^ Something our Gibson might appreciate, he being, as far as I recall, fond of that piece of music.  'A Song For Cathy', eh?

Getting away from delicious food and back to jazz, does anyone know the work of Lee Wiley or Annette Hanshaw?

^ Bearing this in mind, can I recommend, to anyone who's unaware of it, Will Friedwald's 'Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices From Bessie Smith To Bebop And Beyond?'  I'm just reading up on King Pleasure and Dave Lambert.

I've not heard of many jazz writers, but I read Val Wilmer's autobio many years ago and as I recall it's an excellent read. Must find and reread my copy.

intimate nights by James Garvin covers the New York cabaret scene and jazz singers also

‘does anyone know the work of Lee Wiley or Annette Hanshaw?

‘King Pleasure is my kind of jazz.’

I’ve just spent a very pleasurable half hour buzzing through these names on YouTube. Great stuff. I like it. A lot.

I was a fan of the animation 'Top Cat' and I remember a jazz connection.

Jazz is a tall, lanky cat with burnt orange-brown fur with a long, crooked tail. He wears a blue newsboy cap and a tan trench coat. His head shape is easily comparable to Spook's. He usually wears a smug, sleazy grin.

Maybe even an Ivy connection?

Top Cat called Boss Cat in UK

Top Cat was made at the start of the 60s and as he is portrayed as being on the subversive side I speculate that he was portrayed as a beatnik. Having looked it up I can report that he wore a pork pie and that one of the other characters wears a polo neck, beat gear.


If you have bought one of the Graham Marsh Ivy Collection shirts from Kamakura you will probably have received a postcard of Max, Graham’s scooter riding, jazz playing cartoon cat wearing the shirt you have bought. He has also published a childrens book featuring the cool feline and I mention it because the character bears a resemblance to Top Cat.

I'd forgotten about Max the Cat. Perhaps GM was influenced by Top Cat?
Cats must be Ivy.
I'm a dog person. 101 Dalmatians (1960sversion) was a memorable animation for me.

My Dad used to get the train to Birmingham on a fairly regular basis: both buying and selling.  He probably went to London far less often.  Brum, from where he lived, was a doddle: half a mile to the railway station.  He also frequented the Music Inn in Nottingham, where I was hanging out some dozen to fifteen years ago; mostly buying Blue Note and some vocalists.  The guy who used to run it was very Big Band oriented and a bit - no, a good deal - dismissive of mainstream jazz.  My Dad had an open mind but he knew what he liked: jazz from the beginning to Herbie Hancock but taking in a lot of variety along the way.  He had little patience with what Philip Larkin termed 'bagpipes and concrete mixer' jazz: Coleman, Shepp, Ayler and the like.  He loved Louis, Bix, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Big Joe Turner, Monk, the MJQ, Ellington, Basie, Mulligan, Mr. Chet - and so many more.  Breaking up his collection after his death (ten years ago this month) was heartbreaking, although TRS had a few LPs with specifically Ivy sleeves. 
A quirk: he did not like male crooners/torch singers.  Billie, Ella, Peggy Lee, Anita, The Divine Sarah - all of those.  But not even Sinatra did he really dig when it came to love songs.

No idea but yes that album was massive. Got repressed by BGP in the end I recall.

Highly recommended: Count Basie - featuring Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson - Salle Pleyel, April 17th 1972.  A lively set and a highly appreciative audience.