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.
Elmer Parker McDougal, (August 6, 1924- July 18, 1994),
Chicago "tough tenor" jazz saxophonist, was the founder of Chicago Hard-Core Jazz Inc. and owner
of Grits Records. He played
the blues with various groups (Sonny Thompson, a.o.) and performed with many
outstanding Chicago tenorists, including Johnny Griffin, Von Freeman and Gene
Ammons.
E. Parker McDougal recorded only two albums, both on
his own GRITS label. No nonsense,
straight-ahead jazz in the purest Chicago tradition. I haven’t heard the first one (Initial Visit –
GR2001, recorded in 1975) but this one is a very satisfactory album featuring
strong playing by pianist Willie Pickens
(on side A) and guitarist George Freeman
(on side B). To the best of my
knowledge, these albums were never re-issued on CD.
SIDE A
Tenor saxophone: E. Parker McDougal
Piano: Willie Pickens
Bass: Dan Shapera
Drums:
Robert Shy
A1. Blues Tour (E. Parker McDougal)
A2. Irma’s Waltz (E. Parker McDougal)
A3. All too soon (Ellington)
SIDE B
Tenor saxophone: E. Parker McDougal
Guitar : George T. Freeman
Bass: Eddie Calhoun
Drums: Jim Cottrell (B1 & B3) / Robert Shy (B2 & B4)
B1. P’s Blues
B2. For Cuz
B3. Love Tap
B4. Skokie Swift
(B1 to B4: composed by E. Parker McDougal)
UPDATED LINK 18/07/17
And I renew the request below: If anyone has the album GR 2001 "Initial Visit", I'd love to hear it / post it. Thanks.
The Manhattan
Jazz Quintet was formed in 1983 at the suggestion of Japanese jazz magazine
Swing Journal and the King record label.
It was an unusual group in that they very rarely performed as a unit in
the United States (much less Manhattan) but were a major hit in Japan, both for
their recordings and occasional tours.
To everyone's surprise, its first recording
(simply called Manhattan Jazz Quintet) became such a big seller that it was
awarded Swing Journal's annual 1984 Gold Disk Award as the #1 album in
Japan. The quintet consisted originally – and on this
album - of David Matthews on piano, Lew Soloff on trumpet, George Young on tenor sax, Charnett Moffett on bass and Steve Gadd on drums. There were subsequent changes on later
albums.
Due to the group's extremely limited
distribution in other countries, it is not well known outside of Japan. However this
album was obviously distributed in Europe as my copy was manufactured by Bellaphon
in Germany.
There was a
request for this album in the comments of the Fra Fra Big Band post. Here it is!
Although not as
well known in the United States as they are in parts of Western Europe, Fra Fra
Sound is a Dutch jazz institution and has been active in the Netherlands since
the early '80s. Fra Fra has also recorded as the Fra Fra Big Band, which is essentially
Fra Fra Sound with more musicians and an expanded, more elaborate lineup. But
whether they're calling themselves Fra Fra Sound or the Fra Fra Big Band, the
Amsterdam-based outfit has a reputation for being adventurous, unpredictable,
and risk-taking. Fra Fra's specialty is a blend of jazz and world music --
especially African, Caribbean, and Latin music. And when it comes to jazz
influences, the band is all over the place. They've been influenced by hard
bop; some of their arrangements recall Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers'
classic Blue Note recordings of the '50s and '60s. But post-bop, modal jazz,
fusion and jazz-funk have affected them as well; Fra Fra also brings to mind
everyone from John Coltrane, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, and Abdullah Ibrahim
(aka Dollar Brand), to Weather Report, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco
Pastorius, and Spyro Gyra. Because of the Caribbean influences, Sonny Rollins
(who is famous for combining hard bop and calypso) is another obvious
comparison. And whatever type of jazz they're being influenced by -- be it hard
bop, modal post-bop, fusion or soul-jazz -- Fra Fra Sound and the Fra Fra Big
Band always bring some type of world music influence to their albums (many of
which have been easier to find in Western Europe than in North America).
Fra Fra Sound
was founded by bassist/producer Vincent Henar in Amsterdam in 1980, and he has
been their leader ever since. Henar got the name Fra Fra from the Surinamese
language, which is spoken in the South American country of Suriname (formerly
known as Dutch Guyana). The term has different meanings in that language; it
can refer to a hybrid (which is exactly what Fra Fra Sound's music has been),
or it can mean strange, mysterious, unorthodox, or unusual. Along the way, Fra
Fra Sound has had different lineups; in 2003, Henar was leading a seven-person
lineup that also included Michael Simon on trumpet and flugelhorn, Efraim
Trujillo on tenor sax, Andro Biswane on guitar, Robin VanGeerke on piano, Guno
Kramer on drums, and Calo Ulrichi Hoop on percussion.
Fra Fra started recording
in the '80s; their first album, Panja Gazz + 4, came out in the Netherlands in
1987, and they went on to put out Third Life Stream in 1990, Kalinha's Serenade
in 1993, Worship Mother Earth in 1994, Global Village Residents in 1996, Kaseko
Revisited: Kotabra in 1997, Mali Jazz in 1999, and Kultiplex in 2003 (the year
that marked the band's 23rd anniversary). All of those albums were Fra Fra
Sound projects; their releases as the larger Fra Fra Big Band have included A
Tan So in 1993 and Maspoti Makandra in 1997. (Alex Anderson – AMG)
Credits
Bass, Lead
Vocals – Vincent Henar
Congas,
Percussion, Bells, Timbales, Djembe – Carlo Ulrichi
Drums – Guno
Kramer
Guitar –
Sterling Peterson
Piano, Keyboards
– Robin Van Geerke
Saxophone –
Efraim Trujillo*
Trumpet –
Michael Varekamp
Tracklist
1 Ken Bo Ta 4:40
2 One For All 5:07
3 Sebie Jarie 7:00
4 Blakawatra 6:05
5 Langadang 5:15
6 Little Giant 9:28
7 Poem For Rosa 7:04
8 Worship Mother Earth 13:12
9 Fruits From The Kasbah 8:58
There is a
great live version of Worship Mother Earth on YouTube, recorded at the
Ouagadougou Jazz Festival.
No nonsense, straight ahead, no
prisoner taken, live bop session by the cream of the Belgian Boppers, recorded in front of a selected audience featuring several fellow jazz musicians (see below). If you are a follower of this blog, or of
Belgian jazz from the sixties to the eighties … you probably already know
all these guys. They are all gone now
and deeply missed.
The Mozart no longer exists either
and is also fondly remembered by all the Brussels jazz aficionados.
If you liked the two live albums by Hugh Brodie posted last month, you’ll
probably love this one too! It's cookin' and steamin' hot!
Recorded live before an audience including Tany Golan, Didian, Wild Bill
Davis, Dave Pochonet, Dany Doriz, Freddy Sunder - at café "Mozart",
Uccle, Brussels, Sunday, May 15, 1977 - by Canal 21, production Francine
Arnaud, engineers Jean-Paul Géal and Guy Van Humbeek - LP produced by Mon
Devoghelaere with kind permission of Radio-Télévision Belge, Centre de
Production Bruxelles.
This album, issued on the short-lived Vogel label, has become pretty rare and has never
been re-issued.
Band members
Etienne Verschueren - alto sax
Nic Fissette trumpet
Tony Bauwens piano
Roger Vanhaverbeke – bass
Freddy Rottier drums
Tracks
Side A
Just Blow (Fissette)
Tengo Tango (Adderley)
Side B
Pepper Adams (Bauwens)
Blues for Alice (Parker)
I got it bad and that ain’t good (Ellington-Webster)
J.R. MONTROSE & HUGH BRODIE BE BOP LOOSE & LIVE LP CADENCE, CJR 1013 - USA, 1982
Thanks to Arkadin, I am pleased to present the second live opus featuring Mr Brodie for Cadence Records, with the added bonus of J.R. Montrose, a solid saxophonist that tends to be somewhat overlooked (as his Hugh Brodie).
Here is some solid no nonsense be bop jamming!
Too good to be left in the comments, this LP deserves a post of its own.
Track list A1: Blue Bossa A2: Kiamesha B1: Green Dolphin Street B2: What's New Personel J.R. Montrose : tenor & soprano Hugh Brodie: tenor Larry Ham: piano Pat O'Leary: bass Tom Melito: drums See the comments under the previous post and say cheers to our man Arkadin!
HUGH BRODIE AND IMPULSE
Live And Cooking At The Wild Oat CADENCE JAZZ RECORDS – CJR1004 (LP –
USA - 1981)
An early
80's live recording from be-bop saxophonist Hugh Brodie. Live and
Cooking is the title of this LP and that’s really what it’s all about. 100% high octane hard bop!
The backing
band is an upstate New York blues quintet called Impulse. They may have been a blues quintet but they
do have real jazz chops.
Five
original tunes and an improvised version of Sonny Stitt's "Bud's
Blues". .
This LP has
not been re-issued on CD but if you dig the music, I recommend you pay a visit to Hugh Brodie’s website and get his latest CDs.
Credits
Hugh Brodie - Tenor Sax, Vocals
Russ Scotti - Flute, Alto Sax
Jay Friedman - Trumpet
Larry Ham - Piano
Pat O' Leary - Bass
Ed Ornowski - Drums
Tracks
A1. Falling Dreams
A2. Bud's Blues
A3. Dot
B1. Choo Choo Charlie
B2. El . Toro
B3 Dot
Rip from original LP. Some surface noise at
the end of track A2 .Did not want to
split B2 and B3 as one is the continuation of the other.
Time for something a bit more recent. Here is the first album of the George
Robert-Tom Harrell Quintet which is also George Robert's second album as a leader.
His first album – entitled First Encounter
– was recorded in New York City in 1984 with Niels Lan Doky, Ron McClure &
Klaus Suonsaari (CD re-issue on Polystar Records, 2005)
One of the finest jazz musicians born in
Switzerland, altoist George Robert has long considered his main influences to
be Charlie Parker and Phil Woods. He started on piano when he was eight, and
clarinet at ten, playing with a family band that included his four brothers.
Robert switched permanently to alto as a teenager. In 1980, he moved to the
United States to study at Berklee, settling in New York in 1984. Robert recorded
his first album that year and in 1987, formed a quintet that he co-led with
trumpeter Tom Harrell on and off through 1992.
This album was recorded in Lausanne,
Switzerland during their '87 European tour.
The quintet features George Robert (alto saxophone, soprano saxophone),
Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn), Dado Moroni (piano), Reggie Johnson (bass),
Bill Goodwin (drums)
On AMG Scott Yanow displays a typically
American patronising attitude towards non-US players: George Robert who is
credited as “the leader” “plays quite well” but it is because of Tom Harrell
that the album becomes “most notable”.
Pure baloney, just forget about the
“names”. Tom Harrell is excellent indeed but the album is most notable because
the music cooks! What strikes the listener
is how cohesive and “tight” this combo sounded on this first date.
Then Yanow goes on “ Harrell is actually
much more boppish than usual, probably due to Robert's inspiration; the leader
being most influenced by Phil
Woods”. Fact is that Harrell was a key
member of the Phil Woods Quintet in the eighties. Actually it may be interesting to compare
this album with some of the works he did with Phil Woods during the same
period.
.
Credits:
C 14037
George Robert/Tom Harrell - Sun Dance
Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn) George
Robert (alto saxophone, soprano saxophone) Dado Moroni (piano) Reggie Johnson
(bass) Bill Goodwin (drums)
Lausanne, Switzerland, March 29 & 30,
1987
Tracks
• Solad
• Moon
Alley
• Cancun
• Sun
Dance
• Because
I Love You
• Viking's
Theme
n.b. some discographies mention an Italian
re-issue on CD in 1993 but it was probably a pirate edition.
Guys, you can send a big word of thank to onxidlib who sent me this superb double album which features “la crème” of the German Jazz in the Seventies. Just have a look a the names below.
You will need a bit of patience, uploading two LPs in FLAC is a lengthy process when one lives on the Southern shore of the Mediterranean.
Here is the track list and the details of the sessions. Beautiful music with a definite Seventies / Eurojazz feel. If you’re into European Jazz of this period – MPS & all – you’ll dig this one.
LP1: A1. Bloo-Mood (Mayer) 04:16 FROM Ralf Hübner, drums Günter Lenz, bass Klaus Göbel, organ Emil Mangelsdorff, alto saxophone Gustl Mayer, tenor saxophone Recorded: April 16, 1975. A2. Vaguely Pedestrian (Hübner) 03:30 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT: Joki Freund, soprano saxophone Emil Mangelsdorff, alto saxophone, flute Ralf Hübner, drums Günter Lenz, bass, e-bass Günter Kronberg, alto & baritone saxophone Fritz Hartschuh, vibraphone Bob Degen, piano, e-piano Recorded: April 17, 1975. A3. For-E- (Flinner) 03:48 EMIL MANGELSDORFF QUARTETT: Emil Mangelsdorff, alto saxophone, flute, piccolo, bongo, bells Jo Flinner, piano, e-piano Gerhard Bitter, bass, percussion Mano Weiss, drums, percussion, tabla Recorded: April 16, 1975. A4. Unanswered Questions (Hübner) 04:05 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT A5. Seaweed (Freund) 02:37 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT A6. The End Is Happy (Sauer) 01:55 VOICES: Günter Kronberg, alto & baritone saxophone Heinz Sauer, alto saxophone Bob Degen, piano Jürgen Wuchner, bass Ralf Hübner, drums Recorded: April 22, 1975. B1. Sugar (Turrentine) 04:29 FROM B2. Lord Snowdon's Remorse (Freund) 04:53 FRANKFURT JAZZ ENSEMBLE: Albert Mangelsdorff, trombone Emil Mangelsdorff, alto saxophone, flute Joki Freund, soprano saxophone Conny Jackel, trumpet, fluegelhorn Heinz Sauer, tenor saxophone Günter Kronberg, baritone saxophone Bob Degen, piano, e-piano Günter Lenz, bass Ralf Hübner, drums Recorded: April 21, 1975. B3. Tunc-Bilek (Lenz) 06:00 FRANKFURT JAZZ ENSEMBLE B4. Trouble With Mutation (Sauer) 03:08 VOICES
LP2: A1. Ebony Moon Beams (Hubbard) 04:35 FRANKFURT JAZZ ENSEMBLE A2. From Time To Time (Freund) 04:42 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT A3. Asian-Inspiration (Mangelsdorff) 04:46 EMIL MANGELSDORFF QUARTETT A4. Despedida (Hübner) 04:16 VOICES A5. At The Phasechoppers Ball (Freund) 02:53 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT B1. Street Stories (Freund) 06:17 FRANKFURT JAZZ ENSEMBLE B2. Stropp (Freund) 05:10 JOKI FREUND JAZZTETT B3. Chiffchaff (Mangelsdorff) 10:24 ALBERT MANGELSDORFF QUARTETT Albert Mangelsdorff, trombone Heinz Sauer, tenor saxophone Buschi Niebergall, bass H. Peter Giger, drums Recorded: April 22, 1975.
KENNY CLARKE, JOE HARRIS, SAHIB SHIHAB, FRANCY BOLAND ( ... and SADI !) (LP I Giganti del Jazz 37 / Europa Jazz, 196?)
One of the more enjoyable aspects of jazz blogging is the collaboration / contribution from / with fellow bloggers and jazz fans across the world. It’s a real pleasure when an unknown blogger / visitor sends me a message saying how (s)he likes the blog (more often guys than gals, hélas!) and would I be interested in posting some obscure, long OOP record from his/her collection. So thank you Peter – wherever you are (UK I gather) - for sending me – via onxidlib – this Kenny Clarke –Francy Boland bootleg, originally issued as volume 37 of I Giganti del Jazz on the Italian “pirate” label Curcio.
The Italian publishing company Armando Curcio Editore released, under the record label Curcio, a 100 volume jazz collection entitled I Giganti Del Jazz. Many were live recording from various often poorly documented sources (radio broadcast, concerts ?), some were sometimes awkward bootleg compilations of tracks pinched from undisclosed sources. (sometimes copied from the original LPs). Several of these albums are worth looking for, they used to be commonly found in discount bins, thrift stores and boot sales at ridiculously cheap prices but unfortunately it is no longer the case. Some of these albums have become valuable collector’s items. Here is a comprehensive list of the 100 albums.
Discographical information is somewhat patchy and confusing.
KENNY CLARKE - FRANCY BOLAND [Sextet]
Credits
Sahib Shihab (flute - 02, 03, 04, baritone sax - 01, 05, and lead vocal - 04), Francy Boland (piano), probably Jimmy Woode (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums), Joe Harris (timbales, conga, backing vocal on 04), "Fats" Sadi (vibes, bongos, backing vocal on 04),
Unknown date and location; live recording, probably for radio, probably 1963-65
Tracks
01 Set-Up (Clarke, 3:15)
02 Tin Tin Deo (Gillespie/Pozo, 5:50)
03 Night Lady (Boland, 10:20)
04 Yah-Yah Blues (Shihab, 12:00)
05 Jay-Jay (Clarke, 6:12)
Released as KENNY CLARKE JOE HARRIS SAHIB SHIHAB FRANCY BOLAND by Curcio (Italy) - I Giganti Del Jazz 37. Also released (with exactly the same title, covers and notes - by the same company?) as Europa Jazz (Italy) EJ-1030
On these records, "Set-Up" is misheard as "The Top", "Tin Tin Deo" as "Tin Tin Daeo", "Yah-Yah Blues" as "Ya Ya Blues" The record title omits "Fats" Sadi, who has the longest solo space on the record, and instead oddly includes Joe Harris, who plays additional percussion. The record details also omit a bassist, clearly audible on the recording, and call the group a "Quintet"! They insist on giving Sahib Shihab the main name "Edmund Gregory" - a name he had not used since the 1940s. It identifies the year (with no other details but "live recording") as 1961: which seems unlikely, as Shihab joined Clarke-Boland towards the end of 1961, whereas this Sextet was an occasional working group (an offshoot from the Big Band) in 1963-1965, with a fixed repertoire and some variations such as the tracks played at this session.
Especially the first two tracks of the session - with their loose starts, technical errors and rather uncoordinated interplay of instruments in places - argue some unfamiliarity with the material (or arrangements), and might therefore suggest 1963 or 1964. Alternatively, they might either indicate tiredness, or a "warm-up" (in front of an invited audience) for a more definitive concert/recording (such as in February 1965?).
Doug Payne's discography is unreliable on this date: it largely accepts the unreliable details of the Italian release. (See above)
Walter Bruyninckx lists it as Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Quintet : Sahib Shihab (fl,bar,vcl-1) Fats Sadi (vib-2,vcl-1) Francy Boland (p) Kenny Clarke (d) Joe Harris (perc,vcl-1) omitting the clearly audible bass player (I can’t see this small group playing without a bassplayer!). The recording place and dates are given as Live recording, Cologne, prob. 1964, a date which is more probable than 1961 as stated on the record sleeve.
Thanks to Peter, onxidlib and Paul D (for W. Bruynincks info).
Enjoy the music and don't forget to thank Peter, he may have other obscurities to share with us!
Since the previous post brought us into the realm of soul jazz & hard bop, I may continue in that line for a few more postings. Here for instance is a top-notch guitar-player who departed this world much too soon and had never received the wider recognition his talent deserved: a guitar-player who had played or recorded with the likes of Sonny Stitt, Pharoah Sanders, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Kirkland, Chico Hamilton, Ramsey Lewis, Michael Brecker, Billy Higgins and countless others.
This guitarist is the late Ronald Muldrow.
Ronald Muldrow was born in Chicago on February 2, 1949. As a teen he was greatly influenced by the likes of guitarists Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Phil Upchurch and George Benson. Muldrow developed his own voice, resplendent with crisp, fresh licks and acute dexterity. His earliest big breaks came during his stints with Eddie Harris and the Staple Singers. He described Eddie Harris as his "musical father."
Muldrow was not only a highly acclaimed musician, but he was also a dedicated educator, having earned bachelors (jazz studies) and masters (studio and jazz guitar) degrees at Roosevelt University and University of Southern California respectively. He also published guitar instruction books, another legacy he left for aspiring guitarists.
He died on January 31, 2007.He was only 57.
The discogrqphy on Discogs is very incomplete and hardly list any of the albums he recorded as leader. AMG is somewhat better and list the five albums he recorded as a leader during his lifetime. A sixth one, Mapenzi, was issued posthumously in 2003.
"Yesterdays" is his second album (but first on the Enja label) and it features the legendary Melvin Rhyne, the original organist with the Wes Montgomery trio. Victor Campbell is on drums.
My favourite track is the album starter, a real groover and a tribute to his musical father: Eddie Harris’ Sham time.
Tracks
Sham Time
Yesterdays
Swedish Schnapps
My One and Only Love
Besame Mucho
Love for Sale
Groovin' High
Walkin' My Baby Back Home
OOP. This album is no longer in Enja catalogue.
See Ronald Muldrow playing live with Eddie Harris in Germany, 1990:
