XANADU Records

[jazzbo]

I haven't compared any of the Harris lps to cds on Xanadu, but when I HAVE compared Xanadu lps to Xanadu cds. . . the lps won.

[Robert J]

Thanks Lon. I suspected as much. The Xanadu's are among my best sounding LPs in my entire collection.

[Tom Storer]

I got a bunch of Xanadus in MP3 format from emusic. I think my favorite is the Jimmy Rowles/Al Cohn duo, "Heavy Love"--got to be the swingingest piano/sax duo I've ever heard.

[Dave James]

Among all the quality Xanadu releases, it would be easy to overlook guitarist Ted Dunbar. I dropped two of his albums off e-music, "Opening Remarks" and "Secundum Artem". Both are interesting, swinging dates. If you have the opportunity, give this guy a listen. You won't be disappointed.

Up over and out.

[AllenLowe]

I want to mention something about Xanadu, as I worked for Schltten in the middle-late 1970s; Schiltten, to his great credit, had the company set up so musicians had much earlier access to sales royalties - I don't remember the exact details, but the idea was that they did not have to wait until the company recouped full costs before those royaties kicked in, so in a sense it was a partnership. The prime reason he split with Joe Fields was that he did not think the arrangements with that label and musicians were quite fair and equitable (and I am being nice here) -

Edited February 9, 2006 by AllenLowe

[JSngry]

I want to mention something about Xanadu, as I worked for Schltten in the middle-late 1970s; Schiltten, to his great credit, had the company set up so musicians had much earlier access to sales royalties - I don't remember the exact details, but the idea was that they did not have to wait until the company recouped full costs before those royaties kicked in, so in a sense it was a partnership. The prime reason he split with Joe Fields was that he did not think the arrangements with that label and musicians were quite fair and equitable (and I am being nice here) -

Yes, it was a profit-sharing plan. JAZZ magazine had a little blurb about it when it was announced, and a follow-up when the first checks were cut.

[jazzydaddy]

Ted Dunbar is certainly worth a listen. However, I have found that the mp3s of the Xanadu albums that were dubbed from LPs generally sound pretty poor (some worse than others). Better to buy the vinyl and do your own conversion to CD-R if you prefer to have the music in a more portable form.

Don

Among all the quality Xanadu releases, it would be easy to overlook guitarist Ted Dunbar. I dropped two of his albums off e-music, "Opening Remarks" and "Secundum Artem". Both are interesting, swinging dates. If you have the opportunity, give this guy a listen. You won't be disappointed.

Up over and out.

[jazzydaddy]

BTW, to clarify; I was referring to the mp3s offered on emusic.com.

Don

Ted Dunbar is certainly worth a listen. However, I have found that the mp3s of the Xanadu albums that were dubbed from LPs generally sound pretty poor (some worse than others). Better to buy the vinyl and do your own conversion to CD-R if you prefer to have the music in a more portable form.

Don

Among all the quality Xanadu releases, it would be easy to overlook guitarist Ted Dunbar. I dropped two of his albums off e-music, "Opening Remarks" and "Secundum Artem". Both are interesting, swinging dates. If you have the opportunity, give this guy a listen. You won't be disappointed.

Up over and out.

[Robert J]

Better to buy the vinyl and do your own conversion to CD-R if you prefer to have the music in a more portable form.

That's probably what I'll do. Though I wouldn't have minded if Barry got a few more royalties if I bought the CDs! Still - I made it up to him by going to his jazz workshop in Toronto this fall and buying the books and DVDs

[AllenLowe]

I can tell you that Schlitten told me, a few years ago, that the Euro CD releases of the Xandaus were only authorized at the beginning, and that he now considered them to bootlegs - chances are that Barry's not seeing a penny from them -

[tatifan]

Houston's Half Price Books seems to have a few of these cds. Picked up the Dolo Coker "California Hard". Nice album...perhaps more for Pepper and Mitchell than Coker, with the caveat of the really LONG aimless Frank Butler drum solo in Roots 4fb!! The sound is only ok on the cd, and the placement of the (out of tune) piano in the left channel seems to unbalance things a bit.

The Jimmy Raney/Sonny Clark is a nice pickup too.....very effortless but imaginative work from those two. The tapes are gone, OR they were really lazy with the cd transfer....it's obviously from an LP copy in parts, and has some nasty out of phase problems on a couple of tracks....the actual original sound quality is not bad.

Anyone have a yea or nay on the Red Garland "Keystones" album??

[Robert J]

I can tell you that Schlitten told me, a few years ago, that the Euro CD releases of the Xandaus were only authorized at the beginning, and that he now considered them to bootlegs - chances are that Barry's not seeing a penny from them -

You're probably correct.

Another gentleman at the workshop who lived in Michigan and knew Barry, told me that he doesn't really collect much in the way of royalies off his back catalogue, but one year in the early 90s he did do well enough that he hired an accountant. Sadly, I don't think that's the case today. Beautiful man. I'll keep going to the workshops, which probably does not make him rich either - just us attendees.

[AllenLowe]

yes - Barry is an incredible man, funny and smart and a pianist who has to be heard in person - I got to know him pretty well in the 1980s and have not seen him much in recent years.

[Robert J]

Believe me - after cherishing those Xanadu LPs, I never thought I'd get the opportunity to actually study with him. He is very funny - and had some great anecdotes too, as you could imagine or already heard.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I've got a couple of Xanadus; Saturday Morning, Inimitable Edwards, Cuber Libre. But the one I treasure most is the Walter Bishop, Bish Bash, mostly a live date with the utterly great Frank Haynes. Surprised no one else has mentioned this.

MG

[marcello]

I've got a couple of Xanadus; Saturday Morning, Inimitable Edwards, Cuber Libre. But the one I treasure most is the Walter Bishop, Bish Bash, mostly a live date with the utterly great Frank Haynes. Surprised no one else has mentioned this.

MG

Never heard of that one, nor have i heard of Frank Haynes.

Tell us more.

Picture of Heath ( Jimmy Heath) is a favorite of mine on Xanadu as well as the Sam Note (Act One) with Joe Romano, Barry Harris and Billy Higgins.

Edited February 9, 2006 by marcello

[Stereojack]

quote name='tatifan' date='Feb 9 2006, 12:59 PM' post='470678']

Anyone have a yea or nay on the Red Garland "Keystones" album??

[Peter Friedman]

There have been many more Xanadu LPs reissued on CD than have been mentioned in this thread.

I just counted and I have 38 commercially issued CDs of Xanadu material. Some are European and some from Japan as well as those from the USA.

Xanadu was always among my favorite labels. There are still quite a few things that have not, to the best of my knowledge, made it to CD.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I've got a couple of Xanadus; Saturday Morning, Inimitable Edwards, Cuber Libre. But the one I treasure most is the Walter Bishop, Bish Bash, mostly a live date with the utterly great Frank Haynes. Surprised no one else has mentioned this.

MG

Never heard of that one, nor have i heard of Frank Haynes.

Tell us more.

Picture of Heath ( Jimmy Heath) is a favorite of mine on Xanadu as well as the Sam Note (Act One) with Joe Romano, Barry Harris and Billy Higgins.

OK - Bish Bash is Xanadu 114. It's made up of 2 sessions; live on 2 Aug 1964; studio 15 May 1968.

Trax - side A

Days of wine & roses

Willow weep for me

side B

Summertime

------

Minor motive

Yesterday's dream

Party time

My man's gone now

Viva!

Above the line is the live stuff: Bish; Frank Haynes (ts); Eddie Khan (b); Dick Berk (d)

Below the line is the studio date: Bish; Reggie Johnson (b); Idris Muhammad (d)

Frank Haynes was a little known tenor player from San Francisco. He never recorded as a leader and made few recordings as a sideman. He died young. He appeared on one Gerald Wilson LP, from 1954 and moved to NYC in 1960. He was on 3 Dave Bailey albums: "Reaching Out" (the date with Grant Green), "Bash" (which has also been issued under the names of Tommy Flanagan and Kenny Dorham); and "Two feet in the gutter". He also played on a few tracks of Sonny Forriest's Decca LP; Les McCann in New York; a live T-Bone Walker date with the Walter Bishop band featured on "Bish Bash"; and Randy Weston's "Blues" on Trip. And that's it. I haven't got the Wilson, Forriest or T-Bone Walker albums but all the others are great albums and Haynes' playing is invariably superb. He reminds me of Dexter Gordon, but ultra funky with a more straightforward groove to his lines.

MG

[mandrill]

This one is a favorite of mine & it sounds fantastic too.

I'm definitely on the lookout for the rest of Al Cohn's Xanadu albums.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i love this record label!!!!!!! why they so good

[JSngry]

why they so good

Because Don Schlitten was a producer with a clear vision, at least when it came to music.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

why they so good

Because Don Schlitten was a producer with a clear vision, at least when it came to music.

Not quite - I've been told he wouldn't use RVG's studio because Rudy let him smoke marijuana. which is why most of his productions are engineered by Richard Alderson, who didn't mind.

MG

[JSngry]

Which is why I said when it came to music. Nothing else.

[Larry Kart]

why they so good

Because Don Schlitten was a producer with a clear vision, at least when it came to music.

Not quite - I've been told he wouldn't use RVG's studio because Rudy let him smoke marijuana. which is why most of his productions are engineered by Richard Alderson, who didn't mind.

MG

Did you mean "because Rudy wouldn't let him smoke marijuana" in the studio? Otherwise, I don't see how "Alderson...didn't mind" makes sense?