dprfish Posted September 2, 2023 Report Share Posted September 2, 2023 https://www.discogs.com/release/6101697-George-Williams-And-His-Orchestra-Swing-Classics-In-Hi-Fi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted September 3, 2023 Report Share Posted September 3, 2023 (edited) On 9/1/2023 at 10:13 PM, Rabshakeh said: Who bought these? Surely some duck-tailed teenager hoodlum isn't going to suddenly buy a Claude Thornhill record just because it has "rock" in the title? And we're not yet at the post-Beatles stage where parents are buying nicely arranged instrumental versions of those loud rock and pops. Were these solely aimed at well-meaning uncles and grandparents buying mistaken Christmas presents, or something? I've had a listen and it's clearly still big band music, even if it now has a prominent guitar or baritone saxophone playing bass parts. It's actually alright. I weirdly quite like it. Boyd's shaken off Stravinsky, and it's a fairly gentle but danceable arranger's record. Good questions. The "Teen Rock" is really danceable indeed, but rather for those (whoever they were) who prefer to take it fairly easy. Certainly not a platter to "cut loose". I cannot quite make out the target group either. But as for the rock'n'roll phenomenon in the 50s, from all the information I've examined through the years (including many period documents), the US teenagers in the USA weren't all "duck-tailed teenager hoodlums" 😁 but there remained a fairly sizable proportion of young ones who kept their music consumption comparatively "clean" and "wholesome" (and whatever other tags the industry hung on the artists in question - even well before Fabian, Bobby Rydell and the rest). If you've seen the "Cry Baby" movie (regardless of how caricaturesque it overall is) I'd venture a guess the portrayal of the "clean-cut" upper class teens doing the Bunny Hop in that movie wasn't that far off the mark. This sort of teens WERE there as well. I find this kind of records fairly entertaining as one sign of the times and of R'n'R as seen by the jazz and pop industry (but I would not usually invest huge sums in them). This entire subject is a long tell-tale story of how the majors as well as established pro musicians of the pre-R'n'R pop market (who suddenly found themselves out in the cold) tried to cash in on the newly-emerged teen market of the 50s anyway but very often failed to really grasp its essence ... OTOH ... acccording to Wikipedia the early 60s Twist LP by Ronn Metcalfe that I listed was a monster hit in Canada. 21 hours ago, dprfish said: https://www.discogs.com/release/6101697-George-Williams-And-His-Orchestra-Swing-Classics-In-Hi-Fi Coincidence ... I scored an original of this a couple of weeks ago but had hesitated to list it here. It's quite nice, somewhat modernized straight-ahead swing (FWIW Down Beat actually enthused about it and gave it 4 stars), but honestly, lumping in the four George Williams tunes written for this LP along with the "Classics" (as per the album title) is quite a stretch. And among these, cheekily listing "Empty Jug" and "Endville Chorus" (actually very thinly disguised reworkings "Little Brown Jug" and "Anvil Chorus") as his own compositions ... ho hum ... Prior to this LP, George Wiliams had done a Jimmie Lunceford tribute LP for RCA (4 1/2 stars by Down Beat). And there were more, but they are a different story again .... Edited September 3, 2023 by Big Beat Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabshakeh Posted October 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 Roy Eldridge – 1945-1947 This is obviously a comp, not an LP, but it is pretty incredible music, so I thought worthwhile flagging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted October 15, 2023 Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 On 10/9/2023 at 7:22 PM, Rabshakeh said: Roy Eldridge – 1945-1947 This is obviously a comp, not an LP, but it is pretty incredible music, so I thought worthwhile flagging. In case you INSIST on an LP , the Decca big band sessions from that Classics CD can most conveniently be found here: https://www.discogs.com/master/1092962-Roy-Eldridge-And-His-Orchestra-Swing-Along-With-Little-Jazz And the WNEW Saturday Night tracks habe been recycled on many 70s budget labels, e.g.: https://www.discogs.com/release/4123929-Various-Saturday-Night-Jazz-Session https://www.discogs.com/release/2268120-Roy-Eldridge-1947-WNEW-Saturday-Night-Swing-Session https://www.discogs.com/release/9797581-Roy-Eldridge-Flip-Phillips-Mike-Colicchio-Al-Casey-Eddie-Safranski-Specs-Powell-Mel-Tormé-Fats-Nava https://www.discogs.com/release/3470450-Fats-Navarro-And-Allen-Eager-Saturday-Night-Swing-Session Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabshakeh Posted October 15, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2023 59 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said: In case you INSIST on an LP , the Decca big band sessions from that Classics CD can most conveniently be found here: https://www.discogs.com/master/1092962-Roy-Eldridge-And-His-Orchestra-Swing-Along-With-Little-Jazz And the WNEW Saturday Night tracks habe been recycled on many 70s budget labels, e.g.: https://www.discogs.com/release/4123929-Various-Saturday-Night-Jazz-Session https://www.discogs.com/release/2268120-Roy-Eldridge-1947-WNEW-Saturday-Night-Swing-Session https://www.discogs.com/release/9797581-Roy-Eldridge-Flip-Phillips-Mike-Colicchio-Al-Casey-Eddie-Safranski-Specs-Powell-Mel-Tormé-Fats-Nava https://www.discogs.com/release/3470450-Fats-Navarro-And-Allen-Eager-Saturday-Night-Swing-Session Thanks! These actually look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabshakeh Posted August 28 Author Report Share Posted August 28 I can't recall whether it was this thread, but to pick up on what someone said about liking big band music not being the same as liking jazz, this record is probably a good example: Billy May And His Orchestra – A Band Is Born Decent record, but clearly a certain crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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