Well, it's been a while. Since my last post, I moved to the other side of the United States - from Atlanta to Bellingham, Washington. In the process, I sold or gave away two-thirds of my 78 RPM record collection.
But I've still got plenty of good records left, and plan to keep posting, now that I'm settled in. Today's music is three-record jazz album from 1945. It's not that "important," and not mind-blowingly spectacular, I suppose, but it's excellent music, offering a glimpse of a little-known recording by an important musician.
That musician is pianist Teddy Wilson, who is identified on the album cover and labels as "Fingers MacDigits." (Mr. Wilson was apparently under contract to another label at the time.) The bandleader is Jerry Jerome, a talented journeyman tenor saxophonist who put in stints with the Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Glenn Miller big bands before settling into a long career in the New York studios. Jerome (1912 - 2001) was an excellent musician - never a big jazz name, but always highly regarded by those in the know.
The third member of the trio is drummer Gordon "Specs" Powell. Again, Powell was never a really big name in jazz, but was respected by his colleagues, and was the first Black musician to be hired by CBS.
This album, on the Stinson label, is excellent jazz, and shows how modest Jerome could be. The music is under his name, but he gives Teddy Wilson at least as much solo space as he takes for himself - more on the first side, "What is There to Say."
This album has not been reissued in full. "Emaline" and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" appeared on the Jerome retrospective album
Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and three previously unissued titles from the session showed up on
Something Old, Something New. But here are the originally-issued sides. Stinson, along with its sister label Asch, was not known for the quality of their pressings, which tended to be noisy. I used a little more noise reduction than usual, but tried not to degrade the sound of the instruments. I've included the album notes from the inside of the cover - click the picture for a larger view.
So here's the Jerry Jerome Trio, with "Fingers MacDigits."
Jerry Jerome - tenor saxophone
Teddy Wilson - piano
Specs Powell - drums
Recorded in New York, June 6, 1945
Stinson album S-359
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