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Monday, November 29, 2010
Goodbye Again (1961)
Goodbye Again (1961)
(AKA Aimez-Vous Brahms?)
USA-France/B&W/120mins
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Music by: Georges Auric
Arranged by: Billy Byers
A 40-year-old woman swaps her sophisticated lover for a young law student. In this story of the love triangle between middle-aged Ingrid Bergman, playboy Yves Montand and very young-for-Bergman, Anthony Perkins (who won the Best Actor Award at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival) there is a scene when Perkins goes to a club and Lucky Thompson's quartet is on floor. They play Love is just a word (written by by Georges Auric and Dory Langdon, based upon Brahms' Third Symphony). Diahann Carroll sings along with them. The band line up consists of Lucky Thompson, tenor sax; Maurice Vander, piano; Pierre Michelot, acoustic double bass; Kenny Clarke, drums. There is also a guest appearance by Sacha Distel.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Blues & Rhythm Classics Discography
Blues & Rhythm Classics (also known as "Rhythm and Blues Classics") is a series of French Classics Records label devoted to rhythm and blues of the 1940s and 1950s. It contains 190 releases (5000-5189) that began in 2001.
For many years I was wondering why there is no information in regard to the Classics label which played a major role in introducing a generation to classic jazz, and in this case R&B. "I guess he was a bit of a technophobe," wrote Dave Penny, the author of liner notes for the Blues & Rhythm Classics, about the founder and boss of the Classics, Gilles Petard. This may explain many things as far as obscurity of the label is concerned, but still, the comment Dave left at the end of this post shed light on more issues, especially how the job was done:
[The] process was all very mundane; I first began writing for Gilles when he was putting out LPs on French Pathé and his own Official and Sing labels in the 1980s. Around 2001 I got a letter from him [Gilles Petard] (I guess he was a bit of a technophobe), telling me that he was launching an R&B series of his Chronological Classics set, to run parallel to the jazz series that had already been going for over 10 years by that time.
I probably wasn't his first choice of writer, but I was the first one who agreed take on that huge task for the tiny amount of money he wanted to pay (he was always pretty mean when it came to paying fees, but I was more interested in researching and writing about the artists than about how much I was being paid).
From 2001 until 2008 he sent me the track-listings for, first two compilations a month and, then, increased this to three a month once the series became established. There was never any compiling, as such, because it was simply all the artist's tracks in chronological order, and all I got was his typed sheets through the post every month (i.e. no cassettes or CD-Rs of the tracks listed). He had a great record collection, himself, and a fantastic network of heavy-duty blues and R&B collectors to call upon, so that there were very few recordings he wasn't able to track down during those seven years.Thanks to Mr. Dave Penny, now we know a lot more!
It all came to a sudden end in 2008 when two of his distributors in France collapsed owing his company lots of money. The CDs weren't selling very well any more (too many people were downloading them free from blogs and torrent sites), so he decided to call it a day. He told me he was thinking of carrying the series on as downloads only on iTunes, and I did a couple more notes for him on this understanding, but as far as I'm aware they were never released.
While I was relieved that I didn't have the huge pressure of writing three essays a month anymore, I was sad that we hadn't covered every artist we should have...or completed the recording careers of those we had started. I am proud of what we did achieve, though; after all, who else would have bothered releasing CDs of Jo Jo Adams, Tom Archia, Buster Bennett and Rusty Bryant - to name just the As and Bs!
Sorted by serial number
5000 | Ray Charles 1949-1950 |
5001 | Marion Abernathy 1947-1949 |
5002 | Dave Bartholomew 1947-1950 |
5003 | Ruth Brown 1949-1950 |
5004 | Professor Longhair 1949 |
5005 | Earl Bostic 1945-1948 |
5006 | Tom Archia 1947-1948 |
5007 | T-Bone Walker 1929-1946 |
5008 | Muddy Waters 1941-1948 |
5009 | Big Jay Mcneely 1948-1950 |
5010 | Walter Brown 1945-1947 |
5011 | Tiny Bradshaw 1934-1947 |
5012 | Sticks Mcghee 1947-1951 |
5013 | Sunnyland Slim 1947-1948 |
5014 | Lightnin’ Hopkins 1946-1948 |
5015 | Ivory Joe Hunter 1945-1947 |
5016 | Lloyd Glenn 1947-1950 |
5017 | Eddie Vinson 1945-1947 |
5018 | Amos Milburn 1946-1947 |
5019 | Todd Rhodes 1947-1949 |
5020 | Joe Liggins 1944-1946 |
5021 | Roy Brown 1947-1949 |
5022 | Earl Bostic 1948-1949 |
5023 | Lightnin' Hopkins 1948 |
5024 | Crown Prince Waterford 1946-1950 |
5025 | Fats Domino 1949-1951 |
5026 | Ivory Joe Hunter 1947 |
5027 | Johnny Otis 1945-1947 |
5028 | Andrew Tibbs 1947-1951 |
5029 | Muddy Waters 1948-1950 |
5030 | Clarence Gatemouth Brown 1947-1951 |
5031 | Tiny Bradshaw 1949-1951 |
5032 | Milt Buckner 1946-1951 |
5033 | T-Bone Walker 1947 |
5034 | Freddie Mitchell 1949-1950 |
5035 | Sunnyland Slim 1949-1951 |
5036 | Roy Brown 1950-1951 |
5037 | Buster Bennett 1945-1947 |
5038 | Walter Brown 1947-1951 |
5039 | Earl Bostic 1949-1951 |
5040 | Todd Rhodes 1950-1951 |
5041 | Roy Milton 1945-1946 |
5042 | Eddie Vinson 1947-1949 |
5043 | Jim Wynn 1945-1946 |
5044 | Lowell Fulson 1946-1947 |
5045 | Lightnin’ Hopkins 1948-1949 |
5046 | Billy Wright 1945-1950 |
5047 | Amos Milburn 1947 |
5048 | Tiny Grimes 1944-1949 |
5049 | Ivory Joe Hunter 1947-1950 |
5050 | Ray Charles 1950-1952 |
5051 | Jimmy Witherspoon 1947-1948 |
5052 | Sugar Chile Robinson 1949-1952 |
5053 | B.B. King 1949-1952 |
5054 | Bull Moose Jackson 1945-1947 |
5055 | Dave Bartholomew 1950-1952 |
5056 | Howlin’ Wolf 1951-1952 |
5057 | Joe Morris 1946-1949 |
5058 | Big Jay Mcneely 1951-1952 |
5059 | Little Miss Cornshucks 1947-1951 |
5060 | Fats Domino 1951-1952 |
5061 | Paul & Dud Bascomb 1945-1947 |
5062 | Jimmy Mccracklin 1945-1948 |
5063 | Joe Liggins 1946-1948 |
5064 | Saunders King 1942-1948 |
5065 | Chris Powell 1949-1952 |
5066 | Little Esther 1951-1952 |
5067 | Johnny Otis 1949-1950 |
5068 | Mabel Scott 1946-1950 |
5069 | Lloyd Glenn 1951-1952 |
5070 | Jim Wynn 1947-1959 |
5071 | Lowell Fulson 1947-1948 |
5072 | Lil Green 1940-1941 |
5073 | Hal Singer 1948-1951 |
5074 | T-Bone Walker 1947-1950 |
5075 | Joe Lutcher 1947 |
5076 | Sherman Williams 1947-1951 |
5077 | Amos Milburn 1948-1949 |
5078 | Big Bill Broonzy 1949-1951 |
5079 | Lightnin’ Hopkins 1949-1950 |
5080 | Jimmy Witherspoon 1948-1949 |
5081 | King Perry 1945-1949 |
5082 | Elmore James 1951-1953 |
5083 | Jo Jo Adams 1946-1953 |
5084 | Ruth Brown 1951-1953 |
5085 | Jimmy Rushing 1946-1953 |
5086 | John Brim 1950-1953 |
5087 | Ace Harris 1937-1952 |
5088 | Big Mama Thornton 1950-1953 |
5089 | Big Maybelle 1944-1953 |
5090 | Roy Brown 1951-1953 |
5091 | Little Walter 1947-1953 |
5092 | Terry Timmons 1950-1953 |
5093 | Earl Bostic 1952-1953 |
5094 | Sonny Boy Williamson 1951-1953 |
5095 | Fats Domino 1953 |
5096 | Annisteen Allen 1950-1953 |
5097 | Bill Doggett 1952-1953 |
5098 | Howlin’ Wolf 1952-1953 |
5099 | Lil Green 1942-1946 |
5100 | Lloyd Price 1952-1953 |
5101 | Big Bill Broonzy 1951 |
5102 | Johnny Otis 1950 |
5103 | Tj Fowler 1948-1953 |
5104 | Paula Watson 1948-1953 |
5105 | Bull Moose Jackson 1947-1950 |
5106 | Tiny Grimes 1949-1951 |
5107 | Mabel Scott 1951-1955 |
5108 | Joe Liggins 1948-1950 |
5109 | Muddy Waters 1950-1952 |
5110 | Jimmy Mccracklin 1948-1951 |
5111 | Sarah Mclawler 1950-1953 |
5112 | Bill Samuels 1945-1947 |
5113 | Ivory Joe Hunter 1950-1951 |
5114 | Percy Mayfield 1947-1951 |
5115 | The Clovers 1950-1953 |
5116 | Effie Smith 1945-1953 |
5117 | Amos Milburn 1950-1951 |
5118 | T-Bone Walker 1950-1952 |
5119 | Julia Lee 1927-1946 |
5120 | Billy Ward 1950-1953 |
5121 | Charlie Singleton 1949-1953 |
5122 | Lowell Fulson 1948-1949 |
5123 | Martha Davis 1946-1951 |
5124 | Big Bill Broonzy 1951-1952 |
5125 | Joe Morris 1950-1953 |
5126 | Lavern Baker 1949-1954 |
5127 | Gatemouth Brown 1952-1954 |
5128 | J.B. Lenoir 1951-1954 |
5129 | King Perry 1950-1954 |
5130 | Floyd Jones 1948-53 |
5131 | Lil Green 1947-51 |
5132 | Roy Als/Hank Ballard & Midnighters 1952-54 |
5133 | Lightnin' Hopkins 1950-51 |
5134 | Ray Charles 1953-54 |
5135 | Willis Jackson 1950-54 |
5136 | Lula Reed 1951-54 |
5137 | Leroy Foster 1948-52 |
5138 | Johnny Ace 1951-54 |
5139 | Guitar Slim 1951-54 |
5140 | Otis Blackwell 1952-54 |
5141 | Faye Adams- 1952-54 |
5142 | Clyde Mc Phatter & The Drifters 1953-54 |
5143 | Sugar Boy Crawford 1953-54 |
5144 | Julia Lee 1947 |
5145 | Larry Darnell 1949-51 |
5146 | Tiny Grimes 1951-54 |
5147 | Little Esther 1952-53 |
5148 | B.B. King 1952-53 |
5149 | Saunders King 1948-54 |
5150 | Percy Mayfield-1953-54 |
5151 | Titus Turner 1949-54 |
5152 | T-Bone Walker 1952_54 |
5153 | Lonnie Johnson 1949-52 |
5154 | Willie Mabon 1949-54 |
5155 | Joe Liggins 1950-52 |
5156 | Bull Moose Jackson 1950-53 |
5157 | J.T. Brown 1950-54 |
5158 | Amos Milburn 1952-53 |
5159 | Todd Rhodes 1952-54 |
5160 | The Hawks/The Bees 1953-54 |
5161 | Tommy Ridgiey 1949-54 |
5162 | Johnny Otis 1951 |
5163 | Johnny Sparrow 1949-55 |
5164 | Lowell Fulson 1949-51 |
5165 | Jimmy Witherspoon 1950-51 |
5166 | Smiley Lewis 1947-52 |
5167 | Little Junior Parker 1952-55 |
5168 | Sticks Mc Ghee 1951-59 |
5169 | Dave Barthoiomew 1952-55 |
5170 | Big Jay Mc Neely 1953-55 |
5171 | Sunnyland Slim 1952-55 |
5172 | Johnny "Guitar" Watson -1952-55 |
5173 | Viviane Greene 1947-1955 |
5174 | Earl King 1953-55 |
5175 | Bill Doggett 1954 |
5176 | Ike Turner 1951-1954 |
5177 | Lonnie Johnson 1948-49 |
5178 | Billy Ward & His Dominoes 1953-54 |
5179 | Earl Bostic 1954-55 |
5180 | Jimmy Mc Cracklin 1951-54 |
5181 | Ruth Brown 1954-56 |
5182 | Rusty Bryant 1952-54 |
5183 | Little Walter 1953-55 |
5184 | J. B. Lenoir 1955-56 |
5185 | Stomp Gordon 1952-56 |
5186 | Lavern Baker 1955-57 |
5187 | Lloyd Glenn 1954-57 |
5188 | Sonny Boy Williamson 1956-56 |
5189 | Lonnie Johnson 1947-48 |
Sorted by Artist's name
Ace Harris 1937-1952 | 5087 |
Amos Milburn 1946-1947 | 5018 |
Amos Milburn 1947 | 5047 |
Amos Milburn 1948-1949 | 5077 |
Amos Milburn 1950-1951 | 5117 |
Amos Milburn 1952-53 | 5158 |
Andrew Tibbs 1947-1951 | 5028 |
Annisteen Allen 1950-1953 | 5096 |
B.B. King 1949-1952 | 5053 |
B.B. King 1952-53 | 5148 |
Big Bill Broonzy 1949-1951 | 5078 |
Big Bill Broonzy 1951 | 5101 |
Big Bill Broonzy 1951-1952 | 5124 |
Big Jay Mc Neely 1953-55 | 5170 |
Big Jay Mcneely 1948-1950 | 5009 |
Big Jay Mcneely 1951-1952 | 5058 |
Big Mama Thornton 1950-1953 | 5088 |
Big Maybelle 1944-1953 | 5089 |
Bill Doggett 1952-1953 | 5097 |
Bill Doggett 1954 | 5175 |
Bill Samuels 1945-1947 | 5112 |
Billy Ward & His Dominoes 1953-54 | 5178 |
Billy Ward 1950-1953 | 5120 |
Billy Wright 1945-1950 | 5046 |
Bull Moose Jackson 1945-1947 | 5054 |
Bull Moose Jackson 1947-1950 | 5105 |
Bull Moose Jackson 1950-53 | 5156 |
Buster Bennett 1945-1947 | 5037 |
Charlie Singleton 1949-1953 | 5121 |
Chris Powell 1949-1952 | 5065 |
Clarence Gatemouth Brown 1947-1951 | 5030 |
Clyde Mc Phatter & The Drifters 1953-54 | 5142 |
Crown Prince Waterford 1946-1950 | 5024 |
Dave Barthoiomew 1952-55 | 5169 |
Dave Bartholomew 1947-1950 | 5002 |
Dave Bartholomew 1950-1952 | 5055 |
Earl Bostic 1945-1948 | 5005 |
Earl Bostic 1948-1949 | 5022 |
Earl Bostic 1949-1951 | 5039 |
Earl Bostic 1952-1953 | 5093 |
Earl Bostic 1954-55 | 5179 |
Earl King 1953-55 | 5174 |
Eddie Vinson 1945-1947 | 5017 |
Eddie Vinson 1947-1949 | 5042 |
Effie Smith 1945-1953 | 5116 |
Elmore James 1951-1953 | 5082 |
Fats Domino 1949-1951 | 5025 |
Fats Domino 1951-1952 | 5060 |
Fats Domino 1953 | 5095 |
Faye Adams- 1952-54 | 5141 |
Floyd Jones 1948-53 | 5130 |
Freddie Mitchell 1949-1950 | 5034 |
Gatemouth Brown 1952-1954 | 5127 |
Guitar Slim 1951-54 | 5139 |
Hal Singer 1948-1951 | 5073 |
Howlin’ Wolf 1951-1952 | 5056 |
Howlin’ Wolf 1952-1953 | 5098 |
Ike Turner 1951-1954 | 5176 |
Ivory Joe Hunter 1945-1947 | 5015 |
Ivory Joe Hunter 1947 | 5026 |
Ivory Joe Hunter 1947-1950 | 5049 |
Ivory Joe Hunter 1950-1951 | 5113 |
J. B. Lenoir 1955-56 | 5184 |
J.B. Lenoir 1951-1954 | 5128 |
J.T. Brown 1950-54 | 5157 |
Jim Wynn 1945-1946 | 5043 |
Jim Wynn 1947-1959 | 5070 |
Jimmy Mc Cracklin 1951-54 | 5180 |
Jimmy Mccracklin 1945-1948 | 5062 |
Jimmy Mccracklin 1948-1951 | 5110 |
Jimmy Rushing 1946-1953 | 5085 |
Jimmy Witherspoon 1947-1948 | 5051 |
Jimmy Witherspoon 1948-1949 | 5080 |
Jimmy Witherspoon 1950-51 | 5165 |
Jo Jo Adams 1946-1953 | 5083 |
Joe Liggins 1944-1946 | 5020 |
Joe Liggins 1946-1948 | 5063 |
Joe Liggins 1948-1950 | 5108 |
Joe Liggins 1950-52 | 5155 |
Joe Lutcher 1947 | 5075 |
Joe Morris 1946-1949 | 5057 |
Joe Morris 1950-1953 | 5125 |
John Brim 1950-1953 | 5086 |
Johnny "Guitar" Watson -1952-55 | 5172 |
Johnny Ace 1951-54 | 5138 |
Johnny Otis 1945-1947 | 5027 |
Johnny Otis 1949-1950 | 5067 |
Johnny Otis 1950 | 5102 |
Johnny Otis 1951 | 5162 |
Johnny Sparrow 1949-55 | 5163 |
Julia Lee 1927-1946 | 5119 |
Julia Lee 1947 | 5144 |
King Perry 1945-1949 | 5081 |
King Perry 1950-1954 | 5129 |
Larry Darnell 1949-51 | 5145 |
Lavern Baker 1949-1954 | 5126 |
Lavern Baker 1955-57 | 5186 |
Leroy Foster 1948-52 | 5137 |
Lightnin' Hopkins 1948 | 5023 |
Lightnin' Hopkins 1950-51 | 5133 |
Lightnin’ Hopkins 1946-1948 | 5014 |
Lightnin’ Hopkins 1948-1949 | 5045 |
Lightnin’ Hopkins 1949-1950 | 5079 |
Lil Green 1940-1941 | 5072 |
Lil Green 1942-1946 | 5099 |
Lil Green 1947-51 | 5131 |
Little Esther 1951-1952 | 5066 |
Little Esther 1952-53 | 5147 |
Little Junior Parker 1952-55 | 5167 |
Little Miss Cornshucks 1947-1951 | 5059 |
Little Walter 1947-1953 | 5091 |
Little Walter 1953-55 | 5183 |
Lloyd Glenn 1947-1950 | 5016 |
Lloyd Glenn 1951-1952 | 5069 |
Lloyd Glenn 1954-57 | 5187 |
Lloyd Price 1952-1953 | 5100 |
Lonnie Johnson 1947-48 | 5189 |
Lonnie Johnson 1948-49 | 5177 |
Lonnie Johnson 1949-52 | 5153 |
Lowell Fulson 1946-1947 | 5044 |
Lowell Fulson 1947-1948 | 5071 |
Lowell Fulson 1948-1949 | 5122 |
Lowell Fulson 1949-51 | 5164 |
Lula Reed 1951-54 | 5136 |
Mabel Scott 1946-1950 | 5068 |
Mabel Scott 1951-1955 | 5107 |
Marion Abernathy 1947-1949 | 5001 |
Martha Davis 1946-1951 | 5123 |
Milt Buckner 1946-1951 | 5032 |
Muddy Waters 1941-1948 | 5008 |
Muddy Waters 1948-1950 | 5029 |
Muddy Waters 1950-1952 | 5109 |
Otis Blackwell 1952-54 | 5140 |
Paul & Dud Bascomb 1945-1947 | 5061 |
Paula Watson 1948-1953 | 5104 |
Percy Mayfield 1947-1951 | 5114 |
Percy Mayfield-1953-54 | 5150 |
Professor Longhair 1949 | 5004 |
Ray Charles 1949-1950 | 5000 |
Ray Charles 1950-1952 | 5050 |
Ray Charles 1953-54 | 5134 |
Roy Als/Hank Ballard & Midnighters 1952-54 | 5132 |
Roy Brown 1947-1949 | 5021 |
Roy Brown 1950-1951 | 5036 |
Roy Brown 1951-1953 | 5090 |
Roy Milton 1945-1946 | 5041 |
Rusty Bryant 1952-54 | 5182 |
Ruth Brown 1949-1950 | 5003 |
Ruth Brown 1951-1953 | 5084 |
Ruth Brown 1954-56 | 5181 |
Sarah Mclawler 1950-1953 | 5111 |
Saunders King 1942-1948 | 5064 |
Saunders King 1948-54 | 5149 |
Sherman Williams 1947-1951 | 5076 |
Smiley Lewis 1947-52 | 5166 |
Sonny Boy Williamson 1951-1953 | 5094 |
Sonny Boy Williamson 1956-56 | 5188 |
Sticks Mc Ghee 1951-59 | 5168 |
Sticks Mcghee 1947-1951 | 5012 |
Stomp Gordon 1952-56 | 5185 |
Sugar Boy Crawford 1953-54 | 5143 |
Sugar Chile Robinson 1949-1952 | 5052 |
Sunnyland Slim 1947-1948 | 5013 |
Sunnyland Slim 1949-1951 | 5035 |
Sunnyland Slim 1952-55 | 5171 |
T-Bone Walker 1929-1946 | 5007 |
T-Bone Walker 1947 | 5033 |
T-Bone Walker 1947-1950 | 5074 |
T-Bone Walker 1950-1952 | 5118 |
T-Bone Walker 1952_54 | 5152 |
Terry Timmons 1950-1953 | 5092 |
The Clovers 1950-1953 | 5115 |
The Hawks/The Bees 1953-54 | 5160 |
Tiny Bradshaw 1934-1947 | 5011 |
Tiny Bradshaw 1949-1951 | 5031 |
Tiny Grimes 1944-1949 | 5048 |
Tiny Grimes 1949-1951 | 5106 |
Tiny Grimes 1951-54 | 5146 |
Titus Turner 1949-54 | 5151 |
Tj Fowler 1948-1953 | 5103 |
Todd Rhodes 1947-1949 | 5019 |
Todd Rhodes 1950-1951 | 5040 |
Todd Rhodes 1952-54 | 5159 |
Tom Archia 1947-1948 | 5006 |
Tommy Ridgiey 1949-54 | 5161 |
Viviane Greene 1947-1955 | 5173 |
Walter Brown 1945-1947 | 5010 |
Walter Brown 1947-1951 | 5038 |
Willie Mabon 1949-54 | 5154 |
Willis Jackson 1950-54 | 5135 |
Good Morning Blues#3: Autumn Leaves
I've been assigned to write an article about Yves Montand for an Iranian film journal. Naturally the main focus is on Montand's career as an actor rather than his immense popularity and controversy as a singer and left activist. (for that other persona, how about revisiting Chris Marker's The Lonliness of the Long-distance Singer, made in 1974?)
No portrait of Montand is complete without pointing to the historical moment in French popular culture in which he sang Les feuilles mortes in his second acting experience in Marcel Carne's Les Portes de la Nuit, of course with persuasions of his then lover, Edith Piaf. In this 1946 and rather late entry to the Poetic realist cinema, Montand performed the harmonies and melodies written by Joseph Kosma and lyrics of the renowned poet Jacques Prévert.
Montand's lover and mentor made it a huge hit later:
Edith Piaf version
Later, in 1947, songwriter Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics and Jo Stafford was among the first to perform the English version. Soon the Autumn Leaves became a jazz standard, and only in my personal catalog I own nearly 200 different interpretations of the song by artists such as Jack Teagarden/Earl Hines, Johnny Smith, Jimmy Smith, Zoot Sims, Artie Shaw, Coleman Hawkins/Roy Eldridge, Gene Ammons/Sonny Stitt, Arnette Cobb/Joe Henderson, Stan Kenton, Wynton Kelly, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Jimmy Forest, Toots Thielmans/Joe Pass, Charlie Rouse/Julius Watkins, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Jack McDuff, Erroll Garner, George Shearing, Ben Webster, Buddy De Franco, Sonny Stitt/Hank Jones, Joe Diorio, Booker Ervin/Larry Young, James Moody, Oscar Peterson. Even very recently Eric Clapton did a pop version of it for his new album of standard. And there are still more takes:
Of course, one of the most famous interpretations comes from Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis and Hank Jones in Blue Note 1595.
Miles Davis (t), Cannonball Adderley (as), Hank Jones (p), Sam Jones (b), Art Blakey (d), 1958
I heard a beautiful take on the song, from Mary Lou Williams in a compilation LP, The First Lady of the Piano. Dizzy and Bobby Hackett accompanied her.
Russell Procope, Bill Graham, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Clark Terry,Rary Nance, Quintin Jackson, Britt Woodman, John Sanders, Duke, Jimmy Woode, Sam Woodyard, Ozzie Bailey, March 4th, 1958, Travis air force base, California.
My favorite among all ? Ahmad Jamal! A 12 minutes long masterpiece, live in Olympia, Paris, with George Coleman on tenor saxophone. Ahmad starts it with an uptempo introduction that takes a minute or two to even French audience recognize the tune. Coleman creeps in slyly from off-mic and then they takes off and you should hear the rest yourself! The version presented here is very close to what I heard on Olympia date, but slightly different and I'd say lighter.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bird Conference
From Norman Granz Jam Sessions, 1952, LA.
photography by Esther Bubley (1921-98)
photography by Esther Bubley (1921-98)
Esther Bubley happened to be in LA on assignment for The Ladies' Home Journal. It was then that her friend, illustrator David Stone Martin, who had made a name as a jazz album cover artwork designer, invited Esther to come along to a meeting with Charlie Parker and friends, where Esther took this amazing photograph.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Coleman Hawkins 106th Birthday
"Almost all of the recordings Coleman Hawkins made throughout a 45-year period were outstanding examples of improvisation, but among them were masterpieces by which all tenor saxophone solos will forever be judged."
Today's Coleman Hawkins 106th birthday. It's quite a while that I'm working on possibly the biggest piece of my blog, studying Coleman Hawkins recordings with Fletcher Henderson orchestra. I hoped that I could finish it for a day like today, but it didn't happen and I need more time. So enjoy the day with an update of an old post, an audio clip, and I'm sure everybody has many thing to listen and many thing to read about Coleman Hawkins.
Comments on a Phoenix called Hawk: An update of an article I' posted almost a year ago. Two audio clips and some new comments have been added.
-- John Chilton, Song of the Hawk
Today's Coleman Hawkins 106th birthday. It's quite a while that I'm working on possibly the biggest piece of my blog, studying Coleman Hawkins recordings with Fletcher Henderson orchestra. I hoped that I could finish it for a day like today, but it didn't happen and I need more time. So enjoy the day with an update of an old post, an audio clip, and I'm sure everybody has many thing to listen and many thing to read about Coleman Hawkins.
Coleman Hawkins All Stars
I Love You
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Hank Jones (p), Chuck Wayne (g), Jack Lesberg (b), Max Roach (d)
New York City, December 11, 1947, RCA Records.
I Love You
Coleman Hawkins (ts), Hank Jones (p), Chuck Wayne (g), Jack Lesberg (b), Max Roach (d)
New York City, December 11, 1947, RCA Records.
Comments on a Phoenix called Hawk: An update of an article I' posted almost a year ago. Two audio clips and some new comments have been added.
By the way, to see Hawk's shadow over all tenor players after him, I got a great story which can't stop laughing whenever I remember it:
"It wasn't for me. They were whispering on me, everytime I played. I can't make that. I couldn't take that. . . . Fletcher Henderson's wife, she took me down to the basement and played one of those old wind-up record players, and she'd say, "Lester, can't you play like this?" Coleman Hawkins records. But I mean, "Can't you hear this? Can't you get with that?" You dig? I split! Every morning that chick would wake me up at nine o'clock to teach me to play like Coleman Hawkins. And she played trumpet herself—circus trumpet! I'm gone!"