JAZZ RECORDS FOR CHRISTMAS GIVING by Eric Myers ________________________________________________________________ [This article appeared in the National Times, December 6, 1981] hroughout 1981, with the continued growth of interest in jazz, there has been a deluge of new records and reissues; even those of us who are paid T to be aware of the full spectrum cannot claim to have more than an arbitrary knowledge of what is now available. So, if you are considering jazz records as gifts this Christmas, you need not feel inadequate if you know little about the music, and are bewildered by the talk of choosing which records. A typical example of the Time-Life Records "Giants of Jazz" series, this one featuring the saxophonist Johnny Hodges… The National Times placed this box on the page to introduce this section on records for Christmas giving… 1 Any of the reissues in the Time-Life Records "Giants of Jazz" series make a handsome gift. So far, this collection includes Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Bix Beiderbecke, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. A three-record set in this series costs $21.95 plus postage and includes a glossy booklet with invaluable photographs, information on the music, and biographical details of the artist. Also, one receives a copy of John Chilton's The Who's Who Of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street, an excellent encyclopedia of early jazz. Another example of the Time-Life Records "Giants of Jazz" series, this one featuring Bix Beiderbecke… A copy of John Chilton’s book, an excellent encyclopedia of early jazz, is included... 2 If you are feeling a sense of abandon and your recipient is a real jazz buff who likes Ellington, you could splurge and purchase the CBS reissue The Complete Duke Ellington, consisting of every known Ellington recording from 1925 to 1938. So far, 12 double LPs in this series are available, containing a rich storehouse of Ellingtonia, including alternate takes of many compositions. Distributed in Australia by Avan-Guard, the whole set sells for $179.88, with one double LP priced at $14.99. While we are with Avan-Guard, the LP Side By Side (Muse Records), featuring the alto saxophonists Richie Cole and Phil Woods, is a splendid new release which shows in brilliant style where the alto saxophone is in jazz today. 3 Both Cole and Woods are supreme exponents of the Charlie Parker tradition, and they demonstrate that the insights of bebop are still well and truly alive today. The record has a certain topicality too, in that Cole will be touring Australia in December in the company of another great American saxophonist, Sonny Stitt. American saxophonists Sonny Stitt (left) & Richie Cole…PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN ustralian jazz players are now recording prolifically. If you feel your recipient would enjoy jazz in the style of chamber music, you could A choose between two duo LPs: Misty Morning (Battyman Records) featuring Bob Bertles (flute and saxophones) and Paul McNamara (piano); and Feel The Breeze (Seaside Records) with Col Loughnan (flute and saxophones) and Steve Murphy (guitar). If you would like a middle-of-the-road LP with 4 5 some jazz content, you could do no better than Julian Lee (Battyman Records) featuring the orchestral arrangements, keyboard work, and flugelhorn playing of the brilliant Julian Lee. Primarily this is an LP devoted to melodic treatment of popular and standard songs, but listen carefully to Satin Doll, Porto Allegre, Meninha Flor and Girl Talk — they could only have been produced by great jazz musicians. Also, this LP is beautifully recorded. Julian Lee (right) on trumpet, pictured in 1957 with the American bandleader Stan Kenton…PHOTO CREDIT G COLEMAN There are many LPs still available by Australia's prolific jazz composer John Sangster, including his ten LPs inspired by J R R Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. Sangster's two most recent LPs (Volumes 1 and 2 of the new John Sangster Jazz Music series) called Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Doo-Wup Doo-Wup Doo-Wup Doo-Wup and Requiem (For A Loved One) should have wide appeal. 6 The first is a swinging treatment of the Duke Ellington legacy, even though Ellington's name is nowhere mentioned, by a 12-piece orchestra, composed of some of the best players in Australian jazz. Requiem (For A Loved One), played by the same orchestra, is very moving — a beautiful, melancholy record, with many sad moments. The track Kisses For a Koala Bean in particular is one of the most artistically satisfying works in the immense Sangster repertoire. 7 Of the records I have received for review during the past year, there are two which I particularly enjoyed: Lester Swings (World Record Club), a double album of small group sessions featuring the tenor saxophonist Lester Young; and The Genius Of Bud Powell, Volumes 1 and 2 (World Record Club), featuring seminal recordings made by the pianist in 1949, 1950 and 1951, when he was at the height of his powers. Lester Young and Bud Powell were both essential innovators, and anyone who wishes to understand contemporary jazz needs to have a healthy awareness of the work of both men. Therefore, these records could be admirable gifts for anyone preoccupied with today's jazz, but who lacks a knowledge of the roots of modern jazz. 8 .