The Quarantined Jazz Voyager

The Quarantined Jazz Voyager is choosing from the library the 1960 album coming from trombonist Julian Priester titled Spiritsville released on the Riverside subsidiary label Jazzland. It was recorded on July 12, 1960 at the Plaza Sound Studios in New York City and was produced by Orrin Keepnews.

The tracks include Chi-Chi (Charlie Parker) ~ 4:43; Blue Stride ~ 6:15; It Might As Well Be Spring (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) ~ 5:47; Excursion (Walter Benton) ~ 5:42; Spiritsville ~ 7:31; My Romance (Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) ~ 5:50; and Donna’s Waltz ~ 5:32

The personnel brought in for this recording session were: Julian Priester ~ trombone, Walter Benton ~ tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 2 & 4-7), Charles Davis ~ baritone saxophone (tracks 1, 2 & 4-7), McCoy Tyner ~ piano, Sam Jones – bass, and Art Taylor ~ drums.

Remain diligent my fellow voyagers in staying healthy, continue to practice social distancing, and don’t be so anxious to rush back to the new normal. It has been said that music soothes the savage beast, so listen to great music. I share that music to give you a little insight into the choices this voyager has made over the years of collecting during this sabbatical from jet setting investigations of jazz around the globe.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Alex Welsh was born on July 9, 1929 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Welsh and started playing in the teenage Leith Silver Band and with Archie Semple’s Capital Jazz Band.  After a move to London in the early 1950s, he formed a band with clarinetist Archie Semple, pianist Fred Hunt, trombonist Roy Crimmins, and drummer Lenny Hastings. The band played a version of Chicago-style Dixieland jazz and was part of the traditional jazz revival in England in the 1950s.

In the 1960s, Welsh’s band played with Earl Hines, Red Allen, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell, and Ruby Braff. During that period and into the early 1970s, Welsh frequently toured, including many visits to the United States. Influenced by his fellow trad jazz bandleader Chris Barber, he built up an extensive musical repertoire, working from popular music, jazz, and a large mainstream following for ensembles.

Welsh recorded under the Decca Record label from 1955 and had four records released that year, I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise, Blues My Naughtie Sweetie Gives To Me, and What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry, and Dixielanders. Although none of these recordings charted, he found some success with the single Tansy from the film No My Darling Daughter.

In 1963 he was part of the biggest trad jazz event in Britain and would go on to tour internationally, playing festivals on both the American and European continents. He was a regular in the early 1970s, playing clubs around London and having continued success as a vocalist and playing Dixieland, and trad jazz. Singer, bandleader, cornetist, and trumpeter Alex Welsh passed away on June 25, 1982 in Hillingdon Hospital in London, England, at the age of 52.

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Johnny Mince, born John Muenzenberger on July 8, 1912 in Chicago Heights, Illinois played with Joe Haymes from 1929 to 1934. He recorded with Red Norvo and Glenn Miller in 1935. Working with Ray Noble from 1935-37 and Bob Crosby in 1936 he went on to become a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1937.

Mince played with Dorsey through 1941 and was one of the participants in his Clambake Seven recordings before entering the military. After an extended stint to the end of World War II, he became a studio musician for several decades. He taught locally in New York City and played in small-time ensembles in the 1950s and 1960s.

1974 saw Johnny returning to play with the Dorsey Orchestra after Tommy’s death, then followed this engagement with the New Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1976, Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, and the World’s Greatest Jazz Band. As a member of the Great Eight, he toured Europe in 1983. He continued to play at jazz revival festivals until his retirement due to ill health.

He recorded as a leader only late in his life, for Monmouth Evergreen in 1979, Jazzology Records in 1980, and Fat Cat Jazz in 1982. Never receiving much recognition beyond that of his fellow musicians, he did not lead his own band. As an unknown musician, Tommy Dorsey invited him to become his partner in starting his first band but Johnny’s father talked him out of it due to risk. Clarinetist Johnny Mince passed away on December 23, 1994 in Boca Raton, Florida.

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Three Wishes

When the Baroness inquired of Ira Jackson what his three wishes were and he replied:

1. 1. “My wishes have nothing to do with my music, directly. This has puzzled me all my life. I wish I could make a trip through the entire universe. I’d like to find the key to the univeerse, how it all started, what it is really. What is this? That’s be my first wish.”

   2. “And then, the second, I… since I have to live on this planet, I wish there was peace here. That’s about all for the second wish. ”

   3. “I just wish I could use all of my mind, all of my potential I’m working on that anyway. Like one works on scales, you know? You can practice using it. That’s what it would be.”

*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter

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Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Charles Redland was born Carl Gustaf Mauritz Nilsson on July 7, 1911 in Södertälje, Sweden. The son of a musician, he learned several instruments when he was young.

In the 1930s he was a member of bands in which he played alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. During that decade he also worked as a leader.

On clarinet, he recorded with Benny Carter in Sweden in 1936. He composed and arranged jazz and popular music. He also composed for more than 80 films, as well as for radio and television programs. Alto saxophonist, Charles Redland passed away on August 18, 1994 in Stockholm, Sweden.

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