Founded by Fred Thomas in 2011, Sam Records is a non-profit independent jazz label and vinyl-only record store in Paris. [Photo above of Nathan Davis in Paris in the 1960s]
In 2018, Fred released a three-LP set of previously unissued live recordings in Paris by Nathan Davis. It’s entitled Nathan Davis With Georges Arvanitas Trio: The ORTF Recordings, 1966-67. The tracks were recorded at multiple locations, primarily at the Maison de la Radio (Studio 105) and the Museum of Modern Art (Musée d'Art Moderne).
The release on 180-gram vinyl had the full permission and cooperation of the Nathan Davis Estate as well as France’s INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel), and the music is terrific. The music was remastered from the original master tapes and pressed by Optimal in Germany using the metal “mothers” from Germany’s Pallas Group.
The ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Television Francaise) was the French national agency tasked with providing public radio and TV services as a state monopoly from its launch in 1964 to its end in 1974. The Davis tracks were recorded at the ORTF studios.
As Fred writes at his Sam site:
“My two great interests are jazz music and photography. In 2006, I got to know the American jazz musician Nathan Davis personally and made a decision: I would re-release a recording by Davis from 1965 in the best possible quality available.
“The search for the copyright owner of the cover photo led me to Jean-Pierre Leloir, a legendary photographer who had captured on film what went on music-wise in Paris over many years. I was able to find the person who had the master tape. Then I was able to make an agreement with the owner and produced my very first LP reissue.
“Five years later, I decided to found Sam Records. I didn’t know the music industry, but it was clear for me to try to do the best reissues possible – find the master tapes and the (original) photography.”
The George Arvanitas Trio was the house band at the Club St. Germain on the Left Bank of Paris before moving on to the Blue Note. The trio—George Arvanitas on piano and organ, Jacky Samson on bass and Charles Saudrais on drums—matched Davis’s energy and swing.
They back him on all tracks except the last, Blues for Southeast Asia, which features the Jazz aux Champs-Elysées All-Stars: Nathan Davis (ts), Jack Diéval (p), Jacques Hess (b) and Franco Manzecchi (d).
The tracks:
The Hip Walk (N. Davis)
Yesterdays (J. Kern) (Flute Version)
A5 (N. Davis)
Nathalie’s Bounce (N. Davis)
Love Ye The Neighbor (N. Davis)
Mid Evil Dance (N. Davis)
The Rules of Freedom (N. Davis)
The Thing (N. Davis)
Yesterdays (J. Kern) (sax version)
Blues for Southeast Asia (N. Davis)
The music is ferocious and captivating, with Davis on tenor saxophone sounding at times like Stanley Turrentine. The trio is provocative and daring at every turn, matching Davis’s stamina and intensity. And Arvanitas’s organ on several tracks is exceptional.
For more on the album and to listen to tracks, go to the Sam site here. Today’s post is a followup to my first post on Nathan Davis here.
To buy in the U.S., go to Acoustic Sounds here. In Europe, go to Sam Records here.
Here’s Nathalie’s Bounce…
And here’s an interview with Fred three years ago at his store