New Releases: March -> October, 2011
Jazz, Dance Bands & Vocalists
Henry "Red" Allen
-> Clarence
Williams
| HENRY "RED" ALLEN |
Membran 222401 |
Jazz Edition - Quadromania |
● CD $10.98 |
Four CDs, 63 tracks, highly
recommended
Another splendid low priced set of vintage jazz in Membran's Quadromania series - this time
featuring the superb trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen
with his band recorded between 1932 and 1952.
Allen had a long and distinguished career and
these sides feature such great sidemen as Pee Wee
Russell, Joe Sullivan, Eddie Condon, "Fats"
Waller, "Pops" Foster, Tommy Dorsey, Tab Smith,
J.C. Higginbotham and many more. Tunes are a mix
of Allen originals, jazz standards, blues and
lively renditions of pop songs. Fine music with
excellent sound. (FS)
|
| MILDRED BAILEY |
Membran 222404 |
Sunday, Monday Or Always |
● CD $10.98 |
Four CDs, 91 tracks, highly
recommended
Another one of those fine and incredibly low
priced sets in the Quadromania series - this time
devoted to "The Rocking Chair Lady" Mildred
Bailey. Bailey, a white jazz singer influenced by
Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith, recorded with the
greatest musicians of the time, made consistently
excellent records, and never caused much of a
splash commercially. Considered to be "one of the
three or four greatest singers in jazz" by no less
an authority than record producer John Hammond,
Bailey tackled songs by Hoagy Carmichael, Irving
Berlin, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and W.C.
Handy with equal aplomb. She became known as "The
Rockin' Chair Lady" after popularizing Hoagy
Carmichael's Rockin' Chair with her 1932
recording of the song. This collection spans the
period 1935 through 1947 and features her second
recording of the song from 1937 and another from
1941 with The Delta Rhythm Boys who accompany her
on half a dozen tracks. Featured musicians include
Red Norvo (her husband), Teddy Wilson, Charlie
Shavers, Mary Lou Williams, Roy Eldridge, Coleman
Hawkins, Hank D'Amico, Buster Bailey, Ellis
Larkins, and many others. It's a shame this
doesn't include any of her earlier but otherwise
this is a fine introduction to this splendid
artist. (FS)
|
| CHARLIE BARNET & HIS ORCHESTRA |
Membran 222406 |
Swing Street Strut |
● CD $10.98 |
Another great collection of
classic jazz at a bargain price. Four CD set at an
incredibly low price featuring 80 tracks by this
fine integrated big band led by tenor and alto
saxist Barnet recorded between 1933 and 1954 and
featuring a wide array of musicians and vocalists
including Toots Camarata, Helen Heath, Eddie
Sauter, Red Norvo, Benny Carter, Laura Deane, Don
McCook, Charlie Shavers, Billy May, Mary Ann
McCall, Johnny Owens, Herbert "Peanuts" Holland,
Buddy DeFranco, Dodo Marmarosa, Kay Starr, Porky
Cohen, Barney Kessel, Si Zentner, Georgie Auld and
many others. Decent sound and booklet has
discographical details.
|
| CHARLIE CHRISTIAN |
Uptown Jazz 27.63 |
Electric |
● CD $16.98 |
17 tracks, 55 mins, essential
Who knows where Charlie Christian's talents would
have taken him had he not succumbed to
tuberculosis in 1942 at the age of 26. One of the
pioneers of electric jazz guitar his technique was
to influence thousands of musicians across all
spectrums of music since his untimely death. This
wonderful set features four sides from a 1939
after hours jam session with tenor saxist Jerry
Jerome, pianist Frankie Hines on piano and a young
Oscar Pettiford on bass. The remaining tracks
feature him with the Benny Goodman Sextet on radio
broadcasts from 1939 and '40 with Lionel Hampton
on vibes and Fletcher Henderson or Johnny
Guarnieri. The merits of almost every cut here
are obvious, displaying that magical live "edge"
that makes this music so vibrant and swinging 50
years later. In comparison to some of the studio
recordings, Christian plays like a man possessed -
more adventuresome, supremely confident, and
delivering each awesome solo as though he knew it
might be his last. And he was not the only one
ascending to the peaks of inspiration - listen to
Hampton, Goodman, Guarnieri and the rest of BG's
stellar outfit on the startlingly modern AC/DC
Current, the rabid Dinah, and the always
swingin' 'Till Tom Special/ Gone With What
Wind for confirmation. These tracks have been
reissued before but what makes this release so
significant is that the tracks have been newly
remastered from the acetates owned by Jerry
Newhouse and while I don't have acess to previous
reissues to compare, the sound here is simply
stunning with crystal clarity on the solos and
richness to the ensemble playing. Comes with great
28 page booklet with extensive notes by Frank
Driggs and a slew of great photos. (FS)
|
| JOHN COLTRANE |
Jasmine 688 |
Countdown, The Classic Albums 1958-59 |
● CD $18.98 |
2 CDs, 24 tracks, essential
The name John Coltrane needs no introduction; he
was simply one of the premiere jazzmen of his era.
The title of this compilation is accurate as it
contains three of his most important, influential,
and popular albums: "Blue Train" (1957 with Lee
Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Paul Chambers, etc.),
"Giant Steps" (1959 with Tommy Flanagan, Paul CHambers & Art Taylor), and "Coltrane Jazz"
(recorded in 1959, released in 1960 - with Wynton
Kelly, Paul Chambers & Jimmy Cobb). The fourth
album, "Soul Trane" (1958) a collaboration with
the Red Garland Trio, is the forgotten gem of the
set and ripe for rediscovery. His sole recording
for Blue Note records, "Blue Train" is Coltrane's
first classic album, while "Giant Steps" (his
first album for Atlantic Records) pretty much set
the standard for 60's Jazz, and "Coltrane Jazz"
was the consolidation album. All jazz novices or
anyone curious about 'Trane couldn't do better
than to start with nicely priced collection. (GMC)
|
| CLIFF EDWARDS |
Upbeat Jazz 228 |
I Did It With My Little Ukulele |
● CD $19.98 |
27 tracks, 79 mins, very highly
recommended
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards was one of the most
popular entertainers of the 1920s and 30s,
recording hundreds of songs, selling millions of
records and appearing in dozens of popular movies.
Yet these days he is mostly remembered as the
voice of Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's
"Pinnochio" in 1940. Surprisingly there has been
no full lenghth biograpy written on him and no box
set celebrating his talents. On this superb
collection he croons a selection of popular songs,
risque songs, novelty titles and even a superb
rendition of St Louis Blues. The material
here, recorded between 1925 and the early 40s is
drawn from commercial recordings, radio
transcriptions and the title song comes from a
film soundtrack - a song he never recorded
elsewhere. On many tracks he accompanies himself
with lively ukulele work and on some tracks done
some unique scat singing making his voice sound
like a kazoo! Accompaniments range from small
jazzy groups to more pop oriented arrangements.
Songs include My Red Hot Gal/ Just Like A
Melody Out Of The Sky/ Singin' In The Raion/ I'm A
Bear In A Lady's Boudoir/ Old Fashioned Love/ The
Night Is Young And You're So Beautiful/ Walkin' My
Baby Back Home, etc. Remastering by Charlie
Crump is superb and booklet as informative notes
by Mike Pointon. (FS)
|
| DUKE ELLINGTON |
Storyville 1038415 |
At The Cotton Club |
● CD $15.98 |
| Two CD set with 48 tracks
featuring live performances broadcast from New
York's legendary Cotton Club in 1938 and '39
recorded off the air by musicologist Joseph
Schillinger with what was, at the time, state of
the art recording equipment. Ellington's band at
the time included Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart,
Joseph Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny HOdges, Harry
Carney, Fred Guy, Sonny Greer and many other
legendary performers. Includes versions of many of
Ellington's most famous compositions including
Mood Indigo/ East St. Louis Toodle-Oo/
Solitude/ Azure/ Riding On A Blue Note/ Rockin' In
Rhythm and many others. This set also includes
a couple of Ellington solo piano performances from
"Saturday Night Swing Club" in 1937 and a 1939
broadcast made in Sweden on Duke's 40th birthday.
As a bonus there is a brief 80 second newsreel
clip from 1933 on disc 2 which can viewed on a
computer. It shows Harlem's Lenox Avenue and looks
into the club for a glimpse of Ellington, the
orchestra, and some of the famous Cotton Club
dancing beauties.
|
| PHILIP LEWIS & THE RHYTHM MANIACS |
Retrieval 79064 |
The Hottest Recordings Of Philip Lewis & The Rhythm Man |
● CD $10.98 |
24 tracks, 70 mins, recommended
When British Decca started in'29, its house band
for chugging out stock arrangements of hits was
Philip Lewis & His Dance Orch, with some tunes
coming out as by The Rhythm Maniacs. Lewis,
director of "light music" for Decca, had nothing
to do with these, the band was led by Arthur Lally
who allowed ample solo space, making these quite a
step above the average dance band, particularly
since the principle soloists were Sylvester Ahola
(t), Danny Polo (reeds), & Lally himself who,
besides the usual reeds played such a hot bass sax
that it was long thought to be Adrian Rollini.
This fine collection of sides recorded in 1929 and
1930 includes vocals by Maurice Elwain, Leslie
Sarony and Elsie Carlisle. Tunes include My
KInda Love/ There's One Thing Remains/ Diga Diga
Doo (with scatting by Lally)/ Imaginations
Goes Long Long Way/ Why Can't You/ Raisin' The
Roof/ That's A PLenty and more. (GM/
FS)
|
| JIMMIE LUNCEFORD |
Membran 222456 |
Jazz Edition - Quadromania |
● CD $10.98 |
Four CDs, 80 tracks, highly
recommended
Another fine budget priced selection in Membran's
Quadromania series - this time devoted to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra - considered by many to
be the best in the business. Most of the vocals
are by Dan Grissom whose style is rather bland but
was, apparently,
an influence on the later "cool" singers like Nat
Cole & Charles Brown. The band featured such
great musicians as Willie Smith, Trummy Young,
Eddie Durham, Benny Waters & Joe Thomas, with
arrangements by the immortal Sy Oliver. It
includes the original versions of such oft-covered
classics as Blues In The Night & Tain't
What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It) & a
great version of The Merry-Go-Round Broke
Down. Also includes his later hits such as the
vocal group classic It Had To Be You &
covers of The Honeydripper & Cement Mixer
(Put-Ti-Put-Ti). (GM/ FS)
|
| JAY MCSHANN |
Night Train 7021 |
Piano Playhouse |
● CD $13.98 |
Available again. 21 track
collections featuring all of McShann's Supreme and
Swingtime recordings cut between 1947 and 1950
including three previously unissued alternate
takes and some accompaniments to Jimmy Witherspoon
and an unnanmed but fine female
singer.
JAY MCSHANN: 12
O'Clock Whistle/ Ain't Nobody's Business/ Black
Train Blues/ Buttermilk/ Drunk, Broke and Hungry/
Geronimo/ Hard Workin' Man's Blues/ Hot Biscuits/
How Long/ McShann's Bounce (Pt. 1)/ McShann's
Bounce (Pt. 2)/ McShann's Bounce (Pt. 2)/ Mellow
Dog/ Mr. Hootie/ Mr. Hootie (Unknown Alternate
Take)/ No Name Boogie/ Sloppy Drunk/ Slow Drag
Blues/ Soft Winds/ Someone To Watch Over Me/
Thinking About My Baby/ You Turned Your Back On
Me
|
| LOUIS PRIMA |
Bear Family BCD 17203 |
With Sam Butera & Keely Smith |
● CD $21.98 |
30 tracks, 87 min., very highly
recommended
Italian American Prima regularly lost out on gigs
for much of his career because many venue owners
thought he was black and trying to pass, thanks to
his olive skin, dark curly hair, and New Orleans
accent. On the other hand, he had strong support
in the many black communities for the same reason.
These recordings, part of Bear Family's "Velvet
Lounge" series, collected from Prima's many
Capital sides between 1957-63, represent the last
comeback of the singer's lengthy career. Exactly
why Prima never quite got the respect he deserved
while he was walking the planet, these sides will
not answer because the music is about as fun as
music gets. It's nearly impossible to refrain from
smiling as Prima swings through Just A Gigolo/
I Ain't Got Nobody (later covered by David Lee
Roth) or when Sam Butera sings Ten Little
Women. Thirty cuts and not a dog in the pack.
The usual above average approach from the German
label that could and did and does, including about
the longest running time imaginable for a CD at
86:55. This is what entertainment means. (JC)
|
| LOUIS PRIMA |
Proper BOX 156 |
Buona Sera - Featuring Keely Smith & Sam Butera |
● CD $25.98 |
4 CDs, 80 tracks, 241 mins, highly
recommended
Louis Prima has probably never really been quite
in fashion, but he has always been well-loved,
with new fans spring up all of the time. Prima is
like the hot chocolate of music: most people
wouldn't consider hot chocolate a drink of much
substance, but there are few that won't enjoy a
hot cup in front of them, This collection covers
quite a bit of ground, from the loud boisterous
show tunes, to cool jazz, to Italian love songs,
to standards from the great American songbook. So
on one of these disks you can get a spastic
Sputnik era rocker about falling in love with an
alien beauty--Beep, Beep -- along side pop
standards tunes like Love Is A Many Splendored
Thing and The White Cliffs Of Dover, next
to a Jazz standard like Bourbon Street
Blues. So many great tunes throughout: Sing,
Sing, Sing/ That Old Black Magic/ Oh Marie!/ Jump,
Jive An' Wail/ Banana Split For My Baby/ Night
Train/ Fever/ Skinny Minnie/ Lazy River, and so
many more, done in Prima's hyper-kinetic style.
This has all of his classic recordings and so much
more, with rowdy live performances throughout. Of
course, the lovely Keely Smith lends her sultry
and playful vocals on a number of tunes and the
mighty Sam Butera & The Witnesses not only provide
powerful backing, but Sam himself jumps up to the
microphone on a handful of songs. This is the
definitive collection on Louie Prima et. al,
easily the best and most comprehensive collection
that has been released. Proper does the proper
job on this, so the collection comes with
extensive liner notes and complete recording
information. (JM)
LOUIS PRIMA: (I'll Be Glad
When You're Dead) You Rascal You/ (Nothing's Too
Good) For My Baby/ A Foggy Day/ Angelina - Zooma
Zooma/ Autumn Leaves/ Baby Won't You Please Come
Home./ Banana Split For My Baby/ Basin Street
Blues - When It's Sleepy Time Down South/ Be Mine
(Little Baby)/ Beep! Beep!/ Bim Bam/ Blow, Red,
Blow/ Body And Soul/ Bourbon Street Blues/ Buona
Sera/ Chantilly Lace/ Come Back To Sorrento/ Don't
Let A Memory Break Your Heart/ Don't Take Your
Love From Me/ Don't Worry 'Bout Me - I'm In The
Mood For Love/ Easy Rockin'/ Embraceable You - I
Got It Bad And That Ain't Good/ Equator/ Fee Fie
Foo/ Felica No Capicia/ Fever/ Five Months, Two
Weeks, Two Days/ French Poodle/ Good Gracious
Baby/ Gotta See Baby Tonight/ Greenback Dollar
Bill/ Handle With Care/ Hey Boy, Hey Girl/ Hey
Boy, Hey Girl (reprise)/ Hey There/ Holiday For
Strings/ How High The Moon/ I Gotta Right To Sing
The Blues/ I Kiss Your Hand Madame/ I've Got The
World On A String/ I've Got You Under My Skin/ If
You Were The Only Girl/ It's Better Than Nothing
At All./ Judy/ Jump, Jive An' Wail/ Just A
Gigolo-I Ain't Got Nobody/ Kansas City/ Lazy
River/ Love Charm/ Love Is A Many Splendored
Thing/ Love Of My Life (O Sole Mio)/ Moonglow/
Night Train/ Nothing's Too Good For My Baby/ Oh!
Marie/ Oh! Marie/ On The Sunny Side Of The Street
- Exactly Like You/ Pennies From Heaven/ Perdido/
Robin Hood - Oh Babe!/ Sentimental Journey/ Should
I? - I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me/
Sing, Sing, Sing/ Skinny Minnie/ Ten Little Women/
That Old Black Magic./ That's My Home/ The Birth
Of The Blues/ The Closer To The Bone/ The Lip/ The
Pump Song/ The White Cliffs Of Dover/ Them There
Eyes - Honeysuckle Rose/ There'll Be No Next Time/
Tiger Rag - Just Because/ Too Marvellous For
Words/ Twinkle In Your Eye/ When The Saints Go
Marching In/ When You're Smiling - The Sheik Of
Araby/ Whistle Stop
|
| BUDDY TATE |
Night Train 7023 |
Tate's A Jumpin' |
● CD $13.98 |
Available again. Rare 40s recordings by former Basie sideman including some accompaniments to Jimmy Witherspoon.
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Archeophone 9013 |
1906 - When Things Was Looking Bright |
● CD $14.98 |
27 tracks, 74 mins, highly
recommended
Not a new release but not reviewed before. It's
kind of spooky that I am reviewing this CD only
days after the nasty earthquakes that just hit
Japan, seeing as the pivotal event that happened
in 1906 was the S.F. earthquake. Listening to a
collection like this is much like listening to
recordings made by ghosts in the first place, with
every artist on this long dead for decades, pretty
fascinating none-the less. This collection
features rare recordings made by the big names of
the day like Billy Murray; Everybody Works, But
Father/ The Grand Old Rag, etc., Bert Williams;
Nobody, and Let It Alone, and other
popular acts like Ada Jones, Arthur Pryor's Band,
Edward M. Favor, Henry Burr, and Harry Tally to
name just a few. You also get some proper opera
with Enrico Caruso and Antonio Scott, as well as
Classical of a sort with Corinne Morgan and The
Haydn Quartet doing How'd You Like To Spoon
With Me? This is certainly a fascinating romp
through history and I'll bet that you will come
away from this set humming many of the tunes.
Extensive liner notes tell all the stories of the
age and help put everything in perspective. (JM)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Black Swan 38 |
Paramount Chicago Jazz Bands |
● CD $14.98 |
20 tracks, highly recommended
Superb collection of jazz recorded for the
legendary Paramount label in Chicago between 1923
and 1928 under the supervision of J. Mayo
Williams. Their are five tracks (including two
alternate takes) by the magnificent King Oliver's
Jazz Band featuring an incredible line up with
Oliver & Louis Armstrong on cornets and Johnny
Dodds on clarinet. There are two tracks by the
outstanding piano player Lovie Austin with her
Blues Serenaders (Tommy Ladnier, Jimmy O'Bryant,
etc.,) The Dixie Four is the name of a blues
flavored quartet featuring the twin pianos of
Jimmy Blythe and Buddy Burton. Other groups
include Charles Pierce & His Orchestra (with
Muggsy Spanier/ cnt and Frank Teschemacher/ cl &
as), Ollie Power's Harmony Syncopaters, Preston
Jacoson & His Uptown Band and Richard M. Jones &
His Jazz Wizards. Sounds is excellent and there
are informative notes by Paige VanVorst. About a
third of the tracks were reissued a while ago on
JSPs four CD set of Paramount jazz (JSP 960 -
$28.98) but the remaining tracks make this more
than worthwhile. (FS)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fantastic Voyage 094 |
The Sisters Anthology - A Celebration Of Four Decades |
● CD $19.98 |
2 CDs, 38 tracks, 1 hour 41 min.,
essential
A four-decade tour of singing sister genre in
more-or-less chronological order, beginning with a
1924 version of Red Hot Mama by the Bronx
Sisters. Disc 1 (1924-1946) rarely fails to
delight with its mix of familiar acts (e.g., The
Andrew Sisters singing the classic Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy and the Fontane Sisters
wonderful Linger In My Arms A Little Longer)
and the obscure curiosities, such as The Gumm
Sisters' Where The Butterflies Kiss The
Buttercups Goodnight, which might be too cute
by half were it not for the presence of the very
young Judy Garland. The Ponce Sisters' Fit As A
Fiddle, which features the playing of Jimmy
Dorsey, could hardly be better. And if listening
to the Andrews Sisters don Jamaican accents for
their version of Rum And Coca-Cola doesn't
make you smile for one reason or another, you may
be unwell. Disc 2 (1947-1959) continues the trend,
even as the form develops. Highlights include the
Clooney Sisters (featuring Rosemary, of course),
the Carter Sisters (yes, from that Carter family),
featuring Chet Atkins on guitar, and the Dinning
Sisters charmer, Buttons And Bows. For
obscurity, there's the Clark Sisters singing
Take The "A" Train. Informative booklet
notes, 32 different sister acts, and excellent
sound throughout make this a must-have. The only
slight quibble is in the short running time--it
could have been a lot longer. (JC)
THE ANDREWS SISTERS: Boogie
Woogie Bugle Boy/ Rum And Coca Cola/ THE BARRY
SISTERS: My Yiddishe Momme/ THE BELL SISTERS:
Wheel Of Fortune/ THE BONNIE SISTERS: Cry Baby/
THE BOSWELL SISTERS: Forty-Second Street/ Object
Of My Affection, The/ THE BROX SISTERS: Red Hot
Mama/ THE CARTER SISTERS & CHET ATKINS: I Don't
Believe Them At All/ THE CLARK SISTERS: Take The
'A' Train/ THE CLOONEY SISTERS: Euphoria/ THE DE
CASTRO SISTERS: Teach Me Tonight/ THE DEJOHN
SISTERS: My Baby Don't Love Me No More/ THE
DEMARCO SISTERS: California Sunbeam/ Dinah/ THE DI
MARA SISTERS: Tea For Two/ THE DINNING SISTERS:
Buttons And Bows/ THE DUNCAN SISTERS: I'm
Following You/ THE FONTAINE SISTERS: Linger In My
Arms A Little Longer Baby/ THE FONTANE SISTERS:
Missouri Waltz/ THE GUMM SISTERS: Where The
Butterflies Kiss The Buttercups Goodnight/ THE
KELLER SISTERS & LYNCH: Sunday/ THE KING SISTERS:
Deep Purple/ Stardust/ THE LENNON SISTERS: Tonight
You Belong To Me/ THE LEWIS SISTERS: S'Wonderful/
THE MCGUIRE SISTERS: Goodnight Sweetheart
Goodnight/ Sincerely/ THE MOYLAN SISTERS: Danny
Boy/ Someone's In The Kitchen With Dinah/ THE
PARIS SISTERS: Baby Honey Baby/ PATIENCE &
PRUDENCE: Tonight You Belong To Me/ THE PETERS
SISTERS: Basin Street Blues/ THE PICKENS SISTERS:
Many Moons Ago/ THE PONCE SISTERS: Fit As A
Fiddle/ THE STAFFORD SISTERS: Cross Patch/ THE
TRIX SISTERS: Pickin' Cotton/ THE WILLIAMS
SISTERS: He's The Last Word
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fantastic Voyage 104 |
Britain's First Number Ones |
● CD $21.98 |
3CD, 64 tracks
Since Acrobat has seen fit to compile all of
Britain's Number One hits of the 50's (Acrobat
7030), it seems only fitting that someone should
compile the British Number Ones of the Big Band
era. Well, here is that collection from our old
friends at Fantastic Voyage: a three disc tour
through the best and the brightest (both Brit and
Yank) of Big Band's peak period. Everyone from
British icons Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn to
American mainstays Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee get
a look in. The great bandleaders-from Glenn
Miller to Tommy Dorsey to Les Brown-are
represented along with their respective vocalists:
Skip Nelson, Frank Sinatra and Doris Day. And it
wasn't all swing time in the charts either as
appearances by Gene Autry, George Formby and The
Ink Spots would attest. All in all, a well done
snapshot of what tickled the fancy of our British
cousins during World War II.
AMBROSE: Russian Rose/ My
Devotion/ I'll Be Seeing You/ ARTHUR ASKEY: It's
Spring Again/ GENE AUTRY: Don't Fence Me In/ IVY
BENSON VOCAL GEORGINA: If I Had My Way/ ISSY BONN:
Just A Little Fond Affection/ LES BROWN - VOCAL
DORIS DAY: My Dreams Are Getting Better All The
Time/ BILLY COTTON - VOCAL ALAN BREEZE: I've Got
Sixpence/ BING CROSBY: Deep In The Heart Of Texas/
Moonlight Becomes You/ Only Forever/ The
Anniversary Waltz/ White Christmas/ You Are My
Sunshine/ Don't Fence Me In/ TOMMY DORSEY - VOCAL
FRANK SINATRA: We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And
Me)/ TOMMY DORSEY - VOCAL JACK LEONARD: All The
Things You Are/ DEANNA DURBIN: Waltzing In The
Clouds/ JIMMY DORSEY - VOCALS BOB EBERLEY & HELEN
O’CONNELL: Amapola/ GRACIE FIELDS: I'm Sending A
Letter To Santa Claus/ FLANAGAN & ALLEN: Rose
O'Day/ There's A Boy Coming Home On Leave/ GEORGE
FORMBY: Bless 'Em All/ HELEN FORREST & DICK
HAYMES: Together/ GERALDO - VOCAL CYRIL GRANTHAM:
I'll Remember/ GERALDO - VOCAL DOROTHY CARLESS: I
Can't Love You Any More (Than I Do)/ That Lovely
Weekend/ CARROLL GIBBONS - VOCAL EDNA KAY:
Darling/ CARROLL GIBBONS - VOCALS ANNE LENNER &
ERIC WHIT: Scatterbrain/ DICK HAYMES WITH THE SONG
SPINNERS: It Can't Be Wrong/ HUTCH: Jealousy/
JACK HYLTON - VOCAL DOLLY ELSIE: Over The Rainbow/
THE INK SPOTS: We Three (My Echo, My Shadow And
Me)/ Whispering Grass/ HAL KEMP: In An Eighteenth
Century Drawing Room/ HARRY LEADER - VOCAL ART
NOEL: If You Ever Go To Ireland/ SYDNEY LIPTON -
VOCAL CELIA LIPTON: You Made Me Care/ GUY LOMBARDO
- VOCAL JIMMY BROWN: A Little On The Lonely Side/
JOE LOSS - VOCAL HARRY KAYE: Deep In The Heart Of
Texas/ VERA LYNN: How Green Was My Valley/ Over
The Hill/ The Happiest New Year Of All/ The White
Cliffs Of Dover/ Yours (Quiereme Mucho)/ When Our
Dreams Grow Old/ TONY MARTIN: The Last Time I Saw
Paris/ THE MERRY MACS: Jingle Jangle Jingle/
Mairzy Doats And Doazy Doats/ GLENN MILLER: Dearly
Beloved/ Moonlight Becomes You/ EDMUNDO ROS: Yours
(Quiereme Mucho)/ HARRY ROY - VOCALS THE
ROYALISTS: The Sailor With The Navy Blue Eyes/
ANNE SHELTON: Lilli Marlene/ Silver Wings In The
Moonlight/ Comin' In On A Wing And A Prayer/
VICTOR SILVESTER: Don't Ever Pass Me By/ Waltzing
In The Clouds/ DOROTHY SQUIRES: Coming Home/ BILLY
THORBURN - VOCAL JULIE DAWN: What More Can I Say/
DICK TODD: The Singing Hills/ TOMMY TRINDER: All
Over The Place/ RUDY VALLEE: As Time Goes By/ JACK
WHITE - VOCALS TONY MORRIS & NORMA CLARK: Arm In
Arm
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fremeaux & Associes 5096 |
Harmonica Swing |
● CD $33.98 |
2 CDs, 1 hour 54 minutes, highly
recommended
Back in stock. If two CDs of harmonica swing
instrumentals sounds like one and a half too many,
the excellent Fremeaux & Associes collection will
quickly disabuse you of that notion. The tracks
range from 1929-1952, although about half are from
the '40s, with most dates hovering around the war.
Happily, the performances, mostly representing the
work of small combos, seem to have been chosen
because they are prime examples of swing that
happen to feature harmonica rather than because
the compilers were desperate for anything with
jazzy harmonica to fill out their compilation. As
a result, perhaps, 30 of the 41 cuts spotlight
just four musicians -- Max Geldray, Dany Kane
Larry Adler, Borrah Minevitch -- with Dany Kane
shouldering 11 cuts himself. And while that could
pose its own problems concerning sameness, it
doesn't. The music is lively, refreshing, and
playful. (Listeners are excused for occasionally
imagining cartoon mice inflicting misery on their
feline counterparts.) Adler's reading of Lover,
Come Back To Me, features the illustrious
company of Stephane Grappeli and Django Reinhardt;
his take of Cole Porter's Begin The Beguine
includes Charlie Shavers (tp), W. "Buster" Bailey
(cl), and John Kirby (b), among others. Pleasant
surprises include Les 5 de l'Harmonica performing
In The Mood, Quintette Dupont-Durand's
Nightfall, Hubert Giraud's Dinah, and
just about everything by Minevitch. Being a
harmonica fan is not required for this set to
charm. (JC)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Frog DGF 76 |
Frog Spawn - The White Hot Batch |
● CD $18.98 |
25 tracks, highly recommended
The latest in Frog's series of "red hot jazz
rarities, alternate takes, sleepers & unissued
masters" is to white bands featuring 25 tracks
recorded between 1924 and 1930. There is a wealth
of fine jazz here, by bands whose members and
provenance are sometimes shrouded in
discographical darkness, or who are well enough
known, yet who have produced recordings that have
so far managed to elude CD re issues. Among the
groups here are The Berlyn Baylor Orchestra, The
New Orleans Owls (one of the best known groups
here with their extremely rare alternate take of
Oh Me! Oh My!), Willard Robison's Deep River
Four (the earliest recording here from a 1924
Autograph featuring some great clarinet work -
possibly Alcide Nunez), The California Ramblers,
Russ Gorman's Virginians (with Red Nichols, Miff
Mole, Dick McDonough & Eddie Lang), Bud Ritchie &
His Boys (a totally obscure group with two fine
tracks including a rendition of Hoagy Carmichael's
Rockin' Chair), Bert Lown & His Loungers,
Original Memphis Five, Ken Moyers Novelty Trio
(featuring Moyers on mellophone - a French horn
type instrument, reserphone - an instrument that
sounds like a strngled duck and other
instruments), Gowans' Rhpasody Makers and others.
Superb sound, extensive notes and full
discographical info. (FS)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Not Now 380 |
Blue Jazz Guitar |
● CD $9.98 |
2 CDs, 35 tracks, 1 hour 33 min.,
highly recommended
While many of these tracks could be described as
either blue or blues or both, it's tough to put,
say, Jimmy Raney's April In Paris in those
camps. Charlie Christian's Waiting For Benny
seems beyond the titular label too, as do several
other performances. What's sure is the high
quality of players, including Wes Montgomery,
Kenny Burrell, Mundell Lowe, Django Reinhardt,
Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Charlie Byrd, among
others. The booklet notes (what few there are)
make the case that most here were influenced by
Charlie Christian, and it's doubtless true, though
it's not exactly an illuminating claim. Still,
this is an excellent various artists jazz release,
even if the guitar isn't always front and center
(George Shearing Quintet's Conception, for
example, contains a guitar solo, but the vibe and
piano solos are longer are more prominent). And
then again, so what? Jazz guitar anyone? (JC)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Rhythm & Blues 009 |
Rumba Jazz - A History Of Latin Jazz & Dance Music |
● CD $19.98 |
2 CDs, 52 tracks, 157 mins, highly
recommended
Here's a fantastic collection of Latin Jazz and
Dance music from its original heyday of the
1930s-1940s. So you get Jazz cats taking on the
Latin influence like: Louis Armstrong The
Daughter Of The Planter From Havana and The
Peanut Vender, Artie Shaw Jungle Dreams,
Duke Ellington Congo Brava, and Porto
Rican Chaos, and Fred Waring with (of corse)
Brazil. Then you get the leaders of the wave
of Latin players like Machito Nague," Alberto
Socarres "Masabi," and Augusto Coen "The Music
Goes Round and Round. You even get a Dezi Arnez
song that isn't Babalou! Sometimes the Latin
influence can be a little wince-worthy, but mostly
it fired up a lot of great artists to take their
music in a different direction. Lots of great
tracks by the likes of Cab Calloway, Fletcher
Henderson, Art Tatum, Bunk Johnson, etc. (JM)
ANTOBAL'S CUBANS: El
Maraquero/ LOUIS ARMSTRONG: The Daughter Of A
Planter From Havana/ The Peanut Vendor/ DESI
ARNAZ: La Conga En Nueva York/ LOVIE AUSTIN:
Charleston, South Carolina/ DON AZPIAZU: El
Manisero/ MILDRED BAILEY WITH RED NORVO: The
Weekend Of A Private Secretary/ CHARLIE BARNET:
Surrealism/ BAUDUC AND HAGGART: Big Noise From
Winnetka/ SIDNEY BECHET: Egyptian Fantasy/ CAB
CALLOWAY: Chili Con Conga/ MOVITA CASTANEDA: The
Carioca/ AUGUSTO COéN: The Music Goes Round And
Round/ BING CROSBY: Baia/ BOB CROSBY'S BOB CATS:
Yancey Special/ XAVIER CUGAT: Lady In Red/ JOE
DANIEL: Cuban Swing/ JOHNNY DODDS: New St Louis
Blues/ DUKE ELLINGTON: Conga Brava/ Porto Rican
Chaos/ JAMES REESE EUROPE: Memphis Blues/ BENNY
GOODMAN ORCHESTRA: Sing, Sing, Sing/ THE HAITIAN
ORCHESTRA: Sous Les Palmiers/ EDMOND HALL: Besame
Mucho/ ERSKINE HAWKINS: Satan Does The Rhumba/
FLETCHER HENDERSON: Take Me Away From The River/
WOODY HERMAN: Las Chiapanecas/ BUNK JOHNSON: Porto
Rico/ THE JUNGLE BAND: Admiration/ JOHN KIRBY:
Rhumba In The Dark/ ANDY KIRK: Cuban Boogie
Woogie/ CARL KRESS: Danzon/ GENE KRUPA: Perfidia/
CHARLES LAVERE: Ubangi Man/ THE LECUONA CUBAN
BOYS: Tabou/ MACHITO: Nague/ GLENN MILLER: The
Rhumba Jumps/ CARMEN MIRANDA: South American Way/
JELLY ROLL MORTON: The Crave/ BENNIE MOTEN: Rumba
Negro/ HOT LIPS PAGE ORCHESTRA: Harlem Rhumbain'
The Blues/ EDMUNDO ROS: Los Hijos De Buda/ ARTIE
SHAW: Jungle Dreams/ NOBLE SISSLE: Under The
Creole Moon/ ALBERTO SOCARRAS: Masabi/ EDDIE
SOUTH: La Rosita/ ART TATUM: Begin The Beguine/
JOE VENUTI: Heat Wave/ FATS WALLER: Mamacita/ FRED
WARING: Brazil/ TEDDY WILSON: Blues In C Sharp
Minor/ BOB ZURKE’S DELTA RHYTHM:
Rhumboogie
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Storyville 103 6103 |
Sounds Of New Orleans, Vol. 3 |
● CD $14.98 |
| The third and final volume in this
series of New Orleans jazz drawn from the
Storyville catalog. Two CDs with 35 tracks
recorded between 1952 and 1955, mostly recorded
live. There are five tracks from Albert Burbank
with Kid Ory & His Creole Jazzband recorded in San
Francisco - Ory was a veteran New Orleans musician
who had relocated to the West Coast in 1919! Paul
Barbarin & His Jazzband (with Percy Humphrey/ tpt,
Waldron "Frog" Joseph/ tb and Willie Humphrey/ cl)
are featured on 11 tunes. There are two sides from
cornetist Johnny Wiggs and his New Orleans Boys
with Jack Delaney/ tb and Raymond Burke/ cl - on
Tin Roof Blues there is a stirring vocal
from guitarist Edmond "Doc" Souchon. Sharkey
Bonano & his band (with Jack Delaney/ tb, Bujie
Centobie/ cl and Stanley Mendelson/ p) are
featured on seven cuts with a fine vocal by LIzzie
Miles on I Ain't Gonna Give You None Of My
Jelly Roll. The New Orleans Jazz Babies with
Alvin Alcorn/ tp, Jack Delaney/ tb and Raymon
Burke/ cl are featured on six tracks and the set
is rounded out with four sides by The Dixieland
All Stars with George Girard/ tp, Santo Pecora/
tb, Raymond Burke/ cl and Lester Bouchon/ ts.
Excellent sound and informative notes from Chris
Albertson.
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Year Zero 007 |
Watch The Closing Door: A History Of New York's Musical
Melting Pot, Vol. 1 |
● CD $23.98 |
2 CDs, 32 tracks, 150 mins, highly
recommended
Here is the opening salvo in an ambitious plan to
thoroughly chronicle New York City's musical
history. This CD set comes with a very thick
booklet that is part liner notes, but much more
the first installment in the written history of
New York music according to the Year Zero record
label people. So on top of getting two disks
packed with all kinds of terrific music, you get
some quality reading as well. New York is pretty
much as multi-cultural as a city can be and the
musical selections here cover a lot of ground.
From Jazz, like Duke Ellington's Take The A
Train; Rhythm & Blues, like Cozy Cole's
Bad; and Doo Wop, with Frankie Lyman & The
Teenagers'Why Do Fools Fall In Love -- and
that is just in the first three tracks. You will
get a wide variety of Jazz alone, with tracks
ranging from Charles Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie
Hat, to Raymond Scott's Ripples. From Cab
Calloway's uptown jive of Minnie The Moocher
to Machito's hot Latin Jazz of Mambo Mucho
Mambo. There are Rhythm & Blues giants like Big
Joe Turner and Big Maybelle and folk icons like
Dave Van Ronk and The Almanac Singers. CD one ends
with John Cage's Interminacy Pt. 2, CD two
ends with Allen Ginsberg reading, "Howl," New York
in a nutshell, diverse, creative, groundbreaking,
and all over the place culturally. The only
exception I have with this collection, which mind
you, I greatly admire, is where is the Moondog
track? This is a hell of a compilation and I hope
that it is successful enough for the people behind
it to fully realize their vision for the series.
(JM)
FAYE ADAMS: Shake A Hand/
THE ALMANAC SINGERS: Talking Union/ LOUIS
ARMSTRONG: Yellow Dog Blues/ HARRY BELAFONTE:
Matilda/ BIG MAYBELLE: One Monkey Don't Stop No
Show/ JOHN CAGE: Indeterminacy Pt 2/ CAB CALLOWAY:
Minnie The Moocher/ COZY COLE: Bad/ Topsy Pt 2/
MILES DAVIS: Summertime/ THE DRIFTERS: Money
Honey/ DUKE ELLINGTON: Take The "A" Train/ THE
EMBERS: Paradise Hill/ THE FIVE SATINS: In The
Still Of The Nite/ DIZZY GILLESPIE: Manteca/ ALLEN
GINSBERG: Howl/ BILLIE HOLIDAY: Autumn In New
York/ THE HONEYCONES: Op/ FRANKIE LYMON & THE
TEENAGERS: Why Do Fools Fall In Love/ MACHITO:
Mucho Mambo/ CHARLES MINGUS: Goodbye Pork Pie Hat/
THELONIOUS MONK: Brilliant Corners/ THE NEW LOST
CITY RAMBLERS: How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times
And Live/ THE PARAGONS: Twilight/ RAYMOND SCOTT:
Ripples/ HORACE SILVER: Senor Blues [Newport Jazz
Fest]/ NINA SIMONE: Little Girl Blue/ DANNY
TAYLOR: Coffee Daddy Blues/ SONNY TERRY: Custard
Pie Blues/ BIG JOE TURNER: Morning Noon And Night/
DAVE VAN RONK: Duncan & Brady/ JOSH WHITE:
Southern Exposure
|
| DINAH WASHINGTON |
Legends 025 |
100 Hits |
● CD $19.98 |
Another of those low priced 5 CD
sets from Legends - this time featuring the
sublime vocals of Dinah Washington. Dinah was an
incredibly versatile singer who was equally
conformable singing blues, R&B, jazz, pop and
even country. This set is fairly light on her
earlier bluesy sides from the 40s in favor of
later recordings from the mid 50s through early
60s and while it has just about all her pop hits
it doesn't have as many of her R&B hits. Still
there's some great music here if you don't mind an
overabundance of string arrangements.
(Remember Me) I'm The One
Who Loves You/ A Cottage For Sale/ A Rockin' Good
Way/ A Sunday Kind Of Love/ After You've Gone/
Again/ All Of Me/ Baby (You've Got What It Takes)/
Backwater Blues/ Big Deal/ Big Long Slidin' Thing/
Birth Of The Blues/ Black And Blue/ Blue Gardenia/
Blue Skies/ But Not For Me/ Bye Bye Blues/
Caravan/ Careless Love/ Christopher Columbus/
Cold, Cold Heart/ Come On Home/ Come Rain Or Come
Shine/ Darn That Dream/ Don't Get Around Much
Anymore/ Dream/ Easy Living/ Ev'ry Time We Say
Goodbye/ Everybody Loves My Baby/ Give Me Back My
Tears/ Half As Much/ Honeysuckle Rose/ I
Apologize/ I Believe/ I Concentrate On You/ I
Cried For You/ I Get A Kick Out Of You/ I Let A
Song Go Out Of My Heart/ I Remember You/ I Thought
About You/ I Wanna Be Loved/ I'm Through With
Love/ I've Got A Crush On You/ I've Got A Feeling
I'm Falling/ I've Got You Under My Skin/ If I
Could Be With You One Hour Tonight/ If I Had You/
If I Loved You/ If I Were A Bell/ Is You Is Or Is
You Ain't My Baby?/ It Could Happen To You/ It's
Magic/ Just One More Chance/ Keepin' Out Of
Mischief Now/ Let's Do It/ Long John Blues/ Look
To The Rainbow/ Love For Sale/ Love Walked In/
Lover Come Back To Me/ Mad About The Boy/ Makin'
Whoopee/ Manhattan/ More Than You Know/ My
Devotion/ My Ideal/ My Song/ Nothing In The World/
On The Sunny Side Of The Street/ Our Love Is Here
To Stay/ Pennies From Heaven/ Perdido/ Resolution
Blues/ Send Me To The Electric Chair/ September In
The Rain/ Short John/ Since I Fell For You/ Smoke
Gets In Your Eyes/ So In Love/ Soft Wind/
Someone's Rockin' My Dreamboat/ Sometimes I'm
Happy/ Squeeze Me/ Stairway To The Stars/
Stardust/ Stormy Weather/ T'ain't Nobody's
Biz-ness If I Do/ Teach Me Tonight/ Tell Me Why/
The Age Of Miracles/ There Is No Greater Love/
There'll Be Some Changes Made/ This Bitter Earth/
This Can't Be Love/ Time After Time/
Unforgettable/ What A Diff'rence A Day Makes/ What
Is This Thing Called Love?/ Willow Weep For Me/
You're Crying
|
| CLARENCE WILLIAMS |
Frog 75 |
Gimme Blues - Washboard Bands, 1926-29 |
● CD $18.98 |
Another superb collection of early
jazz from Frog - this one devoted to the washboard
bands put together by jazz pianist and
entrepreneur Clarence Williams. Various groups are
featured with Ed Allen on cornet or trumpet on
most tracks. There are three different washboard
players and two different clarinetists and the
groups include The Dixie Washboard Band, Blue
Grass Footwarmers, The Clarence Washboard Four and
others. Music is lively and entertaining, sound
quality is superb and there are detailed notes and
full discographical details.
|
| CLARENCE WILLIAMS |
Membran 222495 |
You Rascal You |
● CD $10.98 |
Four CDs, 79 tracks, highly
recommended
Another amazingly low priced four CD set from Membran in their "Quadromania" series features 79
tracks featuring pianist/ vocalist and bandleader
Clarence Williams and some of the great bands he
recorded with between 1929 and 1939 and provides a
great introduction to the work of this important
musician. It includes recordings with his Jazz
Kings, Washboard Band, Orchestra, Novelty Band and
more including solo vocal and piano sides and
duets with pianist Jimmy Johnson. In addition to
Williams there are vocals by Fats Waller, Eva
Taylor, Clarence Todd, Chick Bullock and others -
most of them blues. Muscians on these sessions
include Ed Allen, James P. Johnson, Ikey Robinson,
Henry "Red" Allen, Dicky Wells, Louis Jordan, Roy
Smeck, Wilbur de Paris, Buster Bailey and other
great muscians. Sound quality is excellent and
booklet has full discographical deatils but no
other information. (FS)
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