analog baritone home

let me introduce you to one of the greatest sites on the world wide web. it’s called Honey where you been so long?, and it’s a gold mine of some of the greatest down home soulful blues you eva did wanna here child. just search the catergories on the right hand side of the page and see what i mean. actually, i suggest just starting on the first page and then working your way back into the archives. you can’t go wrong with almost anything on this site.

mm-mm. sho is good.

i’m usually not one for christmas music (although i have to admit that when sung by the greats it can be quite enjoyable). nevertheless, this is absolutley brilliant (and i guess it’s not really a christmas song anyway). everything about this clip is great - the set, the voice, the phrasing. i even like that he’s wearing his suit jacket the traditional way for cold weather. the reason mens suit jackets have that button hole on the lapel is so you can close it in cold weather. it’s just there for show nowadays.

take it frankie

and thanks to DJ MANE ONE for finding this clip.

well, i was gonna tell you all about how the blogging world is new to me and that i’m just starting this site but that it’ll be updated a lot; and that i’ll be posting all kinds of things about early 20th century american music (especially jazz and blues); and that i’ll also be posting things related to my own music/singing…and blah blah blah. let’s just forget about all that crap and listen to one of the greatest singers of all time:

it took me several times of watching that performance by billie until i didn’t cry anymore. but watching it once again just then (even though i have it on dvd) choked me up a bit. i still get the chills (literally) every time i watch this. the second she opens her mouth and starts to sing - the way the black and white looks, the cool and relaxed look on her face, the warm sound of the greatest musicians in the world playing real jazz, and how the words just slide from her throat and into that great old rca ribbon mic - there just aren’t words. billie is just so…well, you know.

man, and lester! woooo! his performance here is a perfect example of why he’s my favorite sax player of all time. when he gets up and starts to play and how it lights billie up, just kills me every time. and not to mention ben webster, and coleman hawkins, and roy eldridge! pfff. that’s what is meant when i say REAL music. it’s a little disheartening to think there’s nothing like that anymore. and believe me we’ll get into that topic in posts to come.