I’ve been noticing some buzz on the internet about an up-and-coming mono reissuing of Kenny Dorham’s Quiet Kenny by the Craft label, so I thought I’d feature a track off that album for this edition of Origins of Bop. “My Ideal” dates back to 1930, the year of both its publishing and … More→
Collection Favorites > Original 1946 pressing Recorded December 1945 in Los Angeles A These Foolish Things B Jumpin’ at Mesners’ Selection: “These Foolish Things” (Strachey) Truth be told, I snubbed Lester Young for a long time for the simple fact that he rose to fame during the swing era. I didn’t realize how … More→
For the first installment of Origins of Bop, we looked at a 1948 bebop classic (Bird’s “Ah Leu Cha”) covered in the hard bop era (by Miles). This time, we explore a jazz standard with roots stretching back much further. “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” has been covered by many artists including John Coltrane and Larry Young… More→
Collection Favorites > Original 1949 pressing “Maximum” recorded May 15, 1949 at Studio Technisonor, Paris “Just Moody” recorded April 30, 1949 in Lausanne, Switzerland A Max Roach Quintet, “Maximum” B James Moody Quartet, “Just Moody” Selection: “Maximum” (Dorham-Roach) There is something to be said about the role exclusivity plays in record collecting and … More→
Welcome to Origins of Bop, a new Deep Groove Mono series that aims to explore the lineage of some of my favorite hard bop recordings. I have always been interested in music history, and with jazz, that has meant finding out more about where my favorite compositions came from. This series is therefore intended to provide some backstory… More→
Collection Favorites > Original 1949 pressing Personnel: Idrees Sulieman, trumpet (side A only) Danny Quebec West, alto saxophone (side A only) Billy Smith, tenor saxophone (side A only) Milt Jackson, vibraphone (side B only) Thelonious Monk, piano Gene Ramey, bass (side A only) John Simmons, bass (side B only) Art Blakey, drums (side … More→
Original 1930 pressing Personnel: Fats Waller, piano Recorded September 11 and September 24, 1929 in New York City Selection: “My Feelin’s Are Hurt” (Waller) While I still haven’t delved all too deeply into ‘pre-bop’ jazz, I managed to find another great 78 from that era. For a stretch in 2019 I was accustomed … More→
Original 1927 pressing Personnel: Louis Armstrong, cornet Johnny Dodds, clarinet John Thomas, trombone Lil Hardin Armstrong, piano Johnny St. Cyr, guitar Pete Briggs, tuba Baby Dodds, drums Recorded May 7 and May 10, 1927 at Okeh Studios, Chicago Selections: “Willie the Weeper” (Melrose-Bloom) “Alligator Crawl” (Waller) So far, Deep Groove Mono’s coverage of … More→
In my time collecting vintage jazz LPs I have always been curious about jazz from the bebop era, which for the most part was originally released on 78 R.P.M. shellac disks. Listening to digital reissues of music from artists who thrived in the 1940s like Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Lester Young was … More→
First off, sorry about the flip-flopping regarding the shutting down and reopening of Deep Groove Mono. Last year was an interesting year as a collector. In short, I tried to make some “power moves” in purchasing some expensive records and equipment. Months later, it just didn’t feel right. I felt like I was spending beyond my means, and… More→