Fred Elizalde - Untitled composition (UNISSUED)
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- Fred Elizalde plays his own composition - the title of which is unknown. It was recorded by Decca in 1933 and is being released for the first time.
The metal masters of two takes (takes 1 and 2) were retained by Decca and these were eventually pressed onto 10 inch vinyl in very limited quantities by Geoff Milne.
This is take 1.Unfortunately, the metal master had corroded by the time of this pressing, causing swish (especially towards the start of the recording). This degradation is the case with many other British Decca metal masters, which were almost certainly not stored correctly.
FRED ELIZALDE
Fred Elizalde - piano
Recorded in London, June 16th, 1933
GB-5985-1…….Untitled original composition…….Vinyl 78 rpm master pressing
In my opinion, Elizalde was the only true foreign heir to the 1920s USA "modern jazz" piano idiom of Arthur Schutt, Earl Hines, Irving Brodsky, Alex Hill, Rube Bloom, Edgar Hayes, Frank Signorelli, Paul Mertz, and Lennie Hayton. He seems to really understand this idiom on a very high (and deep) level, and be able to not only reproduce surface features of the style, but actually use it as a vehicle to communicate on a personal musical level. Thank you for saving and sharing these priceless unissued sides!
The theme from 35 seconds is just lovely, wistful and beautifully played. Top musicianship with all the resources at his fingertips!
A stunning mix of moods, rhythms and emotions, as only Elizalde can do - such a rare and exceptional talent.
My first time ever hearing of this man, and now I’m going to look for all of his music. I really like piano and this sound is great!
Extremely lovely. I'm a great admirer of Elizalde's work. Much thanks for sharing this.
Such a relaxed style that must have called for great discipline - one of those paradoxes that makes this such an enjoyable period and art form. Jolly nice piece. Thanks for sharing Nick!
Now that's what I call a rarity!
Wow!! Always wanted to hear this. Thank you, Nick!
I did think of you when I got this test...I have others that I will upload. Hope all is well.
Fantastic! I have been listening to Elizalde’s piano solos a lot lately.
This is mighty pretty. It swings, too. Thanks for this!
According to the Decca ledgers, it was recorded June 17, 1933, with the cryptic comment "For the title of this number, see Mr. E Jackson". So even the Decca files don't tell us the real title!
Thanks for that, Mike...interesting that Edgar Jackson was still involved with Elizalde, and I guess liaised with Decca to arrange for these early 1930s sessions.
By the way, should all the titles listed by Rust for June 16, 1933 in fact be listed as June 17, 1933? Or were some titles recorded on June 16th and some on June 17th?
@@nickdellow6073 According to the transciption of the ledgers I have, the first 3 (GB-5982, 5983 & 5984) were recorded on June 16, and the other 3 (GB-5985, 5986 & 5987) were recored June 17.
I'm not sure why Brian didn't note this in "JR" and he must have had access to the Decca information.
@@MikeThomas78 Thanks Mike - that's very helpful.
Do you know why this was rejected? I've got 7 Decca vinyl pressings by Geoff Milne with that same issue. Could you perhaps help me remaster them as well as you did here?
I have no idea why this was rejected. Perhaps it was rejected on technical grounds, but if so I'm afraid I do not know the precise reasons.
@@nickdellow6073 Ok. The discs I was talking about was the Afrikaans rejects by Jannie Viljoen (aka Al Bowlly).
@@JustABowlOfCherries Wow, you have those!
@@nickdellow6073 All except the last one. In total 7 discs. I can send you digital copies if you'd like.
@@JustABowlOfCherries I'd love to have digital copies. Do you have my email address? You can find it online easily enough, but if not it is my name at gmail
Hey Nick--Fascinating. Elements of Loch Lomond, or at least pop English pastoral. F's 1930s style had become a hodge-podge of tempo changes, dramatic fluctuations in volume, and, forgive me...meandering. He likely wasn't selling very well soloistically by '33, so not surprised a Decca producer gave a thumbs down. Sounds more like an arrangement than an original composition to these ears. Don't get me wrong. At his greatest (ie, Rhythm Step, or the Chris Stone 12" narration), there's no one quite like him (though Leo de la Fuente tried...).
Hi Alex, nice to hear from you. This Elizalde piece, although untitled, has a melodic theme that is repeated; there is a degree of cohesion, and though here and there he does meander, he doesn't lose his way....he just lets his imagination wander down interesting paths. I think his approach reflects his move away from the traditional popular song format as he moves away from jazz towards classical music. By 1933, he was already established as a classical composer.
I never hear him meandering, not once. Or, at least, I never hear him play anything he didn't seem to mean to play. However it seems like he got to such a high level of musicianship, that his fingers became an extension of what he was feeling at the moment, and subject to his whims. Frankly, I find this style much more refreshing than the very polished and rehearsed solos recorded by nearly everyone else in this period. While those are gems in their own way, of course, it's nice to hear something this poetic, where he's not just banging out a tune in dance tempo, but is actually telling a story.
It's funny, no one criticizes Louis or Bix (or Earl Hines) when they 'meander', aka take a side-quest to fill in details of the main story, or add some color etc., but when Elizalde does it, he gets criticized. I don't understand why.
@@andrewbarrett1537 My good fellow! Check out the Latin phrase: De gustibus non est disputandum. Thou mayest take that as my reply--