George Avakian JL 19.iii.11

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...hooked from the first notes of Springsville [Miles Ahead is one of the all time greats, not rated highly enough imho]

[Ian Thumwood]

I think that much of the material played was either familiar or lived up to expectations. You can't grumble at the quality of the music because it was some of the best jazz ever recorded however I thought the Chicargoan records were a real surprise as that stuff if not usually my thing and none of the music was at all familiar. These tracks were something of a revelation and made a nice change to those records played which were frequently ones I had grown up with. The Sinatra track was the worse although the singer's phrasing was exceptional. I didn't like the treacly strings. The example of Columbia is probably unique in jazz as probably only RCA had the financial resources to match them although, tellingly, not the artists. It seems crazy that someone like Thelonious Monk could ever have had been a Colunbia artist! (However, i think that RCA seemed to have the edge in the end when they put out records in the 1990's by the likes of Dave Douglas and Tom Harrell.)

Other than being surprised that George Avakian was still alive, I always thought that he was heavily involved with Benny Goodman as one of my Dad's favourite BG records featured a slew of live recordings that were introduced on the LP by Avakian. For some reason I always thought that these recordings came from a second Carnegie Hall concert given by Goodman but am not sure if this is correct. The recordings were eventually issued by Columbia on a double Cd and include a very good live version of "St, Louis Blues" although much of the material is very unfamiliar.

I think that Columbia no longer records jazz. The last jazz act they issued was "The Bad Plus" - a major diminunition in quality. It is strange to hear Avakian discuss his input in music as I don't think that his kind of role exists in jazz today. He would be a bit superfluous although I coulnd't help but thinking that is someone such as him was around to fight jazz's corner, there would be more representation on the major labels. Most of the CD's released now seem increasingly to be on small labels and even high profile ones like ECM are not that significant in terms of "industry muscle." It is impossible to imagine a jazz album being given the kind of marketing or budget that Avakian had to play with in our times and maybe, given the fact that jazz wasn't a varied in the 1950's as it is now, I think the range and imagination in recordings was , on reflection, far broader than the likes of Blue note, Prestige or Riverside.

Oddily enough, this week I've been watching a DVD documentary about another record label, "Chess." Although the label was associated with some of the now legendary names in blues, I was really shocked by the attitude of Marshall Chess who was allowed by the director to massage his ego throughout the film. This is curious in relation to the Avakian programme insofar that Columbia seemed to have a larger budget whereas Chess were literally pulling musicians off the street on a Friday and releasing LP's by the next day. Ko Ko Taylor was cited by the programme makers as someone disovered by Willie Dixon and shoved in the studio almost the next day.


I quite liked the idea of looking at one record label like this. In the past, I have heard similar documentaries about the likes of Blue Note and Prestige (Bob Weinstock being another character I have found to be a bit unappealing) but I think that having the odd JL that focusses on one particular label is an excellent idea. There are plenty of "independent" labels out there like Maxjazz, Blue Thumb, High Note, Criss Cross, etc which put out some good records but don't have major artists on their roster who would merit a complete programme. Even a now defunct label like "India Navigation" would be great as so much of their material has been unavailable to fans like me who have grown up in the CD era. It would also allow for some unfamiliar styles of jazz to be played. I would enjoy a few programmes like this and they would offer an interesting contrast to the George Avakian programme as well as serving to bring to the fore some musicians who probably don't quite get the credit they deserve. Is this a possibility, especially as the "product placement" policies on TV now appear to be relaxed? Wonder if this is the kind of programmme that would be of interest to anyone else - it would be a brilliant contrast to the "golden era of jazz" and perhaps offer a good ripost to those who have posted on the old BBC messageboard about "product." I think it would definately change a few opinions.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yep Sinatra had to get with May and Riddle, not to mention Basie, before his records hit the golden age kinda thing, his croonin 40s stuff is just that ...


like you Ian i was very taken with the Chicago jazz ....

lovely prog and with you Ian that a label library might be an idea, though Avakian was a producer, now creed Taylor ......

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Agree with the above...a fine relaxed programme. Didn't Avakian also go on to produce for Warner? I think he backed Charles Lloyd's early career break with the first quartet?

I also agree with Ian's thought on a few feature programmes on record labels ~ Nils Winther's "Steeplechase", Chuck Nessa's "Nessa" and Alan Bates "Black Lion" would be a very good start.


BN.

[Alyn_Shipton]

I think the BBC might have an issue with programmes that focus exclusively on one label - but producer-led programmes like George (where his work was split between Decca and Columbia and the reissues came from a variety of sources) are OK. I have planned programmes using interviews with (among others) Ahmet Ertegun, Orrin Keepnews, Bob Koester, and, maybe BN, just possibly Chuck Nessa (who made a fleeting appearance in the Fred Anderson show).

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Thanks Alyn. Yes, Chuck N was good value. It would be interesting to hear his "grump/strong" opinions on the general business of recording!

Maybe you could do one on the Danish scene and work in Steeplechase? There's a mass of stuff there, from Dexter to Paul Bley, etc. that rarely sees the light now.

BN.