[Dixielandjazz] Curzio Boogie Woogie

[ROBERT R. CALDER]

Marek was asking about the supposed Boogie Woogie LP on the Italian label, a sort of book club thing.  I would judge that somebody thought of compiling a Boogie Woogie LP and used the various often novelty boogie items recorded probably at a producer's request on various sessions for the French Black and Blue label, several of whose LPs were included in the series -- very notably the live session from Charlie Shavers' final tour, and considerably or even better than the studio recording. Charlie died the following year in time for his expressed wish to be executed, that his trumpet went into the grave along with Louis Armstrong's body. Louis had just died and the funeral had not as yet taken place. I do not know whether the trumpet was buried with Louis, I should point out, in case somebody thinks I;m making a wild claim. 

There are some duet tracks in the selection, Jay McShann and Milt Buckner play together. 

There's a very good recording on Black and Blue by Sonny Thompson, playing entirely OKOM stride piano, at odds with the R&B-ish stuff he had to play to maintain a living, along with indeed Lloyd Glenn, who did some very nice big band arrangements in Texas in the 1930s, and on one notable performance when playing with Kid Ory's band he played Honky Tonk Train Blues as a solo in a performance of Savoy Blues!  In the 1930s he was rather Earl Hines-sh, when he was recorded by Black and Blue he sounded rather like Jay McShann, though by no means in the same class as a jazz pianist. 


I know about the other performers, but haven't the time or energy to delve into discographies to identify the various LPs sampled to prepare the odd mixture Marke referred to.  


Robert R. Calder