From the Record Shelves #378 - Feeling the SpiritFrom the Record Shelves #378 – Feeling the Spirit – Jazz is spiritual music more than anything else and also music that is inspired and inspires. This band, Luis Russell and His Orchestra, is bursting with energy and with an urge to express and communicate their timeless swing. In the solos you hear (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #363 - Red Hot HottentotFrom the Record Shelves #363 – Red Hot Hottentot – Jazz clubs in Europe sometimes started record labels (or vice versa), and this is an example of that. They would make rarities available to their audience and thus promote the original jazz from the 20s. In this case, the Swedish Gazell has chosen (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #195 - Honey That Reminds MeFrom the Record Shelves #195 – Honey That Reminds Me – There is a lot of hot swinging stuff on this LP, most of it rather well known, but today this medium recording caught my attention. There is no composer listed on the LP, but I’ve learned from another source (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #153 - Be Bo BoFrom the Record Shelves #153 – Be Bo Bo – Jack Purvis is a favorite of mine. He left relatively few recordings behind and had a short career. Still, his biography fills much space in the Who’s Who of Jazz. There are so many stories and rumors connected to (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #14 - Jersey LightningFrom the Record Shelves #14 – Jersey Lightning. We listen to an LP in the French ”aimez vous le Jazz” series. The recordings of Luis Russell’s orchestra are easy to identify, through its eccentric soloists (…) read more and listenread more and listen