Cool Vic Files
Ask Cool Vic. The Music Dick. Cool Vic's M.O... The name's Vic. Cool Vic. My parents were old movie fans. You know the type--those black & white classics that only air when memories and regrets erupt screaming through your dreams and keep you awake past two in the morning. Mom loved Victor Mature. I was born mature, you could say. I was born Vic, at least. The "Cool" part? Picked that up along the way. Never shook it. Never tried.
I'm a Music Dick. Some hardboiled guys like me end up tracking down dames or cars or jewelry or paintings. I go after a treasure of a different kind. The smoky hazy blue kind of treasure, like Miles played on Kind of Blue or the Hawk exhaled through his "Body And Soul". That song that you can't recall enough of to remember, but remember too much of to forget. I know I seem tough--you have to, in this business--but I'm here to help ya, kid. Who or what are ya looking for?
Case Files: 2026-01
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Editor's Note: Long before this Jazz Detective, there was another. His name was Vic... “Cool" Vic, to be exact. Back in 1998--1999, Vic was a music dick--chasing down lost artifacts, missing recordings, and cold cases from the shadowy alleys of jazz history. Then he disappeared. Retired. Vamoosed. Now he's back. For how long? That's anyone's guess. But Cool Vic is once again ready to field your questions, crack a few cases (bottled and investigative), and maybe a few heads along ...
Continue ReadingCase File: 0999 - The Missing Benedetto (Solved)
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Greetings from The Big Windy, AAJers! On my way back east. Who would've thought that a nice guy like me in a nice 'burg like Chicago could find so much trouble? Guys and dolls sure love their tunes in this big town. Like any town, I guess. When I got the call to locate that missing guitar, I figured that only one guy had the ways and means to swipe it. I also figured that only one guy ...
Continue ReadingCase File: 0999 - The Missing Benedetto
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Greetings AAJers! This is Vic chiming in from the road. I'm currently just south of Chicago, casing and cruising 'round Joliet. Got my Hertz Rent-a-Car, two unopened bottles, a box full of prime Cuban stinkers, and “Blues and the Abstract Truth" bustin' out the tape deck. The south side of Chicago really IS the baddest part of town, ya know what I mean? Yep, it's this same Joliet that brought us the famed brothers Jake and ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0899-2
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: Satchmo's Summer TrailQuestion Hello Cool Vic: I am seeking an itinerary of concert dates that Louis Armstrong played in the summer of 1960. Do you (or any of your cohorts) know of a reliable source (website, book, or database) where I might uncover this info? Thanks for your time and concern (Love the website.) --Brian Soule AnswerSoule Man, Your question takes me back. It was a ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0899-1
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: Rainy Days & Missing HerdsQuestion Greetings Vic... Long time no see, Did Kenton ever record “Here's That Rainy Day" in the studio? How many recordings of that song did he make? And... Are there any CD's of Woody Herman's Woodchoppers from the '40s Herman Band? --Dick Bellach AnswerGreetings, Herr Doktor Bellach, It has been a long time, hasn't it? That summer in Berlin. I had almost forgotten... the ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0799-2
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: The Charts That Wouldn't Turn UpQuestion Cool Vic, I have given up trying to locate the recordings AND sheet music to a couple of tunes entitled: “Malaga" by I have no clue and “Taboo" by a woman with last name Enesco. I hope you can help. I really would like to either listen to or perform these original versions. Desperate Again... Sam J Answer Desperate Sammy, If you're my friend ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0799-1
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: The Vanished Shiny Stockings Question Memorandum To: [email protected] re: Missing Music Report I've been on this case for a long time without success, but I'm just a Private Ear who can't find what I want to hear. It's time to call in the pro. Here's the rundown: an old friend swears that Lambert, Hendricks & Ross recorded “Shiny Stockings," but I can't find any reference to it. (I did find it by Lambert, Hendricks ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0699-3
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: The Samba That Slipped the NeedleQuestion Dear Vic... I'm looking for a version of the song “One Note Samba," performed by Dizzy Gillespie. I'm pretty sure James Moody plays flute on it and it has this tremendous cymbal-break in the middle. I've been looking for it for several years now, found a couple of versions (including a live-version with Gillespie and Moody in Paris, not the one), but none of it matches with the one I ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0699-2
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: The After-Hours Club That Never Closed Question Mr. Vic, Please help me--I beg of you. There was a famous jazz club in San Francisco; I'm pretty certain it was an after-hours or late hours club that is now defunct. Do you know its name? --Evan Bennett Answer Evanesque, Your folks named you after Bill Evans' son, Evan. Isn't that right? Thought so. I guess that makes this “A ...
Continue ReadingCase Files: 0699-1
by Cool Vic, The Music Dick
Case File: Down Here in the ShadowsQuestion Hi Victor... it's Victor, isn't it? Did Dianne Reeves ever record “Down Here on the Ground?" I heard a female version of this song about a week ago while riding in my car and it sounded like Dianne Reeves. This recording is not on her new CD, Bridges. Maybe she sung it on someone else's CD; if so, do you know whose? --Renee Clark AnswerMiss Clark, ...
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