Miff Mole

Fud Livingston - The Story Of Joseph "Fud" Livingston (2009) {Jazz Oracle BDW8060 rec 1924-1939}
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© 1924-39, 2009 Jazz Oracle | BDW8060
Jazz / Early Jazz / Hot Jazz / Big Band / Hot Dance / Clarinet

A compilation of important recordings by clarinettist Fud Livingston, a neglected jazzman of the 1920s and 1930s who recorded with Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, Ben Pollack, Jimmy Dorsey and other luminaries. Extensive liner notes by Brad Kay tell the tragic but, at the same time, joyful story of Fud's life and music. Includes a previously-unreleased recording by Ben Pollack from 1924.

The link between Phil Napoleon and Red Nichols does not stop at their meeting on this record under the auspices or a new CD edition. The present disc opens with recordings of Red Nichols (five sides in all) and presents him leading his own band, whether it be Red Nichols and His Orchestra or Red and his Big Ten, nine or ten musicians in all. Part of the space devoted to Phil Napoleon includes small formations - five to seven musicians. Phil and Red both were important musicians and both had to suffer from a relative critical exclusion reserved by some to white jazz musicians. Phil recorded a large number of sides between the twenties and the thirties, a time at which he knew considerable success…

By 1929, Red Nichols had been active as a recording artist for nearly eight years. He had been making a name for himself as a leader since 1925, usually in the company of a superhuman trombonist by the name of Miff Mole. While some folks might focus upon the presence of Jimmy Dorsey, seasoned early jazz addicts will also cherish the opportunity to commune with the spirits of Miff Mole, Vic Berton and Arthur Schutt. The first three selections reveal what these men were able to accomplish under optimal conditions,( i.e. without vocals or violins). The band is wonderful, especially when Adrian Rollini introduces "Allah's Holiday" with the bass saxophone or takes a weird solo during "Roses of Picardy" using an ebonite tube full of holes with a clarinet mouthpiece stuck in the end of it…

The Red Heads - The Complete Recordings (2004) {3CD Set Jazz Oracle BDW8043 rec 1925-1927}
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© 1925-27, 2004 Jazz Oracle | BDW8043
Jazz / Early Jazz / Hot Jazz

The Red Heads was a pseudonym for Red Nichols & His Five Pennies whenever their recordings were released on the Melotone, Oriole, or Perfect labels during the years 1925-1927. Following in the wake of EPM Musique's 25-track Complete edition of 1998, Jazz Oracle's 74-track, three-CD set of 2004 augmented the main body of their work with a surprisingly large number of sides by pop vocalists Jay C. Flippen and Cliff Edwards with sweet and jazzy accompaniments by the Red Heads. Edwards, also known as Ukulele Ike, eventually achieved international fame as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. This exhaustively thorough chronological survey also features vocals by Frank Gould and Arthur Fields.

Amazing 100 CD Set of containing a plethora of Classic Jazz tunes. New Orleans was the starting point of the collective improvisation. The Jazz for which the city on the Mississippi Delta was to become so famous for developed at the beginning of the 20th century.

Like the Charleston Chasers, the Louisiana Rhythm Kings existed entirely as a studio recording ensemble. The time frame is even the same; both bands operated during those fascinatingly pivotal years of 1929 and 1930. The Louisiana Rhythm Kings were at first nothing more or less than a variable version of Red Nichols & His 5 Pennies, or in the case of the sessions recorded February 20 and April 23, 1929, the last vestiges of Red & Miff's Stompers. Miff Mole's trombone acted as the gravitational center of most every band he ever worked with, while Red was usually the next best thing to his idol, Bix Beiderbecke. Some of the players on the first three selections are holdovers from the Stompers sessions of several years earlier…

Various Artists - From Ragtime To Swing (1898-1952) - La Grande Histoire Du Jazz Vol. 1 (2010) {Box 25CD - 25 of 100}
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© 2010 Le Chant du Monde | 574 1900.24
Jazz / Ragtime / Swing

Each box contains 25 slipcase CDs, a booklet (up to 186 pages) and an index. The booklets contain extensive notes (Eng/Fr) with recording dates and line-ups. 31 hours of music in each box, totalling 1677 tracks Each track has been restored and mastered from original sources. The only reason I can think of for there not yet being a review of these four boxed sets, is that those who own them are just too busy having one hell of a blast listening to them. Some people moan about the 50 year copyright law for audio recordings in Europe, but without it this highly entertaining, eye-opening and educational undertaking could never have taken place. These 100 discs (spread over four boxed sets of 25 discs) tell the story of jazz from 1898 to 1959.

Three high-powered Commodore sessions and a V-Disc blowout make this an exceptionally satisfying packet of Chicago-styled traditional jazz. Without a doubt, this music should be rated alongside Muggsy's all-time greatest recordings. Pee Wee Russell, gloriously soulful and inventive, is present throughout. Rock-solid trombonist Miff Mole made it onto two of the three Commodore dates. No matter how hard the band swung, nothing could shake the Mole. Saxophonists Ernie Caceres and Boomie Richmond were variously brought in to augment or replace the trombone. Muggsy demonstrates his full range of wails, growls, and muted shimmies. Some of these tunes run for more than four minutes, which in 1944 meant big beautiful 12" 78-rpm records…