RARITIES #62 & # 63

STUDIO JAZZ MIT ALICE BABS (Electrola, D, 1959).

&

ALICE BABS - FUGA / St LOUIS BLUES TWIST (Brunswick, D, 1963)

Summer is back, it's sunny and warm here in Belgium, a condition which is not conducive to blogging (and also potentially disastrous for our farmers who have to cope with a severe drought threatening their crops).  

I have a whole pile of records awaiting to be ripped but the weather is too fine to stay inside.  Luckily, Ernst, of Inconstant Sol fame and a regular provider of material for this blog,  - recently sent me rips of two long-forgotten 45 rpm singles of Swedish singer Alice Babs.  They should be of interest to fans of European Jazz and Female vocalists.

Here they are:

ALICE BABS  "STUDIO JAZZ MIT ALICE BABS"

Alice Babs, vocals

Kurt Becker, vibes, flute

Willy Schweden, guitar

Paul Kuhn, piano

Johnny Fischer, bass

Stuff Combe, drums

1. I Could Write A Book  (Rodgers/Hart)  5:33

2. A Sailboat In The Moonlight  (Loeb)  5:39

Recorded in Cologne, Germany on May 15, 1959 (track 2).

Side A most likely second half of 1958 or first months of 1959.

B1 - Willy Schweden (g) most likely overdubbed on May 15, 1959 (Walter Bruyninckx) [info from discogs] 

ELECTROLA E 41206

ALICE BABS MED BENGT HALLBERG TRIO  "ST. LOUIS BLUES TWIST"

This one is in a more commercial vein. We're in 1963, in the middle of the Twist craze (at least in Europe) and"twist" records were selling like hot buns.
I assume Ms Babs (or her producer ...) wanted to give it a try hoping for a piece of the cake.

Alice Babs, vocalsBengt Hallberg, piano

Lars "Lasse" Pettersson, bass

Sture Kallin, drums

for "Jazz Fuga" add Bengt Hallberg Orchestra.

1. St. Louis Blues Twist (Handy)  3:13

2. Jazz Fuga (Kirk/Sjöblom)  2:44

Track 1 recorded in Stockholm, Sweden on January 21, 1963.

Track 2 recorded in Stockholm, Sweden on October 8, 1963.

BRUNSWICK 12 987 (german edition)

Discographical info from Discogs.

With thanks to Ernst.

JAZZ IN HOBBIT

JOHN SANGSTER & ALAN LEE - DOUBLE VIBES : HOBBIT

Swaggie Records ‎– S1376      Australia, 1977



This one comes from Paul D's treasure chest.

For more info on John Sangster 's connection to Tolkien's hobbits, see here

Tracklist

A1          Hobbits Play-On                            1:12

A2          Revindell Re-Visited                     6:09

A3          Upstairs Downstairs Hobbit        4:33

A4          Tachyglossus Aculeatus               5:33

A5          Bilbo Nods Off                               5:42

B1          Hobbits Happy Holiday Habits    6:38

B2          A Sarabande For Smaug               7:04

B3          Hippity Hoppity Hobbit                10:01

Credits

Vibraphone, Guitar, Berimbau – Alan Lee

Vibraphone, Marimba, Percussion – John Sangster

Piano – Tony Gould

Bass – George Thompson

Drums – Len Barnard

RARITY # 61

UNE NUIT AU CHAMPAGNE
MARTHA LOVE ET SON ORCHESTRE DU KURSAAL D'OSTENDE
25 cm  Fiesta
I.S. 10.020       BELGIUM, 1955

The music on this old Belgian 25 cm (10") is  dance music / cocktail party music.  Not for the jazz purists.

I like those 10" on the Fiesta label with their cheap artwork, I have  already posted a couple in the past and will continue, I still have a couple to be digitsed.  I see them as artefact of a bygone era, post-war, pre-rock and roll Belgium. But change is already in the air and Rock and roll is pointing its nose, there is an instrumental version of Bill Haley s Mambo Rock on side B.

Tracklist

A1          I love Paris        

A2          The Continental (instrumental) 

A3          May Re You'll Be There 

A4          Ko-Ko-No (Instrumental)            

A5          Pour Toi Et Moi

A6          It's A Woman's World   

A7          Charleston        

B1          C'est Magnifique            

B2          Mister Sandman            

B3          L'enfant De la Balle (instrumental)         

B4          Mambo Rock (Instrumental)      

B5          Tenderly            

B6          Un ange Comme Ca       

B7          Tweedle Dee (instrumental)      

B8          Un Sac Sur le Dos           

Credits

Leader / Vocals – Martha Love

The Orchestra

Trumpet – Emile Gobrecht

Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Jef Verhaegen

Piano – Jean Evans

Tenor Saxophone – Benny Couroyer

Acoustic Bass – Gaston Backaert

Drums – Pierre Dekker

Notes

Recorded in Brussels on May 3, 1955

Issued in France on CID B.23.511 as "Pot Pourri de Danse", with a different cover.

See blog "Amour du rock & roll " (in French) for more details on the French release (and a lot of other interesting info on the early development of rock and roll music in France).

JAZZ & BLUES RECORD FAIR - BRUSSELS - POSTPONED TIL SEPTEMBER

JAZZ RECORD FAIR

BOURSE AUX DISQUES DE JAZZ

 JAZZ PLATENBEURS

There will be blues and rhythm'& blues records too ...

LP - EP - CD - DVD ...  

Vintage books & magazines

WHEN ?   Due to a conflict of date (same day as Utrecht's huge international record fair), the S&H Jazz Club has postponed its annual record fair  until September. Most likely Saturday 15th September (TBC soon)

WHERE ?  The Jazz Station - Chaussee de Louvain / Leuvense Steenweg, 193A
               1210 Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode (Brussels)

If you are interested in booking a table to sell your records, 
contact:  robert.six2@telenet.be / sweetandhotbrussels@yahoo.be

SEE YOU THERE!

(... and there is a bar inside ...)

GOT THEM WALKIN' BLUES AGAIN ...

I woke up this morning, feeling round for my shoes

I got up this morning, feeling round for my shoes

You know by that,  people , I must have got them walkin' blues again ....

TRAVELING OVERSEAS WITH LIMITED WEB ACCESS AND LITTLE TIME

NO POST OR RE-POST UNTIL END DECEMBER
I'll resume posting as from January

Middelheim (Antwerp) - 1973

M'BOOM Repercusion
Joe Chambers, Roy Brooks, Omar Clay, Max Roach, Warren Smith, Freddie Waits
Middelheim Festival - Antwerp - 1973

I was very fortunate to attend the concert that M'Boom Repercusion gave at the Middelheim Festival in the summer of 1973.

Looking through some old concert memorabilia and archives, I found this folder presenting the band members.

I'm not posting the Strata East album.  It has been posted some years ago on the old Strata East Fan Club blog and copies are probably still floating around.

It was a disappointing album (Max Roach did not want it released), not representative of what I saw and heard at the concert.

If you want to have an idea of what it sounded like, the concert was filmed by the BRT (Flemish Radio & Television).  The video is no longer available on the Canvas website but someone has posted it on YouTube.  

Many thanks to the uploader for salvaging this video.  Wish someone had saved the other Middelheim videos that were on the Canvas website (Nucleus, ... ).

GOING DUTCH

The Chris Hinze Combination 
Who Can See The Shadow Of The Sun
CBS, Netherlands, 1972

 And now something completely different.  Some Dutch “fusion jazz” for a change.  

Christiaan Herbert "Chris" Hinze (born June 30, 1938, Hilversum) is a Dutch jazz and New Age flautist.

Hinze initially performed publicly as a pianist until the mid-1960s, when he began studying flute at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and then at Berklee College of Music. As a pianist, he played with Boy Edgar until 1966, but by 1967 was playing flute professionally with the bassist Dick van der Capellen. His first releases as a leader were issued in 1969, and in 1970, Hinze was awarded the Best Soloist prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the 1970s, he formed his own ensemble, the Chris Hinze Combination. He also founded the record label Keytone Records in the mid-1970s.

 Chris Hinze may be considered as a pioneer in World Music and New Age, gradually moving away from the jazz fusion he developed in the early 70s.  This tendency is already apparent in some of the tracks on the LP.  Some visitors may question whether the term “jazz” still applies to some of those songs.  I do not want to be part of this pointless debate and I don’t really care.  

There is some surface noise.  I did not try removing it as I was afraid to remove part of the music with the noise, flute is very “aerial”.

Tracklist 
A1 Lullaby For A Locomotive 8:33
Piccolo Flute, Flute [Bamboo] – Chris Hinze
Voice – Letty de Jong
A2 Steps To Giulia (Parts 1 & 2) 9:30
Flute, Alto Flute – Chris Hinze
A3 Surface 3:57
Alto Flute – Chris Hinze
Voice – Letty de Jong
B1 Lullaby For Dewi (Parts 1, 2, & 3) 13:34
Alto Flute, Flute – Chris Hinze
B2 Six (Venus) 2:37
Piccolo Flute – Chris Hinze
B3 Who Can See The Shadow Of The Sun 5:40
Flute [Bass], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Chris Hinze

Credits
Chris Hinze        Leader, arranger, various flutes, Fender Rhodes
Wim Stolwijk        Grand Piano, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Voice
Roger Cooke        Bass 
Jimmy Shaaperoe Drums
Cees See         Percussion
Wim van der Beek Percussion, Voice
Letty de Jongh           Voice
Recording dates: February 27 & 28, 1972

Printed on the back cover is a handwritten note: Who can see the shadow of the sun - Herbie Hancock
I don’t think this album was ever reissued on CD.

FEEL GOOD AT LAST

RICHARD RAUX QUARTET – FEEL GOOD AT LAST
LP Free Lance ‎– FRL 004          FRANCE, 1983

 A no-nonsense, straight modern bop / post-bop album by a quartet led by French “tough tenor” Richard Raux, featuring Alain Jean-Marie (piano), Alby Cullaz (bass) and US / French resident drummer, George Brown.

Side A contains four compositions by the leader.

Side B contains four compositions, respectively by Charlie Parker (Confirmation), Monk (Locomotive), Coltrane (Miles Mood) and Ellington/Bigard (Mood Indigo).

Richard Raux is a French saxophonist / flautist born in Madagascar in 1945. He studied with luminaries such as Phil Woods, Nathan Davis and George Russell a.o.

He was a member of the innovative French band “Magma” and played on the debut album “Magma” (1970, reissued as KOBAIA).

A big tone tenor, inspired by "honkers" such as Hal Singer with whom he had the opportunity to play when Singer was living in France, as well as by modern / new Things musicians (Coltrane, Shepp ...), he’s especially at ease in a blues / rhythm and blues context. He has accompanied and toured with several bluesmen a.o. Willie MABON - Memphis SLIM - Jimmy JOHNSON - Luther ALLISON.  

He fits especially as well in hard bop and postbop contexts, playing and recording with the likes of  Aldo RUMANO - Daniel HUMAIR - Sonny GREY Big Band et Quintet - - Eddy LOUIS (Combo - Histoires sans Paroles) – - Clifford THORNTON - Roy BURROWES - Mal WALDRON - René URTREGER - Siegfried KESSLER - Charlie HADEN - Bobby FREY – Sonny MURRAY – Stephen McCRAVEN -  Bernard LUBAT …

His skills are also in demand as a session played and he has recorded and/or toured with Pierre VASSILIU (Déménagements) - MELMOTH (Prix Académie Charles Cros) - Jacques HIGELIN - - Georges MOUSTAKI - Mamma BEA - Eddy MITCHELL … 

Sources: http://www.epuzzle.jazzpuzzle.org/professeurs_raux.htm

http://www.cinethea.com/raux_richard_cv.html 

Alain Jean-Marie : French pianist born on the island of Guadeloupe in 1945.   Refered to as “the most discreet of the French jazz pianists (“Le plus discret des pianistes”) in Le Monde (18.08.2017), Alain Jean-Marie is considered by many to be France’s – if not Europe’s – top living jazz pianist. Born in the Carribean island of Guadeloupe, Alain established himself in Paris in 1973 and quickly became a ‘first-call’ pianist. From 1976 on, he toured and recorded with such jazz legends as Chet Baker, Sonny Stitt, Art Farmer, Johnny Griffin, Lee Konitz, Bill Coleman, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Barney Wilen and Benny Golson..  

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Jean-Marie

http://www.likeasound.com/alain-jean-marie 

Alby Cullaz  (Paris, 25-6-1941 / Paris, 08-02-1998).

Alby Cullaz was the brother of guitarist Pierre Cullaz, and son of Maurice (1912-2000), who chaired the French « Académie du Jazz » until 1992. Alby started his professional career in 1963, as double bass player in the Johnny Griffin Quartet for two years, while playing regularly with Eddy Louiss and Art Taylor. In 1965, he joins the Jef Gilson Big Band and tours all through Europe with Jean-Luc Ponty, Michel Graillier or Aldo RomanoIn 1969 he’s a member of Hank Mobley’s sextet.  He has played and recorded with an impressive roster of jazz luminaries, Americans and Europeans: René Thomas, Dizzy Gillespie, Stéphane Grappelli, Philly Joe Jones, Kenny Clarke, Dexter Gordon, Daniel Humair, Slide Hampton, René Urtreger, Sonny Grey, Guy Lafitte, Raymond, Fol, Christian Escoudé, Gérard Badini, Mal Waldron, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Christian Vander (Alien Quartet ) just to name a few.

George Brown (Paris, 2012?): there isn't much info on this musician on the Net and Lord's discography is a mess as it mixes up the outputs of at least different drummers all named "George Brown".   I only have limited faith in the Lord ... 

This George Brown started his career along with Mel Rhyne in the Trio of Wes Montgomery. In this group, he can be heard on the disc "Portrait Of Wes" on the Riverside Label. After that he played with almost every famous Jazz musician. He toured extensively with Sonny Rollins, Roland Kirk, Chet Baker and J.J.Johnson. 20 years ago he settled in Paris where he established himself immediately as "the house drummer" in the biggest Jazzclub's of the French Capital. He played regularly with with Archie Shepp, Steve Grossman and Alain Jean-Marie.

Source: http://mpeter.chez-alice.fr/english/george.htm 

Obituary (in French): http://www.citizenjazz.com/George-Brown.html 

Tracklist 
A1 Morning Blues Raga R. Raux 5:37
A2 With Love Inside R. Raux 4:28
A3 Ballad For Jeremy R. Raux 4:27
A4 Feel Good At Last R. Raux 3:47

B1 Confirmation C. Parker 3:59
B2 Locomotive T. Monk 5:28
B3 Mood Indigo B. Bigard, D. Ellington 4:39
B4 Miles Mode J. Coltrane 4:38

Recorded August 16 and 17, 1983 at STA studio, Paris.  Mastered at Translab studio, Paris.

Check also an earlier post on Raux here  (updated link)

FAFASIFA

MARTIAL SOLAL

FAFASIFA               CBS, France, 1967

No need to present Martial Solal I assume. 

However this album is rather unusual.  Tracks A1 to A6 and B1 are “standard” Martial Solal Trio (as far as one could call Solal’s music “standard”). B2 is solo Solal.  What to say?  The man is probably the greatest European contribution to jazz piano.  A truly original musician.

The unusual tracks are B3 to B6 where Solal plays harpsichord (B3,5,6) or both organ and piano (B4)

Tracklist

A1          Fafasifa                            2:17

A2          Reflets Mobiles               2:58

A3          Indianapolis                     2:40

A4          Atmosphère                    3:07

A5          Aquaplane                      2:33

A6          Henri's                            3:00

B1          Musique En Cinq Sets    3:15

B2          Faux Fuyants                  2:59

B3          Volez, Balles                   2:56

B4          A Pas De Loup-Garou    3:13

B5          Virevoltant                      3:06

B6          Billes De Joie                 1:25

Credits

A1-6, B1 :            Martial Solal, piano

                             Gilbert Rovere, contrebasse

                             Charles Bellonzi, percussion

B.2:                      Martial Solal, piano solo

B3,5:                    Martial Solal, harpsichord

                             Gilbert Rovere, contrebasse

                             Charles Bellonzi, percussion

B4:                       Martial Solal, electric organ and piano

B6:                       Martial Solal, harpsichord solo

These unusual tracks on side B should be of interest to collectors of Library Music.
Production M.P.I. Also released as different 10" on the French library label Musique Pour L'Image.

To the best of my knowledge and after some research on the Web, it seems that this album has not been re-issued on CD.  Correct me if I’m wrong.

(Covers taken from Discogs)

RECORDSFAIR - PLATENBEURS - BOURSE AUX DISQUES

78 rpm era Records Fair - 1900-1960

The Record Memory Club will hold its annual Records Fair on Saturday 28th September at the Excelsior in Jette (Brussels).   

There will be a  "buvette" (bar) in the room to have a drink, eat a sandwich, meet other collectors and chat about obscure records.  In addition to the usual range of sandwiches, coffee and soft drinks there will be a choice of craft beers from the small artisanal brewery KOMPEL  (from  Maasmechelen in the Province of Limburg, a former coal mining region).

IF YOU WISH TO SELL RECORDS OR MUSIC RELATED ITEMS, CONTACT THE CLUB.

Looking forward to seeing you there!