Session details: Royal Roost Club (September 25, 1948)

Miles Ahead session details

September 25, 1948 (25 items; TT = 63:10)

Royal Roost Club, New York NY

WMCA-AM radio broadcast (B)

Show chatter

Miles Davis (tpt); Lee Konitz (as); John Lewis (p); Dillon "Curley" Russell (b); Max Roach (d); Kenny "Pancho" Hagood (voc); Clark Terry (tpt); Jimmy Nottingham (tpt); Harry Edison (tpt); Emmett Berry (tpt); Dickie Wells (tb); Bill Johnson (tb); George Matthews (tb); Ted Donnelly (tb); Bernie Peacock (as); Earl Warren (as, voc); Wardell Gray (ts); Paul Gonsalves (ts); Ronald "Jack" Washington (bs); Freddie Green (g); William "Count" Basie (p); Singleton Palmer (b); Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson (d); Anita O'Day (voc); Symphony Sid Torin (ann); Bob Garrity (ann); Unknown (ann)

1	Announcement (Bob Garrity)	0:06
	"...We take you direct to the Royal Roost nightclub on Broadway, and Symphony Sid..."
2	Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (L. Young)	1:05
	"And so once again, ladies and gentlemen, we take our WMCA microphones right down here in the Royal Roost, the Metropolitan Bopera House, the house that bop built, bringing you the gonest in modern music, the kind that I hope you really enjoy. And don't forget, every Friday night, Saturday morning we take our WMCA microphones right down here to the Metropolitan Bopera House, the Royal Roost, 1580 Broadway between 47th and 48th Street, and bring you the great and wonderful Count Basie and his wonderful organization, Anita O'Day our added attraction, and the sensational Miles Davis group. Miles Davis on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, John Lewis on piano, Curley Russell on bass, and Lee Konitz on... alto. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give the boys a great big hand, Miles Davis and his wonderful group... And to start things jumpin', let's play one called 'The Broadway Theme'..."
3	52nd Street Theme (T. Monk)	4:00
	Listed as "Broadway Theme" on Session Disc 101
4	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:53
	"And so, there it is, 'The Broadway Theme', a wonderful thing done by the Miles Davis organization. That was Max Roach, that was Lee Konitz, and we have in our audience this morning, and I'd like to introduce to you, a wonderful gentleman who's done a whole lot for modern progressive jazz, and his lovely wife too. I mean Boyd Raeburn. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give Boyd Raeburn a wonderful hand. And his wife, Ginnie Powell. Ginnie Powell, ladies and gentlemen... Right now, getting back to the, getting back to the group once again, let's hear a thing that you always call for on the all-night, all-frantic one, and say, don't forget, you gotta guess the gone ones, that's at four o'clock where we play a record and, uh, if you happen to guess the particular tune or whatever we ask you about the record, we'll play your favorite between four and five in the morning. So, come on and call Circle-six-two-five-hundred, it's the all-night, all-frantic one, the Symphony Sid show. And right now, here it is, Miles Davis and the wonderful group, 'Half Nelson'..."
5	Half Nelson (M. Davis)	5:50
6	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	2:07
	"And so there you go, ladies and gentlemen, 'Half Nelson' done by the Miles Davis organization, Al... Konitz, Al... Lee Konitz on, ah, alto... (splice) Here at the Royal Roost, the house that bop built, where the lights are low, the music in that real knocked-out groove, and the people wonderful. And, ah, I'd like to remind you too that the Royal Roost is doing a little something different. They're bringing Sunday afternoon Symphony Sid Bop Concerts. The first one, this coming Sunday, Monty Kay presents the Symphony Sid bop concert, Sunday afternoon... That's this coming Sunday, September the 26th, at four o'clock in the afternoon. From four to eight, for four wonderful hours, you can sit back and relax and really have yourself a wonderful time, featuring the great Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Roy Kral, Benny Green, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, Allen Eager, Milt Jackson, Curley Russell, and Al McKibbon. What al... What else... What do I have to say more, except that you'll have a lot of fun down here at the Royal Roost this coming Sunday afternoon. And here's another little something. You know we're always giving away a lot of free things on the all-night, all-frantic one, a lot of people have been calling up and saying, 'Sid, what is bop?' Well, we have a little pamphlet that's been prepared in cooperation with the Royal Roost, by Walter, uh, Fuller. It's a little thing called 'What is Bop?' and it gives you a pretty good definition. Well, if you'd like to get this wonderful little pamphlet, just drop a self-addressed envelope to your boy Symphony Sid, WMCA, New York 19, and I'll send it for you free of charge -- all it'll cost you is just three cents. So if you'd like to find out what bop is, for a lot of you squares, well do that. Send a card or letter to me, send a letter with a self-addressed envelope, and I'll see that you get one absolutely free. And now, the cat that's made so many wonderful records with the great Dizzy organization -- did 'Ooh Pah Pah Da' and 'Cool Breeze' and a lot of other things -- Pancho Kenny Hagood to do for you a wonderful thing I hope you enjoy -- and our boy John Lewis at the piano, the rhythm section... 'You've Gone to My Head'..."
7	You Go to My Head (H. Gillespie-J.F. Coots)	5:50
	Add Hagood (voc)
8	Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin)	0:09
	"Ah, thank you very much, Pancho, and right now we get back to the group and kind of wind up their little part of the session, we hear 'Chasin' the Bird'..."
9	Chasin' the Bird (C. Parker)	5:52
10	Jumpin' with Symphony Sid (L. Young)	0:19
	"And so once again, ladies and gentlemen, the greal, the great Miles Davis organization, Max Roach, John Lewis and the rest of the boys, we finish the first part of the... session here down at the Royal Roost. We've got a whole lot more coming to you. Before we go any further, let's take you right back, right back to the studio with Bob Garrity..."
11	Good Bait (T. Dameron-C. Basie)	2:33
12	Malagueña (E. Lecuona)	2:43
	Add O'Day (voc)
13	Introduction (Unknown)	0:12
	Different announceer: "Thank you [undecipherable]. More of that and [undecipherable]... No, she's gonna come back again: this time it's 'How High the Moon'..."
14	How High the Moon (N. Hamilton-M. Lewis)	2:42
	Add O'Day (voc)
15	Introduction (Unknown)	0:06
	Different announceer: "And it's back to just plain solid instrumentality now, when Count Basie and the boys come out with 'Far Cry'..."
16	Little Dog (Unknown)	2:32
17	Spasmodic (J. Giuffre)	2:21
18	Robbins' Nest (I. Jacquet-C. Thompson)	2:58
19	How High the Moon (N. Hamilton-M. Lewis)	2:43
20	High Tide (C. Basie-F. Green)	2:49
21	Malagueña (E. Lecuona)	4:27
22	High Tide (C. Basie-F. Green)	2:26
23	Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip (B. Harding-B. Ram-J. Palmer)	2:39
	Add O'Day (voc)
24	That's That (Unknown)	2:24
	Add O'Day (voc)
25	The King (C. Basie)	3:24


3 52nd Street Theme 12" LP: Session Disc 101 CD: Tokuma TKCB-30024, Tokuma TKCB-71891, Fresh Sound FSCD-1008, Le Jazz CD 45, Definitive Records DRCD 11137, 11159
5 Half Nelson 12" LP: Session Disc 101 CD: Tokuma TKCB-30024, Tokuma TKCB-71891, Fresh Sound FSCD-1008, Le Jazz CD 45, Definitive Records DRCD 11137, 11159
6 Introduction (Symphony Sid Torin) 12" LP: Savoy SJL 2260 CD: Savoy ZDS 4411/4, K30Y 6241/4, Nippon Columbia COCY 75791/8, COCB 50408
7 You Go to My Head 12" LP: Session Disc 101 CD: Tokuma TKCB-30024, Tokuma TKCB-71891, Fresh Sound FSCD-1008, Le Jazz CD 45, Definitive Records DRCD 11137, 11159
9 Chasin' the Bird 12" LP: Session Disc 101 CD: Tokuma TKCB-30024, Tokuma TKCB-71891, Fresh Sound FSCD-1008, Le Jazz CD 45, Definitive Records DRCD 11137, 11159
11 Good Bait 12" LP: Session Disc 106 CD: Drive Archive DE2-41096
12 Malagueña 12" LP: Alto AL-702
13 Introduction (Unknown) CD: Drive Archive DE2-41096
14 How High the Moon CD: Drive Archive DE2-41096
15 Introduction (Unknown) CD: Drive Archive DE2-41096
16 Little Dog 12" LP: Spotlite SPJ 134 CD: Drive Archive DE2-41096
17 Spasmodic 12" LP: Alto AL-702
18 Robbins' Nest 12" LP: Alto AL-702
19 How High the Moon 12" LP: Alto AL-702
20 High Tide 12" LP: Alto AL-702
21 Malagueña 12" LP: Alto AL-702
22 High Tide 12" LP: Alto AL-702
23 Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip 12" LP: Alto AL-702
24 That's That 12" LP: Alto AL-702
25 The King 12" LP: Alto AL-702

This all-star quintet -- a subset of the Davis Nonet, which had just concluded a two-week stay at the Royal Roost -- was booked for a week at the Roost.

An excerpt of the announcement following "Half Nelson" -- beginning with "I'd like to remind you too that the Royal Roost is doing a little something different..." and ending before the introduction of Kenny Hagood -- is often included in the complete Parker Roost broadcasts and dated February 19, 1949, but it can't belong there. Symphony Sid refers to the upcoming series of "Sunday afternoon Symphony Sid Bop Concerts" -- the first one being "this coming Sunday, September the 26th." He'd made the same pitch in the chatter during the September 18 broadcast of the Davis Nonet from the Roost.

The Count Basie material is from two different broadcasts, and the second announcer is a mystery. Thanks to Leif Bo Petersen, Jan Lohmann, and James Accardi for help with this date. And a big thank-you to Norman Saks for sharing the What is Bebop? pamphlet Symphony Sid mentions in his comments.