Here we go...
Sidney Bechet. Grandfather of modern sax, he practically created the concept of what we all know as jazz. The beauty of players like Bechet, is that they innovated and created with little foundation. There was no Coltrane or Rollins... his genius was that of pure creativity. For anyone who is unfamiliar with his playing, or his life - Sidney Bechet was a wild man. He was erratic, ecclectic and this poured into his music. There wasn't alot of musicians who could share a stage with him, and many others didn't want to. You see, Sidney had a bad rep for "killing at will". He was so competetive, he would sometimes cut his bandmates during a gig!
These sessions were performed in 1945. Up to that point, Bechet's career had seen a decline. Partly due to changing tastes, and partly due to his negative views of the scene. The late 30's/early 40's began the revivalist movement, which brought back the appeal of small group "hot" jazz. Bechet was viewed as a living legend (and rightly so!) to this scene, and he was perfectly positioned for a comeback. He decided he would put together the most smokin' N'awlins styled group, and use this rejuvenated celebrity status to his benefit. Quite literally, world domination was on his mind - but first, he would have to put the group together and work out the kinks.
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| FCJ010: Royal Garden Blues |
And so, Sidney Bechet and his New Orleans Rhythm Kings was founded. The rhythm section would remain the same from start to finish; Ray Parker on keys, Pops Foster on bass and George Thompson on the skins. Bunk Johnson was brought in as the other half of the front line, on trumpet. Bechet picked the Savoy Cafe in Boston, MA for an extended engagement, essentially a warm up before storming the world.
The entire jazz world was buzzing from the news, and as a result, the local radio station WCOP secured broadcasting rights. They would feature the gigs on their nightly show - Jazz Nocturne. It was being hailed as the biggest jazz event of the decade, and they probably weren't too far off from the truth. Of course, fate had other ideas for the Rhythm Kings...
Firstly, Bunk Johnson didn't work out. He was a raging alcoholic, and was butting heads with Bechet on stage. So they called down south for Peter Bocage to replace him. During the week of waiting for his arrival, local 18 year old Johnny Windhurst managed to get the gig. Bocage finally arrived, but after only a few nights it became evident that Bocage and Bechet were stylistically not working. So with Bocage's departure, Bechet called back Windhurst, and with the young trumpeter the band was finally complete. This quintet played night after night until the engagement was finished.
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| FCJ011: Struttin' With Some Barbecue |
So now... skip ahead to 1981. A small group of afficianados start the Fat Cat's Jazz imprint, for the sole purpose of releasing the WCOP archives. 12 volumes were pressed, in small quantity, featuring rehearsals, live performances and interviews from the Savoy engagement. The albums were tracked chronologically, with Volume 1 featuring the group with Bunk Johnson, and Volume 12 ending with Windhurst.
Moving into the late 90's, a small label called Jazz Crusade decided to transfer the Jazz Nocturne albums to CD. Curiously, they only released everything up to Volume 5 and then stopped. While these 5 albums are historically important, the best performances in terms of music are on the latter half of the albums, once the group had solidified it's line up.
And that's where the Crypt steps in folks. Here for you are volumes 10, 11 and 12. Each LP is in mint condition. Of course, the fidelity from the source can be sketchy. The music however is wildly rewarding, and worth a listen. The liner notes are fantastic, and are of course included. Since I think this is a blogland first, I also scanned the LP labels...for completion sake I suppose. These were ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC. Cryptheads get ready!!! Enjoy!!
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| FCJ012: Blues In The Air |
Fat Cat's Jazz - Jazz Nocturne
FCJ010, FCJ011 and FCJ012
Recorded off the air, by WCOP Boston, MA 1945
Released 1981
Bob Brenner - announcer/host
Wynne Paris - interviewer
http://www.mediafire.com/?mb44jwm6wz779h5,1tci2a8f25by4w1,v9rdm9xvr0whpr9,mvlu39qdc1e83r3
ReplyDeleteThank you poppachubby!
ReplyDeleteMan, thanks for giving one of the major pioneers of jazz some much deserved attention. I can't wait to hear this!
ReplyDeleteI shall be erecting a shrine in your name, my good sir. Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteChecking the previous Jazz Crusade Vol.1 to 5, plus the above three albums 10, 11 and 12, we only miss the Fat Cat LP Vol.4 Yellow Dog Blues, to get the full 12 original albums.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad this is getting some more deserved attention. Bechet will be getting much exposure at the crypt in the coming weeks...
ReplyDeleteMercy!
ReplyDeleteEt merci! :o)
WOW! Awesome share poppa! Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteAmazing post!!!! Can't wait to hear these. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, poppachubby!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and an excellent exposition of the history of these recordings and their releases.
However, since the first five Jazz Crusade volumes were released, there have actually later been two more CDs, with the perhaps misleading titles "Best of the Jazz Nocturne Programs, Volume 1" and "...Volume 2". They contain Volume 11 and Volume 12 of the Fat Cat's Jazz LPs and can be found here:
http://www.jazzcrusade.com/JCCD/JC3104.html
http://www.jazzcrusade.com/JCCD/JC3105.html
No trace of Volume 10 having been on CD though, so I burnt and listened to that one. Bechet was indeed a jazz giant and pioneer, but is perhaps a bit overlooked because he didn't play alto or tenor. He is in great form here. As for Windhurst, he may have been a reliable choice after Bunk and Bocage, but he was hardly a spectacular trumpeter.
Something funny happens at the start of "I Never Knew". There are two different tunes by that name, and Bechet launches into the more well-known one (composed by Kahn-Fio Rito), but Windhurst starts playing the other one (composed by Egan-Marsh-Pitts), and after a few seconds Bechet falls into the latter as well. Both tunes were in the repertoire, since they had recorded the more well-known "I Never Knew" at an earlier broadcast, so that's probably why Bechet got confused.
Considering the star status these "Kings" were supposed to have, the makeup of the group is a bit odd. The original trumpeter Bunk Johnson certainly was a big name at the time, a few years after his rediscovery, and Pops Foster was a well-known name since his pioneering days in the Luis Russell orchestra, which essentially was the first to play Swing. But what about pianist Ray Parker and drummer George Thompson? The Jazz Nocturne recordings were the only ones Thompson ever made, and the same can almost be said about Parker. He had been on a couple of Pete Brown sessions earlier in 1945 and he would turn up on a session backing singer Lil Green in 1947, but that's it. Their obscurity makes a striking contrast to the other members of the band. Perhaps having two unknown musicians was a way for Bechet to keep costs down.
The LP volumes that have not been on CD, apart from Volume 10 in this post, are, as far as I can see, volumes 4, 5 & 6. For volumes 2 & 8 there are some missing tracks, if Lord is to be believed.
Wow, thanks for sharing chu!! I may use your post as an addendum to the body of mine. I think that Windhurst must have been a special player to be able to play next to one of the greatest improvisors in the histroy of jazz. He obviously had the right temperment to deal with Bechets non stop competitiveness. In this regard Windhurst was great.
ReplyDelete