Saxophonist Charles Lloyd has always been a jazz musician who respects all music styles and brings them together on original pieces. He began recording in the early 1960s in Chico Hamilton's quintet, but by the mid-1960s he was recording with soul-jazz pioneer Cannonball Adderley and backing blues artists such as Bobby "Blue" Bland, Howlin' Wolf and B.B. King. Born in Memphis, Lloyd was well-versed in R&B and began recording as a leader in 1964. [Photo above of Charles Lloyd by D. Darr]
What sets Lloyd apart is the spiritual quality of his music and playing. Instead of forcing you to swallow jagged, rambling songs, his North Star seems to be a love of melody, harmony and tone. From there, he adds his soulful perspective with a hushed and hypnotic approach. You listen to his music, it sounds different but you never push away your plate. Lloyd's recordings win you over because they are interesting at every turn and on his terms, and you want to hear more.
His latest album is a fascinating, regal journey through a range of music ideas and hybrids. Recorded in March 2023, The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note), a double album, features Charles Lloyd (ts,fl), Jason Moran (p), Larry Grenadier (b) and Brian Blade (d,perc). The 15-song album showcases 14 original compositions and one public domain piece—Lift Every Voice and Sing—a hymn written as a poem by soon-to-be NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson and set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, in 1900. The musical weave of Lloyd's new album came during the pandemic, when Lloyd felt despondent about the lockdown's isolation and the fatal illness that was running rampant.
As Lloyd writes in his liner notes:
My heart in knots, my mind at war with the situation. I came to the lunch table one day and told Dorothy that I wanted to go into the studio with Jason, Larry and Brian to make an offering of tenderness.
The quiet nature of Lloyd's playing on saxophone and flutes and the group's accompaniment and solos give the music an organic quality. The tracks have a textured folk feel that speak to you emotionally in a variety of musical dialects. There are pastoral elements, free jazz touches, church atmospherics and African shadings all sifted together tenderly. The result is extraordinary. [Photo above, from left, Brian Blade, Charles Lloyd, Larry Grenadier and Jason Moran by D. Darr]
If you listen to his discography over time, you will realize that Charles Lloyd has always been a presence. It's only in recent years, as towering jazz legends have faded, that he has become jazz's most interesting saxophonist and flutist. He's also one of jazz's most sensitive players with a golden ear for assembling astonishing groups. This album is no exception.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Charles Lloyd's The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note) here.
You'll also find the album on most streaming platforms, including YouTube here.
In the late 1960s, journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl planned to write the definitive biography of Billie Holiday. Beginning in 1970, she spent eight years tracking down and recording interviews with key artists and personalities who knew the late singer, who died in 1959. These interviews included conversations with Charles Mingus, Tony Bennett, Sylvia Syms, and Count Basie as well as Holiday's cousin, school friends, lovers, lawyers, pimps and even the FBI agents who arrested her.
Kuehl's Holiday archives included interviews on 125 audio tapes, police files, transcripts of court cases, royalty statements, shopping lists, hospital records, private letters and transcripts and fragments of unfinished chapters. She would never complete what she started.
In 1978, Kuehl was found dead on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk after attending a Count Basie concert. The D.C. police concluded that her death was a suicide, determining that Kuehl jumped from her hotel room. Her family believes she may have been murdered for reasons unknown. Whether her mental history or the prescription drugs she was taking were ever investigated is also unknown. [Photo above of Linda Lipnack Kuehl]
In 2018, documentary director James Erskine bought the rights to Kuehl's tapes, and his resulting film, Billie, was released in 2019. This fascinating look at Holiday is a double tragedy—that of the brilliant, soulful singer's spiraling decline and Kuehl's own mysterious and terrible death at age 38.
This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actress Busy Philipps for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Busy currently is in the movie Mean Girls and in the Netflix comedy series Girls5eva. [Photo above of Busy Philipps in Mean Girls by Jojo Whilden, courtesy of Paramount]
Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—The two-part series stars Bill Pullman, who delivers a stunning portrayal of Alex Murdaugh. Part 1 covers the family life of one of South Carolina's wealthiest and prestigious families and the murder of his wife and son; Part 2 covers the trial. (Lifetime)
The Gentlemen (2024)—Directed and produced by Guy Ritchie, the fast-paced action-comedy series is a spinoff of Ritchie's 2019 film of the same name. The second son of a wealthy British family inherits the family estate, which secretly includes a marijuana-growing empire. Actor Theo James must deal with eclectic and nefarious characters while trying to protect his home and stay alive. (Netflix)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
Godless—(2017/Netflix)
Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
High Water—(2022/Netflix)
Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
American Gangster—(2007/Max).
Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017/Netflix)
The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
MI-5—(2015/Max)
The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
Nobody—(2021/Prime)
Ordinary Angels—(2024)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
Cunk on Earth—(2022/Neflix)
Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here)
Anita O'Day. Following my post on singer Anita O'Day last week, I heard from Bill Kirchner [photo above of Anita O'Day by Kenn Duncan, courtesy of the New York Public Library Digital Collection]...
Hi there. Your Anita O'Day posting reminded me of a week I spent working with her in the summer of 1982 at New York's Blue Note. I was part of her backup quartet: Mike Abene, piano; Rick Laird, bass; her longtime partner John Poole, drums; and me on tenor and soprano saxophones and flute.
As one might expect of someone with Anita's frequently harsh life experiences, she was pretty brittle, though I got along with her well enough. For whatever reason. though, she didn't sing very many ballads.
One night, however, Anita called "My Funny Valentine" at a slow tempo. She sang the melody and then, as we had predetermined, I soloed for a half-chorus and then paused for her to come back in. Apparently I was doing something right, because she motioned for me to finish the chorus. At that moment, I happened to look into her eyes; to my surprise, her protective shell seemed to disintegrate, revealing one very vulnerable soul.
It was one of the most unforgettable moments I've had in music, and one of the greatest wordless compliments I've ever received.
Louis Stewart. Following my post on the Irish jazz guitarist, John Stein sent along an email [photo above of Louis Stewart courtesy of Livia Records]...
Hi Marc. Something must be in the air today. Someone just posted on YouTube a link to Louis Stewart and Martin Taylor playing a concert with Stéphane Grappelli. It’s wonderful!
Seinfeld and Prez. If you've never seen this episode of Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, you'll get a kick out of it. If you have, you'll still get a kick out of seeing it again. I did. [Photo above by Pete Souza/The White House]
Rob Crocker, a silver-voiced jazz radio host at WBGO-FM in Newark, N.J., for more than 30 years and an ardent JazzWax reader and email pal, died on March 7. He was 78. [Photo above of Rob Crocker courtesy of WBGO-FM]
Rosemary Clooney.Here's Rosey in her vocal prime singing Why Shouldn't I for the March of Dimes in 1962 with the orchestra arranged and conducted by Jerry Fielding [photo above of Rosemary Clooney courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer]...
Bugs Bunny & Co.Here's part of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra's Cartoons in Concert performance...
Do you fear jazz?These clips are from the BBC's The Mighty Boosh comedy show. Science teachers and the mentally ill! Go here...
Here's Sonny Stitt playing Bloodstone's Natural High, with Eddie Russ on Fender Rhodes, from an obscure early 1970s album called Tornado...
J.R. Monterose radio. On Sunday, Sid Gribetz of WKCR-FM in New York will host a five-hour Jazz Profiles tribute to saxophonist J.R. Monterose, from 2 to 7 p.m. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here. [Photo above of J.R. Monterose by Francis Wolff (c)Mosaic Images]
And finally, here are the Stylistics singing Let's Put It All Together...
Perhaps the high points of Joe Fields's Cobblestone label were a pair of albums by Sonny Stitt released in 1972—Tune-Up! and Constellation. Both were produced by Don Schlitten. On Tune-Up!, Stitt played alto and tenor saxophone and was accompanied by Barry Harris on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Alan Dawson on drums.
What made this album (and Constellation) special was Stitt's commanding speed, clean lines and bebop fluidity. I remember buying both at Sam Goody in Manhattan that year and playing them relentlessly. Each listen was another revelation, and Stitt's playing was energetic and magical.
There were no throwaway songs or wasted notes. Every execution was a gem. If you go back as far as I do, I'm sure you owned this one, too, and played it often. If you're unfamiliar, you're in for a treat.
The tracks:
Tune-Up
I Can't Get Started
Idaho
Just Friends
Blues for Prez and Bird
Groovin' High
I Got Rhythm
Here's the complete Tune-Up! without ad interruptions...
Anita O'Day was one of jazz's first "slick chicks." Born Anita Colton in 1919, O'Day was raised in Chicago. She left home during the Depression at age 14 to become a walk-a-thon contestant—the last person standing after sleepless hours won a cash prize. Dance-a-thons would soon follow. In 1936, O'Day began singing professionally and joined her first big band two years later. In 1941, she became the Gene Krupa band's female vocalist and revolutionized the term "girl singer," opening the door for white female vocalists with attitude.
Unlike most of her wholesome contemporaries, who sang songs straight with a touch of swing, O'Day added a loose and street-smart improvisational quality that became more adventuresome over time, inspiring many singers who came after her, including Dolores Hawkins, June Christy, Chris Connor and Annie Ross, to name a few. At the start of the 1940s, O'Day's only peer was Billie Holiday, who also could deliver a smokey, bruised sound on ballads and freewheeling, hip feel on uptempo tunes.
Unfortunately, in recent years, O'Day has been slipping into obscurity, now almost unknown by today's generation of female singers. In an effort to pull her back into focus, here are 12 clips, with some only recently going up at YouTube:
Here's a nifty arrangement of Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina with Gene Krupa's band in March 1941...
Here's O'Day and trumpeter Roy Eldridge on Let Me Off Uptown in 1941, with Gene Krupa's band...
Here's O'Day backed by Stan Kenton in 1944 in a short singing I'm Mad for a Pad, plus the instrumental Memphis Lament...
Here's O'Day singing Memories of You in The Gene Krupa Story (1959), starring Sal Mineo as Krupa ("Not bad, if you like talent")...
Here's O'Day in Sweden singing On Green Dolphin Street in 1963...
Here's O'Day in Norway singing I Can't Get Started...
Here'sFour Brothers (watch for O'Day putting up four fingers, signaling to the pianist that they're going to "trade fours," or take four measures each to improvise...
Here's O'Day singing Let's Fall in Love on The David Frost Show in the U.S. in 1970, with Billy Taylor, Frost's musical director, at the piano. Watch again for O'Day's white-gloved four-finger signal...
Bonus:Here'sMan With the Horn in December 1956 from one of my favorite Anita O'Day albums, Pick Yourself Up. Backing her were Ted Nash (ts), Paul Smith (p), Barney Kessel (g), Dorothy Remsen (harp), Lou Raderman and Eudice Shapiro (vln), Virginia Majewski (viola), Ray Creamer (cello), Joe Mondragon (b), Shelly Manne (d) and Buddy Bregman (arr,dir)...
What the heck, one more: Here's O'Day in August 1960 singing Bill Holman's arrangement of Why Shouldn't I, with Al Porcino, Ray Triscari, Conte Candoli, Lee Katzman and Stu Williamson (tp); Bob Edmondson, Lew McCreary and Frank Rosolino (tb); Ken Shroyer (b-tb); Joe Maini and Charlie Kennedy (as); Bill Perkins and Bud Shank (ts); Jack Nimitz (bar); Lou Levy (p); Al Hendrickson (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Mel Lewis (d) and Bill Holman (arr,dir)...
Yesterday, Lee Prout sent along five photos he took of Stan Getz at Vanderbilt University's Rites of Spring Jazz Fest on Alumni Lawn in the 1980s. The Stan Getz Quartet that performed then consisted of Getz on tenor saxophone, Kenny Barron on piano, Rufus Reid on bass and Victor Lewis on drums. [All photos in post by Lee Prout, courtesy of (c)Lee Prout]
Lee is a retired architect who loves jazz and is a self-described "serious camera guy, I guess." As you enjoy the images, I've added a live clip below of the same Stan Getz Quartet playing Stella by Starlight. Go here...
Irish jazz guitarist Louis Stewart began recording in 1968, but it wasn't until 1976 that he released his first leadership album—Louis the First. Recorded at Dublin's Trend Studios on September 25, 1975 for the Hawk label, the album featured Louis Stewart (g), Martin Walsh (b) and John Wadham (d). The album featured nine tracks—five with the trio form, one bass-guitar duet and three solo pieces.
Now, the long out-of-print album has been lovingly remastered and reissued by Ireland's Livia Records. Louis the First is notable not only for the different instrumental configurations but also for Stewart's technique, especially on swingers.
Stewart's hands are so fast that in places they make you think there were two guitarists. In fact, on a couple of tracks, Stewart overdubbed himself so that you were, in fact, hearing two guitarists. Regardless, the energy is remarkable. Even on ballads, like Here's That Rainy Day, he was itching to take off, as you can hear on the fills. [Photo above of the Louis Stewart Trio playing at Dublin's Baggot Inn in 1976]
In 1968, Stewart won an award as the most outstanding soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival and soon after spent three years playing with Benny Goodman. After Louis the First was taped, he recorded in London with Billy Higgins, Peter Ind, Sam Jones, Red Mitchell and Spike Robinson. In the late 1970s, he toured in the U.S. with George Shearing and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and played with many other American jazz musicians.
The tracks:
All the Things You Are
Bluesology
Body and Soul
Send in the Clowns
O Grande Amore
Here's That Rainy Day
Alone Together
Autumn Leaves
Footprints (Bonus track)
Hats off to the team at Livia Records for re-issuing this gem and for ensuring that the music sounds warm, with the bass and drums distinct without crowding out Stewart.
Louis Stewart died in 2016 at age 72.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find the reissue of Louis Stewart's Louis the First (Livia) here.
This month marks the 60th anniversary of Getz/Gilberto's release by Verve Records. The revolutionary bossa nova album recorded in 1963 and produced by Creed Taylor—with the inclusion of Astrud Gilberto singing The Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado—turned the infectious Brazilian beat into a global phenomenon with the young-adult market. In America, the Beatles and other British Invasion artists by then owned the teen market, and Al Hirt, Percy Faith, Ray Conniff and other older easy-listening artists owned the more senior market. Getz/Gilberto became the decade's first sexy album release.
To mark the occasion, Impex Records, an audiophile company headquartered in Anderson, Ind., that specializes in high-end vinyl reissues, just released Getz/Gilberto as part of its 1STEP series. The 180-gram, double-LP release spins on your turntable at 45rpm—two songs per side on the first LP and two on side 3 and four on side 4. The album was remastered by Bernie Grundman using the original analog master tapes, going from tape to press. No "mother" or "father" pressings and no computers or tricky software were used. The 45 speed exposes more sonic information than 33 1/3.
The 1STEP process is the closest you'll get to hearing the master tapes themselves, without generational loss found on previous releases. The new reissue also includes wonderful liner notes by Chuck Granata and Monica Getz, Stan's second wife, in a 35 page, 12-inch booklet. The Impex product is limited to 7,500 numbered pressings.
I have six different copies of this album on vinyl issued over the years, and I wrote Verve's 50th anniversary edition liner notes. So listening to the Impex release was like running my hand over a polished wood surface feeling for imperfections. There were none. Instead, what I found was a recording of enormous tenderness, with each artist in the ensemble isolated in a bubble of intimacy. Their instruments were mixed perfectly and a lot more audio information has been displayed, especially in the midrange. In fact, it took a bit of adjusting to acclimate my ears to the cozy fidelity. Thanks to 1STEP, you're basically listening to what Creed and engineer Phil Ramone heard in the booth in March 1963. [Photo above of Creed Taylor by Chuck Stewart]
Somehow singer-guitarist João Gilberto sounds more delicate, Astrud Gilberto sounds more innocent and unsteady, and Antonio Carlos Jobim's piano is more seductive. You can even hear Stan Getz's tenor saxophone pads clicking. The only things you won't hear are Astrud applying her lipstick and Jobim flicking his cigarette in an ashtray. All the rest of the audio information is here, carefully remastered. [Photo above from left, tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, drummer Milton Banana, pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim, Don Payne, guitarist, singer-guitarist João Gilberto and his then wife, singer Astrud Gilberto, at A&R Studios in New York in March 1963; for more, go here]
What I realized listening to the Impex release is how Getz vitally united all of the elements with his impossibly beautiful playing. He also added much-needed jazz muscle to the tissue-soft Brazilian approach to the music. [Photo above, from left, of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz and João Gilberto at A&R Studios in New York in 1963]
Impex has many more releases on the market, including Earth, Wind & Fire's That's the Way of the World, Michel Legrand's Legrand Jazz and Bud Shank's Barefoot Adventure, and many others in the works. I hope more Stan Getz is forthcoming as well as Bill Evans, Steely Dan and Hampton Hawes's All Night Session! You'll find the current Impex releases at the company's site here.
All of this motivated me to e-interview Abey (pronounced A.B.) Fonn, the founder of Impex Records:
JazzWax: Hi Abey. Where did you grow up? Abey Fonn: I was born in Taiwan and emigrated to the U.S. when I was 9. For the first few years, my family moved around quite a bit in California. My mom still lives in a community in Los Angeles that she absolutely loves. My dad, David, passed away in 2020. Both of my parents came from large families, but our immediate family included just my parents, my sister and me. Growing up, I was introverted, especially during the earlier part of my youth when I was learning to speak English. At home, we listened to a wide variety of music. My father was the president of Cisco Music’s North American and Jamaican divisions, which were a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Cisco Music International. My mother was a homemaker. [Photo above of Abey Fonn]
JW: Your house must have been filled with music, yes? AF: It was. On the weekends, music was always playing—Chinese, Japanese, classical and jazz. We also enjoyed concert seats at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center. My mom was a huge supporter of my dad. They were married for 55 years. She’s proud of me and loves the fact that I’m continuing my dad‘s legacy. My mom enjoys music and loves to sing, but it was my dad who had fantastic ears. He studied civil engineering and finance, but music was his passion. [Photo above of Abey with her father, David, at the Newport Audiophile Show in 2012, in Newport Beach, Calif.]
JW: Where did you go to college, and what was your major? AF: I studied business at Moorpark College and Cal State Northridge, both in Southern California. I’ve loved music my entire life. Music was always my escape. I worked at Wells Fargo Bank through my college years and continued working there after graduation. I had the best boss. I married young, and my then husband and I started a dental practice. I worked at the office for about two years. Once the practice was established, I left and began working at Cisco Music. I worked in their accounts receivable department.
JW: What did you learn? AF: At Cisco, I learned a great deal about the audiophile world. I first attended the Consumer Electronics Show in 1993. Initially, I was excited that someone was paying me to go to Las Vegas, but the experience wound up being life- and career-changing. I realized I loved recorded music and wanted it to sound better.
JW: Your father must have been a huge influence on you, yes? AF: Oh yes. My dad was my mentor, sounding board and business partner, teaching me about working ethically and the hard work needed to build an audiophile label. My other mentor was my father’s good friend, Mr. Takawa-san, from King Records in Japan. In 2008, Cisco closed its doors after 40 years in business, so I left the industry and returned to finance. But it wasn’t long before I was itching to make records again. [Photo above of Abey Fonn with her father, David, in 2004]
JW: What did you do? AF: My dad and I started Impex Records in January 2010. The name is a combination of import and export. My dad came up with the name after working at Cisco Music. They were doing a lot importing and exporting of various products. Cisco was the first independent dealer to import the Panasonic laserdisc player to the U.S. in 1980. We recruited a few key staff members from Cisco Music, and Impex was able to get off the ground quickly. [Photo above of David Fonn and Abey Fonn at Cisco Music’s 25th Anniversary in 2005]
JW: How did Impex expand? AF: We became part of Indiana-based Elusive Disc in 2017. This allowed us to focus on the work—licensing, production, quality control, marketing and artist relationships—while Elusive Disc handled sales and distribution. Elusive Disc is a wonderful family-run business that has been in the business for more than 30 years. [Photo above of, from left, Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering with Bob Donnelly and Abey Fonn]
JW: What makes Impex different from the many companies that now produce high-quality vinyl? AF: Our love of music and presentation and our attention to every detail. We are audiophiles, so we know what it takes to create something that our customer wants. Our packaging tells a visual story that adds narrative and aesthetic value for listeners. The high quality and care we bring to every step of production can be heard by consumers. We attend every mastering session and every early print-press check to verify color and layout accuracy. We also check test references and test pressings multiple times until we’ve eliminated vinyl pressing issues on every new title.
JW: How does this play out in the workplace? AF: For example, when we issued the Saturday Night in San Francisco LP in 2022 (at JazzWax here), featuring guitarists Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia, we took the original 40-year-old session tapes and had them "baked" at Skywalker Sound. A digital fingerprint was necessary to correct the tape speed and fluctuation issues that could not be fixed in the analog domain. Then the digital multitrack master files from Skywalker were fed into an all-analog signal chain (mixing console and outboard processors) board and mixed in an all-analog processor. Finally, Bernie Grundman mastered the album from the ½-inch, 2-track mixed-down tapes. [Photo above of Bernie Grundman]
JW: Many people today, especially younger vinyl lovers, have minimalist, affordable stereo systems. Can they hear the advantage of Impex LPs? AF: Recently, my art director, Robert Sliger, went to a Valentine’s Day vinyl party hosted by a local radio station. He brought along a copy of our Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra LP. He got them to play it on what could charitably be called a backyard speaker system. Most of the cool records played afterward that night sounded thin and edgy, and lacked bass. Our 1949-sourced mono LP sounded good even on a DJ turntable, and it absolutely murdered every other record played. Of course, with a minimalist system, you may not hear the full spectrum of dynamics and details a better system would expose, but a great record is a great record, even on less-than-audiophile systems. As for our market, we make records for everyone who loves music and has an appreciation and keen ear and eye for quality and details. [Photo above of Robert Sliger of Impex checking the Getz/Gilberto packaging at Stoughton Printing]
JW: Broadly, how do you reissue albums so that the fidelity is noticeably delicious? AF: Let’s take That’s the Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire. The “noticeably deliciousness” quality was a result of approaching the LP’s sound in a way that best suits the music. That means lots of tight funky bass, a solid backbeat, and punchy horns. If people aren’t up and dancing when that one goes on, we have failed to do our job. Each title we issue takes approximately 12-to-18 months to complete. Typically, we start with the original analog master tapes or a flat non-EQ 1:1 copy of the original analog master tapes. On a few occasions, we also work from a high-resolution digital master. Our team, especially Bob Donnelly, is extremely involved in mastering.
JW: What's Bob Donnelly's philosophy here? AF: Bob’s guiding principles are three key questions: is it musical, is it emotional and does it connect us to the music? Bob also painstakingly listens to every test pressing made from each lacquer to ensure we eliminate ticks, pops, non-fill grooves and unwanted noises. Even with all the steps we take, it still does not guarantee a perfect or nearly perfect final product. There is an art to plating and pressing a dead silent record that people often take for granted. That’s why we work so closely with our partners, from mastering to cutting lacquers to pressing and printing.
JW: And the wet-looking album covers? AF: Most of the covers for our reissues are made from scans of the originals. Robert Sliger carefully color and type corrects the scans and layout to capture the original feeling of the art. Impex has often been praised for the added value we include in our releases, such as adding never-seen photos, historical liner notes, interviews with artists and special finishes and treatments. [Photo above of Robert Sliger signing off on Impex's Legrand Jazz 45-rpm set, at Stoughton Printing in 2018]
JW: Give me an example, with reissues? AF: I can give you a few. Getz/Gilberto 1STEP is being reissued for the first time with full participation of the Getz estate, including new notes by Monica Getz, Stan Getz’s second wife, and another insightful essay by Chuck L Granata. Or our Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra has dozens of original illustrations, photos and promotional materials and a comprehensive essay by Chuck, a Sinatra historian. For Saturday Night in San Francisco, we used pricey inks and finishes and included a new essay with exclusive interviews with Al DiMeola and recording engineer Tim Pinch, and photos from Al’s personal archive. [Photo above of Abey Fonn and Stan Getz’s son, Nick, prior to presenting Getz/Gilberto test pressings and family stories at the 2023 Audio Expo of North America]
JW: What exactly is the Impex 1STEP process? AF: We use the same process that was first developed in the late 1970s. Basically, a one-step LP starts by going from the lacquer straight to a convert disc that presses the vinyl, removing the "mother" and "father" stages of traditional vinyl pressing. This process removes two stages of generational loss and brings the listener closer to the master tapes. It’s a difficult and unforgiving process. We use new lacquers after every 500 LPs pressed, which keeps our mastering cutting engineers and plating department very busy. [Photo above, from left, of Robert Sliger, Chris Bellman, Abey Fonn and Bob Donnelly; Impex had just received the 2019 Audiophile Recording of the Year for the reissue of Legrand Jazz at the Los Angeles Orange County Audio Society]
JW: What else separates Impex? AF: Even non-design package elements receive careful consideration by us. Cisco Music was one of the first labels to use a custom, heavyweight Japanese LP polybag instead of shrink wrapping. We do that as well. If you over-shrink the package, the corners of the jacket might bend. If the LP isn’t wrapped tightly enough, the album looks like it is wearing a sweater that is two sizes too large. Despite the increased cost, we feel this is essential and continue this practice started by Cisco. It’s the right thing to do and our fans really appreciate it.
JW: Impex’s price point is around $40 per LP, which is not unreasonable for a pristine re-issue. But there’s lots of competition today, yes? AF: Purchasing music comes in all different price ranges, formats, resolutions, and outlets. There are many wonderful re-issue labels in our industry, but as you know, the quality often varies, and online debates spring up all the time over pressings and remastering. When you purchase an Impex album, the only question you need to ask yourself is, "Am I interested in this title?" The quality of our LPs is rarely questioned. Obviously, the better your system, the more you will appreciate the extra efforts we put into our products. But you don’t need to spend a fortune on a system to hear how we’ve restored the music.
JW: Which albums are you releasing in the jazz category in the coming year? AF: We are issuing Getz/Gilberto 1STEP; a special expanded 1STEP release of Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra that includes additional bonus tracks, new artwork, expanded notes and those deep, silent VR900 surfaces. We’re also releasing Patricia Barber’s Companion 1STEP; a 60th anniversary 45-rpm set of Duke Ellington's Indigos; and Bud Shank’s gorgeous Holiday in Brazil. Our team works together to find titles and formats we want to re-issue. Bob Donnelly is our in-house jazz advisor and has an extensive record collection that helps with title selections.
JW: What audio system do you have at home? AF: I truly believe that you want a synergy between the components you purchase. Some work better together than others. Fortunately, when I was looking for a system, I had industry friends who provided me with advice. My system consists of the AVID Acutus turntable with an SME tonearm, a Luxman integrated amplifier and SACD player, and Sonus Faber speakers. I fell in love with the sound and style of Sonus Faber designer Franco Serblin back in the very early 1990s. I also have both AudioQuest and Cardas cables. There’s always more that I desire but I’m happy with my system, though I’m now looking for a digital music streamer to improve the audio of my streams. [Photo above of the AVID Acutus Reference turntable]
JW: What about readers who don’t have industry friends? AF: For people looking to buy or upgrade an existing system, there are many resources available. My first suggestion is to visit a local audiophile store. In-person visits are always a wonderful way to learn, ask questions and to hear the a setup first-hand. If a local dealer is not available, look to YouTube videos and trusted industry publications, such as the Absolute Sound, Positive Feedback, The Audio Beat and Tracking Angle, to name a few. There are also wonderful committed online audio stores such as Elusive Disc that can help with LP purchase and designing a system within your budget or to discuss trade-in options.
JW: What do you say to the reader who says, "All of this is overkill. Most people can’t hear the details and just want music that sounds big and bright, without having to flip over albums after two songs? AF: I believe consumers should listen to music in whatever format is most practical and effective for them. We are certainly not against DXD, FLAC and other digital sources. Impex Records has done very well with our Patricia Barber Hi-Rez downloads through NativeDSD and HD Tracks. You should check those out, especially our new release of the Grammy-winning 5.1 mix of Modern Cool. And yes, not everyone can hear some of the sonic differences between various pressings. But most people can hear how much better a well-mixed, well-mastered and carefully pressed album is vs. one that is not well produced. The product we make is for the person who wants the very best audio reproduction available and an interaction with the product that is immersive.
JW: Where can readers purchase Impex LPs? AF: You can purchase our records directly from the Impex Records and Elusive Disc websites, or at any major audiophile outlets. You can also purchase some titles through Amazon, but I like to urge people to support their local dealers and my online distribution partners.
JazzWax clip: Here's Abey with Nick Getz talking about the new Getz/Gilberto release...
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor Jake Lacy for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Most readers will remember Jake from season 1 of The White Lotus. He currently is in the Peacock drama series Apples Never Fall. [Photo above of Jake Lacy courtesy of the Television Academy]
Also in theWSJ, I wrote on Queen's second album, Queen II, released this month in 1974, 50 years ago (go here). In the band's early music, we hear an emergence of their glam-prog rock pomp and operatic vocal flamboyance. Critics chided the album when it came out but completely missed what Queen was up to—Super Bowl-sized anthems that animated massive audiences and record buyers.
What I'm watching
TV series
TheAffair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
Godless—(2017/Netflix)
Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
High Water—(2022/Netflix)
Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
American Gangster—(2007/Max).
Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017/Netflix)
The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
MI-5—(2015/Max)
The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
Nobody—(2021/Prime)
Ordinary Angels—(2024)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
Cunk on Earth—(2022/Neflix)
Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here)
Steve Lawrence (1935-2024), a smooth-voiced pop singer who started recording in the early 1950s, married Eydie Gormé in 1957 and, together, came to define the Las Vegas residency, died on March 7. He was 88. Gormé died in 2013. [Photo above of Steve Lawrence]
In many ways, Lawrence's buttery smooth baritone cast him as the suburban Frank Sinatra, a crooner without the urban edge or drama. While wives in the audience viewed Lawrence as the nice husband next door, he lacked Sinatra's street restlessness, combative tension and hands-on involvement with his albums. As a result, many of Lawrence's LPs wound up loaded with subpar material, a problem that Sinatra worked hard to avoid. Nevertheless, Lawrence had an enormous following and career, due largely to his sunny, easy-going charm, warm voice and playful stage chemistry with his wife and duet partner.
Here's my favorite Lawrence album, with Gormé, in 1960, arranged by Don Costa...
Shorty Rogers. Mia Rogers, Shorty's daughter, posted the above image on her Facebook page. From left, trumpeter Shorty Rogers, his wife Marge, bassist Howard Rumsey, unknown, Jimmy Giuffre, unknown, Flip Manne, drummer Shelly Manne. Based on my research, the photo is from 1952.
Here are the Lighthouse All-Stars in 1952, which included all four of the musicians above, plus Milt Bernhart on trombone, Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone and Frank Patchen on piano...
Russ Garcia. Last week, I heard from Lee Prout, who shared a photo of Russ Garcia's former home on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles that the composer-arranger and conductor owned prior to his death in 2011:
Hi Marc. As a career architect and fan of mid-century modern architectural design, I believe John Lautner to have been one of the most gifted of all Frank Lloyd Wright's pupils. He developed his own, totally unique style that showed no obvious influences from Wright. As a serious jazz fan who cut his teeth listening to West Coast jazz, I naturally had an interest in Russ Garcia, who was, without doubt, a uniquely brilliant composer/arranger. The “marriage” of Lautner and Garcia to create the iconic Rainbow House (above), provided both an aural and visual jolt to my senses.
I recently bought Fresh Sound’s release of the Wigville Band, which included the album featuring Peggy Connelly. I also acquired the Garcia-O’Day recording, "Waiter, Make Mine Blues." I went through your list of JazzWax interviews, found your Russ Garcia interview (go here) and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Editor's note: The house is at 7436 Mulholland Drive.
The Carpenters. For years, I've yearned to hear a female vocalist who not only appreciated Karen Carpenter's voice but also sounded like her. So imagine my surprise when I came across Tori Holub. Watch as she and her musician friends recreate every vocal and instrumental overdub on We've Only Just Begun. [Photo above of Karen Carpenter]
Serge Chaloff. Last week Bill Kirchner sent along a clip paying tribute to late actor David McCallum, including his role as Ducky on TV's NCIS. At 01:05, McCallum says he's escorting "Serge Chaloff," pronouncing the first name SER-gay rather than the soft "g" variant. [Photo above of Serge Chaloff]
As Bill notes:
Serge Chaloff (1923-1957) was a great American jazz baritone saxophonist. McCallum and/or the writers must have been jazz fans. McCallum himself was a gifted musician who recorded several albums of music for Capitol Records in the 1960s.
Patty McGovern (1928-2024). Last week, David Torresen alerted me that singer Patty McGovern had died. She was best known for her only album—Wednesday's Child (1956) for Atlantic with the Tommy Talbert Orchestra. Given how good the album is, it's odd her recording career didn't last longer, unless she threw in the towel for personal reasons.
Here are the Spinners singing Could It Be I'm Falling in Love...
FM Radio Archive. Kim Paris, who founded FM Radio Archive, sent along a batch of live gigs for your listening pleasure based on the artists I covered over the past week:
Bill Evans—has two recordings, one with his trio in Switzerland in 1975 and another with Tony Bennett in 1976. Go here.
Billie Holiday—was featured in an episode of Just Jazz with Ed Beach on WRVR around 1966. Go here.
Dodo Marmarosa—was featured in an episode of Jazz Profiles with Sid Gribetz on New York's WKCR-FM in 2014. Go here.
Hampton Hawes—played at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in a 1976 KJAZ broadcast. Go here.
Harold Land—is on three broadcasts with Bobby Hutcherson, first in Antibes in 1969, then with the Timeless All Stars in 1982 & 1989. Go here.
Johnny "Hammond" Smith—played with the CTI All Stars at the Paramount Theater in Seattle in 1973, in a KPLU broadcast. Go here.
Ornette Coleman and Bix Beiderbecke birthday broadcasts. WKCR-FM in New York will present its annual back-to-back birthday events for Ornette and Bix. Coleman's music will go first, for 24 hours, on Saturday March 9. Twenty-four hours of Bix Beiderbecke will follow on Sunday, March 10.
In 1957, Quincy Jones moved to Paris to study composition and theory with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. In his spare time, the producer, composer, arranger, bandleader and conductor became music director at Barclay, a French record company owned by Eddie Barclay, a composer-arranger and contractor. Barclay also was the licensee for Mercury in France.
Jones's first album for the label was Et Voila!, which was released on United Artists in the U.S. as Americans in Paris. In addition to Jones, the other Americans on the recording were tenor saxophonists Lucky Thompson and Don Byas, drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Art Simmons. The rest of the musicians in the orchestra on multiple dates throughout 1957 were French.
Jones was the album's arranger and conductor, and the LP is a masterpiece, from start to finish. Most of the songs were by French pop composers. They are melodic, cheery, breezy and quintessentially French for the late 1950s. Jones's arrangements are impossibly hip and gorgeous. I've listened to this album for hours at a time, over and over again. I even have a copy on vinyl. It's always fresh and uplifting. [Photo above of Quincy Jones]
The tracks and composers:
Et Voila! (Eddie Barclay and Michel Legrand)
Quand je Monte Chez Toi (Henri Salvador)
Place Blanche (Salvador)
Ne M'Laissez Pas Comme Ca (Charles Kelman, François Charpin)
Sermonette (Cannonball and Nat Adderley)
Numero 13 (Barclay, Jean-Pierre Landreau)
Avec Ces Yeux-La (Charles Aznavour, Barclay)
Tu Joues Avec Le Feu (Bernard Michel, Barclay)
Quelque Chose En Toi (Barclay, Raymond Le Sénéchal)
Un P'tit Bout De Femme/Manhattan (B. Michel, Rodgers and Hart)
Pas Moi (Charpin, J.P. Londreau and Maurice Pon)
Craven (Barclay)
Here's the complete album without ad interruptions. Be sure to bookmark it...
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of 55 More Songs," "Anatomy of a Song," "Rock Concert: An Oral History" and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax has won three Jazz Journalists Association awards.
