The Mike Sammes Singers  “Taking A Chance On Love”  Fontana Records (UK)

(21 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)

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Drummer Louis Bellson and his Quintet on Norgran Records (1954)  With Zoot Sims, Charlie Shavers, Don Abney, George Duvivier   This is a nice pensive portrait in monotone.   I imagine he’s listening to a playback at the recording session.

* Bellson was married to Pearl Bailey

(16 votes, average: 3.81 out of 5)

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Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup  Delmark Records “Look On Yonder’s Wall, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane”  (1969).  The human voice has rarely been as movingly rich as that of Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup nor has the human experience been so thoroughly mirrored as in the simple blues poetry of this big and gentle man from Mississippi.  Some have commented that Crudup’s voice sounds similar to that of Elvis Presley but the truth is the other way around; Crudup wrote several of Presley’s hits and seems to have been an early Presley idol.  – Delmark Records  His last few gigs were with Bonnie Raitt.  He passed away in 1974.  You can see here in the design, the melding of blues legends into popular music and the youth culture of the sixties.

(28 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)

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Karsan y la Reina ed las Amazonas  La Vita Records “For Adults Only!”

(34 votes, average: 3.26 out of 5)

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Bubber Johnson  “Confidential”  President Records EP  (France)

(54 votes, average: 4.57 out of 5)

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John Coltrane’s Blue Train on Blue Note Records.  John Coltrane tenor saxophone; Paul Chambers — double bass; Kenny Drew — piano;  Curtis Fuller — trombone; Philly Joe Jones — drums; Lee Morgan — trumpet   Below, the Francis Wolff photo of JC listening to a take from the Blue Train Session, 09/15/57

(40 votes, average: 4.48 out of 5)

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David Bowie  “Pinups”  RCA Records (1973)  Released between “Aladin Sane” and “Diamond Dogs.”  The woman on the cover with Bowie is 1960s supermodel Twiggy in a photograph taken by her then-manager Justin de Villeneuve.  In the album booklet, Bowie himself describes Pin Ups as: 

“These songs are among my favourites from the ’64–67′ period of London. / Most of the groups were playing the Ricky-Tick (was it a ‘y’ or an ‘i’?) -Scene club circuit (Marquee, eel pie island la-la). / Some are still with us. /Pretty Things, Them, Yardbirds, Syd’s Pink Floyd, Mojos, Who, Easybeats, Merseys,  The Kinks

(42 votes, average: 3.71 out of 5)

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Rendez-Vous Avec Rex Stewart  Barclay Records (France)

K & J.J.  East Coast Jazz  Bethlehem Records  (Cover by Burt Goldblatt)

(40 votes, average: 3.88 out of 5)

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Hank Crawford  “More Soul”  Atlantic Records (1961)   Portrait by Lee Friedlander.  Along with David “Fathead” Newman, Hank Crawford lead the pre-eminent sax section of Ray Charles classic group of the late 50′s – early 60′s.  Crawford, who joined Charles’ band in 1957, primarily held down the role of baritone sax player, but with this recording he’s able to stretch out on the alto.  As he often did with Ray Charles, More Soul sees Hank in the role of arranger.   The night that this record was cut, I’ve read, Crawford played Harlem’s Apollo theater until 1am, took the short ride down to Broadway and the Atlantic studios and recorded these seven tracks before dawn.  Crawford’s arrangements for septet dispense with piano, aside from a little comping by Hank, which vividly opens out the sound of brass and horns, and gives a greater weight and clarity to the bass/drums rhythm section of Edgar Willis and Milt Turner.  Fathead Newman plays tenor.  The great Tom Dowd engineered.  Nesuhi Ertegun produced.  Check it out!

(36 votes, average: 3.56 out of 5)

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“Night-Club at After Dark”  Various Artists  Teichiku Records Japan  (Thanks to SEM SINATRA for generously contributing this image.)

(35 votes, average: 3.43 out of 5)

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