The Changing Face Of Harlem (The Savoy Sessions)

Side 1:
01) Twilight In Teheran - Buck Ram All-Stars
02) Morning Mist - Buck Ram All-Stars
03) Swing Street - Buck Ram All-Stars
04) Ram Session - Buck Ram All-Stars
05) Ooh-Wee - Pete Brown Quintette
06) Bellevue For You - Pete Brown Quintette
07) Pete Brown's Boogie - Pete Brown Quintette
08) Moppin' The Blues - Pete Brown Quintette

Side 2:
01) Dance Of The Tambourine - Hot Lips Page & His Hot Seven
02) Uncle Sam's Blues - Hot Lips Page & His Hot Seven
03) Pagin' Mr Page - Hot Lips Page & His Hot Seven
04) I Keep Rollin' On - Hot Lips Page & His Hot Seven
05) I Got What It Takes - Hot Lips Page Band
06) Good For Stompin' - Hot Lips Page Band
07) Lip's Blues - Hot Lips Page Band
08) Blooey - Hot Lips Page Band

Side 3:
01) Honeysuckle Rose - Ben Webster
02) I Surrender Dear - Ben Webster
03) Blue Skies - Ben Webster
04) Run Down - Herbie Fields
05) Nuts To Notes - Herbie Fields
06) Groovin' With Grimes - Tiny Grimes
07) I'll Always Love You Just The Same - Tiny Grimes
08) Romance Without Finance - Tiny Grimes

Side 4:
01) Bye Bye - Miss Rhapsody
02) My Lucky Day - Miss Rhapsody
03) Hey Lawdy Mama - Miss Rhapsody
04) Groovin' The Blues - Miss Rhapsody
05) Smack That Mess - Joe Gregory
06) Dee Dee's Dance - Clyde Hart
07) Little Benny - Clyde Hart
08) Shoot The Arrow To Me Cupid - Joe Gregory

The Changing Face Of Harlem (Mega)

The Changing Face Of Harlem (Zippy)

Founded by local entrepreneur Herman Lubinsky in Newark, New Jersey, in 1942, Savoy Records went on to become one of the USA's most important labels in jazz and R&B. The label didn't really take off until mid 1944 when it started recording musicians from the vibrant club scene in NYC, both from Harlem and 52nd Street. Savoy was one of a number of small labels in the New York area which picked up on the changes taking place in jazz at that time with other examples being Keynote, Blue Note, Beacon, Manor and National.

This two LP set compiles sides mostly recorded in 1944 with the exception of some Herbie Fields sides from May 1945. The dominant style is small group swing with only the faintest hint of the be bop to come with Charlie Parker's appearance on a couple of the Tiny Grimes tracks.

The full line ups on these tracks can be found in the session details on the back cover of this set and fans of R&B or to be more precise, the area where jazz and R&B intersect will be familiar with quite a few of the names including Tiny Grimes, Earl Bostic, Ike Quebec, Ben Webster, Slam Stewart, Hot Lips Page, Don Byas, Jack "The Bear" Parker, heck just read it for yourselves.

Dan Morgenstern's terrific notes both set the scene and provide a running commentary on the tracks and are a model for what such an essay should be. He calls the music here "Harlem jump" which sums it up admirably. These tracks are contemporaneous with the rise to immense popularity of Louis Jordan's brand of jump blues and while they differ slightly from Jordan's style they encapsulate the music scene which would soon give rise to be bop, dynamic small group swing based jazz, and eventually to rhythm and blues.

I've been fascinated for many years by the Savoy Record label, ever since I acquired the cassette "Jumpin' at The Savoy" from the New Musical Express back in the early 1980s. Indeed that cassette was the first music I posted on Be Bop Wino back in September 2007. Follow the trail - there's a working Megaupload link on the post!

Over the years Savoy has featured on numerous posts on the blog, with the most recent example perhaps being a cross-blog collaboration on posting the complete "Savoy Roots Of Rock'n Roll" series. I have a few sets from the "Savoy Sessions" series which concentrates on the jazz side of the label, so you can expect more of these to appear on the blog along with other material from the New York scene of the 1940s.

Billboard, 19th August 1944

Original Issues:

Buck Ram's All Stars:

Swing Street / Twilight In Teheran - Buck Ram's All Stars - Savoy 572 - February 1946

Morning Mist first released on this LP. 

Ram Session first released on LP Savoy MG 9030 "Jam Session At Savoy" in 1953.

Pete Brown Quintette:

Pete Brown's Boogie / Bellevue For You - Pete Brown Quintette - Savoy 522 - August 1944

Ooh-Wee / Moppin' The Blues - Pete Brown Quintette - Savoy 523 - November 1944

Hot Lips Page: 

Uncle Sam Blues / Paging Mr. Page - "Hot Lips" Page's Swing Seven - Savoy 520 - August 1944

Dance Of The Tambourine / I Keep Rollin' On - "Hot Lips" Page's Hot Seven - Savoy 521 - August 1944

Lips Blues / I Got What It Takes - Hot Lips Page and Orchestra (?) - Savoy 529 - (?) 1944 (?)

"Lips Blues" rereleased as "Double-Trouble Blues" on Savoy 700

"Blooey"; "Good For Stompin'" - first released on this LP.

Ben Webster

"Honeysuckle Rose"; "I Surrender Dear"; "Blues Skies" are unissued alternate takes.

I Surrender Dear / Blues Skies - Ben Webster Quartet - Savoy 505 - (?) 1944.

Honeysuckle Rose / Kat's Fur - Ben Webster Quartet - Savoy 506 - (?) 1944

The released versions are on the Savoy 2LP set "The Tenor Sax Album" which will be posted on the blog.

Herbie Fields

Run Down / Camp Meeting - Herbie Fields Hot Seven - Savoy 591 - February 1946

Nuts To Notes first issued on this LP.

Tiny Grimes

Groovin' With Grimes first released on this LP

I'll Always Love You Just The Same; Romance Without Finance are alternate takes of sides released on Savoy 526 (b/w Tiny's Tempo) and Savoy 532 (b/w Red Cross) respectively.

Miss Rhapsody

Bye Bye Baby / My Lucky Day - Rhapsody with June Cole's Orchestra - Savoy 5510 - August 1944

Hey Lawdy Mama / Groovin The Blues - Rhapsody with June Cole's Orchestra - Savoy 5511 - November 1944

Clyde Hart

Smack That Mess / Shoot The Arrow To Me Cupid - Joe Gregory - Savoy 542 - possibly unreleased?

Dee Dee's Dance / Little Benny - Clyde Hart's Hot Seven - Savoy 598 -  May 1946

Elsewhere On The Web

Small Independent Rockin' 45rpm Labels by Apesville has recently completed a project to compile a complete collection of Savoy singles. Start here and work your way through an absolutely gobsmacking series of posts. Sheer heaven for fans of Savoy.

Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo)

Side 1:
01) Lover Come Back To Me
02) The Merry Widow Waltz
03) Cracked Ice
04) Song Of The Islands
05) Danube Waves
06) Wrap It Up

Side 2:
01) Blue Skies
02) Ubangi Stomp
03) Cherry Bean
04) Earl's Imagination
05) My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice
06) Liebestraum

Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo) Mega

Let's Dance With Earl Bostic (King LP 529 stereo) Zippy

To round off the Be Bop Wino Bostickathon of  Earl Bostic King LPs here's a 1959 re-recorded stereo version of the LP originally released as King 395-529 in December 1956.

Original 1956 version in mono

The 1956 LP consisted of tracks which had previously been released as singles, mostly in 1953 and 1954. As with the other early Earl Bostic 12 inch LPs, this one went through several re-releases. It was reissued as King 529 in 1958 with a new cover as shown below:

Between March and June 1959 Earl Bostic re-recorded every LP which he had previously issued in the King 500 series, with the exception of his last release in the series, King 597 "Alto Magic In Hi-Fi: A Dance Party With Bostic."

The albums which were re-recorded in 1959 were:

395-500   The Best Of Bostic

395-503   Earl Bostic For You

395-515   Altotude

395-525   Dance Time

395-529   Let's Dance With Earl Bostic

       547   Invitation To Dance With Bostic

       558   C'mon And Dance With Earl Bostic

       571   Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age

       583   Bostic Showcase Of Swinging Dance Hits

 

The first 5 LPs in the series had already been reissued in mono with the prefix 395 removed from their numbers in 1958. They also had been given new covers which were re-used on the 1959 stereo issues. 

Alternative cover for stereo issue of "Let's Dance"

With the exception of "The Merry Widow Waltz", which was recorded during sessions for LPs in the King 600 series, the tracks for the stereo version of "Let's Dance With Earl Bostic" were recorded towards the end of the re-recording sessions in June 1959. The final such session was held on June 15th when nine tracks were recorded for the stereo version of "Invitation To Dance With Bostic" (King 547).

 Recording details for "Let's Dance With Earl Bostic" (stereo):

Los Angeles, January 27th / 28th, 1959

Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Elmer Schmidt (vibraphone); Sir Charles Thompson (piano); Rene Hall and Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); Earl Palmer (drums) -

The Merry Widow Waltz

Cincinnati, June 9th and 10th, 1959

Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Joe Thomas (piano); Warren Stephens and Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums) -

Cincinnati, June 9th, 1959:

Lover Come Back To Me

Cracked Ice

Song Of The Islands

Danube Waves

Wrap It Up

Blue Skies

Ubangi Stomp

Cincinnati, June 10th, 1959:

Cherry Bean

Earl's Imagination

My Heart At Thy Sweet Voice

Liebestraum

Sources - Bruyninckx, Billboard, The Cash Box, Both Sides Now website.

Artwork - Discogs, 3345ca, various record sales sites.

And with this post we come to the end of the Bostic King LP marathon. I'm all Bosticked out. There will be a look at Earl's pre-King work in the near future but in the meantime let's tune in to some other R&B artists. There's a loada stuff in the pipeline to keep you lockdowners a-movin' and a groovin'. Keep on truckin' everyone!

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) re-ripped and re-upped

Side 1:
01) Harlem Nocturne
02) Where Or When
03) Sweet Lorraine
04) Poeme
05) You Go To My Head
06) Off Shore

Side 2:
01) The Moon Is Low
02) Ain't Misbehavin'
03) The Sheik Of Araby
04) I Hear A Rhapsody
05) Roses Of Picardy
06) Melancholy Serenade

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) Mega

Earl Bostic - Dance Time (stereo) Zippy

1980s reissue on the Sing label of the stereo version of Earl Bostic's "Dance Time" album (King 525) which was issued in July / August 1959. The stereo version was recorded in March / April 1959 as follows:

Cincinnati, March 26th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Harlem Nocturne

Where Or When

Sweet Lorraine

You Go To My Head

Off Shore

Ain't Misbehavin'

The Sheik Of Araby

I Hear A Rhapsody

Roses Of Picardy

Melancholic Serenade

 

Cincinnati, April 8th, 1959. Personnel: Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Claude Jones (piano); Warren Stephens, Allan Seltzer (guitars); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums):

Poeme

The Moon Is Low

 

The recording details listed towards the bottom of the back cover of this Sing reissue are for the original mono version of the LP, King 395-525 which was released in 1956. It was the 4th Bostic 12 inch LP to be released and like its predecessors it consisted of singles dating back to 1951, although 4 more recently recorded sides from April 1956 were included.

All this and much more on the Earl Bostic King LP saga is revealed on the original post of this album from 2017:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-dance-time.html

Head on over to see the original covers used on the mono version plus musings on the re-recording of Earl's King 500 series LPs. You can also read of my horrified realisation that I'd been giving wrong information on previous Bostic posts.

For this post I have re-recorded and re-ripped my LP as the 2017 mp3s were rather indistinct. The sound quality on the new mp3s is audibly better, as is the clarity of the numerous clicks and crackles on this second hand (purchased in Love Music, Glasgow) slab of vinyl.

The post also includes a folder of 1950s artwork from the King issue of this collection.

One more Bostic platter to go, and it's a new one which has not been posted previously. I'm just about all Bosticked out, but I know that there are some of you out there who just can't get enough! BTW "Where Or When" from this album is my latest ear worm. Can't get it out of my head. Until the next Bostic post, my R&B chums!

Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (re-up)

Side One:
01) Southern Fried
02) Jersey Bounce
03) Jumpin' At The Woodside
04) Tuxedo Junction
05) 720 In The Books
06) Air Mail Special

Side Two:
01) Pompton Turnpike
02) Woodchopper's Ball
03) Night Train
04) Stompin' At The Savoy
05) Honeysuckle Rose
06) No Name Jive

Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (Mega)

 Bostic Rocks Hits Of The Swing Age (Zippy)

This is a 1980s reissue of King LP 571 which was originally issued in April 1958. Unlike earlier Bostic LPs which were compilations of old singles, the tracks for this album were especially recorded in Los Angeles on December 18th and 18th, 1957. This set the pattern for future Bostic LPs with tracks being recorded over one or two days for themed albums.

Personnel on this LP:

Earl Bostic (alto sax); Wallace Snow (vibraphone); Ernest Crawford (piano); Tony Rizzi (guitar); Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell (bass); Earl Palmer (drums).

A stereo version was recorded in Cincinnati on April 6th and 7th, 1959, by different personnel. The stereo release had the same cover as the original mono release, except for a large yellow and black "stereo" label underneath "Bostic Rocks."

The original post for this LP is here:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/bostic-rocks-hits-of-swing-age.html

That post included a link to Lonesome Lefty's Scratchy Attic where a copy of the stereo version of this LP had been posted. That was the last post on the Scratchy Attic, unfortunately. The link was working in 2017, but I'm not so sure if it's still working. I tried it last night but kept running in to ads and finally gave up when potential malware came into view. The more adventurous among you may wish to attempt to navigate this hazardous maze, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The post on the Scratchy Attic is short but it does link in to comments by Lou Donaldson about Bostic on Larry Appelbaum's blog. Go to that blog, type in Earl Bostic in the searchbox, and you'll find a couple of posts where musicians comment on Bostic's formidable technical expertise on the alto sax.

For this re-up I've added a folder of original King release artwork found on the web, so reconstructors of original LPs can get to work! A couple more Bostic platters in the pipeline, then on to pastures new.

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503 and King LP 503 stereo)

Side 1:
01) Sleep
02) Moonglow
03) Velvet Sunset
04) For You
05) The Very Thought Of You
06) Linger Awhile

Side 2:
01) Cherokee
02) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
03) Memories
04) Embraceable You
05) Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
06) Night And Day

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503) Mega

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 395-503) Zippy 

I've altered the downloads which featured on the first posting of these mono and stereo iterations of "Earl Bostic For You." For the mono version I've used the artwork from the first issue of this LP in February 1956 as King 395-503. The music files were ripped from my copy of the 1980s Sing issue of this collection. The download includes the Sing artwork which is almost a copy of the second issue of this collection in 1958 with a front cover which featured a picture of Earl on his lonesome holding his sax in the air. This cover was also used for the stereo issue which consisted of 1959 re-recordings of the tracks.

For the stereo version I've managed to dig up improved artwork from the web, although the back cover is a "mash up" of two different versions.

The original post should be read for the recording details of the stereo version and also for the original release details of the singles which were used on the 1956 / 1958 mono LP. The recording details of these singles can be found on the back cover of the Sing issue. Original post from October 2017:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-for-you-mono-and-stereo.html

 

 Earl Bostic For You (King LP 503 - stereo) Mega

Earl Bostic For You (King LP 503 - stereo) Zippy

The tracklist is the same as King 395-503. The difference between the mono and stereo versions is very noticeable with different arrangements being used for the re-recordings. I know which version I prefer, in fact I would say that 395-503 may well be my favourite Bostic album as he powers through a series of abrasive versions of standards which were recorded for singles between 1950 and 1954.

Musicians on the mono version include John Coltrane, Stanley Turrentine, Tommy Turrentine, Benny Golson, Count Hastings and Blue Mitchell, all of whom made their mark in the jazz field.

By way of contrast the stereo version was recorded over a short period in 1959 by the same group of musicians which makes for a certain "sameness" about the tracks. It's well worth your while to download and compare both versions.

Elsewhere on the blog:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2017/10/earl-bostic-for-you-mono-and-stereo.html

The original post of these albums with the lowdown on these platters that most definitely matter. The Bostic-a-thon goes on ... and on ...

With grateful thanks to the original uploaders of the LP artwork.

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (re-up)

Side 1:
01) Night Train
02) 8.45 Stomp
03) That's The Groovy Thing
04) Special Delivery Stomp
05) Moonglow
06) Mambostic
07) Earl Blows A Fuse
08) Harlem Nocturne

Side 2:
01) Who Snuck The Wine In The Gravy?
02) Don't You Do It
03) Disc Jockey's Nightmare
04) Flamingo
05) Steam Whistle Jump
06) What! No Pearls
07) Tuxedo Junction
08) Seven Steps

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Mega)

Earl Bostic Blows A Fuse (Zippy)

A delayed continuation of the Earl Bostic re-ups. As you can see on previous posts there is a problem with images disappearing seemingly in a random fashion from posts going back into March. I've re-upped the images for "Sax "O" Woogie" and so far they have stayed in place. Uploading images for this post has been problematic as they quickly disappear from the image upload facility, so we'll see how this pans out.Here's hoping that the front cover which is another of those great Dave Gibson at Nozbig designs stays up, at least!

The previous post of this album, with short summary of Earl Bostic's career is here:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2009/12/earl-bostic-blows-fuse-crb-1091.html

More Bostic on the way.

Earl Bostic - Sax "O" Boogie re-up

Side A:
01) Bostic's Jump
02) Earl's Rhumboogie
03) Hot Sauce Boss
04) 8:45 Stomp
05) Bar Fly Baby
06) Bostic's Boogie Blues
07) Blip Boogie
08) From Midnight To Dawn

Side B:
01) Swing Low Sweet Boogie
02) Nay, Nay, Go Away
03) Sugar Hill Blues
04) Choppin' It Down
05) No Name Blues
06) Way Down
07) Don't You Do It
08) Rockin' And Reelin'

Sax "O" Boogie (Mega)

Sax "O" Boogie (Zippy)

Kicking off the requested Earl Bostic season of re-ups. I'll start with a couple of comps before throwing myself into the fraught matter of all those 1950s LPs and the stereo re-recordings, plus there will be a look at Bostic's wild years - the sides he recorded for Gotham before he went on to King Records and hit the formula which brought chart success and a veritable avalanche of LPs.

First off - this Oldie Blues collection has a great selection of early Bostic, mastered from 78s by the sound of it. Boptastic!

For some more details on these tracks, see this post of the LP from 2016:

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2016/04/earl-bostic-sax-o-boogie.html 

 Stay slick, groovers.

Earl Bostic For You (Mono and Stereo Versions)

Side 1:

01. Sleep

02. Moonglow

03. Velvet Sunset

04. For You

05. The Very Thought Of You

06. Linger Awhile

Side 2:

01. Cherokee

02. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

03. Memories

04. Embraceable You

05. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

06. Night And Day

Earl Bostic For You (mono)

"Earl Bostic For You" (King 395-503) was released simultaneously with "The Best Of Bostic" (King 395-500) in February 1956. The original front cover differed from the one reproduced on this 1980's Sing reissue -

The above cover scan is from "PopBopRocktilUDrop" at https://kimsloans.wordpress.com/

In 1958 "Earl Bostic For You" was reissued as King 503 with a new cover, which is reproduced on this Sing issue.

Like its companion LP "The Best Of Bostic," "Earl Bostic For You" was a compilation of tracks which had previously been released as singles. The recording dates and personnel are listed on the back cover of the LP. The release dates of the singles featuring the LP tracks are listed below. Tracks in italics are not on this album.

Original single release of the tracks on "Earl Bostic For You."

"Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" / "Serenade" - King 4369 - May 1950

"Sleep" / "September Song" (Clyde Terrell) - King 4444 - May 1951

"Linger Awhile" / "Velvet Sunset" - King 4536 - May 1952

"Moonglow" / "Ain't Misbehavin'" - King 4550 - August 1952

"For You" / "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" - King 4570 - October 1952

"Cherokee" / "The Song Is Ended" - King 4623 - May 1953

"The Very Thought Of You" / "Memories" - King 4653 - August 1953

"Night And Day" / "Embraceable You" - King 4765 - January 1955

"Earl Bostic For You" was re-recorded in stereo in Cincinnati on March 26th, 27th and 28th, 1959. The personnel for these sessions was -Earl Bostic (alto sax); Roland Johnson (vibraphone); Jon Thomas (piano); Allan Seltzer (guitar); Herb Gordy (bass); William Erskine (drums). The stereo release had the same front cover as King 503, with the addition of the word "Stereo" of course!

In 1987 King released a CD version of "Earl Bostic For You" (KCD-503) with the 1958 front cover. Although there is no mention of "stereo" on the CD cover, the tracks are in fact the stereo re-recordings from 1959. Some of them are quite different from the versions on the mono release, e.g. the early 50's mono version of "Velvet Sunset" has a wordless background vocal chorus throughout, while the 1959 version is a straight ahead instrumental with no background vocals. Similarly, the 1950 mono version of "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" is a hepcat band vocal combined with bass picking by Keeter Betts, while the 1959 version is a Bostic instrumental.

Above: budget 1980's CD release - in stereo. I've "reconstituted" the stereo version of the LP by combining rips from, well, you-know-where, with a front cover from Discogs.com. So here for your delectation is the stereo version of "Earl Bostic For You" -

Earl Bostic For You (stereo)

Track order is the same as the mono version. 

Cash Box, April 25th, 1959, right guy, wrong instrument

And that's the end of our unplanned Earl Bostic season! It's fun when these things just sort of "take off," and I've learned another bit of R&B history as I had little idea that Earl had taken part in such a short, sharp, intensive period of re-recording of previously existing albums. Thanks to everyone who commented and special thanks to Daddy Cool and Bear From Delaware for their insights into the Bostic LP situation. I have no idea what the next blog post will be but I'm sure I can come up with something from the Vinyl Vault. Stay tuned!