February 17, 2019

Tito Rodriguez – Desert Dance

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Pablo Rodriguez Lozada, better known as “Tito” Rodriguez (“tito” meaning “uncle” and sometimes “giant” in Puerto Rican Spanish) was a massively popular bandleader, singer and arranger in the 1950s when the mambo and cha-cha craze was at its height in the U.S. During this era he was just about as renowned and requested as the great Tito Puente, another legendary timbalero, who was also Rodriguez’s rival in the salsa and Latin scenes of the 50s and 60s.

This side, “Desert Dance”, written by R. K. Mozian, is a characteristic mover-and-groover from his repertoire that features flawless execution from the horns and rhythm section, particularly the pianist who I can’t seem to identify, and of course Señor Rodriguez’s timbales sound crisp and solidly “in the pocket.” Such a hidden classic.

 

 

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February 6, 2019

Dizzy Brown – Cecelia

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This is a really swanky, swingin’ little instrumental number from 1955 on the TEEN label; it features piano and a drummer playing a small kit setup that includes one or two tambourines. It pulses along like a good-time get-together with the right party crowd, full of light-hearted merriment and boozy smiles all around.

“Dizzy Brown” was one of the many aliases of pianist, bandleader, orchestra leader, record producer and record company executive Bernie Lowe. He founded TEEN Records that same year, and also the Cameo label in 1956, both which were dedicated to rock, soul, doo-wop and folk rock groups. He also wrote or co-wrote many well-known hits in the 1950s and 60s, including Elvis’ “(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear”, Charlie Grace’s “Ninety-Nine Ways”, “Teen Age Prayer” by Gale Storm, and Chubby Checker’s “That’s The Way It Goes”, as well as many Bobby Rydell tunes that charted. Lowe was quite important to the growth of rock-n-roll during this era just as it was entering the true mainstream of American music.

 

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January 27, 2019

Vince Martin – Cindy, Oh Cindy

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“Cindy, Oh Cindy” was a 1956 Top 40 hit for folk & rock pioneer Vince Martin; it was his initial breakthrough onto the national music scene. In the 1960s he released a well-known, considered “seminal”, album of folk-rock called Tear Down These Walls with a band that included John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful.

“Cindy, Oh Cindy” is a calypso-tinged arrangement of the Barron & Long penned song which features the backing band The Tarriers, which itself features a young Alan Arkin, the legendary actor, director and screenwriter, playing guitar and singing vocal harmony. Vince Martin sings in his beautiful tenor a lyric about a sailor at sea longing for a love he left behind when he joined the Navy…

This was released on the small 1950s label Glory out of New York city which specialized in pop, r&b and folk, and which recorded many less-known, but incredible, vocal groups. These singles, especially on 78rpm, are much sought after by collectors.

 

 

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January 19, 2019

Jack and Betty – Satisfied Mind

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I can’t find any information whatsoever about this duo, Jack and Betty, who seem to be lost to history at this point. And it also seems like this is their only record: TEEN 107A, “Satisfied Mind” and 107B, “This Is My Story”.

From 1955, “Satisfied Mind” made a moderate-sized splash as a popular jukebox rendition of this Red Hayes & Jack Rhodes C+W classic which has been covered many times since it was first recorded that same year. Even Jeff Buckley, the 1990s NYC songbird who tragically died way too young at 30yrs old, did a cover of this tune, which is really amazing, and it is available on the Columbia Records release “Live at Sin-E” (Legacy Edition.) This, however, is my favorite take of this beautiful secular hymn. Jack plays the rhythm guitar and Betty plays the organ, and they sing in harmony virtually the whole time. There is also an unknown electric guitar player plucking some great sounding lead lines, wish I knew who that was… The simplicity of the arrangement, the passion in the playing and the singing, and just one hell of a lyric, make for a powerful, haunting piece of Americana.

 

 

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January 1, 2019

Jimmy Coe and his Gay Cats of Rhythm – The Jet

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A legendary side man saxophonist for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Freddie Hubbard, Carl Perkins and Gladys Knights and the Pips, Jimmy Coe already had a previous recording career in the 40s and 50s and got his start playing in Jay McShann’s band sharing seats with the everlasting Charlie “Bird” Parker.

“The Jet,” on the small mid-50s Chicago label States Recording Company, is a great little groovy B3 Hammond organ and saxophone jammy-jam, and a relentless 2-and-a-half-minute flight of fancy. This virtually unknown number makes its way into many of my 78s set out in the wilds of nighttime party gigs and clubs.

Happy New Year 2019!

 

Jimmie Coe - The Jet

 

December 15, 2018

Tito Puente – Mambo Rama

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Tito Puente is a musical legend whose success and popularity helped bring the music and culture of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Africa to larger mainstream audiences around the world. Very often referred to as the “King of Timbales”, Puente was born in NYC in 1923 to immigrant Puerto Rican parents, and was raised in Spanish Harlem. A naturally talented and artistic child, his career spanned six decades of the 20th century, with many, many international performances, achievements, and awards; and his discography is considered a cultural treasure. A couple of notable examples of his lasting legacy are: his 1958 album Dance Mania is listed in the National Recording Registry, and his song, “Oye Como Va”, which is considered a standard (and which Carlos Santana took to even greater heights when he released his version in 1963.)

Here he is performing his pulsating, hypnotic “Mambo Rama” with his orchestra in 1955; and man do those horns sound amazing. On the New York label TICO.

 

Tito Puente - Mambo Rama

 

July 8, 2018

J.B. De Carvalho – You Went Away

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João Paulo Batista de Carvalho was a famous Brazilian singer and songwriter who had a life in music lasting almost 50 years. Born in 1901 in Rio Janeiro, he began his career in the 1930s by introducing the music of Umbanda, “a Brazilian folk religion combining elements of macumba, Roman Catholicism, and South American Indian practices”, also considered white magic, to live radio programs. He was arrested many times for this because Umbanda is a religion of possession and transfixation, and people were falling into trances listening to his groups on the airwaves in Rio! (needless to say he was a hit!)

This 1947 recording of  “You Went Away”, or “Foste Embora” in Portuguese, is a really snappy and catchy batucada, which is a samba essentially but with more a pronounced African percussion style and using a specific assortment of drums. Enjoy with a caipirinha and some space to move your feet…

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April 15, 2018

Perez “Prez” Prado & His Orchestra – Skokiaan

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This sax-driven tune, written around 1947 by a musician from Rhodesia (current day Zimbabwe) named August Msarurgwa, became a worldwide hit in 1954 and was quickly covered by many popular groups of the era, including this exceptional mambo by one of the undisputed kings of the style, Prez Prado. “Skokiaan” is the name of a home-made hooch, basically a moonshine often made with maize, that was popular in Southern Africa at the time.

Also nice that this wonderful performance comes on a mid-50s RCA shellac, which are known for their high fidelity and warmth.

 

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September 29, 2017

Big Bill Broonzy – I’ll Start Cutting On You

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Big Bill Broonzy (1893-1958), American blues legend.

Born in Mississippi, he played guitar, piano and bass, and went on to pen many blues standards, and copyrighted over 300 of them. Also, he was one of the founding faculty of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music , in 1953.

His sides on Paramount and Vocalion (where he is sometimes called “Willie Broomzy”) are typically hard to find, they’re expensive, and are almost always pretty beat up from the jukebox joints etc. “I’ll Start Cutting On You”, a 1938 country blues on Vocalion #04095 is no exception – it is roughed-up and scratchy; but I love this tune and it still comes up wonderfully from under the hiss, promise (you could also very easily adjust the treble settings on your EQ for a less lived-in sound, and you would still enjoy the bouncy beauty of this rare pre-war gem)! Happiness.

 

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September 17, 2017

The Pilgrim Travelers – I Was There When the Spirit Came

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This gospel quartet caught-on in the U.S. national scene in the 1940s and kept up their popularity & musical quality into the 50s. The great Ray Charles has said that the Pilgrim Travelers, and particularly their baritone Jesse Whitaker, influenced him and his then developing musical style: a brew of blues, gospel and jazz which would eventually come to be known as “soul” music.

This acapella take of “I Was There When the Spirit Came” is vocally tight, light and snappy, especially much of the accompaniment behind the lead.  On the Specialty label out of L.A., which was known for its many excellent black rock & roll and gospel sides, this is a pretty clean copy with plenty of lustre on the shellac, and the voices are clear and really ring out so beautifully.

 

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