[78-L] Alto sax style omissions (pittman et all)

[yves francois]

Julian
Pittman is harder than most, rather elusive until the later 1950's for all that please check the following session (the Blanche Calloway's from 1931 are mostly clarinet and anyways he is not really developed yet)
Freddy Johnson and his Harlemites : Arthur Briggs, Bobby Jones (tp) Billy Burns, Herb Flemming (tb) Booker 
Pittman (cl,as) Cle Saddler (as) Roy Butler (as,bar) Alfred Pratt (ts) Freddy Johnson (p,arr) Sterling 
Conaway (g) Juan Fernandez (b) Billy Taylor (d) 
Paris, November 10, 1933 
6574bkp Sweet madness Br (F)A500340, Tax (Swd)m-8008 
6575bkp Harlem bound - , (G)87097, - 
6576bkp I got rhythm (F)A500341, - 
Paris, December 7, 1933 
66451/2bkp I got rhythm Br (F)A500341, Tax (Swd)m-8008 
6646bkp Tiger rag 
solos on all titles, both alto and clarinet - also issued on a Classics CD
Ahmed Ratip - certain titles 1947/8 on Argentine Victor - the best are "Sweet Georgia Brown" and right after the male vocal on "Somebody Stole My Gal" are the ones I remember off the top of my head (also check "My Blue Heaven" and "Pizza Caliente") - Ratip is a jump band (like a Sabby Lewis or Savoy Sultans) that also played good latin music and had a couple of good soloists - Hernan Oliva and Edward Morgan are also capable of good solos - particularly Oliva on violin.
an interesting Harlequin LP "The Rhythmakers" (also CD "Argentine Swing") has some private recordings - one a slow blues "Blues For Williams" very good and some covering of popular swing tunes (good "Margie"). Even more obscure is a big band playing a good arrangement on "Celinto Lindo" (not reissued on Harlequin) also Rhythmakers has a great alto break by him and some pseudo Bigard waterfalls on clarinet (rather like Franz Jackson actually).
After that 1950's - a good quartet LP on Brazilian Victor (or was it Argentine), a more distributed LP on Muscidisc (even issued stateside, don't know about UK) - was playing more soprano those days - then decided to make some money music with his daughter (too bad - I really like the "Honeysuckle Rose" on the Music disc LP).
RE: Horsecollar Williams had a 78 in the 1940's (Etta Jones sang on one side), solos on a Lips Page big band item ("Blooey" - not issued until Lp era, the blues vocal 78 from the 40's has an Earl Bostic solo - funny since Bostic was not yet using the growl Williams was already using), on an LP backing Billie Holiday in 1941 (Harlem Odyssey on Onyx) - seems like a lesser Pete Brown to me - wondering if I am missing a better record.
RE: Skeets Tolbert - where to check him is on the Jimmy Gunn 78's from 1936 on Bluebird, better than anything else he did (the "Uncle Eph's Dream" on Decca is better than most of the Gentleman of Swing - funny, the movie short sounds better than any of their 78's even if it is still commercial) 
A few more altos - Howard Johnson and (perhaps) Russell Procope be influenced by Hilton Jefferson and to a lesser degree Benny Carter - and where does this leave the rather buttery loquacious alto of George Johnson (probably best on a 1941 broadcast w Newton (I would say angular - see the Newton broadcast solo on "Royal Garden Blues" similar to Lem Davis in that a sweet tome makes one underestimate the angular nature of his spirit), there are also moments with Willie Lewis and Bill Coleman and a very good moment on a Lips Page 78 "Uncle Sam's Blues" - and did end up having a session for Spanish Columbia under his own name in 1948
Sorry - one more - Bobby Platter , very good and craggily (and similar to Rudy Williams) on "Jam and Crackers" Savoy Dictators Savoy 101
let me know if you need anything more 
Yves
(aprestitine at yahoo.com)
PS regarding the commercial music of the day for the black American music  I will write (in the next day or so) about the other point you made today, some interesting observations from musicians of that era and recording directors ...

Julian wrote:
Yves,
Can you direct me to some Pittman? I have him with various bands 
(1930s), but can't recall where he solos. The same with Horsecollar 
Williams (with Hot Lips Page?). I've heard some Tolbert Gentlemen of 
Swing sides, but they made no impression on me. To me it was the same 
"cheap-and-cheerful" stuff as Sammy Price, Harlem Hamfats and Savoy 
Sultans that was aimed at the black market of the time. It makes me feel 
a little uneasy that black record buyers then appeared not to be 
interested in anything more sophisticated, including the black big bands 
and soloists. Were they just interested in music for dancing? Even 
there, there would be more exciting examples to dance to.

      Julian Vein