mmilovan

Apart from high bit rates there is one more thing important in encoding process (we're talking about LAME, aren't we) and that is: optimisation for quality encoding. Needles to say, so adjust LAME (I'm using it with RazorLame GUI) can be dangerously slow - about 12 minutes at 0 class settings (here small values means more quality), comparing to around 15 seconds at bad quality settings. If you want quality, you'll have to wait

The same with me. I'll never forget the day my father brought me from the trip to Italy RCA LP with Artie Shaw second "string" band. The years has passed, my father has gone, and now - Artie. And I know it's irrational and trivial in my case, as well.

It is interesting to point out that Coniff (played trombone in Shaw's prewar bands - the second one) certainly contributed to that band as arranger, or arranger of trombone parts, I think (don't know if there is some evidence to this). "I Cover The Waterfront" with strings, recorded around 1940., sounds like everything Coniff did about 20-25 years later with his large pop orchestra. http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...ndpost&p=128634 If you have the recording, got to hear it, folks. And, while spinnin his records today, and reading his interviews, I think I can understand Artie, who have not so good words to say bout The Beatles or r'nr'. What he had played so many years ago was so intelligent, deep and musically highly articulated. On the other hand, I really dislike his words about Goodman. Benny is among few jazz icons that did so much for music we like.

Famous picture from famous era...

Somehow, God knows how, I tried to collect together and put some compilation by myself of everything I got from Artie Shaw, and to listen to it with pleasure, knowing he is with all of us. Started to think about it about 2 weeks ago with some strange and at the same time deep feeling, you can guess what... And now, today - it happened... I didn't manage to make my compilation discs. Terrible. He was first to let me know that clarinet is such beautifull instrument, and first to let me know bigband music is something worth listening for. It was 20 years ago. I was only 13 back then (trying to play his solos I have transcribed for clarinet, as well as learning scales and technique for jazz clarinet from his book, also). R.I.P. Artie! Your's music will remain in my heart, forever.

Will prepare 'em before NewYear's eve

don't tell me, don't tell me

Guy, Big Al, have you heard Scott Yanow on this one: "Despite that fault (his lack of originality), Vice Pres was quite creative and swinging within Young's style"

Guy, did you noticed what lineup was for Maxine singing "Everytime We Said Goodbye": Teddy Wilson, Red Norvo, Charlie Shavers...? It must be something special IMO.

Milan, check these liner notes for Maxime Sullivan's 'Le Ruban Bleu Years' from BaldwinStreet. http://www.baldwinstreetmusic.com/nbjh303.html The last paragraph indicates the label is planning to release pre-194O transcription sides. "We are planning to release several more reissue CDs of Maxine's early recordings: first her 1950s recordings including many previously unreleased performances. Then go back to the beginning to cover all of her ARC recordings 1937-1938 with all the available alternate takes and her transcription sides with Benny Goodman and Paul Whiteman. If you have some rare private material of Maxine Sullivan you would like to share, we will appreciate your contacting us." These are nice words. BTW, the overall text is good written, except passage I could not agree in total: "She reaches out to her audience with the words she is singing unlike Billie Holiday, in whose case, singing is more often about herself, her personal pain and anguish, not about the meaning of the song as the composer originally intended. Maxine usually depends on her natural warm personality and delivers her words in her inimitable cool manner and lets the song do the work." I think Maxine had that emotional quality similar to Billie. Don't know exactly how, but it works for me. Did Hellen Merill ever listened to Maxine? It can probably be hypotethical statement, but these two ladies were similar to me speaking of color of the voice; in fact, personally I discovered Hellen through Maxine.

Speaking of mellowness, her first recordings with Claude Thornhill (not exactly the first but little bit after, the one I own is from 1st of March 1938.) included one sensitive, dark, wrapped in silk voice recorded close to the mike. The arrangement is a bit sweet to my taste (Thornhill arranged THAT?) and despite bunch of excellent musicians (Bobby Hackett, Babe Russin, Thornhill himself at the piano, John Kirby and Buddy Rich), Maxine saved the session from being pop date rather then jazz date.

BTW, anyone knows if something from nationwide 1939-40 broadcasts survived till nowadays and is issued in CD form? ("Also at the Onyx Club she met her husband, bassist John Kirby, who led his sextet, The Spirits of Rhythm. In 1939, Kirby and Maxine became the first black hosts of a national radio series, Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm, broadcast every Sunday afternoon on the CBS network for more than a year." taken from: http://www.riverwalk.org/proglist/showpromo/maxine.htm or "In 1940 Sullivan and Kirby were featured on the radio program Flow Gently Sweet Rhythm. They were the first black jazz stars to have their own weekly radio series. Sullivan and Kirby’s last shows together were in the fall of 1941 and were recorded by two different transcription companies, World and Associated." taken from: http://www.swingmusic.net/Sullivan_Maxine.html) BTW, she probably was a bit mellow in hers early years, but I found it no defect to my ears. While staying sweet at the same time Maxine had that strong jazz component in singing (such as Billie had, and both of those ladies told they don't want to sing songs as written). Billie was (from time to time) a bit bitter, Maxine was sweet, and the life is good. Two days ago I found two tracks with Maxine singing "Love Me Sooner" and "Sentimental Blue", with Nat King Cole unit behind her. Songs are not so well - it was hell to strugle with bridge part of "Love Me Sooner", but the feeling Maxine adds to them... awesome! Think I "found" my second female singer after the one and only Lady Day.

Not a geek, but great experimentor with all kinds of reeds (B. Holiday's rememberings while they were together in Basie band backstage) and he often used to change his mouthpieces from time to time.

Disc 2 Track 1 - It can be J. Smith on organ. Track 2 – Well known “White Christmas”. Still I’m confused which Sonny (Rollins or Stitt) is main soloist here. At the moments it sounds like Stitt, and I know that he from time to time struggled with this type of the tunes. On another moment it sounds like Rollins, that intensive high notes waving across my head. Don’t really know. On the other hand, I don’t like the tune, and Bing Crosby’s 2 million record sold behind that tune. But everything other is just fine, the player, the rhythm, everything. Track 3 – Is it Coleman Hawkins while doing string thing (something like “Hawk in Paris” album). Sounds like he is reading music all the way through, not so much inspired, but sincere... maybe something from his latest period. Track 4 – Nice guitar playing and perfect technique. Track 5 – my favorite George Shearing, or someone who copied that vibes-piano color. Have just a few recording with his 1949 combo, and I like that highly reflexive music for lull my ear with. Yes I like Shearing. But, the overall sound is stereo, so it was recorded after cca 1959. Don’t know if Shearing carried that 1949 sound with Chuck Wayne, Terry Gibbs (was it Terry back then). If it’s not Shearing, don’t know who can it be. The name of the tune is not so important, the overall score is much more important, and I like that score so much Track 6 – Very confusing player. On tenor there it can be Webster, maybe Gonsalves, too lazy for him, but piano? Something like John Lewis doing his “damn classical thing” (cit. M. Jackson), but too many notes. Can be Brubeck, of course, and at the beginning it sounds like Wilson. Very unusual take. The name of the tune I can not recognize? Track 7 – Don’t know. Track 8 – Don’t know. Track 9 – How strange! Hard swinging tenor with large fat tone (around 1:13-15, that copied Pres) – this is how sometimes Jerry Jerome sounds. Maybe it’s Buddy Tate. It’s not Little Jazz on trumpet, maybe it’s Buck Clayton, from later period, intonation lacks sometimes, but thinking is awesome. Don’t like the sound of the bass. Piano... those small high notes reminds me of Jimmy Jones. Track 10 – Looks like Earl Hines doing that “White Christmas” for that downward 1:10 rushes and 1:21-23 notes in right hand (as well as 2:47 bass line). Still, I must listen to Hines more closely to dig him entirely. Track 11 – Don’t know. Track 12 – This is not Shearing again, the piano has another touch. But it is so quiet. Music for silence. Something to listen to, really... Track 13 – Don’t know. Track 14 – Dimitry Tiomkin doing some Western films music Track 15 – Don’t know so much about modern singing. A. Lincoln? Nah, not her. This is not so modern. Still, voice sounds familliar... Track 16 – “Tequila”... expected “Tequila” for Christmas Track 17 – Sounds like Grant Green from later, funky, period. This is pure joy. Like it, although I can not recognize anyone else from behind the Green (if it’s Green, of course). Track 18 – Have not slightest idea. Greetings from Tarzan, and Merry Christmas everyone. Big Al, this set is really kicking. Quiet mood and nice, carefull choice to enjoy to.

Disc 1 Just one tune to try for the begining... Track 6: As I said earlier somewhere, give me this 24 hours a day - nice and sweet Basie band with Paul Quinichette as the main solist - and my heart, soul, brain, whatever will dance and be full with happines, joy and relaxed feeling... Just give me that...

As I espected in some cases, BFT will arrive... but when... ouch... All I can say, I did anything to mail BFTs to everybody on the same time, and the postoffice... the postoffice... people, I will not act unpolitely, but postoffice drives me maaaaaaaad :rsmile:

Hearing Wilson behind obscure singers of prewar era (together with first rate instrumentalists) is something I'll never forget! Well known standards, famous musicians, perfect pianist, and... female singers of the day, now long forgotten... There is one CD of such material (I want more, more, more...), remastered by JRT Davies (the similar tunes can be on Classics discs). Don't remember label in a moment (probably it can be on Hep or similar label), but title of the disc is "Teddy Wilson - Moments Like This - 1937-38". All that sound like angels to me.

Don't know John... maybe I'm too obsessed with Pres music... but what can I do... the only person ever touched my mind in that particular music way... hard to explain

Last night I had weird dream! I dreamed about that horn you'd introduced here. One man showed me it's Pres' instrument. And, still in my dreams, I could not believe my eyes what I can see. Weird, folks, weird. A nightmare. And I'm serious.

Yes, they were standardized in late 1950’s. But most of the records until that period were recorded using custom curves (the same goes for 78rpm record, every record company has its own curves), that sometimes can be hard to tweak to. Have one Capitol 12 inch Coleman Hawkins record from around 1951 (reissued tunes from 1946 session), and when listening with regular phono preamp it sounds with too much bass. Transferred that to PC and made custom EQ, to sound more natural. Some phono preamps have knob to adjust proper record curve, but these are more expensive ones.

I think Pres played that Conn as well according to various biographical materials on him. But it can be after this particular horn exposed here.

Big Al, yours BFT is really something to listen to 24 a day. Marvelous. Listened to them whole day today while my soul dancing on track 6 (first disc). B-) B-) B-) People who knows my preferences, will know why.

Man, this is fantastic. So much history in few pieces of metal.

Pitty... as I can understand Martin is close listener to everything coming from jazz tradition.

I'm looking to this thread closely and carefully, and will post answers right on mikeweil signal.