Rita Golomb of Washington, DC wrote:

What is the solo order of Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin on Mal Waldron's studio recording "The Quest," because a "Fire Waltz" that appears on a Dolphy recording may be the same version or may be very different (and feature Booker Little instead of Booker Ervin). Can you confirm that on the "Fire Waltz" described above, Eric Dolphy is playing the theme or head tune and Booker Ervin is taking the solo, rather than the other way around? Thanks very much.

Rita:

I am very familiar with this recording since I first acquired in on LP in 1972. The version from the release "The Quest" features Dolphy playing the head on alto sax, with Ervin playing a riff underneath him. The solo order is as follows: Waldron, Ron Carter (cello), Ervin (tenor sax), Joe Benjamin (bass); Dolphy never solos on the studio version of "Fire Waltz." Part of the confusion may come from the fact that "The Quest" was also issued by Prestige under Dolphy's name following his death, even though it is the same LP. As you surmised, the live version of "Fire Waltz" heard on the Five Spot date features Booker Little on trumpet with Dolphy & Waldron; Ervin was not a participant in that nightclub recording.

There are probably few reed players whom I collect as thoroughly as Eric Dolphy, though I'm trying with Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, and John Coltrane (to a point). Thanks for writing.

Bill Gunter of Yeadon, PA wrote:

Ken, I'm looking for a couple of discs. One is the CD version of "Sarah Vaughan Live in Japan" on Milestone. The other is the Jazz Crusaders' "Festival Album" on Pacific Jazz. I you could help me, I'd be very appreciative.

James:

There is a Sarah Vaughan 2 CD set, originally on Mainstream, and reissued with the Mainstream label as a part of Sony's Legacy series in 1993, some 20 years after it was recorded. It was also available for a time through Mobile Fidelity, but all of their releases are out of print since they have ceased operations. I'm not sure that it is still in print. The Jazz Crusaders "Festival Album" doesn't seem to have been reissued on CD.

Bruce Lyon of Havre de Grace, MD wrote:

I am trying to find a copy of an album by Special EFX, called Catwaly. I have tried every where with no success.

Bruce:

Catwalk was a 1994 release by Special EFX on the JVC label and has evidently been out of print for awhile. Try searching for it in used CD sections of Tower, Euclid Records, or similar sites.

Knut Johansson of Sweden wrote:

Do You know if Carmen McRae did a record with "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"?

Knut:

There is at least one recording in existence, which was recorded as a part of a public service series for the U. S. Navy during the 1960s. This version is currently on a Hindsight CD (#602) called Song Time. She very likely may have recorded it during the 1960s or 1970s on one of those long out of print LPs not currently available as a CD.

A special note to Carmen McRae fans: If you own a video or DVD player, Carmen McRae's appearance on Ralph Gleason's Jazsz Casual is something that should interest you. Vintage Carmen at her very best!

Sara Ross of San Diego, CA wrote:

First USA/VISA had a small run of the master takes from the John Coltrane 1961 Village Vanguard box and sent them out "free" to holders of their Jazz credit cards. Is there any difference between this & the "official" Village Vanguard master takes CD?

Sara:

I didn't bother with this promotion because I already had the Coltrane 1961 Village Vanguard box set. It doesn't seem reasonable for different songs to appear on the Visa promotional CD, but stranger things have happened.

Roger Larrivee of Cap-Rouge, Canada wrote:

Hi Ken! Santa just gave me the giant Coltrane Prestige album, WOW! As you certainly know, there isn't a line of text included in this 16-cds album; so I'll have to make an extravagant research to know who is playing with...and when and possibly where... Can you tell me if there has been something interesting written somewhere about this album that could help me solve my BIG problem?

Roger:

The Prestige Recordings box set was supposed to have an informative booklet within it that has all of that information. If it was purchased new or received as a gift, I'm sure Fantasy would willingly supply you with a copy. (fantasyjazz.com is their web site). Good luck.

As a recommendation to serious Coltrane fans: There is a first rate Coltrane discography put out by Scarecrow Press called "John Coltrane-A Discography and Music Biography," which includes almost everything you'd want to know. The only thing they should have added was a list of composers of the songs Coltrane recorded, which is something the Art Tatum and Benny Goodman discographers did for early Scarecrow Press books.

Bill Galvin of Elko, NV wrote:

In the late sixties, I heard a player in a small club in Pittsburgh named Harold Betters. Did he make any albums? If so, would it be possible to find one?

Bill:

The trombonist made at least five records for Gateway and three for Reprise during the 1960s, though a compilation of material turned up on a budget CD issued by Spotlite in 1994. I imagine most of his stuff may be hard to find.

ADDED NOTE: Several of Harold Betters' LPs can be found in the Set Price Sale section of the Cadence web site www.cadencebuilding.com.

Rose Haywood of Truro, Cornwall, England wrote:

Where can I find Cannonball Adderley's 'Memorium' released by Mercury Records, of his early recordings with Nat. (tracks include slow version of "Straight No Chaser")? It's a present for somebody who says Cannonball is his idol and only has the recording on a very old tape, so this would make his day!! Thanks very much.

Rose:

I have been unable to find any record of a release under that name by Cannonball Adderley. Perhaps the database I am using is incomplete, and/or this LP was only issued in Europe. The song you mentioned is on two of his CD reissues: "Sophisticated Swing" (Emarcy) which may be out of print, and "Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco," available from Fantasy's OJC series.

Al Dean of Leominster, MA wrote:

Attempting to find history of JATP as to dates of all concerts produced by Norman Granz, where the concerts were held and who the artists were at each concert in the US. Any source you know of that I can find this? Many thanks.

Al:

Whew, what a tall order! There could be something like that on file at the Insitute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University, if anyone has taken the time to compile such a list. Perhaps Norman Granz, who is retired and in ill health in Switzerland, has possibly donated his personal papers to that library or another one. Unless that's the case, it would be difficult to assemble a very complete list.

Jim wrote:

Where could I find these two Stan Getz recordings? One is of orchestral music written by Eddie Kramer w/Getz improvising and the other has the popular hit "The Girl from Ipanema" on it. If you could steer me in the right direction in my quest for finding these recordings it would be greatly appreciated. Again, thanks and have a good day.

Jim:

I've never heard of Eddie Kramer, though I believe you are seeking the famous Stan Getz release "Focus" with orchestrations by Eddie Sauter. Getz/Gilberto is the second CD you are looking for, with "The Girl from Ipanema" sung in Portugese by guitarist Joao Gilberto and in English by his wife (of the time) Astrud (making her debut as a singer). Both of these excellent albums are available as Verve CDs.

John Conway of St. Louis, MO wrote:

Wondering if you could help me. I've searched all over the web, and I've yet to find the original lyrics to "Fables of Faubus." Could you please direct me to a site where they are available. Also, could you please tell me which CD includes the lyrical version of the song? There is a link entitled "Charles Mingus - Fables of Faubus (a fan's transcription)" -- but the link is a dead one.

John:

I have searched like crazy but haven't found a recorded version of "Fables of Faubus" with lyrics. It's possible that someone could have written some, either before or after Mingus died in 1979, or he may have sketched some himself. But the databases I've searched are of no help.

Chris of Bloomington, IN wrote:

How available is Bill Evan's out of print album on the Verve label "California, Here I Come"?

Chris:

This two record set has been out of print for some time, but this Village Vanguard material has been reissued, along with a lot of additional tracks from that series of shows by Evans in the 18 CD Complete Verve Recordings of Bill Evans set. It's worth acquiring, so save up!