Ace Cannon- Cool ‘n Saxy

This was $1 and had a bunch of songs I like on it.  Ace Cannon has been on this site many times in the past so this should make for a brief post as I have exhausted the subject.  Dare I get caught up with this week’s posts?  We shall see.

This was released by Hi Records in 1977, a bit later in his career as a storied session man.  Pretty decent record.  It has a lot of songs I know and like including “My Elusive Dream”, “Let It Be”, “Everybody’s Talking”, “Lodi”, and “House of the Rising Sun”.

Again the songs are pretty good but not really what I would describe as cool or sexy with the exception of “Rainy Night in Georgia”.  That is why I used it as a sample.

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Good album for a dollar.  Satisfactory.

Dolf van der Linden- Dutch Sax

dscn6186This was one dollar.  I have owned this and have been trying to post this for the last year and a half but for some reason or another, it always gets pulled from the rotation at the last minute.  Well, no time like the present.dscn6449

This record gives me a good transition into talking about my vacation that I took two weeks ago,  Went to Amsterdam.  It had been two years since I went last.  I was kind of on the fence about going and truthfully, I was still questioning the decision two days into my trip.  However, I wanted to stay somewhat familiar with the city and if I did not go, it would be another two years or so for the next trip. By the end of the trip, I was pretty glad I went.dscn6541

Weather was awful but bearable.  Spent a lot of time at old places I like to go to.  I also went to places where I have not been for a while.  Spent many of the days down in Rembrantplein.  Also spent a good amount of time at Vondelpark, Oosterark, Waterlooplein, Rozengratch, Museumplein, and the northeast area by Prins Hendikkade area.  I spent the nights mostly around the Dam City Center.  I went to one art exhibition, the swap meet, and the zoo among other places.dolph

This album is led by Dolf van der Linden, a popular orchestra leader born in Vlaardingen, Netherlands in 1915.  He was well known in his country wit some significant recognition throughout Europe.  Known for his arrangements of popular music, he died in 1999 at the age of 83.  wwwopac

The alto sax solos were performed by Cees Verschoor.  I do not know anything about him and for some reason was less inclined to do much research on the subject today.  As far as the record goes, it is lush orchestration.  Six Duke Ellington songs grace this album. I liked this the first time I listened to it. Not so much the second time.  For some reason, the third time was a bit better. Other than being done by Dutch musicians, there is not much Dutch about this record.  As far as music goes, it is pretty American sounding.dscn6187

For a sample, I was torn between “Passion Flower”, “Passionata” and “All Too Soon”.  For some reason, I went with “Passion Flower”.metropole-orkest-dolf-van-der-linden-002

As far as this record goes, meh.  A bit too slow for my liking.

Gerry Mulligan and his Sextet- Mainstream of Jazz

dscn5367This was $3.00.  Despite the worn out cover, the album is actually in good shape.gerry-mulligan-040613

Gerry Mulligan was perhaps the greatest baritone saxophonist ever.  Given this, it is his arranging which perhaps was his greatest skill.  Born in Queens in 1921, Mulligan moved around as a youth before moving back to New York in 1946 and working as an arranger for Gene Krupa’s band. In 1948, Mulligan joined a nine piece formed by Miles Davis.  The recordings done over the years formed the Birth Of Cool album that really defined Cool Jazz. Three of the tunes , “Rocker”, “Venus de Milo” and “Jeru” (named after himself) were written and arranged by Mulligan. From this success, he started recording his own albums in 1951 as well as writing arrangements for Stan Keaton.gerry-mulligan-2-1110x740

During his time with Keaton, Mulligan became acquainted with Chet Baker.  After a few stints with Baker sitting in, Mulligan formed the first piano-less jazz quartet with Baker on trumpet.  The shows and recordings garnered major acclaim,  However, an arrest for heroin possession put the brakes on the quartet.  While Mulligan was serving a six month sentence, Baker really took off on his own.  Thus, when Mulligan tried to reform the quartet after his release, Baker declined.  It should be noted as while both men were junkies, Mulligan successfully kicked the habit while Baker succumbed to his, which eventually led to his death.4109

In contrast to the struggles of Baker, Mulligan continued to have success as both a musician and arranger. He continued to work until his death in 1966 from complications from knee surgery.  He was 68.gerry-mulligan-1960-resize

Mulligan’s webpage which fills in the blanks from above as there are many

This album was released after his jail stint, in 1956. Featuring Zoot Sims on tenor sax, Jon Eardley/Don Ferrara on trumpet, Bobby Brookmeyer on trombone, Bill Crow on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums, the album is a six song collection of West Coast Jazz, although it is the lesser known of the work Mulligan did that year. You don’t really think about it now but at the time, a piano less jazz group must have seemed pretty strange.  All in all, this is a pretty solid jazz album.dscn5368

For a sample, I went with the opening track, “Elevation”.

dd9d12d6074077b689cdeb0de98b1Satisfactory record.

Ace Cannon-Looking Back

DSCN5259 (800x792)It’s Labor Day and the start of another month of the Show O’ Donkey.  How is this month looking?  I mean we have things this month.  Some spots could have been better but overall, I am proud of what we are doing this September.  This was all of one dollar.  I liked the song list.  Possibly the inclusion of “Night Life” cemented this sale but as I bought it over a year ago, it is hard to say with any accuracy.DSCN5314

Speaking of which, despite telling myself I was not going to buy any more records for a while, I went ahead and hit up three Half Price Books during the 20% Labor Day Sale.  I went to the one on Hwy 6 and Veteran’s Memorial because they used to have the most cheap records, the one on FM529 because they have the best records, and the one in Pearland because they have 25 cent records.  At least they all did last year.  Veteran’s Memorial had a bunch of cheap records but they went up from $1 to a $1.49 and $1.99.  Talk about bleeding me dry.  Also there were not as many $1 records in Pearland and no 25 centers.  FM 529 remained consistent with a good selection but mostly high end stuff.  Drats to this economic downturn as I guess it means the end of $1 records at Half Price.

As far as this record goes, this is the third Ace Cannon album I have posted so I kind of exhausted what I can say about him.  This, I think was his second album, released in 1962, a year after his breakout single “Tuff”.  It was recorded on the Hi label and has a pretty good selection of songs.  The title track, “Volare”, “Lazy River”, “My Blue Heaven”, and “September Song” seem to be the tracks I remember liking.  I felt his sax on this album was a bit restrained as compared to other albums I have heard of his.DSCN5260 (800x781)

For a sample, I went with the instrumental standard, “Harlem Noctune”.  Written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939 for the band they were in, the Ray Noble Orchestra, the song has been covered over 500 times.  ace32

As far as this album goes, I will have to say meh.  Do a search for the other two Cannon albums I have posted.  I feel they are better.  Maybe this is unfair.  It was his second effort after all.  Well, I still feel Cannon did much better work so I have to measure thus accordingly.