That Rhythm Man

Back on track again with something that should be in the collection of anyone who appreciates the era represented here. "Chick Webb represented the triumph of the human spirit in jazz and life. Hunchbacked, small in stature, almost a dwarf with a large face and broad shoulders, Webb fought off congenital tuberculosis of the spine in order to become one of the most competitive drummers and bandleaders of the big band era. Perched high upon a platform, he used custom-made pedals, goose-neck cymbal holders, a 28-inch bass drum and a wide variety of other percussion instruments to create thundering solos of a complexity and energy that paved the way for Buddy Rich (who studied Webb intensely) and Louie Bellson. Alas, Webb did not get a fair shake on records; Decca's primitive recording techniques could not adequately capture his spectacular technique and wide dynamic range. He could not read music, but that didn't stop him either, for he memorized each arrangement flawlessly. Although his band did not become as influential and revered in the long run as some of its contemporaries, it nevertheless was feared in its time for its battles of the bands in Harlem's Savoy Ballroom; a famous encounter with the high-flying Benny Goodman outfit at its peak (with Gene Krupa in the drummer's chair) left the latter band drained and defeated.

The perfect way to acquire drummer Chick Webb's recordings is to get his two Classics CDs which contain all of his performances as a leader, other than Ella Fitzgerald's features (which are in a separate Ella series) and a few numbers from Webb's final dates. On the first of the CDs, Webb leads a pickup band in 1929 (for "Dog Bottom" and "Jungle Mama"), an early orchestra in 1931 (highlighted by the first version ever of Benny Carter's "Blues in My Heart"), two numbers from 1933, and all of his classic swing sides of 1934. With arranger/altoist Edgar Sampson providing such compositions as "When Dreams Come True," "Don't Be That Way," "Blue Lou," and "Stompin' at the Savoy" (all of which would become better-known for their slightly later Benny Goodman recordings), trumpeter Taft Jordan taking some vocals purposely influenced by Louis Armstrong, Jordan, trombonist Sandy Williams, and tenor saxophonist Elmer Williams coming up with consistently hot solos, and the drummer/leader driving the orchestra, this was one of the top jazz big bands of the era." (Allmusic.com) Enjoy! +

Tracks

01. Dog Bottom
02. Jungle Mama
03. Heebie Jeebies
04. Blues In My Heart
05. Soft And Sweet
06. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
07. Darktown Strutters' Ball
08. When Dreams Come True
09. Let's Get Together
10. I Can't Dance I Got Ant In My Pants
11. Imagination
12. Why Should I Beg For Love
13. Stompin' At The Savoy
14. Blue Minor
15. True
16. Lonesome Moments
17. If It Ain't Love
18. That Rhythm Man
19. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
20. Lona
21. Blue Minor
22. It's All Over Because We're Through
23. Don't Be That Way
24. What A Shuffle
25. Blue You

In A Little Gipsy Tea Room

March madness rolls along! I'm willing to bet that most people have never heard of Bob Howard, which is a shame. He was fairly prolific in the 1930s and put out some very nice sides. From the first, it is obvious how much these recordings were influenced by Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong. As the liner notes suggest, when Victor began publishing Waller, Decca rushed to sign Howard in an attempt to cash in on Waller's popularity. Despite the similarity of style, Howard was talented in his own right and these recordings deserve to be heard on their own merit. Among those who performed on these sessions (January, 1932 - July 1935) are Benny Carter, Buster Bailey, Teddy Wilson, Cozy Cole, Rex Stewart, and Billy Taylor. Not bad company to keep! I've got three more Bob Howards to share in future posts (courtesy of another collector). Enjoy! +

Tracks

01. You Rascal, You
02. All Of Me
03. It's Unbelievable
04. Whisper Sweet
05. Throwin' Stones At The Sun
06. You Fit Into The Picture
07. You're The Top (contd.)
08. The Ghost Of Dinah
09. Pardon My Love
10. Stay Out Of Love
11. I'll Never Change
12. On The Night Of June The Third
13. Breakin' The Ice
14. Corrine Corrina
15. Ev'ry Day
16. A Porter's Love Song To A Chambermaid
17. I Can't Dance
18. If The Moon Turns Green
19. Lulu's Back In Town
20. In A Little Gipsy Tea Room
21. I Never Saw A Better Night

Lights Out

This is another one I picked up solely for the four Chick Bullock sides, and the rest makes up one of the best 'surprise' cd's I've ever picked up. With the help of people like Benny Carter, Alex Hill, Gene Krupa, Chick Webb, Bud Freeman, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Teddy Wilson and Eddie Condon this music really swings. Enjoy. +

Tracks


1. There'll Be Some Changes Made
2. I've Found A New Baby
3. Friars Point Shuffle
4. Darktown Strutters Ball
5. Jazz Me Blues
6. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?
7. Free Love
8. Dissonance
9. Swingin' With Mez
10. Love, You're Not The One For Me
11. Old Fashioned Love
12. Apologies
13. Sendin' The Vipers
14. 35th And Calumet
15. Moon Over Miami
16. I Feel Like A Feather In The Breeze
17. Suzannah
18. Lights Out
19. A Melody From The Sky
20. Lost

Zonky

William McKinney scored a coup when he hired Don Redman away from Fletcher Henderson in 1927, and his band was strong competition to those of Henderson and Ellington. But when Redman left in 1931 to form his own hugely successful band, the writing was on the wall and the Cotton Pickers folded in 1934. This set gives a hint of what's to come from Don Redman, with help from Benny Carter, Fats Waller and Coleman Hawkins on some classic tunes. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Plain Dirt
2. Gee, Ain't I Good To You?
3. I'd Love It
4. The Way I Feel Today
5. Miss Hannah
6. Peggy
7. Wherever There's A Will, Baby
8. I'll Make Fun For You
9. Words Can't Express The Way I Feel
10. If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight
11. Then Someone's In Love
12. Honeysuckle Rose
13. Zonky
14. Travelin' All Alone
15. Just A Shade Corn
16. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home?
17. Okay, Baby
18. Blues Sure Have Got Me
19. Hullabaloo
20. I Want A Little Girl
21. Cotton Picker's Scat
22. Talk To Me
23. Rocky Road
24. Laughing At Life

Accent On Swing

Recordings during Carter's European period (1935-1938) before he returned to the US to form two successful bands. From All Music: In 1935, Benny Carter moved to Europe, where in London he was a staff arranger for the BBC dance orchestra (1936-1938); he also recorded in several European countries. Carter's "Waltzing the Blues" was one of the very first jazz waltzes. Enjoy. +

Benny Carter and His Orchestra with Buddy Featherstonhaugh, Freddy Gardner, Elisabeth Welch, Ted Heath, Gene Rodgers, Bernard Addison, Thore Ehrling and others.

Tracks

1. Scandal in A Flat
2. Accent on Swing
3. You Understand
4. Gin and Jive
5. If I Could Only Read Your Mind
6. I Gotta Go
7. When Lights Are Low
8. Waltzing The Blues
9. Tiger Rag
10. Blue Interlude
11. Bugle Call Rag
12. Memphis Blues
13. When Lights Are Low
14. Some of These Days
15. Gloaming
16. Poor Butterfly
17. Drop In Next Time You're Passing
18. The Man I Love
19. That's How the First Song Was Born
20. There'll be Some Changes Made
21. Jingle Bells
22. Royal Garden Blues
23. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny

King Porter Stomp

Not being very knowledgeable on jazz, sometimes I took a chance in the hopes that a Chick Bullock vocal just might not be listed on the back. This series is usually pretty good at highlighting some vocalists and key musicians on both the front and back covers but sometimes they didn't have room for everyone, so what the heck right? Well, no soap on this one. However it became the first of a half dozen or so Fletcher Henderson cds that I picked up because the music is just that fantastic. Enjoy another "[This] item has been discontinued by the manufacturer" selection.

From All Music Guide: With its high musicianship and many talented soloists (including trumpeters Rex Stewart and Bobby Stark, trombonist Jimmy Harrison, Coleman Hawkins on tenor and altoist Benny Carter), the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra should have prospered during this period, but unaccountably its leader (never a strong businessman) seemed to be losing interest in the band's fortunes and made several bad decisions. The result is that by 1931 Henderson's orchestra was struggling while Duke Ellington's was becoming a household name. This Classics CD, in covering over three years, demonstrates how few recordings this band made (only four songs apiece in both 1929 and 1930), although the quality largely makes up for the quantity. The original band version of "King Porter Stomp" and an explosive "Oh Baby" are the highpoints of this satisfying collection. - Scott Yanow, All Music Guide Session info scan included. Enjoy. +

Tracks 

1. Dear, on a Night Like This
2. There's a Rickety Rackety Shack (By a Rickety Rockety Road)
3. Sorry
4. King Porter Stomp
5. D-Natural Blues
6. Oh Baby
7. Feelin' Good
8. I'm Feelin' Devilish (Oh by Golly Oh)
9. Hop Off
10. Old Black Joe's Blues
11. Come on Baby
12. Easy Money
13. Freeze and Melt
14. Raisin' the Roof
15. Blazin'
16. The Wang Wang Blues
17. Chinatown, My Chinatown
18. Somebody Loves Me
19. Keep a Song in Your Soul
20. What Good Am I Without You?
21. I've Found What I Wanted in You
22. My Gal Sal
23. My Pretty Girl

Man With A Horn Goes Beserk

If you listen to much old jazz, you've probably heard Buster Bailey but don't know much about him. I picked up this collection on a lark merely because of the date range and it remains one of my favorites. Except for four titles from 1959 and an obscure 1958 LP, everything Bailey recorded as a band leader is here. The first two cuts are scratchy, but hey - when you're dealing with 78s you take what you can find, and thankfully some dedicated engineers and fans work so hard to keep the music alive for the rest of us. This collection includes a virtual who's who of talent: Benny Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Shavers, Frankie Newton, Henry "Red" Allen, J.C. Higginbotham, John Kirby, Zutty Singleton and more. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Papa De-Da-Da
2. Squeeze Me
3. Call of the Delta
4. Shanghai Shuffle
5. The Bed Song
6. So You Won't Sing
7. Afternoon in Africa
8. Dizzy Debutante
9. Planter's Punch
10. Slow Jam Fizz
11. Chained to a Dream
12. Light Up
13. Man With a Horn Goes Berserk
14. Should I?
15. The Blue Room
16. April in Paris
17. Am I Blue
18. Seems Like a Month of Sundays (Since I Saw You Saturday Night)
19. The Fable of the Rose
20. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
21. Eccentric Rag