Pictures updated to latest standard, January 3, 2022
Selection: Lullaby of the Doomed (Gonzales)
. . .
Artists
Bennie Green, trombone; Gene Ammons, Billy Root, tenor saxophones; Sonny Clark, piano; Ike Isaacs, bass; Elvin Jones, drums; Babs Gonzales (vocals -2,4) recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, April 28, 1958
Music
Trombone can be a fairly fruity sound, but add to it not one but two tenor saxes – fellow Chicagoan Gene “Jug” Ammons and Philadelphian Billy Root – and raise the level of brass attack; let Elvin Jones loose on drums, and season heavily with Sonny Clark on piano (“Sonny Delight!”) and Ike Isaac on bass, and you have a formidable line up. Soul Stirrin’ is a solid helping of soul-jazz, all its bluesy roots showing, recorded on a day when Rudy Van Gelder was absolutely on top of his game.
Almost impossible to select one standout track, nevertheless I plump for the superb darkly titled Lullaby of the Doomed. Its’ mournful bluesy opening theme gives way to some extraordinarily powerful solos. This record is a reference track for me when, after listening to all sorts of variable quality pressings, if I forget how good an original 47 West 63rd St. first press can sound. As my friends the other side of the pond are inclined to say, “totally awesome”. Is there, I wonder, any other kind of awesome? (Update: see comments. Apparently so. freakin’ awesome)
I have read that there was a dispute at the time as to whether it should be “Benny” or “Bennie” Green, and Bennie won. There is another Benny Green, a younger jazz pianist, and another trombonist Urbie Green, as well as Grant Green, not to mention the Family Green, near-neighbours of the Family Von Trap, in the alternative Bebop audiophile edition of The Sound of Music Matters , a searing expose of record pressing in the Californian foothills, in lederhosen (In case you started searching Discogs for a copy, I made that up)
Vinyl: Blue Note BLP 1599
Original 1958 pressing, 47 West 63rd, RVG stamp, Deep Groove, ear, 9M, mono
BN 1599, the last release in the Blue Note 1500 series. Superb heavy pressing – 196gm – ensures it delivers the full weight of this bluesy outing.
Collectors Corner
At the time, the most expensive record I had ever bought, and it remains among the top five today. Two things a gentleman never mentions – a ladies age, and the price paid for a record. It’s vulgar and unseemly. Suffice to say I have seen the record on offer at over double, like for like, during the last few weeks, so I am content with it. More importantly it is worth every penny.
LondonJazzCollector 
Greetings to London!
I follow your site for some years and it’s always a place of inspiration and recommandations. Same here. Your review made me wanting this pressing and I was looking for a copy for a long time. I was incredibly lucky to find a real NM mono copy of this gem a few days ago for an very affordable price. I think, the seller didn’t really know what he was selling. It has all signs of the first pressing as shown here, DG both sides, no Inc/(R), but weight is only 165gr. You won.
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I realize I am entering this discussion more than 10 years late, but better late than never! I just discovered what a wonderful resource you have put together with this blog – thank you! Even after collecting Blue Notes for the last 20 years, I have learned so much about the Blue Note discography from your site.
This is one of my favorite Blue Notes of the 1500 series. I still remember when I first heard the CD, which I checked out from the library as a university student, and remarking how soulful the music was. I have never owned – and will most likely never own – the original, but I have had the Classic Records 200 g mono reissue in the past. I recently was able to get the United Artists stereo reissue, which I am listening to right now as I write this. Not a RVG or Van Gelder, but it doesn’t have hard panning. In fact, to my ears, it actually sounds more like a mono mix. Having never heard the original, I cannot offer a comparison, but I can say that I am perfectly happy with this pressing! It beats the CD for sure and is perhaps “less hot” than the Classic Records reissue.
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This record has been with us for sixty years, so arriving ten years late to my party is forgivable – provided you brought a decent bottle. I have upgraded the reference pictures to modern standard. Rudy cut this recording hot, it remains a treasure of my collection.
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Come to think of it – I have to correct a prior comment I made. I have actually owned an original pressing of this. I found it in a jazz bin about 20 years ago while browsing a used record store in Chicago. Both record and cover were pretty beat up but cost only $9.99. I kept it for a while and then later sold it, something I regret!
One thing I noticed about the early UA stereo reissue is that the color of the cover is different than that on the original. Bennie’s photo has more of a bluish tint on the original cover; by contrast, on the UA reissue cover, his photo has more of a greenish tint.
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Oh my. Listening to this now for the first time and wow. Such depth. Such soul. Such uniqueness. It doesn’t sound like any other jazz album I can recall, always an indicator of something special. My pressing is the Japanese King pressing from 1983. A slight warp, but sounds and plays beautifully. Looking forward to spending more time with it.
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Yep. Magnificent album and “Lullaby Of The Doomed” opens my Monday morning in style. Of course I have it on CD, not on vinyl, but it’s on my vinyl wish list. A few months ago I lost an auction of this beauty. I was consciously bidding on a ‘super rare’ seventies United Artists stereo reissue, only ’cause it was much cheaper than a 1st pressing. According to the seller this was the only stereo version that was ever released on vinyl and therefore so rare. Well, I lost. Still I own it on CD and yes, in stereo, but my word is the sound quality fabulous. “Soul Stirrin'” is one of those favourites you just can’t get enough of. May I also recommend Bennie Green’s “Walking And Talking”, BLP 4010? Another sure shot 😉
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I can’t help it….totally awesome
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it’s moderately awesome….no, totally awesome
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Glad to hear it!
(On the subject of hyperbole, I read a good piece the other day, about how corporations like to talk marketing-speak about they are “Passionate” about things, like “We are Passionate about Pizza!”
Oh good, thats a relief, they wrote. We were worried for a moment that you might be “Not Totally Averse to Pizza”, or even “Up for a Pizza if there is nothing else better to eat”
There should be only one awesome, and that is totally. And Bennie Green is unquestionably passionate about trombone.
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I’m passionate about all sorts of moderately awesome things.
New plan–I will sort my LP’s into the following groups:
-totally awesome
-moderately awesome
-not totally adverse to
-mostly adverse to
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Beautiful. A tear jerker. posted from France?
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La Belle France, oui, Guy. Its been raining most of the day here. Narrowly missed Barak Obama flying out of G20 as we flew in. I took the precaution of uploading a few draft posts to keep me up to mischief. There will be more music, in case anyone thought they would get a break!
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