Acquiring Albums Just To Have Them…

So I’ve made myself a vow. I am no longer going to acquire a jazz album just to have it. If I purchase or download an album, I have to listen to it, deeply and attentively, to be sure I want to keep it. To ensure that it is up to my level of enjoyment and not just kept in order to fill in a discography or earn eventual listening. Redundancy is an issue too. As my Lee Morgan posts of earlier this spring attest to, I can only handle so much playing in the same style. It was a revelation to go back and see that Lee had more of a dynamic than I had previously credited him but it also made me realize that while I enjoy the finest of his output in different styles, I only need so many of his blowing sessions — not almost all of them.

The fleeting rush of acquisition is a tantalizing drug. I have often fallen victim to it. To the delerium, the mania of constantly seeking new records, new knowledge, hearing how a player developed, who he played with, what sessions are available, what is rare and worth seeking. The greater the difficulty, the better the challenge, the greater the rush of attainment.

But where is the true satisfaction?

I love Don Byas to death. He is one of my all-time favorite tenor players. And when I realized this, I rushed out and got my hands on at least ten different sessions at once. I listen to them all casually for awhile but really only dedicated my ears to the Jazz In Paris series. Now I find myself wanting something new to hear from him when I have seven or eight good sessions sitting on  my hard drive that I’ve only ever listened to once or twice. Why aren’t they enough?

As I go through and listen and review these records that have sat unloved in my collection, I will grapple with these questions and see if I cannot tame the impulse to constantly collect, to still the mania, and dampen the diminishing returns that keep me constantly seeking for more.

Bop and Beyond: Winter Edition 2010 (now available for download)

Finally got a chance to record a new episode of Bop and Beyond, focusing on jazz from the 1940′s — music from Sonny Stitt, Rex Stewart, Don Byas, Charlie Christian, Coleman Hawkins, Ike Quebec, and more…

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OA4LXMEC

Don Byas in 78rpm:

Buck Clayton (tr); Don Byas (ts); Johnny Guarnieri (p); Eddie Safranski (b); Denzil Best (dr) — Jamboree Records, 1945

Dick Vance (tr); Don Byas (ts); Al Casey (g); Cyril Haynes (p); John Levy (b); Harold West (dr) –  Comet Records, 1945

Don Byas, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong & The Esquire All-American 1946 Award Winners:

Recently, a wealth of obscure jazz material has appeared on YouTube, including several ultra-rare 78s featuring Esquire All-American 1946 Award Winners — an all-star gathering of some of jazz finest musicians. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard this:

Look at this line-up, it’s crazy:

Louis Armstrong – trumpet & vocal;  Charlie Shavers – trumpet; Jimmy Hamilton – clarinet; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Don Byas – tenor sax
Remo Palmieri – guitar; Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn – pianos
Chubby Jackson – bass; Sonny Greer – drums

I’d heard Satch and Duke together many times and most of these other players were Ellington regulars but I had no idea that Don Byas had ever recorded with either gentleman, what a treat!

Here’s another track with a similar line-up (Duke bows out on piano; Neil Hefti sits in on trumpet):

Thinking about Sonny Stitt…

Sonny Stitt is a much-maligned, misunderstood genius whose true talents were often hidden behind a cruel, contemptuous veneer and a bad habit that kept him on the jazz sidelines. The shadow of “Bird” loomed ominously as well, darkening a career more varied than his contemporaries gave him credit for. As recently as last year, Lou Donaldson denigrated Stitt in an interview with Jazz Times magazine.  Still, there are (and were) those hip to Stitt. In “Sonny Strikes Back,” Sonny answered his critics: “Everyone should want to be themselves. I’m always going to be myself. Like, when they talk about me and Charlie Parker. Me and Charlie Parker sounded the same way years and years and years ago. He said: “You sound like me.” I said: “Well, you sound like me.” And we agreed: “We can’t help that, can we?” Then we’d go off and get some beer, play some music, or something.” I also suspect that Lou was just being jealous. Stitt reportedly had a mean temper in him when it came to cutting sessions. Lots of great players were afraid of him. Like they were afraid of Don Byas. And Booker Ervin. He would just get up there and blow you away.

I’ve been listening a lot to Stitt’s early Prestige sessions — the infamous Stitt’s Bits — wherein the early seeds of bebop are harvested. His playing is nuanced, varied, and fluid. He has a dexterity on alto, tenor, and baritone that few can equal. That he went and mastered all three instruments speaks to his dedication.  What’s lovely is to hear Stitt in great company: Bud Powell, Max Roach, Gene Ammons, Duke Jordan, Jo Jones, J.J. Johnson and more. Later, as his habit caught up with him, Stitt was often stuck with local pick-up bands whose talent didn’t match their leader.

Here’s an excellent track from those sessions:

Sonny Stitt – tenor sax / Bud Powell – piano / Curly Russell – bass / Max Roach – drums (Prestige Records, 1950)

Stitt breathes fire on this number. As he did on a large number of superlative recordings.

Edward “Sonny” Stitt was born on February 2nd, 1924 and died on July 22nd, 1982. He was only 58 years old.

Like Ike Quebec and Don Byas, he deserves to be better known.