Shirley Bassey on a UK Columbia 45 (A recent post on “If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger…”)

(15 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)

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Roy Haynes’ excellent bop session, from original Swedish Metronome recordings.

Roy Haynes was a member of Lionel Hampton’s band when the band toured Europe. At the time, Famous Swedish label Metronome recorded so many sessions by the members of Lionel Hampton band. This is one of them.

As far as I know, this LP is Roy Haynes’ first leader session through his entire career. Featured musicians include members of Lionel Hampton band and top Swedish jazz artists. The result was superb – a typical good example of bop sessions in 1954. A few years later these four tracks were reissued on Jazz Abroad coupled with some overseas Quincy Jones sessions.

Roy Haynes was born in Boston, March 13, 1926, and was keenly interested in jazz ever since he can remember. Primarily self-taught, he began to work locally in 1942 with musicians like the Charlie Christian inflected guitarist Tom Brown, bandleader Sabby Lewis, and Kansas City blues-shout alto saxophonist Pete Brown, before getting a call in the summer of 1945 to join legendary bandleader Luis Russell (responsible for much of Louis Armstrong’s musical backing from 1929 to 1933) to play for the dancers at New York’s legendary Savoy Ballroom. When not travelling with Russell, the young drummer spent much time on Manhattan’s 52nd Street and uptown in Minton’s, the legendary incubator of bebop, soaking up the scene.

Haynes was Lester Young’s drummer from 1947 to 1949, worked with Bud Powell and Miles Davis in ’49, became Charlie Parker’s drummer of choice from 1949 to 1953, toured the world with Sarah Vaughan from 1954 to 1959, did numerous extended gigs with Thelonious Monk in 1959-60, made eight recordings with Eric Dolphy in 1960-61, worked extensively with Stan Getz from 1961 to 1965, played and recorded with the John Coltrane Quartet from 1963 to 1965, has intermittently collaborated with Chick Corea since 1968, and with Pat Metheny during the ’90s. He’s been an active bandleader from the late ’50s to the present, featuring artists in performance and on recordings like Phineas Newborn, Booker Ervin, Roland Kirk, George Adams, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Ralph Moore and Donald Harrison. A perpetual top three drummer in the Downbeat Readers Poll Awards, he won the Best Drummer honors in 1996, and in that year received the prestigious French Chevalier des l’Ordres Artes et des Lettres.

Another nice one from “If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger” ¦” 

(18 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)

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Another nice one from “If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger…”  

(21 votes, average: 3.86 out of 5)

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Wow! This hits the sweet spot. I found it trolling blogs at a really cool site called “If Charlie Parker were a gunslinger, there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats” Lots of cool pictures, videos, quotes and commentary here. And some groovy covers too! Check it out and please let me know if you ever see a copy for sale.

Here’s a cool quote highlighted at the site:

“And, of course, that is what all of this is – all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow from and to and for that which is ineffable within us and without us, that is both prayer and deliverance, folly and wisdom, that inspires us to dance or smile or simply to go on, senselessly, incomprehensibly, beatifically, in the face of mortality and the truth that our lives are more ill-writ, ill-rhymed and fleeting than any song, except perhaps those songs – that song, endlesly reincarnated – born of that truth, be it the moon and June of that truth, or the wordless blue moan, or the rotgut or the elegant poetry of it. That nameless black-hulled ship of Ulysses, that long black train, that Terraplane, that mystery train, that Rocket ’88’, that Buick 6 – same journey, same miracle, same end and endlessness.” — Nick Tosches, Where Dead Voices Gather

(36 votes, average: 4.61 out of 5)

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Many jazz album covers are timeless, essential portraits of the artists in their prime. This one captures Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie beautifully and is suitable for framing.

(13 votes, average: 4.31 out of 5)

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Long John Baldry & His Hoochie Coochie Men  (1968) Reissue of Long John’s Blues (Originally on United Artists in 1964) on UnArt Records (UK) . Rod Stewart on Vocals. Check out the Elton John connection below.

Long John Baldry (vocals), Rod Stewart (vocals, harmonica), Jeff Bradford (guitar), Cliff Barton (bass), Ian Armit (piano), Johnny Parker (piano), Al Gay (saxophone), Art Themen (saxophone), Johnny Spooner (drums), Pete Willis (guitar), Tom Connor (bass), Barry Martin (saxophone), Eddie Taylor (drums), Pete Blannin (bass), Pete Peterson (saxophone), Rudy Jones (saxophone), Bill Eyden (drums), Ernie O’Malley (drums)Tracklist

A1 Got My Mojo Working
A2 Gee Baby Ain’t I Good To You
A3 Roll ‘Em Pete
A4 I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man
A5 Everyday (I Have The Blues)
B1 Dimples
B2 Five Long Years
B3 My Babe
B4 Times Are Getting Tougher Than Tough
B5 Rock The Joint

Baldry grew to 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), resulting in the nickname “Long John”.  In the early 1960s, he sang with Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, with whom he recorded the first British blues album in 1962, R&B from the Marquee. At stages, Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce and Charlie Watts were members of this band while Keith Richards and Brian Jones played on stage, although none played on the R&B at the Marquee album.  When The Rolling Stones made their debut at the Marquee Club in July 1962, Baldry put together a group to support them. Later, Baldry was the announcer introducing the Stones on their US-only live album, Got Live If You Want It!, in 1966.

Baldry became friendly with Paul McCartney after a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the early 1960s, leading to an invitation to sing on one of The Beatles 1964 TV specials, Around The Beatles. In the special, Baldry performs “Got My Mojo Workin'” and a medley of songs with members of The Vernons Girls trio; in the latter, the Beatles are shown singing along in the audience.

In 1963, Baldry joined the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars with Nicky Hopkins playing piano. He took over in 1964 after the death of Cyril Davies, and the group became Long John Baldry and his Hoochie Coochie Men featuring Rod Stewart on vocals and Geoff Bradford on guitar. Stewart was recruited when Baldry heard him busking a Muddy Waters song at Twickenham Station after Stewart had been to a Baldry gig at Eel Pie Island.  Long John Baldry became a regular fixture on Sunday nights at Eel Pie Island from then onwards, fronting a series of bands.

In 1965, the Hoochie Coochie Men became Steampacket with Baldry and Stewart as male vocalists, Julie Driscoll as the female vocalist and Brian Auger on Hammond organ. After Steampacket broke up in 1966, Baldry formed Bluesology featuring Reg Dwight on keyboards and Elton Dean, later of Soft Machine, as well as Caleb Quaye on guitar. Dwight, when he began to record as a solo artist, adopted the name Elton John, his first name from Elton Dean and his surname from John Baldry. 

(22 votes, average: 3.77 out of 5)

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