Milt Jackson - Namesake

Milt Jackson at Parnell's Jazz Club, Seattle, WA, circa 1980
Photo by Steven M. O'Kelly


"Namesake" is the B-side of Riverside Records 45 R45479 'Round Midnight was the A-side, but dad marked the index card with the B-side cut because that was the song he bought the record for.
This NYC session from July 5, 1962 featured Ernie Royal, Clark Terry, Snooky Young (tp) Melba Liston, Tom McIntosh (tb) Willie Ruff (frh) Earl Warren (as) James Moody (ts) Jerome Richardson (ts, fl) Tate Houston (bars) Milt Jackson (vib) Hank Jones (p) Ron Carter (b) Connie Kay (d) Ernie Wilkins (arr, cond)

Cannonball Adderley - The Uptown

Another great swingin' Cannonball Adderley, Riverside Records 45 from 1961. The session players were Nat Adderley, Ernie Royal, Clark Terry, Nick Travis (tp) Jimmy Cleveland, Melba Liston (tb) Paul Faulise (btb) Bob Brookmeyer (vtb) Don Butterfield (tu) Cannonball Adderley (as) George Dorsey (as, fl) Oliver Nelson (ts, fl) Jerome Richardson (ts, fl, picc) Arthur Clarke (bars) Wynton Kelly (p) Sam Jones (b) Charlie Persip (d) Ray Barretto (cga) Ernie Wilkins (arr)

Adderley was one of the first jazz artists that I took a liking to, due in part by dad playing his records around the house.

"Sack O' Woe" was one of his favorites and one of the songs I played for him during the final hours of his life.

Milt Buckner - After Hours

Milt Buckner (10 July 1915 – 27 July 1977) was an American jazz pianist and organist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was orphaned as a child, but an uncle in Detroit (trombone player John Tobias) taught him to play. Buckner pioneered the parallel chords style which influenced Red Garland, George Shearing, Bill Evans, and Oscar Peterson.
He first played in Detroit with the McKinney Cotton Pickers and then with Cab Calloway. In 1941 he joined Lionel Hampton's big band ,and for the next seven years served as its pianist and staff arranger. He led a short-lived band of his own for two years, but then returned to Hampton's in 1950. In 1952, he formed his own group. He often played in Europe in the late 60's. Buckner pioneered the use of the electric organ. He died in Chicago, Illinois at the age of sixty-two.
Buckner's brother, Ted Buckner, was a noted jazz saxophonist. His band often played at The Huddle Eastland in West Covina back in it's heyday.
Here is After Hours from 1960 on Argo which was a Chess Records imprint label.

Cool Daddy-O and his record boxes

Here is a photo of my father taken some time between 1957 and 1960. The car was belonged to his friend Jake. The location was a bowling alley coffee shop that used to be in Lakewood, CA.

Here are the two 45 rpm record boxes that he stored his "sounds" in. If you see "Black Crate" or "Brown Crate" in the MP3 tags, you'll see which box the record came from. There are still a few records and B-sides in these that I have not digitized. I am not sure when I will get around to it, but once I finish up posting all the 45s that I have done, I will start posting more of his old 78 rpm records.

Richard Hayes - Junco Partner

"Junco Partner" is a traditional American blues song remarkable for being covered and revised by many artists over several decades. Some of them include Dr. John, Professor Longhair, James Booker and The Clash. It was played in different music genres such as blues, folk, rock, reggae and dub. The song’s lyrics refer to needles, drugs, wishes, and to the notorious Louisiana prison farm in Angola. I am not exactly sure what it was that made me play the shit out of this record when I was a kid. Maybe it was the hard to understand lyrical content or the big band sound that reminded me of Ricky Ricardo from I Love Lucy in this 1952 Mercury Records version of the song by the Richard Hayes & Edie Sauter band.

Cannonball Adderley - This Here

This short version of "This Here" was the B side to the "Blue Brass Groove" single, from 1961 on Riverside Records. It features Nat Adderley, Ernie Royal, Clark Terry, Nick Travis (tp) Jimmy Cleveland, Melba Liston (tb) Paul Faulise (btb) Bob Brookmeyer (vtb) Don Butterfield (tu) Cannonball Adderley (as) George Dorsey (as, fl) Oliver Nelson (ts, fl) Jerome Richardson (ts, fl, picc) Arthur Clarke (bars) Wynton Kelly (p) Sam Jones (b) Louis Hayes (d -1) Charlie Persip (d -2) Ray Barretto (cga) Ernie Wilkins (arr)

Red Prysock - Plaid Laces

Wilburt Prysock (February 2, 1926 – July 19, 1993)known as Red Prysock, was an American rhythm and blues tenor saxophonist, one of the early Coleman Hawkins influenced saxophonists to move in the direction of rhythm and blues, rather than bebop.He first gained attention playing with Tiny Bradshaw's band, playing the lead sax solo on his own composition "Soft", which was a hit for the Bradshaw band in 1952."Plaid Laces" is the flip side to the single, "Fruit Boots" released on Wing Records on March 15th, 1956.

The Fireballs - Almost Paradise

The music of The Fireballs came out of the creative hothouse that was Norman Petty's Clovis studios (where Buddy Holly cut great music too)."Almost Paradise" is an exotic bachelor pad style instrumental that was released in 1960 on this 45. It was also to be on their second Top Rank album "Blue Fire" which never saw the light of day as the Top Rank International label went bankrupt before the album's release.

Bill Doggett - Hot Ginger

There is no shortage of organist Bill Doggett in dad's record collection. This little 7" gem is from 1957 on the legendary King label. I'm not sure if this ginger is the kind you eat or some lady Bill had in mind, but you can decide for yourself after hearing this swaying groove.

The Fireballs - Bulldog

The Fireballs were formed in Raton, New Mexico, and got their start as an instrumental group, featuring the very distinctive lead guitar of George Tomsco. They had their first hit in 1959 with, "Torquay" and "Bulldog" followed in 1960. If you like guitar instrumentals like the Ventures, then you're gonna' dig this!