THE TEMPERANCE SEVEN
THE PARLOPHONE RECORDINGS Vol 1 (1960-62)
Lake LACD138, 2000, 23 tracks 72 min
Ukulele Lady, You're Driving Me Crazy, Charley My Boy, Vo Do Do De O Blues, Words, Pasadena, Sugar, Hard Hearted Hannah, Chili Bom Bom, Dinah, Kaiser Drag, That Certain Party, My Blue Heaven, Oh Baby, East Street Toodle-oo, I Wonder What Became Of Joe, Falling In Love Again, Autumn Leaves, Gaumont British News Theme, The Charleston, The Black Bottom, Everybody Loves My Baby, Sahara.
Lake Records must have taken note of my review of their earlier Temperance seven release, 'Pasadena - The Lost Cylinders', for here is a CD that contains all the tracks from the LP, 'The Temperance Seven 1961', plus many singles tracks. My joy knows no bounds and my cup runneth over!
Here are eight jazzmen playing 17 instruments between them in the style of the hot dance bands of the 1920s and 30s. Augmenting them, in his finest megaphone singing style, is 'Whispering' Paul McDowell. Although the Temp 7 had been around in various guises since the mid 50s, it was in 1961 that they seemingly stepped out from a time warp to notch up a string of hit records, including two number ones. I first heard them at Sunday School. True: a bunch of us lads were in a group with our somewhat harried teacher when he commented on the fact that he hadn't noticed before that several of the group were inflicted with deafness to the extent that they were now sporting hearing aids. The lads concerned confessed that they were in fact wearing ear pieces to listen to music on their new fangled transistor radios. To prove it they pulled the plugs and we were all treated to 'You, You're Driving Me Crazy', by the Temp 7. Our teacher couldn't understand why they were listening to music that his own mother had danced to. I could, I thought The Temperance Seven were marvelous, and resolved to spend some of my upcoming birthday money on buying some of their records (in fact I waited almost a year and bought the LP rather than a couple of singles). I loved them then, and I love them now.
One thing that I did notice on this CD was that in the notes was that the pianist for the 'Coronation Quartette' numbers is given as Count Clifford de Bevan. I thought he joined them in 1963, especially as the sleeve notes on the original LP credits the piano on those numbers to the arranger, Josef Kronk. But, hey, it's the music not the sleeve notes that count and this is one CD to treasure and add to your hoard.
COLIN KINGWELL'S JAZZ BANDITS
SMILE DARN YOU SMILE
LAKE LACD140 2000 16 tracks 71 min
Smile Darn You Smile, Waiting For The Train To Come In, Bouncing Round, June In January, Is It True What They Say About Dixie, Seems Like Old Times, Donna Clara, Cherry, Meet Me Somewhere In My Dreams, When I Come To The End Of My Journey, If I Had You, Our Monday Date, Back O' Town Blues, Buddy's Habit, Moonlight Bay, Sweet Fields.
If you were to find yourself slipping into a dream world whilst listening to this it is not because the album is boring, but rather because the Bandits are playing smooth relaxed jazz. From track one you want to forget the world around you, close your eyes, tap your feet and, yes, smile darn you, smile.
Colin and the boys really are a pleasant band and on their CDs always manage to bring together well know tunes and obscure ones and do it in a mix that is as balanced as the band itself.
If you haven't got a CD by this band then you should have. Start with this one and I am sure you will be chasing Lake Records for their earlier issues.
KEN COLYER'S JAZZMEN
COLYER PLAYS STANDARDS
Lake Records LACD 144 2000 9 TRACKS 43min
Swanee River, Over The Rainbow, All Of Me, Pretty Baby, Oh You Beautiful Doll, Under The Bamboo Tree, The Curse Of An Aching Heart, Bluebells Goodbye, Dinah.
According to Paul Adams, Lake Record's owner, this CD comes as something of a mystery. In 1988, Lake issued an album called, 'Lonesome Road'. It consisted of largely un-issued material that appeared to be a stereo version of an LP called 'Colyer Plays Standards'. It would now appear that, although the tunes (with exception of the title track, 'Lonesome Road'), were the same, they were from two near dated recording sessions. Why this was, even Ken could not say. The first session was a live one at a pub, the second was done at Decca's recording studios. This CD is the second session, yet surprisingly the audience 'effects' from the first session have been dubbed in!
If you missed getting the earlier LP/tape, then this CD is well worth getting, with much of the material being unique, with, to my knowledge, 'Swanee River', 'Over The Rainbow', 'All Of Me', and ' Pretty Baby' never forming part of Ken's regular repertoire. So, one could say that having this CD in your collection is essential, if you are a Colyer devotee. But the classy, relaxed jazz being played some of British jazz' finest means that it deserves to be in the collection of all traditional jazz fans. The only improvement I could see was if this was in stereo, One wonders why Decca dumped the first session, which was in stereo, for this mono recorded studio version. But if Ken never knew the reason, why should we?
KEN COLYER'S JAZZMEN
THE REAL KEN COLYER
Cadillac Records SCG 77CD 2000 17 TRACKS 76min
Eccentric, Someday Sweetheart (take 2), Wolverine Blues, Swipsey Cakewalk, The Entertainer, King Porter Stomp, Down Home Rag, As Long As I Live (take 3), Chilly Winds, Michigan Water Blues, Give Me Your Telephone Number, Down Among The Sheltering Palms, Georgia Bo Bo, 1919 Rag, 1919 Rag, As Long As I Live (take 1), As Long As I Live (take 2),
I left school just prior to my 17th birthday to become a Civil Servant working for the Home Office. Until the age of 18 they were obliged to send me to the Westminster College on 'Day Release' to try and further my education and fit me for promotion. To reach the next level I needed two GCE 'A Level' passes. I took Geography and History, but it was never going to work out. The Geography was heavy geophysics that I couldn't get to grips with, and the History was the second year of a two-year course that covered two history topics I had never studied before. Besides, I was heavily into making a nuisance of myself on motorcycles and chasing girls, in that order. The result was that the most I got out of Westminster College was its location near the Army & Navy Store and its large record department where I could spend the lunch hour browsing and seeing what LP I could buy that month after I paid my board, train ticket, HP installment on the bike, petrol, and the necessary money to buy tea for myself and whatever girl I was pursuing at the time.
This CD contains the material on one of the LPs thus bought, plus some additional tracks. That LP was always my favourite album by the Rimmington/Cole version of Ken Colyer's Jazzmen. I have been waiting years for the material to be re-issued on CD so that I could retire my poor old worn LP. I am not the only one who was interested in the material being re-issued. Paul Adams of Lake Records says that he had been chasing Cadillac for some years to let him publish it. Well Lake didn't get to do it because Cadillac has put it out themselves.
This magnificent album was originally 77 album from the stable of that renowned English jazz entrepreneur, Doug Dobell. Doug himself named the album, 'The Real Ken Colyer', and I agree with him. This CD captures the Rimmington/Cole Colyer band at its best.
ALEX WELSH AND HIS BAND
LIVE AT THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL 1954/55
LAKE LACD8 2000 12 tracks 65m
Panama Rag, Memphis Blues, Clarinet Marmalade, Clark & Randolph Blues, New Orleans Function, Maryland My Maryland, Wild Man Blues, New Orleans Stomp, Maple Leaf Rag, Black Mountain Blues, Mississippi Mud, Mama Don't Allow/When The Saints.
It was 1954 and a new boy was in town - Alex Welsh had left his native Edinburgh for smoky old London. It was good timing as the break up of the Mick Mulligan and Christie brother's bands had meant that there was a pool of talented jazzmen looking for new berths. In addition to picking up quality jazzmen sympathetic to the style of jazz he wanted to play, Alex managed to get the occasional services of the exuberant vocalist, George Melly.
This CD is a re-issue of Lake's 1988 album of the same name but with an additional track. The fact that I have put my hand in my pocket to acquire what I already had must indicate to you the value I put on just that one extra track (burning tape to CD is NOT beyond my current capabilities!). This is Dixieland jazz at its best: more orchestrated than New Orleans and even Chicago jazz, but not as castrated as mainstream. Whilst later in his career Alex became smoother, he also to my ear lost some of the all consuming enthusiasm that is so apparent in theses recordings.
Whilst all the tracks are memorable, I find some tracks even more enjoyable than others. I am especially enamoured of the down tempo ' Clark & Randolph Blues' and ' Wild Man Blues' which allow the band to shew their skill in both ensemble playing and solo breaks. George Melly? Well George is just George - the best!