Album of the Week: Sept 14-20

[DrJ]

Vic Dickenson - The Essential Vic Dickenson (click here to buy)

A classic (OK, oddly classic) cover for a great recording. I am looking forward to revisiting this one over the week. This is the only format for this music currently available in America. FWIW, those who can find it might be more interested in a slightly expanded version, a Japanese 2 CD set called THE VIC DICKENSON SHOWCASE that has two extra, longish tracks.

I'll wait a few days before chiming in with my own comments.

[Chuck Nessa]

Great choice. I've enjoyed this music for a long time and Ruby Braff shines.

[Harold_Z]

I love this album. The entire band sounds great and, as Chuck pointed out, Ruby Braff is GREAT on this. It was hearing Ruby on this that spurred me on to obtaining a lot of Ruby.

This recording is indicative of this crew of jazzmen and their associates who had a swingin', mainstream approach typical of the the New York guys who were often thought of as Dixielanders. In actuality they were Swing era guys who just played their own bag and retained the opening and closing ensemble approach typified by Dixieland.

What are the two additional tracks? I have this on Vinyl in addition to CD and I remember two tracks were left off the cd issue. Are those the ones?

[jazzbo]

Well, I don't have this one but it would have to be good because did Vic ever make a BAD record?

[Dan Gould]

Actually, Lon, the Vanguard comp. "Nice Work" has seven of the ten tunes that are on "The Essential," that is, if AMG can be believed.

[jazzbo]

Figures!

Man, Vic. . . . I just look at that picture and I can hear the music he made that makes me smile!

[John Tapscott]

Well, I don't have this one but it would have to be good because did Vic  ever make a BAD record?

Lon, your reputation is slipping. It was rumored that you had EVERYTHING!

I have this on a 2LP set and am really looking forward to giving it a spin. This AOTW thing is great and has pulling out some records that haven't seen the light of day in a long, long time.

[Dan Gould]

Well, its a good thing, cause I voted for Vic based on the assumption that we were talking about the same music that's on the comp.! So I guess I can <sort of> contribute to the AOW.

[Brownian Motion]

Actually, Lon, the Vanguard comp. "Nice Work" has seven of the ten tunes that are on "The Essential," that is, if AMG can be believed.

setting.

It's true.

This is a great album. Besides the prime Ruby, Shad Collins, one of producer John Hammond's favorites, gets an all-too-infrequent chance to stretch out a little.

And then of course there is Sir Charles Thompson, who was a perfect accompanist for these musicians. IMO a lot of 50s and 60s mainstream sessions were dragged down by unsympathetic pianists, but that's never the case when Sir Charles is on the job.

Edmond Hall maintains his usual high standard throughout. I was just listening last week to an album of alternate takes by Ed, and his command and inventiveness from track to track just blew me away.

Vic himself is of course a wonderful witty soloist. Although he had been part of the NY jazz scene for awhile by the time these sessions were recorded, I believe these were Vic's first recording's as a leader.

In general these Hammond-produced Vanguard sessions and the Buck Clayton Jam sessions at over Columbia marked the re-emergence of a style of playing jazz that had gone out of fashion since the triumph of bop in the late 1940s. Players like Clayton, Ed Hall, Vic, Red Allen, Dickie Wells, Benny Morton, and others of their generation were not very convincing as dixieland players, so it's nice to hear some of these same musicians once again in a comfortable setting.

Edited September 9, 2003 by Brownian Motion

[DrJ]

I'm glad you pointed this out, Brownian Motion...it's true this Dickenson date has a feel very similar to the Buck Clayton CBS jam sessions (the stuff in the Mosaic box), even the studio sound is very similar - kind of cavernous for this kind of music, with a sense of huge "space" not just around each instrument but around the whole group, but also warm and full in its own way.

I have a note inside the CD tray that lists the two tracks on the Japanese 2 CD edition that are not available on THE ESSENTIAL compilation, but the discs are out in my car right now...I'll look that up and post it for everyone later.

[Brownian Motion]

One more thing. The present incarnation of the Vanguard Company has not done too well with their precious jazz catalogue. I don't know whether alternate takes of these sessions exist anymore (if they do they're worth issuing), but with Vanguard it's common for some tracks to show up under more than one name and on more than one CD (witness the Vic Dickenson situation) while other tracks (Buck Clayton's "I Must Have That Man" for instance) have not yet appeared on CD.

Edited September 10, 2003 by Brownian Motion

[DrJ]

"When You and I Were Young, Maggie" and "You Brought a New Kind of Love" are the two tracks NOT on the American release ESSENTIAL VIC DICKENSON (1995) but that ARE on the Japanese 2 CD set. To make it more confusing, the slightly later Vanguard U.S. release of part of this material, NICE WORK (1999), mentioned above, DOES contain these two tracks but is missing some of the others on ESSENTIAL.

SOOO...if you were inclined to get all the music and didn't mind the duplication of most of the tracks, you could buy both American partial issues (and probably for less than what it would cost for the Japanese 2 CD set, assuming you could find it...I got a lucky deal at Virgin Megastore in NYC but it's going on Amazon now for $40+ dollars).

Edited September 9, 2003 by DrJ

[Brownian Motion]

I wanna hear the canary vocals on the Mel Powell records, for one...

clem

Tell me more about these canary vocals!

[montg]

Th current state of these Vanguard sessions on CD is absolutely maddening. Two Vic Dickenson sides are on one of the Vanguard Ruby Braff CDs, but not on the Vic Dickenson one. Most of Sir Charles Thompson's sessions as a leader are on his CD, but not all--some are on a compilation shared with Ray Bryant. You get the picture. Because of this, I've been holding off on these, hoping against hope that they would be reissued in complete form. However, I recently broke down and picked up the Esential Buck Clayton and absolutely loved it. John Hammond just seemed to have a knack for getting an extra bit of energy and swing of out small group sessions. Vic Dickenson and Edmond Hall are great on the Clayton comp. All of this to say in a long-winded fashion: this is an inspired choice and I'm looking forward to hearing what others say about it. And I'm grabbing the Nice Work 1999 compilation. I'm tired of waiting for Vanguard to do it right.

[DrJ]

Must say I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of discussion of this one - as I suspected, I think it reflects the general disinterest in pre-bop jazz on the board (not to say there is none, but far less interest than in, say, soul jazz and post-bop modern mainstream). Anyone else diggin' Vic and Ruby and crew?

[Harold_Z]

Well....Tony, don't think this thread is for naught. It sparked me to dig out my cassette of the Vanguard two lp set and has been my constant companion in the car for about a week and a half. I think I'm on my fourth run thru. Its wonderful. It's also sparked some peripheral listening to things like EASY NOW (a 50s Braff lp that I scored about a month ago) and a revisiting of YOU'RE GETTING TO BE A HABIT WITH ME - another Braff 50s lp. Both are so good that I am at a loss for words. THEY ARE WONDERFUL.

...AND it has me on the QUEST for a Vic cd called VIC DICKENSON PLAYS BESSIE SMITH or something close to that. I should have scored it when I saw it, but didn't have the bread......

[DrJ]

NOW you have me intrigued, Harold Z...can you say a bit more about all three of those titles? Also, I wonder if you have heard a Ruby Braff album from the 50's on Epic called BRAFF! I have passed this up at a used store in the Bay Area a couple of times (vinyl, not on CD unless I'm mistaken) but wonder if I should have snagged it.

[White Lightning]

I'm a HUGE fan of Vic Dickenson. Sorry I missed the week by a few days - I moved back to Israel and it took me a few days to unpack all my CDs.

"The essential" is indeed essential. The only other Vic recording on par is "Gentleman of the Trombone", imho.

I can't find a flow in any track. They all run smoothly. the frontline is exceptional: Besides Vic's bone playing, Ed hall is playing in his usual excellence. Braff is great and so is Shad Collins (Who is he?)

The Rhythm session is very Basie-ite. Sir Charles Thompson is playing A-la Basie and together with (a bit tame) papa Jo Jones and Walter Page and Steve Jordan to create that Basie-ite easy going and relaxation that this session projects.

BTW, Harlod_Z the Dickenson CD you mentioned is called "Trombone Cholly". Joe Newman and Frank Wess complete the frontline. A nice one, though a little lesser effort than "The Essential" and "Gentleman of the Trombone"

[jazzbo]

I'm late on this one as well. Thanks to Tony, I can contribute.

This is excellent material. (The entire Vanguard Showcase series I believe is superb, all those that I have heard share a recording excellence and a musical vision that pleases me very much).

Vic plays so darned well here. It's almost as if he has the history of jazz trombone in the bell of his horn and places notes from that history right where they should be. His sound and phrasing are ironically all his own however, and there is a large sense of "personality" in his playing that really comes through to me --- I'm one of those who feels that master musicians reveal their personality in their music, that has been a controversial concept on this board before, but I'm on this side of that debate.

I really like Ed Hall's work on these sessions and also Braff and Collins. And the rhythm section. . . well it is almost as if the classic Basie "Rheno Club" swinging rhythm sound is the "gold standard" for this entire series: no matter who is really in the section, that Basie quartet swing sound is the reference point, and each time it is well and convincingly done. (Sir Charles Thompson really pulls off the the Basie hat with ease!) Swing, swing, swing. Walter Page is probably very responsible reprising his role, but on the other releases this Basiesque beat and feel are equally successfully invoked.

Just great music that gets into your mind and heart and makes you feel good. This is a prime example of a type of jazz that makes me a jazz fanatic. I want (and I guess NEED) the warmth and hope that I get from hearing jazz like this. Thanks Vic! (And thanks Tony! Great choice!)

[jazzbo]

Barak, are you seriously asking about Lester "Shad" Collins? Shad was a coworker of Vic's in the Basie band, Lester Young's band, and was also a player in Lester and Lee Young's band and other groups of the forties and fifties. A great player who should have had a handful of leader dates or more. . . .

[Harold_Z]

...can you say a bit more about all three of those titles? Also, I wonder if you have heard a Ruby Braff album from the 50's on Epic called BRAFF! I have passed this up at a used store in the Bay Area a couple of times (vinyl, not on CD unless I'm mistaken) but wonder if I should have snagged it.

All of those are really good. I haven't heard the TROMBONE CHOLLY (thanks, Barak) title, but it's on my WANT list.

YOU'RE GETTING TO BE A HABIT never made it to cd as far as I know. I bought it used about a year ago. It's on the Bell label. It's Ruby with Hank Jones, Don Lamond, Don Elliot, etc. A rhythm section including vibes and Ruby. I love it. I'd like to find a cleaner copy, but mine is listenable.

BRAFF was reissued on lp and cd in the late 80s on the Sony PORTRAIT series. Ruby with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins, etc. Again...great.

EASY NOW was on RCA. About half of it was on a cd called MY LUCKY DAY - the rest is unreissued (the session with Vic.)

Tony, if the pms are working you'll get a message. If not - contact me through Lon.

[White Lightning]

Barak, are you seriously asking about Lester "Shad" Collins?

Lon, thanks for the info. I'm ashamed to admit that eventhough I've probably heard Shad's work w/Basie and w/Pres, I've never *really* listened to him. He definitely deserves that. Maybe this negligence of mine is due to the giants he played with.

[John Tapscott]

I don't have too long to comment, other than to say this is just a wonderful album, which I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting. And Shad Collins - what a trememdous trumpet player, beautiful tone, flowing solos, sadly underrated.

There is one long and very subtly "bent" blue note in his Old Fashioned Love solo which is a joy to hear. Also the tune Sir Charles at Home is small group swing at its best. Great choice for AOTW.

[montg]

This thread inspired me to pick up the "Nice Work" CD and I'm grateful for that.

If there is a prejudice against pre bop music, it's too bad. This is jazz of the highest order. Blues, blues, blues...pure and deep.

The Vanguard recordings with Vic Dickenson and Edmond Hall are at least equal, I think, to their Blue Note work together in the '40s. I hear so much here that moves me, but I'll just say that Edmond Hall, for my money, is unmatched among clarinet players, then and now, when it comes to playing the blues. He digs in, and swings, throughout. The rhythm section with Jo Jones and Sir Charles keeps my feet patting. I've been so impressed with the two Vanguards I've picked up recently (this and Buck Clayton) that I'm on the hunt for more. Think I'll go next with the Mel Powell.

[Larry Kart]

A lovely record, as are almost all the Vanguards. BTW, in later years Ruby, being Ruby, professed to despise all the playing he did back then. Nice to know the name of the place where these were recorded; the feeling of "space" around the band was akin to Columbia's 30th St. studio but a shade less reverberant. Who needs stereo? Also BTW, the person who screwed up the Vanguard reissues, initially at least (haven't checked to see if he's still got the gig) is Sam Charters. A couple of years ago I sent Vanguard a detailed, angry complaint about the hash he'd made of the Mel Powell material -- mis-attributions, jumbled sessions, etc. (Charters apparently didn't listen to the material or bother to look at the liner notes of the original LPs, or both). Vanguard's reply was noncommital, but a friend of mine who knows Charters says that Sam did get yelled at a bit and that, as might be expected, he was very upset that someone out there had made his life more difficult.