The Joint Is Jumping

This is a rather pedestrian collection of swing tunes, with the exception being that it does jump. Although suffering from commonitis (e.g., Woodchopper's Ball, In The Mood) it is saved by Stuff Smith, Artie Shaw, Harry James, Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans and Lucky Millinder. And though Drum Boogie shows up in several collections, I never get tired of hearing it. Cab Calloway shows that he, too, succumbed to the vocal chorus fever (reminding me of Tommy Dorsey's sides with the Pipers et al), but then there's Count Basie with a good one, as well as Harlan Leonard and His Rockets. Imo, the weakest tunes are Cleo Brown and Slim & Slam (I don't see how they are swing tunes), but that's just my two cents. All in all, a good listen. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Stompin' At The Savoy - Chick Webb and His Orchestra (1934)
2. Walking And Singing - Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy (1936)
3. Breakin' In A New Pair Of Shoes - Cleo Brown (1935)
4. Don't Be That Way - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (1938)
5. T'ain't What You Do (It's The Way You Do It) Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra (1939)
6. The Joint Is Jumping - Fats Waller and His Rhythm (1937)
7. In The Mood - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (1939)
8. At The Woodchopper's Ball - Woody Herman and His Orchestra (1939)
9. The Flat Foot Floogie - Slim and Slam (1938)
10. Tuxedo Junction - Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra (1939)
11. Back Bay Shuffle - Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (1938)
12. After You've Gone - Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys (1936)
13. Hairy Joe Jump - Harlan Leonard and His Rockets (1940)
14. Jumpin' At The Woodside - Count Basie and His Orchestra (1938)
15. Woo Woo - Harry James and The Boogie Woogie Trio (1938)
16. Drum Boogie - Gene Krupa and His Orchestra (1941)
17. Oh Boy, I'm In The Groove - Horace Henderson and His Orchestra (1940)
18. Just You, Just Me - Lester Young Quartet (1943)
19. Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam) - Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra (1939)
20. Flying Home - Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra (1942)
21. Second Balcony Jump - Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans (1941)
22. Little John Special - Lucky Millinder and His orchestra (1942)
23. I Want To Rock - Cab Calloway and His Orchestra (1942)
24. Walk 'Em - Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra (1946)

Life Goes To A Party

This is one of those collections that inspired me to seek out more of the same music. It's tough to cram an entire decade of popular music into 20 songs, but I think this Volume 1 set shows a terrific effort (unlike Volume 2). One of my next acquisitions was the Art Deco set of Fred Astaire, Dorsey's Clambake Seven, as well as some Larry Clinton. Are there many songs that match Bea Wain's energy on Martha, or Edythe Wright on Tommy Dorsey's The Music Goes 'Round And Round? ... From Allmusic.com, "The 1930s were a tumultuous decade, and the record business almost went under after the stock market crash of 1929 and the Depression that gripped the nation. But in adverse times America still wanted to be entertained, and Victor provided much of the soundscape for that decade. This first of two volumes features escapist fare like Bing Crosby's "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," Leo Reisman's optimistic "Happy Days Are Here Again," Fred Astaire's "We're in the Money," Cole Porter's "You're the Top," Tommy Dorsey's "The Music Goes 'Round and Around," and Kate Smith's patriotic flag-waver "God Bless America." But it was also the beginning of jazz taking the nation by storm, with tracks like Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose," Benny Goodman's "Life Goes to a Party," Meade "Lux" Lewis' "Honky Tonk Train Blues," Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade," and Bunny Berigan's "I Can't Get Started with You" counted in the mix. And great torch songs like Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and Mae West's (with Duke Ellington) "My Old Flame," along with infectious novelties like Wayne King's "Josephine" and Maurice Chevalier's "Mimi," help to give the big picture of the decade in this marvelous collection. Transfers are still a bit grainy, as these recordings were still a good decade and a half away from the invention of magnetic tape, but nothing sounds like a battered 78 on here either." I would suggest that sometimes a battered 78 can still sound good. Scans of the covers included. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Happy Days Are Here Again
2. Cooking Breakfast For The One I Love
3. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
4. Mimi
5. Stardust
6. We're In The Money
7. Jitter Bug
8. My Old Flame
9. You're The Top
10. The Music Goes 'Round And 'Round
11. Honky Tonk Train Blues
12. Josephine
13. Honeysuckle Rose
14. I Can't Get Started
15. Life Goes To A Party
16. The Donkey Serenade
17. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen
18. Martha
19. Moonlight Serenade
20. God Bless America

We Called It Music

It's been a busy time of late, so apologies for not getting this out sooner. Here we have the fourth and final volume of this Eddie Condon collection. This volume covers January 21, 1942 through August 1949, and includes more of the fantastic lineup: Max Kaminsky, Pee Wee Russell, Joe Bushkin, George Wettling, Zutty Singleton, Benny Morton, Hot Lips Page, Miff Mole (tracks 8 & 13), Billie Holiday, Bobby Hackett, as well as Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong and James P. Johnson. If this isn't all-star, then the term is meaningless. On top of that, there is one of the sexiest voices ever, Lee Wiley. Tracks that stand out for me are Cherry, Peg O' My Heart, Ballin' The Jack, and Georgia Cake Walk. But feel free to choose your own. Enjoy. +

Tracks

01. Don't Leave Me Daddy
02. Georgia Cake Walk
03. Liberty Inn Drag
04. Indiana
05. Get Happy
06. Oh, Katharina
07. Uncle Sam's Blues
08. How Come You Do Me Like You Do
09. Clarinet Marmalade
10. Joe's Blues
11. Village Blues
12. Tiger Rag
13. Peg O' My Heart
14. Cherry
15. Ballin' The Jack
16. Jada
17. When Your Lover Has Gone
18. Wherever There's Love
19. Improvisation For March Of Time
20. Just You, Just Me
21. Atlanta Blues
22. Keeps On A-Rainin'
23. We Called It Music