Desert Island Quiz

[kulu se mama]

ellington

coltrane

monk

van morrison

bob dylan

[bolivarblues]

I'd like to see a list of Top 5 Desert Islands...

In no partucular order...

Sicily

St. Croix

Tahiti

Coronado

Maui

Honorable mentions..

Gilligan's

Alcatraz

Rikers

How could you omit the Isle of Lucy? See, that's the problem with these damned lists!

[robinjessome]

Here you go:

Ornette Coleman

Carla Bley

Kenny Wheeler

Tom Waits

Charles Mingus

...

[sal]

Lots of folks choosing Dylan...good to see!

I'll take a stab at this..

Miles Davis

John Coltrane

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Bob Dylan

Charles Mingus

[Neal Pomea]

Obviously Isle of Lucy with

Josephine Baker

Mary Lou Williams

Uncle Dave Macon

Ann-Margaret, and

Nathan Abshire

[tooter]

Remember you can have ALL of their music.

I'd take everything with Paul Chambers on it.

I thought of the same principle but was considering Billy Higgins. However, Mr P C totals 701 here whereas BH only 560 (just as a rule of thumb guide to possible total recordings). So...

[tooter]

Paul Chambers

Billy Higgins (less duplication than I thought - only 19)

Ronnie Ross!

Gerry Mulligan

Hank Jones

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Ouza

Grant Green

Willis Jackson

Gene Ammons

and the gorgeous Oumou Dioubate (who can really sing and who is a great performer!)

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

lemme light some incense & git back to this, while I count Diabates (there are many).

Note spelling Clem, Oumou isn't one of the extremely numerous Diabates; she's the only (as far as I know) Dioubate (who sings).

Q: if we bring Fela, do we get his wives also?

hooba hooba,

odc

Damn, shoulda thorter that! AND Lekan Animasaun, as well.

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

i will say i'm shocked someone picked Lowell Fulson, whom I pretty much love as, uh, a chameleonic (if never 'primal') force but it must be said, while Lowell definitely evolved with the times, he made, & remade, & remade again (a few times & often more) the same sides, repeatedly, during the various phases of his career. That is interesting from both a sociological and old-time rekkid biz perspective but Lowell in bulk (vs. 78, 45) prob ain't thee way, even if you have a multispeed turntable.

Yes, I took my wife to see Lowell, some time in the early '80s I think. Afterwards, she remarked on how professional he was. It was an insult.

MG

[Neal Pomea]

Uncle Dave Macon, whoa! ya'll plumped for the Bear Family set?

Nathan Abshire don't even speak 'Merican man, does he come w/subtitles?

They could only make me look better to Josephine, Mary Lou, and Ann-Margaret!

[brownie]

Lester Young

Nat King Cole

Charlie Christian

Jimmie Blanton

Sidney Catlett

Let the proceedings begin but tell me first where that desert island is?

Edited January 1, 2007 by brownie

[Dan Gould]

i will say i'm shocked someone picked Lowell Fulson, whom I pretty much love as, uh, a chameleonic (if never 'primal') force but it must be said, while Lowell definitely evolved with the times, he made, & remade, & remade again (a few times & often more) the same sides, repeatedly, during the various phases of his career. That is interesting from both a sociological and old-time rekkid biz perspective but Lowell in bulk (vs. 78, 45) prob ain't thee way, even if you have a multispeed turntable.

That someone was me and I stand by it.

[John L]

That someone was me and I stand by it.

And I'll back you up on it. There is actually quite a bit of variety in Lowell Fulson's recordings over the years At any given one period of time, he may repeated himself quite a bit, as was common for anyone looking to repeat commercial success. If repitition of formulas for recording sessions is the basis for exclusion, then we would have to exclude almost all popular blues artists.

In contrast to Clem, I consider Lowell Fulson to be a primal force in the blues. He developed a highly distinctive guitar style, but his real bread and butter was always that trememdous one-of-a-kind singing voice. Desert island material, if you aks me.

Edited January 1, 2007 by John L

[Alexander Hawkins]

Tatum

Ellington

Bird

Braxton

The last one's near on impossible. Monk? Bud? Hines? Teddy Wilson? Ra? Cecil? Ornette? Muhal? Aretha? Dunno. I'll work on it.

[Peter Friedman]

I like the idea of everything they played on as sidemen as well as leader. Bird's recordings are limited, but I just wouldn't want to be without his great playing. Leaving out Lester Young is my major concern. I guess he would just have be No. 6 as an "illegal immigrant" to this island.

Bird

Paul Chambers

Billy Higgins

Tommy Flanagan

Horace Silver

[Dan Gould]

That someone was me and I stand by it.

And I'll back you up on it. There is actually quite a bit of variety in Lowell Fulson's recordings over the years At any given one period of time, he may repeated himself quite a bit, as was common for anyone looking to repeat commercial success. If repitition of formulas for recording sessions is the basis for exclusion, then we would have to exclude almost all popular blues artists.

Exactly.

And Fulson continued to make worthwhile records up until the end.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Braxton

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Q: At any given time was Lowell the best at whatever style/context he was playing in?

A: No. Simply & repeatedly, NO, & anyone who sez yes-- unless it's just Lowell was the best Lowell there was (no small feat) ain't listend to a lot of blues & r&b records 1935- (or 1925) onwards (as some of us have).

now, if the goal is to sweep up a goodly # of styles in one figure w/pretty high quality, longevity-- okay. I will define 'primal' another time, & say Lowell's particularly country-ish vocals & sorta uptown-ish guitar are a fine combo, & lotsa other dudes either didn't last or never had the commercial juice to keep going that long. Taking the history of blues & r&b year by year, however, very few of Lowell's sides would be thee ones. That is less criticism than context-- it was, as Osiris once said on only a slightly different setting, "a very fucking fertile time."

(Also-- as a preview-- in dealing w/the primal, we need to consider individuality in songwriting.)

if i had the time-- i do NOT-- i'd do a year by year blues & r&b round up with my fave Lowell in context of the times... if ya'll can, try this exercise at home. it doesn't diminish Lowell's lifetime accomplishment but it does make what he did more particular.

signed,

Percy Mayfield Jr

No one said that the people you wanted to take had to be the best in their racket. What do you think - that I think Gator Tail was the best tenor player? Gertcha!

I don't think, if I were limited to bluesmen, that I'd take B B, Lowell, Muddy, Guy, Rush OR EVEN T-BONE. I'd take Slim Harpo, for the way I can get on with him all the time, the way he just eases you into it.

This is not an aesthetic or historically importance league table. It's people's views of who means most to them personally. (Combined with a little light sexist relief.)

MG

[Dan Gould]

Q: At any given time was Lowell the best at whatever style/context he was playing in?

A: No. Simply & repeatedly, NO, & anyone who sez yes-- unless it's just Lowell was the best Lowell there was (no small feat) ain't listend to a lot of blues & r&b records 1935- (or 1925) onwards (as some of us have).

now, if the goal is to sweep up a goodly # of styles in one figure w/pretty high quality, longevity-- okay. I will define 'primal' another time, & say Lowell's particularly country-ish vocals & sorta uptown-ish guitar are a fine combo, & lotsa other dudes either didn't last or never had the commercial juice to keep going that long. Taking the history of blues & r&b year by year, however, very few of Lowell's sides would be thee ones. That is less criticism than context-- it was, as Osiris once said on only a slightly different setting, "a very fucking fertile time."

(Also-- as a preview-- in dealing w/the primal, we need to consider individuality in songwriting.)

if i had the time-- i do NOT-- i'd do a year by year blues & r&b round up with my fave Lowell in context of the times... if ya'll can, try this exercise at home. it doesn't diminish Lowell's lifetime accomplishment but it does make what he did more particular.

signed,

Percy Mayfield Jr

Thanks for answering a question that was neither proposed nor implied.

[tonym]

Miles

Getz

Evans

Bobo Stenson

Tony Williams

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

exactly!! i mean to dispute the concept of Lowell = Primal moreso than whether anyone wants to cozy up with him or anyone else (except for goddamn x + Charles Lloyd, who gives us the hives.) Slim is alright, tho' I'm unsure I need to shuffle that much-- depends how big the island is, i guess. did you ever get to visit Lousiana much, MG? i got see the one & only (now dead) Jimmy Miller when i rolled thru Crowley... that said-- the # of primal artists in American vernacular forms are few, esp. since the roots are blurry, & go a thousand directions at once, & everyone was ripping off everything they could (not everyone can).

Charlie Patton: primal.

Jimmie Rodgers: primal.

Bill Monroe: primal

Jerry Lee Lewis: primal.

Lightnin' Hopkins: primal.

Lightnin' Slim: not primal (but fine).

Slim Harpo: not primal (but unique).

Bo Diddley Is a Tollbooth Attendant (Chess lp, 1966)-- fucking primeval, man!

xxxo,

Lil' Son Jackson Jr

Who said Lowell was primal? Dan said

And in the case of Fulson, he made consistently enjoyable recordings through his entire career, never really coasting, as B.B. might be accused of.

You're the one who used the word Primal on him, then denied it. (And I don't disagree with what you're saying, though I don't usually try to concentrate on such matters.)

No - never been to LA - never been further west than Newark NJ (and environs).

MG

[Larry Kart]

Ellington

Pres

Tatum

Bird

Monk

Second five:

Jelly Roll Morton

Louis

Coleman Hawkins

Miles

Roscoe Mitchell

[John L]

Who said Lowell was primal?

I did.

Maybe we define "primal" differently. To me, "primal" in the blues is a voice, a compelling and original voice. Lowell Fulson had that in abundance (IMO). I recall that somebody (Peter Guralnick if I am not mistaken) once referred to Fulson as the George Jones of the blues. I think that fits pretty well. Fulson could really wrap his voice around a line and make it ache.

Some of my favorite Lowell Fulson recordings date from the 1940s, before the time that he really emerged as a guitar player. But what his guitar lacked his singing more than made up for. There is nothing else quite like it in the blues.

I can recall quite a few memoral nights at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland with Lowell Fulson. When it came to the blues, he delivered.

[JSngry]

Q: At any given time was Lowell the best at whatever style/context he was playing in?

A: No....-- unless it's just Lowell was the best Lowell there was (no small feat)

No small feat indeed, and really all that anybody can hope to accomplish in this life. Anything beyond that is dependent upon confluences of "circumstance" and "destiny" over which there is no conscious control.