Enjoy my new series with Records from the Shelves
I started out in the 1960s buying vinyl records and some 78’s. Most of the records I bought at any price because I just had to have them. My mother could send me out with money to buy new trousers, but I came back with a record. In the beginning it was mostly the milestones of classic jazz and records by blues artists alone with guitar, because that was the music that I wanted to play myself.
When the CD’s came in the 90s I bought many recordings again since they were more practical to work with, and they often contained transfers of better originals. Furthermore, you could sometimes get everything recorded by a special artist in chronological order. Today I’m back to buying vinyl again most often because I find them cheap, and thus I can take a chance to listen to music that I may or may not like.
I have made many discoveries over the years. Things that may not be as important to me as the cornerstones of classic jazz but are still enjoyable and that gives me a wider spectrum.
Now I’m going to play a record every day and present a tune with a short comment. Early jazz, blues, modern jazz, operatic arias maybe and some bygone popular artist’s recordings. Let’s listen together, and we’ll see what comes up!
From the Record Shelves #364 – It Won’t Be You – The agent Frank Walker sent Clarence Williams down south to search for a special female singer. He came back with someone that, according to Walker, looked like seventeen and was scared to death. But he forgot about all that when he heard her sing (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #363 – Red Hot Hottentot – Jazz clubs in Europe sometimes started record labels (or vice versa), and this is an example of that. They would make rarities available to their audience and thus promote the original jazz from the 20s. In this case, the Swedish Gazell has chosen (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #362 – Flow Gently, Sweet Afton – The title comes from a poem by Robert Burns and Afton is the name of a Scottish river. (In Swedish it’s a word that means ”evening”). Musically, there is a lot that I like here, most of all the ensemble playing with Sidney De Paris’ strong lead (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #361 – Body and Soul – It says Benny Goodman Trio, but the drumming from presumably Gene Krupa is very discrete, so we can enjoy the Goodman clarinet and the piano from Teddy Wilson as a duo. Beautiful music! The tune is, as usual, played in D flat (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #360 – Miss Otis Regrets – I have much respect for the Danish traditional jazz. On the sleeve of this LP it says: ”Denmark became after England, for unknown reasons, the country where the trad jazz became best rooted. It didn’t become just Mickey Mouse music (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #359 – Tiger Rag – Jack Teagarden’s Orchestra in 1931. This was released for the first time on an LP many years later. I haven’t a clue why it was so because it contains good solos from both Jack on trombone and his brother Charlie on trumpet with their laid-back attitude. (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #358 – Pink Elephants – The title “primarily refers to a euphemism for visual hallucinations, often associated with Delirium Tremens, a severe alcohol withdrawal symptom.” The musicians involved in this session may have sent thoughts to their newly deceased friend (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #357- Dixie Drag – This tune came out of a nice and interesting 1928 session by ”Mendello’s Dance Orchestra”. I first get to think about Red Nichols and his Five Pennies, and the rhythm section that gives much of the character to the group are the usual suspects (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #356- Sweet Sue – It’s like I’ve always loved this tune by Victor Young. At least since I heard it for the first time in my teens in this version by Paul Whiteman’s big orchestra. Others that have heard other, more jazz-oriented versions first may just be waiting for the fabulous (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #355 – Fidgety Feet – It’s said in the liner notes: When the De Paris orchestra entered the stage for their first concert in the Antibes Jazz Festival in 1960, the vast audience was not prepared. Apart from the few specialists, they knew nothing about the band, and they, the musicians (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #354 – Lazy Weather – When it says “University Six,” you’re counting on Adrian Rollini for the musical excitement. He starts on xylophone, inspired. Then Arthur Fields sings, as he does on many of those recordings, and after that you hear that the bass sax of Rollini is (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #353 – You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me – Five things that I enjoy with this. One: That it’s a 78 rpm record. Now you hear it through your computer or telephone, but here in my living room with my equipment, the presence of the recording is unbearable. Two: The record (…) read more and listenread more and listen