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 #232 – All Night Long Shags – There are at least four things to mention regarding this trio recording under the name of the Chicago Hottentots. First Richard M. Jones, who, besides being, as he is here, an effective pianist, had his finger (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #231 – Flashes – As you can expect, there is a display of Bunny Berigan’s virtuosity and talent here, a lot of “take it, Bunny!” where he shows off his skills and power. Impressive as it is, I still prefer the reading of a handful of arrangements (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #230 – Basin Street Blues – I continue to listen to early Jack Teagarden today. This 1931 record starts immediately with his voice, which is proper for this tune that was to become something of his signature. Many trombone players have started the tune by (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #229 – That Da Da Strain – In June 1929, Red Nichols led another session under the name of Louisiana Rhythm Kings. The distinct New York style of his Five Pennies is here in this sextet, but it’s loosened up after about one minute with (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #228 – Copenhagen – While listening to this LP, I read on the cover where there is an interesting recipe for “creole crayfish bisque”, and I think I will have to try that one day.Kid Ory, the great veteran of New Orleans jazz, had different versions of (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #227 – Miss Hannah – This record that I bought second-hand has Coleman Hawkins signature on the back of the sleeve. Thus, I feel like choosing a tune where he is featured on the record that otherwise has two different sides. On the first (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #226 – Love Me Tonight – In football, they say that the player who is the victim in the situation resulting in a penalty kick should not be given the task of striking it. If it happens, he is too excited and is prone to miss it. A similar thing could be said (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #225 – New Orleans Lowdown – Now I’m back with the early Ellington. The French release of all his recordings in chronological order reached twelve volumes, and I’m lucky to have them. Here you get all the versions of the masterpieces (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #224 – Indigo Stomp – There have been clarinet players all over the world who wanted to play like Johnny Dodds. I’ve had the pleasure of playing gigs with a few of them. Cy Laurie from England, Matthias Seuffert from Germany, and Claus Forchhammer (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #223 – Easy to Love – Another thing that came with the CD was the possibility to present an original digitalized album and often, as in this case, there was space for two LPs. “Wilbur De Paris Plays Cole Porter” was the title of this Atlantic LP (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #222 – The Rooster Crowing Blues – Hosea Woods sings, “I used to be a lover, baby, in my younger days. Now I’m old and feeble, but I still got my loving ways.” With recordings like “Walk Right In,” Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers inspired young people (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #221 – I Want to be Bad – One advantage of the CD format is that it contains more. In the case of hot dance music it means that you get more than a glimpse of the vast output of some orchestras. Even if it still has to be a compilation there is a difference (…) read more and listenread more and listen