Fletcher Henderson Archives - Paul – and some of that Jazz

From the Record Shelves #365 – Back In Your Own Backyard – This four-LP box covers a lot, and I could have presented any track here. There are the interesting beginnings with its mix of early New York jazz and dance music, then the short Armstrong period when inevitably everything sounds (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #346 – Railroad Blues – When Louis Armstrong got the job as a soloist in New York with Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, he took a leap on his way to stardom. He may not have felt at home like he did in New Orleans or with King Oliver in Chicago, but his qualities became evident (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #327 – A Bag O’ Blues – Jack Pettis Orchestra was really something! It was drawn as a smaller unit out of Ben Bernie’s dance orchestra with the purpose of recording more hot numbers. The musicians were top class. Normally I prefer a session that includes this number (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #326 – Speak Now Or Hereafter Hold Your Peace – In the 1990s this series came with a new approach to releasing, and on the other end, listening to jazz music, presenting in chronological order everything recorded, including alternative takes and surviving live (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Studio #55 – Malinda’s Wedding Day I play and I record in my home studio, and I do just what I like. This time it became a wedding between a song that I’ve heard on record with Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra and a sound that I associate with (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #291 – Then I’ll Be Happy – The LP starts with 1923 and Fletcher Henderson had a good and interesting orchestra already. The brass instrumentalists play with conviction and feeling and the saxophone team of Don Redman and (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #268 – Any Woman’s Blues – Today it’s time for a Bessie Smith recording. I tend to take her for granted and thus forget to listen often enough to her fabulous output on records. This is not one of her more spectacular ones, and with just rudimental (…) 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 #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 #173 – 31st Street Blues – When I started to listen to jazz, I learned many things from the books. One often repeated “truth” was that Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra was nothing but a common dance orchestra until Louis (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #166 – Lazy Woman’s Blues – I used to transcribe what Louis Armstrong played and then go to our rehearsal place a few houses down the street and practice it. There is a lot to learn from those tracks; Armstrong’s choice of notes (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #127 – So Tired. I have an inevitable association with this record. In the beginning of the 1980s the English very elegant and polished Pasadena Roof Orchestra came to Malmö to play an engagement during couple of weeks. I went to listen (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #102 – Have Your Chill, I’ll Be Here When Your Fever Rises. I think that this was the first record with Louis Armstrong that I bought. Meanwhile, you could turn on the radio and hear his hit Hello Dolly. But it was this early version (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #98 – Peaceful Valley. This LP recorded in 1961, centered around a mature Jack Teagarden, is a polished affair, well arranged and flawlessly performed. Don Ewell is the pianist in the highly competent ensemble. Apart from a couple (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #81 – Why Couldn’t It Be Poor Little Me. I had trouble with the lady in the music shop. At this time in the beginning of the 60s you could not go through the piles of LP records like you do today. They were all behind the counter, and (…) 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 #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 #39 – Sensation. Fletcher Henderson had an incredible band in 1927. And it was used in the best possible manner. I can only think of Ellington that had an equally perfect balance between solos and arranged ensembles. In most numbers (…) read more and listenread more and listen

Let the Good Times Roll #65 – Hot House-Kassetten 2. När den silverfärgade Hot House-kassetten 2 utgavs 1989 hade en del nya band tillkommit – som en följd av den boom som Malmö-jazzen upplevde under dessa år. Kassetten fick en fin recension i Orkesterjournalen vilken återgavs i medlemstidningen Hot News. (…) läs merläs mer

Let the Good Times Roll #54 – Bob Erdos. Hot News som var medlemstidning för jazzföreningen Hot House publicerade i nr 1 – 1989 min artikel där Bob Erdos får berätta om sitt skivbolag Stomp Off Records. Bob som tyvärr lämnade oss 2017 gjorde en stor kulturbevarande insats! (…) läs merläs mer