FRANKIE NEWTON – 1937-1939 (1992) The Classics Chronological Series – 643 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Welcome to the incredibly solid and inexplicably overlooked music of Frankie Newton, a formidable trumpeter who led a series of bracingly hot swing bands during the late '30s. First comes a hotter than average version of "You Showed Me the Way," with Clarence Palmer singing in a voice that has just a bit of Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon about it. Pete Brown, Cecil Scott, and Edmond Hall heat up the entire first session, and when you add Russell Procope the fur really flies. Listeners even get to hear clarinetist Hall doubling on baritone saxophone. Even more exciting is the presence of Bulee "Slim" Gaillard, making what must be two of his first appearances on record. Slim scats up a storm and the band wails back at him. On July 13, 1937, the Uptown Serenaders came out with the most notoriously weird and irrepressibly hot record ever to appear under Newton's name: "The Onyx Hop" begins as a scorcher, and then Frankie and Pete chant the following lyrics in a strange, stoned-out duet: "Come with me and smoke some tea and I shall carry on/Look out, fellow, let me pass, I shan't be out here long/Love my wife but what has that got to do with this song?/She stayed out one hour overtime, I stayed out all night long/Went down to the Onyx Club and had myself a ball/I got tight off of scotch and stuff and like not got home at all." This recitation quickly ignites a boiling out-chorus. It is one of the funniest and most dazzling uptown swing recordings of the 1930s, and here it is sandwiched between two globs of molasses as Leon LaFell groans out a pair of sentimental songs, probably perceived as necessary confections for the pop audience. But who cares! This incongruity is quickly forgotten as the session of January 13, 1939, appears in its entirety, with James P. Johnson, Pete Brown, and Mezz Mezzrow in addition to Al Casey, John Kirby, and Cozy Cole. Bits and pieces of this session have been reissued here and there over the years, but rarely has the entire session been made available in this way. Three of these tunes, two slow drags and a stomp, were devised by the Mighty Mezz, who more often than not proved to be a good source of solid grooves and funky atmosphere. The effect of six consecutive selections played by this incredible band is downright intoxicating, as is the rest of the material presented here. "Daybreak Blues" and "After Hour Blues," gently but firmly rendered by Newton in front of Albert Ammons, Teddy Bunn, Johnny Williams, and Sid Catlett, constitute the very beginnings of the Blue Note record label. They have previously appeared under the heading of the Port of Harlem Jazzmen, reissued however briefly by the good people at Mosaic Records. Frankie's Cafe Society Orchestra has Tab Smith playing soprano saxophone during the relaxing "Tab's Blues," while "Jitters," "Frankie's Jump," and "Jam Fever" are cookers. "Vamp" bases its dance rhythm on a very simple line. "Parallel Fifths," a walking blues with an underlying boogie-woogie attitude, provides a smooth finish to this almost perfect package of vintage uptown swing. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :
1    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    You Showed Me The Way 2:44
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Vocals – Clarence Palmer
Written-By – Green, McCrae
2    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 2:34
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Stept, Clare
3    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    Who's Sorry Now? 2:44
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Kalmar, Ruby, Snyder
4    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    I Found A New Baby 2:37
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown, Russell Procope
Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone – Edmond Hall
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Palmer, Williams
5    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    The Brittwood Stomp (I'm A Ding Dong Daddy) 2:42
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown, Russell Procope
Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone – Edmond Hall
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Trumpet, Written-By – Frank Newton
6    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    There's No Two Ways About It 2:53
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown, Russell Procope
Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone – Edmond Hall
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Vocals – Slim Gaillard
Written-By – Adamson, McHugh
7    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    'Cause My Baby Says It's So 2:40
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown, Russell Procope
Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone – Edmond Hall
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Double Bass [String Bass] – Richard Fullbright
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – John Smith
Piano – Don Frye
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Vocals – Slim Gaillard
Written-By – Dubin, Warren
8    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    Easy Living 2:47
Alto Saxophone – Gene Johnson, Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – O'Neil Spencer
Guitar – Frank Rice
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Vocals – Leon LaFell
Written-By – Robin, Rainger
9    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    The Onyx Hop 2:44
Alto Saxophone – Gene Johnson
Alto Saxophone, Vocals – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – O'Neil Spencer
Guitar – Frank Rice
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet, Vocals, Written-By – Frank Newton
10    Frankie Newton And His Uptown Serenaders–    Where Or When 2:32
Alto Saxophone – Gene Johnson, Pete Brown
Clarinet – Edmond Hall
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – O'Neil Spencer
Guitar – Frank Rice
Piano – Don Frye
Tenor Saxophone – Cecil Scott
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Vocals – Leon LaFell
Written-By – Rodgers-Hart
11    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    Rosetta
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Hines
12    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    Minor Jive 3:05
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet, Written-By – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
13    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise 3:11
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Seitz, Lockhart
14    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    Who? 3:09
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
Written-By – Kern, Hammerstein, Harbach
15    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    The Blues My Baby Gave To Me 3:12
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet, Written-By – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
16    Frankie Newton And Orchestra–    Rompin' 2:33
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Clarinet, Written-By – Mezz Mezzrow
Double Bass [String Bass] – John Kirby
Drums – Cozy Cole
Guitar – Albert Casey
Piano – James P. Johnson
Trumpet – Frank Newton
17    Frank Newton Quintet–    Daybreak Blues 2:38
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Sidney Catlett
Guitar – Teddy Bunn
Piano – Albert Ammons
Trumpet – Frank Newton
18    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Tab's Blues 2:54
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trumpet – Frank Newton
19    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Jitters 3:00
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trumpet – Frank Newton
20    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Frankie's Jump 2:46
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trumpet, Written-By – Frank Newton
21    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Jam Fever 3:06
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trumpet – Frank Newton
22    Frank Newton Quintet–    After Hour Blues 4:07
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Sidney Catlett
Guitar – Teddy Bunn
Piano – Meade Lux Lewis
Trumpet – Frank Newton
23    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Vamp 2:51
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trombone – Dicky Wells
Trumpet – Frank Newton
24    Frankie Newton And His Café Society Orchestra–    Parallel Fifths 3:15
Alto Saxophone – Stanley Payne
Double Bass [String Bass] – Johnny Williams
Drums – Eddie Dougherty
Guitar – Ulysses Livingston
Piano – Kenny Kersey
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Tab Smith
Tenor Saxophone – Kenneth Hollon
Trombone – Dicky Wells
Trumpet, Written-By – Frank Newton