MUSIQUE TROPICALE - Haitian Music with SIDNEY BECHET and WILLIE "THE LION" SMITH
$
61
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Description
Here's MUSIQUE TROPICALE, from Haiti, to be exact. It's eerie and jungley, totally evocative of shrunken heads and the Ton-Ton Macoutes. It's tight and formidable music. Dangerous stuff!
Thing is, these 1939 records (and others!) were made right here in the United States, as it turned out, by some VERY distinguished American jazz musicians, playing completely outside their usual box: SIDNEY BECHET (soprano sax and clarinet), KENNETH ROANE (trumpet), WILLIE "THE LION" SMITH (piano), OLIN ADERHOLD (bass) and LEO WARNEY (drums). These guys have totally gone native! And don't sound the least bit out-of-place!
The Records:
PAUL ANSON 308 "MAYOTTE" (B-571) / "ROSA RHUMBA" (B-572)
PAUL ANSON 309 "CA PIQUE A HAITI" (B-575) / CE NOUS MEME (B-578)
These "Paul Anson" releases are NOT mentioned in the Rust Jazz Discography, although the session is noted. In fact, they sport different titles than the Varsity or Baldwin issues. These are very fine master pressings, playing silky smooth and sounding great. I can't say the same for any Varsitys, which are invariably dubbed.
These two original 1939 "Paul Anson" records 308 and 309 are each in lovely E+ condition, and made out of very fine shellac. No. 308 has stress marks on the surface, but I noticed no ill effect on playback.
N.B.: A BIDDER informs me that the Tontons Macoutes, the dreaded machete-wielding death squad of Haiti's "Papa Doc" Duvalier, wasn't formed until 1959. It was the only colorful Haiti-related image I could think of when assembling this ad. So SUE me!
*****
These records come from my private collection, which I have been accumulating since 1967, and now am downsizing! My highest priority in these eBay auctions is to give you the best possible idea of a record’s true condition and aesthetic value. I always post at least four clear images, showing the record fore and aft, a close-up of the label, and the whole disc, warts and all. If my purple prose won’t cut it, the pictures will! Shipping is done with expert care. Your record will brave Media Mail in a stout corregated box, between four sheets of cardboard and a couple of “packers.” I hope you are amused by these descriptions, and by the quality of service being offered.
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