Welcome to my website. I am an author, jazz historian, record collector and musician residing in Montclair, New Jersey. My purpose here is to share information about jazz musicians who emerged in the 1950s and early 1960s and whose talents and contributions, in my opinion, are worthy of greater recognition. The website also contains other topics of special interest to me including remembrances of jazz events and artists in my hometown of Rochester, NY during the same time frame. As a drummer, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to make music with some outstanding musicians from Upstate New York and later, the New York City Metropolitan area.
A special feature of this website is the inclusion of detailed discographies of several artists meeting the criteria described above. A discography is defined as a compilation of musical recordings by a performer, composer, arranger or record label – considered a “body of work.” On this website, the following data are included:
- Session recording date and location – unissued material is included
- Musicians and their instruments for each performance
- Song titles including alternatives
- Song composers including lyricists
- Performance designations – master, alternate, incomplete, etc.
- Performance timings
- Comprehensive (USA and foreign) lists of issues by label, format and release date
- Solo information – performer, order, duration
Discographies on this website were created using Steve Albin’s BRIAN database application, a major advance in jazz discography. Since discographies are never really complete, I am constantly revising mine as new information becomes available. Thanks to the ease of online publishing, it is possible to make additions and corrections expeditiously. I recommend that you check back frequently for updates. Each discography displays a date at the top indicating when that document was generated (earlier versions are overwritten by the ones shown and are no longer available).
Besides the discographies found here, I also maintain the complete Art Farmer Discography that was compiled with the assistance of Michael Fitzgerald.
Another aspect of this website is record album cover art. You will find dozens of album cover scans related to the featured musician discographies, as well as those from my days as an avid collector, starting in the 1950s. Some classics and hard to find rarities are included.
Although not my main focus, I have done a few blog pieces that you can access under News.
Please have a look at my compilation of other jazz websites of interest.
This web site is a work in progress and will undergo periodic modifications. Please stay tuned.
Latest Addition (January 2023): The great saxophonist/composer Harold ‘Tina’ Brooks.
New Lucky Thompson Additions (July 2023): Timeline, Bibliography, Interview with his son.