Ben's Records

Name: Rarest Style 1952 Duke Ellington Private Sessions! No broadcasts used!!
Artist: Duke Ellington
Label: Sunburst 501
Genre: Big Band Jazz
Date: Recorded 1952, Released ?
Notes: Single LP with no details re: date or personnel. There’s some speculation that the date in question is March 22nd, 1952, but I haven’t seen solid scholarship to back this up. I would assume we’re listening to the Duke Ellington band of 1952, which would look something like:
Duke Ellington (piano); Ray Nance (vocals, trumpet, violin); Jimmy Grissom, Betty Roche (vocals); Russell Procope (alto saxophone, clarinet); Hilton Jefferson (alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet); Willie Cook, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, Juan Tizol (trombone); Wendell Marshall (bass); Louis Bellson (drums).
Thoughts: To a certain extent, Duke’s music requires me to put on my thinking cap. Some people wake up, and their cap’s on. I tend to resist putting it on until it’s absolutely necessary, and even then I get irritated that it’s messing up my hair. As much as I love music, I don’t always enjoy approaching it with the most critical ear. This is in part because I don’t have the best ear, and in part because there’s a certain joy in just letting sounds wash over you and deriving some abstract pleasure from that. I tend to equate the Duke Ellington / Count Basie divide in jazz with the Beatles / Rolling Stones debate in rock. In each case, the latter remained primarily a blues band, while the former was eventually perceived as making “art” on a level that transcended the genre they originally helped to create. As time went on, Duke got a little heady, and I have to put in work as a listener to keep up. But that’s later, and in 1952 Duke was still making his trademark brand of big band jazz. In some ways, it was an odd time in Duke’s career, and the band wasn’t doing particularly well financially, and it became hard to sustain a big band with R&B on the horizon, and with jazz declining as America’s predominant art form. Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and Johnny Hodges all left for greener pastures, and the band’s great revival at Newport in 1956 was still four years off. Still, musically it’s a great record—I just wish I could scrape up some details about the date. Time to ask Phil Schaap!

Name: The BBC Sessions
Artist: Belle and Sebastian
Label: Matador
Genre: Indie Pop
Date: Recorded 1996-2001, Released 2008
Notes: Gatefold Double LP. Thanks to Steve Glauber for the Ampeater Matador care packages!
Thoughts: (From the movie High Fidelity)
[Rob turns off Barry’s tape]
Barry: OK, buddy, uh, I was just tryin’ to cheer us up so go ahead. Put on some old sad bastard music, see if I care.
Rob: I don’t wanna hear old sad bastard music, Barry, I just want something I can ignore.
Barry: Here’s the thing. I made that tape special for today. My special Monday morning for *you*… special.
Rob: Well, it’s fuckin’ Monday afternoon! You should get out of bed earlier!

When Barry marched in with his Monday mix, Rob and Dick were listening to Belle & Sebastian’s Seymour Stein, Side 2 Track 2 on this album. I think it both verily counts as “Sad Bastard Music” and also “Something I can ignore,” but that’s not to say it’s representative of Belle & Sebastian’s entire catalog, or that the song itself doesn’t have value as a perennial “Theme For A Rainy Day.” Drawing strongly from an entire tradition of Brit Rock and stretched thin across decades of dreary English weather, Belle & Sebastian perfected a brand of melodic, introspective pop that has the ability to reach soaring heights and impenetrable lows. If one’s between the ages of 16 and 19, there’s seemingly a Belle & Sebastian song for every occasion, though this becomes increasingly less true as time moves forward. Nevertheless, I still love putting this on, both as a throwback to the days when I’d sit alone in my dorm room listening to Belle & Sebastian on repeat, and to get the wheels turning at those times when “Sad Bastard Music” is just the right soundtrack for a rainy Sunday morning.

Name: Sweets, Lips & Lots of Jazz
Label: Xanadu 123
Genre: Jazz (Swing)
Date: Released 1976, recorded 1941
Notes:
1.) Hold The Phone [Harry Edison, trumpet; Dick Wilson, tenor sax; George Johnson, alto sax; Count Basie, piano; Willie Lewis, guitar; Ebenezer Paul, bass; Spencer Drayton, drums]
2.) Baby Lips [Hot Lips Page, trumpet; Thelonious Monk, piano; ?, tenor sax; ?, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums]
3.) Honeysuckle Rose [Roy Eldridge, trumpet, Joe Guy, trumpet; ?, ?, tenor sax; ?, piano; ?, bass; ?, drums]
4.) Baby Jazz [Roy Eldridge, trumpet; ?, tenor sax; ?, piano; ?, bass; ?, drums]
5.) Body and Soul [Roy Eldridge, trumpet; Herbie Fields, tenor sax; Thelonious Monk, piano; ?, bass; ?, drums]
6.) Indiana [Roy Eldridge, Joe Guy, trumpet; ?, tenor sax; Thelonious Monk, piano; ?, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums] 
Thoughts: This record was captured thanks to Jerry Newman and his incredible penchant for being in the right place at the right time. A student at Columbia University in the early 40s, Newman owned a portable reel to reel tape recorder (a rare possession for a college student at that time) and documented a treasure trove of performances, many of which were informal after hours jam sessions. I’m a huge fan of field recordings in almost every genre of music, and jazz is no exception. It’s phenomenal to hear what guys like Sweets Edison and Hot Lips Page can bust out when they’re not putting on a show. Sure, there are less than polished moments, but there’s also extraordinary brilliance and spontaneity. Sporting household names like Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, and Roy Eldridge, this is one special record. The early 1940s were a great time for jazz—swing was enjoying its wartime glory days, and the burgeoning influence of bebop (which would hit the scene in 1945) was just starting to creep in…

Name: Joan Baez
Label: A&M Records
Genre: Folk (Second Wave)
Date: 1/5/1976
Notes: Label copy, test pressing. Very rare. Double album with track list taped to each side. The usual mix of Joan Baez originals, Bob Dylan songs, and traditionals. 
Thoughts: I’ve thought about selling this record—as a staunch Bob Dylan supporter, it’s hard not to hate Joan Baez. For years she haunted Dylan’s live recordings with her wavering soprano, and one gets used to skipping the needle past her well-intended contributions. But here she’s at home in her own element, pushing song renditions that by and large lack inspiration, designed to please an audience that either can’t tell or couldn’t care less. I do like her voice though, and on occasion she gets lucky with a musical decision and hits gold. Honestly, it’s worth a listen just to pursue those sparse moments when everything comes together. Plus, I mean, it’s Joan Baez, she’s a legend. 

Name: Albert Ayler
Label: Philology W 88
Genre: Avant-garde Jazz 
Date: Issued 1990, recorded 1964 & 1966
Notes: This LP was originally given away free with the Italian ‘Musica Jazz’ magazine and was not distributed in the normal fashion. Side A was recorded on November 5th, 1964, and features Don Cherry (trumpet), Albert Ayler (tenor sax), Gary Peacock (bass), and Sunny Murray (drums). Side B was recorded on November 3rd, 1966, and features Donald Ayler [he pronounced his last name ‘A-ler’, not ‘I-ler’ like his brother] (trumpet), Albert Ayler (tenor sax), Michel Sampson (violin), Bill Folwell (bass), Beaver Harris (drums). 
Thoughts: Side A with Don Cherry is phenomenal—the Cherry/Ayler duo is one of the all time great musical pairings. Supported by Peacock and Murray, their playing is intelligently uninhibited. I expected this to be a bit grating first thing in the morning, and I was dead wrong. Each player locks in to one another so fully that the resulting music eschews cacophony for something I can only describe as “fully integrated sound.” Side B isn’t quite as brilliant. Albert’s brother Donald was less than talented as a trumpet player, and suffered some acute mental stress that bore openly on his musical decisions. As a result, I tend to favor the Cherry/Ayler recordings. Those interested in a full picture of Ayler’s musical endeavors should check out the “Holy Ghost” box set, produced by WKCR’s own Ben Young. 

Name: The Louis Armstrong Story: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
Artist: Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
Label: Columbia CL851
Date: Recorded 1925 & 1927, Released 1956
Genre: Traditional Jazz / New Orleans
Notes:  Signed in blue ink, “For Ben Heller, Happy 4th, Phil Schaap”
Thoughts: Radio station WKCR 89.9 FM NY celebrates two Louis Armstrong birthdays—the fabled July 4th, 1900 date, and the historically accurate August 4th, 1901 date. Phil was nice enough to lay some vinyl on me during one of those 24 hour festivals. The Hot Five sessions remain my very favorite Louis Armstrong recordings—the personnel is legendary in Jazz circles: Lil Hardin [Mrs. Louis Armstrong] (piano), Kid Ory (trombone), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), and Johnny St. Cyr [pronounced “sincere”] (banjo).

Name: Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy
Artist: Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vox), Trummy young (trombone), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Billy Kyle (piano), Arvell Shaw (string bass), Barrett Deems (drums), Velma Middleton (vox)
Date: Recorded 1954, Issued 1986
Label: Columbia Jazz Masterpieces
Genre: Traditional Jazz / Blues
Thoughts: I came to the realization a while ago that what I really enjoy about jazz is blues. So, when I hear Louis Armstrong and his All Stars playing W.C. Handy, I get all excited. The ensemble playing here is excellent, though not quite as revelatory as Armstrong’s early work with the Hot Fives. I could listen to this on repeat all day. Actually, I might just do that.

Name: National Lampoon’s Animal House - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Label: MCA Records
Date: 1978
Genre: Rock & roll, soul
Notes: Belushi on vocals for “Money”, “Louie Louie”, and others. Sam Cooke kills it on “Twistin’ the Night Away” and “What a Wonderful World”. 
Thoughts: I mean, who hasn’t seen this movie a million times? This has to be one of my Dad’s old records, and I’m glad I swiped it. The goofy tracks are almost as enjoyable as the legit soul tunes, and it’s a great way to wake up on a Saturday morning, provided that you have a high tolerance for cinematic sound bites of John Belushi. Definitely a keeper, though not the best choice for continuous playthru thanks to the somber orchestral Faber College Themes that bookend the album. 

Artist: David Amram
Name: Havana/New York - The historic U.S.-Cuban musical exchange of 1977
Date: 1978
Label: Flying Fish Records, Inc.
Genre: Afro-Cuban Jazz
Notes: Side 1 features Los Papines, Thad Jones, Candido, Pepper Adams, Eddie Gomez, Ray Mantilla. Side 2 features Arturo Sandoval and Paquito de Rivera of Irakere 
Thoughts: This was still sealed (!) when I put it on the turntable. Some absolutely smoking Cuban jazz, of the finest caliber. This one is definitely going into regular rotation. While the combination of New York jazz players and Cuban musicians could have resulted in some awkward musical moments, the result is instead an effortless tribute to the supreme union of Jazz harmony and Afro-Cuban rhythm.

Name: Henry “Red” Allen
Label: Time Life Records, “Giants of Jazz” Series 
Date: 1981
Genre: Traditional Jazz / Swing
Notes: 3LP Box Set, with 56 page booklet
Thoughts: I’ve always been up in the air on these Time Life boxes. On the one hand, they’re a good way to get a general sense for an artist, but the “Beginners Guide To [artist]” mentality is a little insulting. That said, all Red Allen is good Red Allen, and it’s nice to have his playing featured consistently on all tracks, rather than having to dig through piles of recordings to find a killer solo.