Complete Felsted Jazz Recordings Box

[Bluerein]

Montg: don't hate to think but hate to KNOW it's in those hands, I'm afraid.

[ejp626]

I hope that the Felsted project does materialize. However, in the case of an extremely long or permanent delay, DustyGroove mentions four Lonehill CDs with Felsted material.

Budd Johnson -- Stanley Dance Sessions -- Blues A La Mode (with bonus tracks) . . . CD . . . $11.99 (Item: 384762)

Felsted/Lone Hill Jazz (Spain), 1958/1967 Condition: New Copy View Cart

A nicely packaged version of Budd Johnson's album Blues Ala Mode -- a fantastically hard-blowing album from the tenorist -- and one of the few jazz sides recorded for the short-lived Felsted label in the 50s! Budd blows hard Texas tenor in a really gutbuckety way -- evoking a variety of jazz traditions within a single solo, but always heading back to the swinging territory that was most comfortable space. The lineup on the set is great too -- and features Charlie Shavers on trumpet, Ray Bryant or Bert Keys on piano, Jo Jones on drums, and a bit of added baritone from the great Al Sears! Tracks are all quite long, with lots of room for solos, and Budd plays in perfect form -- and in a much more stable way than on his later Argo recordings! Titles include "Used Blues", "Blues By Five", "Foggy Nights", and "Destination Blues". The CD expands the original album with 4 bonus tracks that feature Budd in quartet led by Earl Hines, recorded in 1967 -- blowing tenor and soprano on tunes that include "Changin The Blues", "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone", "Summertime", and "Louisiana". (From the Jazz CD (J-M) page.)

2.

Billy Strayhorn & Johnny Hodges -- Stanley Dance Sessions -- Cue For Saxophone/Johnny Hodges With Billy Strayhorn & The Orchestra . . . CD . . . $11.99 (Item: 384756)

Lone Hill Jazz (Spain), 1959/1961 Condition: New Copy View Cart

Some rare non-Ellington material from Billy Strayhorn and Johnny Hodges -- both sessions recorded as part of a series done by producer Stanley Dance at the end of the 50s! The feel here is a almost a bit more open and less restrained than the usual Ellington groove -- with some standout longer tracks, plus a number of more familiar numbers crafted in that rich Strayhorn love of colors and tones -- all topped with beautiful solo work by Johnny Hodges. The first 7 tracks feature a smaller group with Harold Baker and Quintetin Jackson -- and the remaining 11 feature a larger group augmented with even more Ellington bandmates. Titles include "Cue's Blue Now", "Gone With The Wind", "Cherry", "Gal From Joe's", "Jeep's Blues", "Day Dream", "Juice A Plenty", "Azure", "Star Dust", and "Tailor Made". (From the Jazz CD (N-S) page.)

3.

Dicky Wells -- Stanley Dance Sessions -- Bones For The King/Trombone Four In Hand . . . CD . . . $11.99 (Item: 384768)

Lone Hill Jazz (Spain), 1958/1959 Condition: New Copy View Cart

2 of the great late 50s swing sessions on the short-lived Felsted label -- both albums that feature trombonist Dicky Wells on some long and open-ended tunes! Dicky's playing here with fellow trombonists Benny Morton, Vic Dickenson, and George Matthews -- as well as Buddy Tate on tenor, Buck Clayton on trumpet, and Skip Hall on organ on a few tracks. The lineup changes from side to side, but the feel is certainly the same -- and very strong. Titles include "Hello Smack", "Come & Get It", "Stan's Dance", "You Took My Heart", "Bones For The King", "Girl Hunt", "Wine O Junction", and "Sweet Daddy Spo-de-o". 12 tracks in all! (From the Jazz CD (T-Z and Various) page.)

4.

Coleman Hawkins -- Stanley Dance Sessions -- High & Mighty Hawk (with bonus tracks) . . . CD . . . $11.99

Felsted/Lone Hill Jazz (Spain), 1958/1955 Condition: New Copy

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A near-forgotten gem from Coleman Hawkins excellent late 50s period -- recorded for the short-lived Felsted label, and done in a beautifully relaxed way! The tracks here are long and easy-going -- at times even more open than Hawkins' work for Verve, and in the style he'd explore even more deeply for Prestige on some albums recorded right after this set. Hawk is playing in a quintet with Buck Clayton on trumpet, Hank Jones on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Mickey Sheen on drums -- and titles include "My One & Only Love", "Bird Of Prey Blues", "Get Set", "Ooh Wee Miss GP", and "You've Changed". Added to that set are 3 bonus tracks from the Verve album Coleman Hawkins & Confreres -- featuring a group with Roy Eldridge, on the titles "Hanid", "Honey Flower", and "Nabob". And last up are 2 more live recordings from a show in New York at the Phytian Temple -- MC'd by All Jazzbo Collins, and featuring a solo performance of "Foolin Around", plus a take on "The Man I Love", played by a group with Hank Jones.

[mikeweil]

The Strayhorn I have does sound very clean, as if dubbed from a good tape copy and definitely not from LP.

The Johnson and Wells Affinity LPs I have sound different, but not bad - never heards an original issue, so I can't compare.

Maybe the LoneHill guys hijacked the tapes ......

Edited December 18, 2005 by mikeweil

[ejp626]

Maybe the LoneHill guys hijacked the tapes ......

Honestly I have no idea. I always wonder if they have actually licensed material not in the P.D. -- and the late 1950s isn't quite in P.D. in Europe -- or have they moved blatantly into piracy. The Coleman Hawkins CD apparently has some bonus tracks from a 1957 Verve LP, and I simply cannot believe Verve would license it to Lonehill. I could be wrong, however, and hopefully I am. I generally feel slightly better about Lonehill material in this category (non-P.D.) since it should be licensed. Still, I haven't ever called up Lonehill to check.

[Ron S]

Now officially deleted from the "Future Projects" page.

[EKE BBB]

Just received this in an email from Mosaic:

...Unfortunately, our planned boxed set of the Felsted recordings produced by Stanley Dance is on indefinite hold because we have yet to find suitable master tapes for this project. However we have added a Dizzy Gillespie Mosaic Boxed set on our Future Projects page...

[Bluerein]

finally everybody can believe it now!! What a relief.....

[Harold_Z]

Too bad. It's great material.

I don't think I'd be alone in saying I'd accept this material with a caveat as to the source material and the knowledge that Mosaic did their best with what they had available.