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 #265 – Panama – There are no details of personnel or recording dates on this LP, probably because they feared that they might be infringing the copyright laws. Of course, I know something more about those recordings from about 1940–45, and if (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #264 – South Side Strut – A very good 1957 “Good Time Jazz” release is spinning. It always puts me in a good mood; it is so well recorded and well played, and even the sleeve is funny, with good information on the back. “Piano Professor” Don Ewell is (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #263 – Waiting at the End of the Road – The great songwriter Irving Berlin is the man behind this sad but beautiful song. We played and recorded it with my band Paul and his Gang, and last year I played it at a dear friend’s funeral. My first encounter (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #262 – It’s Tight Jim – Today I listen to a Paramount record that is surprisingly good considering that it’s not among the most famous ones. Trombonist Preston Jackson plays very well and is the composer of the tune, which has one part (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #261 – Linger Awhile – I was old enough to work, and I had some money to spend. I went and ordered some records. It took time, but finally I got a letter saying that they had one of them, and it was this one. Was I disappointed? No way (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #260 – St. Louis Blues – Elderly gentlemen playing like young guys, but I wonder if they felt that they had to use as much energy as here, back in the days when Oscar “Papa” Celestin on cornet and maybe some of the others on the LP played in (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #259 – You’re Lucky to Me – Louis Armstrong on record! We hear him breaking out of Oliver’s Creole Jazzband, either as a soloist with Fletcher Henderson or accompanying Bessie Smith and other great singers. We hear him dominating his (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #258 – Clarinet Blues – There is no information on personnel or recording dates on this LP, so I have to consult other sources that tell me that the impressive clarinet solo by Eugene Cedric was recorded in Paris in 1953. Kansas Fields played drums (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #257 – Everybody Loves My Baby – I may be wrong, but I have the impression that the early recordings of the Clarence Williams Blue Five featuring Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet have always been a bit hard to find, especially since I started to (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #256 – Let’s Misbehave – This was the first of the “year” records that came out in the Vintage Series. I think that the year was 1967, at least that was the year I bought my copy. For me, it was an introduction to several fine dance orchestras. (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #255 – Whispering – Paul Whiteman had a smash hit with whispering in 1920. The record features an element of novelty effect, which is a chorus of slide whistle. By 1928, it was time for a revival of the song and a modernized version. Typically (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #254 – Under a Blanket of Blue – I recently found an LP with Connie Boswell (1907–1976) and the so-called “Original Memphis Five” with Billy Butterfield in place of Phil Napoleon. Connie was still good in the 1950s, but the music didn’t turn me on (…) read more and listenread more and listen