New Release/Re-issue thread

[Nate Dogg]

Kevin Mahogany - Big Band (Zebra Records/Mahogany Jazz) Jan 25
— six tracks with the Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, plus tracks with T.S. Monk, the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band and the Big City Swing Band
— soloists include Scott Robinson, Pete Christlieb, Danny Barber, Kim Park, Bobby Shew, Ramsey Lewis, Pat LaBarbera, Paul McKee, Roy Hargrove, James Williams

[GemZombie]

Kevin Mahogany - Big Band (Zebra Records/Mahogany Jazz) Jan 25
— six tracks with the Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, plus tracks with T.S. Monk, the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band and the Big City Swing Band
— soloists include Scott Robinson, Pete Christlieb, Danny Barber, Kim Park, Bobby Shew, Ramsey Lewis, Pat LaBarbera, Paul McKee, Roy Hargrove, James Williams

We just got a copy of that at the radio station... based on the look of the cover/label/time, I assumed it was going to be warmed over crap, but I haven't listened to it yet... is it any good?

[Nate Dogg]

Kevin Mahogany - Big Band (Zebra Records/Mahogany Jazz) Jan 25
— six tracks with the Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, plus tracks with T.S. Monk, the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band and the Big City Swing Band
— soloists include Scott Robinson, Pete Christlieb, Danny Barber, Kim Park, Bobby Shew, Ramsey Lewis, Pat LaBarbera, Paul McKee, Roy Hargrove, James Williams

We just got a copy of that at the radio station... based on the look of the cover/label/time, I assumed it was going to be warmed over crap, but I haven't listened to it yet... is it any good?

I don't know. I have not heard it yet.

I am curious to see what a fan of his past work thinks.

[Oh! Ryan]

Check out the soundtrack.

[Nate Dogg]

Postal Service, Danger Mouse Rework 'Verve'

The Postal Service, Danger Mouse and RJD2 are among the acts that have remixed classics from the Verve Records catalog for "Verve Remixed 3." Due April 5, the 13-track set also features contributions from Brazilian Girls, the Album Leaf, Lyrics Born, Carl Craig and Junior Boys, among others.

Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue" gets a Postal Service reworking, while Danger Mouse has his way with Dinah Washington's "Baby, Did You Hear?" RJD2 remixes Astrud Gilberto's "The Gentle Rain," while Lyrics Born tackles the late Jimmy Smith's "Stay Loose."

"The opportunity to make another record working with the Verve vocal catalogue, which continually yields gems that inspire the artists and producers to create such special collaborations, combined with all the things we learned from working on the previous albums, allowed us to make a record we're very proud of," says Verve Music Group A&R director Dahlia Ambach Caplin.

Both prior installments of "Verve Remixed" peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. They have sold more than 228,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here is the track list for "Verve Remixed 3":

"Little Girl Blue (Postal Service remix)," Nina Simone
"Speak Low (Bent remix)," Billie Holiday
"Sing, Sing, Sing (RSL remix)," Anita O'Day
"Fever (Adam Freeland remix)," Sarah Vaughan
"Come Dance With Me (Sugardaddy remix)," Shirley Horn
"Just One of Those Things (Brazilian Girls remix)," Blossom Dearie
"The Gentle Rain (RJD2 remix)," Astrud Gilberto
"Peter Gunn (Max Sedgley remix)," Sarah Vaughan
"Stay Loose (Lyrics Born remix)," Jimmy Smith
"The Boy's Doin' It (Carl Craig remx)," Hugh Masekela
"Lilac Wine (the Album Leaf remix)," Nina Simone
"Yesterdays (Junior Boys remix)," Billie Holiday
"Baby, Did You Hear? (Danger Mouse remix)," Dinah Washington


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y

[Nate Dogg]

I was browsing through the iTunes new releases and came across this, it is being reissued on CD via Hyena Records. Copies are avaiable on Half.com in the $10-$12 range, release date is listed as today (2/22/05)

As far as I can tell, this is something that was previously only on vinyl.

It is a live album, there are probably a few playable tracks on it, at least that is what I gather from listening to the 30 second samples.

Roulette Records, 1961 (Says AMG)
Havin' a Good Time
Joe Williams featuring Ben Webster
1. Just Sittin' in Rockin'
2. Kansas City Blues
3. By The River St. Marie
4. That's All
5. Alone Together
6. I'm Through With Love
7. The Great City
8. A Hundred Years From Today
9. Ain't Misbehavin'
10. Honeysuckle Rose
11. All Right, OK, You Win
12. Havin' A Good Time
13. Band Intro and Goodbye

The blurb below came from the Hyena Records website
http://www.hyenarecords.com/main.htm
Like most guys who grew up in the ‘50s, I worked summers when I was in high school to make money so I could go to college. I had some real jobs: sweeping floors, loading and unloading trucks, delivering stuff, operating a freight elevator. But when I was 19 I became a disc jockey and I haven’t worked a day since.

You can’t call being a disc jockey work. Playing music you dig, for other people to do dig, is not work. Neither is the only other thing I’ve ever done for a living—producing records. Even if you do it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anything you dig doin’ or would do for nothin’ ain’t work.

In the last 15 years I’ve found yet another way to spend at least 10 to 12 hours a day not working. I won’t bore you with how I stumbled upon the world of unreleased home tapes recordings, but just trust me, there are literally millions of lovers of, some say non-professionally recorded, others say illegally recorded, tapes out there. Most of them contain varying combinations of bad sound and so-so performances. You gotta listen to a lotta tapes, sometimes hundreds, before you find a moment or moments worth releasing.

We have a few albums on HYENA that contain the gems that I lust after once I start listening. Check out some of our CDs by Monk, Dr. John, Stan Getz, Ray Bryant, Rahsaan and Cannonball. It’s them at the absolute height of their powers. Well, now I’ve got another one to add to the list: Joe Williams and Ben Webster. What a magical fifty-some minutes.

I’ll give you the shorter version of what I wrote about in the liner notes to this album. Here’s what happened.

Joe and his trio, Junior Mance, Bob Cranshaw and Mickey Roker, were playing a gig in Providence. Even though a blizzard hit the city mid-week, enough people showed so that they had to do a couple of sets. When they got to the club, who’s there, but Ben Webster. He sat in. No rehearsal, no nothin’. Fortunately, a guy taped the sets. And Gene and I made a record of those tapes.

Joe Williams is on my really short list of favorite singers. Ben Webster is on an even shorter list of my favorite tenor players. To my knowledge, and to Junior Mance’s knowledge, it’s the only time Joe and Ben had worked together. And if they did ever work together, I‘m pretty sure this is the only recording of the two of ‘em.

If you like great singing and playing, I’d be stunned if you don’t like this album. Tell ya’ what. If you buy it and you don’t like it, send it back and we’ll send you any other album in our catalog to replace it. Fair enough?

Keep A Light In The Window.

Joel Dorn

[Nate Dogg]

Solomon Burke
Make Do With What you Got, due out tomorrow, 3/1


1 I Need Your Love in My Life Montoya, Steen 4:19
2 What Good Am I? Dylan 3:40
3 It Makes No Difference Robertson 5:27
4 Let Somebody Love Me Bullock, Gorman, Hunter 4:28
5 After All These Years Burke, Towns 4:37
6 Fading Footsteps Egan 3:59
7 At the Crossroads Morrison 4:58
8 I Got the Blues Jagger, Richards 4:11
9 Make Do With What You Got Rebennack, Yellin 4:34
10 Wealth Won't Save Your Soul Williams 3:59

[GemZombie]

Kevin Mahogany - Big Band (Zebra Records/Mahogany Jazz) Jan 25
— six tracks with the Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra, plus tracks with T.S. Monk, the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band and the Big City Swing Band
— soloists include Scott Robinson, Pete Christlieb, Danny Barber, Kim Park, Bobby Shew, Ramsey Lewis, Pat LaBarbera, Paul McKee, Roy Hargrove, James Williams

Finally listened to this today at the Radio Station. Well, listened is a relative word, by which I mean I heard about 5 seconds of each track. Enough to realize that this album isn't any good. Think Atomic Basie on prozac. Their version of "Three Little Words" is a latin(ish) piece.

*sigh*

[djstarr]

yeah, I love Kevin Mahogany's voice but he is more of a jazz singer than a blues shouter if that makes sense --- I bought one of his CDs on sale and there were only two or three songs that worked for dancing; even those have some interesting touches so I don't play them that often.

[JesseMiner]

yeah, I love Kevin Mahogany's voice but he is more of a jazz singer than a blues shouter if that makes sense

Actually I thought Kevin did a great job playing Jimmy Rushing in the Jazz '34 - Rememberances of Kansas City video (I've got it on VHS - was it ever released on DVD?). He was the bartender/blues shouter singing "Harvard Blues." You can also find the track on the More Music From Robert Altman's Kansas City CD, great extra material that didn't make it on the official Kansas City movie soundtrack.

I would love to hear Kevin doing more music in that vein, but from the reviews so far, it sounds like it isn't the case on his new big band CD.

Jesse

[Serg]

Kevin Mahogany moved to South Florida a couple of years ago. I got to see him play here twice already. He does a lot of gigs with the F.I.U. (Florida Internationl University) Big Band. He sounds pretty good. He sings a lot of Ellington songs. While they tend to be long they are still very danceable.

Moreover, one of the gigs I attended I went back stage to chat with him. I told him that his music is played for dancers and he sounded quite surprised. However, he was was also excited that his music can be danced to.

You should purchase his Big Band CD if you are OK with the fact that only a few songs are danceable and the others just listenable.

Serg

[djstarr]

yeah, I love Kevin Mahogany's voice but he is more of a jazz singer than a blues shouter if that makes sense

Actually I thought Kevin did a great job playing Jimmy Rushing in the Jazz '34 - Rememberances of Kansas City video (I've got it on VHS - was it ever released on DVD?). He was the bartender/blues shouter singing "Harvard Blues." You can also find the track on the More Music From Robert Altman's Kansas City CD, great extra material that didn't make it on the official Kansas City movie soundtrack.

I would love to hear Kevin doing more music in that vein, but from the reviews so far, it sounds like it isn't the case on his new big band CD.

Jesse

yeah i guess my point is that he can blues shout with the best if he wants to, but most of the material I've heard from him is more in the modern jazz tradition. Thanks for the info on his blues stuff.

[GemZombie]

Hrmm, I didn't get to any point of those songs where I could listen to the voice, so I can't comment. His backup band was boring to me, thus i turned it off.

[main_stem]

yeah, I love Kevin Mahogany's voice but he is more of a jazz singer than a blues shouter if that makes sense --- I bought one of his CDs on sale and there were only two or three songs that worked for dancing; even those have some interesting touches so I don't play them that often.

Actually he does some great work on the both KC soundtrack CDs (Helps that both songs are slow blues) One of his biggest influences was the latter-day blues shouter, Joe Williams, so he definitely knows the veign.

[Swifty]

Joe Williams is considered a blues shouter? The Joe Williams that sang with New Testament Basie (not Big Joe Williams)?

When I hear the term "blues shouter" I think of Jimmy Rushing, Big Joe Turner or Jimmy Witherspoon. Joe Williams sounds very, very different to me.