Happy Birthday, Duke '14

 

Another tribute to Duke. Just some of my favorite stuff from lps laying about, compiled in a less than sober state the weekend before Duke's birthday.
 I tried for a varied mix, with some covers both by Duke and others, some early stuff as well as some later. I'm really happy with the way this turned out.


1. Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me - Duke/Ray Brown - This One's For Blanton
2. Backward Country Boy Blues - Money Jungle
3. Jungle Blues - 30's orchestra covering Jelly Roll
4. Beginning To See The Light - Woody Herman/Erroll Garner
5. Apes and Peacocks - Queen's Suite
6. Mood Indigo - Anatomy of a Murder soundtrack
7. Sophisticated Lady = Billy Mitchell w/ Bobby Hutcherson
8. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good - Johhny Hodges w/ Duke's Men
9. Echoes of Harlem - more classic old Duke, live from 1938
10. Satin Doll - Ella/Basie...'nuff said
11. I Can't Get Started - Duke Trio covering the classic tune.
12. Caravan - The Duke/Strayhorn All-Stars
13. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me - Billie Holiday
14. Solitude - Duke/Coleman Hawkins, but Ray Nance deserves a mention here!
15. Single Petal Of A Rose - Ben Webster
16. Sweet and Pungent - Blues In Orbit...Duke's cool.
17. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart - Terry Gibbs Quartet
18. Everything But You - Eugenie Baird w/ Duke's Men
19. Skunk Hollow Blues - Johnny Hodges Orchestra
20. C-Jam Blues - Shirley Scott



If you want a copy of this comp, contact me.

Mingus Big Band - Fez NYC

I may be slow but this is a classic story... A while back I posted a Mingus Big Band radio show from Glasgow, which incidentally was from a friend in IAJRC. Well, our buddy JD said he had a recording of their return to Glasgow that he wanted to share. I enthusiastically agreed. and then both of us promptly forgot.

Fast forward one year and JC lets me know it wasn't really Glasgow but NYC and did I still want to share?
Well of course. It is also the reason I love doing this. Because there are a handful of music lovers that really care about this stuff. The troll may get me down but this makes it all worthwhile. Thanks JD, for the awesome contribution.. Now I'm gonna let the dude speak for himself ...

The band move through a kaleidoscope of styles with a swinging ferocity that Mingus would have frankly envied. All his life, he craved and rarely had a large ensemble to serve his oversized compositional ambitions. “Charles wanted a band like this desperately,” says pianist and arranger Sy Johnson. “And on a night when the gods are smiling, it is an awesome thing.”
Ms. Sue Mingus, figurehead behind the continuation of the Mingus legacy,  may not have quite her husband’s appetite for public confrontation, but she has mastered the first principle of his working method: demanding from the band the highest level of im perfection. As Mr. Johnson recalls: “Charles had a chaos theory long before the scientists. He would get infuriated if the band really started to swing hard. He felt that the band was being taken away from him. He would get mad and try to fuck it up. He wanted to mix it up, make it uncomfortable for the players so they would reach deeper into themselves.”

Without the benefit of Charles Mingus to trip them up, the Big Band finds its proper level of chaos by having no one specifically in charge of the music. Sue Mingus draws on a pool of maybe 100 first-rate players that on a given night might include trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist John Stubblefield, pianist Kenny Drew Jr. Instead of a lineup, there are fractal patterns of personnel that assume a specific personality for one gig  and then disappear. The constants are a lot of good soloists competing for solo space, the arrangements and Mingus’ own tunes. It adds up to a coherence rare in a big-band world where brass sections still play call-and-response with the reeds. Another way of looking at it is that it all adds up to Mingus.

“He’s dead center in the middle of the music,” Ms. Mingus says. “I think all the musicians feel that way. Sometimes there are specific moments when the bass string will snap at the beginning of a concert, and everyone gets a funny look on their face. He’s still egging people, making these demands. I feel like a mouthpiece for him-I’m the loudmouth in the wings.” Adapted from a web article on the Mingus Big Band at the Fez
This is a set I've been meaning to post for ages, but I simply never got round to finishing the artwork until now. Never mind, it's here now, and it's a real KILLER from start to finish! The Mingus Big Band is, for me, one of the best BBs around; always reliably solid, always enjoyable, but when they're at their best - as here - they're unbeatable. The short recording, some 43 minutes and comprising just four top-notch compositions, comes from early in the band's residency at the Fez in New York in 1998, and was aired by the BBC in (I think) 1999. I've treasured it ever since. Clearly, as Sy Johnson says, the gods were smiling this night, and it is indeed an awesome thing!....JD


1. Moanin'
2. Tijuana Moods
3. Meditations
4. Nostalgia In Times Square

Grand Award records - The Blues

Acclaimed by Music Critics. Approved by Music Educators. Treasured by Music Lovers. These Grand Award records can be some fun stuff. Since I'm no discophile I am unaware if this stuff has been issued elsewhere. I put it here to share with anyone else who wants to swing to these grooves. This batch being a bunch of jazzy blues. Dinah belts em out with Lucky Thompson's All Stars. Don't miss Mingus locking down the groove on these. The last couple of cuts are by Betty Roche who is cool but she's got Ellington alumni and Earl Hines on piano. You never hear this shit on PBS!

And a David Stone Martin cover...oh yeah!

1. Blues For A Day

2. Rich Man's Blues

3. All Or Nothing

4. Beggin' Mama Blues

5. Chewin' Papa Blues

6. Pacific Coast Blues

7. Wise Woman Blues

8. Blues On My Weary Mind

9. Trouble, Trouble

10. I'll Get By

11. Design For Jivin'

1-7  Dinah Washington Sings the Blues w/ Lucky Thompson's All Stars
Lucky Thompson - tenor
Milt Jackson - vibes
Charles Mingus - bass
Karl George - trumpet
Jewel Grant - alto sax
Gene Porter - baritone sax
Wilber Baranco - piano
Lee Young - drums

8-11 Betty Roche Sings with the Earl Hines Septet
Earl Hines - piano
Johnny Hodges -alto sax
Ray Nance - trumpet and violin
Al Casey - guitar
Oscar Pettiford - bass
Flip Phillips - tenor sax
Sid Catlett- drums

G.A. 33-318

Billie Holiday Vol 2 - Everest lp

I remember when I first bought this lp. It was a used record store sorta. The dude sold records on the landing of his parent's furniture shop. There were maybe 20 stacks of records around the floor, no crates or shelves.This was also the first time we had any access to used vinyl without driving the better part of 100 miles.
Years later this is a destination shop for me in the midwest. He has taken over the entire second floor and most of the first. Of course more space is dedicated to digital than vinyl, but the dude remains a collector at heart and there is always cool stuff to be unearthed at his shop.

 I love these Everest records. I have no doubt that these sessions were culled from many sources and given the artists represented I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't released any many other forms...but this is one of those jazz records I grew up with,  different from what was readily available and just cool as hell. This lp's heritage includes a period when it was the go-to choice when the rain was pattering on the roof of my house, I was safely ensconced in my mancave in the unfinished and rarely comfortable attic.Playing this brings back many fond memories. Enjoy.

Billie Holiday

Volume II

1. Fine And Mellow

2. What A Little Moonlight Can Do

3. Fooling Myself

4. Easy To Remember

5. You've Changed

6. Ghost Of A Chance

7. Willow Weep For Me

8. Stormy Weather

Musicians include Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Mingus, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Gerry Mulligan, Vic Dickerson, Milt Hinton, Doc Cheatham, Danny Barker, Mal Waldron, Osie Johnson, Tyree Glenn.

recorded 8/29/56, 12/8/57, and 6/18/58

FS 310

Mingus Big Band - Glasgow

I've been meaning to get this up for awhile so with the great scare going on right now I figured this was the perfect time. I'm damn sure Mingus would be on our side in sharing these recordings.

 The backstory - This recording appears to be taken from a radio broadcast. I acquired it when I belonged to the IAJRC. I made a copy of a pair of cassettes from their lending library...onto cassette because cd burners were not happening just yet for us regular folk. As soon as I was able to transfer to disc I did. Unfortunately I have since...uhhh...misplaced the original cassettes which certainly contain at the very least, recording info, if not also track listings.
 I'm sure I will run across these in the near future but for now you too can enjoy the mystery of identifying these tracks. Feel free to post in the comments and I will assemble the info out front here.

UPDATE - check the comments. Couple of our friends came through with the info.
A-ha and what I have figured out may be of some help. On posted recording "Invisible Lady" is split due to cassette limitations. I also have no idea where the interviews fall on the official program listings as I have moved them to the end.

 The last two tracks are a short interview with Sue Mingus recorded on the tour.


Mingus Big Band - live 1
Mingus Big Band - live 2

Bud Powell - Radio Broadcasts Summer 1953

Just wanted to get one last one in before the end of the month. I've had this ready to go for awhile. Wasn't really sure how much interest there would be in this. Enjoy...

Here's one I found as I was cleaning out some old cassettes. The sound quality isn't that great, but i suspect it wasn't on the original source as I was using a Nakamichi deck at the time I would have grabbed this. I probably grabbed this from a late night radio show. The fact that the sound is muffled is probably why the cassette languished in a box all these many years. Despite that I found myself enjoying the music once I decided to give it a quick listen before converting or trashing. I'm thinking that may even be Mingus on bass and then, what the hell that has to be Bird on a couple of tracks. So yeah, we're keeping it and even sharing it here.

*While researching before posting I see now that ESP was offering digital dls of this but physical product. What's this world coming to? Also their track listings appear to be different than what I have on tape. I'll try to do my best to reconcile the two, as I sometimes have problems recognizing even the most common songs, or rather recognizing the titles of such. They also supplied all the info as I had nothing but a cassette in a plastic case.

Bud Powell 

1953 Summer Broadcasts

1. I've Got You Under My Skin

2. Autumn In New York

3. I Want To Be Happy

4. Moose The Mooche

5. Cheryl

6. Budo

7. My Heart Stood Still

8. Dance Of The Infidels

9. Dance Of The Infidels

Bud Powell - piano

Charles Mingus - bass

Art Taylor - drums

add Bird (as) and Candido (cgs) to tracks 3 & 4

recorded at Birdland
1-5 - 5/30/53
6-8 - 6/20/53
9 - 7/11/53

here

The Definitive Jazz Scene Vol 1 - Impulse Comp

It seems like I have owned this record forever, pulling it out every couple of years to be floored once again at all the great music it has that I just never run into elsewhere. Cah-rist! Ellington and Hawkins! Coltrane! Webster! Mingus! Tyner! and more Hawkins!
Of the series of three, and none of them are weak, this is probably my favorite. The two Bean tracks are simply outstanding. And this is the part where I mess with you...this issue has far more detailed notes about the recordings sessions including anecdotes, which the following lps tended to lack. Of course I can't share them with you due to the digital block in my brain.

But I will share as much info as my poor tired fingers will allow....

The Hawkins/Ellington tune was recorded after the session had ended and Hawk talked a few guys into playing one of his favorite Ellington themes, Basie looks back at his roots with a new incarnation of his Kansas City Six. Mingus makes my soul soar with this version of Freedom, while I dig the soprano version of Trane's selection. Hawkins sneaks in again with Shelley Manne on an outtake from their lp. Ben Webster showcases Ellington's "Single Petal Of A Rose". Webster shows up again on Clark Terry's bonus track.
You're gonna have to trust me here...there ain't a bad track on this compilation.
Without doing a whole lot of homework, I will assume that most of these tracks have appeared across the board on the respective artist's releases, but at the time this vinyl was the shit!!

The Definitive Jazz Scene
Vol. 1

1. Solitude
2. Trey of Hearts
3. Single Petal of a Rose
4. Tippie
5. Lisa and Pam
6. Big Nick
7. Avalon
8. Freedom
9. Hammer-Head Waltz
10. Flapstick Blues

1. Duke Ellington - piano, Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax, Ray Nance - violin, Sam Woodyard - drums, Aaron Bell - bass 8/18/62
2. Count Basie - piano, Thad Jones - trumpet, Frank Wess, Eric Dixon - flutes, Freddie Green - guitar, Ed Jones - bass, Sonny Payne - drums 3/22/62
3. Ben Webster - tenor sax, Hank Jones - piano, Richard Davis - bass, Osie Johnson - drums 3/11/64
4. Terry Gibbs - vibes, Kenny Burrell - guitar, Sam Jones - bass, Louis Hayes - drums 1/16/64
5. Shirley Scott - organ, Earl may - bass, Jimmie Cobb - drums 8/22/63
6. John Coltrane - soprano sax, McCoy Tyner - piano, Jimmy Garrison - bass, Elvin Jones - drums 8/11/62
7. Coleman Hawkins - tenor sax, Shelley Manne - drums, Hank Jones - piano, George Duvivier - bass 2/5/62
8. Charles Mingus - bass, narration, Eddie Preston, Richard Williams - trumpets, Britt Woodman - trombone, Don Butterfield - tuba, Jerome Richardson, Dick Hafer, Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy - saxophones, Jaki Byard - piano, Walter Perkins - drums 10/20/63
9. Clark Terry - trumpet, Phil Woods - alto sax, Ben Webster - tenor sax, Roger Kellaway - piano, Milt Hinton - bass, Walter Perkins - drums 3/13/64
10. McCoy Tyner - piano, Jimmy Garrison - bass, Albert Heath - drums 6/4/63

Impulse A-99

Joni Mitchell - Mingus

So today brings us something different, but not as much as you might think. I was going to dig out Hejira when it dawned on me that I hadn't listened to this record in years. Shame on me. As tributes go, they don't get much finer than this. Mitchell's love and appreciation shine on this record.

This record has actually been known to cause tears to well up in my eyes. Mitchell was wise enough to hire Pastorius, while not exactly Mingus' successor, he was the coolest bass player to come along in some time, and unfortunately also met his end as a overlooked genius.

After not hearing this record for years, I found it as profound and soul shattering as I left it.

I can't image not carrying this record in my collection until I can no longer transport a couple of crates of records. I can only hope that the sound of this vinyl recording does it justice.

Asylum 5E-505

1. Happy Birthday 1975

2. God Must Be A Boogie Man

3. Funeral

4. A Chair In The Sky

5. The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey

6. I's A Muggin'

7. Sweet Sucker Dance

8. Coin In the Pocket

9. The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines

10. Lucky

11. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Joni Mitchell - Guitars and vocals

Jaco Pastorius - Bass (horn arr. on Dry Cleaner)

Wayne Shorter - Soprano Sax

Herbie Hancock - Piano

Peter Erskine - Drums

Don Alias - Congas

Emil Richards - percussion

Wolves

This record does not have specific producer's credits. It has a release date of 1979. I had been out of high school for 3 years by this time and while I was more into jazz than most of my friends, this record never even crossed my radar.