0190 Reg Owen [Swing Me High] FLAC 12(30.28)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
Reg Owen is perhaps better known as a composer/arranger although he worked as a saxophonist with the Ted Heath Orchestra between 1945 and 1950 and was later a staff arranger with that band.
He also wrote and arranged for many of the band leaders during the 1950s and later and his recording of 'Manhattan Spiritual' (not on this record) enjoyed some commercial success when released as a single.
His excursions into jazz were few, so this big band containing some well known jazz names and swung along by Phil Seamen is a real treat. The recording date is not given but it is thought to be from the 1957/1958 period.
He died in Spain in 1978 aged 62.

Stan Roderick - trumpet
Jimmy Watson - trumpet
Tommy McQuater - trumpet
Moe Miller - trumpet
Laddie Busby - trombone
Jackie Armstrong - trombone
George Chisholm - trombone
Ken Goldie - trombone
Bob Burns - alto
Bill Povey - alto
Keith Bird - tenor
Frank Reidy - tenor
Al Baum - baritone
Max Harris - piano
Bert Weedon - guitar
Joe Muddel - bass
Phil Seamen - drums
Bobby Midgley - percussion

01 Swing Me High (2:25)
02 Soho Blues (3:12)
03 Slow Train Blues (2:33)
04 Pushin' (2:19)
05 Sweepin' The Floor (2:06)
06 Scotch On The Rocks (2:16)
07 Sinbad (2:20)
08 Babylone Blues (2:50)
09 Madwalk (2:30)
10 Sunset Strip (2:34)
11 Easy Now (2:43)
12 Harlem Swing (2:40)

Label: Bally BAL-12006
Recorded: 1957/1958
Lineage: LP>FLAC

0189 Victor Feldman Kenny Graham [Experiment In Time] FLAC 4(21.32)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
Esquire claimed that this music broke new ground and it certainly provides some interesting variations on 'time'. There is even a little of what sounds like free blowing in places by Kenny Graham.
Dizzy Reece has a very minor role here playing conga drums and Phil Seamen, who seems to appear on most of BritJazz posts, not only plays drums but vibes too and that must be a first.
Not wholly successful - S.O.S. is tedious and repetitive but Esquire must be congratulated for recording this session back in 1955 which would perhaps not have had the same commercial appeal as other recordings by this label.  Is this maybe why it has never been re-issued in any format?

Kenny Graham - tenor
Victor Feldman - vibes, piano, drums, conga
Phil Seamen - vibes, drums, timbales
Ray Dempsey - guitar
Eric Peter - bass
Dizzy Reece - conga
Barry Morgan - marracas, timbales

01 Mogambo (Graham) (5:00)
02 Keep Happy (Squire) (6:03)
03 Algo Bueno (Gillespie) (5:32)
04 S.O.S. (Graham) (4:57)

Label: Esquire 10" lp - 20-064
Recorded: May 08 1955
Lineage: LP>FLAC

0188 Martial Solal [Jazz International] FLAC 7(38.01)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
An usual grouping of Jimmy Deuchar, Allen Eager and Billy Byers with a French based rhythm section and recorded in Paris in 1956.
Deuchar was playing a short engagement with a Tommy Whittle group in Paris, Eager was resident in the city temporarily, Byers and Kenny Clarke were permanent residents there whilst the bassist was Belgian and the pianist French. International indeed.
All the front line musicians play well and overall the session is a great treat. It surely deserves a cd release so that it can become better known.

Jimmy Deuchar - trumpet
Billy Byers - trombone
Allen Eager - tenor
Martial Solal - piano
Benoit Quersin - bass
Kenny Clarke - drums

01 Trianon (Solal) (4:01)
02 Kenny Special (Solal) (5:21)
03 Illusion (Solal) (3:18)
04 Love Me or Leave Me (Donaldson, Kahn) (7:29)
05 Cinerama (Solal) (4:21)
06 Vogue (Solal) (6:42)
07 Buyer's Guide (Byers) (6:53)

Label: Vogue LAE 12029
Recorded: September 24 1956
Lineage: LP>FLAC

0187 Tony Crombie [And His Orchestra] FLAC 4(10.33)

Contributed by Azule Serape, who writes:-
Tony Crombie was a man of many parts, early bebopper and Club 11 Founder member, big band leader, rock and roll star and writer of film and TV music.
Here he leads a fine big band from 1954 with vocalists Annie Ross and Bobby Breen having a song apiece. Bobby had a long career in music and sang with all the best musicians. Unusually for a singer he had a rather endearing pronounced lisp but it didn't prevent him from tackling those songs which, in theory, should have been a nightmare for him. The following extract from 'Dave Corsby-Jazz Notes' illustrates this well:
'TV South had an evening local news programme and every month or so the producer used to feature a jazz spot. Their small studio in Dover only had two cameras so one was used for close ups and the other moved around taking long shots from different angles. West Indian singer Bobby Breen was the guest. Bobby who had a lisp chose to sing "Route Thixty Thix" and "Like Thomeone in Luth". After a talk through in the pub which lasted from eleven to three we returned to record the two songs and interview in one continuous take ready for unedited transmission at six. The first take was too long. The second take was fine but unusable because in the interview Bobby was asked to what he owed his success and answered "draft Guinneth". The next take was great. Everyone played well and in my four bar solo break everything came off better than intended. Unfortunately the distance cameraman slipped on a cable and came up with a shot of Bobby Breen's boots. By this time we were running short of film and time. The final take was relatively tame as everybody played safe. But an enduring memory is Bobby singing "Lately I find mythelth gathing at thtarth, hearing guitarth like thomone in luth". '

Dizzy Reece - trumpet
Les Condon - trumpet
Joe Temperley - tenor
Sammy Walker - tenor
Lennie Dawes - baritone
Harry South - piano
Ashley Kozac - bass
Tony Crombie - drums
Annie Ross - vocals (04)
Bobby Breen - vocals (02)

01 Stop It
02 All of Me
03 Perdido
04 Love You Madly

Label: Decca ep DFE 6247
Recorded: November 18 1954
Lineage: EP>FLAC

0186 Johnny Dankworth and Ronnie Scott [Bop at Club 11] FLAC 13(55.41)

Contributed by Blue Prince, who writes:-
A concert featuring these two groups on 9 April 1949 at St. George Hall, London and recorded live by Carlo Krahmer for his Esquire label.  
Krahmer's disc recording equipment was primitive and the results reflect this but it was an historic occasion for British jazz - one of the earliest live Bop recordings.

(01-03 06 07 10 11 13)
Dennis Rose - trumpet
Johnny Rogers - alto
Ronnie Scott - tenor
Tommy Pollard - piano
Lennie Bush - bass
Tony Crombie - drums
Ginger Johnson - bongos
(04 05 08 09)
John Dankworth - alto
Norman Stenfalt - piano
Joe Muddel - bass
Laurie Morgan - drums
(12)
John Dankworth - alto
Tommy Pollard - piano
Joe Muddel - bass
Laurie Morgan - drums

01 Wee Dot (2:55)
02 Coquette (2:33)
03 52nd Street Theme (4:40)
04 Bremavin (3:36)
05 Lover Man (3:39)
06 Ow! (4:59)
07 Don't Blame Me (5:17)
08 Second Eleven (4:43)
09 Body And Soul (3:53)
10 Stoned (4:00)
11 Scrapple From The Apple (6:49)
12 A Night In Tunisia (3:59)
13 Donna Lee (4:06)

Label: Esquire 315
Recorded: April 09 1949
Lineage: LP>FLAC

0185 Bertie King & Kenny Baker [Symphony in Riffs] FLAC 1(10.27)

Contributed by bluebird, who writes:-
This is an extended Benny Carter composition which occupies both sides of the ep and features mainly the alto of Bertie King although there are other big names present in the group. There are solos by others and they are listed on the back of the sleeve.
FLAC with ep cover scans and pdf file.

Kenny Baker - trumpet
George Chisholm - trombone
Bertie King - alto
Jimmy Skidmore - tenor
Harry Klein - baritone
Vic Ash - clarinet
Dill Jones - piano
Bill Le Sage - accordion
Cedric West - guitar
Frank Clarke - bass
Eddie Taylor - drums

01 Symphony In Riffs (10:27)

Label: Nixa ep NJE 1006
Recorded: April 20 1955
Lineage: EP>FLAC

0184 Ken Colyer [Back to the Delta] 320 9(28.27)

Contributed by beezer.
"Ken was of major historic importance in the British post-1945 discovery of New Orleans traditional music. It may seem a long way from Ken to the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but he helped paved the way for the rediscovery of the Blues and all that went with that." LondonLouis

Ken Colyer - trumpet, guitar, vocals
Ed O'Donnell - trombone
Bernard Bilk - clarinet
Diz Disley - banjo
Alexis Korner - mandolin, vocals
Dick Smith - bass
Mickey Ashman - bass
Bill Colyer - washboard
Stan Greig - drums

01 Sing On (3:05)
02 Lord Lord Lord You Sure Been Good to Me (2:46)
03 Faraway Blues (4:43)
04 Moose March (2:50)
05 Midnight Special (2:51)
06 Casey Jones (2:38)
07 K C Moan (3:02)
08 Saturday Night Function (3:59)
09 Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble (2:34)

Label: Decca LF 1196
Recorded: June 25 September 10 1954