Home » Jazz Articles

Articles by Charlie B. Dahan

321

April 2009: From Sarah Vaughan to Little Richard

Read "April 2009: From Sarah Vaughan to Little Richard" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


After a short hiatus, The Vault has reopened to review the latest in jazz and blues reissues, DVDs, books and other irresistible items. This month, we have books on the jazz age and Atlantic Records, CDs from Sarah Vaughan and Buddy Guy, and DVDs of Little Richard and Muddy Waters. Hazen Schumacher and John Stevens have put together a two-CD music set and an accompanying book for this NPP Books/Voice Of Lyrics Records package. The CDs contain ...

637

DVD Round-Up: Ahmet Ertegun, Les Paul, Cowboy Jack Clement, Johnny Cash Christmas Specials and Before The Music Dies

Read "DVD Round-Up: Ahmet Ertegun, Les Paul, Cowboy Jack Clement, Johnny Cash Christmas Specials and Before The Music Dies" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


While several recent DVD releases focus on the preservation of modern music history, other releases question its current trajectory. Shout Factory released two DVD's of Johnny Cash's brooding Christmas Specials, one from 1976 and the other from 1977. An Atlantic Records release celebrates the life and times of Ahmet Ertegun, Shout Factory's celebrates the life and times of Jack Clements, while Koch Vision's release examines the life and music of Les Paul. The final and most curious release from B-Side ...

629

Shout Factory Celebrates the Best of the Vee-Jay Years with Jimmy Reed, The Dells, Jerry Butler and The Staple Singers

Read "Shout Factory Celebrates the Best of the Vee-Jay Years with Jimmy Reed, The Dells, Jerry Butler and The Staple Singers" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


On infrequent occasions only does a collection of one artist's work embrace the breadth and vitality of his or her many years as a recording artist. Usually, these themed collections provide windows into a specific time and place in an artist's career. From 1953 until about 1966, Vee-Jay was one of the top indie labels that regularly turned out super R&B and urban blues performances, as well as a few sides by one “small band from England called, The Beatles. ...

290

Les Paul: Chasing Sound!

Read "Les Paul: Chasing Sound!" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Les Paul Chasing Sound! Koch Vision 2007

I dare anyone to spend the time to find one musician who can say they have not had their musical career influenced by Les Paul. Maybe they aren't aware of his career as a country and jazz great, but if they play guitar, record or listen to music from the last 50 years, they have been touched in part by the master, the wizard, himself, ...

398

Various Artists: House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin': Celebrating 15 Years of The Rhythm Room

Read "House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin': Celebrating 15 Years of The Rhythm Room" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Does it get any hotter than the average temperature in Phoenix (Arizona) in mid-August? Well, yes, if you enter the four walls of the Rhythm Room. Blue Witch Record has released House Rockin' and Blues Shoutin'--a fourteen-song compilation of live cuts from the last fifteen years produced by the club's owner and harmonica player, Bob Corritone. I wish I could tell you more about the club or the nights of each performance, but the packaging of this ...

478

January 2006

Read "January 2006" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Welcome to a new year of great music!

It's time to whip out those gift cards or return credits that you have and start building up your music collection for 2006. Here's a great place to start and the line-ups for the subsequent months look to be quite bountiful.

Here are this month's new crop of reissues and special event records.

January 3, 2006 From Various Labels: Various Artists All ...

428

The Vault Top Ten: 2005

Read "The Vault Top Ten: 2005" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


The Vault would like to highlight the ten releases we enjoyed in 2005. 1. Gillespie and Parker Town Hall New York City, June 22, 1945 (Uptown)

Despite the substandard sound quality and hiss in the beginning, I found myself blasting this recording in the car when I got it. The tone is set when Symphony Sid wonders aloud where Charlie Parker is and within 30 seconds of the band kicking into “Be Bop" ...

414

Various Artists: Doo Wop: Vocal Group Greats

Read "Doo Wop: Vocal Group Greats" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Shout Factory has again released a companion boxset to a PBS special scheduled for December, this time dealing with the golden era of doo-wop music. The founders of Shout Factory (the brothers Foos) released a similar boxed collection of doo wop in an earlier incarnation at Rhino to critical and consumer acclaim, and they hit the same mark this time around by collecting and documenting this aurally pleasing and satisfying era in American music. The collection contains ...

679

Prestige Profile Reissue Series

Read "Prestige Profile Reissue Series" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Like many of the great independent labels of the mid-twentieth century (i.e. Dial, Commodore, King, Stax to name a few), Prestige began out of a solely owned record store. Who better to best assess the current sounds and demands of the customer than the record shop proprietor. Bob Weinstock began the transition from record store to record label in 1949 and thus began a twenty plus year schedule of great jazz releases. The new team of Fantasy and Concord reissued ...

210

November 1st Through The 29th

Read "November 1st Through The 29th" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan


Christmas is right around the corner and what better gift than super jazz from the past. Here is this month's new crop of reissues and special event records. Attention record labels! Please email me your reissue schedules so I can include them in future lists.

Visit our Upcoming Release Center to see an up to date release guide to recordings that are out and those that are on their way.

November 1st:


Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.