Another low down, dirty, somber blues today from the 30's... this time by Buddy Moss.
Buddy lived the blues... not only was he jailed and convicted for murder of his wife, but also was forgotten as a musician. He was very famous in the 30's and 40's, playing along side Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell, and Curley Weaver.
If you're feeling like an old school, low down blues, then look further than Tampa Red's version of Sugar Mama. Obviously this is his first recording, hence 'No. 1".
This standard from 1934 was also recorded many times by other artists like Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Sonnyboy Williamson.
Fender has released a Factory Special Run, the Thinline Super Deluxe Telecaster. It's styling is definitely not of the standard Fender; but rather like Gretsch, which reminds me of The Chickencaster I posted about before.
From Fender:
Available in Black and Olympic White, its elegant appointments include a resonant semi-hollow basswood body with double binding and a single f hole, matching painted headstock, 7.25"-radius bound rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays, and a scorching pair of Fideli'Tron™ humbucking pickups.
A lucky record store owner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has found a rare and legendary record of Robert Johnson's second recorded song, "I Believe I'll Dust my Broom", under a mess of old records. It's in prefect condition and according to experts, only between 15-30 copies exist in such a shape.
Selling price of this record could be between $6,000 - $12,000... but he doesn't plan on selling it just get! I wouldn't sell it for any top bidder... what a great find and an awesome story.
The Village Voice (an ace website by the way) has listed ten jazz albums, that, in their opinion, you must hear before you die.
Now obviously we cannot have a definitive list, especially that ten is too small for such a historical and diverse genre... but never the less some of them are spot on.
10. The Shape of Jazz to Come - Ornette Coleman 9. The Bridge - Sonny Rollins 8. Head Hunters - Herbie Hancock 7. Ella and Louis - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong 6. Bitches Brew - Miles Davis 5. Monk's Dream - Thelonious Monk 4. Time Out - Dave Brubeck 3. Ah Um - Charles Mingus 2. Blue Train - John Coltrane 1. Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
Miles Davis gets two mentions, and Kind of Blue is obviously number one... it's too important to be anything less. Nice to see Coltrane at number two, but I might have suggested A Love Supreme instead. Seeing two forward thinking albums like Ah Um and A Shape to Jazz to Come was great... Head Hunters and Bitches are tributes to a more electric sound of jazz.
Well other than the Ella/Louis album (since I'm not really into vocal jazz) I don't think this is a bad list overall!
Over on The Guardian, they published an old NME article about Miles Davis from 1985. It's pretty long, so be ready. Here are some highlights:
"Coltrane was a very greedy man. Bird was, too. He was a big hog."
"If you jump on a horse and see he's on the wrong foot, you keep checking him until he gets to the fence – that's what I do when I'm playing."
"When you do anything too long, you either wear it out or lose interest."
"I'd rather play something that you can learn and like that you don't know. I don't want people to know what I am."
"If I ever leave a will it's not gonna be to my relatives, it's to the people I function around best. You're around musicians all the time. You're not alone."
Although this recording was made on November 29, 1957, I am too excited to wait that long.
Coltrane left the Miles Davis quintet in April 1957, due to his drug addictions. In this time he tried to sober up, and before rejoining the quintet in 1958 (and went on to record the two important albums "Milestones" and "Kind of Blue"), he joined forces with the legendary pianist and leader, Thelonious Monk.
There was a studio album released, and several live shows recorded. This particular show in 1957 was only discovered in 2005 at the Library of Congress. It was remastered by Monk's son and released on Blue Note Records.
The album was critically acclaimed for a good reason; two jazz masters playing classic tracks, including "Blue Monk" as below, to great skill and form.
You must get this live album for great showmanship and intensity!
Over on custom guitar luthiers Doner Designs, I spotted a unique custom Precision Bass, in a US Air Force fighter jet design... full with knobs and stickers and everything!
There are no concrete details, but what it looks to me are EMG Precision pickups, a Gibson EB mudbucker, and a Rickenbacker 4003 bridge pickup. Active/Passive switches, bass/treble/mid boost/cuts and volume etc.
