What 78 are you spinning right now ?

[jeffcrom]

More late-night 78 listening last night - a particularly enjoyable selection:

Coleman Hawkins - Body and Soul/Fine Dinner (RCA Victor); early 1950's pressing.

Ed Hall and the Big City Jazzmen - Blues in Room 920/Sweet Georgia Brown (Delta)

DeParis Brothers Orchestra - Change o' Key Boogie/The Sheik of Araby (Commodore)

Jam Session at Commodore No. 6 - When Day is Done/At Sundown (Commodore 12"); with Hackett, Russell, Condon, etc.

Mildred Bailey - Easy to Love/Don't Take Your Love From Me (Columbia); some nice Teddy Wilson piano.

Count Basie Kansas City Seven - Lester Leaps In/Dickie's Dream (Vocalion)

Duke Ellington - Sepia Panorama/Harlem Air Shaft (Victor)

I really enjoyed that 45 minutes.

[Clunky]

More late-night 78 listening last night - a particularly enjoyable selection:

Coleman Hawkins - Body and Soul/Fine Dinner (RCA Victor); early 1950's pressing.

Ed Hall and the Big City Jazzmen - Blues in Room 920/Sweet Georgia Brown (Delta)

DeParis Brothers Orchestra - Change o' Key Boogie/The Sheik of Araby (Commodore)

Jam Session at Commodore No. 6 - When Day is Done/At Sundown (Commodore 12"); with Hackett, Russell, Condon, etc.

Mildred Bailey - Easy to Love/Don't Take Your Love From Me (Columbia); some nice Teddy Wilson piano.

Count Basie Kansas City Seven - Lester Leaps In/Dickie's Dream (Vocalion)

Duke Ellington - Sepia Panorama/Harlem Air Shaft (Victor)

I really enjoyed that 45 minutes.

Nice selection, I have a number of these myself. They are very much in line with the sort of 78s I am able to source. I come across mainly 30s/40s 78s with 1920s material rare especially in original pressings. I don't know that Ed Hall , I don't even recognise the Delta, not come across that name before. Hall is so reliable I don't think anything I've heard by him has disappointed.

Do you use the same stylus for all of these ?

I have two an elliptical truncated (.0032" ETD) and conical truncated (.0032"CTD) stylii. It is amazing the difference these can but not always make to play back. The CTD is always better on very worn discs. Run of the mill 78s (i.e. the vast majority) there is little rhyme or reason which works better for each disc. I just swap them around and listen, adds to the fun. Sad I know !!!

[jeffcrom]

Nice selection, I have a number of these myself. They are very much in line with the sort of 78s I am able to source. I come across mainly 30s/40s 78s with 1920s material rare especially in original pressings. I don't know that Ed Hall , I don't even recognise the Delta, not come across that name before. Hall is so reliable I don't think anything I've heard by him has disappointed.

Do you use the same stylus for all of these ?

I have two an elliptical truncated (.0032" ETD) and conical truncated (.0032"CTD) stylii. It is amazing the difference these can but not always make to play back. The CTD is always better on very worn discs. Run of the mill 78s (i.e. the vast majority) there is little rhyme or reason which works better for each disc. I just swap them around and listen, adds to the fun. Sad I know !!!

Yes, I love swing/mainstream jazz on 78s, both for the chance to hear rare material and because they sound so "present." But as you can probably tell from my posts, I'm really into early jazz, and where I live, you can still find decent records from before 1935 sometimes. Once a month or so I'll drive around and hit antique and junk shops in north Georgia, and I've found some surprisingly good stuff at times. And a couple of the bands I "specialize" in, like the Original Memphis Five and the Louisiana Five, are not particularly sought after by collectors, so I often find their records on Ebay for a few bucks.

There were several record labels called Delta; this one was a subsidiary or affiliate of Manor, according to Manfred Selchow's Ed Hall bio-discography. The other sides recorded at this 1944 session were issued under Sid Catlett's name. The one I played last night is excellent musically, but was the worst-sounding record I played all night.

I've thought about experimenting with different stylii, but so far I just use whatever came with my Grado 78 cartridge. I worry about starting down that road - part of me wants a fancy variable speed turntable and an equalizer with presets for various types of 78s and an extra cartridge wired to play vertically-cut records. But collecting 78s is already madness, and my current setup sounds good enough for me. So far I have refrained from descending further into madness.

For years, when my wife rolled her eyes about the number of records and CDs I bought, I could say, "Well, at least I don't collect 78s. Those people are crazy!" Look at me now.

[Clunky]

For years, when my wife rolled her eyes about the number of records and CDs I bought, I could say, "Well, at least I don't collect 78s. Those people are crazy!" Look at me now.

I know what you mean. For years I ignored the 78s piled high in my local record store. I went there because buried away in their overfilled shelves were wonderful LPs. I recall thinking that I couldn't start collecting 78s because of the space they would take up at home. After probably 5 years of frequenting this establishment I caved in. I just couldn't cope with seeing original Parker Savoys pass me by. I now have around 300, which probably makes me a dilettante by the standards of really serious collectors. I pick up what I fancy which is pretty much anything other than most big band swing ( Goodman, Dorseys, Krupa, etc).

As Chuck said somewhere on this board 78s "make for very concentrated listening". What I guess I wasn't fully prepared for was just how good 78s played with a decent stylus and adjusted EQ can sound. Often the players are right here in the room with me . The £30 I spent on my Radioshak graphic EQ device was money well spent. I rarely adjust the settlings other than occasionally to lift the bass or kill the hiss a bit by defeating the 16kHz slider. I won't be buying a vintage pre-amp to achieve all the curves with precision.

Now playing

Jimmy Yancey Yancey’s bugle call/35th and Dearborn Victor USA

Edited March 16, 2012 by Clunky

[jeffcrom]

Two interesting new acquisitions:

Clarence Williams - Chocolate Avenue/Dispossessin' Me (Vocalion, 1933).

"Chocolate Avenue" is supposedly Sun Ra's earliest recorded composition. According to the Szwed biography, young Mr. Blount sent several tunes to Williams' publishing house for consideration. He never heard back, but then this tune appeared on record. It's interesting that the other side is credited to Schiller, Bishop and Williams, while there is no composer credit given for "Chocolate Avenue." It's a nice little medium-slow tune, played by trumpet (Ed Allen), clarinet (Cecil Scott), Williams on piano, and washboard. There's nothing particularly original about it except for one or two slightly unexpected chord changes.

Ray Burke's New Orleans Blue Four - Slow Blues/Dandy Inn Five - Mardi Gras Blues (Creole, 1943/39).

This record is listed in the Lord discography, and the Dandy Inn Five side is in Rust (the other is after his 1942 limit), but this record is otherwise a mystery to me. Several early Burke acetates were issued on American Music, but not these. This Creole label doesn't seem to be related to a later reissue label of the same name. The labels are very plain, and the catalog number is Creole 1. Musically, it's very good; Burke is already recognizably himself on both sides. Anybody know anything about this one?

Clunky, I should count my 78s, but I'm a little scared to.

[Clunky]

James Moody and his Cool Cats- These Foolish Things/ Out of Nowhere (Esquire) Ex Metronome Sweden ( I think) Moody recorded in Sweden 6th Oct 1949 with a bunch of Swedes including Arne Domnerus-

I think that this may have been reissued by Dragon. Fine playing by all. This particular record benefits enormously from my elliptical stylus , there's much less distortion compared to the conical stylus of the same size.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Clunky

[jeffcrom]

I played all my Wilbur Sweatman records today. Sweatman' Original Jazz Band recorded 24 sides for Columbia between 1918 and 1920. I've got 13 of them, from his earliest Columbia to his last one:

Regretful Blues/Everybody's Crazy 'Bout the Doggone Blues But I'm Happy

Dallas Blues/Has Anybody Seen My Corrine?

Ringtail Blues/Bluin' the Blues

A Good Man is Hard to Find/That's Got 'Em

Lucille/I'll Say She Does

Kansas City Blues (other side is by the Louisiana Five)

But/Think of Me Little Daddy

and:

Ringtail Blues (one sided Little Wonder)

I'll do a post about Little Wonder records soon - that's a pretty interesting story.

Sweatman's music is a lot of fun, and was probably a blast to dance to back in the day.

[jazztrain]

Jeff,

I have a couple of Ray Burke 78s on Creole. I'll check the titles and get back to you.

Two interesting new acquisitions:

Clarence Williams - Chocolate Avenue/Dispossessin' Me (Vocalion, 1933).

"Chocolate Avenue" is supposedly Sun Ra's earliest recorded composition. According to the Szwed biography, young Mr. Blount sent several tunes to Williams' publishing house for consideration. He never heard back, but then this tune appeared on record. It's interesting that the other side is credited to Schiller, Bishop and Williams, while there is no composer credit given for "Chocolate Avenue." It's a nice little medium-slow tune, played by trumpet (Ed Allen), clarinet (Cecil Scott), Williams on piano, and washboard. There's nothing particularly original about it except for one or two slightly unexpected chord changes.

Ray Burke's New Orleans Blue Four - Slow Blues/Dandy Inn Five - Mardi Gras Blues (Creole, 1943/39).

This record is listed in the Lord discography, and the Dandy Inn Five side is in Rust (the other is after his 1942 limit), but this record is otherwise a mystery to me. Several early Burke acetates were issued on American Music, but not these. This Creole label doesn't seem to be related to a later reissue label of the same name. The labels are very plain, and the catalog number is Creole 1. Musically, it's very good; Burke is already recognizably himself on both sides. Anybody know anything about this one?

Clunky, I should count my 78s, but I'm a little scared to.

[jazztrain]

Jeff,

I have Creole 2 and Creole 3.

Creole 2 has Sweet Georgia Brown/Smiles.

Creole 3 has Mardis Gras Blues/Slow Blues.

What's the number on yours?

Two interesting new acquisitions:

Clarence Williams - Chocolate Avenue/Dispossessin' Me (Vocalion, 1933).

"Chocolate Avenue" is supposedly Sun Ra's earliest recorded composition. According to the Szwed biography, young Mr. Blount sent several tunes to Williams' publishing house for consideration. He never heard back, but then this tune appeared on record. It's interesting that the other side is credited to Schiller, Bishop and Williams, while there is no composer credit given for "Chocolate Avenue." It's a nice little medium-slow tune, played by trumpet (Ed Allen), clarinet (Cecil Scott), Williams on piano, and washboard. There's nothing particularly original about it except for one or two slightly unexpected chord changes.

Ray Burke's New Orleans Blue Four - Slow Blues/Dandy Inn Five - Mardi Gras Blues (Creole, 1943/39).

This record is listed in the Lord discography, and the Dandy Inn Five side is in Rust (the other is after his 1942 limit), but this record is otherwise a mystery to me. Several early Burke acetates were issued on American Music, but not these. This Creole label doesn't seem to be related to a later reissue label of the same name. The labels are very plain, and the catalog number is Creole 1. Musically, it's very good; Burke is already recognizably himself on both sides. Anybody know anything about this one?

Clunky, I should count my 78s, but I'm a little scared to.

[jeffcrom]

Jeff,

I have Creole 2 and Creole 3.

Creole 2 has Sweet Georgia Brown/Smiles.

Creole 3 has Mardis Gras Blues/Slow Blues.

What's the number on yours?

Mine is Creole 1, but it has the same titles as your copy of Creole 3. I just took a look at the Lord discography, and Creole 2 is listed, with a recording date of 1948 or '49 (I've already forgotten which). Creole 3 is not listed, but like I said, it appears to be the same as Creole 1.

Independent labels move in mysterious ways their wonders to perform.

[jazztrain]

Strange indeed. From what I remember about the sound and feel of the recordings, those dates seem plausible.

My copy of Bruyninckx shows Creole 1 (Slow Blues) as from 1943 with Burke accompanied by Vic Colin (Accor), Bob Thompson (g), and Jack Sheehan (d).

I don remember an accordion on that title. I'll have to play it tomorrow if I can find it easily.

Jeff,

I have Creole 2 and Creole 3.

Creole 2 has Sweet Georgia Brown/Smiles.

Creole 3 has Mardis Gras Blues/Slow Blues.

What's the number on yours?

Mine is Creole 1, but it has the same titles as your copy of Creole 3. I just took a look at the Lord discography, and Creole 2 is listed, with a recording date of 1948 or '49 (I've already forgotten which). Creole 3 is not listed, but like I said, it appears to be the same as Creole 1.

Independent labels move in mysterious ways their wonders to perform.

[Clunky]

A few nice 78s bought today

Friars Society Orchestra- Farewell Blues/Oriental (Gennett) my first from this Richmond firm.

Rosetta Crawford with James P Johnson- My man jumped ??lty on me/Stop it Joe- (Decca)- worn but playable and indeed not much worse than many mint Deccas. Label also worn so I can't read the title fully.

Art Tatum- Lucille/Rock me mama (Decca) both sides feature Joe Turner

Edited March 21, 2012 by Clunky

[jeffcrom]

A few nice 78s bought today

Friars Society Orchestra- Farewell Blues/Oriental (Gennett) my first from this Richmond firm.

Rosetta Crawford with James P Johnson- My man jumped ??lty on me/Stop it Joe- (Decca)- worn but playable and indeed not much worse than many mint Deccas. Label also worn so I can't read the title fully.

Art Tatum- Lucille/Rock me mama (Decca) both sides feature Joe Turner

Nice! Congrats on the Gennett score.

"My Man Jumped Salty...."

[Clunky]

A few nice 78s bought today

Friars Society Orchestra- Farewell Blues/Oriental (Gennett) my first from this Richmond firm.

Rosetta Crawford with James P Johnson- My man jumped ??lty on me/Stop it Joe- (Decca)- worn but playable and indeed not much worse than many mint Deccas. Label also worn so I can't read the title fully.

Art Tatum- Lucille/Rock me mama (Decca) both sides feature Joe Turner

Nice! Congrats on the Gennett score.

"My Man Jumped Salty...."

Thanks the Gennett has seen better days and has a fair amount of wear. It jumped initially when played in the shop. One spin on gramophone and the steel needle clear the blockage and it plays through just fine. It's a fine sounding band.

Other purchases were

Jack Pettis and His Pets -A bag of blues/Freshman Hop- (Victor ) scroll edge label- in very clean condition

Albert Ammons- Early Morning Blues/ Mile or No Bird Rag- Decca

Fats Waller and his Rhythm- Paswonky/ Black Raspberry Jam -(Victor ) scroll edge label- again in very clean condition

all six for £25 which I thought was ok.

[jeffcrom]

Today's prime find was something a little different. I stopped by an antique/junk store in Atlanta to see if they had any "new" 78s. There was a big box - mostly 40's pop, but with a few more interesting items. I walked out with half a dozen (for a buck each) - acoustic classical, international and this:

Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes/Honey Don't (Sun)

I don't have many early rock and roll or rockabilly 78s, and this is my first Sun label. A nice find from a collecting standpoint (worth probably $25-30 in this condition), and pretty cool music.

[jeffcrom]

Today I spun Dizzy Gillespie's complete January 9, 1945 session:

Salted Peanuts/Be-Bop (Manor)

I Can't Get Started/Good Bait (Columbia)

Columbia purchased just two of the titles from Manor, and issued them in 1948 (in their "race" series). The Manor sounds thin and metallic, with lots of surface hiss. The Columbia is warm and rich.

[jeffcrom]

I've been spinning 78s daily, but I kindly decided to spare my friends here the tedium of all the details.

But I've been playing lots of acoustic classical records lately, mostly Victor Red Seals - Caruso, Nellie Melba, Fritz Kriesler, Amelita Galli-Curci, etc. . My new discovery is tenor Beniamino Gigli - I found a couple of his records in a local antique store. His voice is not as full as Caruso's, but it's really beautiful.

[jeffcrom]

More pre-1920 opera this morning. Had a nice listening session this afternoon, starting with three Rabbits I found yesterday:

Johnny Hodges - Globetrotter/A Gentle Breeze (Mercury, 1951)

Johnny Hodges - Sideways/A Pound of Blues (Mercury, 1952)

Johnny Hodges - Who's Excited/Below the Azores (Mercury, 1952)

Johnny Hodges - Through for the Night/Latino (Mercury, 1952)

Eddy Howard - Stardust/Old Fashioned Love (Columbia, 1940) I know I've mentioned this before - it features the smooth pop singer with Bill Coleman, Benny Morton, Ed Hall, Teddy Wilson, Charlie Christian, etc.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm - Jump Children/Slightly Frantic (Guild, 1945)

Barney Kessel Quartet - East of the Sun/Heat Wave (Clef, 1953)

Johnny Smith Quintet - I'll Be Around/Cavu (Roost, 1953)

[jeffcrom]

I'm up to twelve 78 sides by the California Ramblers, that hot band from the 1920's. (A couple of these records have other groups on the flip side.) Most of these have forgettable vocals, but most also have hot solos - from Red Nichols, the Dorsey Brothers, the underrated saxist Bobby Davis, the great Adrian Rollini, and others. I played them all today:

California/Frisco Syncopators - Pick Me Up and Lay Me Down in Dear Old Dixieland (Puritan, 1922)

Cover Me Up With the Sunshine of Virginia/California, Here I Come (Columbia, 1923)

No, No, Nora/That Old Gang of Mine (Columbia, 1923)

as Golden Gate Orchestra - Yes! We Have No Bananas/Original Memphis Five - Memphis Glide (Perfect, 1923)

as Golden Gate Orchestra - Tell All the Folks in Kentucky/Sittin' in a Corner (Perfect, 1923)

as Southampton Society Orchestra - I Miss My Swiss/Oh, Say! Can I See You Tonight? (Hormograph, 1925)

as Golden Gate Orchestra - My Troubles Are Over/Glad Rag Doll (Diva, 1928)

The original owner of my copy of "California, Here I Come" was apparently a skating rink. There's a piece of tape on the label with "All Skate" written on it.

Edited April 3, 2012 by jeffcrom

[Clunky]

Five Birmingham Babies Indigo Blues/ Lou Gold- Roll 'em girls (Perfect)- 1925 vintage brown 78 with pretty heavy surface noise but still listenable. My only non black 78.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band- Jazz me blues/St Louis Blues - Victor -(batwing)- near mint 78 other than minor edge damage, plays very nicely

Fletcher Henderson - I'll take her back of she wants to come back/Money Blues - (Columbia 388D)- worn but listenable,

Jelly Roll Morton Buddy Bolden's Blues/The Crave (General)- again near mint- JRM sounding jolly of not especially profound.

this plus several Bix's and a Miff Mole on Parlophone, not forgetting a couple of EKE Victors- all bought yesterday

Edited April 12, 2012 by Clunky

[jeffcrom]

Five Birmingham Babies Indigo Blues/ Lou Gol- Roll 'em girls (Perfect)- 1925 vintage brown 78 with pretty heavy surface noise but still listenable. My only non black 78.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band- Jazz me blues/St Louis Blues - Victor -(batwing)- near mint 78 other than minor edge damage, plays very nicely

Fletcher Henderson - I'll take her back of she wants to come back/Money Blues - (Columbia 388D)- worn but listenable,

Jelly Roll Morton Buddy Bolden's Blues/The Crave (General)- again near mint- JRM sounding jolly of not especially profound.

this plus several Bix's and a Miff Mole on Parlophone, not forgetting a couple of EKE Victors- all bought yesterday

Dude!

The few Brit Parlophones I have sound great.

Edited April 12, 2012 by jeffcrom

[Clunky]

Five Birmingham Babies Indigo Blues/ Lou Gol- Roll 'em girls (Perfect)- 1925 vintage brown 78 with pretty heavy surface noise but still listenable. My only non black 78.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band- Jazz me blues/St Louis Blues - Victor -(batwing)- near mint 78 other than minor edge damage, plays very nicely

Fletcher Henderson - I'll take her back of she wants to come back/Money Blues - (Columbia 388D)- worn but listenable,

Jelly Roll Morton Buddy Bolden's Blues/The Crave (General)- again near mint- JRM sounding jolly of not especially profound.

this plus several Bix's and a Miff Mole on Parlophone, not forgetting a couple of EKE Victors- all bought yesterday

Dude!

The few Brit Parlophones I have sound great.

I have loads of UK Parlophones, the earlier laminated ones sound the best I'm told but i've found them consistently good and they're not expensive as here US originals are more sought afte.r

[Clunky]

I neglected to mention one other purchase

The Original Memphis Five- She Wouldn't do (What i asked her to)/ More- Columbia - flag label like this one

Edited April 12, 2012 by Clunky

[jeffcrom]

I neglected to mention one other purchase

The Original Memphis Five- She Wouldn't do (What i asked her to)/ More- Columbia - flag label like this one

The Columbia "flags" label was one of the coolest 78 labels of all time. It didn't last long - they switched to a less-colorful (and presumably cheaper to print) label after less than two years.

I've got that Ted Lewis sample record, by the way - more as a collector's item than a record to listen to.

[alankin]

Cool looking label. When was it from?