RARITIES #62 & # 63

STUDIO JAZZ MIT ALICE BABS (Electrola, D, 1959).

&

ALICE BABS - FUGA / St LOUIS BLUES TWIST (Brunswick, D, 1963)

Summer is back, it's sunny and warm here in Belgium, a condition which is not conducive to blogging (and also potentially disastrous for our farmers who have to cope with a severe drought threatening their crops).  

I have a whole pile of records awaiting to be ripped but the weather is too fine to stay inside.  Luckily, Ernst, of Inconstant Sol fame and a regular provider of material for this blog,  - recently sent me rips of two long-forgotten 45 rpm singles of Swedish singer Alice Babs.  They should be of interest to fans of European Jazz and Female vocalists.

Here they are:

ALICE BABS  "STUDIO JAZZ MIT ALICE BABS"

Alice Babs, vocals

Kurt Becker, vibes, flute

Willy Schweden, guitar

Paul Kuhn, piano

Johnny Fischer, bass

Stuff Combe, drums

1. I Could Write A Book  (Rodgers/Hart)  5:33

2. A Sailboat In The Moonlight  (Loeb)  5:39

Recorded in Cologne, Germany on May 15, 1959 (track 2).

Side A most likely second half of 1958 or first months of 1959.

B1 - Willy Schweden (g) most likely overdubbed on May 15, 1959 (Walter Bruyninckx) [info from discogs] 

ELECTROLA E 41206

ALICE BABS MED BENGT HALLBERG TRIO  "ST. LOUIS BLUES TWIST"

This one is in a more commercial vein. We're in 1963, in the middle of the Twist craze (at least in Europe) and"twist" records were selling like hot buns.
I assume Ms Babs (or her producer ...) wanted to give it a try hoping for a piece of the cake.

Alice Babs, vocalsBengt Hallberg, piano

Lars "Lasse" Pettersson, bass

Sture Kallin, drums

for "Jazz Fuga" add Bengt Hallberg Orchestra.

1. St. Louis Blues Twist (Handy)  3:13

2. Jazz Fuga (Kirk/Sjöblom)  2:44

Track 1 recorded in Stockholm, Sweden on January 21, 1963.

Track 2 recorded in Stockholm, Sweden on October 8, 1963.

BRUNSWICK 12 987 (german edition)

Discographical info from Discogs.

With thanks to Ernst.

RARITY # 59

THE DIAMONDS  FIVE (NL)

45 rpm EP OMEGA (Dutch band, Belgium label, 1959)

Fellow blogger Peer57 who runs the Dutch Jazz (private) blog has shared some records with us.  If you are a visitor to his blog(s), you probably know these records already.  If not, enjoy them here while they last.  We’ll start with a fairly rare and collectible EP recorded in Brussels, in 1959, by one of the better-known groups of Dutch Boppers, the Diamond Five.  Great music!

Pianist Cees Slinger was the frontman of the famous Dutch harbop-quintet "Diamond Five". They used the Amsterdam jazzclub "Sheherazade" as their base, and played there night after night.

Tracks:

Side A :            Diamondate

Side B:             Alone together

Credits

Trumpet– Cees Smal

Tenor Saxophone– Harry Verbeke

Piano, leader– Cees Slinger

Bass– Jacques Schols

Drums– John Engels

Recorded in Brussels, sept. 1959

UPDATED LINK (18/07/17) 

P.S.: I have reposted the Guidelines 4tet feat Kaz Lux  (see post "Going Dutch" - March 9, 2013)

RARITY # 58

HACKE BJÖRKSTEN & ÅKE PERSSON  QUINTET

METRONOME MEP 353 (EP)   - Sweden, 1956

For some time now, Onxidlib has been the main purveyor of rare EP in the Rarity Series.  He still has a few surprises for us.  Here is his latest contribution, that will rejoice fans of Scandinavian jazz: a fairly rare EP by the HACKE BJÖRKSTEN / ÅKE PERSSON QUINTET, recorded in 1956.

I assume these tracks have been re-issued on LP and/or CD , I still have to check the discographies. 

Personel:

Gunnar "Hacke" Björksten, tenor saxophone

Åke Persson, trombone

Jan Johansson, piano

Bengt Carlsson, bass

Svante Thuresson, drums

Tracks

A1. Song Of The Volga Boatmen 2:36

A2. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore 3:54

B1. Tubeless Tires 3:23

B2. Number Six 2:33

Recorded March 8 + 9, 1956 at Metronome Studio, Stockholm.

UPDATED LINK 18/07/17

RARITY #57

LUCKY THOMPSON AND JACK SELS TRIO & SEXTET
EP "BONGO JAZZ"  -  Germany, 1959

BERTELSMANN SCHALLPLATTENRING 66126 - 7" / MANHATTAN C 66126 # 7"

Another rarity thanks to onxidlib.  Actually, it is not the first occurrence of this record in the blog sphere, it was already posted on the Berlin Beatet Bestes blog in 2010.  By the way, it's an excellent blog that I recommend highly. And I’m very jealous of Andreas who manage to buy this EP for 2 €   (read his story, it’s great fun.  Aren’t we – collectors - all like him?).  Man, you’re lucky! These European Jazz EPs have become highly collectable and can fetch unreasonable prices in auction.  This one is no exception. 

What I did not know was that it had been reissued in the late sixties on a budget LP.  It’s our man onxidlib who found out and ripped it directly from the LP.  

You will find more info on the Berlin Beatet Bestes blog where you can also download the single “Bongo, Bongo, Bongo” by Sam& the Saxtones (aka Jack Sels).  Ils sont fous, ces Germains!

Credits

Lucky Thompson, tenor saxophone & soprano saxophone (2)

Jack Sels, tenor saxophone

Ado Broodboom, trumpet (3 + 4)

Fats Sadi, vibes

Jean Fanis, piano (3 + 4)

Benoit Quersin, bass

Rudy Frankel, drums (3 + 4)

Ghana M'Bow, bongos (1 - 3)

Tracks titles

1. One Cool Night (Lucky Thompson) 2:22

2. The World Awakes (Lucky Thompson) 3:50

3. Ginger (Jack Sels) 2:58

4. Minor Works (Jack Sels) 3:37

Recorded in Köln, Germany on February 7, 1959.

BERTELSMANN SCHALLPLATTENRING 66126 - 7"

MANHATTAN C 66126 # 7"

(vinyl rip from BACCAROLA 79325 ZT - 1969)

I love these sexy covers of budget LPs ! And the music's good too!

Those were the days ...

(with thanks to onxidlib for the rip and the pictures).

UPDATED LINK 19/07/2017

RARITY # 56

LA GRANDE TWIST PARTY

25 cm Barclay (France) – 1962

A fairly rare French 10” featuring Twist songs – vocal and instrumental - done in a very French manner by very competent (studio) bands (Eddie Barclay, Jean Bouchety) with obvious jazz chops and lotsa honking sax.   The overall sound his often closer to Louis Prima’s than to rockabilly this is sax-based rock and roll rather than guitar rock.

Les Play Boys were leather-rocker Vince Taylor’s backing band.  Their take on Artistry in Rhythm (renamed Artistry in Twist) is well worth the price of admission.  The tracks by Eddie Barclay Orchestra are very enjoyable also, I really enjoy this type of “big band” rock and roll.   “Play The Thing” sounds very much like Night Train. 

Harold Nicholas was an American expat' with a long career in dancing. See here.

No idea about the identities behind The Daniels, probably a studio band “de circonstance”.  They were obviously French-speakers (listen to “Wee Wee” which sounds like “Oui Oui”) but French or Belgians?  The compositions are credited to J. Evans – N. Byl … two Belgians ! (for more info on jazz pianist Jean Evans, check here).

A better known  band is Les Chaussettes Noires feat. lead singer Eddy Mitchell who was to become a huge star in France and French speaking countries and played a major role in popularizing rock and roll, country music in France and, later on,and American B-series thru’ his TV programme La Derniere Séance in the 80s.

Play it loud and do the twist!

A1       Harold Nicholas           La Grande Twist Party (Rock'n Roll Call)         composed by: D. Gérard, R. Bernet, Hammer, Toombs

A2       Harold Nicholas           Ya Ya Twist     composed by G. Aber, Lee Dorsey

A3       The Daniels      Wee Wee         composed by J. Evans, N. Byl

A4       The Daniels      Scotch Twist    composed by J. Evans, N. Byl

A5       Les Play-Boys  Raunch Twist   composed by Singleton, Ogerman, Larry Coleman

B1        Les Chaussettes Noires Peppermint Twist (1ère Partie) composed by G. Aber, Dee, Glover

B2        Les Chaussettes Noires Peppermint Twist (2e Partie)    composed by G. Aber, Dee, Glover

B3        Eddie Barclay & Les Twisters   5th Avenue Twist        composed by G. Aber, J. Bouchéty

B4        Eddie Barclay & Les Twisters   Play The Thing      composed by   M. Morris

B5        Les Play-Boys    Artistry In Twist          composed by Stan Kenton

RARITY #55

JUAN DOCANTEZ y sus companeros

TROPICAL NIGHTS

25 cm Fiesta Records 10010      Belgium, c. 1953-54

Juan Docantez is an alias for Belgian guitarist Jean Douchamps.  
Douchamps(1915-1976) had a prolific career recording swing jazz, hawaian novelties, proto-rock and roll novelty, exotica, and anything in between.  He was quick to spot a trend:  When he spotted that South American / brasilian rhythms were the next big thing (following the success of Brasilan movie O Cangaceiro in 1953-54), he didn’t hesitate to reinvent himself and his band as Juan Docantez y sus companeros (in a previous incarnation they were Hawaians ...).   He was among the first ones in Belgium to record “proto-rock and roll” (Crazy man, crazy – 1953)  The fashion was to "englicize" names:  Jean Douchamps and band became … John Sweetfield & his Petrolians!

  

Four tracks, four medley

Side 1

A1:  Tropical – O cangaceiro – la Fete des Fleurs – Somebody had stole the wedding bells

A2:  Baiao cacula – Brasileirinho – Pourquoi la Casbah a brulé

Side 2

B1 : Sway – Comedie – El negro zumbon – Delicado

B2: Uska Dara –Rio de Janeiro – Caceres – Signal Samba

Musicians : Jean Douchamps (leader, guitar)

no info on the others. Not listed in the Belgian Jazz Discography (outside the scope of the work).

Probably: Georges Clais (tp), Frans L’Eglise (as, fl?), Emile Chantrain (ts), Marcel Picavet or Gus Decock (piano), Jean Warland (bass), Jeff Deboeck or Jo Demuynck (drums) ... just on educated guess based on the composition of the Petrolians in 1953.

Yes it is the same Jean Warland who played with the Clarke-Boland big band, Peter Herbolzheimer Brass Combination & Rhythm and on countless MPS albums.

P.S : another pioneer of proto-rock n roll in Belgium was guitarist Freddy Sunder who recorded a series of great boogie in 53-54 on Ronnex records, sounding pretty close to American hillbilly boogie.  

RARITY #54

CHUCK RHUBARB & HIS SERGEANTS
at the first secret Rock 'n' Roll Jamboree
Rose Records Q5004 - probably Belgium - 195?

To end the year, an obscure and mysterious 45 rpm.  Not jazz but wild, very wild, (pre-)rock & roll, think Louis Prima on speed ... Good party record for New Year Eve although it may scare the younger generation, no longer used to this level of crazyness.

Side A: Rock at the Port  (Halwyn, Aberdeen)












Side B: Wild Baby  (Halwyn, Aberdeen) 

It looks American ("US Series") but is it?  Aural evidence lends me to think that these guys are not American at all (listen to the accent !) and are probably ...  Belgians.

Here is what Robert Pernet wrote in his comprehensive discography of Belgian Jazz:

No details have been found about the identity of ths group. The sound is typically Belgian and corresponds to that of those pre-Rock'N'Roll, Antwerp & Brussels-based bands such as the Ronnex and Novelty teams.

Two singles were issued:
Chuck Rhubarb & his Sergeants (Rose Records Q5003)

- Animals Rock'N'Roll
- Hungarian Rocksodie 

(... Freddie Mercury didn't invent anything ...)

Chuck Rhubard & his Sergeants at the fisrt Secret Rock'N'Roll Jamboree
(Rose Records Q5004)
- Rock at the Port
- Wild Baby

Pernet places the recoding date as 1953-54 ... I would add a couple of years, the lyrics of Wild Baby are too "rock'n'Roll" for '53-54, unless one is ready to accept the revisionist theory  that we, Belgians invented Rock n Roll ...

RARITY # 53

DUSKO GOYKOVICH  "YESTERDAY"

ELECTROLA E 23 096 - 45 rpm (single)

GERMANY, 1965

Another obscure 45 rpm from the vault of onxidlib!  This one is for the “completists” only as the jazz content is almost nonexistent.  It is pure easy-listening, well played (it’s Dusko, what would you expect?) and pleasant, pretty similar to the material Shake Keane recorded at about the same time for Ace of Club / DECCA (That’s the Noise LP).

Side A: Yesterday 2:25

Side B: Blumen Für Die Dame 3:07

Dusko Goykovich, fluegelhorn

with the Electrola-Studio-Orchestra and Choir

Recorded 1965 in Germany.

ELECTROLA E 23 096

No details on the musicians (‘the Electrola Studio Orchestra”).

I don’t think I’ll have the time for another post before Xmas.  In the meantime, my best wishes to all & have a jazzy Christmas wherever you are.

RARITY # 52

IVON DE BIE and his ORCHESTRA - DANCE-HITS vol.2

Vocal by DAN COOPER

25 cm FIESTA 10.041 (BELGIUM, 1956)

Belgian Pianist Ivon (or Yvon) De Bie (Bruxelles, 1914-1989) is known among swing jazz aficionados for the four tracks he recorded on 16^th April 1942 in Brussels with Django Reinhardt in Brussels.  He is the only pianist to have ever recorded a duo with Django on violin.

During the fifties Ivon Debie was active as a dance band leader and made several popular “dance” records in Belgium, among others two 25 cm 33 rpm for the small label FIESTA.

I have always been attracted to those FIESTA 25cm with their extraordinary “naïve minimalist” cover art.  Until recently, they could be found easily on flea markets for an euro or two but they have begun to attract the attention of 50s Memorabilia collectors.  They are often in fairly poor condition – they were party records … The rip I post today does not escape this condition. 

I bought these FIESTA 10" initially for the naïve charm of their covers rather than the music.  I had no idea who played on these sessions – apart from DeBie - until I got a copy of the Belgian Jazz Discography by Robert Pernet and found the details of the musicians, and first class musicians they were! 

The band features Nick Kletch’, future bassplayer in Marc Moulin’s Placebo and Jean Warland who will make a career as a studio bassplayer in Germany (not to mention his stint in the Clarke-Bolland Big Band and Peter Herbolzheimer RCB), and a very competent sax section that will reappear later in the Francis Bay Dance Orchestra (and its famous 1958 albums on OMEGA) and the BRT Jazz Orkest.

Yvon DeBie was an excellent swing pianist influenced by Billy Kyle, Bob Zurke, Earl Hines and Art Tatum.  He had obviously listened to Basie (One O clock Jump) and was a proficient boogie woogie player but obviously not much into rock and roll … it was just a different generation, they could lindy hop and jitterburg, jump and jive but could not rock.  The band plays two (very short) versions of Bill Haley songs  – Rock Around the Clock and Razzle Dazzle – but they play them in a pre-rock / jitterburg style, sounding not unlike some of the white boogie woogie orchestras of the late thirties (Bob Zurke or Bob Crosby e.g.).  As for Dan Cooper (who was he?), he did not have a clue how to sing rock and roll.   But remember, that was 1956, rock and roll had not yet pervaded Europe.  In a way, they were precursors, like a few other musicians with a jazz background, such as guitarists Freddy Sunder and Jean Douchamps (aka John Sweetfield or Juan Dos Campos), or trumpeter Ferry Barendse, they laid the foundation of rock and roll in Belgium.

This whole period of Belgian popular music is not documented on CD (or even on LP), most of the cats recorded long forgotten 78 rpm on small local labels (Ronnex, Hi Tune …) for the juke box market. 

Dance hits –vol.2  (Fiesta (B) LPIS10041)

Frans L'Eglise, Freddy Lhost, Ayal Jacob, Albert Godfrinnes, José Paessens (saxes) Ivon De Bie (p) Nicolas Kletchkovsky (g) Jean Warland (b) Jean Verworst (d) Dan Cooper (vcl)

Brussels, February 9, 1956

Side A

·        One o'clock jump

·        Hold my hand (dc vcl) -

·        Rock around the clock-

·        From here to eternity (dc vcl) -

·        Something's gotta give (dc vcl) -

·        Tina

Side B

·        The man from Lamarie (dc vcl)

·        The little boy and the old man-

·        Razzle dazzle -

·        Love is a many splendored thing

·        Sluefoot -

In 1958, Yvon Debie became an artistic director for RCA Victor Belgium. He was instrumental in bringing to the studio some of the earliest Belgian rock/twist groups (cfr Les Croque Morts - here too).

There’s a good bit of cracks and pops but it’s still perfectly listenable and enjoyable.  The rip is from my own fairly scratched copy.  I’m not especially good at cleaning rips, I’m still learning.

Paul D. told me he has the Dance Hits volume 1 (1954) and will send us a rip (which will certainly be cleaner than mine).

RARITY #51

HANS KOLLER NEW JAZZ STARS
"HANS KOLLER COOL JAZZ"
EP MANHATTAN 66035C (EP)        GERMANY, 1958  

Onxidlib sent me a rip of this rare little EP several months ago.  I hesitated a long time before posting it because it was not in too good condition despite onx' efforts to clean it.  

But there is only so much one could do and  

it is the only occasion probably for most of us to hear this beautiful music ... so here it is.

If anyone has a better copy or the complete Bertelsmanm LP, I'd be delighted to post it.

Albert Mangelsdorff is especially good on these tracks.


Albert Mangelsdorff, trombone
Hans Koller, tenor saxophone
Helmuth Reinhardt, baritone saxophone  
Hans Hammerschmid, piano
Peter Trunk, bass
Rudi Sehring, drums

A1. Hard Blues (Mangelsdorff)
A2. Back In Paradise (Hammerschmid)

B.  I'll Close My Eyes (Reid)

Recorded March 26 - 28, 1958 in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Original (?) release on BERTELSMANN 7753 (LP) with seven more titles.

P.S :  at the request of visitors, I am reposting Wolfang Lauth's Life Dance and the last track of Stanley Cowell 's Blues for Viet Cong.

Get' em while it lasts!!!