Case Files: 0799-1

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 and Bavan, but that won't do). I'd love to close this unsolved case.

—Mike Lynch

Answer

Jr. Sleuth,

My comrade-in-arms, your detective work has been exemplary. I hoist my glass in a salute to you. Like mere morning mist, like my faith in human kindness (and like Lulu with my lunch), the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross version of the Count's classic "Shiny Stockings" seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. I too found the recording to which you alluded—Lambert, Hendricks, and Baven: At Basin Street East on RCA (2635, 1963)—and again applaud your work. It is also on Jon Hendricks: Cloudburst (Enja 4032, 1972) and Boppin' at the Bluenote (Telarc 83302, 1993).

This is as close to solving this case as I can get. May you have better luck locating a copy through a dealer or auction than I'll have finding Lulu with my pastrami on rye and onion rings. Looks like another liquid lunch...

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Case File: Lost in the Pepper Trail

Question

Hello Cool Vic

Do you have any favorite sources for out-of-print recordings? I've been trying for years to find a copy of tenor saxophonist Jim Pepper's LP Pepper's Powwow but haven't had any luck with the mail order sites that advertise in the back of Down Beat, Jazz Times...

Thanks!

—Chris K.
Kansas City, MO

Answer

Hey, CK from KC!

Man, do I miss Wilbur Harrison. Wilbur could make a blues fit like a worn out side holster. You know, if there were no Kansas City, there may have been no Basie, no Prez, no Bird... more painful to consider than the most majestic hangover (and I've scaled some doozies).

Almost too painful to consider is the fact that the disc you are seeking is indeed out-of-print: Jim Pepper released Pepper's Powwow on the Embryo label in the late '60s (SD-7312) and on Atlantic (2400149) in 1971.

Chris K., you must understand I cannot divulge my sources. I can tell you that I have an Uncle Tony who's involved in certain import-export aspects of the business. I can also tell you that I know he'd suggest to persons with needs such as yourself a visit to such websites as Memory Land Records and MadCity Music Exchange.

Having set you down the hopeful path to eventual musical bliss, I fondly wish you the best of luck, CK in KC, and hope you find what you're looking for. Just keep your guard up and your eyes peeled—and don't send cash, checks or money orders without running a little background check on your dealer. This business has a tendency to attract its share of unsavory characters.

Got a case that won't stay buried? Send it me.