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 #124 - Indian summerFrom the Record Shelves #124 – Indian summer. Sidney Bechet was a genius. Had he stayed with the clarinet and no other instrument he simply would have been the best, agile, expressive and energetic. But he wanted more. Maybe his early experience of (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #123 - Maryland, My MarylandFrom the Record Shelves #123 – Maryland, My Maryland. Ted Lewis used to ask the audience: “Is Everybody happy?” I guess that the answer was “yes”. Momentarily happy, because they had in front of them an entertainer with a good band that could spread joy around (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #122 - Auld Lang SyneFrom the Record Shelves #122 – Auld Lang Syne. Today I listen to myself. A couple of years ago I made a record that to my surprise and great pleasure had very good reviews in the jazz press. It contains mostly forgotten songs played in some different early jazz styles (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #121 - Toronto DigFrom the Record Shelves #121 – Toronto Dig. I don’t remember where I got hold of this record, but it’s with James Sharpe (1877–1943) who used the artist name Olly Oakley. He’s British and one of their most recorded banjo players ever. He played a zither banjo (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #120 - Down Where the Blue Bonnets GrowFrom the Record Shelves #120 – Down Where the Blue Bonnets Grow. If you have ever been involved in a situation with a two or one microphone recording you may be aware about the big importance of the room and the distance to the mike. On this recording (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #119 - Ostrich WalkFrom the Record Shelves #119 – Ostrich Walk. Bix Beiderbecke never forgot the tunes that turned him on to jazz. It was after World War I that his brother returned with some records, among them the newly released ones by Original Dixieland Jazz Band. When he got (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #118 - Concentratin’ On YouFrom the Record Shelves #118 – Concentratin’ On You. There are vocal records and there are records with orchestras featuring a vocal refrain. In the beginning of the 1930s Mildred Bailey was doing records of both kinds. Here she is mostly in a sentimental mood (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #117 - The JoysFrom the Record Shelves #117 – The Joys. Jimmie O’Bryant (1896-1928), was a today obscure almost forgotten clarinet player. Though he was not at the very top he still was able to do performances on record that were mistaken for the great Johnny Dodds (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #116 - Santa Claus BluesFrom the Record Shelves #116 – Santa Claus Blues. Christmas is not fun if you’re alone and cannot participate in the warm embrace of your family and friends. Luckily it never has happened to me but here’s a reminder that it’s the situation for some (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #115 - High SocietyFrom the Record Shelves #115 – High Society. I have an extensive double CD with the Six and Seven-Eight String Band, but today I play the LP that that was my first encounter with this classic New Orleans group. When you read the line-up of the band (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #114 - That’s a PlentyFrom the Record Shelves #114 – That’s a Plenty. Danny Polo is for me the clarinet player that replaced Don Murray temporarily during an illness and came to play the clarinet solo on Jean Goldkette’s fabulous recording of My Pretty Girl in 1927 (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #113 - I Been ’BukedFrom the Record Shelves #113 – I Been ’Buked. They sing “There is trouble all over this world”. Nothing is known about The Bronzemen, but they left after them a couple of radio transcriptions from 1939. By that time the depression and radio had made (…) read more and listenread more and listen