[Dixielandjazz] Big Sid Catlett

[John Petters]

Hi Ken,
Very interested in your bio on Big Sid. Presumably you have the article 
by Rex Stewart in his book.
Sid was beyond doubt a genius. I always maintained that Louis' Allstars 
had a downward progression of drummers. Sid, then Cozy, not so good, 
Kenny John, good swinger, Barrett  Deems, not in the same league as Sid 
or Cozy and finally the awful Danny Barcelona.
Sid, along with Baby Dodds is one of the most difficult drummers to 
imitate. Both Zutty snd Gene are relatively easy to approximate - and I 
do mean approximate. But no one can get close to Baby or Sid.
An interesting note on the Condon recording of O Katharina from 2 Dec 
1943, we  see that Sid was human after all. He SLOWS down in his solo. 
It is really heartening for us mere mortals to realise that these 
geniuss suffer from many of our shortcomings!
Many of Sid's records would be desert island discs. Steak Face from the 
Symphony Hall concert, the wonderful  Teddy Wilson Sextet session from 
the early 40s, Victory Stride, either take, with James P, any of the 
Bechets.......Don't foreget the Esquire jazz concert...
Sid left us too early. Its time for an in depth study of his legacy.
Eagerly awaited
Keep swinging

-- 
John Petters
Amateur Raduio Station G3YPZ 
www.traditional-jazz.com




Ken Mathieson wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> While we're debating live versus studio recordings, my favourite Louis Armstrong All-Stars record is their 1947 concert at Boston's Symphony Hall, partly because the whole band is clearly having a ball, as is the audience (that 2-way electricity thing), and partly because the recording balance puts the peerless Big Sid Catlett right at the centre of the performances so you can hear exactly why he was Louis' favourite drummer.
>
> Out of curiosity, did any of this list's members attend that concert or hear the All-Stars when Catlett was on drums. I'm interested in any eye-witness reports and personal observations and reminiscences as I'm gathering material for a biog of Big Sid and will be delighted to give name-checks. There aren't too many people around now who heard or played with Big Sid, but I was able to talk to Arvell Shaw, Max Roach and Dick Cary before they passed, as well as recording extended interviews with Bob Wilber, Sweets Edison and Humphrey Lyttelton, so additional eye-witness input and anecdotage would be much appreciated.
>
> I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I'm much less familiar with the Condon Town Hall recordings, which in part got the "Live versus Studio" debate going, so observations, anecdotes etc about Catlett with Condon would be enormously helpful.
>
> Thanks in advance for your input,
>
> Ken Mathieson
> www.classicjazzorchestra.org.uk
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