Freddy Martin & His Orchestra - Most Requested

Since the New Vaudeville Band's 1966 No. 1 hit Winchester Cathedral was a tribute to British music hall entertainment (roughly equivalent to vaudeville in the U.S.), it was a natural fit for American bandleader Freddy Martin to record a cover version -- which he did for his 1967 album Most Requested.

After all, Martin began his recording career in 1932, just as the vaudeville era was winding down. Martin, a saxophonist, led one of the most popular sweet bands of the swing era. But he continued to front a band long after the heyday of big bands, not quitting until the early 1980s. Martin died in 1983 at age 76. From the link below, listen to (and download if you like) Winchester Cathedral.

Winchester Cathedral

None of the selections from Martin's Most Requested album appear to have been released on CD or are available as downloads.

From YouTube, here's Freddy Martin's 1948 hit The Dickey Bird Song.

And finally, Winchester Cathedral's original hitmakers, the New Vaudeville Band, perform a medley on a 1966 broadcast of the Hollywood Palace TV show. They're introduced by singer Kate Smith (!!!).

Road trip brings Guitars & All That Jazz pause

Time for another road trip, this one encompassing Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, Gary, IN (main destination, pictured depressingly above, to watch the Independent Basketball Association playoffs), Chicago, Grand Rapids and Port Huron, MI.

Posting on Guitars & All That Jazz will resume around July 1.

Wilton Felder - Bullitt

This striking gatefold album issued by World Pacific in 1970 has never been released on CD and isn't available as a download.

More's the pity as saxophonist Wilton Felder, a longtime member of The Crusaders and its predecessor The Jazz Crusaders, and his cohorts lay down a solid jazz-funk album of airplay-ready material where only one selection is over several minutes in length. Only the title track has anything to do with the classic Steve McQueen movie. The rest are mainly covers of R&B hits of the day, like Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, a Motown hit for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1968.

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

None of the other musicians on Wilton Felder's Bullitt are identified, although the arrangements are by another member of the Crusaders, Wayne Henderson.

Felder's version of the Bullitt theme has turned up on several CD compilations from Blue Note, of which the easiest to obtain is Blue Movies: Scoring for the Studios. It's also available as a download.

Prices for copies of the original World Pacific LP are in the range of $20-50.

Here's Felder's recording of Bullitt accompanied by some of the great car chase scenes from the movie.

Bud Shank - Barefoot Adventure

Jazz saxophonist Bud Shank provided the soundtracks to two of surfing movie producer Bruce Brown's early films -- Slippery When Wet (1959, Brown's debut film) and Barefoot Adventure (1961, Brown's third film).

Surfing music as a genre did not yet exist, so surfing fanatics were treated to some cool West Coast jazz sounds. Both soundtracks were released on the Pacific Jazz label.

The Barefoot Adventure album was a bigger hit than the label anticipated, selling about 10,000 copies. In fact, wrote Brad Barrett in an article for The Surfer's Journal in the spring of 2000, "this was so far beyond Pacific Jazz's expectations (and resources) that they couldn't pay Bud Shank the royalties due him. So they went out and bought him a deluxe sound system on credit, components of which he still owns to this day."

Personnel on the soundtrack date was as follows:

Bud Shank: Alto & Baritone Sax
Bob Cooper: Tenor Sax
Carmell Jones: Trumpet
Dennis Budimir: Guitar
Gary Peacock: Bass
Shelly Manne: Drums.

From the link below you can listen to and download the title track from Barefoot Adventure.

Barefoot Adventure

Barefoot Adventure is available on CD in several variations, none of them cheap. Best bet is probably the straight reissue (2011) from EMI Japan, available for slightly less than $17. The download version is less than half the price.

From YouTube, here's another sampling of the soundtrack. The tune is Ala Moana.

David Matthews & the Tokyo Union Big Band - Keeping Count

I've already posted one selection from this excellent big band album, but let's do it justice and sample another track.

This time around David Matthews and the Tokyo Union Big Band give the Count Basie treatment to the Everly Brothers' hit Bye Bye Love. Again the MP3 is taken from a cassette version of the album.

Bye Bye Love

Copies of this album can be bought at bargain basement prices in the Amazon Marketplace -- less than a dollar in several cases.

Two songs from Spain, David Matthews' 2008 album with the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, can be heard on the artist's Myspace page.

Grover Washington, Jr. - Mister Magic

Mister Magic, released in 1974, is arguably saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.'s most popular album. Certainly it has reached the status of a classic in R&B-tinged jazz.

The album was a big seller when it was released and the title song was a hit single. The album continues to sell in the digital age.

Keyboardist Bob James provided the arrangements and he shares the solo spotlights with Washington and guitarist Eric Gale. Black Frost is one of the four tunes on the album. What you can listen to and download below is the 45 edit of the song, taken from the vinyl single. It runs just over three minutes, so if you like what you hear buy the album and get the full six-minute version.

Black Frost

Mister Magic is widely available both in CD and download formats. In a reversal of the usual pattern, the CD is half the price of a download. Amazon sells new copies for less than $5 and its marketplace has used CDs starting at about $2.

And from a 1981 Philadelphia concert, here's almost 15 minutes of Mister Magic.

Personnel:

・Grover Washington Jr. (ts)
・Eric Gale (g)
・Richard Tee (key)
・Paul Griffin (synth)
・Anthony Jackson (b)
・Steve Gadd (ds)
・Ralph MacDonald (per).

Jimmy Namaro - With Mallets A Four Thought

Canadian vibraphone and marimba player Jimmy Namaro is best known in the U.S. for the 15 years he spent as musical director for Frankie Laine -- from 1978-1993.

But long before that he had a dual career in Canada -- as a leader of pop and jazz trios and quartets in popular Toronto nightspots and as a frequent performer on radio, particularly as a member of the Happy Gang musical troupe on the CBC network.

He didn't make all that many recordings and only one album, Driftwood, was released in the U.S. With Mallets A 4 Thought is one of his earliest albums, perhaps even his first, and was released on the Canadian Sparton label. Although there's no date on the record, it probably is from the mid- to late 1950s. You can listen to and download one of the tracks from this album below.

With Mallets Towards Some

Namaro died at his home in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada in 1998 at age 85. Unfortunately, none of his recordings are available on CD or as downloads, although his LPs occasionally turn up on the auction sites. A copy of With Mallets A 4 Thought recently sold on eBay for under $10.

Here's another sample of Namaro's music, this time from the album Driftwood.

Hank Williams, Jr. - Five-O

I must admit I find most of Hank Williams Junior's hard rock/country recordings to be loud and obnoxious. But there's one song he does that I never get tired of hearing -- Fats Waller's Ain't Misbehavin'.

It's certainly atypical of the majority of his recordings -- a very laid-back, gently swinging track that appeared on his 1985 Warner. Bros. album Five-O and was released as a single. Both the single and the album topped the country charts. The MP3 below is taken from the vinyl album.

Ain't Misbehavin'

Five-O has been issued on CD at least twice, the latest just last year, and is widely available. Strangely the complete album isn't available as a download, although Ain't Misbehavin' is. It's included in a 45-song digital compilation called The Complete Hank Williams, Jr., which is also available on CD. My advice is to stick with downloading only Ain't Misbehavin' unless you're a Bocephus fanatic.

This version of Ain't Misbehavin' from YouTube appears to feature Hank lip-synching the vocal, according to many of the posted comments. But this undated concert version is about a minute shorter than the recording, so I'm guessing the instrumentation is live. In any case, I'll let you be the judge.

Barclay Allen Rhythm Four - Barclay's Boogie

Pianist Barclay Allen worked with Freddy Martin's orchestra before forming his own band in the 1940s. But his career was cut tragically short when he was paralyzed in a 1949 car crash.

Allen made relatively few recordings under his own name, including a handful of singles on the Hollywood-based Van-Es label, some of which were later re-released on Capitol. There were also at least two LPs -- Latin and American Piano Rhythms, released in 1957 on the low budget Tops label, and If You're Lonely on Warner Bros. in 1958. Both obviously consisted of tracks recorded in the previous decade.

Barclay's Boogie appeared on a Van-Es 78 in 1948 and was reissued on a Capitol 78 a year later. Capitol also pressed it on a 45 a couple of years after that. The MP3 below is taken from the 45.

Barclay's Boogie

Among Barclay Allen's recordings only If You're Lonely appears to have made the transition to digital formats. It was dubbed from vinyl onto CD by the British low-budget label Hallmark in 2009. The CD is no longer available but the album is obtainable as a download.

Used copies of Allen's single releases turn up fairly regularly on eBay and other auction sites and occasionally his LPs also are for sale.

From YouTube, here's another early Allen recording, Red Light Blues. Try to ignore the high level of surface noise and the fact that this 78 is pressed slightly off-centre and enjoy the wonderful music.

Footnote: Barclay Allen was co-composer of the Latin American standard Cumana.

Milt Jackson & His Gold Medal Winners - Brother Jim

Brother Jim (1986) was the last of the two dozen or so albums that Milt Jackson recorded for the Pablo label, beginning in 1975.

Jackson's regular quartet -- Cedar Walton, piano, Mickey Roker, drums, Bob Cranshaw, bass -- was augmented by two saxophonists, Jimmy Heath and Harold Vick. Guitarist Joe Pass also guested on one track.

Brother Jim was released in all three formats -- CD, LP and cassette. You can listen to and download the title track from the link below. The MP3 is from a cassette version of the album.

Brother Jim

Although the album is out of print, used CD and vinyl copies turn up regularly. Amazon Marketplace currently has a second-hand CD for less than $5. The album isn't available as a legal download.

Here's a video of Milt Jackson rehearsing in 1994 with a dixieland band in Hungary. No indication whether this was for a concert or a recording session.

Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band - Steve Allen's All-Star Jazz Concert, Vol. 1

This jazz concert hosted by musician and talk show host Steve Allen took place on May 8, 1954 at the Manhattan Center in New York.

As well as the Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band, with vocalist Sylvia Syms, the concert also featured the Billy Butterfield Jazz Band with Ray McKinley.

The Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band was fronted by two veterans of Bob Crosby's band, trumpeter Yank Lawson and and bassist Bob Haggart. Haggart and drummer Cliff Leman are featured on Big Noise from Winnetka. The MP3 is taken from a vinyl EP.

Big Noise from Winnetka

The original Decca LP of Vol. 1 ( and yes, there was a Vol. 2) was reissued in the 1980s on the Jasmine label out of France. This vinyl reissue is fairly easy to obtain, but prices vary widely, so shop around. And both volumes of the concert are available on a Jasmine 2-CD set, which can be had for as little as $4 for a used copy. Both volumes, under the title Steve Allen's All-Star Jazz Concert '54, are also available as a download from most of the major sources.

Orrin Star - No Frets Barred

New England native Orrin Star, who plays mandolin, banjo and guitar, was inspired to pursue a flatpicking style after seeing Doc Watson perform in 1969. Seven years later, Star won the National Flatpicking Championship.

After winning that 1976 title Star pursued his musical career in the Boston area, but in 1993 moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., where he fronted a group called The Sultans of String.

No Frets Barred was Star's first solo album, released by Flying Fish in 1982. Wonderful Dish Rag comes from that LP, with the MP3 lifted from the original vinyl.

Wonderful Dish Rag

No Frets Barred has made a complete transition to the digital age. It's available on CD (CD Baby has the best price) and as a download.

Orrin Star maintains a fairly busy concert and workshop schedule, mainly in the New England states. Check his website for details.

Here's Star (on mandolin) in concert with his current performing partner Leon Morris (guitar).

Soul Sugar - Jimmy McGriff

While organist Jimmy McGriff's recordings always had an R&B groove to them, the 1971 release Soul Sugar may well be his funkiest album ever. Under the guidance of producer Sonny Lester and backed by a crack rhythm section, McGriff divides his time almost equally between originals and contemporary pop and R&B covers. Listen to (and download if you so desire) what he does with James Brown's Ain't It Funky Now. The MP3 is taken from the original vinyl album on Capitol.

Ain't It Funky Now

Soul Sugar was paired with another McGriff album from 1971, Groove Grease, for a CD release in 2008. It's no longer available on disc but the complete 2-for-1 is available as a download.

For those interested, here's the band on Soul Sugar:

Flute, Tenor Sax: Cliff Davis
Trumpet: Murray Watson
Baritone Sax: Johnny Board
Electric Piano: Horace Ott
Guitar: Larry Frazier
Bass: Richard Davis
Drums: Marion J. Booker
Conga, Tambourine: Lawrence Killian

The personnel differs slightly for Groove Grease.

From YouTube, here's another track from Soul Sugar.

The Outlaws - Dream of the West

The Outlaws, one of several groups to use that name over the years, was a British instrumental group that recorded from 1961-64 for producer Joe Meek, the man responsible for The Tornadoes' chart-topping Telstar.

The group, led by guitarist Billy Kuy, was only marginally popular in the U.K. at the time (two lower level chart singles), but has since developed a cult following. Their sound is a bit reminiscent of The Shadows, but with a rawer edge.

The Outlaws' only album, Dream of the West, was released on HMV in 1961 and was briefly available on CD in 1993 on the BGO (Beat Goes On) label. It's long out of print and even used copies are expensive. Sample the album's content via the link below.

Barbecue

None of the tracks from Dream of the West are available as legal downloads, but here's another sampling of The Outlaws' western sound, Valley of the Sioux. This track was released as a single in 1961 but is not on the album.

Little Jimmy Dempsey - The Golden Guitar of Little Jimmy Dempsey

Atlanta-born "Little" Jimmy Dempsey struggled with a brittle bone disease throughout his life, but managed to become a top session guitarist and record producer in Nashville in the 1970s.

Dempsey began appearing around Atlanta in the 1950s and soon moved into the city's recording studios, working with such up-and-coming performers as Jerry Reed and Ray Stevens. In 1961, Dempsey released Modern Guitar Artistry, his first LP under his own name.

His session work in Nashville began in the early '60s, but he didn't move there until late in the decade. Soon after arriving, he signed with Shelby Singleton's Plantation Records, becoming Singleton's session leader. Dempsey produced such artists as Jeannie C. Riley, Webb Pierce and Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as recording a couple of instrumental albums.

Dempsey also did a lot of guitar work at RCA Studios in the '70s, working with the likes of Roger Miller, Eddy Arnold and Skeeter Davis. He was also busy on the gospel music scene and released several more instrumental albums.

In 1980, Dempsey retired from music at age 43 and devoted a number of years to owning and training harness racing horses. He died in 1997.

When I was in the U.K. a number of years ago I picked up a double cassette release, The Golden Guitar of Little Jimmy Dempsey (1986), at a service station while travelling with friends. I'm not sure of the origin of these recordings, although they almost certainly had been previously released, perhaps on Plantation. Here's Bridge Over Troubled Waters from that cassette collection.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Many of the recordings on The Golden Guitar ... cassette turned up in 2004 on The Legendary Guitar of "Little" Jimmy Dempsey double-CD set produced by his son Tim Dempsey on his label Legends Records. Apparently the only place that you can now get this set is through Jimmy Dempsey's website. Only one of the tracks, We've Only Just Begun, is available from iTunes.

To close, from YouTube, a bit of musical nuttiness from Little Jimmy Dempsey.