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JamesAHarrod
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Posts posted by JamesAHarrod
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Yes, the Nieswand book. Let me know if you need a copy of the Tiffany ad.
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Big Jay McNeely did play at the Tiffany Club in the 1950s. Check out Bob Willoughby's Jazz In LA.
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Various sources have reported that The Haig seated a maximum of 85 people including those standing at the bar. When Dick Bank was researching The Haig for his Bud Shank production, After You, Jeru, he visited the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety to look at the planning files for 638 South Kenmore. The four room bungalow was moved to that location around 1932 where it was converted to a cocktail lounge.
Fresh Sound issued the Wardell Gray session, and other sessions have appeared on Japanese CDs over the years, some with wrong dates, etc.
Back when Bob Andrews was actively leasing his recordings the emphasis was on sales appeal, would there be enough collectors interested in the material to justify the cost of making it available. How many people had even heard of Willie Hawkins, the blind pianist from Detroit?
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I have resumed my examination of Los Angeles jazz clubs from the 1950s. My current subject is The Haig. Interested members can view the first and second installments at:
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-haig.html
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-haig-part-two.html
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Here is the Lord listing:
Lennie Niehaus + Contemporary Jazz Octets : Lee Katzman (tp) Kent Larsen (tb) Bill Perkins (ts) Jack Nimitz (bar) unknown (p), (b), (d)unknown location, prob. Los Angeles, prob. 1960 Note: The above information obtained from Lennie Niehaus by Coen Hofmann and Gerard Hoogeveen of "Names & Numbers". -
The primary jazz fan who was actively recording jazz groups in the clubs around this time was Bob Andrews. I believe that he had tacit approval from the owners and did so without concealment or hiding his activity. Dick Bock was the gate keeper at this time and most likely granted permission or approval of this activity.
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I am reading the recently published autobiography of Walter Hopps, The Dream Colony. Hopps died in 2005 and had been working on the book for several years. Much of that work consisted of audio tapes of Hopps recalling his life. Thanks to those tapes the editors of the book, Deborah Treisman and Anne Doran, have pieced togther a narrative that I am enjoying immensely. Hopps spent some time in Laguna Beach and some of his relatives figured prominanetly in the history of Laguna Beach. His great-great-uncle, Harry Woods, built a Tudor style ocean front manse that was sold to Bette Davis when the Woods family died out. The area is still known today as Woods Cove.
Hopps was an avid jazz fan and regularly visited clubs to hear Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, etc. In December of 1953 Hopps and Jerry Perenchio presented a concert at UCLA that featured the Lighthouse All Stars, Shorty Rogers Giants, The Dave Pell Quartet, Don Ewell, Barney Kessel, John Graas Modern Jazz Ensemble, and the Chet Baker Quartet. William Claxton mounted an exhibition of his jazz photography in conjunction with the concert. Later in the 1950s and early 1960s Claxton became part of the west coast art scene when Hopps and Edward Kienholz founded the Ferus Gallery.He double dated with Chet Baker and recalled one night at the Haig when Gerry Mulligan stopped the music and told the audience that Miles Davis had just entered the room. According to Hopps Mulligan asked Chet to lend his trumpet to Miles, and Chet sat in the audience while Gerry and Miles completed the set. Hopps does not date the event but stated that shortly after that Gerry spent several months at the Honor Farm in Castaic.At the recent Los Angeles Jazz Institute event Ken Poston presented a survey of Gerry Mulligan’s time in California. The audio clips that Ken played for the audience included some recently discovered/acquired tapes of the Mulligan Quartet at the Haig. Ken said that some of this music would be part of the LAJI Members Bonus CD that will be available later this year. We can only hope that an avid jazz fan had a tape recorder running when Miles appeared at the Haig, and that it will surface one day.I highly recommend this book to members with an interest in the west coast art scene of the 1950s. The jazz content was an unexpected bonus for me. -
It has been a few years since I compared the multiple releases of the original master recording of "Big Boy." Scherman manipulated the master recording to produce "M.B.B." - I do not believe that it was ever marketed or released with the abbreviation spelled out as More Big Boy. My original examination can be found at:
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-first-lighthouse-all-stars.html
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-first-lighthouse-all-stars.html
So the short answer is - same master recording - edited to fit multiple releases by Scherman. I have the Capitol Studios 78 test pressing that was released as Skylark SK 538.
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I have the CD. Strazzeri introduces the musicians and refers to the bass player as J. J. Avenel, and the drummer as Joel. Here is the listing at Lord's online TJD:
Frank Strazzeri (p) Jean-Jacques Avanel (b) Joel Allouche (d)
Straz was another of those neglected jazz pianists who should have a greater following.
I believe the correct spelling is Avenel.
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A while back I noted that Peter Jacobson at VSOP was working on a CD reissue of the Lighthouse All Stars sessions that were originally released as Skylark 78s. It is now available, here is the direct link:
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I did the research to locate the ad used in the liner notes for the initial release of this concert, Lighthouse LAJI006. There was only one concert on September 27, 1952, a Saturday.
Shorty had performed at the Rendezvous Ballroom earlier that year on June 17, 1952, for a night to dawn dance for Orange County high school seniors. Shorty's group kicked off the all nighter from 11:00 - 2:00 AM, with the Pied Pipers 1:00 - 1:30 AM, Dan Terry Orchestra 2:00 - 5:00 AM, Jeri Southern 2:30 - 3:00 AM, and Jerry Colomnna 3:00 - 3:30 AM. Alex Cooper, a southland DJ, MC'ed the event. I do not believe this event was recorded.
The second CD release of the 09/27/52 concert noted that Bob Enevoldsen also recorded the concert on his wire recorder. LAJI possesses this recording as part of the Bob Enevoldsen archive that was donated to LAJI. I do not believe that Kern Poston has attempted playback of the wire recording.
Shorty performed at the Rendezvous Ballroom on Saturday, July 11, 1953, with a 17 piece big band. That concert was recorded by Bob Andrews and the music has made the rounds among collectors over the years.
I would be very surprised if the Sounds of Yesterday CD offered any material that has not been previously released.
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I recently updated my review of the various versions of Russ Freeman's "The Wind" that have released by jazz artists around the globe since it was released in 1954 on Chet Baker & Strings, Columbia CL 549. The last version according to Lord's TJD was in 2015 in Japan on Hiroshi Tanaka's Trio Transition. If any members are aware of versions that I have missed I would appreciate hearing from you. I originally assumed that the Slide Hampton version was Freeman's, but recent information on the web credits Hampton with the composition. Here is a link to my post:
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2017/07/russ-freeman-wind.html
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I believe that the only reissue of this material was on CD in 2007 on Sepia. No Savoy reissues on vinyl or CD.
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The Discovery masters recorded by Marx for his Discovery Hollywood label were sold to Jack Bergman, Saul Boltin, and Herb Silverman in 1952. The newly established Discovery Records New York continued the line, same label logo, with releases by Art Pepper and others. Herman Lubinsky of Savoy-Regent Records acquired all of the Discovery masters in in 1956. Many of the original Marx masters were repackaged on a variety of Savoy LPs in the mid/late 1950s. When Marx re-established his Discovery label, new logo, releases did not include any of the Discovery Hollywood masters that he no longer owned.
Marx reactivated Discovery in 1977 along with Dennis Smith, a former jazz disc jockey. Their initial releases included Jack Wilson's "Innovations", and Joe Pass's "Guitar Interludes." Other scheduled releases for the label included sessions by Bill Henderson, Mike Woffard, Charles Owens, Tommy Vig, Clare Fischer, and Gerald Wilson.
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Just scanned the index at the preview on Amazon, curious, no mention of Lord Buckley!
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Not jazz per se, but the cover for the World Pacific Henry Jacobs album featured the Watts Towers as well, The Wide Weird World of Shorty Petterstein.
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Ken's recollection is that Shelly Manne suggested Max Roach.
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The person who might have the answer to that is Ken Poston who interviewed Howard numerous times over several years. I will drop Ken an email and ask if he knows the background on Max's appointment.
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Taking a stab at answering your question, the jam session in September of 1953 that was recorded by Cecil Spiller and released years later when Ed Michel was working at Fantasy marked a turnover in personnel at the Lighthouse. Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, and Shelly Manne departed. My guess is that Shelly was not interested in a regular job that required a long commute from his home in Northridge. At that point in time and for many years, Shelly was THE drummer in demand in Los Angeles. Like his days "chopping wood" for Kenton, keeping time behind Howard Rumsey was a chore.
I have made some additions and corrections to the blog. After adding details from the GNP compact disc reissues I realized that I should do the same for the EmArcy sessions.
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Transcribing Bobby Bradford's comments could not do justice to his oral description of that experience hearing Clifford Brown. It was also difficult to put into words his vocalization of Max's drumming, or the growl he emitted to describe Clifford's attack on the trumpet. Thanks for your kind words.
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The latest post to my jazz research blog examines Clifford Brown's arrival in California in 1954 and the genesis of the Max Roach/Clifford Brown Quintet including club dates, concerts, and recording sessions for Gene Norman, Bob Shad, and Dick Bock. Nailed down many dates that have floated for years in the discography literature.
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2016/06/clifford-brown-in-california-gene.html
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You're right. Just read the liner notes to C3505, Hawes first album for Koenig. I do not believe that Dick Bock recorded at the Police Academy. I write about two other venues, The Forum and Music Box Theaters, that Bock used frequently in my post about the Touff/Kamuca sessions:
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-cy-touff-richie-kamuca-sessions.html
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I seem to recall that this session was recorded at the L.A. Police Academy in Chavez Ravine, but seeking out a copy of one of the volumes on Ebay the liner note credits Contemporary's studio at 8481 Melrose. Maybe I'm thinking of another one of Koenig's sessions?
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The latest addition to my Jazz Research blog examines the Art Pepper Discovery sessions.
http://jazzwestcoastresearch.blogspot.com/2016/04/art-pepper-discovery-sessions-james-a.html
Over the years many discographers have wondered why there were no alternate takes from the first recording session on March 4, 1952. I think that the answer lies with the fact that the session was financed by Robert Scherman using his Skylark Records license. Scherman was a thrifty producer and saving alternate takes was not something he practiced.
Ruth Price
in Artists
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In this clip from Ruth Price’s appearance on Stars of Jazz Bobby Troup says that the first song Price sings is from her new Roost album. She sings “You Are My Lucky Star” (w. Arthur Freed, m. Nacio Herb Brown). This tune is not listed on the back liner as being on that album. Do any members have the LP or CD reissue and can verify what she sings on the album? The last tune on side one according to the liner is “When You Wish Upon A Star.”