Gotta Darn Good Reason Now

Filling in some gaps to kick off the weekend, this covers the first 24 sides recorded by Cab Calloway under his own name (formerly he performed with the Missourians). As noted by others, these recordings show that Calloway had already developed his style, and he was successful with it. This cd includes the original recording of Minnie the Moocher, which he recorded several times. I prefer this version. He and the orchestra also do justice to Benny Carter with a nice cover of The Blues In My Heart. The liner notes (among others) suggest that it's interesting to hear Calloway covering tunes associated with other artists of the day (Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Fats Waller, Carter), but the practice was so common that I would be surprised if they hadn't done covers. In my mind, I always associate St. James Infirmary with Cab anyway. But I will agree that, of all the Ellington material available, Mood Indigo is an interesting choice. These tunes were recorded between July 24, 1930 and June 17, 1931. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Gotta Darn Good Reason Now (For Bein' Good)
2. St. Louis Blues
3. Sweet Jenny Lee
4. Happy Feet
5. Yaller
6. The Viper's Drag
7. Is That Religion?
8. Some of These Days
9. Nobody's Sweetheart
10. St. James Infirmary
11. Dixie Vagabond
12. So Sweet
13. Minnie the Moocher
14. Doin' The Rhumba
15. Mood Indigo
16. Farewell Blues
17. I'm Crazy Bout My Baby
18. Creole Love Song
19. The Levee Low-Down
20. Blues In My Heart
21. Black Rhythm
22. Six or Seven Times
23. My Honey's Lovin Arms
24. The Nightmare

With Plenty Of Money And You

Gadzooks, I can't believe I didn't post this already. For whatever reason, it's been sitting in my drafts folder. Well, here's the second in the Art Tatum series featuring solos by the man that could make a bad piano sound good. Six years seems like a long period to cover in one disc, but Tatum tended to work and to record unaccompanied, partly because relatively few musicians could keep pace with his fast tempos and advanced harmonic vocabulary. Tatum said of himself, "A band hampers me." Other musicians expressed amazed bewilderment at performing with Tatum. Drummer Jo Jones, who recorded a 1956 trio session with Tatum and bassist Red Callender is quoted as quipping, "I didn't even play on that session [...] all I did was listen. I mean, what could I add? [...] I felt like setting my damn drums on fire." Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco said that playing with Tatum was "like chasing a train." (notes from Wiki). Apparently Tatum thought that there wasn't much of a market for solo recordings, so his recorded output is less than it should have been, and instead he focused more on performing. Lucky audiences, they. Enjoy. +

Tracks

01. Liza
02. Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddle
03. Body And Soul
04. With Plenty Of Money And You
05. What Will I Tell My Heart
06. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
07. Gone With The Wind
08. Stormy Weather
09. Chlo-e
10. The Sheik Of Araby
11. Tea For Two
12. Deep Purple
13. Elegie
14. Humoresque
15. Sweet Lorraine
16. Get Happy
17. Lullaby Of The Leaves
18. Tiger Rag
19. Sweet Emaline, My Gal
20. Emaline
21. Moonglow
22. Love Me
23. Cocktails For You
24. St. Louis Blues

Jazz Me Blues

Bix Beiderbecke has shown up here and there among other posts, but this is my first to feature the famous cornetist and pianist. Many people consider Bix the greatest ever, while others sarcastically refer to him as jazz's first saint, while in recent years some less-than savory details have emerged about his earlier life. Yet for better for worse, he has come to symbolize Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties - hot jazz, flappers, changing moralities, and more importantly, illegal hootch which ultimately did him in in 1931. Bix has been cited as a major influence by many jazz musicians, including Bing Crosby, Frankie Trumbauer, Bunny Berigan, Lester Young, and many more. He recorded many of his best-known sides while with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra, and later with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. A lot has been written about Bix, too much for this small space. More information can be found at Redhot Jazz, Allmusic.com, and Wikipedia.

Bix's popularity seems only to have grown since his early death, which received only passing notice in the press. This year the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society holds its 41st annual festival, August 2 - 5, 2012, in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa. Enjoy! +

Tracks

1. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Jazz Me Blues
2. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - At The Jazz Band Ball
3. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Royal Garden Blues
4. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Sorry
5. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Singin' The Blues
6. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - I'm Comin' Virginia
7. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
8. Tram, Bix & Eddie -     For No Reason At All In "C"
9. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Goose Pimples
10. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Trumbology
11. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Ostrich Walk
12. Frankie Trumbauer And His Orchestra - Riverboat Shuffle
13. Bix And His Rhythm Jugglers - Davenport Blues
14. Wolverine Orchestra, The - Copenhagen
15. Wolverine Orchestra, The - Fidgety Feet
16. Wolverine Orchestra, The - Tiger Rag
17. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - In A Mist (Bixology)
18. Jean Goldkette And His Orchestra - Clementine (From "New Orleans")
19. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Thou Swell
20. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Ol' Man River
21. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Wa-Da-Da (Ev'rybody's Doin' It Now)
22. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Louisiana
23. Bix Beiderbecke And His Gang - Margie
24. Bix Beiderbecke And His Orchestra - I'll Be A Friend With Pleasure
25. Hoagy Carmichael And His Orchestra - Bessie Couldn't Help It