Welcome
Fortunately within the EU, the 50 year period of copyright on material issued in and upto the 1st half of the 20th century is expiring, moving this material into the public domain.
In combination with electronic distribution, it is possible to share this culturally valuable material where it would not be commercially viable.
- it is therefore primarily intended to promote the appreciation, the preservation and aid research.
The modest intention of this blog is to allow me to highlight some of this material, to perhaps encourage others to discover and enjoy.
If it creates a valid awareness of our rights to access this material, which has often long out of print or available only in very limited numbers, then all the better.
Background
There is a strong difference in the interpretation and enforcement in different countries, particularly with recent legal cases on each side of the Atlantic highlighting these differences.Given the aggressive push by organisations and corporations within the United States, to enforce copyright laws (globally, often to their advantage and effectively erode our rights), it is particularly interesting given the attitude of the United States to others copyright during the 18th and early 19th Centuries.I recommend the article over at wikipedia, to get an overview of the situation, perhaps quite different than you might have thought from impressions given by the Music Industry and their lobbying organs - History of Copyright Law
"In Great Britain's North American colonies, reprinting British copyright works without permission had long happened episodically, but only became a major feature of colonial life after 1760. It became more commonplace to reprint British works in the colonies (mostly in the 13 American colonies). The impetus for this shift came from Irish and Scottish master printers and booksellers who had moved to the North American colonies in the mid 18th century.
They were already familiar with the practice of reprinting and selling British copyright works, and continued the practice in North America, and it became a major part of the North American printing and publishing trade.
Robert Bell was an example. He was originally Scottish, and had spent almost a decade in Dublin before he moved to British North America in 1768. His operations, and those of many other colonial printers and booksellers, ensured that the practice of reprinting was well-established by the time of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Weakened American ties to Britain coincided with the increase of reprinting outside British copyright controls.
The Irish also made a flourishing business of shipping reprints to North America in the 18th century. Ireland's ability to reprint freely ended in 1801 when Ireland's Parliament merged with Great Britain, and the Irish became subject to British copyright laws.
The printing of uncopyrighted English works for the English-language market also occurred in other European countries. The British government responded to this problem in two ways: 1) it amended its own copyright statutes in 1842, explicitly forbidding import of any foreign reprint of British copyrighted work into the UK or its colonies, and 2) it began the process of reciprocal agreements with other countries. The first reciprocal agreement was with Prussia in 1846. The US remained outside this arrangement for some decades. This was objected to by such authors as Dickens and Mark Twain."
I don't want to get into a fiery discussion regarding opinion on copyright, I'd like to discuss the actual legalities of copyright law and how they effect material now entering the public domain in some geographical areas and how this effects us, given our present communications inter-connected-ness.
Terms of Use
This space for intended to create a place for encouraging the enjoyment and awareness of older music, often long out of print or available in very limited numbers - it is therefore primarily intended to promote preservation and aid research.Obviously depending upon your present country of residence, downloading and keeping material, in areas other than the EU may breach your country's laws regarding copyright infringement. As a specific illustration, the United States enforces copyright, some 90 years from the date of publishing, whereas copyright in the EU expires after 50 years of either performance or first publication.I therefore ask you to exercise discretion, I must presume you are adults and part of that is exercising a little self-rule, where applicable
- do not download material if you know it is illegal to do so in your country.
This blog is based within the EU and is therefore entitled to discuss and publish material in order to further that discussion.
From the liner notes;
"BLP 5039 offers Lou in ballad mood with a fine solo on the old British standard If I Had You plus two familiar themes by Charlie Parker Confirmation and Now's The Time. The latter, a 12-bar blues, was written some time before the highly successful Hucklebuck."
For specific tracklistings, have a look at the excellent
Jazz Discography Project
From the liner notes;
"BLP 5038 features a 12-bar blues theme. Wee-dot, penned some years ago by trombonist Jay Jay Johnson, in which Brownie delivers a tremendous solo. Horace's Mayreh is based on the chords of a well known song in which all God's children had rhythm. Night in Tunisia is preceded by Art's oral revelation that he was present when Dizzy wrote the tune - 'in Texas on the bottom of a garbage can.' The sanitation department can take a low bow."
For specific tracklistings, have a look at the excellent Jazz Discography Project
From the liner notes;
"BLP 5037 brings a new version of Split Kick, which Horace Silver first wrote and recorded when he was with Stan Getz, as well as a combo version of his Quicksilver, which he made as a piano solo on [BLP] 5018. Once in a while features a lyrical flight of fancy by Brownie, who at this tempo engages in everything from long, flowing phrases to a flurry of 32nd notes. Listen for the unusual triplet-account in one passage of the accompaniment."
You can see from the listing at JazzDisco that there were at least 5 Sets, so getting only 9 tracks over 3 records does not really do it justice. I think that the 10" format was too restrictive for this live performance, BLP 1521 & 1522 (10 tracks between them) start to let you hear what you were missing, but the later CD re-issues really hit the spot (for me at least), perhaps not in the mix, but in the quantity - the RVG edition is a good example, it is remixed for pseudo stereo, smoothed and the higher frequency are pushed up in the mix - making it a much 'brighter' presentation.
For specific tracklistings, have a look at the excellent Jazz Discography Project
So, here's another 'bluenote-one-timer', Urbie Green, 27 years old, on his way up and getting recognition;
From Cook's;
"After only six recording dates in 1951 and eight in 1952, there were fifteen in 1953...It was an experimental period as much as one of achievement."
"Lion's curiosity for new music was enthusiastic and wide-ranging. As Blue Note's business began to grow, he and Wolff realised that they had to have a regular turnover of new material if the label was going to keep its place in the newly expanding world of jazz microgroove records."
From wikipedia;
Urban Clifford "Urbie" Green (born August 8, 1926) is an American professional jazz trombonist who toured with Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Jan Savitt, and Frankie Carle. He appears on over 250 recordings and has released more than two dozen albums as a soloist and is highly respected by his fellow trombonists. Green's trombone sound is especially noted for its warm, mellow tone, even in the higher registers where he is more fluent than most trombonists. His technique is considered flawless by many in the music industry.
In 1947, Green joined Gene Krupa's band and quickly moved up to Woody Hermans third "Thundering Herd" Big Band in 1950 to play with his brother, Jack.
In 1954 he was awarded the "New Star" Critics Award from Down Beat International.
Moving to New York City in 1953 and established himself as the premier trombonist in demand for the booming recording industry. He was voted "Most Valuable Player" several times by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Some have even proposed that he may be the most recorded musician of all time. He recorded with virtually all of the major jazz musicians of the 1950s and 1960s and led his own groups while also joining tours as a featured performer, including a three-month tour helming the Benny Goodman Orchestra and the unusual job of fronting the Tommy Dorsey orchestra after Dorsey's death in 1956. He collaborated with innovative producer Enoch Light for the Command and Project 3 labels, producing what are probably his most notable recordings, such as the two-volume sets "The Persuasive Trombone of Urbie Green" and "21 Trombones."
For specific tracklistings, have a look at the excellent Jazz Discography Project
