What Jazz are you listening to now?

[Stanfordian]

‘Groove Blues’
Gene Ammons with Pepper Adams, John Coltrane, Jerome Richardson & Paul Quinchette
Prestige (1958)

[Serial_Apologist]

One of the most enjoyable records I have bought in the last few years has been Erik Fiedlander's tribute to the music of Oscar Pettiford. I love the music on this record so much that I snapped up the Avid double CD by Pettiford to see what the originals sounded like. At the moment I am about half way through the big band tracks and have got to say that I am surprised just how dated and old fashioned the originals sound. There is a harp featured on some of the tracks and the line up also includes the then voguish French horn played by Julius Watkins. In the context of a fairly orthodox big band, these instruments somewhat lessen the impact. Some tracks sound more like they were recorded in the early 1940s and not 15 years later. I have not played the first CD which largely consists of smaller groups but the music seemed to reinforce my opinion of Pettiford as a virtuoso technician who was more of a Modern Swing player than an out and out modernist. You could put him I the same bracket as someone like Lucky Thompson or Nat King Cole.


I really his compositions yet the music I have heard to date seems symptomatic of what was considered adventurous in the early 1950s albeit this part of the decade has also seemed very conservative to me. Of the tracks played so far, writing is a large part of what this music is about (which is a good thing) yet some of the orchestration sounds a bit like an orchestra score for a B movie. Got to say that it wasn't quite what I expected and although you can appreciate the musicianship, a lot of this stuff has not aged well. I much prefer the Friedlander disc which is not quite so earnest in it's endeavours to be "serious."

Do you keep recordings that disappoint, Ian? While sometimes it's worth keeping them in the vaults to give a complete picture, there are probably many habitués of charity shops who would happily go for such MOR fare.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

One of my favourite records, partly for nostalgia, I bought it on a sixth form skiing trip to Austria, is Oscar Pettiford's Vienna Quartet with the (Zoot meets Sonny), Hans Koller on tenor and a young Attila Zoller on guitar. Later reissued by Alan Bates as Vienna Blues. Nothing "innovatory" or revolutionary happens, it's just a very very enjoyable date. About two years ago one of the German or Austrian broadcasters discovered a vault load of Pettiford dates, they are excellent. The other reason I value the memory is that Salzburg at that time (1962?) was a goldmine for new Bluenote imports. But I, seeking to impress my then girlfriend, spent my money on current Warners Everley Brothers albums to take back for her. When I arrived back she grabbed the records and two weeks later, dumped me! "Ain't that just like a Woman!", as Fats Domino once asserted. Still like Fats, and she was very OK.

[Serial_Apologist]

One of my favourite records, partly for nostalgia, I bought it on a sixth form skiing trip to Austria, is Oscar Pettiford's Vienna Quartet with the (Zoot meets Sonny), Hans Koller on tenor and a young Attila Zoller on guitar. Later reissued by Alan Bates as Vienna Blues. Nothing "innovatory" or revolutionary happens, it's just a very very enjoyable date. About two years ago one of the German or Austrian broadcasters discovered a vault load of Pettiford dates, they are excellent. The other reason I value the memory is that Salzburg at that time (1962?) was a goldmine for new Bluenote imports. But I, seeking to impress my then girlfriend, spent my money on current Warners Everley Brothers albums to take back for her. When I arrived back she grabbed the records and two weeks later, dumped me! "Ain't that just like a Woman!", as Fats Domino once asserted. Still like Fats, and she was very OK.

As was Switzerland - or at any rate the French-speaking part - where I could have exhausted my Swiss francs allowance in the records department of the Grand Passage, Geneva's answer to Selfridges.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Salzburg then was incredible for records. Maybe it was the presence of American bases in Germany and Austria? Anyway, instead of the Everley's cranking out teen hits and maudlin epics, I could have got the Bluenote catalogue! Well, at least the Morgans and Mobleys!

[Ian Thumwood]

I tend to keep most of the stuff I buy. The OP set cost be about £5. The first disc of small group material is better but still a bit tame. Pettiford wrote some great tunes and I think he was a terrific bass player. The odd thing about Avid is that they release loads of really obscure material by people who are , if you like, second tier musicians or people who have been long neglected. I find their double CDS usually to have one good LP, two ok-ish LPs and a final one which should have been forgotten. It does off an interesting window in to mid1950's jazz yet I feel that the releases illustrate just how much of a deluge of material was released once the 33 rpm format became standard.

As I have said previously, the first half of the 1950s were remarkable conservative. The drumming on the Pettiford disc , for example, exhibits none of the wild explosions associated with Be-bop and much of the material follows an AABA format. There is also the annoying tendency to "ape" Classical music with the inclusion of the harp - probably one of the instruments least suited to jazz. I think it would have been confusing to have been a jazz fan in say 1955. Be-bop seemed to have run out of steam and it would have been hard to have predicted where the music was headed. Most of the more rewarding material of this time was off the mainstream with players like Monk, Nichols, Twardzik and Tristano being the kind of people from that time who appeal the most to me. A lot of early 50's jazz does seem quite retrospective with "Cool jazz" being popular and an obsession with players like Lester Young and Count Basie. There is almost a sense that some of the best jazz at that time was still being produced by players who originated in the Swing Era with Modern Jazz really starting to hit it's stride around 1957. I find the Avid discs interesting but they are erratic.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Some of the arrangements on the OP sessions were by Quincy Jones, although he wasn't credited. I'm not sure which ones and he was quite distinctive around that time with Moody's small group etc. I had the Pettiford Proper 4CD box set but I gave it away. Some fine soloists in there but ... And then there was Oscar's plucked cello sound which I've never liked. But the sides with Lucky Thompson remain a favourite.

[Ian Thumwood]

The arrangements for the big band are largely by Gigi Gryce. They are perfunctory . Quincy Jones isn't on the disc. I like big bands as a rule but the playing field had changed by the late 40's and these tracks don't really sound that different from something recorded 10 years beforehand. The set includes the notorious album cover with the band members standing in a huddle but with a woman's legs appearing there despite no torso! Poor quality photo shopping!

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

FOR INFO... Creed Taylor, who produced them & hence....was there..

"The Oscar Pettiford Orchestra in Hi-Fi albums were superb. They must have been a thrill for you to produce.
CT: They were. Oscar and I were great friends. We talked music whenever we got together for dinner or drinks.07051v When the idea for the albums came up, we’d talk about the musicians who were available. Oscar would say, what about so and so? And I’d say fine, but what about so and so? It was like putting together an all-star baseball team. Quincy Jones was there at the very beginning, too, and arranged some of the compositions, though he was uncredited.

JW: How did that unusual cover come about for the second one, with just the woman's legs showing?
CT: The cover was very clever. Members of the band were Hifi2 lined up, and in between them were a pair of female legs. But no top half. You did a double-take when you discovered the legs. She represented harpist Betty Glamann. I don’t know why Betty wasn’t in the picture. I suspect that’s why only the legs were shown.

JW: Who did the legs belong to?
CT: Fran Scott, Tony Scott’s wife. She designed my jazz covers at ABC-Paramount."

[Bryn]

Not right now but this evening, up to an hour ago, Alan Wilkinson, NO (Nathan) Moore, John Edwards and Eddie Prevost at iklectik. Two very fine sets with all four sparking brilliantly off each other.

[Serial_Apologist]

JW: How did that unusual cover come about for the second one, with just the woman's legs showing?
CT: The cover was very clever. Members of the band were Hifi2 lined up, and in between them were a pair of female legs. But no top half. You did a double-take when you discovered the legs. She represented harpist Betty Glamann. I don’t know why Betty wasn’t in the picture. I suspect that’s why only the legs were shown.

JW: Who did the legs belong to?
CT: Fran Scott, Tony Scott’s wife. She designed my jazz covers at ABC-Paramount."

[Serial_Apologist]

Not right now but this evening, up to an hour ago, Alan Wilkinson, NO (Nathan) Moore, John Edwards and Eddie Prevost at iklectik. Two very fine sets with all four sparking brilliantly off each other.

Can't think how I missed this one, having checked the venue's programme. Shame because I like Alan a lot, even though I'm finding his approach to playing rather wearing these days, and his regular gig in Stoke Newington's a bit off the radar for me.

[Bryn]

Can't think how I missed this one, having checked the venue's programme. Shame because I like Alan a lot, even though I'm finding his approach to playing rather wearing these days, and his regular gig in Stoke Newington's a bit off the radar for me.

I nearly missed it. Shown as CD launch without immediately mentioning who was playing. Luckily, Harry Gilonis alerted me to it in conversation at Cafe OTO, last Thursday.

[Stanfordian]

‘Silver's Serenade’
Horace Silver with Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, Gene Taylor & Roy Brooks
Blue Note (1963)

[Stanfordian]

‘Blue & Sentimental’
Ike Quebec with Grant Green, Paul Chambers & Philly Joe Jones
Blue Note (1961) - A personal favourite album