February 2003

The other morning I heard a recording of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Billie Holiday with Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet. Do you know if it's available on cd? If so, do you know how I could go about purchasing it?

Ross:

I know of no recording by Billie Holiday of "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Perhaps what you heard was Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton. It really doesn't sound like the kind of song Billie Holiday would sing. I checked several databases just to be sure.

Ray Logan of Redondo Beach, CA wrote:

I heard a recording of "La Petite Flur" and missed the full name of the band. It is such a haunting and compelling arrangement with guitars and a sax. The part of the name I did manage to hear was: The Chris "_______" Jazz Band. Hope you can help me find out the name so that I can become a proud owner. Many thanks.

Ray:

You probably heard the song "Petite Fleur," written by soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet and recorded by Chris Barber's Jazz Band. It has been included on several various artists anthologies, among them Vintage Instrumentals, Vol. 1, which is in print and should be easy to find on line.

Tony Bacon of Cavan, Ireland wrote:

Are the "Artistry in Rhythm," etc. recordings available I possesed them many years ago on 78s?

Tony:

I'm not much of an expert on Stan Kenton, but various CD compilations incorporating Stan Kenton's "Artistry in Rhythm" under his name have been reissued by European based labels such as Jazz Hour, ASV/Living Era and Fat Boy. It is hard to know exactly which recordings you're seeking.

William Curcio of Arlington, MA wrote:

Frank D'Rone, originally out of Providence, RI, a protege of Nat Cole, made several appearances on the Carson TV show about 30 years ago. He resides some where in Illinois and did make one cd which I have. What I am looking for is an LP that he made about 30 years ago. The title was 'Whoopee or 'Making Whopee.' Other songs that I remember on that disc are "Bluesette" and "Somewhere."

William:

There's a Mercury LP circa 1962 called 'In Person,' though I' haven't located any source selling it. The only other information I've been able to find about Frank D'Rone is that he recorded as a sideman with Carl Stevens on a pair of sessions for a Mercury LP around 1958. Any other LPs must have been privately issued.

Eric of Brooklyn, NY wrote:

There are a few albums that I can't find on CD:

Cannonball Adderley "Fiddler on the Roof."

Duke Ellington "Uptown"

Antonio Carlos Jobim "Windflower" (not sure of title) It was on CTI records. Ron Carter, Grady Tate are some of the personnel.

Sonny Stitt, "Stittsville."

Do you know if these have ever been put out on CD? Imports? Thank you.

Eric:

The Adderley LP hasn't been reissued on CD. The Ellington was reissued in 1991 by Columbia/Legacy but is evidently out of print. The Jobim album you're tryng to name is "Stone Flower," which was reissued in 2002. The Stitt LP, originally issued by Roost, has not been reissued individually, but is a part of Mosaics' massive "Complete Roost Recordings of Sonny Stitt" boxed set.

I can't say for certain about the past or present availability of any import versions, as they are very hard to keep up with.

Jennifer Bate from Surrey, England, UK wrote:

I've been looking for a jazz site that will tell me the words to a song, as well as the artist's who have recorded it. Last year I found this site, but have lost it. Am trying to find the words of Randy Weston's "High Fly". I have it recorded by George Shearing and Mel Torme, but would like to be able to look up others as well, and choose more CDs as a result. Regards and thanks.

Jennifer:

I have a copy of the Lord Discography CD-Rom, but I have no way of cutting and pasting the list you seek, which is very long.

"Hi Fly" has been recorded by a number of artists. Go to www.allmusic.com and you can search by song title, though it won't necessarily have every recorded version. I know Abbey Lincoln recorded it for her CD 'The World is Falling Down' about a dozen years ago. Mel Torme recorded an earlier version with Shorty Rogers, while other singers who have recorded it include Joe Carroll, Dave Lambert, and Jenny Evans, to name a few. Countless instrumental versions exist, including several by its composer.

Sarah Morgan from Portland, OR wrote:

I have been reading about the artist Romare Bearden. He wrote jazz songs in the early 1950's including one hit, "Seabreeze." I have read that Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiford, Tito Puente and Billy Eckstein recorded it. I would love to hear some of his music, but I can't find mention of it in any of the music catalogs I have consulted. Do you know about this or can you direct me somewhere to continue research? Thank you.

Sarah:

A quick check of the ASCAP web site ascap.com helped me find a total of a dozen compositions by Romare Bearden. Chick Corea is the only one listed as having recorded "Seabreeze," so it is obvious that their database is somewhat incomplete. Here are some of the song titles, which you might check with Bearden's name through google.com: CELLO ON THE RHINE, EARLY TIMES, KAY MEET ME AT THE LIDO SN, MISSUS SANTA CLAUS MY CANDY APPLE, MY LOVE FOR DOROTHY, MY STOCKING IS EMPTY, A NEW TOMORROW, QUICKSAND, SO MUCH MORE, nd finally, WHO CAN SAY.

Nicole Piver wrote:

Did Ella Fitzgerald ever sing "Here's That Rainy Day"? If so what album is it from?

Also, do you know whether there is a CD of Tony Bennett and Lena Horne's performance together on PBS. I don't know exactly what year the performance was—sometime in the 1980s or 1990s. Nor do I know what the show was called. If there is no CD, is there a way to get the videotape of that performance? Thank you for your help.

Nicole:

Ella Fitzgerald recorded "Here's That Rainy Day" during a 1965 concert in Hamburg, which was released by Verve on the LP 'Ella in Hamburg,' which is out of print, though it was reissued in Japan, and it was also added to the CD compilation 'For the Love of Ella."

I'm afraid I have no information about the video you're seeking. It is unlikely that it was issued on CD or video, so you'll probably have to find another fan who taped it to get a dub.

Ryan Parker of Boston, MA wrote:

Paul Bley is my favorite jazz pianist of all time and I have read reviews speaking of his album with Steve Swallow and Barry Altschul in terms of its legendary and requisite status. I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to get my hands on the ESP disk "CLOSER" from the early 1960s, but I have not been able to find a distributor or record store that carries it (oddly enough, Barrage, which is also an ESP disk, is quite easy to find. I have a huge Paul Bley collection which I enjoy and study at great lengths... it would mean so much to me if you could find any information on how I would get my hands on this album(preferably in CD format).

Ryan:

Closer was issued by ESP on CD in 1993 and reissued by a label called Calibre in 2002 (which still seems like it might be in print), yet I've been stymied in finding anyone with a copy (new or used) in stock.

Joe of Concord, CA wrote:

"Carnival of the Americas - Tito Rodriguez". I would like to buy this CD but can't find a location. I can get to San Francisco, if they have a specialist down there, otherwise can you suggest phone/internet location.

Joe:

This LP which you're seeking was originally issued on the Musicor label, but I've found no proof it was ever reissued on CD. I've been unable to date this session as it isn't listed in Lord's discography.

Rudy Gildehaus wrote:

On the Ken Burns Jazz special, the first episode, it bgan with Louis playing Deep Purple. Unfortunately there was only a few bars played. Can you tell me if a recording of that is available, and perhaps the label and where it might be found? Thanks for whatever help you can give me.

Rudy:

I can find no record of any recording by Louis Armstrong of "Deep Purple," in Tom Lord's Discography or anywhere else. Since I didn't see the series in its entirety, maybe the song was something else, as Armstrong's trumpet is usually unmistakable.

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