Fer Urbina

As of right now Digital Downloads: 66 4-CD set: 18 6-CD set: 84 F

Having read the book (the manuscript, which should be less polished than the book anyway), I personally don't like, and don't agree with, the euram, afram... terminology. I agree with the reasons behind it, but not with the solution (I don't think there is one). That said, I found that it didn't really interfere with my reading. However, I honestly think that the leap from that choice of terminology, political as it may be, to political bias, political correctness, whatever... is incorrect in this case. IMHO Pullman does not rewrite history and, in fact, that would probably be the unfairest criticism on this book. Leaving his writing style aside, this is one of the most factual jazz bios I've ever read. F

He doesn't boast about it, but yes, Pullman has uncovered that the Roost recordings were made in 1949, actually after the first Mercury session. F

Thanks for that, Big Beat Steve. I know there's plenty of high-sugar content in those recordings, which is probably the reason why they're so hard to get hold of (and the fact that in months Herman would go to Columbia and record a great band in great sound - check the Mosaic box for that). It'd be interesting if the Disco Order LPs are the only way to hear the complete output. I'm actually interested in that, in the whole picture (for a number of reasons, not just obsessive completism - I promise). I actually found vol. 16 very cheap, and will eventually get vol. 15. As for the Hep reissues, yes I know them (and they're highly recommended). It's also interesting, in contrast with those 1943-1944 studio recordings, that there's so much live/V-Disk/broadcast material available on CD with very little overlap. F

Thanks! The second one, the Decca/GRP CD I already have - I don't think it goes beyond 1942, before the period I'm interested in. It'd seem that these complement each other nicely, but as you said, not complete. F

Anyone here knows the best way to get Woody Herman's recordings for Decca from 1943 to the end of his contract (he signed with Columbia in early 1945)? As far as I know, the "Chronogical" Classics series didn't make it that far, and I don't know of any CD reissues that have these recordings in a complete fashion. As for vinyl, the only systematic reissue I've found is the Ajaz label, in their "In Disco Order" series. Any comments, suggestions will be most welcome. F

Yep. that's Ben Webster here. F

An all-time personal favourite, precisely for his weirdness. He was consistently interesting, even in his late 1950s recordings with the sextet. From his first sessions (Dance of the Octopus, his take on Bix's In A Mist...), the free rein he gave to Eddie Sauter in the 1930s (check out his arrangement of Smoke Dreams), his trio recordings with Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus (quite a break for both Mingus and Farlow at the time), his "swing meets bop" combo with Bird and Dizzy, his presence in the last months of Woody Herman's First Herd... there's a great session with Ben Webster and Harry Edison for RCA in the 1950s...). A very interesting figure with a lot of music to dig into. F

Oops. My bad. I trusted the Amazon UK listing. F

There's a mix of original (re)masters and proven lifts, like the Carter Family set. F

Re: Waller. Wasn't there a complete RCA series on CD? Re: JSP. Every once in a while the Wallers pop up at Fopp in London, for £9 apiece. Have also seen at that price the two Cab Calloways, the two Ellingtons, most of the Djangos, Rosemary Clooney, Louis Jordan, Bix & Tram, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives & Sevens... F

Regarding the Waller set, I'd get it for that price. The boxed set carries a very nice booklet with notes by Dan Morgenstern. I also think that the cheapo EU set was taken from the US one (it would make sense, although traditionally that's never stopped record companies from being silly). The EU set has the same titles as the US, except one (can't remember which). As for a complete Fats collection, there's already a 24-CD set by JSP (in six 4-CD boxes). F

As far as I know, colleagues in the field have read the manuscript, and FWIW Pullman has been a copy-editor or proofreader (can't remember which right now) for many years. As I said, I don't agree with many things regarding his writing, but I've certainly seen worse and, to be fair, and especially regarding Bud Powell, the quality of the information he's unearthed goes a very long way to compensate literary considerations. At least for me. F

I think it was Chris Albertson who put it best a few pages back in this thread. Whatever you read in the Bud Powell bio is >exactly< what Pullman wanted you to read. That goes for the neologisms, the punctuation, the syntax, etc. I've had a few unsolvable but friendly disagreements with Pullman regarding all those points (some of them explained in the preface of the book). Our takes on grammar, common use of language and what comes first (and how, when, and why) couldn't be more different (and I had to remind myself that 1) he's more experienced than I am, 2) English is not my first language). I also think that he's fighting too many battles in >one< book, but at the end of the day it's his baby. I guess it's not just a biography of Bud Powell, but Peter Pullman's biography of Bud Powell. A man of integrity for sure. I mean, for Pete's sake (no pun intended) he went to court to get access to Powell's medical records! F

Email sent for Howard McGhee Classics 1949-1952 $13 F

PM sent. F

It's also available from Barnes & Noble (for Nook reader). F

Hadn't thought of that. Thanks! F

I'll only say that I'm familiar with the manuscript of this book, and it's an astonishing biography. Research-wise I don't think we've ever seen anything like it. If I'm not mistaken, Pullman has had access to all of Powell's medical and police files, so a lot of stories are going to be cleared up once and for all. As it's been said in previous comments in this thread, no stone has been left unturned, and the degree of meticulousness would drive a regular person mad. At the price this is being offered, it's just a non-starter, whether you have an e-reader or not (I don't, for now). I'd even consider getting it and taking to a printer and have it bound in some cheap way to have a hard copy. Not ideal in any way, but that's how things are, at least at the moment. F

Wail, Peter Pullman's biography of Bud Powell, is out in Kindle version at Amazon.com. I understand that it's coming soon to Barnes and Noble's too. F

Thanks. Will do shortly. As for Steve Albin's disco, it's pretty good, but there are some inconsistencies with previously released data. The late-90s reissues produced by Bennett and Ralph Sharon included all details about personnel (at least in the Carnegie Hall album and The Beat of My Heart). F

Has anyone here gotten the Bennett set? How complete is the discographical info in it? Thanks! F

Complete programme on Spanish public TV, RTVE. F

Rollins personnel in 2008 is as follows, according to the Jazz Festival in Vitoria: Sonny Rollins, Clifton Anderson, Bobby Broom, Bob Cranshaw, Kobie Watkins, Kimati Dinizulu. It seems Scott and Rollins have never played together in Vitoria. F

Just in case, it doesn't say it on the cover all right, but this is >not< a collection of Bechet's complete Blue Note masters, as it could be expected (I did, anyway). 8 tracks are missing. - 7mar40: "Careless Love" is missing - 10mar45: "Days Beyond Recall" is missing - 12Oct45: Four out of six tracks are missing ("Save It Pretty Mama", "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", "Shine", "Darktown Strutters' Ball") - 9Dec45: "Quincy Street Stomp (Blame It on the Blues)" is missing - 5Nov51: "There'll Be Some Changes Made" is missing F I know. And I did say it doesn't say "complete" on the cover. "Best of" is the name of a series of 3-CD sets (there's a Dexter Gordon), and I for one didn't expect a selection of 53 tracks out of 61 that would have fitted in there anyway. But that's just me F