"It is a rare, one of a kind, original pressing..."

Rescued from 'Help The Aged' in Bognor Regis (99p).

Modern Jazz Quartet 10" Acetate (Test Pressing).

Limited Edition Artwork by ??? (Felt Tip Pens).

Vintage...

Just a quick post until I have time to write something a little more substantial.

As well as working my b*llocks off during the tiresome hours of 8-5, I've been hard at it organising the Vintage at Goodwood Pre-Festival Party. For those of you unfamiliar with the forthcoming event (13th-15th of August), take the time out to have a good look around the website - here.

Festivals in the past have never really offered enough for me to warrant the ticket prices. Standing round in a field full of people I'd rather not be with, paying extortionate prices for cr*p food and probably only seeing one or two artists I'm actually interested in, isn't really my idea of fun. 'Vintage at Goodwood' is something a bit different though. Confirmed acts playing over the weekend include Cymande, Leroy Hutson, Jean Jacque Perrey, Earth Wind & Fire, Martha and The Vandellas, Joe Bataan, Ann Sexton, The Pretty Things and Tony Hatch, amongst a long list of impressive others. The line up of DJs is pretty amazing too - Keb Darge, Jazzie B, Jonny Trunk, Norman Jay, John Stapleton... to name just a few. Like I said, check the website. I can't really do it justice here.

Below is a 'Leisure Dome' style playlist I put together, as well as the artwork for the back of the Pre-Festival Party flyer. I'll be DJing on the night alongside Mex (Black Grass), Wayne Hemingway and his son Jack. If you're local, come along - should be a great night...


1. Valiant Orchestra "Call It What You Like".
2. Ian Carr's Nucleus "Roots".
3. Northern Dance Orchestra "Mas-Que-Nada".
4. Trax Four "Comin' Home Baby".
5. Adam Best "Wall Of Sound".
6. George Shearing "The World Is A Ghetto".
7. Elaine Delmar "Sneakin' Up On You".





(click to enlarge)


And for all you other collector nerds out there, here's a little snap shot of some of my favourite 'Vintage-ness', including some recent pick ups - The Sharp GF 525 Boombox, the 'Record Selector' and a small batch of 'Disco 45' mags. I know. I'm a geek.


(click to enlarge)

Listen, Move & Dance - Stories In Movement

I realised at work today (yes, I think about vinyl, amongst other things, to help pass the time) that I totally forgot to mention my favourite John Dankworth record in the last post. Don't know how because I've been meaning to write about it for a while now. I think maybe because it's a 45 and I'd immediately delved into the Jazz section of my LP's after hearing of his passing.

Anyway, this 7" E.P. - 'King Monkey - Stories In Movement 4' - is somewhat of an obscurity, recorded in 1969 and intended for play in primary school lessons as a tool to help encourage children's' use of imagination and their expression of it through dance. The liner notes give suggestions for teachers on how they might want to try incorporating the music within drama sessions, each 'band', or track, designed to stimulate different actions or emotions. I've scanned in the back cover so you can read the full guidelines but the basic story of 'King Monkey' (Side-B) "takes place in China, long ago, on the Mountain of Fruit and Flowers". As the tale unfolds, moods are set with music and notes are given on how the accompanying dances should be acted out. Side-A is split into five bands - The Chinese Elements - 'Earth', 'Water', 'Fire', 'Wood' and 'Metal', again with suggested dance expressions for each.

The actual music on here is completely bonkers! The best way I can describe it is - quirky Oriental themed Jazz. It kind of has that U.K. 'Library' type sound and features Laurie Hall (Piano/Hammond Organ), Denis Walton (Flute/Clarinet), Ralph Izen (Trumpet), Brian Odger (Bass Guitar) and Stan Barrett (Percussion) playing John Dankworth's original scores. For sampling it's a producers dream with loads of stabs, percussion sounds and even straight loops - I remember freaking out when I first found it.

I've actually got two copies of this record now, the first turning up at a bootsale about ten years ago. The vinyl was a bit battered so I instantly added it to my eBay search notifications and finally managed to cop a nice mint one six months or so ago - it took that long for another one to turn up! Typically I can't find the good copy at the moment so you'll have to make do with a sample from the scratched up one...

John Dankworth 'Wood' (1969 E.M.I. Records)





Whilst I'm on the subject of these 'Stories In Movement' type records I thought I'd include a couple of others with similar concepts - 'Listen, Move and Dance, Nos.1-3' and 'Listen, Move and Dance, No.4', again released in the sixties on the E.M.I. label.

'Nos. 1-3' features a cover shot that instantly takes me back to my own primary school days - sitting cross legged on a cold wooden floor, in shorts and a T-shirt with accompanying black plimsolls, being forced to participate in a weekly lesson which I absolutely dreaded. 'Expression through Dance' was not my thing at all. As a young lad all I wanted to do was kick a football about or sit quietly by myself drawing. In fact thirty years later and it takes a good few pints and sounds far removed from this to get me moving in public.

The music on this one is mainly Classical (arranged by Vera Gray) but does feature some interesting 'Electronic Sound Patterns' composed and created by Daphne Oram who was a founding member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and a credited pioneer in the Electronic music scene. I don't know about you, but I find the 'music' kind of scary and definitely wouldn't have played it to my children when they were five years old, not unless I wanted to torment them for some sick reason.

Again, there's samples to be had off this album so if you see it cheap, pick it up.


(click for supersize, readable scan)

Daphne Oram 'Rhythmic Variations' (1962 E.M.I. Records)





I love the sleeve artwork for 'Listen, Move and Dance - 4' and out of the three records here, definitely includes the most sample material. The vinyl is split into two basic themes - 'Moving Percussion' and 'Electronic Sound Pictures'. Side-A features an endless supply of drum and assorted percussion sounds set across sparse arrangements which allows each individual hit plenty of breathing space, supplying perfect food for the MPC, SP12 or whatever your preferred weapon of choice. I've put together a really decent library of sounds just from this one recording. Side-B is much like the Electronic pieces from 'Listen, Move and Dance, Nos.1-3' but the liner notes on this one include suggestions for imaginative expression, much like the John Dankworth E.P. Desmond Briscoe (the other founding member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) composed and arranged the 'sounds' in collaboration with Vera Gray, who in turn composed 'Moving Percussion' on the flip.

I've recorded a track from the 'Electronic Sound Pictures' as an example of the music on here but if you're one of the very few traditional Hip-Hop beatmakers still left out there, who like to dig for original sample material instead of relying on lame 'stock' sounds, trust me when I say you won't be disappointed turning this one up. I haven't ripped any of the percussion side as with these sorts of records I save the best for myself. Get digging if you wanna hear the rest.


(click for supersize, readable scan)

Desmond Briscoe & Vera Gray 'Machine' (1966 E.M.I. Records)

John Dankworth R.I.P.

On the BBC News tonight they announced the sad news that John Dankworth passed away, earlier today, aged eighty two. I've just spent the last couple of hours pulling out and listening to his albums from my collection, something I've never properly done before. I've always skimmed through them looking for loops or maybe just listening to the odd track, so as a sign of respect decided to take time out to give the music the full attention it deserves.

Breaks collectors might be familiar with some of his material - DJ Premier made very good use of his "Two Piece Flower" on "Above The Clouds" and also hooked up a dope piano loop from the "Off Duty" L.P. I was gonna upload those two tracks but decided to post a lovely tune off his "Life Line" album that seems far more apt - "Tomorrow's World".

This song was used as the theme tune for the British T.V. programme of the same name. Now I'm too young to remember it from the time, but I'm sure for some of the older folks it probably holds quite fond memories. It's a light, bouncy number with obvious pop appeal and features a beautiful flute solo courtesy of Stan Sulzman. Don Rendell also features on the album, as does a host of the usual high-end British Jazz session guys - Harold Fisher, Tony Hymas, Duncan Lamont, etc. If you come across it on your travels, pick it up, it's a great listen from beginning to end with plenty of sample material ("Brass Roots" is the one). Another reason I chose a cut from this record is for the liner notes on the back which give a fairly comprehensive guide to Mr. Dankworth's work up until 1973. I've scanned it super-size for anyone that's interested to have a read...



The Dankworth Big Band "Tomorrow's World" (1973 Philips U.K.)




R.I.P. John Dankworth

Creed Taylor, Inc

OK, so I'm probably not breaking any new ground with a post about C.T.I. Records. In fact, I know I'm not - there's tonnes of great sites on the internet dedicated to the label and probably loads of blogs with individual album reviews and downloads. I couldn't, however, find anywhere else which includes what I have here - a nice little label catalogue from 1975. Initially I was only gonna post up the scans, but then decided it wouldn't hurt to delve into the crates and include some of my favourite albums as well.

I can't for the life of me remember where this catalogue, or 'katalogus' came from because I don't own any C.T.I. releases which aren't either U.K. or U.S. pressings, and as the spelling suggests, this must have been included in an Hungarian or perhaps German release? I've had it in my collection for around ten years now and no matter where it came from, it's a nice little reference point that I find myself going back to from time to time.

The booklet features a full list of releases up until 1975, on Creed Taylor's C.T.I. imprint as well as the subsidiaries 'Kudu' and 'Salvation'. It also includes photos of all the covers, which is what, for me, makes it something special. Although it is only reproduced in black and white the stunning graphic design and photography still translate well - a testament to the artists responsible, in most cases Pete Turner (Photography) and Bob Ciano (Design). In doing a little research for this post I've only just found out that Pete Turner had a book of his photography published in 2006 called "The Color Of Jazz". Looks like a 'must have' that I'll be adding to this years birthday present list.

So anyway, here's the scans...




Front cover



Inside pages (click to enlarge)


Back cover (click to enlarge)


So that's the catalogue, now for a few records.

C.T.I. is one of my favourite non Hip-Hop labels that consistently turned out top notch Jazz throughout the seventies after Creed Taylor split from a production deal with A&M in the sixties to set up his own independent imprint. Finding a C.T.I. record in the wild is always really nice for me. Sure, you can probably pick up a good deal of the catalogue on eBay with great ease, but to find them at Bootsales and Charity shops in the U.K. is quite a struggle - when they do turn up it's a real bonus.

I'd say I've got around thirty or so albums (including releases on A&M and the two subsidiaries) and pretty much everything I've ever bought has been pure quality. From the heavyweight, high gloss, gate-fold sleeves, through to the lush production and arrangements, a record on C.T.I. near enough always guarantees a great package throughout.

Here's my top five tracks from the collection...


Bob James
'Nautilus'

Thought I'd start with what I consider to be the ultimate release on the label, Bob James' classic, 'Nautilus'. Recorded at the tale end of the 'Golden Era', featuring the staple line up of session kings (including Steve Gadd, Idris Muhammad, Ralph MacDonald, Grover Washington, Jon Faddis, Thad Jones, Hugh McCracken, Eric Weissberg, Gary King, etc...) as well as a full orchestra, all six tracks on this album are 'epic' scores of the greatest proportions.

I won't babble on too much about each individual song, who sampled what off them, etc, because like I said before, I'm not breaking any new ground, these are just my personal favourites. If you're into Jazz or collecting breaks it's more than likely you already own this album anyway. If you don't, you really should.

I can honestly say, I never tire of listening to 'Nautilus'. Play it back to back for an hour and it never drains - musical arrangements just don't come much better than this. As for samples? The list goes on and on...

'Nautilus' (1974 C.T.I. Records)





Stanley Turrentine
'Sister Sanctified'

Next up is an album that includes another 'ultimate break and beat' - 'Sister Sanctified' by Stanley Turrentine featuring Milt Jackson on Vibes. You should all know this track anyway with it's classic break, most notably made famous by Boogie Down Productions on 'My Philosophy'. Billy Cobham is rocking the funky drums with Ron Carter on bass. Bob James blesses the keys and Cornell Dupree does his thing plucking away on the guitar. This particular song was written and arranged by the late Weldon Irvine Jnr, and much like 'Nautilus' is a track I never tire of listening to. Many of Stanley Turrentine's albums can be kind of hard work unless you like cheesy Sax solos, but they seemed to have found a nice balance on this one.

Unfortunately I only own a re-issue of this L.P. from 1982 and as much as I avidly avoid them, the year of re-release sort of allows forgiveness in my eyes. Until I find an original that is.

'Sister Sanctified' (1972 C.T.I. Records)





Deodato
'September 13'

In much the same fold as Bob James, Eumir Deodato was a prolific arranger and keys man throughout his career and worked on a whole wealth of classic albums, like wise supplying many a 'break' or 'sample' for producers of later years. 'Prelude' was his debut L.P. on C.T.I. and produced a cross over hit in the shape of his arrangement of 'Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)'. The track was released as a single and is the only 45 on the label that I have ever come across whilst out digging. I've had quite a few copies of this album over the years - I should imagine, thanks to the success of the single, it was the label's biggest seller.

Like most C.T.I. releases, there's a good load of sample material on the L.P. which you can check over at 'The-Breaks' or wherever, but I did recently notice the use of the drums from 'September 13' layered (I think) into Black Sheep's 'Try Counting Sheep'. Very subtle I know, but I'm pretty sure they're in there.

By the way, this is probably my favourite C.T.I. sleeve.

'September 13' (1972 C.T.I. Records)





Grover Washington, Jr.
'Knucklehead'

From the saxophone superstar's Kudu released album 'Feels So Good' I was hard pressed to pick a favourite between 'Knucklehead' and 'Hydra'. Most would probably choose the more obvious 'Hydra' as it features the instantly recognisable break that Black Moon used for their classic single 'How Many Emcees'. After weighing them up I eventually settled on 'Knucklehead' as I've always loved the remix of Yvette Michell's 'Everynight And Everyday' (featuring Doo Wop), which used a loop or two from this.

The album features pretty much all the same musicians I've already mentioned but it's worth noting Jimmy Madison hitting sticks hard on 'Hydra'.

I never noticed the halo round Grover's head until i scanned in the cover today. The glow is far more subtle in the flesh.

'Knucklehead' (1975 Kudu Records)





George Benson
'The Changing World'

Another great cover and another great album. Recorded during George's transitional period, there's hints of some of the cheese he was later to release, but still plenty of quality material on 1974's 'Bad Benson'.

I remember finding this album in an Antiques shop somewhere in South London about thirteen years ago with my mate Si. Can't remember the name of the town. Near Croydon somewhere. Doesn't really matter anyway but I do specifically remember getting goosebumps though the first time I played 'The Changing World' and the sample for Common Sense's 'I Used To Love H.E.R.' dropped in. I love finding breaks I don't know about, especially on songs that are quite emotive anyway, which 'The Changing World' definitely is.

If you haven't heard this track before, and have a short attention span you'll wanna skip to the 4min mark. If you like good music in general just hit play, sit back and relax - it's a beautiful piece of music.

'The Changing World' (1974 C.T.I. Records)





And before I go, thought I'd leave you with this "definition of a holy-grail"! Word to Soulman Phill...

Bob James 'Take Me To The Mardi Gras (Live)'

Del Richardson - Pieces Of A Jigsaw

Being snowed in and with no work yesterday finally gave me the opportunity to record this here album which I'd been meaning to for ages.

I picked it up in the summer and on reflection probably turned out to be my best bootsale find of 2009. Initially I slept on it after briefly skipping through the grooves but after repeat listens it's grown on me hugely. A quite unique melting pot of Soul, Jazz, Folk, Rock and in places Funk make this album hard to slot comfortably into a particular genre but one word that does spring to mind is when trying to describe it is - 'beautiful'.

There's not much I can tell you about Del Richardson that isn't already written somewhere on the internet. Popsike reveals that this album is highly in demand and various other online sources suggest it's a very hard record to turn up (as far as I can tell, it was only released in the U.K.). I imagine the fact that the L.P. is pretty tricky to categorise caused a marketing nightmare at the time and therefore probably didn't shift too many units on release.

As I mentioned above, the styles of music vary from track to track but the album retains a great consistency in sound and feel with well thought out track sequencing, making this an easy and engaging listen from beginning to end. Side-A kicks off with the funkiest cut on the album "Do What You Can" which, if I'm honest, is one of my least favourites. It has a very similar vibe to Tower Of Power's trademark Jazz-Funk sound or even vintage Average White Band which I've never been overly keen on. Don't get me wrong, both groups have turned out some fantastic material and I have a good amount of records by both but there's something, I can't place my finger on, that grates on me after a while. I'm sure a lot of people will love "Do What You Can" but it just doesn't do it for me as much as some of the others tracks on here. My personal highlights come in the shape of Jazz-Folk tinged cuts "Gypsy Girl", "Jigsaw", "Good Morning World", "Mama Jane" and "A Song For Two". All possess an ethereal beauty that touches the soul and are so warming to the ear I can't imagine a single person not liking them.

The package comes complete with 'icing on the cake' - sleeve artwork deigned by revered illustrator Roger Dean who produced a heap of classic album covers from the late '60s through to the late '90s. Breaks collectors will be familiar with his work on staple pieces like Babe Ruth's "First Base" ("The Mexican") and Atomic Rooster's "In Hearing Of..." ("The Rock") plus some harder-to-find gems such as Nucleus' "Elastic Rock" or Lighthouse's "One Fine Morning" (the U.K. release on Vertigo). Strangely the actual labels on the record credit the artist as Dell (instead of Del) Richardson and the album title as "Pieces Of THE Jigsaw". The labels are standard company design so I can only assume that someone at M.C.A. supplied the wrong details to either Roger Dean for the sleeve, or the person working at the pressing plant for the labels. Which one is correct I don't know but it does amaze me when big corporations like M.C.A. (who were manufactured by Decca in the U.K.) make f*ck-ups like this!

Enjoy the complete album below - I don't usually do this. The rip was really only intended for digging buddy Nic Bossa who passed by it whilst suffering from a severe hangover one early Sunday morning. After plodding round the rain soaked booty for an hour or so we decided to call it a day. Just as we were leaving I spotted a car with records still in the boot. Nic half-heartedly flicked through a couple of boxes and, I think, pulled out "Troubleman" before giving up. It was in one of those boxes that "Pieces Of A Jigsaw" turned up and was amongst a handful of about eight other L.P.'s I eventually bought, averaging out at around £2.00 each after a 'bulk-buy' discount.

If Nic had been clear headed that morning I'm sure he would have bought it without hesitation and I do feel a bit guilty so don't mind sharing something that, on another day perhaps, I would have missed out on...


"Do What You Can"



"Gypsy Girl"



"Jigsaw"



"Kodjo"



"Road Song"



"Good Morning World"



"Mama Jane"



"A Song For Two"

'Tis the season...

Just a quick little post to share this super dope Christmas themed Jazz number by Roland Kirk. I only recently got round to listening to his "Hip!" album (picked up amongst this lot) in it's entirety and was totally blown away by "We Free Kings"...

Instead of posting an accompanying photo of the cover (which I'm sure you could find easily enough with a quick google image search), I thought I'd bust out this shot of me macking it with Santa, circa 1979.




Roland Kirk "We Free Kings" (1963 Fontana U.K.)

Take the Train - TAKE THE TRAIN!!!!!!!

Some of you who frequent the superb Daily Diggers blogspot might remember back in May, Kid Dynomite wrote a justified post moaning about the f*cked up Rail service in the Big Smoke and how it sometimes hinders his weekend digging excursions. Well I can definitely vouch for him on the state of our public transport system having spent plenty of time over the years sat stuck on sh*tty platforms waiting for yet another delayed choo-choo. However, just last week I experienced possibly the best train journey of my life. Read on...

I've just got back from holiday with my children down in the West Country. Crap weather all week, bar a couple of nice days, but we still had a great time visiting caves, waterfalls, rock-pool beaches and cycling miles on end. You're not here to read about that though - you wanna know what vinyl I picked up right? Well, I'd promised the girls before we left that there would be no Charity shops or Bootsales all week and I genuinely intended to stick to my intentions of spending that quality time without being distracted by the thought of hidden gems lurking in sleepy village thrift stores. As fate would have it that all changed on only our second day there...

We'd planned out our week by taking turns choosing places we'd like to visit or things we'd like to do. On the Monday I chose to visit Minehead and take the West Somerset Railway steam train down to Bishops Lydeard. The plan was to enjoy the train ride through the countryside, have lunch down in Bishops Lydeard and then head back to Minehead for the evening on the beach. We arrived at the station mid morning, purchased the tickets and made our way down the platform to wait for the next service which was to arrive about twenty minutes later. Halfway along the platform an old shop kiosk was open and selling second hand books to raise money for the upkeep of the line. Sat amongst the books was a small box of records which, of course, I had to sift through. From the fifty or so L.P.'s, I pulled out a desirable Annie Ross and Tony Kinsey Quintet album - 'Loguerhythms', Country Joe & The Fish's 'Together' album, Iron Butterfly's 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida' album, Charlie Mingus 'Blues And Roots' album and a T-Bone Walker album with a beautiful cover called 'Singing The Blues'. All original U.K. 1st pressings in absolutely stone mint condition. As I paid the £2.50 (50p each) I sheepishly asked if they had any more vinyl to which the friendly old boy replied "Yes I think so, come round to the side door and you can go into the back and have a look through the rest of them". I looked at the girls, who's faces said it all - 'here we go again....you promised you wouldn't look for records', but also with a slight forgiveness as if to say 'well OK then, but don't be long'. "I'll be done before the train arrives, I promise". So I head round the side, through the door and into a small storage area crammed with books. Amongst the books lay a shelf with a couple of hundred L.P.s and a few 45s dotted around on top. To cut a not very long story short I ended up pulling out a pile of forty-one albums and a couple of singles. The highlights are listed below but I've also written a little bit more about some of the best finds. Literally all of the records are MINT - I can't remember the last time I came across a good lot in such amazing condition. To top it all off I was only charged £10 for the lot! The lovely old bloke was over the moon and said that they are lucky to sell one or two records a week! I think the kids were pleased for me as they could tell I'd hit something a bit special. I finished in time for the next train and the rest of the day was spent on a total high enjoying the journey and then the evening down on the beach.

Normally when I find little spots that I think are untapped I keep it to myself. I'm not going to be down Minehead anytime soon so don't mind sharing the knowledge. Any locals that might be reading this or if you're planning a holiday down that way, pay it a visit. I totally cleaned it out, but it's probably worth checking every couple of weeks or so.

So there we go, my own little train story. Now read about some of the finds....



The Blue Monks - Emidisc 7" E.P.

I love obscurity and this definitely qualifies in that category making it my favourite find by a whisker. I've googled the group name and run-out groove details (RAY-1 A1 H / RAY-1 B1 H) and so far found nothing. The nearest I've come to ANY information is that they are possibly the same Blue Monks that recorded a track with Murray Head called 'You Bore Me' that appeared a couple of years back on a compilation LP - 'Take My Tip - 25 British Mod Artefacts From The 60s'. Of the four tracks that appear on this E.P. three feature vocals with one instrumental and I'm pretty sure all are cover versions. There's a cracking take on 'In The Midnight Hour' as well as 'Something You Got' plus the Blues standard 'Rock Me Baby'. The instrumental I'm sure is a Booker T & The M.G.s cover, if not, is very reminiscent of their sound. Anyway, check the sound clips below. If anybody out there has any info on the group or preferably this particular release please leave a comment.


The Blue Monks 'Something You Got'



The Blue Monks 'Instrumental'



The Blue Monks 'In The Midnight Hour'



The Blue Monks 'Rock Me Baby






The John Barton Combo at the Top Hat

It was a toss up between this and the above Blue Monks single to decide a favourite out of the haul. Both are obviously super rare (google once again came up with very little). This album is about as 'home-made' as you can get. The white labels have been hand stamped 'JOHN BARTON COMBO' and the front cover features an actual photo (pictured below) of the group stuck onto the budget screen printed flip-back sleeve. To add to the amateur feel of this release, the details on the back are actually upside down in relation to the front! Great stuff...right up my street. So most importantly, what is the music like? All I can say is, for this type of release - FANTASTIC. I've bought a ton of these 'Cabaret' albums over the years. Occasionally one or two turn up the odd decent track but most are completely duff. And surprisingly this album is consistent throughout with nearly every track having some kind of appeal - totally listenable all the way through. Recorded at Impulse Recording Studios, Monday 31st of August 1971, the highlights are covers of 'Vehicle' and 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' (both downloadable in high quality MP3 below - I'm good like that), but there's also note worthy takes on 'Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy', 'Something' and Henry Mancini's 'Sorta Blue' featuring lovely flute solos. If you ever come across this records on your travels snap it up! At a guess I'd say a maximum of 500 were probably pressed up and sold at 'The Top Hat' club where they were presumably the resident band. The Group consisted of - John Barton (Tenor and Piano), Doug Turner (Tenor, Flute, Baritone, Harmonica, Maracas and Tambourine), Pete Peters (Organ and Piano), Ginger Butler (Bass Guitar), Bill Waite (Drums), Dave Hammond (Vocals, Guitar and Tambourine), Audrey Roffe (Vocals), Val Pearson (Vocals) and Richie Slater (Vocals and Bongos). What a great group they were too...check 'em out below (click image to enlarge).




The John Barton Combo 'Vehicle'



The John Barton Combo 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy'





Tubby Hayes and the Paul Gonsalves All Stars

This is probably the most valuable and desirable L.P. I picked up and my first Tubby Hayes album. I was always under the impression that the records released by W.R.C. were licensed re-issues produced for members of the World Record Club. A brief google search revealed they also released albums that were exclusively recorded for them, and this here album is one of them. The W.R.C. records were only available to club members and so were never commercially released making some of the exclusives highly desirable. Nearly everything Tubby Hayes related is sought after amongst the Jazz crowd and on listening to this album I can see why. In all honesty straight ahead Jazz isn't really my cup of tea but I can spot class when I hear it, and this is definitely classy stuff.

All the tracks on here are original compositions with three penned by Hayes, two by Tony Crombie, two by Les Condon and one by Harry South. Personnel consists of Tubby Hayes (Tenor, Flute and Vibraharp), Ray Nance (Violin and Trumpet), Paul Gonsalves (Tenor), Tony Coe (Alto), Jack Sharpe (Baritone), Ronnie Scott (Tenor), Terry Shannon (Piano), Ronnie Stephenson (Drums) and John Lambe (Bass) - a stellar line up of British Jazz musicians.

Grab the super clean rip of 'Speedy Gonsalves' below...


Tubby Hayes and the Paul Gonsalves All Stars 'Speedy Gonsalves'






Nat Adderley Sextet

About eighty percentage of the vinyl I picked up is '60s Jazz and I'm slowly listening through it all. I've only had the chance to take in five albums completely after briefly skipping through all of them. This Nat Adderley album 'In The Bag' was the first to give me that spine tingling sensation upon discovering a used sample for the first time. I won't name names (although I'm sure it's probably listed on one of the many sample snitching websites somewhere), all I'll say is that the beautiful piano and bass loop around the thirty second mark was used by the greatest Hip-Hop producer of all time - check the snippet below.


Nat Adderley Sextet 'R.S.V.P.'






Charlie Mingus

Back in 1962 Mr Mingus was still know as 'Charlie' and released this album entitled 'Oh Yeah'. I've been after this L.P. for years purely for the artwork (it grabbed my attention in the superb 'East Coasting' book by Graham Marsh), but never wanted to pay good money for it. Well I got it now and after listening through found a sample I cannot place for the life of me. Take a listen to the snippet below and if you know who used the horns on the forty second mark please leave a comment and put me out of my misery. I've got Showbiz or Freestyle Professors rattling around in my head but I don't think it's either of those - sounds like a Bronx related sample though...


Charlie Mingus 'Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am'





Van McCoy

This is pretty much the 'odd one out' of the bunch. Nearly everything else is from the '60s and either Jazz, Blues or Rock related. I'd pretty much given up gambling on Van McCoy albums as nearly ever one I'd picked up previously turned out to be weak string saturated Disco. The only album of his that's stayed in the collection is 'The Real McCoy' and that's only for the three second Beatnuts "Get on down and party" vocal sample!!! Anyway, something told me to buy it - and I'm glad I did. By far his strongest album I've come across with a less polished feel and funkier rhythms (I hate that famous Disco beat he was known for). It earned a full listen after needle dropping and came up trumps with the track 'Soul Improvistations'. A killer smooth groove with shuffling drums, funky percussion (courtesy of Ralph McDonald), whaling horns, nice flute and guitar action plus a bumping bassline. The trademark strings are still present but not so prominant than on his later recordings. As well as being a great track throughout the real clincher is a dope-ass B-Boy break just after the three minute mark. Check it out below.

By no means the rarest album out of the batch, in fact taking a look on eBay, it's probably the most common, however it's something I would more than likely have over looked for any more than the 24p that it worked out costing. Real heads can check the track in it's entirety below and decide if they wanna persue a physical copy for cheap - MP3 leeches can grab a clean high quality rip.


Van McCoy 'Soul Improvisations'





I'll more than likely write some follow up posts as I work my way through the rest of the albums. For now though here's a list of the majority of finds - I'm gonna be selling some so won't put them down yet, I'll wait until I see what I get for them and keep you posted...



Charlie Mingus 'Blues And Roots' (1960 London/Atlantic U.K. Silver/Red label)
Charlie Mingus 'Oh Yeah' (1962 London/Atlantic U.K. Silver/Plum label)
Charles Mingus 'Mingus Dynasty' (196? CBS France)
Charles Mingus 'Portraits' (196? W.R.C. U.K.)
Nat Adderley Sextet 'In The Bag' (196? Riverside U.K.)
Tubby Hayes & The Paul Gonsalves All Stars 'Change Of Setting' (1967 W.R.C. U.K.)
Annie Ross & The Tony Kinsey Quintet 'Loguerhythms' (1963 Transatlantic U.K.)
Dave Lambert, Jon Hendricks & Annie Ross 'Sing A Song Of Basie' (1958 HMV U.K. Gold/Plum label)
John Coltrane & Don Cherry 'The Avante-Garde' (1966 Atlantic U.K. Plum/Red label)
Miles Davis 'In Person At The Blackhawk Vol.II (1961 CBS U.K.)
Joe Harriot Double Quintet 'Indo-Jazz Suite' (1966 Columbia/E.M.I. U.K.)
Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Smith 'Blue Bash!' (1963 Verve U.K.)
Modern Jazz Quartet 'Pyramid' (1960 London/Atlantic U.K. Silver/Red label)
Modern Jazz Quartet 'One Never Knows' (1959 London/Atlantic U.K. Silver/Red label)
Roland Kirk 'Hip!' (1963 Fontana U.K. Silver/Blue label)
Milt Jackson Quartet 'Milt Jackson Quartet' (1963 Oriole/Realm U.K.)
Cannonball Adderley 'Nippon Soul' (1963 Riverside U.K.)
John Coltrane 'Ballads' (196? W.R.C. U.K.)
Jimmy Smith 'Organ Grinder Swing' (1965 Verve U.K.)
Dave and Iola Brubeck 'The Real Ambassadors' (196? CBS U.K.)
Duke Ellington 'Latin American Suite' (197? Fantasy U.S.)
Charles Mingus 'At Carnegie Hall' (1974 Atlantic U.K.)
Jimmy Giuffre 'Four Brothers' (1960 Atlantic U.K.)
Stan Getz 'Another World' (1978 CBS U.K.)
Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry 'At The Bunkhouse' (1965 Philips U.K. Silver/Black label)
T Bone Walker 'Singing The Blues' (1960 Liberty U.K. Silver/Black label)
The John Barton Combo 'At The Top Hat' (1970 U.K. white label)
Country Joe & The Fish 'Together' (1968 Vanguard U.K. Silver/Black label)
Iron Butterfly 'In-Gadda-Da-Vida' (1968 Atlantic U.K. Plum/Red label MONO)
Manfred Mann 'Five Faces Of Man' (1966 HMV U.K. Black/Silver/Red label)
V/A 'Raw Blues' (1967 Decca/Ace Of Clubs U.K.)
Bonzo Dog Band 'History Of The Bonzos' (1974 United Artists U.K.)
Van McCoy 'From Disco To Love' (1975 Buddah U.S.)
The Blue Monks 'Untitled four track E.P.' (196? Emidisc U.K.)



Like I said, there's more to come - a couple of heavyweight items which I should get very good money for - I'll let you know about those as soon as the deals are done. Just goes to show though, there's still quality vinyl out in the wild if you look hard enough. A good bit of luck along the way always helps too!!!

So not all train services are bad Dyno - I highly recommend the West Somerset steam line if you're down that way!!!