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 #304 – Give Me Your Telephone Number – According to the label, J. C. Higginbotham, an extraordinary trombone player, is also the composer of this nice 32-bar conventional popular tune with an additional likewise conventional (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #303 – Panama – Here is another short and lively rendition of the traditional jazz tune “Panama.” Orson Welles’ is the announcer who lets you know the personnel of “The New Orleans All Stars.” Big names that either have kept themselves (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #302 – I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed – I have a strong impression that a 1930s Fats Waller recording session was a hilarious affair. No arrangements, not any unusual instrumentation that called for extra efforts from the studio men (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #301 – Every time I Feel De Spirit -This is a very pleasant record. The music is taken from two Lang-Worth transcriptions that Clarence Williams made in 1937. It cannot be compared to the more serious classics that gave Williams fame within (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #300 – Something Tender – This music will not kick you out of bed, but rather make you want to stay if you happen to listen in the morning. Two guitars and a horn playing in a style that belongs to no school, just making pleasant music and (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #299 – Tap Room Special – The name “The Little Ramblers” is revived for this session, and the reason is that there is a strong connection to Adrian Rollini since the band heard here was the house band in his club The Tap Room. Here they have (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #298 – Fools Rush In – This is the third of the triple LP album dedicated to Mildred Bailey that CBC released sometime in the 60s. I’ve already chosen a tune from volume one. If I look at all three, I notice that I learned many songs from her versions (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #297 – Glad To Be Unhappy – Lee Wiley’s singing has presence, and sometimes she creeps under your skin. It’s like she is singing just for you. No professional mannerism. We are lucky to have her in the history of jazz and entertainment (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #296 – Swamp Blues – The Little Ramblers was a logical band name when some members of the California Ramblers wanted to play with fewer people and do something more spontaneous, free from the arrangements, or at least free to (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #295 – I’d Rather Be a Beggar with You – I have a weakness for sentimental songs, under the condition that they are delivered with a reasonably high grade of honesty. Fortunately, there were a handful of singers that could do that in the (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #294 – On Treasure Island – Around 1970, Teddy Wilson performed solo in a bar only a stone’s throw away from where I lived here in Malmö, Sweden. I also heard him play with an all-star band in Spain a couple of years later. How his playing was (…) read more and listenread more and listen
From the Record Shelves #293 – The Sheik of Araby – More from Eddie Condon today! This LP contains 1944 recordings for World, a company that offered specially recorded music to radio stations. On the two LPs we get, in addition to the released takes, unissued ones (…) read more and listenread more and listen