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 #76 – High Society. The sessions on this LP belong to the classical ones and have been released many times on different media and labels. They are transcriptions from radio programs in 1944, and I have chosen the first (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #75 – Take It from Me. This must be one of the records that I found when I was on tour in England in the beginning of the 80s. I brought back a big pile even if I already was loaded with a lot of things. As I remember it I started out early in Birmingham (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #74 – Somebody’s Been Lovin’ My Baby. This is a good record with a compilation of some of the best female blues singers of the 1920s and with good sound. Most of the singers express anger, desperation and such but (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #73 – Just Pretending. From 1925 when an electric system had just been taken in use the record companies could make tours in the south and find suitable subjects for recording. On several of these tours they came to New Orleans (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #72 – Nobody’s Sweetheart. This is a lively record! A good hot band with eager soloists playing some well known tunes, some of them in breakneck tempo, and some specialties. And in front the strong personality of the singer (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #71 – Tiger Rag. I used to think that Sylvester Ahola played trumpet on a record by Frankie Trumbauer called Just an Hour of Love with You, but later I learned that he wasn’t there and never did record with Bixl (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #70 – Try and Treat Her Right. Louisville, Kentucky had two band leaders in the twenties who were fighting to get the recording contracts. Still they depended on each other and played with each other’s groups. Clifford Hayes who played (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #69 – Ash Tray Blues. Papa Charlie Jackson (November 10, 1887 – May 7, 1938) has always been a favorite of mine. His strong voice, his swing, his control over his instrument the six-string banjo, his wit, the intelligent lyrics and (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #68 – Dreaming of You. The singer has herself organized the record company. In this release of an LP with some of her best early performances there is a comment from her regarding every track. Spivey record production has (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #67 – Too Bad. Here we have 18 numbers with George Olsen and his Music from the period of transition from acoustic to electrical recordings. Most of them are made prior to the orchestras big commercial hit “Who” (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #66 – Close Shave. Already as a tuba player with Fletcher Henderson at the end of the 1920s, John Kirby was impressive. After changing to double bass his work became an important link to more modern bass line playing (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #65 – Chicago Mess Around. When Paramount made recordings in Chicago in the 20s the musical direction was given among others to Lovie Austin. She had a solid musical education and was at the time working at the Monogram Theater in the city (…) read more and listenread more and listen