Wynton Kelly GREAT LP Top Rank 35-107 Lee Morgan Vinyl Jazz
November 29, 2007
Today a copy of Wynton Kelly’s album “Great” arrived in the post. I got it on Ebay and it’s yet another wonderful piece of jazz vinyl for my collection. For some reason or other his name is misspelled as “Kelley”. This is a UK pressing on the Top Rank label. It features , among others , Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter. It’s a good but rather bland album which does not stand out from the crowd in any way. Morgan is his usual self here and what little merit the album has is due to his presence.
I also picked up a copy of Charlie Parker , “….’plays Cole Porter”(Colombia Clef Series 33cx 10090) which reminded my of his Dial recordings. More MOR than hard bop it’s nevertheless an excellent record.
Elvis Presley Last Concert Fat Elvis Video
November 26, 2007
I suppose this youtube video has been posted many times before but never mind. Elvis ‘s last ‘official’ concert and he’s in pretty bad shape , but his voice never let him down He was dead within a few week of this performance. There will never be another like him.
NB. THE ORIGINAL VIDEO POSTED HERE WAS PULLED FROM UTUBE.
If your looking for video of Blues singers or Prison Work Song or Appalachian or anything of that sort there is an excellent web site that I cannot recommend highly enough. I have a link to such a site and I notice that no one has clicked on it since I first started this blog. So for the best , the very best movies (archive) on everything folk and blues just look in the side bar and click on the link that says , Folkstreams. You will find it in my Blogroll on the right on this blog. Apart from music there are also films on American culture , archive stuff that is nothing short of brilliant. You’ll find films featuring Alan Lomax and such people so if it’s Sonny Terry or stuff like that just click on the link. Or if your a bit lazy just click HERE. You’ll find archive films such as Appalachian Journey where you can see and hear real Appalachian music and people like Frank Proffit’s son singing ‘Tom Dooley” which was written by his father… wonderful stuff.
Noel Kelehan , self taught as a composer and arranger, received a classical training in piano theory and harmony. In 1962 he worked with Louis Stewart and bassist Jimmy Mckay. He has a special affection for the great Miles Davis quintet of the fifties. Mike Nolan (trumpet and flugelhorn) has worked in Canada and the continent where he has the opportunity to play with Albert Mangelsdorff. Among his idols are Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown. Keith Donald (soprano sax and Yamaha tenor sax) was involved with ‘Jump’, with Mike Nolan in the early seventies. Frank Hess plays bass. John Wadham plays drums. He has performed with Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan.
There is no date on the album but I’m guessing it’s late seventies or early eighties. It’s on the Cargo Label , a very small Irish record label. It’s quite possible that this is the only LP record on that label as I’ve never heard of it before but I’m not sure (anyone with info please let me know). The album is on blue vinyl. The music is marvelous with a quite beautiful version of Castle of Dromore as the first track on side one. If you like Stewart and Wadham then you will just love this LP. If that is you can get your hands on a copy of it. Along with “Louis the First” by Louis Stewart this must be one of the rarest Irish jazz albums ever.
Ozone Noel Kelehan Quartet.
UPDATE January 2010 Mike Nolan died this month . You may read about HERE.
Louis Stewart Louis the First LP Record Album
June 9, 2007
Louis Stewart is probably the greatest jazz guitarist of all time. This album is the first he recorded and is on the Hawk Label and it’s quite collectible. I have had this LP on many different occasions , I have a habit of cleaning out my vinyl collection every so often and starting again from scratch. I have been collecting for almost fifty years and had in my day most of the Irish collectible rare records such as Early One Morning by Mushroom and Swaddling Songs by Mellow Candle but I took a turn against collectors recently as it’s now all to do with the cash value of vinyl and nothing else.
For instance , how many record collectors do you know who would just give away a rare record just for the pleasure of seeing it go to someone who would really love it but perhaps can’t afford to buy it.? People used to do that once upon a time but not any more. The days of record collectors passing along vinyl like that are truly in the past. And of course most don’t even play such records but put them away in a glass case. And when it comes to vinyl that is the ultimate sin.
If you are seeking more information on Louis Stewart try this dedicated site.
Swaddling Songs Rare Irish Vinyl LP Record.
April 4, 2006
I have, in my time been a collector of rare records but
a couple of years ago I sold my collection. I had original
pressings of Mellow Candle’s “Swaddling Songs“, Red Dirt’s
album “Red Dirt” and many others. There were perhaps
a thousand LP’s in all and I sold the lot for 800 euros. The
Mellow Candle was a factory test pressing and it would
cost me anything from £1,000 or more just to buy that
one album again.
I got rid of them because I needed the money and they
were taking up too much space in my flat. I used to
pick up quite scarce LP’s in my travels around charity shops
and car boot sales but the ‘good old days’ of the charity
shops has gone or at least here in Ireland they have gone.
I still do the rounds of those shops but more out of habit
than anything else.
The first ‘find’ I ever had was at a street market. It was
an early morning market which meant going there at
one or two in the morning and rooting around in between
brick-a-brack and general rubbish. The album was “Genesis”
by a group called The Gods. I had never heard of them and
it was so dark I could not even make out the cover beyond
the fact that it was one of the older laminated sort.
I think I paid 50 cents for it. It’s a wonderful record and
worth buying if you are ever offered a copy of it.
But most people now seem to collect them only because the albums
are rare and not because they are in love with the music.
And they never actually play them as that might cause them
to be devalued.
