Ahmad Jamal - The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd [Repost]

Ahmad Jamal - Roar of The Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd - Argo LP 751 -Argo Original Pressing, Grey Label ,Mono [new version]

Ahmad Jamal - Piano
Jamil Nasser - Bass
Chuck Lampkin - Drums

Recorded: Feb 24 & 25 1965, Nola Penthouse Studio, NYC
From the musical production "The Roar of The Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd"
Words and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

Engineer: Tommy Nola
Album Production and Supervision: Esmond Edwards
Cover Design: Michael Reid Design

Released: May 1, 1965

My dual jazz vinyl collecting and blogging hobbies have taken me in many directions - many fruitful, some less so - but in the end I keep coming back to the Argo/Cadet label and Ahmad Jamal.  On the eve of a major blog milestone [two hundred posts!], I've decided to go back to the beginning, to the very roots of this blog's rationale and mission with three 1965 Jamal sides from my archives.  

I've always felt that 1965 is a key year in the Jamal discography. Unfortunately Jamal's recordings from this year:  'Roar of the Greasepaint' (recorded 02/65) 'Extensions' (recorded 5/65) and 'Rhapsody' (recorded 12/65) have all remained officially unreleased on CD. I gather the unavailability of these sides are for a myriad of reasons;  perhaps licensing/legal issues (Jamal's Chess/Argo recordings were eventually absorbed  into the MCA/Universal Music corporate family, which Jamal didn't appreciate, leading to a lawsuit), commercial considerations (each of these recordings weren't great sellers at the time , and without critical support have been mostly lost to time), and also perhaps due to Jamal himself (he's hypercritical of his own work and dislikes much of his later post 1962 classic trio output). Nevertheless, I think there's a strong case for a reconsideration of these recordings. On a personal note, documenting these lost Jamal sides actually first inspired me to get into blogging nearly five years ago when I was frustrated that I couldn't get to listen to them!

The following three sides are my personal favorites in the Jamal discography because  they represent distinct Jamal approaches to deconstructing familiar jazz forms and genres - 'The Roar of the Greasepaint' reinterprets the typically staid  'jazz standards' form by tackling a silly Broadway musical/Tin Pan Alley ; 'Extensions' represents his attempt play 'out', and  take account of the 'New Thing'/Free Jazz currents of the mid sixties;  'Rhapsody' (courtesy of Joe Kennedy's great arrangements) revitalizes the tired and cheesy 'jazz with strings' genre, and somehow makes it compelling. In the end these are very much Jamal sides, but I appreciate the experimentation beyond the classic piano trio/cocktail jazz setting.

Ahmad Jamal - Rhapsody [Repost]

Ahmad Jamal with Strings - Rhapsody - Cadet LP-764 - Original Cadet Pressing, Stereo, Blue Label  [new version]

Ahmad Jamal - Piano
Jamil S. Nasser - Bass
Vernel Fournier - Drums

+ on A1, A3, B2 & B4

[uncredited] - 15 Piece Orchestra (Violins, Violas & Cellos)
String Arrangements by Joseph Kennedy

Recorded - December 15, 16 & 17 1965, Nola Studios, New York City

Production & Supervision - Ahmad Jamal & Dick LaPalm
Engineer - Tommy Nola
Cover Photo - Three Lions
Cover Design - Michael Reid Design

Released - May 21, 1966

The Interpreters - 'The Knack' [Argo/Cadet Rarity]

The Interpreters - 'The Knack" - Cadet LP 762 - Original Argo/Cadet Pressing, Mono, Blue Label

George Patterson Jr - Alto & Soprano Sax

Cleo Griffin Jr. - Trumpet

Charles Kinnard Jr. - Tenor Sax

Tom Washington Jr. - Piano

Arlington Davis Jr. - Drums

John Whitfield Jr. - Bass

+

"The Mack Voices" on A1, A3, B1, B3

James L Mack - Bass

Joseph Brewer - Tenor

Charles Van Tasell - Baritone

Anne Reisig - Soprano

Nancy Hawk - Alto

Recorded - September 1965, Ter Mar Recording Studios, Chicago

Album Production & Supervision - Esmond Edwards

Engineer - Ron Malo

Cover Photo & Design - Don Bronstein

Released - 1966?

Here's a true Argo/Cadet rarity and a lost piece of Chicago Soul Jazz - The Interpreters' The Knack! This is perhaps one of the most obscure and hardest to obtain entries in the Chess Jazz catalog - and was finally gratified to add the original Mono vinyl to my Argo/Cadet collection last week.  This was the only side of The Interpreters, but there's some killer arrangements and playing here with nice use of a vocal group which makes this side an intriguing listen - not really typical Soul Jazz!

Leader George 'Dimp Paco' Patterson went on to become a noted jazz educator,an arranger, session musician and musical director for some major Soul/Funk groups including the Isley Brothers, Wilson Pickett, Earth, Wind and Fire  and finally a successful commercial musician in jingles and advertisements  who even penned the theme song for Oprah Winfrey's TV Show (!)  before passing away in 2003.

Thornel Schwartz & Bill Leslie - Soul Cookin [New Rip: From the Archives]

Thornel Schwartz with Bill Leslie - Soul Cookin - Argo LP 704 - Argo Original Pressing,Grey label, Mono

[Here's another gem from Argo and from the blog archives in a restored lossless version - Larry Young on Organ! Amiri Baraka writes the liner notes - a rare Rudy Van Gelder Argo session]

Thornel Schwartz - Guitar
Bill Leslie - Tenor Sax
Lawrence Olds [Larry Young] - Organ
Jerome Thomas - Drums
Donald Bailey - Drums on A1, B3

Recorded - September 4, 1962 , Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey [The Tuesday, Gene Ammons for Prestige recorded his Velvet Soul the next day, the Wednesday]

Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Supervision: Esmond Edwards
Cover Photo: Raimondo Borea
Liner Notes: LeRoi Jones [Amiri Baraka]

Released: February 16, 1963

Here's a very nice Argo/Cadet rarity. Perhaps a relatively minor entry in the soul jazz canon, but unfairly so , as we've go three really interesting players [Schwartz, Leslie and an uncredited Larry Young!] doing their thing and the music cooks...

Frank Foster - Basie is Our Boss [New Rip: From the Archives]

Frank Foster - Basie is Our Boss - Argo LP 717 - Argo Original Pressing, Grey Label, Mono

[Updated version - more fantastic stuff from Argo - a new lossless rip]

Frank Foster - Tenor Saxophone
Eric Dixon - Flute & Tenor Saxophone
Al Aarons - Trumpet
John Young - Piano
Buddy Catlett - Bass
Phil Thomas - Drums

Recorded - February 18 & 20 1963, RCA Studios, Chicago

Engineer: Ron Steele
Supervision: Esmond Edwards
Cover Design: Don Bronstein
Cover Photo: Esmond Edwards

Released - 1963?

Well, I don't say this too often, but this is a great, great record; a very swingin', soulful, and I dare say slightly modal side from the great sax man Frank Foster, long time sideman and musical director of the Count Basie organization. This side was cut during one of Foster's hiatuses from Basie, and serves as a bit of one off project on Argo. Foster has assembled a very competent and skillful support crew, mostly former and then current Basie sideman (which accounts for the title of the LP: "Basie is Our Boss...) but he is also supported by a great favorite of this blog; the unheralded John Young on piano. Unusually for an Argo side, there are only 6 tracks on this LP, as Foster & company are given a rare opportunity to stretch out and tackle the material.

Budd Johnson - Ya! Ya! [New Rip: From the Archives]

Budd Johnson - Ya! Ya! - Argo LP 736 - Argo Original Pressing, Grey Label, Mono

[Updated version - another dip in the Blog archives with an Argo gem by the great tenor man Budd Johnson!  Nice lossless rip with some surface noise as original mono vinyl was in rough shape]

Budd Johnson - Tenor Sax
Al Williams - Organ
Richard Davis - Bass (A3, A4, B1, B4, B5)
George Duvivier - Bass (A1, A2, B2, B3)
Belton Evans - Drums

Recorded: January 20 & 21, 1964, Sound Makers Studio, NYC

Supervision: Esmond Edwards
Cover Photo: Esmond Edwards
Cover Design: Don Bronstein

Released: June 13, 1964

This is a long lost forgotten Argo side by the jazz legend/long time 'behind the scenes' player tenor sax man Budd Johnson. There's been some confusion as this is the original 'Ya! Ya!', not this Ya!-Ya!, another completely different 1970 side from a French Label that is readily available. This Ya! Ya! has not been seen in any form since its first issue in 1964. I love Johnson's big band tenor sound, it really drives a nice soul jazz groove. Nice fidelity again.

Lou Donaldson - Cole Slaw [New Rip: From the Archives]

Lou Donaldson - Cole Slaw - Argo LP 747 (Argo Original Pressing, Lozange Label, Argo]

[Updated version - here's a brand new lossless rip of this elusive Lou Donaldson Argo side. This posting way back in 2009 was a landmark one for the blog as it was one of the very first Argo rarities ever!]

Lou Donaldson - Alto Saxophone
Herman Foster - Piano
Early May - Bass
Ray Baretto - Conga Drums
Bruno Carr - Drums

Recorded: RCA Recording Studios, NYC, June 19, 1964

Produced by Esmond Edwards
Engineer: Ray Hall
Cover: Thomas Gorman

Released: February 13, 1965 

This is my first Argo/Cadet rarity that I'm posting here, a hard to find Lou Donaldson side cut in between his two more prominent stints on Blue Note. Several cuts on this LP have appeared on various compilations over the years, but I don't believe that this particular LP has been reissued on any CD/digital format since it first came out in 1964-65. As for the music, very good soul jazz, not too different from his Blue Note work - I really love 'Sweet Lou's tone which comes out very clearly off this very good LP rip. Enjoy

Milt Buckner - Midnight Mood [New Rip: From the Archives]

Milt Buckner - Midnight Mood - Argo LP 702 (Original Argo Pressing, Grey Label, Mono)

[Updated version - a return to the Argo/blog archives again with a new restored lossless rip of this idiosyncratic Milt Buckner side]

Milt Buckner - Organ
Johnny Pate - Bass
Maurice Sinclaire - Drums

Recorded: ? [not listed on the sleeve; but reportedly April 3 1961, Chicago according to a Buckner discography]

Engineer: Ron Malo
Supervision: Jack Tracy
Cover: Bon [sic; Don?] Brownstein

Released: November 10, 1962 

Just posting my final Argo Buckner side for completist and posterity's sake. Don't have much to say here. It's a trio date no horns date. The liner notes by a Ralph Bass describes this side as 'music for early listening, [and] music for late listening' - an entirely apt description.

Ahmad Jamal - Macanudo [New Rip: From the Archives]

Ahmad Jamal - Macanudo - Argo LP 712 - Canadian Chess Pressing, Maroon Label,  Stereophonic Sound!  

[Updated version - here's a new lossless rip in all of its true stereo glory....put this LP on my turntable the other day and I was so blown away that I was convinced to produce a new rip of this Ahmad Jamal-Richard Evans classic.  

This was one of the original lost Argo sides discovered by my blogfather Orgy in Rhythm (mono version) way back in July 2006 - this (re) rip is from my own copy,  a stereo Canadian Chess pressing - and for once it's the stereo version I prefer as you can hear all the nice orchestral arrangements by Evans. I actually have an interesting story from Esmond Edwards' widow about  how Edwards fell out with Jamal in late 1962- giving the opportunity to Evans as the session's producer - but more on that later]

Ahmad Jamal - Piano

[uncredited] - Orchestra Players

Music Arranged, Conducted [and Composed!] By Richard Evans

Recorded - December 20 & 21, 1962, Rudy Van Gelder's Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ [The Thursday and Friday - interestingly concurrently with Blue Note's Grant Green Feeling the Spirit session (Friday night?), Willis Jackson finished recording his Neapolitan Nights side for Prestige the day before, the Wednesday]

[Production: Ahmad Jamal + Richard Evans?]

Recording: Rudy Van Gelder

[unfortunately no RVG/Van Gelder stamp in the dead wax, which is consistent for all other Van Gelder sessions for Argo in 1962-63. So can we draw the inference that RVG recorded these sessions but didn't master them? Unusual as I can't recall him ever not being totally involved]

Cover Photo/Design: Don Bronstein

Released - April 27, 1963

Here's another wonderful 'Argo/Cadet Classic' for your ears this weekend - a sterling Ahmad Jamal side and his first collaboration with Richard Evans! This is the true companion piece to Gene Shaw's Carnival Sketches - another Evans 'Latin Jazz' inspired composed, arranged and conducted date. This side was apparently Evans' first big break into getting into jazz production/arranging/composing as Jamal's falling out with Chess Jazz's usual Producer Esmond Edwards gave Evans the opportunity to step in and work with Jamal.

The running time of this side though is criminally far too brief, more like an EP than a usual LP's length, but this was apparently driven by an overt play for commercial radio play and hit singles-45 sales - cashing in on the Bossa Nova Craze of the time etc.... This side has appeared in Blogland before, but this is a true booming analogue stereo rip which is a nice revelation - pay very closely to the orchestra phrasings and Evans' sterling arranging - this was burried under previous mono mixes, but now in stereo we can fully appreciate Evans' work and the unfortunately uncredited orchestra players.

'Bogota' might be one of my favorite Jamal sides ever - never knew there was an acoustic guitar/french horn backing Jamal's piano though... This side was recorded in RVG Studios in New Jersey outside of Chess' Chicago base which accounts for the good recording and stereo mix.

King Fleming - The Weary Traveler [New Rip: From the Archives]

King Fleming Trio - The Weary Traveler - Cadet LP 4053 - Original Argo Pressing, Stereo, Blue Cadet Label

[Updated version - King Fleming is one my proudest and most gratifying discoveries of my blogging adventures so far - an amazing Chicago Soul-jazz pianist and legend who deserves your attention - I previously posted his two Argo 4000 sides -' Misty Night' and 'Stand By' - here's a brand new lossless rip of his third Vinyl only side on Cadet - 'Weary Traveler' in near perfect fidelity - absolutely beautiful. The world needs a lot more King Fleming I tell you....]

King Fleming - Piano
Melvin Jackson - Bass
William Cochran - Drums

Arrangements by King Fleming and Will Jackson

Recorded - April 1965, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Album Production & Supervision - King Fleming
Engineer - Ron Malo
Cover Photo & Design - Don Bronstein

Released - May 21, 1966

The Three Souls - Dangerous Dan Express [New Rip: From the Archives]

The Three Souls - Dangerous Dan Express - Argo LP 4036 - Original Argo Pressing, Mono, Turquoise Label [Updated version - here's the first and more elusive Three Souls Argo side - earlier rip was unsatisfactory - here's a better one]

Sonny Cox - Alto Sax
Ken Prince - Organ
Robert Shy - Drums
+
George Harris - Bongo

+A2, +A3, +, +A4, +B2 -

George Eskridge - Guitar

+A1, +B1, +B3, +B4 -

Gerald Sims - Guitar

Recorded - January 3 & February 12, 1964, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Supervision - Billy Davis & Esmond Edwards
Engineer - Ron Malo
Cover - Don Bronstein

Released - October 10, 1964

Here's a exciting new find - the first and ever elusive Argo side by The Three Souls! Difficult to track down in good condition/and for a fair price, this side was never released on CD, anywhere in the world. It's a shame as it's a nice energetic record, a fair representation of Chicago's contribution to the Soul Jazz scene.

Sam Lazar - Soul Merchant [New Copy & Rip: From the Archives]

Sam Lazar - Soul Merchant - Argo LP 714 - Argo Original Pressing, Grey Label, Mono [Updated version; I just acquired a better condition copy and here's a new much more acceptable lossless rip]

Sam Lazar - Organ
Miller Brisker - Tenor Sax
George Eskridge - Guitar
Phil Thomas - Drums

Recorded: November 21, 1962, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Engineer: Ron Malo
Supervision: Esmond Edwards
Cover Photo: Don Bronstein

Released: October 12, 1963

This LP represents a raison detre/mission of this blog; a long lost forgotten and obscure Argo side, never been reissued in any format since its original issue, languishing forgotten in somebody's basement, waiting to be rediscovered and cherished for the first time in forty plus years!!

This is my personal Argo/Cadet rarity holy grail; I've been looking for this record for nearly a year, and finally acquired a reasonably priced copy last week. Sam Lazar is perhaps the ultimate forgotten jazz man on Argo; this is the third of his 3 sides (his two previous were reissued on CD in Japan - inevitably both OOP, but this side has not seen the light of day since 1963), originally from St Louis he is known if at all for 'discovering' the great Blue Note house guitarist Grant Green.

What documentation on Lazar that I have been able to locate speak of him attending a Jimmy Smith concert and being inspired to become a jazz musician/organist himself. On this side's six tracks (including 4 Lazar originals), he and his band really stretch out, as Lazar gives a virtuoso and 'groove performance'... this is truly some nice Chess/Argo soul jazz cookin' from a long forgotten winter night in Chicago, November 1962. After this session, Lazar literally disappeared from the jazz scene forever.

John Young - Themes and Things [New Rip: From The Archives]

[From the archives - a new rip of an Argo-Cadet rarity by the Chicago soul jazz pianist John Young!]

John Young Trio - Argo LP 692 (Cadet Pressing)

John Young - Piano
William Yancey - Bass
Philip Thomas - Drums

Recorded - June 6 & 7 1961, Ter Mar Recording Studios, Chicago
Engineer: Ron Malo
Supervision: Ralph Bass

Released: June 23, 1962

If you spend some time in my blog archives , you could tell that I  became pretty obsessed with digging up lost LPs from Chess Records' unfairly forgotten jazz subsidiary: Argo, later Cadet Records from 2009-2010.  Posting lost Argo/Cadet records was actually the original impetus-motivation for starting this blog. I've moved on in the meantime - a spell with Prestige's soul-jazz and ethnic folk records and a sometimes flirtation with Vee-Jay - but my Argo/Cadet  vinyl is the heart and soul of my collection - and I guess my niche in the jazz blogosphere! 

Why Argo? Firstly,  there's almost something quite refreshing about Argo/Cadet which distinguishes it from other Jazz labels of the time: Blue Note, Prestige, Impulse etc.. There's no modernist pretension in album art/ sleeve design (a la Blue Note), the album art/sleeve design is simple and utilitarian, the music is refreshingly direct, melodic, and very local, as it feels like it comes from a real place and time ( ie. Chicago). You can never say that the sides on Argo were 'formulaic', something which is not always true for other labels(Blue Note/Prestige). Most importantly, I want to make an important point on the blog about Argo, and about Soul-Jazz generally as a genre. This music deserves a place in jazz history/popular narratives. Commercial success/popular appeal shouldn't be a factor in addressing the importance of this music. This music has life, soul, and heart. If you think about it, this is the jazz that most ordinary people actually listened to in the 60s (sorry Tina Brooks). If you go by the sales figures of the time, Ahmad Jamal's Poinciana and Ramsey Lewis' In Crowd were massive popular instrumental hits. 

During the course of my research/advocacy about Argo/Cadet, I came across references to Argo/Cadet's 3rd 'unknown' and 'forgotten'  pianist: John Young. Young was a local Chicago player who recorded as a leader briefly in the late 50s and early 60s. I've pretty much posted everything that's currently vinyl only/commercially unavailable on the blog in the past. His first side on Argo:  1956's Young John Young, Opus De Funk  (actually his second proper side)  recorded in 1957 but released much later in the 1970s on Vee Jay International, this particular Argo side cut in 1961: Theme and Things, and his last side on Argo: 1962's Touch of Pepper.  An additional side, The Serenata recorded on the local Chicago label Dellmark in 1959 is also readily available on Itunes.  After digging up his lost recordings, I lost interest in Young as I pursued other missing artists/sides. But I've recently returned to John Young and his music, and he's become one of my favorite pianists. Young passed away in Chicago in 2008. I regret I didn't discover him much earlier - based on how much I've enjoyed my interactions with John Wright, I might have learned a lot from Young.

Al Grey - Having A Ball [Argo]

Al Grey - Having A Ball - Argo LP 718 - Original Argo Pressing, Grey Label, Mono

Al Grey - Trombone
David Burns - Trumpet
Hugh Lawson - Piano
Calvin Newborne - Guitar
Herman Wright - Bass
Otis Finch - Drums
Bobby Hutcherson - Vibes

Recorded - January 29, 1963, Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Supervision - Esmond Edwards
Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder
Cover Design - Don Bronstein
Cover Photo - Jim Marshall

Released - November 30, 1963

Here's some unfinished Argo business from my favorite era of the label - the Soul Jazz years of producer Esmond Edwards from 1962-67: Al Grey's Having A Ball! Grey was certainly one of the most prolific artists on Argo in the early sixties with seven sides as a leader, but he's largely forgotten these days. This is a nice energetic, bouncy and rather light Soul Jazz side with an appearance by a young Bobby Hutcherson on vibes.

This side is most notable for two things - it has remained officially unreleased on CD (an unofficial Spanish release in Hutcherson's name omits two tracks - A2 &B3 ) and it was released the week after JFK's assassination (which may account for it quickly fading from view).

Get it

Various Artists - Mood To Be Wooed [Cadet]

Illinois Jacquet, Budd Johnson, James Moody & Sandy Mosse - Mood to be Wooed (Sexy Saxophones and Strings) - Cadet LP 784 - Canadian Pressing, Stereo

Illinois Jacquet - Saxophone
Budd Johnson - Saxophone
James Moody - Saxophone
Sandy Mosse - Saxophone

+ Strings

Arranged by Melba Liston, Torrie Zito, Benny Golson, Bill McCrae & Tom McIntosh

Recorded - [not listed on sleeve, various 1958-64: A4 &B4 from Argo LP 639 (October 13, 1958, Chicago) , A2,A6 &B1 from Argo LP 679 (July 5 & 6, 1960 & February 16, 1961, New York) , A1&B3 from Argo 5458 , A5 previously unreleased (according to Lord's discography, all from November 7, 1963, New York) , A3, B2 from Argo LP 746 (October 29 &30, 1964, New York)]

Produced by Esmond Edwards
Cover Photo & Design - Don Bronstein

Released - February 18, 1967

This rekkid has one smokin cover... but kind of inappropriate for just a plain old jazz side! However, Chess house photographer Don Bronstein also shot extensively for Playboy so it works - sexy!

Essentially this is a compilation of Chess Jazz's best string dates with fantastically inventive arrangements, featuring Illinois Jacquet, Budd Johnson, Sandy Mosse and James Moody. All of Johnson's contributions (from a single and an outtake) are rarities and exclusive to this side, making this collection invaluable for the Argo/Cadet completist. Great stereo fidelity from a vintage Canadian Cadet pressing.

Get it

Herb Pilhofer - Jazz

Herb Pilhofer Trio - Jazz - Argo LP 657 - Argo Original Pressing, Grey Label, Mono

Herb Pilhofer - Piano
Stuart Anderson - Bass
Dale Olinger - Guitar

Recorded - September 8 & 9, 1959, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Supervision - Jack Tracy
Engineer - Malcolm Chisholm
Cover Design - Emmett McBain

Released - May 16, 1960

Back again with one elusive Argo/Cadet rarity - Herb Pilhofer's Jazz! I've been looking for this side for ages now to fill in some of the gaps in my personal collection of the main Jazz LP series (600-759), so excited to finally have it and post it on the blog.

Can't find much information on the leader, Herb Pilhofer or on this particular side. I gather Pilhofer was a Minneapolis based musician, who is notable in library music circles. So, essentially this side is jazz library music - competently executed , but not something that is quite distinctive either. Good fidelity from the original Argo mono vinyl.

Get it

Sandy Mosse, Ira Schulman & Eddie Baker - Chicago Scene

Sandy Mosse, Ira Schulman & Eddie Baker - Chicago Scene - Argo LP 609 - Argo Original Pressing, Black Label, Mono

Sandy Mosse - Tenor Sax
Ira Schulman - Tenor Sax
Dave Mulholland - Trumpet
Eddie Baker - Piano
Jimmy Gourley - Guitar
Leroy Jackson - Bass
Dorrell Anderson - Drums

Recorded - July 6, 1956, Universal Studios, Chicago

Supervision - Joe Segal
Recording - Jack Weiner
Cover - Don Bronstein

Released - April 29, 1957

Be prepared for a monster Argo rarity : Sandy Mosse, Ira Schulman & Eddie Baker's Chicago Scene! I've been looking for this particular side for ages now, but finally got lucky last week. This side is a bit different from the typical Soul Jazz fare posted here regularly, but nonetheless it's an important and historic LP which documents some of the Chicago bop scene of the mid 1950s. Sandy Mosse is the perhaps the best known of these Chicago players. Pretty good fidelity with just some minor surface noise from the original fifty four year old Argo mono vinyl!

Get it

The Windjammers - Jammin' with the Windjammers

The Windjammers - Jammin' with the Windjammers - Argo LP 4047 - Original Argo Pressing, Promo Label, Mono

Jack Howe - Trumpet
Ron Hockett - Clarinet & Tenor Sax
Jim Guetzkow - Trombone
Mike Katz - Piano & Valve Trombone
Will Bogaty - Piano
Jimmy Mullerheim - Guitar
Don Farquhharson - Bass
John Barry - Drums

Recorded - June 24, 1965, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Album Supervision & Production - Esmond Edwards
Engineer - Ron Malo
Cover Photo & Design - Don Bronstein

Released - November 6, 1965

This posting will wrap up this month's ongoing series of Argo obscurities. General indifference has greeted this series in the jazz blogosphere, which illustrates that Argo completists are a very small breed - but I enjoy the historical archival digging of it all. I wouldn't call any of these sides lost masterpieces, but nevertheless they do provide a fascinating account of a jazz label in transition, ready and willing to record and release everything.

This particular side revisits the trad jazz/dixieland style, but in a pretty unique and somewhat bizarre way - it's dixieland meets Tom Jones meet the Beatles meets Soul Jazz! It all sounds pretty ridiculous, but Chess Jazz A&R man Esmond Edwards' production and arrangements makes it a quite credible listen. Solid fidelity from the original Argo promo vinyl in great condition.

Get it

Smokey Stover's Original Firemen

Smokey Stover - Smokey Stover's Original Firemen - Argo LP 652, Argo Original Pressing, White Promo Label (Multicolored Vinyl!), Mono

Smokey Stover - Trumpet, Vocals
Floyd O'Brien - Trombone
Jimmy Granato - Clarinet
Gen Raebourne - Piano
John Gilliland - Tuba
Don Chester - Drums
Betty Brandon - Vocals

Recorded - September 1 & 2, 1959, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago

Supervision - Jack Tracy
Engineer - Malcolm Chisholm
Cover - Don Bronstein

Released - 1960?

Here's another great Argo obscurity, again in the trad jazz/dixieland style - Smokey Stover's Original Firemen! This is a lively and enjoyable side, executed by some great local Chicago players of the time. Ok fidelity with some unavoidable slight skips after some extensive digital restoration from a very well worn, but very cool multicolored original Argo promo vinyl.

Get it

Metropolitan Jazz Octet - The Legend of Bix

The Metropolitan Jazz Octet - The Legend of Bix - Argo LP 659 - Canadian Pressing (Quality Records), Mono

Tom Hilliard - Tenor Sax
Ed Haley - Trumpet
Ed Avis - Valve Trombone
Dave Edwards - Alto Sax
Ben Baileys - Baritone Sax
Angelo Principali - Piano
Gerry Loftstrum - Bass
Jim Gianas - Drums

Recorded - August 11 & 12, 1959, Ter Mar Recording Studio. Chicago

Supervision - Jack Tracy
Engineer - Malcolm Chisholm
Cover - Emmet McBain

Released - April 4, 1960

Finally, an intriguing Argo obscurity that is just not for the completists - the Metropolitan Jazz Octet's The Legend of Bix! This is a jazz tribute side to the legendary trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke in two parts, first covering Bix's seminal influences (originals by the lost Chicago jazz composer/arranger Tom Hilliard) and Bix's most famous compositions. It's an elegant and well put together side which I enjoyed immensely. Ostensibly in the trad jazz/swing/New Orleans style, but I detect a West Coast Jazz/Cool Jazz/Birth of the Cool vibe. Nice fidelity off a mint condition foreign Canadian pressing.

Get it