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The Charlie Mingus Jazz Workshop – Pithecanthropus ErectusReleased: 1956Label: Atlantic This early Atlantic session in 1955 was one of the first of the bassist-composer’s workshop-style programmes. He felt that written music could not convey the true music of the composer, as musicians would put their own invention on it. His method was to play each…
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Otto Luening / Vladimir Ussachevsky – Tape Recorder MusicRelease: 1955Label: Gene Bruck Enterprises Inc. I only discovered this album recently, and I am simply astounded that it was recorded as far back as 1955. I love strange cut ups such as those one might hear from Prefuse 73 and all sorts of strnage ambient music appeals…
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Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock Around The ClockReleased: 1955Label: Decca I had initially discounted this album as I wrongly assumed it was included in the 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die book. I’ve no idea why it wasn’t really, although the 50’s isn’t well represented and I can think of 30 albums…
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Sara Vaughan – Sara VaughanReleased – 1955Label – EmArcy This album from Sarah Vaughan is one of those albums where everything is just right, nothing seems out of place and it feels effortlessly crafted. Enhanced by the excellent trumpet playing of Clifford Brown each song follows into the next to create a wonderful atmosphere of…
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Moondog – Moondog & His FriendsReleased: 1953Label: Epic Welcome to the oddness of Alt-folk and the world of Moondog. Louis Thomas Hardin, also known as Moondog, was an American musician, composer, theoretician, poet and inventor of several musical instruments. He was blind from the age of 16. Hardin lived in New York City from the…
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I used to love Sounds, which was a tabloid-style music paper along the same lines as Melody Maker or NME. Back in the pre-internet days, it was one of the ways we found out about new music, upcoming tours and suchlike and was an invaluable source of news about the music scene of the time.…
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Peggy Lee – Black CoffeeReleased – 1953Label – Decca It may seem odd to say it, but Black Coffee by Peggy Lee is a collection of songs that sound exactly as you would expect them to sound, which is exactly as they should sound. The mid-fifties are preserved in amber in these songs that seem…
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Here we are with the very first episode of Listographers Podcast where we look at what were the best albums of 1980? We have two opposing views as we count down to our Number 1’s. Maybe you disagree with our choices, did we miss something glaringly obvious? You decide. The podcast is available on Podbean,…
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The Anthology of American Folk Music: The Collection That Revived a Genre Compiled by: Harry SmithReleased: 1952Label: Folkways Records The Anthology of American Folk Music is a six-album compilation released in 1952 by Folkways Records comprising eighty-four American folk, blues and country music recordings that were originally issued from 1926 to 1933. Experimental filmmaker Harry…
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Les Baxter – Ritual of the SavageReleased: 1951 Ritual of the Savage is an album by American composer Les Baxter, released in 1951 often cited as one of the most important exotica albums. The album features lush orchestral arrangements along with tribal rhythms and offered such classics as “Quiet Village”, “Jungle River Boat”, “Love Dance”,…