Obscure Albums You've Heard and Think Everyone Else Should

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

  On 10/16/2017 at 6:06 PM, Dan Gould said:

My info was Rusty Bryant with Ulmer.  Listening to the other King records with Bryant I am inclined to say its him.

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Me too.

Very nice album.

These two are in my priority pile to rip.

One I bought from Dan several years ago is Perri Lee's 'A night at Count Basie's' with Eddie Chamblee and John Kreigh. Perri was on some of the tracks of "Sonny Stitt & the top brass' on Atlantic a few years later.

Another goodie is Calvin Newborn's 'From the Hip', recorded in London in 1982, when Calvin was over there with Hank Crawford and David Newman. That has Hank on piano, Harvey Weston (b), Danny Adler (rh g) and Steve McCraven (d). It's on Rooster Jazz.

MG

  On 10/17/2017 at 12:25 PM, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Tiny Grimes - Profoundly Blue (Muse). Vinyl only (still) and not in the best sound, typical for 1973, but great playing. Killer band too.

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Bloomin' brilliant album!

  On 10/17/2017 at 4:20 PM, JSngry said:

Yeah, there will be singing, and yeah, it might get cringe-y for some listeners, but there's not all THAT much of it, and look at that lineup, THAT'S what you get. And as shaky as Ms. Pleasant's vocals might be, that's how solid her organ playing was.

FLAYVA!!!

 

 

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And this.

And not to forget Lockjaw's 'Heavy hitter'. Has that EVER been mentioned here? Or 'My buddy: Sonny Stitt plays for Gene Ammons'?

Muse made an awful lot of very, very good records. I guess Joe Fields still remembers everything Bobby Weinstock told him.

MG

[JSngry]

Going in a different direction, Donal Fox "should be heard" and certainly appears to be obscure.

and for "classical" music, this guy, and this record, for his work:

 

[HutchFan]

  On 10/19/2017 at 11:04 AM, JSngry said:

For people who may not be familiar with the derivation of the name:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop

https://www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/history/spindletop/spindletop.html

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Thanks for sharing that, Jim.  I had no idea.  If anything, I assumed it had something to do with sewing machines.  Not quite! 

 

 

  On 10/19/2017 at 12:03 PM, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

And not to forget Lockjaw's 'Heavy hitter'. Has that EVER been mentioned here? Or 'My buddy: Sonny Stitt plays for Gene Ammons'?

Muse made an awful lot of very, very good records. I guess Joe Fields still remembers everything Bobby Weinstock told him.

MG

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Yes!  I think The Heavy Hitter is one of Jaws' best!    

Edited October 19, 2017 by HutchFan

[Larry Kart]

I've always felt that the two secret ingredients on "The Big Challenge" were Billy Bauer and Gus Johnson. Had no idea beforehand that Bauer was a terrific rhythm guitarist, and Johnson, wow -- crisp, powerful, unafraid to kick things along forcefully.

Also, Mark, do you know the Jazztone Henderson Reunion album, with Stewart, Higginbotham, Hawkins, Ben Webster et al? A bit ragged at times but full of zest.

[Dan Gould]

  On 10/19/2017 at 12:03 PM, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

 

One I bought from Dan several years ago is Perri Lee's 'A night at Count Basie's' with Eddie Chamblee and John Kreigh. Perri was on some of the tracks of "Sonny Stitt & the top brass' on Atlantic a few years later.

MG

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Still hoping to find that other Perri Lee, with Curtis Amy, wasn't it?

[JSngry]

  On 10/19/2017 at 1:13 PM, HutchFan said:

Thanks for sharing that, Jim.  I had no idea.  If anything, I assumed it had something to do with sewing machines.  Not quite! 

 

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Spindletop was an Austin label, looks like they had distribution by Rounder, probably for the other items in their catalogue. I never knew this one existed until long after its fact.

https://www.discogs.com/label/85898-Spindletop-Records

This particular album was recorded in Dallas, a fact that escaped be until just now!

[clifford_thornton]

  On 10/19/2017 at 6:08 AM, soulpope said:

Obviously not obscure in my house, I`m using this thread for a plug regarding this excellent Austrian pianist .... these three albums come highly recommended to (not only) Piano Trio buffs ....

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yeah, Pauer's records are fantastic -- agreed!

[jlhoots]

  On 10/19/2017 at 1:27 PM, Larry Kart said:

I've always felt that the two secret ingredients on "The Big Challenge" were Billy Bauer and Gus Johnson. Had no idea beforehand that Bauer was a terrific rhythm guitarist, and Johnson, wow -- crisp, powerful, unafraid to kick things along forcefully.

Also, Mark, do you know the Jazztone Henderson Reunion album, with Stewart, Higginbotham, Hawkins, Ben Webster et al? A bit ragged at times but full of zest.

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I have & enjoy both of those.

[HutchFan]

How about this gem?

Harold Land Quintet - The Peace-Maker (Cadet, 1968)

One of the many excellent Harold Land - Bobby Hutcherson collaborations.  

I know this record has been reissued in Japan, but I don't think it's ever been released in any digital format in the U.S. or Europe.

[Big Beat Steve]

Along the lines of some recommendations from the last few days, here is one that I find is rather overlooked:

[danasgoodstuff]

  On 10/18/2017 at 9:33 PM, JSngry said:

Oh, Ellis Marsalis, almost forgot about this one. Duets, unfiltered.

 

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I've got that, One side In one side Out,  both the in and the out are quite nice, IIRC.

[JSngry]

Apparently/Thankfully, that one is not as obscure as I thought it might be!

[felser]

  On 10/19/2017 at 6:10 PM, HutchFan said:

How about this gem?

Harold Land Quintet - The Peace-Maker (Cadet, 1968)

One of the many excellent Harold Land - Bobby Hutcherson collaborations.  

I know this record has been reissued in Japan, but I don't think it's ever been released in any digital format in the U.S. or Europe.

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Excellent set, I have one of the Japanese CD's of it.  The one idea I ever submitted to Mosaic was for a Hutcherson-Land box to include this, the Land Mainstream dates with Hutcherson, and the Hutcherson Blue Notes with Land (and grab that one great live cut from ENJA).  They said they were going to try, but I guess the cross-licensing was prohibitive.

[corto maltese]

  On 10/17/2017 at 2:27 PM, clifford_thornton said:

yeah that's a wonderful album.

For me,

Ric Colbeck: The Sun Is Coming Up (Fontana, UK)

Jym Young: Puzzle Box (Polydor, GER)

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Yes, the Ric Colbeck LP is a great one.   

To be honest: I wouldn't nominate the Jym Young LP, which is neither obscure (fairly easy to find, at least here in Europe) nor musically exceptional. Maybe I was disappointed by the contrast between the promise of the group's name ("San Francisco Avant Garde") and the actual music... It's a decent album, but Dewey Redman's "Look For The Black Star", on which Young also plays, is a much better album and very much harder to find (the original Fontana issue).

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Don't know about any album she made with Curtis Amy. The only Amy-led albums I've ever heard are the ones for PJ, Verve and Fresh Sound. But I think there was one for Colloseum. Is it this one you're thinking of?

MG

PS Oh, I see I didn't hit the quote button. I was referring to Perri Lee.

MG

[sidewinder]

Just listening Harry Edison ‘Blues For Lovers’ on a Japanese Atlas LP - this one probably qualifies and is certainly worth a listen or three. Bob Cooper featured on tenor.

[Dan Gould]

  On 10/20/2017 at 9:24 AM, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Don't know about any album she made with Curtis Amy. The only Amy-led albums I've ever heard are the ones for PJ, Verve and Fresh Sound. But I think there was one for Colloseum. Is it this one you're thinking of?

MG

PS Oh, I see I didn't hit the quote button. I was referring to Perri Lee.

MG

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I strongly recall hearing of a Perri Lee recording with a favorite tenor -  I was totally 100% sure that  you had told me of this, MG, especially since as you recall I was the source of the Night at Count Basie's LP.

And after some googling, I am virtually certain this is the one you told me about:

https://www.discogs.com/Perry-Lee-Blackwell-Presenting-Perry-Lee-Blackwell/release/7112665

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

  On 10/20/2017 at 10:37 AM, Dan Gould said:

I strongly recall hearing of a Perri Lee recording with a favorite tenor -  I was totally 100% sure that  you had told me of this, MG, especially since as you recall I was the source of the Night at Count Basie's LP.

And after some googling, I am virtually certain this is the one you told me about:

https://www.discogs.com/Perry-Lee-Blackwell-Presenting-Perry-Lee-Blackwell/release/7112665

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Well, stone me. Seeing the name Perri Lee Blackwell, does bring it back.

Well, I had a look at Curtis Amy on Discogs and found this that I've never seen, but heard of:

I was confused about a Coliseum LP; that's by Don Randi with Amy as a sideman.

Oh well...

MG

[Niko]

  On 10/20/2017 at 12:21 PM, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Well, stone me. Seeing the name Perri Lee Blackwell, does bring it back.

Well, I had a look at Curtis Amy on Discogs and found this that I've never seen, but heard of:

 

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the line-up has some intriguing names in it...

Curtis Amy soprano and tenor saxophones
Warren Gale, Jr. trumpet
Lester Robertson trombone
Horace Tapscott piano
Eddie Mathias bass
Mel Lee drums
Onzy Matthews arranger

[Dan Gould]

  On 10/20/2017 at 12:49 PM, Niko said:

the line-up has some intriguing names in it...

Curtis Amy soprano and tenor saxophones
Warren Gale, Jr. trumpet
Lester Robertson trombone
Horace Tapscott piano
Eddie Mathias bass
Mel Lee drums
Onzy Matthews arranger

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YMMV but this is the last Amy I reach for.  Haven't heard the Jungle LP though so maybe that would be dead last.

[Niko]

thanks! An obscure favorites of mine over the past few months has been

Paolo Radoni - Storie Vere

a very classical guitar trio album with a slightly folky/mediterranean bent (also available with a new cover)

[jeffcrom]

  On 10/20/2017 at 12:21 PM, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Well, I had a look at Curtis Amy on Discogs and found this that I've never seen, but heard of:

 

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I'm with Dan on this one. It didn't make the cut in one of my record purges.

[JSngry]

Warren Gale...interesting career in its own way...Bay Area stalwart, slightly progressive player, worked with Joe a lot(?) for a while, and yet(?) found playing a dominant role in some late-60s/early-70s Kenton bands, where he played the same way he always played.

What's he playing on these Amy dates? Just parts?

[Larry Kart]

Just arrived today. Katz's modern classical chops as a writer are considerable, and as he says in the notes, he isn't interested in "bridging the gap" between the two musics but in writing the music that he feels he needs to write -- this by contrast with a fair number of West Coast guys in the '50s who kept tossing in quasi-fugal episodes in the name of classiness, or so it seemed. There's none of that in Katz. He was a serious cat, Katz was -- not a heavyweight but certainly no tiddly-widdler; his music had its own flavor and asks for no "'Hey, I went to Juilliard' special credit." And on his various features on this album, Paul Horn acquits himself quite well.

P.S. Katz did not go to Juilliard, just an expression.

[JSngry]

He did not go to Juilliard, but iirc, he worked with Liberace before he worked with Chico!