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)           

Sidney Bechet and his New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Jazz Nocturne

I am more than excited about this post. Frankly, it's this type of share that makes me love doin this blog thang. I will unroll as much of the story around these sessions, and the albums, as I can - hopefully without boring you to death. Lately I have been getting my albums from a local jazz radio DJ, and I had to work hard to convince him to let these babies go.

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.

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.



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!!

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

Sidney Bechet - soprano sax; Johnny Windhurst - cornet; Ray Parker - piano; Pops Foster - bass; George Thompson - drums

Bob Brenner - announcer/host
Wynne Paris - interviewer