BIG SOUND FROM BELGIUM

BIG BAND SOUND

Conducted by Freddy Couché

LP INTERDISC 10.024          BELGIUM, 1980

This LP will be a pleasant surprise to many.  An obscure but very competent modern big band from Wetteren, a small town in Flanders, recorded in 1980.  It is by no way an “amateur” big band.  All the members are professional musicians active mostly in the classical field (and occasionally in studios).  Some belong to Belgium’s most prestigious classical orchestras.  A few are bona fide jazzmen, Edmond Harnie, MarcGodfroid, Rony Verbiest … but they all share a passion for big band jazz.  The band was founded by saxophonist and arranger Freddy Couché in 1976.  They gave several concerts in the Benelux.  In 1978 the band won the first prize at the Big Band Festival 1978 of the Dutch Television.

This album was recorded in 1980.  A live album was recorded in 1984 but I haven’t seen it or heard it yet (Portrait of a Lady – Big Band Sound Live).

Big Band Sound

Side A

1.      Big Band Sound           F.Beynis-A.Jean

2.      Scott’s Place    S. Nestico

3.      Ironside           Q.Jones

4.      Saxologie         Andre Jean

5.      Clearway          John Dankworth

6.      Splanky           Neal Hefti

Side B

7.      Spaghetti Junction       Art Lester

8.      I remember Bobby       Andre Jean

9.      The Sunshine of my life           S. Wonder

        Just Cool         Andre Jean

      Off-Duty          John Dankworth

Band members:

Saxophones: Frank Commenee, Rony Verbiest, Filip Venneman, Johnatan Olstein, Marcel Wery

Trumpets : Paul Lauwers, Jean Claude Broes, Christian Chuffart, Edmond Harnie, Andre Herpol, Jacques De Kessel

Trombones : Willy Verdievel, Rudy De Wolf, Marc Godfroid, Guide D’haene,

Bass Tuba: Jose Fontaine

Flute: Dick de Caluwe

Oboe: Etienne Baert

Horns : Piet Dombrecht, Jean-Luc Bertel

Rhythms : Jacky Adens (piano) / Freddy Verbeeken (bass) / Marc De Smet (drums) / Jean Vander Schueren (gtr) / Joel Andy (vibes)

Conducted by Freddy Couché

Recorded in St Amandsberg (Belgium), Feb. 1980

RARITY #54

CHUCK RHUBARB & HIS SERGEANTS
at the first secret Rock 'n' Roll Jamboree
Rose Records Q5004 - probably Belgium - 195?

To end the year, an obscure and mysterious 45 rpm.  Not jazz but wild, very wild, (pre-)rock & roll, think Louis Prima on speed ... Good party record for New Year Eve although it may scare the younger generation, no longer used to this level of crazyness.

Side A: Rock at the Port  (Halwyn, Aberdeen)












Side B: Wild Baby  (Halwyn, Aberdeen) 

It looks American ("US Series") but is it?  Aural evidence lends me to think that these guys are not American at all (listen to the accent !) and are probably ...  Belgians.

Here is what Robert Pernet wrote in his comprehensive discography of Belgian Jazz:

No details have been found about the identity of ths group. The sound is typically Belgian and corresponds to that of those pre-Rock'N'Roll, Antwerp & Brussels-based bands such as the Ronnex and Novelty teams.

Two singles were issued:
Chuck Rhubarb & his Sergeants (Rose Records Q5003)

- Animals Rock'N'Roll
- Hungarian Rocksodie 

(... Freddie Mercury didn't invent anything ...)

Chuck Rhubard & his Sergeants at the fisrt Secret Rock'N'Roll Jamboree
(Rose Records Q5004)
- Rock at the Port
- Wild Baby

Pernet places the recoding date as 1953-54 ... I would add a couple of years, the lyrics of Wild Baby are too "rock'n'Roll" for '53-54, unless one is ready to accept the revisionist theory  that we, Belgians invented Rock n Roll ...

MEANWHILE, BACK IN BRUSSELS ...

My Xmas presents ...

For Xmas, my kids gave me two vynils from Heavenly Sweetness, a small French label doing quality reissues.

The Raphael LP is very special to me because two late friends, Johnny Peret and Robert Pernet,  play on it.

And Solis Lacus brings me back to the mid-seventies in Brussels when one could catch bands like Solis Lacus, Placebo, Cos, Sunhouse, ... playing in small venues.  Those were the days!

I won't post these LP, buy them, they are really worth the price and you will be encouraging the people at Heavenly Sweetness to continue their re-issue program of obscure and forgotten European gems.  Any hope for a Babs Robert re-issue or the Sunhouse LP? 

Cratedigging

Brussels is a pretty cool place for cratediggers.  I came back to spend the Holiday Season with the family and couldn't help stopping at a couple of  places with good old vynils when I went to town this Monday.
I did not leave empty-handed.  Here are a few LPs I found (all at very reasonable prices, some as low as 3 €).

Richard Raux 4tet (F) with Alain Jean-Marie a.o. - David Pritchard first LP (US)

K. Graham Afro-Cubists (UK) - Christine Schaller (CH-B)

Jimmy McGriff - Buddy Rich

Zum Trotz feat. Birelli Lagrene (D) - Jiggs Whigham - Hope (US/D)

Buddy Johnson / Big Twist & the Mellow Fellows

Sphere (feat. Andy Sheppard) - UK / The Section (US)

Vilegas (Arg.) / Morris Nanton Trio (US)

Big Sound Tenors / Claude Bolling Big Band (F)

Now that I'm on holiday, I'll find the time to resume ripping and posting.

RARITY # 53

DUSKO GOYKOVICH  "YESTERDAY"

ELECTROLA E 23 096 - 45 rpm (single)

GERMANY, 1965

Another obscure 45 rpm from the vault of onxidlib!  This one is for the “completists” only as the jazz content is almost nonexistent.  It is pure easy-listening, well played (it’s Dusko, what would you expect?) and pleasant, pretty similar to the material Shake Keane recorded at about the same time for Ace of Club / DECCA (That’s the Noise LP).

Side A: Yesterday 2:25

Side B: Blumen Für Die Dame 3:07

Dusko Goykovich, fluegelhorn

with the Electrola-Studio-Orchestra and Choir

Recorded 1965 in Germany.

ELECTROLA E 23 096

No details on the musicians (‘the Electrola Studio Orchestra”).

I don’t think I’ll have the time for another post before Xmas.  In the meantime, my best wishes to all & have a jazzy Christmas wherever you are.

ANY DEADHEAD AROUND ?

MERL SAUNDERS – HEAVY TURBULENCE

LP Fantasy 8431 – USA, 1973

I’m usually pretty good at remembering where I found my LPs but this one I can’t remember where I got it from.  It’s one of the lesser known Merl Saunders’albums.  It should appeal to Deadheads because Jerry Garcia is playing on it.

I had a few too many Chartreuse Verte tonite so don’t expect me to write a review.  It’s a good record alright.  Here’s what Eugene Chadbourne (AMG) has to say.  Thst bloke’s much better than I am at writing review.

A versatile and engaging performer, Merl Saunders certainly put his best foot forward with his debut recording for the Fantasy label. His background in jazz was certainly welcome on an aesthetic level with the management of the label, but the splattering of Creedence Clearwater Revival imagery on this album's original protective paper sleeve suggests what the real goal must have been. Fantasy wanted more rock chart hits, and Saunders was seen as potentially a great crossover artist between the worlds of rock, soul, funk, and jazz fusion. That said, it should be pointed out that the label of world fusion did not exist when this record was recorded and is actually an area that Saunders got into in subsequent decades. One will not find Latin, African, or other international music influences on these five selections. This is pretty much a straight rock and funk effort, one of several totally solid albums produced by various members of Creedence Clearwater Revival on the side during this period. In this case it is Tom Fogerty directing the action.  Since he is such a terrific rhythm guitarist, it is really no surprise that he and Saunders could create such a pumping oil well; this is an album in which the rhythmic feel of each song can never be faulted, no matter how different the approaches might be. The band is really well recorded, the tones thick and fat, and the grooves trembling from the fine organ fondling. The composed material consists of originals by Saunders with several interesting covers. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Imagine" are the remakes, each done quite personally with truly thoughtful arrangements. The status of these two songs as times have marched on is worth contemplating, while the mere presence of the tunes establishes a rich sense of time and place. The cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" would have been considered quite hip at one point, and then, perhaps sometime in the year 1976, a cosmic curtain of some kind shifted and the song was just considered downright corny. Anyone listening to this recording will have to lug around that cultural baggage, while the John Lennon song in contrast becomes more beloved each day, with the Saunders version actually a bit controversial amongst his fans. Some find it beautifully tasteful, others feel it drags, and the latter opinion is troubling since the version tracks at just barely over two and a half minutes, a shortie compared to other pieces on this record. Lead guitar fills by Jerry Garcia are a musical inspiration, as well as probably stimulating much of the original album's sales. Some listeners will be fanatic fans of this guitarist and others might regard him as musical vermin, but one and all would agree that this album has some of his top playing. He seems to have been at his best when at the side of Saunders, who once saved his life. Their efforts to play jazz together were a trifle feeble, true, but there is none of that here. The original numbers are on the funky and bluesy side, such as the terrific opener, "My Problem's Got Problems," and the delicious extended track, "Manchild."

Tracks

My Problems Got Problems (Saunders / Carrier)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [RealAudio]  AU file (333K)

Save Mother Earth (Saunders / Lewis)

Imagine (John Lennon)

Welcome to the Basement (Saunders / Moore)

Man Child (Saunders / Lewis)

Musicians

Merl Saunders - keyboards, vocals

Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals

Tom Fogerty - guitar

John Kahn - bass

Bill Vitt - drums

The Hawkins Singers (Edwin, Walter, Tramaine, Lynette, Freddie, Carol) - vocals

Eddie Moore - drums, saw

Kenneth Nash - percussion

Bob Drew - saxophone

The Tower of Power Horns

Merl Saunders - Heavy Turbulence - 1972 - Fantasy 8421

Not only am I too lazy to write a review, I am even too lazy to rip my vynil.  Blogger E-mile found a rip on the web last year -it has gone away since.  Here it is again.  With thanks to E-mile and to the original ripper.

It's a great album, I'm listening as I'm writing ... Manchild's playing just now and it has some gorgeous Fender Rhodes ...Get this album and have a drink of Chartreuse Verte ...

WHITE VYNIL

PETER APPLYARD PRESENTS

Salisbury Laboratories ‎– SALS D2D 001
Limited Edition Vinyl, LP, Direct to disc, white quadradisc virgin vinyl 

I found this LP in the 90s, on a brocante Chaussée de Warerloo in St Gilles (Brussels).  I had no clue who Peter Appleyard was but it was a nice gatefold LP with a cheesy cover and a white vinyl inside.  Just that would justify the 2 € I paid.  Listening to the LP at home, I was pleasantly surprised by the music.  Jazzy funk / funky jazzy easy listening with some great soloists.  Actually this record features most of the outstanding Canadian jazz musicians of the 70s.  Just to name a few, we have here people like Ed Bickert, Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Bernie Senesky …

Vibraphonist, percussionist and composer Peter Appleyard was born in England in 1928. After cutting his musical teeth in British dance bands and RAF ensembles, he moved to Canada in 1951 and quickly built a reputation as a first-class vibraphone player. By 1957 he'd put together his own Toronto-based band, which toured throughout North America and made several television appearances in Canada and the U.S.. During the '60's he co-hosted a CBC radio show named "Patti and Peter" with singer Patti Lewis, and "Mallets and Brass", a CBC television show with Guido Basso. Between 1977 and 1980 he also hosted "Peter Appleyard Presents", a television jazz and variety show that was syndicated throughout North America, and gained international exposure when he toured with clarinetist Benny Goodman's sextet throughout the 1970's. During the '80's and '90's he toured clubs, festivals and concert halls in North America, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Japan, Germany and the UK with the All-Star Swing Band as well as a Benny Goodman tribute band comprised of Goodman alumni.  Appleyard was awarded the Order of Canada in 1992.

Peter Appleyard Presents / A Quadradisc Virgin White Vinyl LP Release - Limited Edition

01.    Open The Gates Of Love

02.   , A Face Like Yours

03.    You Put The Shine On Me

04.    Pavanne Pour Une Infante Defunte

05.    Mambo #V

06.    Swinging Sheperd Blues

07.    Who Needs It

08.    Night Journey

Salisbury Laboritories Presents a gatefold Direct-To-Disc album on white virgin vinyl with a who`s who of Canadian jazz musicians:

Peter Appleyard: vibes, bass marimba, typani, bongos, conga drum, percussion

Rick Wilkins: arrangements, conductor, ARP synthesizer

Dorothy White: harp

Guido Basso: solo flugle horn, trumpet

Arnie Chycoski: lead trumpet

Rob McConnell: trombone

Moe Koffman: alto sax, soprano sax, baritone sax, piccolo, flute

Eugene Amaro: tenor sax, soprano sax, flute

Bernie Senensky: electric and acoustic piano and organ

Jerry Fuller: drums

Ed Bickert: solo guitar

Andy Krehm: guitar

Pete Magadini: timbales, percussion

Gary Gross: electric piano

David Young: electric and acoustic bass

There are some solid grooves on this LP.  Enjoy!
Not my rip, I got it from the blogsphere a few years ago.  Thanks to the original ripper.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOG!

Celebrating 3 years of blogging

My first post was on December 8, 2010

As Groucho Marx once rightly said:

"Time flies like an arrow

Fruit flies like a banana"

And talking about bananas, I've got a whole bunch of LPs ripe for ripping.   Rare, long forgotten or just plain obscure, never seen in the blogworld (mostly but not solely) jazz LPs,10" and EP . A bit of patience, please,  I'll start ripping 'em between Xmas and New Years.

I wish to thank again the contributors to this blog, the regulars (onxidlib and Paul D.) and the many occasionals. And a  special word of thank to the visitors who take time to leave a comment. 

This blog would not exist without you.  Blogging is about sharing.

RARITY # 52

IVON DE BIE and his ORCHESTRA - DANCE-HITS vol.2

Vocal by DAN COOPER

25 cm FIESTA 10.041 (BELGIUM, 1956)

Belgian Pianist Ivon (or Yvon) De Bie (Bruxelles, 1914-1989) is known among swing jazz aficionados for the four tracks he recorded on 16^th April 1942 in Brussels with Django Reinhardt in Brussels.  He is the only pianist to have ever recorded a duo with Django on violin.

During the fifties Ivon Debie was active as a dance band leader and made several popular “dance” records in Belgium, among others two 25 cm 33 rpm for the small label FIESTA.

I have always been attracted to those FIESTA 25cm with their extraordinary “naïve minimalist” cover art.  Until recently, they could be found easily on flea markets for an euro or two but they have begun to attract the attention of 50s Memorabilia collectors.  They are often in fairly poor condition – they were party records … The rip I post today does not escape this condition. 

I bought these FIESTA 10" initially for the naïve charm of their covers rather than the music.  I had no idea who played on these sessions – apart from DeBie - until I got a copy of the Belgian Jazz Discography by Robert Pernet and found the details of the musicians, and first class musicians they were! 

The band features Nick Kletch’, future bassplayer in Marc Moulin’s Placebo and Jean Warland who will make a career as a studio bassplayer in Germany (not to mention his stint in the Clarke-Bolland Big Band and Peter Herbolzheimer RCB), and a very competent sax section that will reappear later in the Francis Bay Dance Orchestra (and its famous 1958 albums on OMEGA) and the BRT Jazz Orkest.

Yvon DeBie was an excellent swing pianist influenced by Billy Kyle, Bob Zurke, Earl Hines and Art Tatum.  He had obviously listened to Basie (One O clock Jump) and was a proficient boogie woogie player but obviously not much into rock and roll … it was just a different generation, they could lindy hop and jitterburg, jump and jive but could not rock.  The band plays two (very short) versions of Bill Haley songs  – Rock Around the Clock and Razzle Dazzle – but they play them in a pre-rock / jitterburg style, sounding not unlike some of the white boogie woogie orchestras of the late thirties (Bob Zurke or Bob Crosby e.g.).  As for Dan Cooper (who was he?), he did not have a clue how to sing rock and roll.   But remember, that was 1956, rock and roll had not yet pervaded Europe.  In a way, they were precursors, like a few other musicians with a jazz background, such as guitarists Freddy Sunder and Jean Douchamps (aka John Sweetfield or Juan Dos Campos), or trumpeter Ferry Barendse, they laid the foundation of rock and roll in Belgium.

This whole period of Belgian popular music is not documented on CD (or even on LP), most of the cats recorded long forgotten 78 rpm on small local labels (Ronnex, Hi Tune …) for the juke box market. 

Dance hits –vol.2  (Fiesta (B) LPIS10041)

Frans L'Eglise, Freddy Lhost, Ayal Jacob, Albert Godfrinnes, José Paessens (saxes) Ivon De Bie (p) Nicolas Kletchkovsky (g) Jean Warland (b) Jean Verworst (d) Dan Cooper (vcl)

Brussels, February 9, 1956

Side A

·        One o'clock jump

·        Hold my hand (dc vcl) -

·        Rock around the clock-

·        From here to eternity (dc vcl) -

·        Something's gotta give (dc vcl) -

·        Tina

Side B

·        The man from Lamarie (dc vcl)

·        The little boy and the old man-

·        Razzle dazzle -

·        Love is a many splendored thing

·        Sluefoot -

In 1958, Yvon Debie became an artistic director for RCA Victor Belgium. He was instrumental in bringing to the studio some of the earliest Belgian rock/twist groups (cfr Les Croque Morts - here too).

There’s a good bit of cracks and pops but it’s still perfectly listenable and enjoyable.  The rip is from my own fairly scratched copy.  I’m not especially good at cleaning rips, I’m still learning.

Paul D. told me he has the Dance Hits volume 1 (1954) and will send us a rip (which will certainly be cleaner than mine).