torsdag 2 mars 2017

KING OLIVER AND HIS JAZZ BAND/KING JOE (Chicago 1923) 33S 1065 (-54) UK

Whenever I see early 10 inch records containing transfers from old 78:s in the used bins I buy. As I am interested in history of modern music the best thing would be to collect the originals, but lack of storage and decent equipment has forced me too choose this second best alternative instead. Many of these 10 inch have great audio and when played by modern means you can also enjoy some of the original atmosphere. Not a jazz expert so I can't go into musical details with this, but as I understand the recordings King Oliver and his band made around 1923 were cruisal for the development of later, more modern jazz. Not only through form and idiom, but also by including band members that later would be prominent in the genre - here Louis Armstrong and Johnny Dodds. As the original takes for this were made before microphones and electricity took over, the recordings are all acoustic, meaning the musicians had to gather round and play into a big "horn" in the room. And since that equipment couldn't grasp very high or low notes you get the mid-register and not much more. So the audio here isn't very good, by modern standard hardly bearable - very dense with all cuts sounding about the same. Still it is a very good time-travel...back to 1923 when one of today's most prominent music genres was taking shape. Just have to close my eyes and I'm there listening to the very notes they played, a time-space slice of King Oliver and his band from ninetyfour years ago hitting me now. I guess there are other issues containing the same cuts, but to my knowledege this one was UK only. First had label as shown here, glossy cover with crescent flips and see-through rice-paper inner. (CLÄZ*) (NYFÖ*)

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