Pagin' The Devil

It's been another hectic month, what with all the holidays here and there, some travel, work, etc., but I hope to be more active here in the next few months. As it's a rather gray and questionable day out there, and I face the prospect of commuting at least an hour or more through an inevitable oncoming storm, I figured something with some bounce is in order. One of the best to bounce was Lester Young. From Allmusic,com, "This is the first leg of the Lester Young story, covering his exciting years as Count Basie's star tenor saxophonist and master of the metal clarinet. Opening with Young's very first appearances on record in 1936, the compilation boasts several vivid selections by the Count Basie Orchestra, examples of the gentle, relaxed intimacy of Billie Holiday and Pres with Teddy Wilson's band, and several outstanding instrumental small-group jams either led by or simply graced with the presence of Lester Young. These include the famous Kansas City Five and Six on the Commodore label, the Benny Goodman Sextet ("without Goodman" but with Charlie Christian), and various masterworks originally issued on both the Savoy and Keynote labels. There's no real adherence to a strict chronology -- the producers of this compilation were obviously aiming for playback textural ambience rather than concise sequential context. After wading into the cream of Young's work from the early '40s, the focus abruptly lurches back to the late '30s with vintage stomps and swing by Basie's orchestra and the Kansas City Six. Here, then, is a good introduction to Lester Young as he sounded in his prime. The only glaring fault occurs in the enclosed discography; the drummer on "Sometimes I'm Happy" and "Afternoon of a Basie-ite," recorded for Harry Lim's Keynote label in December of 1943, was Sidney Cattlet, not Jo Jones." Scan of the discography is at the bottom of the post. Enjoy! +

Tracks

01. Shoe Shine Boy
02. Lady Be Good
03. Roseland Shuffle
04. Swinging The Blues
05. Taxi War Dance
06. This Year's Kisses
07. I'll Never Be The Same
08. I've Found A New Baby
09. Lester Leaps In
10. Ad Lib Blues
11. Sometimes I'm Happy
12. Afternoon Of A Basie-Ite
13. Lester Leaps Again
14. I Got Rhythm
15. Four O'Clock Drag
16. Jo-Jo
17. I Don't Stand The Ghost Of A Chance With You
18. Blue Lester
19. Jump, Lester, Jump
20. Texas Shuffle
21. I Ain't Got Nobody (And There's Nobody Cares For Me)
22. I Want A Little Girl
23. Pagin' The Devil
24. Twelfth Street Rag

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

Stomp Off, Let's Go

If there's anyone more influential in jazz, I've not heard them. Louis Armstrong was simply the greatest. Which means that any release calling itself the "Ultimate Collection" is fated to overlook a sizable quantity of "must listen" work, and unsurprisingly three cds hardly comes close to filling the bill. Still, this set does encompass his career a little better than many that are released on lesser labels which go out of print or straight to the bargain bin. There is also an informative booklet with session information and photos. If you find this on sale, you won't be disappointed. Unlike the Dorsey-Sinatra set, I'm going to post all three discs at once. All titles are by either Louis Armstrong or Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, except as where noted. Happy Holidays. Enjoy. + + +

Tracks

1. Copenhagen
2. Shanghai Shuffle
3. Stomp Off, Let's Go
4. Drop That Sack
5. Melancholy
6. I'm Goin' Huntin'
7. I'm In The Mood For Love
8. On Treasure Island
9. Thanks A Million
10. Ev'ntide
11. Dippermouth Blues
12. Swing That Music
13. Pennies From Heaven - Bing Crosby
14. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
15. Once In A While
16. In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree
17. Jubilee
18. When The Saints Go Marching In
19. Shadrack
20. Ain't Misbehavin'
21. Jeepers Creepers

Disc 2:

1. Rockin' Chair
2. West End Blues
3. Savoy Blues
4. Hear Me Talkin' To Ya
5. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
6. You're A Lucky Guy
7. Wolverine Blues
8. Sweethearts On Parade
9. Perdido Street Blues
10. 2:19 Blues
11. Coal Cart Blues
12. Groovin'
13. Royal Garden Blues - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
14. Mahogany Hall Stomp - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
15. Blueberry Hill
16. You Can't Lose A Broken Heart - Billie Holiday
17. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
18. Panama    Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
19. New Orleans Function - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
20. You Rascal You (I'll Be Glad When You're Dead)
21. My Monday Date, Parts 1 & 2 - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars

Disc 3:

1. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
2. It's All In The Game
3. Someday (You'll Be Sorry) - Louis Armstrong With The Commanders
4. Basin Street Blues - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
5. When It's Sleepy Time Down South - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
6. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
7. Weary Blues
8. Wild Man Blues
9. Dippermouth Blues - Sugar Foot Stomp
10. Dear Old Southland    Louis Armstrong
11. Stompin' At The Savoy - Ella Fitzgerald
12. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
13. Sweet Lorraine
14. Hello, Dolly! - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
15. What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong's Orchestra And Chorus
16. Cabaret - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars
17. Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Louis Armstrong And The All Stars

These 'N' That 'N' Those

I can't believe I hadn't posted Lady Day previously, so here is the only collection I have of her music. I originally had great plans to get the rest of this Columbia series, but .... As one reviewer noted, Holiday had some rather mundane songs tossed in her direction during the beginning of her career that only give a glimpse of what was to come. However I think there are still some nice tunes and she teams up with Teddy Wilson on several tracks (3,5,6, 10-13). Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Your Mother's Son-In-Law
2. Riffin' The Scotch
3. I Wished On The Moon
4. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
5. Miss Brown To You
6. A Sunbonnet Blue (And A Yellow Straw Hat)
7. What A Night, What A Moon, What A Girl
8. I'm Painting The Town Red
9. It's Too Hot For Words
10. Twenty-Four Hours A Day
11. Yankee Doodle Never Went To Town
12. Eeny Meeny Meiny Mo
13. If You Were Mine
14. These 'N' That 'N' Those
15. You Let Me Down
16. Spreadin' Rhythm Around