Percy France Memorial Website

[Dan Gould]

2 hours ago, Brad said:

Wonderful looking website Dan. I will be exploring it today. I will post a link at Hoffman unless Lon has already done that. 

That would be great, Brad, I would really appreciate the link.  Already visits are slowing as Facebook, Myers and other posts age.

(I am thinking about music excerpts on youtube though with links to the site. My post of his audio book doodlings has gotten over 150 hits over time.

[JSngry]

6 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

My post of his audio book doodlings has gotten over 150 hits over time.

The curiosity factor of that whole notion is a great hook to pull people into the real meat. So glad that you found that and followed the trail, crazy stuff, Percy France playing on a Mickey Spillane audio book...how many times in the know history of the cosmos does that kind of synergy actually occurred?

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

The curiosity factor of that whole notion is a great hook to pull people into the real meat. So glad that you found that and followed the trail, crazy stuff, Percy France playing on a Mickey Spillane audio book...how many times in the know history of the cosmos does that kind of synergy actually occurred?

My Virgo nature + your encouragement to keep digging is what gave me the will to keep working at leads ... 

[JSngry]

OMG, my dad was a Virgo....say no more!

[Dan Gould]

Best comment received thru website to date, I don't think it can be topped:

Thank you for this labor of love. I've been listening to jazz for nearly 70 years and I never heard of Percy France until now. Better late than never, thanks to you!" 

[Dan Gould]

On 6/13/2021 at 11:43 AM, mjzee said:

I received the Jazz Gazette email this morning.  Here's their web page: https://www.mosaicrecords.com/jazz-gazette-news/.  I hope Michael can accommodate your request.

I heard back from Michael and he promises a plug on the email/Gazette soon. Will be interesting as visits are down to single digits per day so with no planned promotional effort at the moment, I'll see the effect of the Gazette in pretty stark terms.

[Dub Modal]

I'm sure time is a factor here but have you thought about setting up FB and Instagram pages? Periodic posts via those outlets would probably drive more visits. Some of these private jazz pages on FB have members all over the world. 

[Dan Gould]

14 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

I'm sure time is a factor here but have you thought about setting up FB and Instagram pages? Periodic posts via those outlets would probably drive more visits. Some of these private jazz pages on FB have members all over the world. 

Hadn't thought of those specifically ... I have used FB friends with wider reach, especially into jazz community, to drive the word thru FB. I have to wonder how many would jump up to join a page dedicated to a guy who had one CD as a leader that hardly had distribution, and three LPs during his career (not counting Doggett LPs that were never exclusively France on tenor).

Anyway, my current thought about promotion is regular uploads to a Percy France channel on youtube. I've put up two tracks a year or so ago, one a complete ballad performance and the other a compilation of audio book clips. Both are at nearly 200 hits overall, I think. Regular uploads of partial, or sometimes complete tracks from the voluminous holdings with a link to the page in the comments might drive some traffic. 

I also think a youtube presence could be the best way to get contact from a family member.

[Dub Modal]

Just now, Dan Gould said:

Hadn't thought of those specifically ... I have used FB friends with wider reach, especially into jazz community, to drive the word thru FB. I have to wonder how many would jump up to join a page dedicated to a guy who had one CD as a leader that hardly had distribution, and three LPs during his career (not counting Doggett LPs that were never exclusively France on tenor).

Anyway, my current thought about promotion is regular uploads to a Percy France channel on youtube. I've put up two tracks a year or so ago, one a complete ballad performance and the other a compilation of audio book clips. Both are at nearly 200 hits overall, I think. Regular uploads of partial, or sometimes complete tracks from the voluminous holdings with a link to the page in the comments might drive some traffic. 

I also think a youtube presence could be the best way to get contact from a family member.

Definitely a good plan. My rec for FB and Insta could play into that as you could share those uploads via posts on those outlets to drive more traffic. I think FB is worthwhile because artists are present/active there (for ex, Gary Bartz liked a comment of mine recently which I have to say was pretty cool) as well as their family members and others who are tied into this jazz universe. Basically it would just be expanding the net you plan to throw on YT, and those social media "shares" would probably take less time than the YT upload. Just an idea. 

[Dan Gould]

And just like that, I went to youtube to check the stats on my uploads and discovered new totally unknown Percy France video!

 

Credits at end indicate 1987 production, weird video effects for that era but on the other hand I know he went to Switzerland for the Bern Festival that year as part of the Sammy Price Two-Tenor Boogie.  

 

This is so cool, time to edit the web page.

[Dan Gould]

So here is a screen grab from the end of the video ... am I right that this would be a broadcast from the German-language Swiss TV?  That would make further sense in the context of being in Bern for the Festival. I know that there were club dates by the Price trio alone, maybe Percy lined this up while he was off.

 

Thanks.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Dan Gould

[Niko]

yes, this all looks very Swiss, Swiss tv, people with Swiss names like Schaeppi hosting the show, and on the following screen advertising for Herb Ellis next to "the world champion artistic bicylist" Marianne Martens from Switzerland

https://mariannemartens.ch/%C3%BCber-mich1/%C3%BCber-mich

 

[Dub Modal]

5 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

And just like that, I went to youtube to check the stats on my uploads and discovered new totally unknown Percy France video!

 

Credits at end indicate 1987 production, weird video effects for that era but on the other hand I know he went to Switzerland for the Bern Festival that year as part of the Sammy Price Two-Tenor Boogie.  

 

This is so cool, time to edit the web page.

Awesome video 

Following this Discogs listing I'm guessing Clyde Lucas on drums (name spelled out helps of course), Dickie Thompson on guitar and it looks like maybe France was there in place of Clifford Scott?

[JSngry]

I love how this is happening. God's work continues.

[Dan Gould]

42 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Awesome video 

Following this Discogs listing I'm guessing Clyde Lucas on drums (name spelled out helps of course), Dickie Thompson on guitar and it looks like maybe France was there in place of Clifford Scott?

I saw that CD and ended up finding a download on Amazon IIRC, it's quite nice. At the time I had no idea that Percy gigged with Wild Bill or that the whole recording could have been France instead of Clifford (and you are right on the group, BTW).

Anyway gonna have to keep fingers in a permanently locked state to hope that the uploader has more tracks or the whole TV show to share at some point. I thought I had a connection to Swiss TV but am told that the video can't be accessed. 

Edited June 22, 2021 by Dan Gould

[Dub Modal]

17 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

Anyway gonna have to keep fingers in a permanently locked state to hope that the uploader has more tracks or the whole TV show to share at some point. I thought I had a connection to Swiss TV but am told that the video can't be accessed

Makes me think they would at least have an audio tape of that show...wouldn't they? Probably in a deep vault somewhere. I can't read the small type on the photo upload at discogs of that other performace, but maybe there's a lead in there somewhere?  

Isn't there a jazz detective that could hit the beat and come up with something? 

[Dan Gould]

1 minute ago, Dub Modal said:

Makes me think they would at least have an audio tape of that show...wouldn't they? Probably in a deep vault somewhere. I can't read the small type on the photo upload at discogs of that other performace, but maybe there's a lead in there somewhere?  

Isn't there a jazz detective that could hit the beat and come up with something? 

I don't know if that Jazz Detective is that interested in my obsessions but I think that the more people who click on the youtube video the more likely it is the uploader realizes he has something people want and he'll upload the rest of the show. So can anyone else help me astroturf this guy into giving me the rest of it? It's already his second most played upload and by tomorrow, I'll have it at #1 with a bullet.

 

 

[Dub Modal]

4 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

I don't know if that Jazz Detective is that interested in my obsessions but I think that the more people who click on the youtube video the more likely it is the uploader realizes he has something people want and he'll upload the rest of the show. So can anyone else help me astroturf this guy into giving me the rest of it? It's already his second most played upload and by tomorrow, I'll have it at #1 with a bullet.

 

 

Reporting for duty. Gave it a thumbs up as well. 

[Dan Gould]

34 minutes ago, Dub Modal said:

Reporting for duty. Gave it a thumbs up as well. 

I think I just need some help from someone a Suisse:

https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/karussell/video/wild-bill-davis?urn=urn:srf:video:9e55de65-d64b-4e3b-8aeb-7e3daf036d97

A google search brought me to that page, it says "unavailable outside of Switzerland" but the screen grab on Google is clearly a track, Atlantic City, from the same set. Looks like November 1987 production/broadcast, too.

Is it possible the rest of the tracks are on that site too?  Can someone with access please help? Thanks in advance!!

Of course, with my luck that could be the same tune as what we already have, but length is 3:31 so probably not?

Edit to add: Further searching suggests this might have been from a program, International Carousel Organ Festival.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

ARGH - I just looked up "Atlantic City" its the same track as on youtube.

OTOH, here's a link to "Karussel from November 9 1987" - the broadcast date. If this is the whole show I might be in bidness.

 

https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/karussell/video/karussell-vom-09-11-1987?urn=urn:srf:video:5aba7e6e-040f-48e1-9787-0fa04251b469

Edited June 23, 2021 by Dan Gould

[Dan Gould]

20 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

here's a link to "Karussel from November 9 1987" - the broadcast date. If this is the whole show I might be in bidness.

 

https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/karussell/video/karussell-vom-09-11-1987?urn=urn:srf:video:5aba7e6e-040f-48e1-9787-0fa04251b469

Anyone in Switzerland help a brother out? I am dying to know if that link is the entire show and includes more performances or not ...

(where's the begging smilie when you need one?)

[Dan Gould]

Well thanks to board member Flurin, it looks like this hit by the Wild Bill Davis Quartet featuring Percy France was a one-off. I was hoping it was the kind of show where they record different segments in a single day and put them together for broadcast in post. But it turns out that the show did a single musical segment at the end of each program and that was it, apparently.

Still cool to see Percy on video though.

And did anyone notice A) how huge that guitarist's hands are or B) the fact that he was playing his guitar upside down?

[Dub Modal]

4 minutes ago, Dan Gould said:

And did anyone notice A) how huge that guitarist's hands are or B) the fact that he was playing his guitar upside down?

Ha, noticing that now. Left handed guitar? Nah, I'll just play this upside down. Been searching through his discography and it's some interesting stuff. 

[Dan Gould]

(Parenthetically (am I being redundant if I use parentheses and also say "parenthetically"?)

That Swiss show booked some fine talent. Our friend Flurin has found shows with Lou Donaldson backed by Herman Foster on piano, Jay McShann (not singing one of his usuals, either), Oliver Jones, Monty Alexander, Buddy DeFranco,  Tal Farlow/Philippe Petit (g-duo) and even Steve Lacy/Mal Waldron.

I really wonder what other short-but-sweet performances exist in the Swiss archives of "Carousel"?)

Edited June 28, 2021 by Dan Gould
I was missing a close parentheses.

[Dan Gould]

So the home page has just been updated/redesigned to highlight freshly received thoughts/memories from the one and only Sonny Rollins.

Hope people like it. 

 

www.percyfrance.info