Audio Exclusive: Eight Never-Before-Heard Clips from America’s Jazz Greats

They are stretching it a bit with the "Never-Before-Heard" claim.

A lot of those have been on YouTube for some time.

All good, though.

Thanks for posting.



--Mac

Excellent!

A friend of mine's father used to tape acts at the Cotton Club in NYC, in the 50's I think. My friend had somebody copy the R2R's onto a cassette long time ago. He gave me the cassette and made a CD of it. The quality ain't great but there are some big names on it. Haven't listened in a while but think there was Max Roach, Illinois Jacquet. Can't remember if Bird himself is on there. The stuff might be older than the 50's. Got to get that out again.

An American Big Band leader (no names here due to legal reasons) did a tour of Australia with his band in (I think) the late 60s/early 1970’s, and one of the shows was broadcast on television. A friend of mine, who was a great fan of the band, hooked up his reel to reel tape recorder to the TV and recorded the concert.

Many years later, he found the old tape and put it onto a CD, and the quality was quite good. He contacted various radio stations here and also the television station that had originally broadcast the show, and he found out that all copies of the video (film??) & audio had been lost or destroyed, and it seemed that he had the only copy left in existence.

In what he considered to be a goodwill gesture, he contacted the estate of the band leader, who had died many years earlier and explained the story and asked if they would like him to send a copy to the family or for the archives.
Instead of a reply from the family, he received a threatening letter from the estate’s lawyers demanding that every copy be sent to them, or he would face legal action and the full force of the law.

Yes, I understand copyright, and I know what he did was legally wrong, but given the rarity of the recording, and the greatness of the music, one would think that the lawyers approach may have been a little more cordial.
Needless to say, he still has the only copy in existence.

Except for one....

And you don’t think he was silly enough to give his real name & address do you?

LOL

Wow Keith. I thought that kind of thing only happened in the US.

No good deed goes unpunished.

TALKING ABOUT HISTORY OF JAZZ...This is dedicated to all the musicians and people which support jazz one way or another. (Zaragemca's brief on Jazz Music). From 1700's to 1800's the syncronization which was taken place in the U.S. in relation to Ragtime, was also taking place in Cuba with its music which was called at that time 'Habanera', this syncronization took a faster pace because the Haitian -Revolts, (1789) which displaced frenchs and other peoples, forcing them to migrate to Louisiana and Cuba, (creating a traffic between the two colonies,Louisiana-Cuba). In that process a great musician from Louisiana, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, (1829-1869),visited Cuba, (1854-1862), incorporating some of the music, recruiting some Cubans musicians to play with him and meeting several composers from that country, creating an interes of that music in the U.S. (Cubanola Glides). The Civil War of of Cuba, (1868 to 1878), forced the migration of many peoples which moved to Key West, Tampa , NY, and Louisiana, also when the U.S. declared the war to Spain in relation to the Maine's ship, many service-men returning to the 'States' brought the influence of the music from Cuba, raising the curiosity of Columbia Records, which did recording of Cuban's Band at that time (1909). Another musician from Louisiana Papa'Jack' Laine, (considered the first Caucasian to play jazz), also recruited Cubans to play with his, Reliance Brass Band(Alcides'Yellow' Nunez and the Mello's brothers, (circa,1888-1900), Alcides'Yellow' Nunez, himself was only a few month short of being the first one recording clarinet with the Original Dixieland Jazz band, (he left the Band just a few month before the historic recording). Another band, Onward Brass Band, recruited another Cuban musician, Manuel Perez,(1873-1946), which played with the band from 1898'till 1930's, becoming director from 1900 'till 1930's, (under the directorship of Perez , a lot of luminaries of jazz nortured their musical performanship), including Lorenzo Tio Jr., which later set up a Clarinet-School in Louisiana, teaching a lot of luminaries which became jazz-players, also Joe'King' Oliver, Louis Armstrong are in that band at that time. By 1910 the first jazz Band from Louisiana started touring California (San Francisco would have been a major venue for the development at that time, if wouldn't had going throught the Earthquake of 1909),which might have keep people away for few years. In 1911 the Original Creole Orquesta starts comming to California, also, Edward'Kid' Ory, relocated to California (considered the first African American Jazz Band recording for Sunshine Label)(1922). By 1914 there was already a Jazz- band in Cuba, (Sagua Grande of Pedro Stacholy). In 1917 the U.S., enter the War and Storyville was closed so the musicians have to find other venues to play, many of them moving to Chicago, Jelly Roll Morton moved to California 'till around 1922, moving later to Chicago. In 1919 Luis Russell, from Panama joined Manuel Perez's Imperial Orquesta, ( may be the first Jazz player from Panama?), later playing with Joe'king' Oliver, (1923, and Louis Armstrong, around 1929. In 1922, Jaime Prats formed the Cuban Jazz Band, recording with it, also a venue for the Jazz-skill developments of several musicians in Cuba, including his son Rodrigo Prats, (to be continued).Dr. Zaragemca


International Club of Percussionists

Also around 1922, Louis Armstrong, leaves the Onward Brass Band to play with Joe'King'Oliver in Chicago. In 1917 The New York bandleader James Reese Europe, recruits fifteen Puerto Ricans musicians for the 369th U.S. Infantry Military Band,with popularizd Ragtime in France during World War I. By 1925 Mario Bauza, (The Godfather of Latin-Jazz), is already playing in jazz-band in Cuba, moving to the U.S., in 1930, playing with Don Redman, Sam Wooding, Noble Sissle, Fletcher Henderson and director of Chick Webb Band since 1933. Also around 1925 Argentina started playing that genre with, Francisco Canaro, Roberto Firpo, Adolfo Aviles, Rene Cospito, and the Rietti's brother being one of the pioneer in that country. On the other coin, Clarence Williams becomes and important facilitator for recording of jazz and Blues, being, Alberto Socarras one of the recipients of the opportunity for the first recording of Flute in the jazz-music, (1927-1929),, by that time. Ramon, (Moncho) Usera, is also playing with Noble Sissle Band. Through the mid 1920's ang 1950's, a lot of jazz musicians are visiting and jamming in Cuba's Clubs and Casinos, Max Dollin, Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Paul Withman, Ted Naddy, Jimmy Holmes, Frank Sinatra, Cob Calloway, and more. In the 1929, Duke Ellington recruits Juan Tizol, (which came to the U.S.,in 1920), and around 1938 Mario Bauza is recruited as Musical director for Cab Calloway Band, finding the opportunity for the young Dizzy Guillespie's in that Band. In the 1940's, Dante Varela, ( from Argentina), moved to L.A., and started doing some musical arrengements for Stan Kenton,. During the Dizzy Guillespie's tour of Argentina in 1956, he recruits 'Lalo' Schifrin as pianist, composer and for musical arrengement. Some Scholars set the fusion in jazz in the 60's, I think that the fusion in jazz started in 1940's when Chano Pozo and Dizzy Guillespie's did the historic recording which incorporated both Cuban-folklore and a new instrument, (Congas) in to jazz, creating a fire which was followed by the rest of the musicians in jazz, (everybody was looking for congeros, and percussionists like, Sabu Martinez, Candido Camero, Mongo Santamaria, Armando Peraza, Patato Valdez, Julito Collazo, Francisco Aguabella, Carlos Vidal, Jose Mangual Sr, Willy Bobo, Chino Pozo, Diego Iborra, Ubaldo Nieto, Silvestre Mendez, Rey Barreto, and others were the percussionists which the jazz players were incorporating in that fusion. Gerry Zaragemca