Cool, Cool, Really Cool!

From our more-than-you-care-to-know department: Ever see an old film with a glimpse of a jazz combo working out and wonder, "Who are those guys?" I have. So when I was perusing back issues of Downbeat magazine, I was delighted to come across the entry above. I'd picked up a VHS copy of "D.O.A." years ago from an al fresco vendor on Canal St. in Manhattan, and I'd always been intrigued by the frantic, honking quintet featured in the nightclub scene. The trumpet player looked familiar, but the rest of the men were mysteries. Teddy Buckner is the only player I know from the group, and I can only assume that the other gents were minor players from around the San Francisco area (where the movie was made). As you can see from the accompanying squib about the production, what you hear isn't what they played – jazz players of greater renown later overdubbed the music, probably in Los Angeles. Below is the scene in all its glory, one of first efforts by Hollywood to portary "real" jazz on the silver screen. Of course, Norman Granz did it far better a few years earlier with "Jammin' the Blues," but that was insider's poker. Be forewarned that the stereotyping with Fisherman and his crew is pretty extreme, but take comfort in the fact that it extends to all races involved.

Showbizz Dizz

The very popular – and controversial – Daz MacVoutorooney, about to embark on a history-altering career, gets the regal sendoff uptown by his pals from The Street. Charlie Parker, never much in the public eye in those days, was doing a rest-cure in Camarillo out west and couldn't make the session.

From Downbeat magazine, summer 1946; unknown photographer

  

Order Your Aladdin Hits!

The greatest of them all, touted in an ad for his first post-Army releases. The "D.B." in "D.B. Blues" refers to detention barracks, a term that pretty much sums up Prez's military experience. As Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman said on an AFRS Jubilee show in 1946, "Lester, it's great to see you out of khaki!"  Ad from August 1946 Downbeat magazine



Hazel Scott Swings the Classics

Hazel Scott at work – on the cover of a 1956 Decca LP. From the good old days when a sequined gown and plenty of decollette were necessary components for commercial success. Come to think of it, not much has changed. Unknown photograhper

Yet another in our piano series ...

Hazel Scott was one of a number of talented female jazz pianists who had successful solo careers beginning in the '40s – Hadda Brooks, Dorothy Donegan and Rose Murphy being a few of the others. For some reason, they all specialized in jazzing up classical pieces – Hazel especially. No doubt the routine had a novelty appeal and brought in the crowds, but it is odd that so many talented players, all women, resorted to that approach. I wonder what Liszt would have thought of one of his rhapsodies set to an eight-to-the-bar boogie beat?

Hazel Scott was perhaps best known late in life as Rep. Adam Clayton Powell's wife, but she deserves to be remembered for her talent as a pianist of exceptional skill. She began her professional career in 1940 when she created a stir at the opening of Barney Josephson's Cafe Society Uptown. She went on to appear in shows on Broadway, perform at Carnegie Hall and record for several prominent record labels. Born in Trinidad in 1921, Scott had been educated as a classical pianist at Julliard but soon after graduating found opportunities for black performers limited – the old story. So it was as a jazz artist that she found acceptance, taking inspiration from Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. An extremely attractive woman with an excellent singing voice, she made a number of movies and was the first woman of color to have her own TV show (though it ran only a few months in 1950).

The two albums offered here have, to my knowledge, never been reissued in any form other than these original 78s. I can't remember where I found them – most likely at a yardsale or second-hand store somewhere. The music is pretty routine though quite accomplished – not nearly as bad as Mike Levin's contemporary review from Downbeat magazine would have you believe (upper left). Needless to say, I was delighted to come across them because Hazel Scott's music is extremely hard to find. They consist of a Signature album done in 1946 and a Decca set from 1940 (one of Hazel's first sessions). You'll note that the Signature group consists of nine sides rather than the usual eight – that's because the last two tunes (Scott originals) were grouped togther on a single side.

As always, the music in this posting was ripped from the original recordings. As the sources here are 78-rpm discs, surface noise has been cleaned up in additon to the usual mild cleaning up of minor clicks and pops. These records are nearly 70 years old, so be forewarned that the sound is not perfect.

Hazel Scott, piano

New York, NY; Spring 1946; Signature Album S-1

1. A Rainy Night in G (Scott)
2. How High the Moon
3. I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plans
4. Valse in C-Sharp Minor (Chopin)
5. Noctourne in B-Flat Minor (Chopin)
6. Fantasie Impromptu (Chopin)
7. Sonata in C Minor (Scarlotti)
8. Tocatta (Scott)
9. Idyll (Scott)

Hazel Scott, p; J.C. Heard, d.
New York, NY; December 11, 1940; Decca Album 212

 

10. Prelude in C-Sharp Minor (Rachmaninoff)
11. Country Gardens (Grainger)
12. Hungarian Rhapsody (Liszt)
13. Valse in D-Flat Major (Minute Waltz) (Chopin)
14. Ritual Fire Dance (de Falla)
15. Two Part Invention (Bach)

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/skji6c3r66ebxg7/Hazel_Scott.rar

Don Redman's Park Avenue Patter

Don Redman, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and band leader, was perhaps the first performer to ever engage in rap vocalizing. Check out his "I Heard" if you are in doubt. Unknown photographer

Here's another Golden Crest recording for all you fans of jazz obscurata.

Don Redman, as Fletcher Henderson's chief arranger in the mid-1920s, was instrumental (ha!) in creating the modern big band sound. Proficient on most reed and brass instruments from an early age, Redman was one of those extraordinarily talented pioneers who has essentially been forgotten by jazz enthusiasts today. He led his own band after getting the call in 1927 from Jean Goldkette to go to Detroit and take over an outfit called McKinney's Cotton Pickers (none of the band's members had likely ever seen a cotton field). Redman made such a success of what was essentially a pick-up group that by 1931 he was able to form his own orchestra and proceeded to record a string of hits for Brunswick. After making a number of short films in Hollywood (the image above comes from a 1934 Vitaphone soundie), Redman retired from band leading and concentrated on writing and arranging. He was Pearl Bailey's music director in the '50s.

This record is an anomaly in the Redman catalog, coming as it does long after his heyday on the jazz scene. Recorded in 1957, it features Redman chiefly as an arranger but also as a soloist in places on a number of fairly pedestrian tunes. Though the performances are tame and unremarkable for the most part, there are exceptions – most notably, Coleman Hawkins' solo on "Black Velvet." It's the rarity of this recording and Redman's place as a prominent figure in jazz history that caused me to want to share it. Leonard Feather's contemporary Downbeat review of the LP (above left) gives a good overview of what you can expect for your downloading trouble.

By the way, the cover of "Park Avenue Patter" is a favorite among kitsch collectors. Philip E. Pegler was a leading fashion photographer in the 1950s, and Golden Crest must have licensed his image from Vogue or some other high-gloss publication of the period. Sparing no expense, I guess – penance for the Plonsky cover (see below) ...

As always, the music in this posting was ripped from the original vinyl with no enhancement other than a mild cleaning up of minor clicks and pops.

Don Redman, as, ss; Coleman Hawkins, ts; Seldon Powell, fl, ts; Danny Bank, bar; Red Press, fl, as, cl; Bobby Byrne, tbn; Tyree Glenn, vbs, tbn; Joe Wilder, tp; Hank Jones, p; Barry Galbraith, g; George Duvivier, b; Osie Johnson, d; Melvin Moore, v. 
New York, NY; April 11, 1957 and other unknown later dates
Golden Crest CR 3017 

1. Park Avenue Patter
2. Good Boog Di Goodie
3. Black Velvet
4. Ballade de Ballet
5. Lydia
6. Mad Minuet
7. My Confectionary Baby
8. My Girl Friday
9. Looney
10. The Blame's On You
11. Penthouse Alley
12. Seedless Grapefruit

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?y7eqbglchry64gb

Cool Man Cool: John Plonsky

Here's a record whose cover I've seen posted around the jazz bloggosphere and on collector sites, but no one seems to have uploaded the music. I have a copy, so here's what the John Plonsky Quintet sounded like.

John Plonsky was a journeyman trumpet player, composer and arranger from the West Coast who had recorded with Ray Bauduc and Nappy Lamare in the '40s, starting out in traditional and swing styles. He later switched to a more bop-oriented approach after coming to the East Coast with Alvy West's Little Band. This recording was only his third time in the studio during his career, and it was his first time as a leader. It would be his last. What happened to John Plonsky after this is unknown, at least to me.

There are several aspects to this record that make it stand out. The first is purely cosmetic, but I confess it is the sole reason I picked this record up: its decidedly unhip cover. An apotheosis of bad concept, design and execution, the album front has the band, looking tentative and uncomfortable, superimposed over a snowy background. These guys are cool, get it? Golden Crest, the album's label, is the outfit that produced all those bright red and yellow children's records that I remember from my youth. Clearly jazz was a stretch for them, despite the fact that they issued a number of good jazz LPs. "Cool Man Cool" made me laugh, and I laid out four bits for it at my radio station's music sale a few years ago.

The second standout feature of "Cool Man Cool" is the band's instrumentation. With an electric accordion and a baritone saxophone backing up the trumpet's lead, you'd think the sound would be quite annoying. But no – it is remarkably coherent and nuanced. Plonsky talks about how accordionist Dominic Cortese muffles his instrument to "eliminate the reedy sound." He does and the result is very interesting.

Two additional notes. Dizzy Gillespie recorded as a sideman for a vocalist back in the mid'-40s and, because he was under contract to Victor, used a pseudonym on the label. They name he chose? "John Plonsky."

The bassist on "Cool Man Cool" is Chet Amsterdam. I knew him briefly when I hosted a weekly live jazz program over WJFF in the '90s. Chet would occasionally play in the show's rhythm section, but was in poor health, suffering from what one of my other musician friends describe as the "habit" that afflicted so many great players from the '40s and '50s. He was, at one time, an excellent player with much promise. See the review from the July 1957 issue of Metronome above.

As always, these files were ripped from the original vinyl with only a very minor cleaning up of pops and crackles.

John Plonsky, trumpet

Carl Janelli, baritone saxophone

Dominic Cortese, electric accordian

Chet Amsterdam, bass

Mel Zelnick, drums

New York, NY; March 5, 1957

Golden Crest CR 3014 


1. Laurel and Hardy (Plonsky)

2. The Lady Is a Tramp

3. But Not for Me

4. Putting on the Ritz

5. Just in Time

6. Calico Shoes (Plonsky)

7. Angel Hair (Plonsky)

8. How About You?

9. Funkier Than Thou (Plonsky)

10. I'll Take Romance

11. Blonde Caboose (Plonsky)

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?i8abhlls37xnbl8

John Williams Trio

Emarcy A&R man Bob Shad (later owner of the Flying Dutchman label) offers
advice to John Williams during the pianist's trio date. Bob Parent photo

Another in our piano series ...

Vermont native John Williams has has long been eclipsed by his classical and pop namesake, but at the time of this recording – 1954 – he was a rising young star with real promise in the jazz idiom. A tasteful soloist and occasional composer, he had joined Charlie Barnet's big band in 1951 after a stint in the Army (where he played baritone horn!) and then moved on to Stan Getz's quartet, his steady gig at the time of this Emarcy recording. This EP contains four of the eight tunes that eventually comprised Williams' first recording as a leader, but they give a good sampling of John's skill as a soloist – nothing flashy, just thoughtful and swinging. Williams would go on to make a second record for Mercury (Emarcy) and record as a sideman with such luminaries as Al Cohn, Zoot Sims and Cannonball Adderley. The critics applauded this first effort, as can be seen in the Metronome review from May 1955 above (of the complete LP).

While John Williams still plays (or at least did up until 2004), he dropped out of sight in the 1960s to become a full-time banker and eventually became a city commissioner in Hollywood, Florida. This little EP I picked up at a church rummage sale a couple decades back and always liked it, so even though you can get the complete John Williams on Emarcy for a stiff price at Amazon (an import), I thought it was worth sharing with other inquiring jazz minds.

As always, the music in this posting was ripped from the original vinyl with no enhancement other than a mild cleaning up of minor clicks and pops.

 

John Williams, piano

Bill Anthony, bass
Frank Isola, drums

New York, NY; 1-3: July 1954; 4: August 13, 1954

Emarcy EP-1-6092 (10" extended play record) 

1. I'll Take the Lo Road

2. Out of the World

3. Railroad Jack

4. For Heaven's Sake

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?5wpp76p3hig6x4r