NEWSLETTER #131
Jazz, Dance Bands, Vocalists
The Andrews Sisters -> Frank
Winegar
| THE ANDREWS SISTERS | Jasmine JASBOX 7-4 | The Golden Age Of The Andrews Sisters | ● CD $28.98 |
| Four CD set with 101 tracks by one of the mot popular
singing groups of the 40s. Includes duets with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Dick
Haymes and others |
|||
| COUNT BASIE | Neatwork 2062 | The Alternative Takes, Vol. 5: 1945-46 | ● CD $13.98 |
| 26 tracks, 74 min, essential. There's 26 tracks, but only 11
tunes as this shows the Basie band working on their tracks, done for
Columbia with a 10/45 session & four sessions from '46. Band at this time
had the mighty trumpet section of Emmett Berry, Snooky Young & Sweets
Edison, an even mightier sax section with such future R&B greats as Preston
Love, Buddy Tate, & Illinois Jacquet, a four piece trombone section able to
include both Dicky Wells (in the '45 session only) & JJ Johnson, & of course
the All American Rhythm Section of Basie, Green, Page & Jones, though on the
earlier sessions there's Rodney Richardson on bass & Shadow Wilson on drums.
Jimmy Rushing on vocals & arrangements by Buster Harding. Not Basie's
biggest hits here, but with this team, anything they play is great! There's
multiple (2 to 3) versions of everything here, including Queer Street/
The Mad Boogie/ Rambo & Mutton Leg. (GM) |
|||
| BIX BEIDERBECKE | Proper BOX 66 | The Bix Beiderbecke Story | ● CD $25.98 |
| 4 discs, 104 tracks, essential. The majority of all
originally issued sides associated with Bix, starting with the '24 Wolverine
Orch sides, the Sioux City 6 session with Miff Mole & Frankie "Tram"
Trumbauer, & his long association as a member of Tram's Orch throughout
27-29. Also includes his issued sides as a member of the Jean Goldkette &
Paul Whiteman Orch's, his sides with Hoagy Carmichael & of course, the sides
with Bix as nominal leader, including his wonderful impressionistic piano
solo In A Mist (AKA Bixology). No unreleased or alternate
takes, & if more than one version of a tune was issued then only one take is
heard. With fully packed 56 page booklet crammed with info & pics. (GM) |
|||
| THE BENSON ORCHESTRA OF CHICAGO | Archeophone 6001 | Volume 1, 1920-1921 | ● CD $14.98 |
| 26 tracks by one of the most important of the early Chicago
dance bands to make records. Line up includes piano, trumpet, trombone,
three saxophones, violin, banjo, drums and occasional xylophone. 28 page
booklet has extensive notes, biographies of the individual musicians and
photos. |
|||
| LENNY BREAU | Art Of Life 1007 | The Hallmark Sessions | ● CD $15.98 |
| First ever release of 1961 session recorded in Toronto,
Canada in 1961 when Breau was 20 years old - his first professionally
recorded session. Tunes include jazz standards, flamenco, country and four
original compositions. Seven tracks are a trio with Rick Danko/ bass and
Levon Helm/ drums. There are six bonus tracks featuring stereo mixes of some
of the trio tracks. |
|||
| DAVE BRUBECK | Acrobat ACMCD 4002 | Live - Take Five! | ● CD $12.98 |
| 8 tracks, 55 min, very good Budget reissue of Live At
Montreaux '82(the tune Lover Man often found with these tracks is
actually from another concert) This is the 80s Concord Jazz Brubeck Quartet
with the great Bill Smith on clarinet, son Chris on electric bass & bass
trombone & Randy Jones on drums. The opening cuts try to sound
"contemporary" with very busy bass on recent tunes Tritonis/
Improvisation (actually Out Of The Way Of The People misnamed),
Ol' Bill Basie & Benjamin (Christopher David Brubeck). There's a
cover of the standard Black & Blue & the band revisits Koto Song/
Take 5 (fine version here) & Blue Rondo A La Turk. (GM) |
|||
| DAVE BRUBECK | Proper Pairs 132 | Early Concepts | ● CD $12.98 |
| 2 discs, 52 tracks, highly recommended The majority of
Dave's earliest recordings, with his Fantasy stuff from '46-52 (for some
reason the '46 session that made "Old Sounds From San Francisco" is listed
as '48/9). Dave's heard here in a variety of setting including his trio with
Cal Tjader, the Octet (the trio with five more including Paul Desmond-as &
Bill Smith-cl) & the first great Brubeck quartet with Desmond. Also here are
the LPs "The Dave Brubeck Trio", "Brubeck/Tjader", "The Dave Brubeck Octet,"
& "Two Knights At The Blackhawk." With slipcase & 16 page booklet (GM) |
|||
| CAB CALLOWAY | Neatwork 2065 | The Alternative Takes, 1930-1944 | ● CD $13.98 |
| 25 tracks, 75 min, highly recommended As opposed to the
other jazz greats in this series, Cabbell seems to have the fewest existing
alternate takes, as they're all on this vol! Starting with '30-32 Brunswick
sessions including Is That Religion?, which you might remember as the
theme to Andy's Gang - "I got shoes, you got shoes, all God's chillun got
shoes". Then there's 33-34 Victor sides including Minnie The Moocher
& Jitter Bug, '38 Vocalion sides, '40-41 Okeh sides (A Chicken
Ain't Nohin' But A Bird/ Who's Yahoodi) & finally V-Disc sessions from
'43-44 (Diga Diga Doo/ Cruisin' With Cab). Musicians include his
wonderful trumpeters Lamarr Wright, Shad Collins & Jonah Jones, + Foots
Thomas, DePriest Wheeler, Ben Webster, & from '39-40 Dizzy Gillespie! (GM)
|
|||
| BENNY CARTER | Neatwork 2063 | More Alternative Takes In Chronological Order,1936-1937 | ● CD $13.98 |
| 24 tracks, 71 min, highly recommended The latest volume,
subtitled "More Alternate Takes In Chronological Order" finds Benny in
Europe, recording in London for Vocalion with an Orch including such British
greats as Tommy McQuater & Buddy Featherstonebaugh, with vocals by Elisabeth
Welch & later with The Ramblers in Holland for Decca. All tunes are versions
originally unreleased. Swingin' At The Maida Vale/ When Day Is Done/
Scandal In A Flat/ Gin & Jive/ Rambler's Rhythm., etc. (GM) |
|||
| DUKE ELLINGTON | Neatwork 2061 | The Alternative Takes, Vol. 10: 1947-51 | ● CD $13.98 |
| 23 tracks, 74 min, essential The orch is still going strong
on these Columbia outtakes from either side of the '48 musicians strike.
Still with plenty of great names including Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Tyree
Glenn, Juan Tizol, Shorty Baker, & the wonderful sax section with Al Sears
joining the eternal team of Johnny Hodges, Russel Procope, Jimmy Hamilton &
Harry Carney. All the tunes are alternates, with some being rehearsal
breakdowns. Starts with one of my fave Elling-tunes, Sultry Serenade,
which became better known when it got lyrics as How Could You Do A Thing
Like That To Me. There's a few outtakes from "Black Brown & Beige"
including Al Hibbler singing I Like The Sunrise, also The Clothed
Woman/ B Sharp Boston/ Smada, etc. (GM) |
|||
| STAN GETZ | Classics 1299 | 1951 | ● CD $14.98 |
| 22 tracks from 1951 with Horace Silver, Jimmy Raney and
various Swedish musicians. |
|||
| DIZZY GILLESPIE & HIS ORCHESTRA | Classics 1286 | 1951-1952 | ● CD $14.98 |
| 23 tracks with John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Stuff Smith, Budd
Johnson and others. DIZZY GILLESPIE: Birks Works/ Bopsie's Blues/ Caravan/ Diz's Tune (mrs. Diz)/ Groovin' With The Nursery Rhymes/ I Couldn1t Beat The Rap/ I'm In A Mess/ Lady Be Good/ Love Is Here To Stay/ Love Me Pretty Baby/ Nobody Knows/ Schooldays/ Stardust/ Sunny Side Of The Street/ Swing Low Sweet Cadillac/ The Bluest Blues/ The Champs - Part 1/ The Champs - Part 2/ This Is Happiness/ Time On My Hands/ Tin Tin Daeo/ We Love To Boogie |
|||
| LIONEL HAMPTON | Acrobat 4012 | Jukebox Hits, 1943-1950 | ● CD $12.98 |
| The second volume in this series features 20 sides by the
great vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and his band - Flying Home (two
versions recorded for two labels - both versions hits!)/ Evil Gal Blues/
Hamp's Boogie Woogie/ Hey Bab Re Bop/ I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)/
Midnight Sun/ The Hucklebuck/ Chicken Shack Boogie/ Turkey Hop, Pt.1/ Rag
Mop, etc. |
|||
| ERSKINE HAWKINS | Acrobat 4011 | Jukebox Hits, 1940-1950 | ● CD $12.98 |
| First in a new series that will offer the American Juke Box/
Harlem Hit Parade/ Race Record/ Rhythm & Blues chart hits by a selection of
the biggest stars of the 1940's and 1950's swing, jazz, jump blues and R&B
scenes. Most of these performers have never had their biggest hits. This one
features 20 tracks from bands led by trumpeter Erskine Hawkins including
Tuxedo Junction/ Dolemite/ Song Of The Wanderer/ Wrap Your Troubles In
Dreams/ Don't Cry Baby/ Tippin' In/ Fifteen Years (And I'm Still Serving
Time)/ I've Got A Right To Cry/ Hawk's Boogie/ Cornbread and more.
Excellent sound and informative notes by Dave Penny but no discographical
information. |
|||
| BILLIE HOLIDAY | Classics 1285 | 1952 | ● CD $14.98 |
| 21 Tracks From 1952 recorded for Clef with Oscar Peterson,
Charlie Shavers, Ray Brown and others. BILLIE HOLIDAY: Autumn In New York/ Blue Moon/ East Of The Sun/ Easy To Love/ Everything I Have/ He's Funny That Way/ I Can't Face The Music/ I Only Have Eyes For You/ Love For Sale/ Lover, Come Back To Me/ Moonglow/ My Man/ Remember?/ Solitude/ Stormy Weather/ Tenderly/ The Moon Turns Green/ These Foolish Things/ Yesterdays/ You Go To My Head/ Your Turned The Tables On Me |
|||
| JACK HYLTON & HIS ORCHESTRA | Avid 741 | Turn On The Heat | ● CD $15.98 |
| 25 track collection of sides from the 30s by British dance
band whose leader was referred to as "The English Paul Whiteman". Includes
vocals by Sam Browne, The Swingettes and others. |
|||
| MARIAN MCPARTLAND | Savoy Jazz 17210 | All My Life | ● CD $16.98 |
| 21 tracks, 64 min, recommended The 1st Lady of Public Radio,
back in her early 50s heyday as one of the top jazz pianists. This set has
mostly unreleased alternate takes of trio sides including live performances
from NY's famed Hickory House, where she held court for nearly a decade
('52-60) Though all the tracks here were recorded '52-53, there is a number
of different rhythm combos here, including such great bassists as Max Wayne
& Eddie Safransky, & drummers Joe Morello, Don Lamond, Mel Zelnick & Mousie
Alexander. Includes Lullaby Of Birdland/ Strike Up The Band/ Limehouse
Blues, a couple takes of Love For Sale & of course the title
tune. (GM) |
|||
| GLENN MILLER & THE ANDREWS SISTERS | RCA 54306 | The Chesterfield Broadcasts | ● CD $18.98 |
| 2 discs, 39 tracks (35 tunes), highly recommended When
Miller started Chesterfield Time on the radio, his co-stars were The Andrews
Sisters. On three times a week, the Andrews' made 36 appearances - they
would do one song per 15-minute show & performed 25 different songs. All 25
are represented here as the set duplicates the feel of the show, so there's
some announcements, some Miller tunes which include his vocalists Ray Eberle,
Marian Hutton & Tex Beneke. But it's The Sisters who are the stars of the
show, with live versions of Hold Tight/ Oh Johnny Oh Johnny Oh/ (In Spain
They) Say Si Si/ Well All Right, etc. (GM) |
|||
| EDDIE MORTON | Archeophone 5006 | The Sound Of Vaudeville, Vol. 1 | ● CD $14.98 |
| 28 tracks recorded between 1907 and 1910 by popular "Singing
Cop" from Philadelphia who was a vaudeville headliner for 20 years. Includes
extensively annotated 28 page booklet. |
|||
| HOT LIPS PAGE | Neatwork 2064 | The Alternative Takes, 1937-1949 | ● CD $13.98 |
| 21 tracks, 64 min, highly recommended. The majority of the
tracks here are '44 sessions for Commodore & Savoy with musicians such as
Lucky Thompson, Horse Collar Williams, Don Byas. How's this for an all-star
lineup - the Savoy session has Vic Dickenson & Benny Morton on trombones &
on saxes Ike Quebec, Ben Webster, Earl Bostic & Ben Webster, with Clyde Hart
& Tiny Grimes in the rhythm! The earliest tracks are the most intriguing -
there's a couple of mostly unknown sides with Lips with the Barney Rapp Orch
from '37, Pete Johnson & His Boogie Woogie Boys (with Lips & Buster Smith)
backing Big Joe Turner on Jump For Joy, & a scratchy sounding but
incredible radio broadcast from Carnegie Hall of a duo of Lips & Fats Waller
doing Blues In B Flat! Also on the other end there's a couple of
Columbia alternates from '49, including the First Lips I knew & Loved/
I've Got An Uncle In Harlem that was on the famed Stars Of The Apollo
compilation, & Lips & Pearl Bailey doing The Hucklebuck! |
|||
| SONNY STITT | Proper BOX 65 | Sax O'Bebop | ● CD $25.98 |
| 4 discs, 94 tracks, highly recommended. Sonny had the
misfortune of coming up on alto at the same time as Charlie Parker, a time
where every alto player doing bop was, fairly or unfairly, accused of
ripping off Bird. Sonny independently came up with his style, so to get rid
of comparisons, he switched to tenor. This set starts with Sonny's first
recordings where he solos - as Bird's replacement in Dizzy Gillespie's
sextet for Musicraft, with Milt Jackson, Al Haig, Ray Brown & Kenny Clarke.
From there it was a series of sides for Savoy under their collective moniker
The Bebop Boys which found him with the likes of Jackson, Clarke, Fats
Navarro, Kenny Dorham & Bud Powell. After a few more bop sessions with
Russell Jacquet & Bud Powell, Stitt made the change to tenor, & soon after
had his breakthrough session with Gene Ammons - the two tenors blew it up on
Blues Up & Down & stayed together for the next couple years. With
40-page booklet with full liner notes, sessionography, pics. (GM) |
|||
| LENNIE TRISTANO | Proper BOX 64 | Intuition | ● CD $25.98 |
| 4 discs,76 tracks, essential. It's always been difficult
collecting Lennie - his early stuff was on a number of labels, some only
available on import or on his own label which is only available via
mail-order. This box collects most of his recordings from his first session
as pianist in the Emmett Carls Sextet, with the tenor blowing leader & an
all-star group with Shorty Rodgers, Earl Swope, Chubby Jackson & Don Lamond,
up through a live gig in Toronto in '52 leading a quintet featuring 2 of his
best disciples, Warne Marsh & Lee Konitz. In between there's the complete
Keynote recordings of '46-47 including all alternate takes, his Victor solo
sides of '47, trio sides for Baronet, Disc & Royale/Savoy, quintet for New
Jazz/Prestige, sextet for Capitol, & a live Birdland gig from '49 with
Marsh. With 40 page booklet. (GM) |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Archeophone 1003 | Stomp And Swerve - American Music gets Hot | ● CD $14.98 |
| Issued to complement the book of the same name (available
from Roots & Rhythm for $17.95) this features 27 tracks recorded between
1889 and 1925 featurng music that could be considered the harbinger of jazz
and blues. Music that began to stray from the straight and narrow - often
showing the influence of African-American stylings even though few
African-American performers were being recorded. HARRY C. BROWNE AND THE PEERLESS QUARTETTE: Carve Dat Possum/ ARTHUR COLLINS AND VESS L. OSSMAN: All Coons Look Alike To Me/ THE COLUMBIA ORCHESTRA: I Thought I Was A Winner, Or, I Don't Know, You Ain't So Warm/ JOSEPH P. CULLEN AND WILLIAM G. COLLINS: Twin Star March/ THE EDISON CONCERT BAND: El Capitan March/ EUROPE'S SOCIETY ORCHESTRA: Castle House Rag/ EARL FULLER'S FAMOUS JAZZ BAND: A Coon Band Contest/ W. G. HAENSCHEN AND T. T. SCHIFFER: Sunset Medley (a Bunch Of Blues/babes In The Woods)/ ART HICKMAN'S ORCHESTRA: Rose Room/ LANIN'S SOUTHERN SERENADERS: Shake It And Break It/ SILAS LEACHMAN: The Fortune Telling Man/ UNCLE DAVE MACON: Old Dan Tucker/ POLK MILLER AND THE OLD SOUTH QUARTETTE: Watermelon Party/ ORIGINAL DIXIELAND 'JASS' BAND: Livery Stable Blues/ VESS L. OSSMAN: Maple Leaf Rag/ OSSMAN-DUDLEY TRIO: St. Louis Tickle/ ARTHUR PRYOR'S BAND: A Coon Band Contest/ DAN W. QUINN: Ain't That A Shame/ MAMIE SMITH AND HER JAZZ HOUNDS: Crazy Blues/ SOUSA'S BAND: At A Georgia Camp Meeting/ LEN SPENCER: You've Been A Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke Down/ SOPHIE TUCKER: Some Of These Days/ VAN EPS BANJO ORCHESTRA: Sans Souci/ THE VERSATILE FOUR: Circus Day In Dixie/ BERT WILLIAMS: Nobody/ CLARENCE WILLIAMS' BLUE FIVE: Cake Walking Babies From Home/ THE ZON-O-PHONE CONCERT BAND: The Smiler (a Joplin Rag) |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | ASV CDAJA 5466 | Trombones On Parade | ● CD $11.98 |
| 23 track collection exploring the use of the trombone in
jazz from the 1920 to 1950s including performances by Lawrence Brown, George
Chisholm, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Vic Dickenson, Jack Jenney, J.J.
Johnson and others. |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | EMI Gold 93374 | Hits Of The Thirties | ● CD $22.98 |
| Inexpensive three CD set with 60 sides from the 30s from
British dance bands and Vocalists. Includes Carroll Gibbons, Jimmy Messene,
Turner Layton, Hutch, Jack Jackson & His Orch., Oscar Rabin & His Band, Al
Bowlly, Judy Shirley, Joe Daniels, Harry Roy, Elsie Carlisle, Valaida, Nat
Gonella & His Georgians, Joe Loss, Sam Browne, Geraldo, Frances Day and
others. |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Saga Jazz 66473 | Jazzin' The Classics, Vol. 1 | ● CD $13.98 |
| Delightful 24 track collection showing what happened when
classical music gets in the hands of jazz musicians including Eddie South
tackling Bach, John Kirby doing Beethoven, Charlie Barnet assaulting George
Bizet, John Kirby choppin' up Chopin, Artie Shaw popularizing Debussy, Art
Tatum putting his hand to Dvorak and more. The liner notes by Philippe
Baudoin are a riot. |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Savoy Jazz 17191 | Birth Of Bebop | ● CD $12.98 |
| 16 tracks, 49 min, essential Being an active label in the
40s along with being home to Charlie Parker, Savoy attracted a lot of
seminal bebop players. This set starts with an incredible live version of
the tune Be-Bop done by Parker at the Royal Roost in 49, What follows
is a Who's Who of Bop, recorded in '44-49 - Leaders include Bird, Diz,
Miles, Don Byas, Stan Getz, Serge Chaloff, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon, Boyd
Raeburn, with the standards of Bop - How High The Moon/ Al-Leu-Cha/ Wee
Dot/ Opus De Bop/ A Night In Tunisia/ Hot House/ Little Willie Leaps,
etc. Liner notes by Ira Gitler. (GM) |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Savoy Jazz 17197 | First Steps | ● CD $12.98 |
| 19 tracks, 54 min, essential After the end of the 1st
recording ban in '44, NY's Savoy label began finding & recording jazz
artists who would change the face of music. Here's some of the earliest, if
not the first, recordings of such greats as Charlie Parker, playing alto
behind leader Tiny Grimes (Red Cross), Dizzy Gillespie with Bird on
Shaw 'Nuff, Miles Davis's 1st leader date, with Parker on tenor (Half
Nelson). Also James Moody, with Ray Brown's All-Stars (Moody Speaks),
Sonny Rollins with JJ Johnson (Bee Jay), & other early cuts by Don
Byas, Sonny Stitt, Art Pepper, George Shearing, Fats Navaro, etc.
Unfortunately, no complete personnel listings, but informative liner notes
from Billy Vera. (GM) |
|||
| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Savoy Jazz 17287 | Giants Of Jazz - Jazz Singers | ● CD $9.98 |
| 12 tracks, 44 min, excellent Only 2 things stop this from
being essential - short playing time & NO liner notes or discographical
info! Most of this stuff is obviously very vintage. However, Jon Hendricks &
Friends doing Freddy Freeloader includes Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin &
George Benson joining in on vocalese! Includes Billy Eckstine - I Love
Rhythm On A Riff, Eddie Jefferson - The Birdland Story, Sarah
Vaughn - I'll Wait & Pray, Jackie Cain & Roy Kral - 'Deed I Do,
Jimmy Ruffing - Jimmy's Round The Clock. (GM) |
|||
| FRANK WINEGAR | Jazz Oracle 8040 | Edison Hot Dance Obscurities Vol. 1 | ● CD $15.98 |
| Hot dance music featuring Frank Winegar's Pennsylvania Boys
and B.A. Rolfe and His Palais D'Or Orchestra on tracks from 1927-1928 |
|||