[Dixielandjazz] Eddie Condon

[Stan Brager]

I have to agree with Bob on this one... for the most part. There were
several Condon recordings that followed the recording technique of the Buck
Clayton jam sessions begun in 1953. In those sessions, the format of a
traditional jam session was followed giving the music a loose feeling not
found on most jazz studio recordings while the studio environment allowed
the listener to hear each instrument well and in excellent balance.

For me, these are a joy to hear year after year.

That said, there were also some later 1950's and 1960's Condon studio
recordings for Columbia which lack the informal nature of the earlier jam
sessions. These include the "Midnight In Moscow" and "Chicago My Home Town".

Stan
Stan Brager

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Ringwald [mailto:rsr at ringwald.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 6:57 PM
To: DJML
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Eddie Condon

Steve Barbone posted some comments on Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts and 
the Condon mid 1950 Columbia recordings, written by Bob Rawlins:

(snip)
These are among my favorite Condon recordings.  I don't like his
1950's Columbia recordings.  I find they are over-arranged,
commercialized, and the mix and sound are all wrong.  Everything is
too crisp, separated, and "modern" sounding.
(snip)

Wow!  I could not disagree more.  While I enjoyed the Town Hall series and
featured them on my radio show in Los Angeles, my opinion is that the mid
50s Condon recordings are just about the best OKOM ever recorded.  If I was
going to a desert Island, they, along with just about anything Louis did,
would be my first choices to take with me.

Every time I hear the  Columbia 1950 Condon recordings, I shake my head and
say, "It just doesn't get any better than that.

(snip)
"over-arranged,
commercialized, mix and sound are all wrong, too crisp, separated."
(snip)

Ridiculous.  What is wrong with hearing a band as if you are sitting 20 feet

in front of them and hearing them under the most optimal conditions?  Plus, 
the guys on the Columbia recordings were some of the finest OKOM players in 
the world, playing at their peak, obviously recording under great 
conditions.  As I said, it just doesn't get any better than that.


"modern sounding"?
(snip)

Perhaps one of the reasons why Condon was able to hang on so long.


 --Bob Ringwald K6YBV
 530/642-9551
916/806-9551 Cell
www.ringwald.com
Fulton Street Jazz Band

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