Craig Jolley of Los Angeles, CA, writes:

Regarding the question about Erroll Garner's "Caravan"--it was recorded by Erroll's trio 2/27/53 and came out on Columbia 535--The LP is titled "Erroll Garner," and it's the first cut on side 1. As stated it has never been issued on CD. There is a later (12/55) Garner trio recording of "Caravan" available on Jazz Band CD 2104. The later recording was done live at Basin Street and appears to be unauthorized.

Dan Mershon of Chicago, IL, writes:

I don't know of a CD but the album is self titled "Errol Garner", Columbia CL 535. The others in the trio are simply listed as Ruther and Heard. The album contains Caravan, (There Is) No Greater Love, Avalon, Lullaby of Birdland, Memories of You, and Will You Still be Mine.

Dan:

The bassist on the album is Wyatt Ruther (who was on many of Garner's LPs and also played with Dave Brubeck and Chico Hamilton, among others) and the drummer is J. C. Heard. Thanks to you and Craig for the details about this long unavailable Garner LP version of "Caravan," which Dave Webb discussed in last month's column.

Glen Brown of Kansas City, MO, writes:

I'm looking for two things: an Ed Thigpen CD called "It's Entertainment," and any CD by the group Three of a Kind on Minor Music. Thanks.

Glen:

The Ed Thigpen CD is on a European label called Stunt Records. I believe they sent me a review copy within the past year so it should still be in print. If you have trouble finding it on the web, let me know. You might try planetmusic.es as they carry a lot of European labels.

Three of a Kind has at least three CDs out on Minor Music, but I believe that all have been deleted from their catalog. Two of them are currently available from daedalusbooks.com but don't dawdle as this web site usually sells out cutout CDs rather quickly.

Tiffany of Pittsburgh, PA, writes:

Hi Ken. My husband and I are long time fans of Ms. Shirley Horn. I luckily happened in on a tiny bar in Georgetown some years ago and saw her perform, however my husband has not had this breathtaking experience. From what I understand she will be at the "Terrace Theater" in Washington, DC in March 2001 but I can't find a listing for this place. Can you help me out? Would you be aware of how I can find out of any other appearances of hers. We are willing to fly to her as we know it is extremely unlikely she will ever visit our hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Thanks!

Tiffany:

The Terrace Theater is part of the Kennedy Center complex. I don't have their web site handy, but it can be accessed by going through npr.org and clicking on the icon for Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center program. The Shirley Horn concert takes place on Mar. 16, 2001. Her concert schedule is listed at www.vervemusicgroup.com/ontour.

Floor Hendriks of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, writes:

I'm looking for music from an artist named Eddy Lane. I don't know whether I wrote the name correctly. I heard it on the radio somewhere, but I can't find anything. It seems the artist was at his height in the 20's and 30's. Thanks in advance.

Floor, you probably are referring to Eddie Lang, a fine guitarist who worked with the Italian-born violinist Joe Venuti. He died in New York at the age of just 30, following a botched tonsillectomy.

Pearl of Chicago, IL writes:

Do you have any information on the death of vocalist Teri Thornton?

Pearl:

She died of bladder cancer in May of 2000 in Englewood NJ. She had been battling it for some time and was ill at the time she won the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition. She has one CD out on Verve and a reissue on Fantasy's OJC series.

Allan Henderson of Scarborough, England, writes:

Do you know if Sound Aspects CD's are still available please? I've been looking for ALONE and COME RAIN OR COME SHINE by Paul Smoker for ages!

Allan:

Sorry, but it looks like all of Paul Smoker's CDs for Sound Aspects are out of print.

Jim of Avondale, AZ writes:

Where can I buy the CD Bud Shank Plays Bill Evans? (New or used) I have been unable to find it at the major (and minor) on-line stores, auctions, & trading sites (Half.com. etc.). Most places do not even list it. Thanks

Jim:

Cadence currently has it available at www.cadencebuilding.com. It's $14 plus shipping and and additional $3 per order (not per item) if you aren't a subscriber to Cadence magazine. Cheers!

Shelley Johnston of Norcross, GA writes:

There was a jazz Christmas CD that had a song that I think was called "Merry Christmas Anyway". It was various artists including Tom Gross. I can't remember the name of the CD. Help!!

Shelley:

There's a keyboard player named Tom Grose who appears on The anthology Ichiban Blues at Christmas Vol. 4 (Ichiban CD #1193), but there is no song entitled "Merry Christmas Anyway" listed. Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the song or artist.

Glen Brown of Kansas City, MO writes:

I have been looking for a CD by Barry Harris called "Live At Dug". I went to the label that it was supposed to be on, Enja, but it was not listed there. Thanks for the help!

Glen:

Enja unfortuantely discontinued quite a few titles this past year. My best sources for Enja cutouts have been Chicago's Jazz Record Mart (www.delmark.com/jrm.home.htm) and Planet Music in Spain (www.planetmusic.es). Good luck!

Jinsoo of Santa Monica, CA writes:

Hi Ken, I'm confused about the recordings of Bird. I have some stuff (Charlie Parker Memorial Vol. 1 & 2 on Savoy/Nippon 1991), but the liner notes don't indicate the dates. So, I'm looking to buy good sound quality Bird, as much as I can get. I heard the recent Orrin Keepnews produced box set is mediocre. So what's a fan to do? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Jinsoo:

The sound in the new boxed set isn't bad, considering the source material (old transcription discs or aging tapes from earlier reissues), though the packaging (narrow abrasive CD sleeves and a dumb wire ring spine) wasn't well thought out. I haven't compared it to the Savoy 3 CD set put out when Muse owned the label in the 1980s. Also, Parker's Guild & Dial sessions Are included, as well as the session of Swing Meets Bop from 1945 led by Red Norvo. I don't believe that finding earlier reissues will get you any better sound.

GUY ROULEAU of L'Orignal, Ontario, Canada writes:

Ken, I bet I'm going to have you stumped with this one: Where can I get a list of Down Beat's Jazz Critics' award winners for BEST JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR starting from the very first winner and ending with the very latest? Is there a list on the Web? Is there one I can obtain from a book or magazine? Or, as some have told me, do you have the answer for me right at your fingertips?

Guy:

I don't claim to have all the answers, in any case! I briefly checked out Downbeat's web site, which was of no help. I don't know where a list might be compiled, and I quit subscribing to them years ago because I didn't care for the direction they headed (too much "Blues & Beyond" and not enough JAZZ!).

Glen Brown of Kansas City, MO writes:

I'm looking for two things. One is a cd by Ed Thigpen called "It's Entertainment", and the other thing is any cd by a trio called "Three Of A Kind" on a label called Minor Music.

Glen:

You're in luck. Ed Thigpen's CD was issued by the Danish label Stunt (#19186) and is distributed in the U.S., too. If you can't find it on the internet, call 1-609-931-6441 to purchase it directly from Sundance, the distributor. Three of a Kind, a group led by pianist Peter Madsen, has at least 3 CDs out on MInor Music, but it seems like all of them are out of print. I saw 2 copies of Three of a Kind Meets Mister T (Stanley Turrentine) in a store just after Christmas, 2000. They don't have a web site or email, but contact: Hear Again CDs, 818 W. University Ave. Gainesville, Fl 32601 (352) 373-1800 Dadedalus Books had both Three of a Kind Meets Mister T and Drip Some Grease (MM 801056) as of December 29th. They're on the web at www.daedalus-books.com.

Jeff Johnston of Montreal, Canada writes:

Hi, I am a jazz pianist and as a younger man my idol and mentor was Richie Beirach. His album 'Elegy for Bill Evans' was my bible and I've heard that it is available now on cd. I've worn out two lp's and would be extremely grateful if you could direct me to some place that has the cd of this album. I've been searching record stores and the net but have yet to come up with any info. I am also interested of obtaining cd's of the Abercrombie Quartet w/Beirach, Mraz, Donald. they recorded 3 albums for ECM in the late 70's but I don't think they have been issued in the cd format.

Jeff:

None of the LPs you've named seem to have made it to CD. Beirach's Elegy for Bill Evans was put out by Palo Alto, which folded in the 1980s, and though I've found evidence of 4 John Abercrombie titles with Richie Beirach on ECM: Works (a compilation), Arcade, John Abercrombie Quartet, and M, none of them seem to made the transition to CD.

Anthony Adams of West Palm Beach, FL writes:

Ken, I have been trying to find the following releases on cd everywhere. Please Help!!!!! Cannonball Adderley- "The Black Messiah" Oscar Peterson- "Bursting Out with the All-Star Big Band."

Anthony:

Cannonball Adderley's Black Messiah was a 2 LP set that hasn't been reissued on CD, while Bursting Out by Oscar Peterson should be readily available. Perhaps you've been using the catalog number of the earlier CD; it was reissued a second time by Verve in 1996, adding Oscar's Swinging Brass release to the CD. The catalog number is 314 529 699-2, I'm sure some web site should have it, www.samgoody.com for one.

Kim Bogart of Oklahoma City, OK writes:

My parents gave me some records belonging to my great aunt and uncle, included among them was an album full of Fats Waller, can you tell me a litte about him and whether or not the 78's are worth anything to me or anyone else. I also have others by Ella, and Bing and a whole album full of the song "Josephine" by different artists about 15 different ones.

Kim:

It's hard to put a value on 78 rpm records, unless they are in mint condition and extremely rare. Because most of the popular jazz recordings from that era have been reissued on either CD or LP (or both), there are relatively few folks interested in acquiring 78s.

Fats Waller was a terrific pianist and composer, plus a fun vocalist who destroyed the lyrics to a tune with his sarcasm if he didn't care for it. Most of his recordings were made for RCA's Bluebird subsidiary, and they have been dutifully issued and reissued. Likewise, Ella Fitzgerald's recordings from the 78 era have been reissued, though there's the possibility that some have slipped through the cracks.

If you have a turntable that plays 78s, why not save them and enjoy them. The most you could likely expect to sell them for would be 50 censt to a dollar, if you can find buyers. They are extremely fragile and might not survive shipping to an out-of-town buyer.

Chris Klockau of Kansas City / USA writes:

Ken, I'm looking for tenor saxist Jim Pepper's 1971 recording Pepper's Pow Wow. I understand these are a couple of label IDs it might have: Embryo SD or Atlantic 2400 149. Thanks a million. Chris

Chris:

it was originally issued on the Embryo label and later reissued as an Atlantic LP. It hasn't appeared on CD, so try some of the used record sites, such as Euclid Records.

Bruce Greeley of Seattle, WA writes:

Hi Ken, Do you know which formats Mingus' "Revelations" would be available in and on what discs? It was a sort of 3rd stream recording, I think. Cheers.

Bruce:

I can find no evidence of a an LP or CD by the name of Revelations by Charles Mingus. There was an Impulse 2 LP compilation awhile back called Re-evaluation: The Impulse Years under his name. It's quite possible that there's a bootleg by that name.