BLOG OPENED FOR REFERENCE

A request was received to be able to visit the blog. It is now opened for the public, for reference purposes. I think the Chat Box still works. Most images seem to be missing and the links will be expired of course.

Rodney

'To Rodney From Ronnie'

From 'The BritJazz Team'

BritJazz has now closed but it would be fitting to give a sincere and heartfelt 'send-off' to our leader, Rodney Pledge, and say thank you for all the hard work he has put in over the years to make this blog the success that it has been.

And who better to do the musical honours than Rodney's hero, Ronnie Ross.

The BritJazz contributors have scoured the five corners of the earth (yes, we found another one), listened to hours of radio tapes, delved into the dusty archives in the cellars and searched through those boxes of James Last lps in Charity Shops throughout the land and come up with this musical Rossfest.

This is the 'seldom heard' Ronnie Ross, the session man supreme playing in some surprising company at times.  Some Rodney will know of, some he might even have heard before but we hope that there is just something that comes as a surprise. He is present on all tracks but it might only be just a chorus amongst the dross and maybe right at the end of the song but he is there and he does solo, I guarantee.

So thank you Rodney for your immense contribution to BritJazz from all of us here, good luck and Lang May Yer Lum Reek.

FLAC from lps and cds with a 'cover picture' and some basic track detail.

From Rodney:-

After a momentary flash of puzzlement (not a post I had passed for publication!), I cottoned on and felt only immense gratitude for the kind gesture and words above. So I've been the "leader" for the past six years, have I? There was me thinking I was at best a helmsman but more likely a deckhand. The folks to really take credit are those in the engine room, who supplied all the music and artwork (occasionally including me, I admit).

It has been a great source of enjoyment for me, I must say, to travel on the BritJazz voyage. Sad I feel that it has to come to the final mooring but maybe for the best on the "quit while you're ahead" principle? They'll be plenty of new ideas for jazz blogs coming along I'm sure - as well as those currently running, some of which I hope to remain moderately active on.

Some of the Ronnie Ross material here I am familiar with of course but most of it I rarely hear, and some not at all, ever. I do remember the announcement about him playing the tenor with John Miller whereas it's clearly an alto - but I shouldn't be quibbling. Many really nice bits to surprise so a fine compilation which I will treasure and intend to listen to many more times. Thank you, fellows, for the admirable hard work.

"Lum reek" sounds as if it might be quite rude but I won't try to find out what it really means in case it's even worse than I suspect.

All the best to everybody here, on both BritJazz blogs,  and thank you all for the magnificent support, of all kinds.

0631 BRITJAZZ CHRISTMAS 2015 – SOME FESTIVE THOUGHTS

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
For our final Christmas contribution I thought I would look back to those old 45s which revolutionised the music industry back in the 1950s. They were cheap and cheerful, easily portable to carry to parties and the like and much loved by those newly invented teenagers. The sound was generally pretty good too

We probably all had some and some of you might still do.  I certainly have but delving into those it was quite difficult to find enough material to fill one lp.  Modern jazz was not popular enough to be allocated very many 45s in the UK although the USA with a greater tradition of music outlets such as jukeboxes issued considerably more.  But modern British jazz on 45s is quite hard to find and most of the ones that do exist tend to veer towards the more popular end of jazz like Dankworth’s ‘African Waltz’. But I haven’t selected that one.

Just a word about the cover picture.  A certain member of the backroom staff at BritJazz has a penchant for pictures of pretty girls in hot pants so I thought I would let him have an early Christmas present, but to spare his embarrassment I will not name him.

Now to the music. There are label scans for all the sides used and it’s not Christmassy at all unless somebody lets George in.

1.    Northwest Ten by the boastingly named ‘The Greatest Swing Band In The World.’ It’s very Basie-like and as smooth as cream. The soloists are not identified. Don Lusher on trombone maybe?
2.    Love For Sale by Alan Clare.  There are two very different musical lines going here. The strings play the tune we know in the background whilst Alan weaves a completely different melody line against this background. Intriguing.
3.    Banco by Vic Ash and The Men Of Action. No idea who they are but the tune sounds a bit like a theme tune for something.
4.    Abandonado by The Johnny Dankworth Orchestra. Only ever issued as a single. A cool Bossa Nova.
5.    Body And Soul by Cynthia Lanagan accompanied by the Harry Klein Quintet. I never did find out what happened to Cynthia.
6.    Flying Hickory by Tony Crombie und sein Orchester which is played by his Orchestra at the same time as well. You didn’t know he was ambidextrous did you? The hickory is a reference to his drum solo but it’s not all drums. There’s even an aeroplane solo.
7.    Sally by The Tubby Hayes Quintet. Look out Gracie Fields you have competition. I wonder who thought this was a good idea?
8.    Cabin In The Sky by The Tommy Whittle Quartet. This is a bit soporific so go and put the kettle on whilst it’s playing. You’ve got just 2 minutes and 55 seconds.
9.    Clark Kent Blues by The Chevalier Brothers. Clark Kent is the bass player in the group who stays out late at night. Ray Ice Cream sings and plays tenor. Roger Red Wine takes the vibes solo.
10.    Birth Of The Budd by Roy Budd. A raunchy piano solo against a raunchy rock background.
11.    Theme From Charlie by The Harry South Sextet. It was the theme music from a 1980s TV thriller ‘Charlie’. Dick Morrissey and Chris Pyne solo. Do you remember the TV series?  I don’t.
12.    And I’ll Find You by Joy Marshall. Not really a jazz 45 but it has a strong jazz connection. Joy was a black American singer who came to the UK in the early 60s to further her career. To get residence status and a work permit she married Peter King the alto player in 1962 and then left him after a year or so to become the live-in girlfriend of Tubby Hayes. Her career never took off and went into decline although she wasn’t really a bad singer. Too much competition at the time and she was a fiery individual to deal with. This was her last recording for the small and obscure label ‘Toast’ and she died by ‘misadventure’ on 21 November 1968 from ‘barbiturate poisoning combined with alcohol’ according to the Coroner. She was only 32. What a waste of a life.
13.    Stop-Look-Listen by The Steve Race Group. Tubby Hayes double tracks on tenor sax. Two for the price of one. It’s the theme from the TV series says the label. I thought it was something to do with Road Safety.
14.    Ballad–(Extract) by The National Youth Jazz Orchestra. This is just a part of a section from Paul Hart’s ‘Concierto For Guitar And Jazz Orchestra’, which he wrote for NYJO and guitarist John Williams. It really deserves to be heard in full so go and buy the cd
15.    Song For Hilary by The London Jazz Four. It was thought for a long time that the vibes player heard was Tubby Hayes be cause he did record with a similarly named group. But it isn’t. The four concerned are not very well known at all and in addition to this 45, they made two rather strange lps. One was ‘Take A New Look At The Beatles’ and the other was ‘An Elizabethan Song Book’. Both are on cd and worth investigating.
16.    Bouncing At Midnight by The Wally Stott Orchestra. Solos are by Eddie Blair and Bob Burns. We bounce out in style but who let George in?


So, there we are at the end of the road. The long and winding road of British Modern Jazz, which we have travelled for the last 5 years. In that time we have covered almost all styles of Modern Jazz, some mainstream and a small amount of traditional jazz. Some good, some bad, some familiar and some you might never have heard about.

Remember, all the music came from the collections of the various contributors and BritJazz has tried to post music that is either out of copyright or out of print/deleted so that we can be seen to be fair to the musicians involved. Earning a living from playing jazz is hard work and musicians deserve every penny they can get from their music be it recorded or otherwise. So remember that when you download the latest cd from some blog. Go and buy it instead.

And, finally, did you like the hot pants picture, Rodney?

I did and do, thank you. My immediate thought was some strings to be plucked. Rodney

**MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE LOYAL SUPPORTERS OF BRITJAZZ**

0630 David Snell [The Subtle Sound Of David Snell] FLAC 14(41.31)

Contributed by delmonico, who writes:-
There have been few jazz harpists and David Snell is one of them.  I think he must be the only British one too.
Here he plays a set of jazz standards in various small group formats.

(01)
Eddie Blair - trumpet, flugelhorn
Duncan Lamont - tenor
David Snell - harp
Arthur Watts - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(02 03 08 09)
David Snell - harp
Arthur Watts - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(04 06 13)
Duncan Lamont - tenor, flute (13)
David Snell - harp
Arthur Watts - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(05)
David Snell - harp
(07)
Eddie Blair - trumpet, flugelhorn
Duncan Lamont - tenor
David Snell - harp
Ike Isaacs - guitar
Arthur Watts - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(10-12 14)
Eddie Blair - trumpet, flugelhorn
David Snell - harp
Arthur Watts - bass
Allan Ganley - drums

01 My Favourite Things
02 I'll Remember April
03 They Can't Take That Away From Me
04 Take Five
05 How Are Things In Gloccamorra
06 Baubles, Bangles And Beads
07 The Girl From Ipanema
08 Surrey With The Fringe On Top
09 Tenderly
10 Wives And Lovers
11 Laura
12 Fascinating Rhythm
13 Waltz Song
14 Get Happy

Label: Vocalion CDLF 8110
Recorded: 1965 London
Lineage: CD>FLAC
Scans: Full

0629 Dave Shepherd Buddy Featherstonhaugh [At Sundown] FLAC 5(14.44)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
This is the other side of the 10" BBC transcription disc with sessions by Buddy Featherstonhaugh and Dave Shepherd.

(01 02 04)
Dave Shepherd - clarinet
Unknown - piano
Unknown - vibes
Unknown - bass
Unknown - drums
(03)
Unknown - trumpet
Buddy Featherstonhaugh - baritone
Unknown - bass
Unknown - drums
(05)
All of the above

01 Nagasaki
02 At Sundown
03 Sweetheart Of Sigmund Freud
04 Running Wild
05 Theme - Things Ain't What They Used To Be

Label: BBC Transcription Service - 55
Recorded: c. 1956
Lineage: LP>FLAC
Scans: Front rear covers by jazzandylan

0628 Chevalier Brothers [Live And Jumping] FLAC 9(32.22)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
Many of you in the UK, particularly in the London area, will remember that lively jump band The Chevalier Brothers playing in the local pubs and clubs (and busking in the streets at the start) during the 1980s.
Here they are with their first lp, and I think their best, which consists of various live recordings from March 1985.
It's rough and ready jump and jive music (with a strong Louis Jordan influence) but great fun and very well received by the crowds as you can hear. They only made a handful of records and the personnel did change over their short life. They took their group name from their French guitarist and leader, Maurice Chevalier, but this was a pseudonym as were most of the names of the other musicians.
Raymondo (later shortened to Ray) Gelato was the more mundanely named Ray Irwin. Roger Beaujolais was Roger Downham. Chevalier was born Patrice Serapiglia. Clark Kent was Superman in a previous life and John Piper was a well known painter (pictures not houses).
The main soloists Ray Gelato and Roger Beaujolais, are still very active in music. Ray is actually a very good tenor saxophonist and still leads a more sophisticated version of the Chevaliers. Roger has gone all respectable and plays straight ahead jazz these days.
FLAC from lp with cover scans.

Raymondo Gelato - tenor, vocals
Roger Beaujolais - vibes, vocals
Maurice Chevalier - guitar, vocals
Clark Kent - bass, vocals
John Piper - drums

01 Five Guys Named Moe
02 Reet Petite And Gone
03 Fat Sam From Birmingham
04 Air Mail Special
05 Self-Inflicted
06 The Joint Is Jumpin'
07 The Jam Man
08 One more Drink Bartender
09 Wake Up Baby

Label: Disques Cheval GG1
Recorded: March 02 03 1985
Lineage: LP>FLAC
Scans: Front rear LP cover

0627-2 Brian Lemon [The Brian Lemon Anthology CD2] FLAC 14(77.40)

Contributed by jazzandylan

(01)
Gerard Presencer - trumpet
Mark Nightingale - trombone
Alan Barnes - alto
Andy Panayi - piccolo
Iain Dixon - clarinet
Anthony Kerr - vibes
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Steve Brown - drums
(02)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Alan Barnes - baritone
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Cliff - guitar
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(03)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Alan Barnes - alto
Tony Coe - tenor
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Cliff - guitar
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(04)
Ruby Braff - cornet
Brian Lemon - piano
Allan Ganley - drums
(05)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Alan Barnes - baritone
Tony Coe - clarinet
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Cliff - guitar
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(06)
Gerard Presencer - flugelhorn
Alan Barnes - alto
Iain Dixon - tenor
Andy Panayi - baritone
Anthony Kerr - vibes
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Clark Tracey - drums
(07)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Roy Williams - trombone
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Clark Tracey - drums
(08)
Dave Cliff - guitar
Howard Alden - guitar
(09)
Alan Barnes - clarinet
Tony Coe - clarinet
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(10)
Kenny Baker - trumpet
Warren Vaché - cornet
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(11)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Tony Coe - tenor
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Cliff - guitar
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums
(12)
Roy Williams - trombone
Alan Barnes - alto
Ken Peplowski - tenor
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Cliff - guitar
Dave Green - bass
Martin Drew - drums
(13)
Warren Vaché - cornet
Derek Watkins - trumpet
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Martin Drew - drums
(14)
Brian Lemon - piano
Dave Green - bass
Allan Ganley - drums

01 A Dotty Blues
02 Memories Of You
03 High On You
04 This Is All I Ask
05 Shine (Take 2)
06 Chelsea Bridge
07 I Thought About You
08 In My Solitude
09 Days Of Wine And Roses
10 After You've Gone
11 Street Of Dreams
12 Am I Blue
13 Stardust
14 Blue Skies

Recorded:
June 11 1987 (10)
March 03 or 04 or April 13 or 14 (06) September 23 (04) 1996
December 19 or 20 1996 (13)
c.1996 (12)
November 02 03 or May 03 1997 (08)
January 04 (05) 06 or June 13 (01) May 13 (02 03) 1997
January 04 or February 17 or 18 1997 (09)
January 15 or April 15 or 16 1997 (11)
July 20-22 1999 (07)
December 21 1999 or March 27 2000 (14)

Label: Zephyr ZECD36
Lineage: CD>FLAC
Scans: Full