Spotlite - Dial reissues

[king ubu]

Now if there's one to get from that series, it is this:

This is the ONLY recording of the Eckstine band giving an idea of the sound and the impact that band really had, believe me, indispensable stuff if you don't have it! Much better than the studio recordings!

I was wondering about that one, too! Thanks for the recommendation, Mike! There goes some more money...

ubu

[Brad]

Spotlite has also put out Dexter Gordon - The Complete Dial Sessions. Although not on Dial, they've also put out Jay McShann Orchestra Featuring Charlie Parker - Early Bird, which are ecordings at Wichita, Kansas’ KFBI (November 30 and December 2, 1940), Clark Monroe’s Uptown House (1941/1942) and a Jubilee in 1943.

[jazzbo]

Those McShann sides (which have also been released on other labels, notably the Jass (maybe, one of the Stash labels) and Masters of Jazz, are FANTASTIC!

"Swingmatism"! I tried to get a friend of mine to name his little swing/jump unit that but he didn't. . . went with "The Barons of Rhythm" which is cool (a name of a Basie band at the Rheno Club in KC).

[king ubu]

Regarding "Early Bird" of which I'm aware of, but don't have it, I'm a little confused.

Amazon UK lists this, with the following tunes:

1. I found a new baby

2. Body and soul

3. Moten swing

4. Coquette

5. Lady be good

6. Blues

7. Honeysuckle rose

8. Cherokee

9. You say forward I'll march

10. Lonely boy blues

11. Vine Street boogie

12. Jump the blues away

13. One o'clock jump

14. Bottle it

15. Wrap your troubles in dreams

16. One o'clock jump (theme)

17. Sweet Georgia Brown

AMG though lists this one:

with 23 tracks, and this one

with the same 23 tracks, and the following description:

This Stash CD contains some remarkable performances by the young Charlie Parker with pianist Jay McShann's Orchestra. First Bird is heard at the age of 20 with an octet from McShann's big band playing six standards and a blues; his solos on "Lady Be Good" and particularly "Honeysuckle Rose" are classic. Then, after Parker's early version of "Cherokee" from 1942 with the house band at Monroe's Uptown House, one gets to hear what Bird really sounded like on a typical night with Jay McShann's big band. Parker's studio recordings with McShann's Orchestra were three-minute affairs that generally gave him a chorus at the most but, on this 1942 broadcast, Bird really stretches out on a few of the songs, particularly "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," and shows just how advanced a player he was at that early stage. This CD concludes with the 1944 McShann big band (after Bird had departed) in fine form on a radio aircheck and, as a bonus strictly for completists, a very scratchy (and almost unlistenable) version of "I Got Rhythm" from August 1940 by McShann with Bird. ? Scott Yanow

And now it seems the CD on Amazon UK misses exactly those live recordings!

The tracklist of those CDs with 23 tracks:

1. Swingmatism performed by Parker / McShann, Jay & His Orchestra - 2:40

2. The Jumpin' Blues performed by Parker / McShann, Jay & His Orchestra - 3:04

3. I Found a New Baby performed by Parker / Jay McShann Jazz Combo - 2:59

4. Body and Soul performed by Parker / McShann, Jay Jazz Combo - 2:50

5. Moten Swing performed by Parker / McShann, Jay Jazz Combo - 2:48

6. Coquette performed by Parker / McShann, Jay Jazz Combo - 3:10

7. Oh, Lady Be Good performed by Parker / McShann, Jay Jazz Combo - 2:57

8. Honeysuckle Rose performed by Parker / McShann, Jay Jazz Combo - 3:00

9. Cherokee (Noble) - 2:47

10. Sweet Georgia Brown performed by Parker / Gillespie / Pettiford - 7:42

11. Red Cross performed by Parker / Grimes, Tiny Quintet - 3:15

12. Floogie Boo performed by Parker / Williams, Cootie Sextet - 4:00

13. Groovin' High performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy Sextet - 2:38

14. Dizzy Atmosphere performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy Sextet - 2:45

15. All the Things You Are performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy Sextet - 2:44

16. Salt Peanuts performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy All Star Quintet - 3:13

17. Shaw 'Nuff performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy All Star Quintet - 2:57

18. Lover Man performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy All Star Quintet - 3:20

19. Hot House performed by Parker / Gillespie, Dizzy All Star Quintet - 3:06

20. The Street Beat performed by Parker / Sir Charles and His All-Stars - 2:34

21. Now's the Time performed by Parker, Charlie Reboppers - 3:14

22. Thriving on a Riff (Anthropology) [Anthropology] performed by Parker, Charlie Reboppers - 2:58

23. Koko performed by Parker, Charlie Reboppers - 2:54

ubu

Edited February 10, 2004 by king ubu

[king ubu]

Then, anyone knows this one?

ubu

[Brad]

To confuse things a little more, there's this from Verve, Jay McShann - Blues from Kansas City - Decca (GRD-614), which is likewise fantastic. I'll try to post tracks from these two cds (if I can) later tonight. I'm not familiar with that Early Bird Cd but there is one from Stash that I have called Charlie Parker - The Complete “Birth of the Bebop” - Stash 535.

[king ubu]

To confuse things a little more, there's this from Verve, Jay McShann - Blues from Kansas City - Decca (GRD-614), which is likewise fantastic. I'll try to post tracks from these two cds (if I can) later tonight. I'm not familiar with that Early Bird Cd but there is one from Stash that I have called Charlie Parker - The Complete ?Birth of the Bebop? - Stash 535.

Please do! Tonight, tomorrow, whenever you find the time.

Except for the Spotlite disc, these seem to be OOP.

ubu

[Brad]

Ubu,

Here's the AMG page for Blues from Kansas City and the AMG page for Complete Birth of the Bebop.

I didn't know or think the Spotlite was oop. I bought this a few years ago directly from Tony Williams who owns Spotlite, plus the other Spotlites that I own on Dial: Dodo Marmarosa, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Berman. He was a delight to talk to. Perhaps they still have copies.

Here's the track listing:

I Found a New Baby

Body and Soul

Moten Swing

Coquette

Lady be Good

Blues

Honeysuckle Rose

Cherokee

You Say Forward, I'll March

Lonely Boy Blues

Vine Street Boogie

Jump the Blues

One O'Clock Jump (theme)

Bottle It

Sweet Georgia Brown

Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

One O'Clock Jump Theme.

Edited February 11, 2004 by Brad

[king ubu]

Thanks Brad! I'd love to find these two CDs!

As I said, all EXCEPT the Spotlite are OOP. I will get some of these Spotlite discs as soon as I can!

thanks,

ubu

[king ubu]

For those who followed the discussion of early Bird stuff, and Jay McShann material featuring Bird: the GRP disc is OOP (and I wanted to order it used, but there was some problem, and now it's not available on that site anymore), but there is a Proper 2CD release which includes all (but one, if my short comparison with AMG was right) of the cuts of the GRP disc, as well as several more slightly later dates. Here is the discography of that set:

Jay McShann & his Combo : Orville "Piggy " Minor, Bernard "Buddy" Anderson, tp; Bob Gould, tb, vln (-1); Charlie Parker, as; Bob Mabane, ts; Jay McShann, p; Gene Ramey, b; Gus Johnson, d. Broadcast KFB1, Wichita, Kansas, December 2, 1940

MOTEN SWING

HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (-1)

Jay McShann and his Orchestra :  Harold Bruce, Bernard Anderson, Orville Minor, tp; "Little Joe" Taswell Baird, tb; John Jackson, Charlie Parker, as; Harold Ferguson, Bob Mabane, ts; Jay McShann, p; Gene Ramey, b; Gus Johnson, d, Walter Brown, voc (-1)

Dallas, Texas, April 30, 1941

93730-A      SWINGMATISM

93731-A      HOOTIE BLUES (-1)

93732-A      DEXTER BLUES

93733-A      VINE STREET BOOGIE (p,b.d only)

93734-A      CONFESSIN’ THE BLUES (p,b,d, (-1) only)

93735-A      HOLD’EM HOOTIE (p,b,d only)

Orville Minor, tp (-1); Taswell Baird, tb (-1); John Jackson or Charlie Parker, as (-1); Jay McShann, p; Leonard "Lucky" Enois, g (-2); Gene Ramey, b; Gus Johnson, d; Walter Brown, voc (-3)

Chicago, November 18, 1941

93809-A      ONE WOMAN’S MAN (-1,-2,-3)

93810-A      ÔFORE DAY RIDER (-3)

93811-B        SO YOU WON’T JUMP

93812-A      NEW CONFESSIN’ THE BLUES (-3)

93813-A      RED RIVER BLUES (-3)

93814-A      BABY HEART BLUES (-3)

93815-A      CRYIN’ WON’T MAKE ME STAY (-3)

93816-A      HOOTIE’S IGNORANT OIL (-1, -2, )

Charlie Parker, as, prob, acc. by Jay McShann’s Orchestra : Jay McShann, p, others unknown Clark Monroe’s Uptown House,

New York circa early 1942

CHEROKEE

                 

Jay McShann and his Orchestra :  Orville Minor, Bernard Anderson, Bob Merrill, tp; Lawrence Anderson, Taswell Baird, tb;  John Jackson, Charlie Parker, as; Fred Culliver, Bob Mabane, ts; James Coe, bs; Jay McShann, p; Lucky Enois, g; Gene Ramey, b; Gus Johnson, d; Walter Brown, voc (-1); Al Hibbler, voc (-2)

New York, July 22, 1942

70993-A      LONELY BOY BLUES (-1)

70994-A      GET ME ON YOUR MIND (-2)

70995-A      THE JUMPIN’ BLUES (-1)

70996-A        SEPIAN BOUNCE

Jay McShann and his Orchestra :  Bob Merrill, tp; voc (-1); Dave Mitchell, Jesse Jones, Willie Cook, tp; Alonzo Pettiford, Alfonso Fook, Rudy Morrison, tb; John Jackson, Rudolph Dennis, as; Paul Quinichette, Bill Goodson, ts; Rae Brodely,. bs; Jay McShann, p; Gene Ramey, b; Don Graves, d; Walter Brown, voc (-2)

New York, December 1, 1943

71528  WRONG NEIGHBOURHOOD (-1)

71529-A      HOME TOWN BLUES (-2)

Jay McShann’s Kansas City Stompers :  Oliver Todd, tp; Tommy Douglas, as; Clairborne Graves, ts; Jay McShann, p;  Efferge Ware, g; Walter Page, b; Sam "Baby" Lovett, d; Julia Lee, voc.

Kansas City, November 1, 1944

346-B COME ON OVER TO MY HOUSE

Jay McShann and his Jazz-Men :  Major Evans, tp; Edmond Gregory (Sahib Shihab), as; Cleophus Curtis, ts; Jay McShann, p; Raymond Taylor, b: Al "Cake" Wichard, d; Jimmy Witherspoon, voc (-1); Numa Lee Davis, voc (-2); Charles "Crown Prince" Waterford, voc (-3)

Los Angeles, circa July 1945

WALKING BLUES (-2)

HARD WORKING MAN BLUES (-1)     

WHEN I’VE BEEN DRINKING (-2)

MERRY-GO-ROUND BLUES (-3)

BAD TALE BOOGIE

McSHANN’S BOOGIE BLUES

Jay McShann’s Sextet :  Major Evans, tp; Edmond Gregory, as; Cleophus Curtis, ts; Jay McShann, p; Raymond Taylor, b; Al "Cake" Wichard, d; Crown Prince Waterford (-1); Jimmy Witherspoon, voc (-2)

Los Angeles, July 7, 1945

20234  GARFIELD AVENUE BOOGIE (-1)

20235  SHIPYARD WOMAN BLUES (-2)

20236  CROWN PRINCE BOOGIE (-1)

Jay McShann’s Band :  Clarence Thornton, tp; Theodore Smalls, as; Seeward Evans, ts; Jay McShann, p; Percy Gabriel, b; Jessie Price, d; Jimmy Witherspoon, voc.

Los Angeles, July 26, 1946

454    ERNESTINE

456    ROLL ON KATY

457    VOODOO WOMAN

Jay McShann, p; Mitchell"Tiny" Webb, g; Percy Gabriel, b; Jesse Price, d; Jimmy Witherspoon, voc.

Los Angeles, November 13, 1946

630    I WANT A LITTLE GIRL

632    HAVE YOU EVER LOVED A WOMAN ?

633    GONE WITH THE BLUES

       

Same or similar personnel as above

Los Angeles, May 29, 1947

                         

820    BAR FLY BLUES

821    PLEASE STOP PLAYING THESE BLUES, BOY

822    ALL MY GEETS ARE GONE

Jay McShann and his Orchestra :  Forest Powell, tp; Frank Sleets, as; Charlie Thomas, ts; Jay McShann, p; Louis Speiginer, g; Benny Booker, b; Pete McShann, d; Jimmy Witherspoon, voc.

Los Angeles, November 15, 1947

AP 108B      MONEY’S GETTING CHEAPER

Same personnel as above

Los Angeles, November 20, 1942

AP 110A/B    AIN’T NOBODY’S BUSINESS, PT 1 & 2

Jay McShann Orchestra :  Vernon "Geechie" Smith, tp; Frank Sleets, as; Buddy Floyd, ts; Jay Mcshann, p; Tiny Webb, g; Ralph Hamilton, b; Jesse Sailes, d.

Los Angeles, July 14, 1948

165A1 HOT BISCUITS

Jay McShann’s Orchestra :  Geechie Smith,. tp; Don Hill, as;  Maxwell Davis, ts; Jay McShann, p; Tiny Webb, g; Ralph Hamilton, b; Jesse Sailes, d.

Los Angeles, circa mid 1949

314A1 GERONIMO

Jay McShann and his Orchestra :  Orville Minor, tp; Clifford Jenkins, as, ts; Ben Webster, Fats Dennis, ts; Jay McShann, p; Gene Griddins, g; Lloyd Anderson, b; Cookie Jackson, d; Pee Wee Matthews, voc.

Kansas City, October 27, 1951

4617-1 YOU DIDN’T TELL ME

4618-2 GOT YOU BEGGING

4619-2 THE DUKE AND THE BRUTE

4620-1 REACH

This looks like a very interesting set! Here's the link to the Proper website.

ubu

[Shrdlu]

I have the Spotlite Norvo CD. It just has the tracks listed above (from the LP), that is, all existing takes of the four titles recorded that day.

Needless to say, it's a superb collection.

A favorite moment: the groove on the next-to-last take of "Get Happy". This is far better than on the final take, and it's a pity that there is a fluff as they play the tune out at the end. I intend to edit that off, with Nero, to leave a great take that could have been used originally.

[king ubu]

Thanks, Shrdlu! So I don't need this one.

ubu

[Brad]

I have the Stash version of Red Norvo's Fabulous Jam Session which IMHO is one of the seminal sessions in the history of the music up to that time. Having the bad boys of bebop record with an established figure such as Red Norvo gave them a very strong air of legitimacy that they'd not had.

It took me a very long time to find this disc. I first heard it on Phil Schaap's Bird show and was transfixed. It took me over a year to get it. Now, it's generally available on the combined Savoy - Dial box.

An interesting sidenote to some of the discussion about Jay McShann is Bird's alto partner, John Jackson, who was rumored to be better than Bird and sounded just like him but never got the attention that Bird did. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find out that much information about him and google searches haven't helped at all. If anyone has any leads, please post them.