Alexander Joscht of Leipzig, Gemany writes:
What is the story behind Jimmy Smith's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"? I have known this song for quite some time, but lately a friend told me that Virgina Woolf was a
feminist-activist of the early 20th century and now I just ask why Jimmy Smith did a song named after her?
Also, I know there are quite a lot of cover versions of a melody called "Burning Spear," for example, by Kenny Burrell, s.o.u.l. and at least two others, but who wrote this song in the first place?
Alexander:
First of all, there is a famous play called "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" that was written by Edward Albee and adapted into a film starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (directed by Mike Nichols) in 1966; this movie won five Oscars. So I guess that Smith used the title to attract some attention to his LP.
Although there are at least two different songs called "Burning Spear," the one you are referring to seems like it was written by R&B bassist Richard Evans, though I am not positive. The other was written and recorded by Eric Dolphy in the early 1960s. The one which Kenny Burrell recorded was the song by Evans.
Alex Nasaudean of Transylvania writes:
I'm a greenhorn jazz fan and 20 years old. I started with Lionel Hampton, went on to Count Basie, Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong. I wondered what you thought of the Italian jazz label "Giants of Jazz," because it's one of the best represented in my
country. I can't find any details about it online. Are the CD's worth their money? I wondered if trade with them were possible. Also, do you have any advice to a
future jazz collector in a country with high CD prices?
Alex:
Unfortunately, the Italian label Giants of Jazz seems to be a bootleg outfit, and they are not above putting out music that is currently commercially available from the proper owners. I have picked up an occasional disc of theirs, and while the sound is usually okay, the liner notes are usually very generic and the personnel and date listings are often incorrect.
Labels that aren't paying royalties can sell for less; regardless of the price, I would stick to the legitimate releases, even if you need to resort to buying strictly used CDs rather than higher priced new CDs. There are a lot of bargains to be had on line,
but not in the average record store, where the selection of jazz titles has slipped badly.
Wayne Wilcox wrote:
Have you ever heard an a jazz album circa 60's - 70's titled " Sugar"? Who
recorded this album ? Is it Stanley Turrentine ? Help !
Wayne, the late Stanley Turrentine recorded 'Sugar' in 1970 for CTI. It will be reissued this spring in Sony's Legacy series.
Mark Pruett writes:
Has the RCA two-LP set The Phil Woods Six/"Live" from the Showboat (1977)
been reissued on CD--anywhere? Thanks.
Mark:
An edited version (missing several songs) of this 2 LP set was reissued as Phil Woods Live on Novus, but it has long since been deleted. If you don't already have the earlier 2 LP set, I bet you can find it without too long a search.
Patrick Waldo of Washington, DC wrote:
My sister keeps on telling me this story of Charlie Parker pawning his horn for money for his heroin addiction and buying a cheap blue plastic sax from Toys R Us for a concert that night. She's heard the record and knows it exists. However, I've told this story to other people and they've said that they heard the same about Coltrane. I would be very curious to see if it actually happened and on what record.
Patrick:
Although the superstore chain Toys R Us didn't exist in Charlie Parker's lifetime (he died in 1955), he showed up with a plastic alto sax on more than one occasion. Both the Blue Note reissue "The Washington Concerts" and "Jazz at Massey Hall" (available from
Fantasy's OJC series) feature Bird playing a plastic alto sax, although in the latter case, it was borrowed from a local music store in Canada. So the story has been
distorted just a little bit in the retelling.
I've never heard of Coltrane using a plastic sax, but it's possible he did.
Geraldine RomÃÂÃÂÃÂán of Spain wrote:
I'd like to find out if Clint Eastwood has recorded a jazz CD/album all by
himself. If so, I'd like to get a copy of this. I live in Spain and am willing to
order. Hope to hear from you soon.
Geraldine:
Clint Eastwood played a little bit of piano on the CD "Eastwood After Hours" and played some sax back in the 1950s but never recorded commercially. He sang in at least a couple of movies, "Paint Your Wagon" and also "Honky Tonk Man," but that was someone else probably playing Meade Lux Lewis' boogie woogie classic "Honky Tonk Train Blues" in the latter film. He's sung vocals on a few dates, including a 1990 release by country singer Randy Travis, and is listed as the artist in a reference to an old Cameo LP from 1963 called "Cowboy Favorites." But Clint Eastwood has never personally recorded a jazz LP or CD as a leader as far as I can tell.
Susan West writes
My mother is interested in selling some of her LP's. She has the following: Turk Murphy's Jazz Band (mmrc 106) that has never been opened. It has a blue stamp on the back "8272." Meade Lux Lewis: Barrel House Piano (FS268); has never been opened and has a stamp on the back "924722." Louis Armstrong and King Oliver; 2 album set, opened but in excellent condition; with a date of 1974. How would I find out what these are worth? Thanks for your time and fabulous knowledge.
Susan:
I'm not sure about a price on the Turk Murphy, but it might go for $10 or so. Check some of the used record sites, such as Euclid, for comparison. The Meade Lux Lewis LP is a budget reissue of an earlier LP with six more tracks that appeared on the Tops label (I have both versions). Since the shorter version has been reissued on CD, her LP would be unlikely to go for more that $5-$6. Likewise, the 2 LP set has also been reissued on CD, so the LP set she has might go for a maximum of $8 or so, if it is in excellent shape. The one problem most of us have with selling LPs is finding other collectors who want them. Used record dealers rarely pay more than a buck or two unless it is something especially rare; none of these three items would seem to qualify. I have a tough time selling LPs myself!
