Art Hodes & Milt Hinton - Just The Two Of Us (1981) [vinyl>flac]

Art Hodes, jazz pianist, who played with such greats as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman and in the 1940s had his own record label, radio show and magazine. Born in Nikoliev, the Ukraine, Hodes came to Chicago as an infant and spent most of his life performing there. But during the 1940s, he lived in New York, presenting a weekly radio program for WNYC, founding his own record label, JazzRecord, and editing a critically acclaimed magazine of the same title. He also organized and led his own bands. Hodes was host of a television series called "Jazz Alley" in the 1960s, taught at the Lake Forest Conservatory, and throughout his career did much to popularize traditional jazz styles.

"Throughout his long career, Art Hodes was a fighter for traditional jazz, whether through his distinctive piano playing, his writings (which included many articles and liner notes), or his work on radio and educational television. Renowned for the feeling he put into blues, Hodes was particularly effective on up-tempo tunes, where his on-the-beat chordings from his left hand could be quite exciting. Born in Russia, he came to America with his family when he was six months old and grew up in Chicago. Hodes had the opportunity to witness Chicago jazz during its prime years in the 1920s, and he learned from other pianists. In 1928, he made his recording debut with Wingy Manone, but spent most of the 1930s in obscurity in Chicago until he moved to New York in 1938. He played with Joe Marsala and Mezz Mezzrow before forming his own band in 1941. Hodes recorded for Solo Art, his Jazz Record label, Signature, Decca, and Black & White during 1939-1942, but he made more of an impression with his heated Dixieland recordings for Blue Note during 1944-1945 (all of which have been reissued on a Mosaic box set). During 1943-1947, Hodes edited the important magazine the Jazz Record, had a radio show, and became involved in the moldy fig versus bebop wars with Leonard Feather and Barry Ulanov; jazz on a whole lost to the latter. In 1950, he returned to Chicago, where he remained active locally and made occasional records. Hodes hosted a television series, Jazz Alley, for a time in the 1960s, wrote for Downbeat, and was a jazz educator. Art Hodes recorded frequently during the 1970s and '80s, and was widely recognized as one of the last survivors of Chicago jazz. His later recordings were for such labels as Audiophile, Jazzology, Delmark, Storyville, Euphonic, Muse, Parkwood, Candid, and Music & Arts. ~ Scott Yanow"

01 - Willow Weep For Me
02 - Winin'
03 - I Would Do Most Anything
04 - Low Down N' Below
05 - Bye & Bye
06 - Down Home Blues
07 - Randolph Street Blues
08 - Here Comes Cow Cow
09 - Miss Otis Regrets
10 - Milt Jumps

Art Hodes (p) Milt Hinton (b)
The Cabbage Patch, Nyc, August 26, 1981

Sidney Bechet - Jazz Classics Vol. 1 & 2

The discography of Sidney Bechet is enormous.  Proper albums issued by labels are in the minority as there are hundreds of compilations which bring confusion and chaos to any chronological sense.  Many, if not most, add no value to his discography and are infact barely listenable.

So where does a person start if they want to listen to this prolific artist??  Well, they start here at the Crypt.  We have given you a few excellent posts which combined, give a wonderful summary to Bechet's storied music.  Basically, we have listened to tens of crappy albums so you don't have to.

Adding to essential Sidney Bechet listening, we are presenting you with two excellent volumes of Blue Note sides recorded in the late 30's through to the early 50's.  Jazz Classics were originally issued as two volumes both on 10 inch vinyl.  They were reissued in the mid 60's and given the full Blue Note treatment, including hip and modern covers designed by Miles Reid.  Thanks to the 12 inch format, we get some additional tracks which weren't on the original sides.  Between both volumes, the music was recorded in eight different sessions with a wide range of musicians.

The music is top shelf trad as only the great Sidney Bechet can deliver.  We are listening to his "comeback" years as he was supposed to be retired.  Trad jazz enjoyed a wave of interest during the 40's and 50's, so of course Bechet was considered a living legend and was drawn back into the business.  It was during this time that he recorded the infamous cut of "Summertime" for Alfred Lion, and jazz was never the same again.

So this music is important on all fronts - historically, technically... but most important it's just great toe tapping jazz by one of the genre's greatest.  If you aren't a fan of Bechet, or are looking for a starting point to enjoying his music, you have found it.  This pair of LPs were issued in 1968 and are super minty.  Any analog noise that you may hear is in the recording itself.  Wonderful fidelity as to be expected from anything with the Blue Note stamp.  It should be noted that both of these albums share the same back cover, therefore I used the same image for both.  In the album notes you will find the complete session info.  The albums have been remastered from mono to stereo.  These were ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC.  I hope this adds some warmth to your winter weekend... enjoy!!!

BLP 1201

A1 Muskrat Ramble
A2 Blue Horizon
A3 Weary Blues
A4 Summertime
A5 Blame It On The Blues
B1 Milenberg Joys
B2 Days Beyond Recall
B3 Salty Dog
B4 Dear Old Southland
B5 Weary Way Blues

Bass – John Williams* (tracks: A4), George "Pops" Foster* (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5)
Clarinet – Albert Nicholas (tracks: A5, B5)
Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone – Sidney Bechet
Drums – Danny Alvin (tracks: A5, B5), Manzie Johnson (tracks: A1, A2, B1, B2, B4), Sidney Catlett(tracks: A4)
Drums, Vocals – Fred Moore* (tracks: A3, B3)
Guitar – Teddy Bunn (tracks: A4, B4)
Piano – Art Hodes (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5, B3, B5), Cliff Jackson (tracks: B1, B2), Meade "Lux" Lewis(tracks: A4)
Trombone – George Lugg (tracks: A3, B3), Sandy Williams (tracks: B1, B2), Vic Dickenson (tracks: A1, A2)
Trumpet – Bunk Johnson (tracks: B1, B2), Max Kaminsky (tracks: A3, B3), Sidney De Paris (tracks: A1, A2)

BLP 1202

A1 St. Louis Blues
A2 Up In Sidney's Flat
A3 Lord, Let Me In The Lifeboat
A4 Pounding Heart Blues
A5 Changes Made
B1 High Society
B2 Jackass Blues
B3 Jazz Me Blues
B4 Blues For Tommy Ladnier
B5 Old Stack O'Lee Blues

Bass – John Williams* (tracks: A4, B4), George "Pops" Foster* (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5 to B3, B5)
Clarinet – Albert Nicholas (tracks: B5)
Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone – Sidney Bechet
Drums – Danny Alvin (tracks: B5), Manzie Johnson (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B3), Sidney Catlett (tracks: A4, B4)
Drums, Vocals – Fred Moore* (tracks: B1, B2)
Guitar – Teddy Bunn (tracks: A4, B4)
Piano – Art Hodes (tracks: A1, B1 to B3, B5), Cliff Jackson (tracks: A2, A3), Don Kirkpatrick (2)(tracks: A5), Meade "Lux" Lewis (tracks: A4, B4)
Trombone – George Lugg (tracks: B1, B2), J.C. Higginbotham (tracks: A4, B4), Jimmy Archey (tracks: A5), Sandy Williams (tracks: A2, A3), Vic Dickenson (tracks: A1, B3)
Trumpet – Bunk Johnson (tracks: A2, A3), Frankie Newton* (tracks: A4, B4), Max Kaminsky (tracks: B1, B2), Sidney De Paris (tracks: A1, A5, B3)

Sidney Bechet w/ Wild Bill Davison - Runnin Wild

This is a long OOP disc which features all of the Blue Note sessions of Bechet and Davison.  Undoubtedly some of his best output from the revival period, with excellent fidelity to boot!  Ripped in FLAC... enjoy!!!

After Blue Note switched to bop in 1947, it was the end of trad jazz on the label, with the exception of a few sessions led by Sidney Bechet and George Lewis. The masterful soprano saxophonist Bechet led no less than nine dates for Blue Note, as well as appearing as a sideman on four others, all of which were included in Mosaic's now out-of-print comprehensive Bechet box set. Three of Bechet's outings for Blue Note co-featured cornetist Wild Bill Davison, and all of that music is on this single 1998 CD. Since Bechet was generally quite dominant in ensembles, he did not usually get along well with trumpeters, and since Davison could be quite fiery, it is surprising that this matchup works so well. Bechet actually enjoyed Wild Bill's playing because the cornetist played fairly simply and left plenty of space. Davison had great respect for Bechet and is slightly more restrained than usual throughout these numbers, although he does let loose with some heated blasts here and there. This excellent Dixieland collection features one quintet and two sextet sessions with Bob Diehl or Jimmy Archey on trombone, Art Hodes or Joe Sullivan on piano, Pops Foster or Walter Page on bass and Freddie Moore or Slick Jones on drums; there are lots of hot moments on the warhorse material from the two principals. A surprise success.

  - Scott Yanow/AMG

Recorded at WOR Studios, New York, New York on January 21 & March 23, 1949 and April 19, 1950

Sidney Bechet (soprano saxophone);  Wild Bill Davidson (cornet); Bob Diehl, Jimmy Archey (trombone); Art Hodes, Joe Sullivan (piano); Walter Page, Pops Foster (bass); Fred Moore, Slick Jones (drums)