The Jazz Tome
LightNews LightNews
banner
thejazztome.info
The Jazz Tome
@thejazztome.info
530 followers 240 following 270 posts
A jazz fan since hearing Blues & The Abstract Truth in 2004, I search for 60+ year old ephemera so you can read while you listen.

Visit https://thejazztome.info for 500+ albums of liner notes & reviews, ad/paywall free.

Ran by @grogg.bsky.social in PDX
Posts Replies Media Videos
thejazztome.info
Tonight, for the 600th album added to The Jazz Tome, I've selected a crowd pleaser. Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil (1966) is one of the crown jewels of the Blue Note catalog. This is an album themed around legends, folklore, and black magic. thejazztome.info/wayne-shorte... #jazzsky #musicsky
An 80% blue-tinged, 20% solid white cover. The words "Speak No Evil" are centered at the top, along with lipsticked lip-prints. Wayne Shorter, in coat and tie, looks on at what might be the ghost of a woman dominating the right side of the cover.
November 10, 2025 at 4:30 AM
thejazztome.info
On May 15, 1953, when Rocky Marciano defeated Jersey Joe Walcott to defend his title, Bird threw the night's biggest punch by calling Dizzy his "worthy constituent." Tonite's Jazz Tome entry is Jazz at Massey Hall, history's greatest jazz concert. thejazztome.info/the-quintet-... #jazzsky #musicsky
A plain white poster with five small pictures of musicians in the middle. The poster lists the names of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus and notes they'll be playing at Massey Hall at 8:30pm on Friday, May 15.
November 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM
thejazztome.info
I would like to thank the kind people of Toronto for buying half the tickets before May 1, 1953, ensuring that I could listen to the Jazz at Massey Hall album 72 years later. #jazzsky #musicsky
From the March 11, 1953 issue of Down Beat: Bird, Diz to Pace Toronto Jazz Fete Toronto—Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Max Roach will be among some 20 musicians participating in the New Jazz Society's first annual Festival of Creative Jazz at Massey Hall, May 15. Also in the one-night festival will be a 17-piece band directed by pianist Calvin Jackson. The non-profity society, a local, non-affiliated group, has announced that 1,500 tickets (about half the house) must be sold by May 1. Net proceeds will be used to promote future concerts.
October 30, 2025 at 3:44 AM
thejazztome.info
This is me, at 1:30am on a Friday night.
Charlie Day, from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, looking extremely frazzled as he explains a conspiracy. He's wearing a short sleeve blue dress shirt, with a brown striped tie, talking excitedly while leaning against a cork board holding approximately 300 pieces of paper with red string linking some of them, while holding a cigarette in his other hand.
October 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
thejazztome.info
Who did Mingus' ex-wife, Celia, end up with after divorcing Charles? You guessed it, Saul Zaentz! The timeline is rough, but Mingus was "unofficially" married to his next wife, Sue, in 1966, so maybe Celia helped facilitate the the 1968 record deal? Maybe she didn't have his best interest in mind?
A snippet of an obituary taken from here: https://ecologistics.org/memory-celia-zaentz/ Celia had an amazing life, marrying jazz bassist Charles Mingus in 1951 and starting legendary jazz label Debut Records with him in New York in 1952. Celia was friends with all of the greats at that time, including Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell. After divorcing Mingus, Celia moved to San Francisco, where she took a job with a small Berkeley label, Fantasy Records. She fell in love and married Saul Zaentz and the couple eventually bought Fantasy. Shortly after, they discovered John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival, which became one of the biggest bands of the 1970s. Saul had always wanted to produce movies and they formed Fantasy Films, which later went on to produce "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus," and "The English Patient." Celia went from hobnobbing with jazz greats to the inner circles of Hollvwood.
October 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
thejazztome.info
Who was running Debut (later Fantasy) records at the time? None other than Saul Zaentz! The guy John Fogerty held a long long grudge with over his handling of CCR during the same late 60s period. Not exactly who I'd have expected Mingus to sign with after angrily fighting music industry corruption.
A news clip from the March 29, 1968 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle. Mingus Makes New Recording Deal Ralph J. Gleason CHARLES MINGUS, the great bassist and composer whose plan to form a record company outside the formal channels of the business of music, ran into financial difficulties, is making his records available again. Mingus has made an agreement with Debut Records (which are distributed nationally by Fantasy Records) to issue his celebrated "Mingus at Monterey," two LP packages as well as other material from the Mingus label. The Mingus at Monterey package, which has been unavailable for almost a year, was sold via mail order by Mingus for some time with extraordinary reaction. * * * THE MINGUS performance at Monterey was one of the most exciting and famous concerts of the ten years of Monterey. Mingus' album from it achieved an amazing reputation despite the fact that it was not available through ordinary channels. It was the subject of unanimous critical approval throughout the jazz world. Mingus, who is presently in New York where he is working on a series of ballets for the Boston Ballet, had been handling the entire operation of the record company, an overwhelming task for a musician. Early this month he concluded an arrangement with Saul Zaentz, who has been operating Debut Records for several years, to issue the Monterey album and the other albums which Mingus issued on the private label: Mingus' Town Hall Concert, 1964; Mingus' My Favorite Quintet (a 1965 concert at the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis) and "Music Written for Monterey but Not Heard" (the album of the 1965 Monterey music as it was performed at U.C.L.A.). Debut Records itself was originally formed by Mingus in the early Fifties to issue several single discs and a number of concert and studio recordings' by his group and other jazz players.
October 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
thejazztome.info
Just learned some wild facts. Charles Mingus, who (correctly) felt that recording labels were stealing his money, set up a mail order business to under the Jazz Workshop label to distribute his records himself. A couple of years later he'd ran out of money and ended up signing with Debut Records.
Charles Mingus' Town Hall Concert, originally released circa 1966 as a private pressing only available by mail order.
October 25, 2025 at 8:42 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight at The Jazz Tome I have Charlie Parker - Bird at St. Nick's, a Feb. 1950 live recording of just Bird's solos. The tape's choppiness & din of the crowd make it almost unlistenable, but considering the context it's a wonder this exists at all #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/charlie-park...
A man in a light blue suit plays an alto saxophone for all he's worth.
October 24, 2025 at 7:40 AM
thejazztome.info
I want to point out that Presenting Red Mitchell has a cat on the cover. Don't think I'd noticed that, in all the times I've looked at this album, until just now. #jazzsky #musicsky
A red headed bass player in a white shirt plays a duet on the upright bass with a kitty who also has white sleeves.
October 19, 2025 at 9:04 AM
thejazztome.info
I knew that Gerry battled a heroin addiction on and off through the 50s (as did a lot of musicians). I did not know, however, that he spent 3.5 months in prison including three weeks in maximum security, in part for taking a rap for Chet Baker. It doesn't sound like it was pleasant.
An paragraph excerpt from a piece on Gerry Mulligan written by Nat Hentoff that appeared in the 3/28/59 issue of The New Yorker: "For nineteen or twenty days, I went through the inferno. It was a fantastic experience. I'd been working on music and was in a highly charged state of mind, and also I'd been having a fair amount of freedom. Now I was stuck in a cell about four feet wide and six feet long with two other guys. There were two bunks, and one of us had to sleep on the floor. We had one partial meal in the morning, another in the evening, and nothing at midday. No mail, no visitors, nothing to read, and any time the guard came, we had to jump up and stand at attention. We went to the showers once a week and spent the rest of the time in the cell, which contained the two bunks, a john, and a sink.
October 7, 2025 at 8:24 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's Jazz Tome addition: one of my favorite albums from one of my favorite saxophonists, Gerry Mulligan's What is There to Say? (1959). Included here is the New Yorker profile from March, 1959. At 21,000 words... it's fairly in-depth. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/gerry-mullig...
A man in a long-sleeve red shirt, against a black background, stares contemplatively downward at a 45 degree angle while leaning on a baritone saxophone. The Gerry Mulligan Quartet is written across the top in bold letters. What Is There To Say?, in smaller letters, below.
October 7, 2025 at 7:55 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's addition to The Jazz Tome is Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959). "Music is for our feelings," Coleman says. "I think jazz should try to express more kinds of feeling than it has up to now." #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/ornette-cole...
An white Atlantic Records LP sleeve with red text stating The Shape of Jazz to Come - Ornette Coleman. Ornette's portrait takes up the lion's share of the sleeve. He's standing up against a red background wearing a black sweater and holding an alto saxophone under his arms.
September 29, 2025 at 7:45 AM
thejazztome.info
Working on a little album for tonight called The Shape of Jazz to Come, which seems like has gotten lost a bit in the 1959 "best jazz year of all time" discourse over the years. Ornette Coleman's plastic saxophone made people question their assumptions about the upcoming decade. #jazzsky #musicsky
A portrait of Ornette Coleman from his 1959 Atlantic album The Shape of Jazz to Come. Ornette is wearing a black sweater with a shirt and tie underneath while holding a saxophone under his arm.
September 28, 2025 at 10:33 PM
thejazztome.info
Of the albums I added this week my favorite is Lee Konitz - The Real Lee Konitz (1958), a live date recorded in Pittsburgh. Particularly insightful are the informal liner notes by Lee himself that describe the recording process and his philosophy. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/lee-konitz-t...
A man in a suit and a distinctly square 1950s haircut and glasses holding an alto saxophone while staring off into the distance. It's on a white background, with the Atlantic fan logo in the top left.
September 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM
thejazztome.info
Playing an old favorite today. Dave Brubeck with both Mulligan and Desmond from the fall of 1972. #jazzsky
The cover for Dave Brubeck's concert We're All Together Again for the First Time. This is a module fidelity CD, with the gold border on top. It lists Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, Paul Desmond, Alan Dawson, and Jack Six as the five participants. The MOFI CD for the aforementioned album, UDCD 627. It's black with gold text. Six tracks listed, including a memorable version of Take Five, recorded in October and November of 1972.
September 15, 2025 at 6:26 PM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's Jazz Tome addition is Dave Brubeck at Storyville (1954) featuring three recordings of the Quartet from the famous Boston night club. The funny thing here is that Columbia acknowledges the "dubious fidelity" of one of the tracks. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/dave-brubeck...
An innovative LP cover in the style of a newspaper, entitled The Columbia Jazzette. In addition to columns on both the front and the back, there's even a clever weather inset and a New York Times-like creed. Also featured are pictures of Brubeck and Desmond.
September 14, 2025 at 8:52 AM
thejazztome.info
Had to take a second and share this neat early Columbia records ad from the 11/19/1954 issue of the Hammond Times (Hammond, Indiana). #jazzsky #musicsky
A Columbia Records ad for J.W. Millikan on 449 State Street in Hammond, Indiana advertising a Rosemary Clooney record, a Walt Disney record, and Dave Brubeck's Storyville LP. At the top is an adorable Santa Claus imploring you to give the gift of Lasting Pleasure.
September 14, 2025 at 4:10 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's new Jazz Tome album is Benny Bailey - Big Brass (1961) on Candid. Benny, who expatriated to Europe for a better quality of life, was called "a real trumpet player" by Quincy Jones in the liner notes. Hard to beat that as an endorsement. thejazztome.info/benny-bailey... #jazzsky #musicsky
A brown and gold cover featuring the words Big Brass and Benny Bailey in big block letters on top of Benny blowing on his trumpet.
September 11, 2025 at 6:55 AM
thejazztome.info
Stayed up late to add Freddie Redd's Music from The Connection (1960) to The Jazz Tome. This is modern jazz that was used in an Off-Broadway play to "organically and dynamically further dramatic action rather than merely decorate or sabotage it." #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/freddie-redd...
Jackie McLean (saxophone) and Freddie Redd (piano) pictured amongst the cast of a controversial Off-Broadway play in which at least 26 peopled fainted at the portrayal of someone taking heroin.
September 5, 2025 at 9:07 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's Jazz Tome addition is Donald Byrd's Fuego from 1960. The critical consensus hails it as a major stepping stone for both Byrd and Jackie McLean. I can't speak to that, but I can tell you that the title track cooks. thejazztome.info/donald-byrd-... #jazzsky #musicsky
Donald, sitting with his arms crossed in front of him, looking off in the distance stage right. Album is tinted red (fire?) with yellow text listing the album title and Byrd's cohorts.
September 4, 2025 at 4:49 AM
thejazztome.info
Posted a second album, Lou Donaldson's The Time is Right (1960). This features a young Blue Mitchell on trumpet. From all accounts, his solo on The Nearness of You is the highlight of the album & you'll want to avoid the overcooked Mack the Knife. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/lou-donaldso...
A dapper looking fellow in a suit and hat checks the time on his watch. He happens to have an alto sax in his lap. Cover is tinted blue.
September 3, 2025 at 6:51 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's Jazz Tome addition is Count Basie & Duke Ellington's 1962 album First Time! This summit, though less than the sum of its parts, is a fun early-stereo LP as someone had the idea to put one ork. in the left channel and another in the right. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/basie-elling...
An album cover in the style of a concert poster, with text as follows: The Count Meets the Duke First Time! 2 Great Orchestras Duke Ellington and Count Basie
September 3, 2025 at 3:44 AM
thejazztome.info
Tonight's Jazz Tome entry is Lionel Hampton's You Better Know It!!! (1965). A sentimental album, pairing Hamp with Ben Webster, and letting them riff on '30s Goodman numbers and newer stuff like A Taste of Honey. If you like vibes this is a winner. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/lionel-hampt...
A man in collared shirt and suit jacket, smoking a cigar, going to town on vibes.
August 31, 2025 at 8:46 AM
thejazztome.info
New at The Jazz Tome is Lester Young & Teddy Wilson - Pres and Teddy (1959). These 1956 tracks were released shortly before Lester's death & ended up being a strong memorial album. Also included here is extra info on Young's place in jazz history. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/lester-young...
Lester Young on tenor saxophone, Teddy Wilson on piano, both shown in sport jackets. Muted black and white cover with yellow Pres and Teddy in the top right corner.
August 29, 2025 at 7:09 AM
thejazztome.info
New at The Jazz Tome is Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane (1961). This contains the only three recorded tracks from the Monk/Coltrane group that took NYC's Five Spot Cafe by storm in 1957. From all accounts it was a pivotal time in Trane's career. #jazzsky #musicsky thejazztome.info/thelonious-m...
Jazz LP artwork showing a side-profile painting of Thelonious Monk, complete with signature goatee, with THELONIOUS MONK with JOHN COLTRANE" in big bold letters over the top.
August 13, 2025 at 7:01 AM