Great Music Story

[Tuberoller]

I'm sure some of you guys remember me talking about some very rare recordings I have longed for some time. One of those is part of a series of private recordings of Frank Sinatra "Live at the Great Negro Clubs ( The Sutherland Hotel in Chicago,IL)". I first heard this recording about 12 years ago at a record club meeting and couldn't believe it was Sinatra. He sounded much more "soulful" and relaxed than his usual sets,and really did'nt sound like Sinatra at all. It was fantastic music and I instantly fell in love with it. I have been looking for a pressing of any of the series which includes dates in such towns as Memphis,St.Louis,Detroit,Dallas and Kansas City. I guess the deal is,Sinatra would play the segregated,whites only clubs earlier in the evening and would cater to his black fans with later sets at the black clubs and would perform a much looser set with some of the "house bands". Of course,you and I know that some of those house bands were made up of the greatest musicians around,including Charlie Parker,Miles Davis,Nate and Cannonball Adderly and many other greats. Liner notes on these recordings has always been scarce and no body ever really knew when the dates were recorded,the personnel or even the actual song set. Most of the songs performed were blues and jazz standards that were given a very unique treatment by Sinatra. He almost sounds "Black" on a few of these recordings and has never sounded better to me. From all I have been able to gather most of these recordings were pressed here in Chicago in very short and limited runs and usually given away at parties and as 'concert favors".

Well,the story goes..... While doing research for the PBS Blues Project some of the researchers got a listen to a few of the really rare Chicago private pressings that circulate around here from time to time and the Sinatra Sutherland Hotel recording was one of those they heard. They were impressed and wanted to find the sources of original masters of the Sinatra performances(if they still existed) and any others they could get a hold of . I had been hearing rumors that a major stash was hiding someplace on Chicago's far south side but it sounded like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. It turns out such a stash did indeed exist and it's far richer than any of us could have imagined. I had heard further rumors that more than 400 master tapes were found in the home of a former club manager/engineer on the south side of the city. I never could confirm this but some big names were mentioned including Coltrane,Miles Davis,Charlie Parker,Fats,Monk, and just about all the big names in jazz and blues you can think of.

Last night on the local jazz radio station all the rumors were confirmed,more than 430 original master tapes from all the Sinatra dates,many more by other big names in jazz and blues and some super rareities including Les Paul, Hank Williams Sr.,Ike Turner,and many others were found. This is a huge find for all music genres. A lot of this stuff is taking place right around the time when Rock and Roll is being discovered by the mainstream and most of that experimentation by the artists who took it mainsteam was going on these clubs. It sounds like most of the tapes are in great shape and were stored properly by the guy(who passed away in 1994) his wife and sons. Included were most of the details of the recordings including personnel,songs sets and other highly detailed notes.

On the audio buff tip.....I can say that the recording quality of the Sinatra stuff is fantastic and the word is that this guy was later hired at King records and greatly contributed to the improvement in sound quality at that label. I can't wait until some of this stuff is remastered and released. I just can't even imagine hearing the Sinatra recordings and stuff by Little Willie John,Sam Cooke, and all the others that were found. I just hope this all works out in favor of the music fans and gives us all a picture into the past of the great clubs and the amazing performances that took place there.

[john_jcb]

This is indeed a significant find. I just hope that the remastering and release does not get tied up in legal wrangling over who has the rights to the music. The people that really deserved the money are for the most part deceased and their estates and the labels seem to all have a different opinion of who owns what.

[Tuberoller]

Originally posted by john_jcb
This is indeed a significant find. I just hope that the remastering and release does not get tied up in legal wrangling over who has the rights to the music. The people that really deserved the money are for the most part deceased and their estates and the labels seem to all have a different opinion of who owns what.

Man, I was thinkin' the same thing and I heard Ramsey Lewis make that same statement. Let's hope it doesn't work out that way. This is music that is far too important to be tied up in legal battles. I heard that the Hank Williams stuff is super significant because it is the only known blues recordings of his.

[Mr.PD]

I would like to hear Hank singing the blues!
All this music sounds interesting to me, I know nothing of jazz, but just the historical issue of these recording caught my attention. I have been getting a liking for blues lately, and if there is some old blues in here I would love to hear it.

Ain't it great when somebody actually takes care of recordings rather than let them rot away?

Thanks for the news Tuberoller.

[daycart1]

Oh man, what I wouldn't give to hear Sinatra trying to keep up with the likes of Coltrane or Parker. That would be sweet music!

[jerikl]

Definitely some sweet music! Please keep us updated as I'm sure you will