Savage Rhythm

Here's some fine music from a band that doesn't really have any 'names' involved, except for some arrangements by Benny Carter and a couple of Billy Banks vocals. I listened all the way through on this and it sounds real good. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. Savage Rhythm
2. I'm Sorry I Made You Blue
3. Everytime I Look at You
4. Snake Hips
5. The Scat Song
6. Heat Waves
7. Doin' the Shake
8. The Scat Song
9. Cabin in the Cotton
10. Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day
11. The Growl
12. Mighty Sweet
13. Rhythm Spasm
14. Swanee Lullaby
15. White Lightning
16. Wild Waves
17. Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia
18. You Gave Me Everything But Love
19. Old Yazoo
20. Reefer Man
21. Jazz Cocktail
22. Smoke Rings

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

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

Ballin' The Jack

As one reviewer said, no jazz collection is complete without at least a healthy sampling of Eddie Condon. -- Unfortunately, my only Condon disc has joined my Chick Webb in the trash pile! Sorry to those who downloaded it, but I listened to the disc just now while in the car and the noise was horrible. I hadn't listened to most of these for years now so it could possibly be a storage issue, and I'll have to listen to every cd first before ripping I guess. That's not a bad thing, just time consuming. Sorry again.

Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train

You can't go wrong with Louis Armstrong. Here's the review from Allmusic.com: During the long cold winter of 1931-1932, Louis Armstrong stationed himself in Chicago, where he spun out the last of his OKeh recordings. This volume of vintage jazz opens with 16 of these marvelous sides. Backed by nine resilient players, the trumpeter sings on each and every track, handling light novelties and romantic ballads with relative ease. He makes "Lazy River" sound like he wrote it himself. "Chinatown" has a magnificent spoken intro and vocal by the leader, followed by what he describes as "a little argument between the saxophones and the trumpet," culminating of course in a dazzling display of Armstrong's unsurpassed virtuosity. Brimming with humorous commentary and theatrical patter, "The Lonesome Road" represents a special subgenre of sanctified church burlesques. After Armstrong asks aloud "What kind of church is this?," someone can't resist interjecting a flippant salute to "you vipers." Apparently limbered up and in the mood for conversation, Armstrong introduces his musicians with relish all throughout a fine version of "I Got Rhythm." His handling of "Kickin' the Gong Around" is less theatrical but swings more solidly than Cab Calloway's hyperventilated version. Always ready to outdo even himself, Armstrong recorded a sequel to his "Tiger Rag" with someone loudly counting off the number of choruses as he blew them. What appears to have been his last OKeh record, "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" backed with "Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long," was recorded in Chicago on March 11, 1932, and given the serial number 41560. His next opportunity to record in front of his own band occurred in Camden, NJ, on December 8th. Armstrong was now officially working for the Victor record company. His 11-piece band included trombone legend Big Charlie Green, reedman and composer Edgar Sampson, and percussion wizard Chick Webb, who provided amazing locomotive effects on his snare drum on "Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train." Mezz Mezzrow is said to have been responsible for ringing the bells on this track. This excellent segment of the Louis Armstrong chronology ends with a four-and-a-half-minute "Medley of Armstrong Hits," with a nine-piece Victor studio band backing him every step of the way. Enjoy. +
(Thanks to Guy Fawkes for contributing this one!)

Tracks

1. Lazy River
2. Chinatown, My Chinatown
3. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)
4. Stardust
5. You Can Depend on Me
6. Georgia on My Mind
7. The Lonesome Road
8. I Got Rhythm
9. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
10. Kickin' the Gong Around
11. Home (When Shadows Fall)
12. All of Me
13. Love, You Funny Thing
14. The New Tiger Rag
15. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now
16. Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long
17. That's My Home
18. Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train
19. I Hate to Leave You Now
20. You'll Wish You'd Never Been Born
21. Medley of Armstrong Hits, Pt. 2: When You're Smiling/St. James Infirmary/Dinah

Stormy Weather

Another from this out-of-print series (Volume 11), this one includes Lena Horne's work from 1936-1941. Enjoy. +

Tracks

1. That's What Love Did to Me?
2. I Take to You
3. Good-For-Nothin' Joe
4. The Captain and His Men
5. You're My Thrill
6. Haunted Town
7. St. Louis Blues
8. Careless Love
9. Aunt Hagar's Blues
10. Beale Street Blues
11. Love Me a Little Little
12. Don't Take Your Love from Me
13. Out of Nowhere
14. Prisoner of Love
15. Stormy Weather
16. What Is This Thing Called Love?
17. Ill Wind
18. The Man I Love
19. Where or When
20. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues
21. Mad About the Boy
22. Moanin' Low