Bird, Miles in Paris 1949

[brownie]

Great photos of the Charlie Parker Quintet (with Kenny Dorham), the Tadd Dameron Quintet (with Miles, Moody, Klook) and the Hot Lips Page orchestra (with Big Chief Russell Moore and Don Byas) on stage and backstage at the Salle Pleyel during the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival.

Paris Jazz 1949

The photos were taken by Pierre Delord, a scientist and a talented amateur photographer who donated his collection to the Discothèque municipale de Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a beautiful southern France city.

Several of the Miles Davis photos were shown at the 'We Want Miles' exhibition a couple of years ago.

Miles, Moody and Tadd Dameron:

Hot Lips Page and Miles:

[Clunky]

These look great, he must have had good access to the stage to get these. I can't seem to enlarge those you've linked to. Some great shots.

[Free For All]

Great pictures! Thanks brownie!

[Hardbopjazz]

Who is the trombone player? I don't have a clue.

[Chuck Nessa]

Big Chief Russell Moore.

[brownie]

  On 10/25/2011 at 11:56 AM, Clunky said:

I can't seem to enlarge those you've linked to.

That's how they show up on the Bibliothèque website. They show only some contact sheets! I have found a way to enlarge those

[JSngry]

Is it just me, or do Miles' cuffs seem a little high?

[Hardbopjazz]

  On 10/25/2011 at 3:15 PM, JSngry said:

Is it just me, or do Miles' cuffs seem a little high?

High waters

[JSngry]

Yeah, very un-Miles-ian...but I guess at this point he wasn't quite fully "Miles" yet, eh?

[bichos]

great photos of an historic event.

thanks for the link, brownie!

keep boppin´

marcel

[Gheorghe]

I love those sessions!

Miles shows plays great bop trumpet on it and is almost as good as Diz or Fats. James Moody plays astonishing "modern" for the period. And I like Tadd´s solos on Dont Blame and Embraceable You.

It´s strange, but the Bird album "bird in Paris" doesn´t exite me the same way the Miles-Dameron album does.

The jam session at the end is nice. Rare occasion to hear Sidney Bechet and Bird sharing stage, or Miles and HotLips Page.

I got some of the Paris Fotos in a rear book "To Bird with Love", a photo collection, done by Francis Paudras and Chan Parker.

[Pete C]

I much prefer Mile's mellower, more "Mileslike" playing on the Dameron Royal Roost airchecks to his more flamboyant playing in Paris. Maybe his cuffs were longer at the Roost.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Pete C

[Late]

I've actually never heard those 1949 Paris recordings. Doesn't Columbia (Sony) own them (the Miles recordings)? Are/were they only available as Japanese imports?

I've really been enjoying Dameron's comping lately. I wish he would have made a trio record (maybe he did; don't know). I know Dameron's best known as an arranger, but something about his spare piano playing really works for me.

[colinmce]

I recommend this: Royal Roost airshots on disc 1, Paris 1949 on disc 2. About $3 on Amazon.

[JETman]

  On 10/26/2011 at 6:02 PM, Late said:

I've actually never heard those 1949 Paris recordings. Doesn't Columbia (Sony) own them (the Miles recordings)? Are/were they only available as Japanese imports?

I've really been enjoying Dameron's comping lately. I wish he would have made a trio record (maybe he did; don't know). I know Dameron's best known as an arranger, but something about his spare piano playing really works for me.

www.allmusic.com

is your friend!

Edited October 26, 2011 by JETman

[Brad]

Think I have some of the Paris material on a Sony CD but the sound is not very good.

[Pete C]

I bought the U.S. release Columbia LP when it first came out. It's almost as if he tried an approach that he didn't really revisit in a big way until those Philharmonic Hall recordings with the George Coleman edition.

[Gheorghe]

I too like Tadd´s style. As much as I like Bud and Monk, my 3rd favourite on piano might be Tadd Dameron, because it´s just the opposite to Bud. He does nice short "solos" on the Royal Roost stuff with Fats Navarro, and has much more solo space on the Prestige recordings, especially on "Mating Call" with Trane.

I must admit, I hadn´t heard about Dameron before I bought that Miles-Dameron Paris 1949 LP (CBS, Contemporary Masters Series, 1977). Then I was about 18 years old and hadn´t heard about else than Miles, Bird, Bud, Monk, Fats, etc., but no Tadd Dameron. But on the album cover text they rote that he´s a very important figure in modern jazz, so I started to pay much attention to him.

He´s style is highly individual. People say he couldn´t play the piano and sh..., but I tell you, I can play in the style of Bud, some stuff in the Monkish manner, but Tadd....impossible

[Pete C]

I can't remember if I ever read whether Tadd was happy about Bill Evans playing on The Magic Touch album. I think, IIRC, he did denigrate his own "arranger's piano" style somewhat, but I don't remember whether the decision to use another pianist was Keepnews' or Tadd's.

I love the way he used the underrated John Collins as a featured soloist on the Capitol recordings and Royal Roost engagement, especially on the April in Paris chart originally recorded by Hawkins.

[Gheorghe]

  On 10/27/2011 at 1:38 PM, Pete C said:

I can't remember if I ever read whether Tadd was happy about Bill Evans playing on The Magic Touch album. I think, IIRC, he did denigrate his own "arranger's piano" style somewhat, but I don't remember whether the decision to use another pianist was Keepnews' or Tadd's.

I love the way he used the underrated John Collins as a featured soloist on the Capitol recordings and Royal Roost engagement, especially on the April in Paris chart originally recorded by Hawkins.

Yes, the Magic Touch Album is great, but I also missed Tadd´s piano. He did one more session for BlueNote in the early sixties, but it was rejected. They say the arrangements were a mess. Anyway, one time it was issued on the BlueNote Connoisseur series, but I missed to purchase it. Tadd was playing on it.

I also like the stuff with John Collins very much.

I got a rare book about Tadd Dameron from a british autor Ian McDonald , "Tadd", nice to read, rare fotos etc.

[mikeweil]

This edition includes four bonus tracks with Miles on other performances of the 1949 Paris Jazz Festival:

[mikeweil]

  On 10/27/2011 at 4:46 PM, Gheorghe said:

He did one more session for BlueNote in the early sixties, but it was rejected. They say the arrangements were a mess. Anyway, one time it was issued on the BlueNote Connoisseur series, but I missed to purchase it. Tadd was playing on it.

That's the one you mention - used copies go for about € 20 ... the arrangements are okay, IMO, but would have needed more rehearsal.

[Pete C]

The Dameron session on the Lost Sessions was indeed a mess. When I heard about it I was excited about Sam Rivers with Dameron, but it really needed work.

[Gheorghe]

The above mentioned CD with Miles-Dameron is the one I purchased. It also has the jam session at the end, which I originally heard on "Bird in Paris".

I should try to purchase the BN CD "Lost sessions", Tadd Dameron with Sam Rivers sounds interesting, even if the arrangements might be a mess. How does Tadd sound on that?

[Trumpet Guy]

  On 10/27/2011 at 6:42 PM, Pete C said:

The Dameron session on the Lost Sessions was indeed a mess. When I heard about it I was excited about Sam Rivers with Dameron, but it really needed work.

I think Tadd sounds amazing on The Lost Sessions-- I found it amazing how different he sounds from earlier recordings; very quirky!