This will become quite a big page soon, and the first links
I'll be sharing are to mp3 files in dropbox as I haven't migrated
them to the site yet!
Let’s start off with one
of my favorite records. Not only that but this copy is in E+
condition, basicly as if it was bought yesterday, and came from the
most well looked after jazz collection I have ever seen, so you can
imagine how pleased I was to find it!
Billy Banks And His Orchestra(rhythmakers on the label) : Henry "Red" Allen (tp,vcl) Pee Wee Russell (cl,ts) Joe Sullivan (p) Eddie Condon (bj) Jack Bland (g) Al Morgan (b) Zutty Singleton (d) Billy Banks (vcl)
New York, April 18, 1932
bugle call rag (this has to be one of the hottest jazz records ever)
Here’s a recent acquisition that I was very pleased to get, the great Benny Carter visited England in 1936 and several records were released on English Vocalion, I’m always looking for vocalion swing records incidentally! Here’s one.
Max Goldberg, Tommy McQuater (tp) Leslie Thompson (tp,tb) Lew Davis, Ted Heath (tb) Freddy Gardner, Andy McDevitt (cl,as) Benny Carter (cl,as,ts,p,arr,comp) Buddy Featherstonhaugh (ts) Billy Munn (p) Albert Harris (g) Wally Morris (b) George Elrick (d) Elisabeth Welch (vcl)
London, England, mid June 1936
If only I could read your mind
Art Tatum was one of the best, most inventive pianists the world has ever known, jazz or otherwise! Here are both sides of english brunswick 0-1862, recorded on august 22, 1934.
click "after you've gone"
click Emaline.
Art Tatum And His Swingsters : Lloyd Reese (tp)
Marshal Royal (cl) Art Tatum (p,celesta-1) Bill Perkins (g) Joe
Bailey (b) Oscar Lee Bradley, Jr. (d) Los Angeles, CA, February 26,
1937
click to hear "body and soul"
click to hear "I've got my love to keep me warm"
Here's a 1934 recording by Benny Goodman, who would
soon be dubbed "the king of swing" and of the clarinet.
This is on Vocalion s3, the third record in Vocalion's incredible
swing series issued here in the uk.
click to hear "solitude"
Here’s a nice record by the musician some would
call Benny’s rival, Artie Shaw, these two also feature Lena
Horne who would later find fame on her own, she does sound young
here!
Artie Shaw And His Orchestra : Henry "Red" Allen (tp) J.C. Higginbotham (tb) Artie Shaw (cl,arr) Benny Carter (as) Sonny White (p) Jimmy Shirley (g) Leo Kruczek, Kurt Dieterle, Max Silverman, Serge Kotlarsky, Louis Edlin, Harry Urbant, Leo Kahn, Dave Norman (vln) Bernard Ocko, Sol Deutsch (viola) Abe Borodkin, Lucien Schmit (cello) Laura Newell (harp) Billy Taylor, Sr., Fred Zimmerman (b) Shep Shepherd (d) Lena Horne (vcl)
New York, June 26, 1941
Here are two sides featuring the great Bix Beiderbecke's wonderful
playing, one by the "new orleans lucky seven" and one by
his friend frankie trumbauer's orchestra
Interestingly on
this parlophone issue, not only is Beiderbecke given full credit for
the lucky seven side, but instead of "since my best gal turned
me down" which is how it is listed in all the discographies, the
"gal" is replaced with "girl" were they too very
british to write "gal"?
New orleans lucky
seven:Bix Beiderbecke cnt Bill Rank tb Don Murray cl Adrian Rollini
bassax Frank Signorelli p Chauncey Morehouse d New York, October 25,
1927
click Since my best gal (or girl) turned me down.
and here's the other side, from a year later.
Frankie
Trumbauer and his Orchestra : Bix Beiderbecke (cnt) Charlie Margulis
(tp-1) Bill Rank (tb) Frankie Trumbauer (c-mel,as) Jimmy Dorsey
(cl,as) Chester Hazlett (as) Rube Crozier (ts,bar) Min Leibrook
(bassax) Lennie Hayton (p,cel) Carl Kress (g) Harold McDonald
(d,harpophone) New York, January 9, 1928
click to hear it.
Here are a couple more titles from the above band,
featuring Bix.
click for "mississippi mud"
and
click "there'll come a time"
Here's a great 1942 big band record by Charlie
Barnet's orchestra. Read his interesting story
here
Charlie Barnet Irving Berger, Joseph Ferrante, Charles
Zimmerman (tp) Peanuts Holland (tp,vcl) Kahn Keene, Wally Barron,
Bill Robertson, Russell Brown (tb) Charlie Barnet (sax,ldr) George
Bone, Conn Humphreys (as) Kurt Bloom (ts) James Lamare (ts,bar) Bill
Miller (p,arr) Tom Moore (g) Jack Jarvis (b) Cliff Leeman (d) Larry
Taylor (vcl) Andy Gibson (arr) New York, April 30, 1942
click to hear "I like to riff"
and
click to hear "shadey lady"
Fats Waller is well remembered today for his great
piano playing and hilarious assides as well as his compositions, but
here is one of his early records, labeled as "Fats Waller and
his buddies" on hmv.
Fats Waller And His Buddies :
Henry "Red" Allen, Leonard Davis (tp) Jack Teagarden
(tb-1,vib-2) J.C. Higginbotham (tb) Albert Nicholas, Charlie Holmes
(cl,as) Larry Binyon (ts) Fats Waller (p) Will Johnson (bj) Pops
Foster (b) Kaiser Marshall (d) Orlando Roberson (vcl) New York,
December 18, 1929
click to listen to "Ridin' but walkin'"
and
click for "Won't you get off it, please"
Here he is with Morris's Hot Babies in 1927, this is
on a 1950s hmv issue but sounds like a master pressing! (A master
pressing means what it says, that rather than being taken from
another commercially issued record, the sauce was the original master
disc.)
Thomas Waller With Morris's Hot Babies : Tom Morris (cnt)
Charlie Irvis (tb) Fats Waller (pipe organ,piano) as noted, Eddie
King (d) Camden, N.J., May 20, 1927
click for "Red hot dan"
click for "Fats Waller stomp"
Harry James made his share of what are, in my
opinion, pretty dull recordings, but when he was good he was very
very good as the saying goes, and here he is in top form.
Harry
James tp,arr Claude Bowen tp Tom Gonsoulin tp Jack Palmer tp,vcl
Russell Brown tb Truett Jones tb Dave Matthews as,arr Claude Lakey
tp,as,ts Bill Luther ts,bar Drew Page ts,bar Jack Gardner p Brian
"Red" Kent g Thurman Teague b Ralph Hawkins d Bernice Byers
vcl Andy Gibson arr
New York, April 6, 1939
check him out on hear his great playing on "indiana"
click "record session" a nice slow one.
Here is a different record by him from the same recording
date:
click to hear a superb version of king porter stomp!
and
click for "night special"
One unforgetable day about 5 years ago I walked into an old
book shop, asked if they had any 78s and was taken down into it’s
basement, that a long time ago used to be a music shop. I was shocked
to find hundreds of new, mint condition 78s and even more shocked to
get them all for free as it was saving him halling them all out
eventually! Here is just one of those. Believe me there was a lot of
jazz in there, and this is one of several hundred! All I’ve
done is click repair.
Ida Cox Acc By Her All Star Orchestra : Ida Cox (vcl) acc by Henry "Red" Allen (tp) J.C. Higginbotham (tb) Edmond Hall (cl) Cliff Jackson (p) Billy Taylor, Sr. (b) Jimmy Hoskins (d)
New York, December 20, 1940
last
mile blues, my favorite of the two sides.
I
can't quit that man
Obviously no jazz page would be complete
without Louis Armstrong, rite? and many more of his records will be
added here, but here's what I'd call an underrated favorite of
mine.
Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra : Louis
Armstrong (tp,vcl) J.C. Higginbotham (tb) Charlie Holmes (as) Bingie
Madison (ts,bar-1) Luis Russell (p) Lee Blair (g) Pops Foster (b)
Paul Barbarin (d,vib-2) Los Angeles, January 13, 1938
click to hear "I double dare you "
and
click to hear "true confession"
Here's another Louis record, on Danish hmv, a nice
pressing!
Louis Armstrong tp,vcl Ellis Whitlock tp Zilner
Randolph tp Keg Johnson tb Scoville Brown cl,as George Oldham cl,as
Budd Johnson cl,ts Teddy Wilson p Big Mike McKendrick bj,g Bill
Oldham b Yank Porter d
click for snowball, a somewhat racest record but Louis seems to enjoy singing it.
click to hear "some sweet day"
Louis Armstrong tp,vcl Leonard Davis tp Gus Aiken tp Louis
Bacon tp Snub Mosley tb Jimmy Archey tb Henry Jones as Charlie Holmes
as Bingie Madison cl,ts Greely Walton ts Luis Russell p Lee Blair g
Pops Foster b Paul Barbarin d OK
New York, May 18, 1936
click to listen to "swing that music" a real swing classic played by arguably the inventer of swing!
and
click to hear "thankful" from the same record.
Now here’s a cool record. This is a laminated french hmv, or “disque gramophone” to give it it’s propper title, of two swing classics by Mezz Mezzrow’s swing gang, labeled as mezz mezzrow et sun orchestra on the label.
Mezz Mezzrow And His Swing Gang : Frank Newton (tp) Mezz Mezzrow (cl) Bud Freeman (ts) Willie "The Lion" Smith (p,vcl) Al Casey (g) Wellman Braud (b) George Stafford (d) Lucille Stewart (vcl)
New York, March 12, 1936
and here giving him his full name, milton mezz mezzrow et sun orchestra. Mutiny in the parlour
Here are a few more Mezzrow related records on King jazz.
A lot of these come from this session, must have been a long day!
Mezz Mezzrow (Mezzrow Bechet quintet)
Mezz Mezzrow (cl) Sidney Bechet (sop) Fritz Weston (p) Pops Foster (b) Kaiser Marshall (d) Douglas Daniels (vcl)
New York, August 29, 1945
and some more Bechet, this on hmv.
Sidney Bechet And His New Orleans Feetwarmers : Rex Stewart (cnt) Sidney Bechet (cl-1,sop-2) Earl Hines (p) John Lindsay (b) Baby Dodds (d) Herb Jeffries (vcl)
Chicago, September 6, 1940
and on a lovely rca pressing!
Sidney Bechet & His New Orleans Feetwarmers : Henry Goodwin (tp,vcl) Vic Dickenson (tb,vcl) Sidney Bechet (cl,sop) Don Donaldson (p) Ernest Williamson (b) Manzie Johnson (d)
New York, October 14, 1941
the mooche, an Ellington classic well done!
It seems as though every company in the uk in the 20s and 30s liked to mix their artists up a fair bit, brunswick being no different. At least these were both recorded in the same year!! featuring some guy called Glenn Miller on trombone, wonder what happened to him? No joke intended… He’s on both sides, as are a couple of the other men.
The Cotton Pickers
Tommy Dorsey (tp) Glenn Miller (tb) Jimmy Dorsey (cl,as) Arthur Schutt (p) Perry Botkin (bj) Joe Tarto (b) Stan King (d) Hoagy Carmichael, Scrappy Lambert (vcl)
New York, March 27, 1929
Red Nichols
Red Nichols (cnt) Mickey Bloom, Tommy Thunen (tp) Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Herb Taylor (tb) Benny Goodman (cl) Jimmy Dorsey (cl,as) Rube Bloom (p) Eddie Condon (bj) Joe Tarto (tu) Dave Tough (d) Scrappy Lambert (vcl)
New York, September 9, 1929