Mark Phillips of San Francisco, USA wrote:

Ken:

Do you know if and when RCA/BMG plan to release the early 40s version of their Centennial Collection? They have released a mid 40s set. Thanks.

Mark:

I was unaware of any Duke Ellington Centennial set that concentrated on the mid-40s, just the earlier Bluebird 3 CD reissue "Black, Brown & Beige." I acquired the massive complete RCA set of Duke Ellington so I haven't had to be concerned about any additional issues on the label. I imagine they will reissue more Ellington in smaller sets, but I don't think the earlier Blanton-Webster Band 3 CD set has lapsed from print, which includes Ellington's most important work of that decade.

Tom Jones of Tallahassee , Florida wrote:

I caught a portion of the Jay Leno Show last week. There was a male vocalist who was excellent (swing, Big Band style), twirling the wireless mike. During interview period was a little quirky with body movements and a British/Australian accent. I want to hear more. What is this fellow's name? Thanks.

Tom:

I didn't see Jay Leno or the singer you mentioned as I rarely watch late night talk shows. If the singer you heard had short, sort of light hair, I'm guessing it could be Ian Shaw, who has two CDs out in America (available from Fantasy Records) as well as some others, but you indicated that wasn't likely the one. Anybody else see this show??

Chris Kimmell of Annville, PA wrote:

I read an article in the NY Times many years ago about a jazz accordian player in NJ. Apparently Frank Sinatra was a big fan of this guy. The accordian player recorded some 78s, but I don't know what label. Have you ever heard of an accordian player and his combo in the 40's or 50's in NJ? Any info you have would be a big help. Many thanks for your great website.

Chris:

The blind accordian player Joe Mooney was from New Jersey and was active in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, but mainly worked in Florida from the 50s onward until his death in 1975. After the 1940s, he primarily played organ. He was also a good singer, so that makes me think he is the one Sinatra and Bennett were talking about. Mooney has two CD reissues out on Koch (organ & vocals). Another possibility is Art Van Damme, but I know little about him. There seems to be little interest in reissuing his recordings.

Bob McWhirter of KILBARCHAN wrote:

What was the name of the LP that Zoot Sims & Harry Sweets Edison made together?

Bob:

The name of the 1978 LP that festured Zoot Sims with Harry Sweets Edison was "Just Friends;" it has since been reissued by Fantasy on CD.

Mary Anne Ball of Ottawa, Canada wrote:

I am trying to find a lost friend. He is a trumpet player named Bobby Rodriguez, and last I heard he was playing on a cruise type thing out of New Orleans. I can not seem to find a web site that can link me to an address or contact info for him. Can you suggest anything?

Mary Anne:

Trumpeter Bobby Rodriguez has his own web site at www.bobbyrodriguez.com. There is also a performance schedule and an email address posted there, though I don't know if he answers emails himself. Good luck.

Carmon DeLeone of USA wrote:

I am certain that Carmen McCrae sang "Sweet Meadowlark" with Dave Brubeck on record. Does it exist? I cannot find it on the "live" album they did together. I hope I am not nuts. Thank you for your help,.

Carmon:

You are not nuts, you just didn't exactly remember the title. The song you are seeking is "Strange Meadowlark," which is on the long out of print Brubeck/McRae Columbia LP "Tonight Only," released in 1961. It was recorded in the studio, unlike the later live record she did with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Your best bet to find it is Euclid Records (www.eucldirecords.com), though I'm sure it will show up from time to time elsewhere.

Doug Duncan of USA wrote:

Thanks for your great site. I have a question, and I hope even if you don't know the answer, that perhaps you could direct me to a source. At one time, I believe Teddy Wilson published a piano course. Would you happen to know how I might find out where I could locate a copy?

Doug:

I don't know about a published piano course but Teddy Wilson recorded a home piano course (called the "Teddy Wilson School for Pianists") back in 1939. It was acquired by Milt Gabler of Commodore Records prior to its release, but Wilson asked Gabler not to issue it (evidently he wasn't satisfied with it) and the label owner agreed. Mosaic Records included it as the third record within the first volume of their massive Complete Recordings of Commodore set a few years ago, but that set is out of print and will be extremely expensive as only 2500 copies were made of each of the three volumes and the first and second were each 23 LP sets, while the last had 20 LPs. I do own a copy of it as well as the other volumes. It seems very unlikely that this music will be reissued on a single CD.

Brian Ursell of Columbus, OH wrote:

I am looking for a record called The Date. The LP is a duet record with Jimmy Raney and Martial Solal. Here is a webpage with all of the details: www.classicjazzguitar.com/albums/artist_album.jsp?album=799. Thanks.

Brian:

I've never heard of this release or the label (which must be long defunct!), but I'll be looking for a copy myself, too. I'll let you know if I run across anything. Thanks for passing along the web page www.classicjazzguitar.com, which should be of interest to a lot of readers. A quick check has already turned me onto several more long unavailable LPs that I am now starting to search for.

Vickie Britton of Nashvile, TN wrote:

Back around July 4th or 5th on our local jazz station, WMOT 89.5 at Middle Tennessee State University, during the Bob Parlocha's show, my boyfriend and I heard a tune that featured Stevie Wonder doing vocals and harmonica. We don't know if Dizzy Gillespie was the featured artist or not, but would love to add that song to our jazz collection. Any help you can give us would dearly be appreciated. I tried to read the Playlist for those days, but I did not notice anything that may have featured these two artists. Thanks.

Vickie:

The only recent jazz CD I remember him appearing on was Herbie Hancock's "Gershwin's World;" he plays harmonica and sings on "St. Louis Blues" and plays harmonica behind Joni Mitchell's vocal on "Summertime." He may be on others but I haven't heard them.

Clare Michaelides of Brighton, East Sussex, England wrote:

This will come as a strange request/question. I am trying to find a jazz song that I heard at the movies - it the preview song that the movie theatre plays after the trailers and before the movie starts. The details I have been able to find so far are that the song is called "I like it like that" and is sung by Alan Taussant & Chris Kena it could be part of a compilation called Jazz Jammin and is done by Jewel Production. I have looked absolutely everywhere I can think to find it and the local record shops aren't much help. If you could give me some advice I would be grateful.

Clare:

I believe that the artist you are looking for is Alan Toussaint, a New Orleans R & B performer. I haven't found any record of a CD called Jazz Jammin or anyone by the name of Chris Kena. It could be that the spelling is slightly different for both the CD title and the artist. I confess that I'm not much of an expert in R&B, my interest is heavily (though not exclusively) jazz. Good luck!