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)

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

Pagan Paradies

Hi-ho, doin' the new low down! For the first post of the new year, here is another Classics offering of Don Redman and His Orchestra. No Chick Bullock vocals here, but well worth the purchase. Redman shares the arrangements with Horace Henderson, and the vocals with Harlan Lattimore. Doin' The New Low Down brings together three of my favorite artists of the era: Don Redman, Cab Calloway and the Mills Brothers, and this is on top of an orchestra that includes Henry Red Allen, Bill Coleman and Benny Morton. Just a whole lot of good listening. Since I forgot to include the scans with the upload, just click on the images and they should open in full view, then you can save them. Enjoy. +


Tracks

01. Trouble, Why Pick On Me
02. Shakin' The African
03. Chant Of The Weed
04. Shakin' The African
05. I Heard
06. How'm I Doin' (Hey-Hey)
07. Try Getting A Good Night's Sleep
08. Got The South In My Soul
09. If It's True
10. It's A Great World After All
11. You Gave Me Everything But Love
12. Tea For Two
13. Hot And Anxious
14. I Got Rythm
15. Pagan Paradies
16. Two-Time Man
17. Underneath The Harlem Moon
18. Ain't I The Lucky One
19. Doin' What I Please
20. Nagasaki
21. Doin' The New Low-Down (Instr.)
22. Doin' The New Low-Down (Vocal)
23. How Ya Feelin'
24. Shuffle Your Feet / Bandana Babies

The Jumpin' Jive

Cab Calloway had so many great tunes during his career that it is hard to pick the "best of" much less narrow it down to 16 representative tunes. But this compilation jumps with his 1942 version of Minnie the Moocher, a great cover of Ellington's Take The 'A' Train, Dinah, and of course Reefer Man. A nice intro for people who don't know much of Cab Calloway's music. Enjoy. +

Now, can't you hear those hepcats call,
(Yeah!)
Come on, boys, let's have a ball!
The jim, jam, jump on the jumpin' jive
Makes you dig your jive on the mellow side,
Hep! Hep!

Tracks

1. Minnie The Moocher
2. Beale Street Mama
3. Angeline
4. Bye Bye Blues
5. Minnie The Moocher's Weddin' Day
6. Dinah
7. Wake Up And Live
8. Pickin' The Cabbage
9. You Gotta Ho-Di-Ho
10. Reefer Man
11. The Jumpin' Jive
12. Manhattan Jam
13. I Gotta Go Places And Do Things
14. Eadie Was A Lady
15. Take The 'A' Train
16. F.D.R. Jones

The Cotton Club Legend 1929-1941

1985 seems to have been a good year for jazz compilations on LP. Here's a French issue that covers some of the bands who played at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Cab Calloway and more. There were other Prohibition-era clubs such as the Savoy, Roseland, Lafayette, Apollo and Connie's Inn but the Cotton Club was the place to be. Enjoy. +

Tracks

(side one)
1. A Nite At The Cotton Club - Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
2. Market Street Stomp - The Missourians
3. A Few Riffs - Fess Williams and His Royal Flush Orchestra
4. My Blue Days Blew Over - Eubie Blake and His Orchestra
5. Medley of Armstrong Hits - Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra
6. Drop Me Off In Harlem - Adelaide Hall with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band
7. Love Is The Thing - Mills Blue Rhythm Band
8. The Lady With The Fan - Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra

(side two)
9. Daybreak Express - Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
10. Minnie The Moocher - Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra
11. Swingin' Uptown - Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra
12. 'Long About Midnight - Willie Bryant and His Orchestra
13. The Scat Song - Billy Banks
14. King Porter Stomp - Teddy Hill and His Orchestra
15. Jeepers Creepers - Ethel Waters with Eddie Mallory and His Orchestra
16. Bojangles - Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra
17. Saint Louis Blues - Lena Horne with the Dixieland Jazz Group of NBC's Chamber Music of Lower Basin Street

Aw You Dawg

The Cab Calloway set is probably my favorite from this series. I took both the original and the rips out for a spin today, kicked the tires, etc., so there shouldn't be any data corruption problems. There is however some surface noise from the original transfers which is out of my control and which shouldn't detract from listening to some great music. Calloway said that his band in the 40s was the sound he always tried to achieve, but I prefer the rawer sound of his earlier bands. This is some great stuff. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. It Looks Like Susie
2. Sweet Georgia Brown
3. Basin Street Blues
4. Bugle Call Rag
5. You Rascal, You
6. Stardust
7. You Can't Stop Me From Lovin' You
8. You Dog
9. Somebody Stole My Gal
10. Ain't No Gal In This Town
11. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
12. Trickeration
13. Kickin' The Going Around
14. Down-Hearted Blues
15. Without Rhythm
16. Corinne Corinna
17. Stack-O'Lee Blues
18. The Scat Song
19. Cabin In The Cotton
20. Strictly Cullud Affair
21. Aw You Dawg
22. Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day
23. Dinah

Hotcha Razz-Ma-Tazz

The second in the Cab Calloway series, with some pretty good tunes. Zaz Zuh Zaz, Kickin' The Gong Around, etc. Cab turns in more interesting covers (see the 1930-1931 entry) with versions of Eddie Cantor and even Al Jolson. Band members for these included Don Redman and Doc Cheatham among others. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Hot Water
2. Doin' The New Low-Down
3. Evenin'
4. Harlem Hospitality
5. The Lady With The Fan
6. Harlem Camp Meeting
7. Zaz Zuh Zaz
8. Father's Got His Glasses On
9. Minnie The Moocher
10. The Scat Song
11. Kickin' The Gong Around
12. There's A Cabin In The Cotton
13. I Learned About Love From Her
14. Little Town Gal
15. 'Long About Midnight
16. Moon Glow
17. Jitter Bug
18. Hotcha Razz-Ma-Tazz
19. Margie
20. Emaline
21. Chinese Rhythm
22. Moonlight Rhapsody
23. Avalon

Have You Ever Met That Funny Reefer Man?

This cd is one of my all-time favorites. It includes Cab's first recording of Reefer Man as well as Angeline, Old Man of the Mountain, and Eadie Was a Lady. It also includes Git Along with a very rare guest vocalist, this time a duet with Chick Bullock. I much prefer the older Cab Calloway recordings before his music became more polished in the 1940s, though Calloway himself expressed a preference for the opposite. I've got several more to come from this series. Enjoy, and Happy New Year. +

*** I forgot to mention something I just discovered today while searching for the cover image. Note the "chronogical" at the top of the label. Apparently it was misspelled for years before Classics corrected the error - and it only took me 13 years to notice!

Tracks

1. How Come You Do Me Like You Do
2. Old Yazoo
3. Angeline
4. I'm Now Prepared To Tell The World It's You
5. Swanee Lullaby
6. Reefer Man
7. Old Man Of The Mountain
8. You Gotta Ho-De-Ho (To Get Along With Me)
9. Strange As It Seems
10. This Time It's Love
11. Git Along
12. Hot Toddy
13. I've Got The World On A String
14. Harlem Holiday
15. Dixie Doorway
16. Wah-Dee-Dah
17. Sweet Rhythm
18. Beale Street Mama
19. That's What I Hate About Love
20. The Man From Harlem
21. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
22. My Sunday Gal
23. Eadie Was A Lady
24. Gotta Go Places And Do Things

Music of Prohibition

Enjoy some great music from the age of Prohibition. Today marks the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the Volstead Act, otherwise known as the 18th Amendment. + (256)

Tracks (covers)

1. Minnie The Moocher (Theme Song) (78rpm Version) - Cab Calloway & His Orchestra
2. Chicago Breakdown - Louis Armstrong
3. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Duke Ellington & his Orchestra
4. Sugar Foot Stomp - Fletcher Henderson
5. I Got Rhythm - Don Redman
6. Shim Sham Shimmy - The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra
7. Stompin' At The Savoy (78rpm Version) - Chick Webb's Savoy Orchestra
8. Kater Street Rag - Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
9. The Mooche - Duke Ellington
10. You Drink Too Much - State Street Swingers
11. Mood Indigo - Duke Ellington
12. Chicago Stomp Down - Duke Ellington
13. Take The A Train (78rpm Version) - Cab Calloway
14. Black And Tan Fantasy - Duke Ellington
15. St. Louis Blues - The Mills Brothers
16. Bootlegger Blues - Mississippi Sheiks
17. Rockin' In Rhythm - Duke Ellington
18. Diga Diga Do - The Mills Brothers
19. Sweet Georgia Brown - California Ramblers
20. When The Moon Shines On The Moonshine - Bert Williams
21. Charleston - California Ramblers
22. Happy Days Are Here Again - Casa Loma Orchestra