Listen: Cottage For Sale / Carmen McRae & Herbie Mann
Cottage

During the mid 90′s, I spent a ton of time in Seattle. We nearly bought a place there in fact. They were almost giving away 60′s houses back then. In one way, it might have been a great move. I could have bought even more records, and just left them in the new place. Because let me tell you, they were nearly giving away records then too.

Golden Oldies was the local chain that sold only used vinyl. There were like five stores in the greater Seattle area. And the main one, on NE 45th Street, was my shrine. I spent hours in the place.

Everything was beautifully organized, basically by genre. The jazz singles took the least time to scour. Not because of quantity. No, there were a ton. But they were all 50¢, tops. I bulked out a massive jazz singles library by default. Grabbed everything remotely interesting. Never left a Verve, Prestige, Atlantic or Blue Note single behind. And the jukebox worn copies, loved those too.

Combine that with a seemingly bitchy drug and alcohol abusing dame, doing lounge covers from the 50′s or 60′s, and I’m grabbing a copy. Not that Carmen McRae was necessarily any of those, but I can fantasize and did.

‘Cottage For Sale’, on Atlantic, black vinyl turning white from years in the jukebox of an old man’s bar for 50¢.

Sold.

Listen: But It’s Alright / The Brother Jack McDuff Quintet
But

Brother Jack McDuff had an amazing two year run during ’65 and ’66, releasing a total of twelve albums on Prestige. Such was the demand for long playing records, many chocked full with jazzy soul renditions of contemporary hits, all done in a nightclub style. Along side Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff, seems these Hammond mod interpretations were a license to print money.

In ’68, under a one time tag, The Brother Jack McDuff Quintet, with David Newman on brass and guitarist Melvin Sparks, he recorded DOUBLE BARRELLED SOUL. Keeping with the tradition, the project was a grab bag of well known currents including the much covered ‘Sunny’ and J. J. Jackson’s ‘But It’s Alright’. The two were also paired for 7″ release as Atlantic 2488.

If nothing else, the record’s superb live drum sound will turn any low key get together into a proper swinging party.

Listen: A Shot In The Dark / Shirley Scott Trio
A Shot In The Dark / Shirley Scott Trio

Why The Shirley Scott Trio didn’t do a James Bond theme escapes me. If ever there was proof of that potential, it’s on this remake of Henry Mancini’s ‘A Shot In The Dark’. Hints of blaxploitation are seeded within this Oliver Nelson arrangement / Bob Thiele production most likely by accident instead of design. From the absolute must have GREAT SCOTT album, the bombastic arrangements almost can’t be topped. Search it out, if only for the fantastic cover shot of Shirley during her classic blond hair dye job gone wrong period of ’64 – ’65.

Married to Stanley Turrentine during the 60′s, they shared recording contract obligations, releasing as many as ten albums between them on a yearly basis at one point. Another born again of the Jimmy Smith church, Shirley switched from piano and trumpet to a big Hammond B3 shortly after seeing him live in her home town of Philadelphia.

Listen: Keep The Faith, Baby / Shirley Scott Trio
Keep The Faith, Baby / Shirley Scott Trio

For my palate, ‘Keep The Faith, Baby’ is the ultimate peak of her vast body of recorded work, certainly the 7″ singles. Not only does it live up to the mod jazz tag often associated with her mid 60′s stuff, but it reminds me of how lucky I was to frequent Seattle in the early 90′s, when the town was bursting with used record stores.

There was a chain, privately owned, specializing in singles, all divided up by genre. I spent hours pawing through those bins. Everything, particularly jazz, was a steal. A good portion of my Shirley Scott singles, around twenty, came from those trips. It was very bizarre to me that nobody, including collectors, was interested in jazz 7′s. God, I drooled over them. Thick vinyl pressings on Impulse, Verve and Blue Note were too much to pass up. And I’m glad now that I didn’t.

‘Keep The Faith, Baby’ was recorded on January 13, 1967 at Capitol Studios in New York, again with Bob Thiele producing. It features the ultimate Shirley Scott Trio lineup with George Duvivier on bass and Mickey Roker, drums.

Listen: Misty / Groove Holmes RichardHolmesMisty.mp3

There are many, many covers of Erroll Garner’s ‘Misty’ from ’54. Some people will complain it’s schmaltzy, a bore or that it’s too adult. But be informed, the greats have done it in varying styles: Aretha Franklin, Donald Byrd, Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, The Vibrations, Donny Hathaway, Julie London, Stan Getz even Timebox.

Almost forty years later, in ’91, ‘Misty’ was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame, not surprising given one of the most common jokes about the RIAA’s recognition process is how out of touch they can be.

It’s a fact: like Bobby Hebb’s ‘Sunny’, ‘Misty’ weathers just about every genre well.

Listen: Summertime / The Modern Jazz Quartet MJQSummertime.mp3

The Modern Jazz Quartet’s run with Atlantic Records was a superior one, every new album as superb as the last. Their vibes/piano/bass/drums template perfectly proceeded to calm my nerves. When it comes to jazz, gentle and sparse wins over harsh and busy any day of the week.

In the early 90′s, many a company trip to Seattle became my norm. Corinne and I loved it there, and near moved into one of the endless 50′s ranch houses seemingly round every corner. The junking was superb and the vinyl shops were as close as you can come to dying and going to heaven in the US.

It’s where my fetish for jazz 7″s began. There was a chain of used vinyl only stores, all sectioned within by genre. Nobody seemed even slightly interested in the jazz singles. Albums yes, singles no. If virtually no competition wasn’t enough, the $1 price tag was the straw. Basically anything on Verve, Blue Note, Prestige and Atlantic were no brainers. In only a few visits, my jazz collection went from zilch to very complete. Plus they fed the jukebox perfectly.

‘Summertime’ looked radiant sitting there in The Modern Jazz Quartet’s bin. Shiny Atlantic label (on plastic as opposed to vinyl) + original stock sleeve + unplayed pressing + can’t-lose song delivered via their signature approach + $1 price tag = jackpot.

When I finally got home, ‘Summertime’ went directly onto the Seeburg. It still resides there today, having weathered, I would guess, hundreds of spins hence it’s lovingly played condition. Their version turned out to be better than I could ever have expected.

Listen: Django (Part 1) / The Modern Jazz Quartet MJQDjango.mp3

Listen: Django (Part 2) / The Modern Jazz Quartet MJODjano2.mp3

‘Dijango’ would make a nice segue from the previous post’s ‘Moments in Love’, I’m positive they would blend together flawlessly.

One of the many virtues of my Seeburg 222 is how calming yet live jazz singles sound when playing. Possibly it’s the old tube amps, or those cone speakers – whatever the case may be, this isn’t the first time I’ve pulled a copy out of the wall rack to share here on the site as a result of it coming up when I just push about thirty random selection numbers – then let the box play for an hour or so. I guess it was the 50′s version of a ‘shuffle’ feature.

I love The Modern Jazz Quartet. They are exactly they way I appreciate jazz lineups the most. I call it small combo. In their case drums, bass, guitar and piano/xylophone. An immaculate conception.

They have many fine singles, and albums as well. Good for anytime of the day or night, regardless of season.