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<font size="+1">I knew both Gil and Miles, fairly well, <br>
I was intrigued by the comments. I never liked "smooth Jazz" <br>
what ever the hell that is. <br>
<br>
My daughter enjoyed some other classification of music with stars
such as Yani (?)<br>
Many composers and arrangers that I knew all told the same
"joke".<br>
It didn't matter whether you played forwards or backwards, it will
sound the same.<br>
<br>
Back to Miles, Gil and Porgy.<br>
I found it on Spotify. My wife and I listened to "Summertime" and
I "Love's You Porgy".<br>
Call it what you want: not my taste.<br>
<br>
The critics applauded Miles because he changed styles with each
Columbia release.<br>
His "Birth Of The Cool" is enjoyable if you like the West Coast
sounds of Gerry Mulligan,<br>
Marty Paich, Shorty Rodgers et al. I loved that sound. Miles was
not first.<br>
<br>
West Coast sound had amazing scoring and voicing of instruments.<br>
I also loved Alec Wilder, Marty Napoleon and his family, there
were<br>
4 Brothers and an uncle in the music biz.<br>
<br>
I also bought albums (78 rpm) of Eddie Condon Plays Gershwin.<br>
<br>
My likes are far wider in taste than my dislikes. <br>
While visiting New Orleans I sat in with a few of the
"traditional" jazz bands - They called it Dixieland.<br>
<br>
Marty (Napoleon) gave me a test pressing of an Lp that was never
released.<br>
"Marty Plays Chopin and Others" - all classical selections. <br>
Not Horowitz but it was Marty and lovely.<br>
<br>
My point: You need not box yourself in. <br>
Because you like some form of music does not deny you the
privilege of enjoying other forms or other artists.<br>
<br>
In 1950 there was a new guy on the block. His name was Sam Goody.<br>
He leased a number of trucks to drive cross country North, West
and South.<br>
The truck drivers stopped at all the record shops along the way.<br>
They purchased all the recordings that the store owner thought he
could not sell. <br>
Especially the new fangled Lp recordings.<br>
The recordings were purchased from thirteen cents to fifty cents
each,<br>
Sam had a store on 49th street in Manhattan just a few steps away
from Broadway.<br>
In my life I had never seen such a huge store dedicated to
recordings.<br>
Probably the size of your local Walmart,<br>
I worked at 1650 Broadway on the corner of 49th and Broadway. <br>
I could be wrong about the street but I know the building very
well.<br>
<br>
I visited "shopped" at Sam Goody's at least 3 times a week. In the
store I met<br>
Charles Aznivour buying Frank Sinatra albums, Barbra S buying <br>
Judy Garland at the Palace, and many other Broadway and Carnegie
Hall people <br>
buying Lp's. I think the retail price was about $6.00<br>
<br>
Goody would put the out on the counter, neatly grouped by alphabet
and "category"<br>
Jazz on one counter, Country on another etc.<br>
<br>
It was amazing. You could buy a full opera and never have to turn
the disc over!<br>
<br>
Fast forward a few years:<br>
A new company called "Bethlehem" produced an album of Porgy and
Bess.<br>
My eyes popped. How much for the two record set? $23.50<br>
O.M.G. He had close to 100 boxes of this set but I couldn't afford
the price.<br>
Symphony Sid (D.J.) played "I Loves You Porgy" with Mel Torme' ,
Frances Faye<br>
and Marty Paich conducting. <br>
<br>
I already had five 78 rpm albums of Porgy<br>
but I WANTED this new version expressed by many jazz musicians.<br>
The list is too long but Duke Ellington, Russ Garcua, Herbie Mann,
Sam Most,<br>
Bill Holman, Johnny Hodges, Ralph Sharon, Sal Salvador, Clark
Terry, Sal Salvador, Maynard<br>
Ferguson and Conte Candoli, come to mind. Jazzbo Collins
narrates between songs.<br>
<br>
The cover of the box set had a man's jacket picture. <br>
The jacket had a real real red cloth posing as a handkerchief </font><br>
<font size="+1"><font size="+1"> hanging out of the pocket and </font>signed
by every artist on the recording.<br>
<br>
I went to Sam Goody's time and again. <br>
<br>
One day I saw the album with a reduced price of three dollars.<br>
Guess what. You are correct. <br>
<br>
Till today it is one of my top favorite recordings of <br>
it is not a show.<br>
Like an opera because there are no spoken words all recitative!<br>
It is not an opera<br>
It almost fits the definition of an operetta nut not quite.<br>
<br>
The fact is, it is Porgy And Bess and that's it!<br>
<br>
We saw it performed on Broadway in the 50's. Powerful.<br>
The movie starring Harry Belafonte.. sorry I went.<br>
<br>
I know it was released on a three cd with booklet set. <br>
<br>
* I don't have a link but I can email an mp3 from the set to
you.*<br>
So far I do not like any of the re-mastered tracks from any album
that I have heard.<br>
<br>
Amazing to me: the Mel Torme' Frances Faye duet.<br>
<br>
Mel's voice is kinda soft and high.<br>
Frances has a low register and very raucous voice.<br>
<br>
We heard Mel perform this duet with Cleo Laine. Wow!<br>
Mel Torme' does not improvise. His scatting is practiced and <br>
does not change.<br>
<br>
Is he a jazz singer? Can he be compared to Mark Murphy?<br>
I just pulled a few 10 inch Lp recordings from a shelf.<br>
Here are some of the albums I bought in 1949 - 1950<br>
The Sauter Finnegan Orchestra<br>
Introducing Pete Rugolo and His Music<br>
Red Nichols and His Five Pennies<br>
Alec Wilder Octets<br>
Art Tatum (on Decca) has a picture of white hands on the piano
{white hands matter?} <br>
George Feyer "Echoes Of Italy"<br>
Erroll Garner - on Mercury<br>
<br>
I never regretted buying any of them. jazz? Not jazz? Who cares.<br>
It is not the "label" it is the music.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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