disappearing, as record companies tend to do. It's a certified vinyl dub, so enjoy!

Jazz Practitioners
Eddie Shu/Bob Hardaway
Rep 202

Eddie Shu, as, ts; Bobby Scott, p; Vinnie Burke, b; Roy Haynes, d. 
New York, NY; November 26, 1954

1. Tom, Dick and Jim (Shu)
2. Blues for Baby (Shu)
3. Peace (Scott)
4. East Side (Burke)
5. Justice (Shu)

Bob Hardaway, ts; Marty Paich, p; Larry Bunker, vbs, d*; Max Bennet, Joe Mondragon*, b; Art Mardigan, d.
Los Angeles, CA; January 21, 22*, 1955

6. Irresistable You
7. Jr. (Paich)
8. Lou's Blue (Hardaway)
9. Out of Nowhere*
10. Indiana*

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?guyxs3x6x4dvvb2

Dootsie's Picks

Bassist Curtis Counce enjoying the early morning sun in the summer of 1955. He was a frequent participant in many important West Coast recording sessions, including those he did with his own bands for Contemporary and Dootone. William Claxton photo

Maybe you know the recordings that were issued on the Dootone (or Dooto) Record label in Los Angeles during the 1950s? If you do, you probably know that much of the label's material featured comedians like Redd Foxx or second-tier doo-wop groups hoping for that pie-in-the-sky release that might chart and bring them a few months of fame. Groups like the Whippoorwills or the Medallions. One of Dootone's vocal quartets did eventually hit pay dirt. The Penguins scored a No. 1 hit with "Earth Angel."

But Dootone also recorded a few sides by some very fine jazz players. Chief among those was Dexter Gordon, who produced an excellent album for Dootone in 1955. The legendary jazz pianist Carl Perkins issued what would be his only LP as a leader on Dootone in 1956. Then there were the albums by the artists featured in this Gems posting.

Both Curtis Counce and Buddy Collette recorded for Dootone in 1958, releasing, respectively, "Exploring the Future" and "Buddy's Best." These albums featured the leaders fronting formidable hard bop quintets, including the stellar pianist Elmo Hope and tenor player Harold Land in Counce's band, and a rare appearance by trumpeter and future big band leader Gerald Wilson with Collette. Though the records were quite good, they didn't sell well and Dootone soon abandoned jazz for the more lucrative market of bawdy comedy. 

I've had all the Dootone jazz LPs, including the two by Buddy and Curtis, in my collection for many years. What I didn't know was that label owner Dootsie Williams sold his jazz material sometime in the late 1950s to another company, an outfit in Culver City named Bel Canto Records, and that Bel Canto had released additional material from the Counce and Collette dates. I only discovered this was so when I came upon the album offered here in a pile of yard sale cast-offs this past summer. The cover caught my eye, and I'm glad it did.

Dootsie Williams, label owner
and record producer, in 1956.

What we have here are more excellent performances by both bands. The Counce quintet features drummer Frank Butler on "Move" and gives Elmo Hope the lead on a trio selection – presumably written by the pianist – called "Head Gear." Collette uses "Bass Rock" as a feature for bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks and does some nice soloing along with Gerald Wilson on the other selections. 

For some reason, Bel Canto packaged this LP in a box. Why they went to the extra expense is beyond me, having to use cardboard inserts to fill out the additional space left by the single LP. They also pressed the album in deep blue vinyl, a nice touch visually, but of no practical benefit to the music. 

So here are some very rare sides by two West Coast stalwarts. The Counce side had some bothersome surface noise, but Gems has pretty much removed it. The rest of the LP had no noise issues, so you should be good to go. These files were generated right from the six-decades old vinyl, jazz fans. So enjoy!

Jazz on the Bounce
Buddy Collette/Curtis Counce
Bel Canto SR 1004
Curtis Counce, b; Harold Land, ts; Rolf Ericson, tp; Elmo Hope, p; Frank Butler, d.
Los Angeles, CA; April 1958

1. Move
2. Chasing the Bird
3. Head Gear (Hope?)

Buddy Collette, fl, cl, ts; Gerald Wilson, tp; Al Viola, g; Wilfred Middlebrook, b; Earl Palmer, d.
Los Angeles, CA; 1957

4. The Monster
5. Soft Touch
6. Bass Rock

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/8750pu76v7yljxj/Counce_Collette.rar

Philly Sound

The avant garde's leading exponent of free funk, the late Byard Lancaster, seen in 2007. Lancaster was a fan of both Archie Shepp and James Brown. Photo by Lester David Hinton 

Here's a record I bought in a little record store just off Central Square in Cambridge back in the mid-'70s. The place was only open for a summer and didn't have much stock, but it did have a quirky jazz section that had a surprising number of musician-produced LPs. You know – the music that gets called "spiritual jazz" for some reason these days. This album caught my eye because its saxophonist was a sideman on a Sunny Murray record I'd recently purchased. His name was Byard Lancaster and he played screaming alto in an intense, take-no-prisoners style. The album was on Dogtown Records, a company based in Philadelphia, Lancaster's hometown. I put down a couple of bucks and took it home.

Co-leading the group presented on the LP was James Roland "J.R." Mitchell, also a Philly native and a percussionist with whom Lancaster had attended Berklee College. I'd never heard of Mitchell, but I was pleasantly surprised by his powerful, tasteful style. He was more straight-ahead than Sunny Murray or Steve McCall, but he could also go out, following Byard (spelled "Bayard" on the cover) wherever the flamboyant saxophonist took the music. One thing I wasn't expecting was to hear Lancaster solo on trumpet. I don't recall if he plays that instrument on any other records of his that I've acquired over the years, but he does a competent job here. He also serves up solos on flute, bass clarinet and soprano in addition to his regular alto. The saxophonist and drummer are joined by bassist Jerome Hunter and pianist Sid Simmons, both also from Philadelphia, comprising a quartet which the album liner notes call the "Experience." 

Oddly, most of the music heard was recorded in concert at MacAlester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Why J.R. and Byard chose to record so far from home is a mystery, but maybe the school offered to professionally record the performance as part of the deal. Whatever the story was, the recording quality is first rate (not always the case with "spiritual jazz" albums). One other selection was recorded closer to home in Boston, in 1970 when Lancaster and Mitchell were Berklee students.

So here's the J.R. Mitchell/Byard Lancaster Experience live in concert. Sound quality is very good with little cleaning required. As always, ripped from the original vinyl, I kid you not!

J.R. Mitchell/Byard Lancaster Experience
Live at MacAlester College '72
Dogtown Records (no #)

Byard Lancaster, as, fl, b cl, sop; Sid Simmons, p; Jerome Hunter, b; J.R. Mitchell, d.
MacAlester College, St. Paul, MN; 1972; Boston, MA; 1970*

1. 1324*
2. Last Summer
3. War Lord
4. Live at MacAlester

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/p38haj1lao7v3ca/Mitchel-Lancaster.rar

On the House

Willis Conover shills for Miller beer on "The International Hour: American Jazz" in 1963. Conover was the CBS program's host. Unknown photographer

How many of us know what it means to labor in the vineyards for most (or all) of our lives, unacknowledged and uncredited? I don't know about you, but I sometimes feel that way. Not that I've accomplished anything terribly remarkable in my time on terra firma, but still it's nice to get a nod every now and again. 

Sorry to be a whiner, but this month's Gems offering was created by jazz guys who made a career out of the music without ever getting much in return. They all made a living (probably), and they got to do what they loved every day (or night). But nobody got rich and nobody got famous. They did get to make one record, though. That's something.

You've heard of Willis Conover, the legendary jazz host of Voice of America, emcee of the Newport Jazz Festival and interviewer. In 1951, several local musicians – drummer Joe Timer, tenor man Ben Lary and pianist Jack Holliday – approached Conover in Washington, D.C., (where he was based) and pitched the idea that the DJ front a jazz orchestra that they wanted to put together. Conover agreed, and the result was THE Orchestra, caps intended.

Trombonist Earl Swope

Assembled from D.C. musicians who had played in the bands of such luminaries as Boyd Raeburn, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet and many more, the 15-piece band boasted solid musicianship, excellent arrangements and a wealth of good (if unknown) soloists. 

Players whose names you might recognize include the Swope brothers, Robbie and Earl, on trombones, baritonist Jack Nimetz and trumpet player Marky Markowitz. Bill Potts, Timer and others did the arrangements. Conover acted as the band's emcee, manager and publicist.

So here's an excellent big band, late out of the gate, that worked around the D.C. area, made this record and then passed unacknowledged into history. There are, fortunately, several amateur live recordings as well, one with Dizzy and another that featured Charlie Parker, that were eventually issued on Elektra (both excellent). But that's it.

So Gems is doing its bit to get the word out about these gents. The music on this album (a generous 45 minutes worth) is thoughtful, well-played and swinging. The record itself came our way in box of contents at an auction, a collection that also included some nice Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill and Nat Pierce's big band at the Savoy. But this one was the gem in the lot. I hope you think so, too. As always, dubbed right from the vinyl with hardy any cleaning necessary.

Willis Conover's House of Sounds
THE Orchestra, Brunswick BL 54003

Bob Carey, Ed Leddy, Marky Markowitz, Charlie Walp, tp; Dan Spiker, Earl Swope, Rob Swope, tbn; Jim Riley, as; Ben Lary, Jim Parker, Angelo Tompros, ts; Jack Nimitz, bar; Jack Holliday, p; Merton Oliver, b; Joe Timer (Theimer), d, cond. 
New York, NY; December 30, 1955

1. I've Got You Under My Skin 
2. One For Kenny (Joe Timer)
3. The Song Is You 
4. Pill Box (Bill Potts)
5. Light Green (Bill Potts)
6. Flamingo
7. Something to Remember You by/Taking a Change on Love/Blue Room
8. Sheriff Crane (Jack Holliday)
9. Playground (Bill Potts)
10. Tiger
11. Moonlight in Vermont
12. Willis (Bill Potts)


Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/65ascifdqat1y9d/The_Orchestra.rar

Tales of Taylor

As a DJ on WLIB in New York City during the 1960s, Billy Taylor played music by his friends and musical associates, and shared stories of the jazz life with his thousands of listeners. Photo from "Jazz: The First Century"

Ladies and gents, Billy Taylor: jazz's forgotten jack of all trades. The guy could play like Tatum, composed and arranged over 300 tunes, performed on hundreds of record albums, hosted his own jazz radio programs locally in New York City and nationally over NPR, did television shows for NBC and NET, created Harlem's Jazzmobile, taught college level jazz courses, and could speak with the erudition of PhD candidate. Wiki says over the course of his career he amassed 23 honorary doctoral degrees. I believe it. 

So why is it that today Billy Taylor is largely overlooked when jazz aficionados congregate? Why isn't his music taken more seriously? Even Oscar Peterson, himself a Tatum follower with a tendency to indulge in easy stylistic grandstanding, gets more props than Dr. Billy. It's a mystery.

I first started listening seriously to Dr. Taylor's music back when he went on air with "Jazz Alive!" on NPR back in the mid-'70s. Every week he featured real jazz players (at least, I considered them so) in live performance. I heard Rollins, Max Roach, the Heath Brothers, Dizzy, Mingus and many others on his broadcasts. But I also heard Braxton, Sam Rivers, Chico Freeman, the Art Ensemble and other leaders of the creative music movement. I taped many of the segments and still listen to them today. Billy may not have liked all the music he featured, but he brought it to the airwaves for all of us to share regardless of his feelings. For that alone, I deeply respect him. Nobody else did that.

But then there was his playing. The guy could play, and while he was not a genius like Bud Powell or a visionary like Cecil Taylor, he could surprise and delight with the best of them. 

Case in point, this hoary Roost recording. A compendium of earlier sessions, the music comes from the early '50s and captures Taylor under the joint sway of Tatum and Powell. His performances are brisk and pyrotechnic, and if you've not really heard his early work before, this LP is for you. The sound is iffy in places, due in large part to a previous owner's bad needle, but I think the download is definitely worth the price of admission. Dubbed, as always, from the original wax, fear not!

Taylor Made Piano 

Billy Taylor
Roost LP 2222

Billy Taylor, p; Chuck Wayne*, Mundell Lowe, g; Earl May, b; Frank Colon, cnga; Zoot Sims, maracas; Charlie Smith, Jo Jones*, d. 
New York, NY; November 1, 1951; May 2, 1952; autumn 1952.

1. Just Squeeze Me*
2. Feeling Frisky (Taylor)*
3. Making Whoopee
4. Tiroro (Taylor)
5. Moonlight Saving Time
6. Cu-Blu (Taylor)*

Billy Taylor, p; Charles Mingus, b; Marquis Foster, d.
Storyville Club, Boston, MA; Autumn 1952

7. I'm Beginning to See the Light
8. All the Things You Are
9. Lady Bird

Find it here: https://www.mediafire.com/?5w2hv7x1i1b7oqw