gmonahan

Some very fine Bourbon tonight...to celebrate!

Disc 11: gregmo

Steve, the 882 101 number is indeed from the Jazz in Paris booklet which reads, in toto: "Reissue of the Fontana 10" LP 882 101." Lord lists the title of the session as "Chanteurs/Chanteuses" which title that site also credits to an Emarcy cd with the same catalog number as the Jazz in Paris disc. Odder yet, that is *not* the title of the Jazz in Paris disc! And I too was surprised to see "Blue Moon" as a track on an EP because, as you said, the Jazz in Paris series was usually pretty thorough. I looked up the tune on Lord, and while it was recorded many times during that period, I couldn't find any recordings on Fontana! I appreciate your interest in this! I couldn't find any more info on-line. gregmo

What...and how much...I'll be drinking in the coming couple of days will very much depend on...er...national developments..... gregmo

LOVE that album!! gregmo

The Fontana number I listed was the only one I could find, and as Mike says, there's no personnel in Lord. Likewise, the only recording date listed was "1959," which is pretty unhelpful! The players behind Nicholas *sound* to these ears like they are the same throughout, but, of course, I guess it could be some kind of compilation. I wondered if the flute player could be Bobby Jaspar, but he appears to have been on this side of the water from late 1958 through early 1960. It's a fun set, and Nicholas sings with gusto. gregmo

i do love this one, though as much for Brian Keith's fine TR as for Connery! gregmo

It may be the greatest movie ever made that made no sense at all. gregmo

So I'm listening to this delightful session in which the great dancer sings very well. It was recorded in Paris for Fontana (882101) sometime in 1959 and reissued by Verve Gitanes in its wonderful Jazz in Paris series along with sessions by June Richmond and Andy Bey. Alas, there is no personnel for the "orchestra" that accompanies Nicholas (and Lord, which shows the session, simply labels the personnel as "unkn"). Anybody have any notion who was on this session? There's very good flute--maybe Barney Wilen??--as well as some fine trombone, trumpet, and piano. Here is the cover of the reissue:

Local record store (Music Millennium) had a bunch of these Avid comps for sale, so I got a few, including this one. Gotta love Toots! Now, there's an artist whose stuff is spread out all over the place. I have some of this already somewhere, and I'll figure that out at some point, but I'm enjoying it right now!

What is it Dirty Harry said? "Man's gotta know his limitations." That's a great story! I think Gitler did the music a great service as a chronicler, booster, and, yes, critic. gregmo

Actually went to a *record store* and found this one in the used cd racks. Lots of fun!

Disc One

Yeah, radio broadcasts are the Achylles heel for anybody who wants to be a completist on artists who were active from the 30s to the early 50s. I have over 25 cds worth of Sinatra singing on the radio and an additional 30-cd set of him in speaking roles, and I'm sure there are more. gregmo

In honor of his 96th:

Apparently so, a group of musicians showed up to serenade him on for his 90th birthday in Quincy. Here's the report on a local news channel. gregmo

Ok, I'm sort of embarrassed to say I had never heard of this very fine trombonist. I was in my study where I keep my vinyl, closed my eyes, and my fingers lighted on, of all things, a Pete Fountain LP, "Standing Room Only." I think I must have found it in an old cut-out bin years ago and bought it because Charlie Teagarden was on it. Anyway, on the turntable it went, and suddenly, this trombone solo came on, and I thought, what the hell? Is JACK TEAGARDEN on this record?? So I looked. Nope--made after Big T had died. It was Bob Havens, who apparently spent most of his career playing with Lawrence Welk. I looked him up and found a couple of cds. I don't think I've ever heard anybody so influenced by Teagarden. Anyway, I'm listening to this one right now, and there is some very fine trombone playing on it! Apparently, Bob Havens is still with us--90 years old and retired!

Agreed! Saw it in the theatre and just watched it again last night. I do love Guy Ritchie's British gangster movies! Hugh Grant is especially good in this one! gregmo

Playing this one as disc 7 of Wes's Complete Riverside Recordings box. Loved those great box sets from the wonderful period before Concord ruined it.

As I read through this it occurs to me there are different definitions for "completist." For me, it means having one copy of every track ever issued by an artist in some format. Thus one could have a track on LP or disc or cassette or MP3 but not necessarily duplicated in every format. But I have a friend who is what I call a "radical completist" for Elvis Presley. Not only does he have every track, but he has every LP and cd, even duplicates (including original vinyl pressings of all those 60s movies soundtracks). Given that many of us have duplicate versions of any number of recordings in the eternal search for the best version, are there any "radical" completists here?! I mean, I have all of Sinatra's Reprise recordings on cd, but I don't have all the LPs!! gregmo

I have the Bixology series which makes me pretty close on Bix. And like Jim says, JSP has done a nice job on Fats and Django. And over a fair number of years, I think I'm pretty close on Sinatra. And Ella. And Teagarden. And even Frank Rosolino. But Ellington? Nah, and I have more by him than any other artist! gregmo

I'll let someone with far better ears than mine make that comparison! gregmo

I was lucky enough to get this one quite a while back. I think this Japanese cd reissue was available for about five minutes.