[Dixielandjazz] a good solo

[Steve Voce]

I still have the red and gold-label Vocalion 78 of this. I thought Higgy's' solo was so wonderful that it's one of the tiny amount of 78s that I kept.

Steve Voce

Sent from my iPad

On 22 Jun 2013, at 21:36, "ROBERT R. CALDER" <serapion at btinternet.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> I remember an excellent solo from one CD I reviewed a long time ago, 
> 
> I won't identify it, because the CD's not worth buying for that,
> besides which, after the completion of the solo the musician in question
> does not stop but goes on with no more to say.
> The leader of the band whose guest had been induced to go on too long
> was decidedly unhappy with my review. 
> 
> I was told I knew nothing about music, 
> and even less about jazz!!!  
> I always thought jazz was music. Enough about that!
> 
> Alas I forget the name of a gentleman who with his sister sold 
> excellent second-hand and uncommon LPs long ago. 
> I think his first name was Desmond. He used to append comments,
> how pleased he was to offer a record of Boots and his Buddies, 
> 
> and how sorry he was it didn't include The Raggletaggle =
> He had a thing about Red Allen's "Roll Along, Prairie Moon"
> (he also requested it successfully on JAZZ RECORD REQUESTS on the BBC)
> 
> There's a great sample of an excellent solo: from Higgy. 
> 
> It seems to have been an informal session, early in the long series 
> 
> of Allen small group recordings, before the steady production of 
> 
> performances had to make do with poorer and poorer material.
> Higgy does his wonderful business, never better, then Red Allen yells
> to him to take another chorus. Having performed a solo with a 
> 
> beginning, a middle and an end, Higgy is at a loss, briefly, 
> 
> anyway that is exactly what it sounds like. 
> 
> Continuing, Higgy is progressively less and less at a loss, 
> 
> and then he's triumphant, and he plays the thing out hallelujahing!
> 
> I have listened through the different takes of Red's New York Orchestra
> -- the Louis Russell band on Victor, Biffly Blues, etc., 
> 
> I recommend this, take two makes take one sound in retrospect like a rehearsal
> and take three does the same to take two. 
> 
> I wonder what preparation there was on "Prairie Moon"
> If it was rehearsed rather than a spontaneous change of plan 
> 
> it is a further ideal study in the jazz solo: it doesn't sound rehearsed. 
> 
> 
> Hallelujah again!
> 
> Robert R. Calder 
> 
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