BN-LA-158-G2

A Decade Of Jazz - Volume One - 1939-1949

Released - 1973

Recording and Session Information

probably WMGM Radio Station, NYC, January 6, 1939
Albert Ammons, piano.

tk.5 (441-5) Boogie Woogie Stomp

probably WMGM Radio Station, NYC, April 7, 1939
Frank Newton, trumpet; J.C. Higginbotham, trombone; Albert Ammons, piano; Teddy Bunn, guitar; Johnny Williams, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

GM515A-5 Port Of Harlem Blues

probably WMGM Radio Station, NYC, June 8, 1939
Sidney Bechet, soprano sax; Meade "Lux" Lewis, piano; Teddy Bunn, guitar; Johnny Williams, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

GM533-14 Summertime

possibly WMGM Radio Station, NYC, July 29, 1939
Earl "Fatha" Hines, piano.

GM301x-3 The Father's Getaway

Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, March 7, 1940
Sidney Bechet, soprano sax; Josh White, guitar, vocals; Wilson Ernest Myers, bass.

RS672 Milk Cow Blues

Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, October 4, 1940
Meade "Lux" Lewis, piano.

RS791 B Honky Tonk Train Blues

Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, February 5, 1941
Edmond Hall, clarinet; Meade "Lux" Lewis, celeste; Charlie Christian, acoustic guitar; Israel Crosby, bass.

R3461 Profoundly Blue

New Orleans, LA, May 16, 1943
Avery "Kid" Howard, trumpet, vocals; Jim Robinson, trombone; George Lewis, clarinet; Lawrence Marrero, banjo; Chester Zardis, bass; Edgar Mosley, drums.

CD105 Climax Rag

WOR Studios, NYC, December 15, 1943
James P. Johnson, piano.

BN781 Mule Walk-Stomp

WOR Studios, NYC, January 25, 1944
Edmond Hall, clarinet; Red Norvo, vibes; Teddy Wilson, piano; Carl Kress, guitar; Johnny Williams, bass.

BN911 Seein' Red

WOR Studios, NYC, March 4, 1944
Sidney DeParis, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Ben Webster, tenor sax; James P. Johnson, piano; Jimmy Shirley, guitar; John Simmons, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

BN953-2 After You've Gone

NYC, March 18, 1944
Max Kaminsky, trumpet; Ray Conniff, trombone; Rod Cless, clarinet; Art Hodes, piano; Bob Haggart, bass; Danny Alvin, drums.

BN960-0 Maple Leaf Rag

WOR Studios, NYC, June 21, 1944
Sidney DeParis, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Edmond Hall, clarinet; James P. Johnson, piano; Jimmy Shirley, guitar; John Simmons, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

BN984-0 The Call Of The Blues

WOR Studios, NYC, September 25, 1944
Jonah Jones, trumpet; Tyree Glenn, trombone; Ike Quebec, tenor sax; Roger Ramirez, piano; Tiny Grimes, guitar; Oscar Pettiford, bass; J.C. Heard, drums.

BN990-1 If I Had You

WOR Studios, NYC, December 20, 1944
Sidney DeParis, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Sidney Bechet, soprano sax, clarinet; Art Hodes, piano; George "Pops" Foster, bass; Manzie Johnson, drums.

BN208-0 Blue Horizon

WOR Studios, NYC, January 31, 1945
Benny Morton, trombone; Barney Bigard, clarinet; Ben Webster, tenor sax; Sammy Benskin, piano; Israel Crosby, bass; Eddie Dougherty, drums.

BN222-0 Limehouse Blues

WOR Studios, NYC, March 10, 1945
Bunk Johnson, trumpet; Sandy Williams, trombone; Sidney Bechet, clarinet; Cliff Jackson, piano; George "Pops" Foster, bass; Manzie Johnson, drums.

BN223-1 Milenberg Joys

WOR Studios, NYC, September 26, 1947
Fats Navarro, trumpet; Ernie Henry, alto sax; Charlie Rouse, tenor sax; Tadd Dameron, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Shadow Wilson, drums.

BN307-2 Dameronia

WOR Studios, NYC, November 21, 1947
George Taitt, trumpet; Edmund Gregory, alto sax; Thelonious Monk, piano; Robert Paige, bass; Art Blakey, drums.

BN321-1 'Round About Midnight

Apex Studios, NYC, July 2, 1948
Milton Jackson, vibes; Thelonious Monk, piano; John Simmons, bass; Shadow Wilson, drums.

BN330-0 Epistrophy

Apex Studios, NYC, October 25, 1948
Dave Burns, Elmon Wright, trumpet; Ernie Henry, alto sax; James Moody, tenor sax; Cecil Payne, baritone sax; Hen Gates, piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Art Blakey, drums; Chano Pozo, vocals, bongos; "Gil" Fuller, arranger.

BN347-0 Tin Tin Deo

Track Listing

Side One
Artist	Title	Recording Date
Albert Ammons	Boogie Woogie Stomp	January 6 1939
Port Of Harlem Jazzmen	Port Of Harlem Blues	April 7 1939
Sidney Bechet Quintet	Summertime	June 8 1939
Earl Hines	The Father's Getaway	July 29 1939
Meade Lux Lewis	Honk Tonk Train Blues	October 4 1940
Side Two
Edmond Hall	Profoundly Blue	February 5 1941
George Lewis	Climax Rag	May 16 1943
Josh White Trio	Milk Cow Blues	March 7 1940
James P. Johnson	Mule Walk	December 15 1943
Edmond Hall	Seein' Red	January 25 1944
Side Three
James P. Johnson	After You've Gone	March 4 1944
Sidney DeParis	The Call of The Blues	June 21 1944
Art Hodes	Maple Leaf Rag	March 18 1944
Sidney Bechet	Blue Horizon	December 20 1944
Ike Quebec	If I Had You	September 25 1944
Side Four
Benny Morton	Limehouse Blues	January 31 1945
Bunk Johnson-Sidney Bechet	Milenberg Joys	March 10 1945
Tadd Dameron	Dameronia	September 26 1947
Thelonious Monk	Round About Midnight	November 21 1947
Thelonious Monk	Epistrophy	July 2 1948
James Moody	Tin Tin Deo	October 25 1948

Liner Notes

When, in those early days people asked us - Alfred Lion and I - what Blue Note was all about, we tried to give them a half way intelligent explanation. Whether they go it or not, they looked at us as if we were a couple of "nuts." Jazz was not too well know in those days.

Fact is, jazz had just begun to creep out of its shell. It was a slow process, the depression of the '30s had a lot to do with it. Up to that time jazz was generally thrown together with pop and dance music and it held little significance to the public and the music establishment. No one really gave it much thought or tool it seriously. Of course, jazz had been around since the early '20s and a few hundred "real jazz" records had been recorded, but there surely could not have been many customers for them. The two or three companies that recorded jazz shunted their releases by bands like Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson or Jelly Roll Morton to obscure series that most music stores did not carry. Soon after their release they were "cut-out", but with luck one could find them later in junk shops. This I know because I was one of the collectors who left no record unturned on the dusty shelves of those broken-down places. Finally, we walked out with perhaps a couple of beat-up Louis Red Label Okehs. Those were the days...Headquarters for us was the Commodore Music Shop on West 52nd St., where, under the benign eye of Milton Gabler - another pioneer of jazz - we used to congregate and discuss jazz and records 'til far into the night. I am sure there were no more ardent fans than the jazz specialists of the early days.

It actually remained for a French critic and jazz enthusiast, Hugues Panassie, to articulate what the few jazz fans of that time felt. Panassie's book "Le Jazz Hot" came out around 1931 and was an ear opener for all of us. It presented the first analysis of a good part of recorded jazz up to that point and did much to establish jazz as an art form.

By 1939 jazz had gathered enough momentum so that an experiment could be tried. We could not round up more than a handful of customers for a while, but we garnered a good deal of favorable publicity through our uncommercial approach and unusual sessions like the Port of Harlem Jazz Men and the Edmond Hall Celeste Quartet. Somehow we set a style, but I would have difficulty to define same. I remember though that people used to say: "Alfred and Frank only record what they like." That was true. If I may add three words more: we tried to record jazz with a feeling.

I remember the rotund Meade "Lux" Lewis with his cheerful disposition and sunny smile. One of the chief exponents of the Boogie Woogie piano style, Mead had only two or three definite compositions in his repertoire. Aside from them, he improvised "originals" with an amazing spontaneity. The first take of any of these numbers was mostly "it." He had great difficulty in repeating or re-creating them. At one of our sessions we asked him to try another "train" piece in the vein of his famous Honky Tonk Train Blues. Meade thought about this for a few moments and then launched into a beautiful, new tune with a fascinating bass line I had never heard him play before. We were thrilled as this new and different train rumbled down the tracks. But our delight turned to consternation when the recording engineer informed us that he had spoiled the master. Fortunately, he had cut a "safety" at 33 1/3, so that we were able to save this masterpiece which we later titled Chicago Flyer. Those were some of the delights and hazards of recording in those days.

I remember the happy hours I spent with the artists that you will find on these records: Sidney Bechet, Ike Quebec, Edmond Hall, Art Hodes, Sidney de Paris, James P. Johnson, Sidney Catlett, Israel Crosby, Meade "Lux" Lewis...Most of them have passed on...Imortals of Jazz.

Jazz has come a long way. Now we know what happened...Looking back at the three decades of Blue Note jazz, I would say that the first was probably the most exciting one. Everything was popping, everything was happening, jazz was still young and the future looked bright and infinitely promising. All styles were practised and in vogue: New Orleans, Chicago, Dixieland, Boogie Woogie, Swing and Bop. The new and old were still together...

Where do we go from here? I looked into my crystal ball, but it was clouded. On the other hand, who could have predicted in '39 the many twists and turns jazz would eventually take?

Tempus fugit...But jazz will live.

-FRANCIS WOLFF