BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1396 (2005) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist + Credits :

BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1407 (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Benny Goodman's 31st volume in the Classics Chronological Series documents his stylistically diverse adventures as a Capitol recording artist with 22 titles resulting from eight different sessions that took place in New York and Los Angeles between August 11 and November 25, 1947. Jazz, like the careers of those who perform it, has never evolved in a precise and linear manner; while during this period Goodman was certainly incorporating progressive bop elements into his repertoire, he also continued his lifelong involvement with swing tropes and old-time melodies. "Nagasaki" and "Varsity Drag" are examples of old material interpreted with breathtaking modernity. The three sextet sessions reissued here feature xylo/vibraphonist Red Norvo and pianist Mel Powell. Guitarist Al Hendrickson, who specialized in pleasantly laid-back romantic vocals, is heard with both the sextet and the big band. On September 12, Goodman sat in with the Paul Weston orchestra for one of Irving Berlin's ultra-patriotic ditties entitled "The Freedom Train." This flag-waver, sung by Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee, Margaret Whiting and a cheery vocal group known as the Pied Pipers, contains a set of lyrics that could easily have been misinterpreted by the House Un-American Activities Committee: "You can shout your anger from a steeple, you can shoot the system full of holes." (Try that one on J. Edgar Hoover.) Tracks 12 through 21 scale the action down to an intimate trio involving pianist Teddy Wilson and longtime Jimmie Lunceford drummer Jimmy Crawford. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :

JESS STACY – 1951-1956 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1453 (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third installment in the Classics chronological overview of recordings issued under the name of pianist Jess Stacy traces a time line from March 16, 1951, to March 3, 1956, with recordings made exclusively in Los Angeles, CA. It opens with eight titles recorded for Brunswick by Stacy, guitarist George Van Eps, bassist Morty Corb, and drummer Nick Fatool. This quartet's marvelous integrity is strongly in evidence on Rodgers & Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me" and endures throughout each of the ensemble members' subsequent collaborations. Tracks nine through 18 were recorded for Atlantic during April 1954 by two different nine-piece Benny Goodman reunion bands under the leadership of Jess Stacy. With all due respect to tenor saxophonists Babe Russin and Vido Musso, the real star of these swinging sessions was front-line trumpeter Ziggy Elman. According to Classics producer Anatol Schenker, these miniature big-band recordings (including a rendition of Gordon Jenkins' "Goodbye" lasting 50 seconds and a tiny take of "Let's Dance" that clocks out at less than half a minute) were only released to the public following the success of the sentimentalist motion picture The Benny Goodman Story. Stacy recorded four more titles (including a blues dedicated to jazz critic Otis Ferguson) for Atlantic on October 6, 1955, this time with bassist Artie Shapiro and drummer Nick Fatool. Stacy and Fatool also recorded four duets (on themes composed by Stacy) for Brunswick on March 3, 1956. This all adds up to one of the most enjoyable Jess Stacy compilations ever assembled by anyone, especially as the range of instrumentation -- duet, trio, quartet, and nonet -- illuminates him as a wonderfully adaptable improviser. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :

ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940-1941 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1167 (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Artie Shaw kept his third jazz orchestra (his Stardust band) together into early 1941 before he decided to break it up. Included on this CD are the big band's last recordings (including "Prelude in C Major," "Dancing in the Dark," and the exciting two-part "Concerto for Clarinet") plus the second session by Shaw's Gramercy Five, featuring trumpeter Billy Butterfield and Johnny Guarnieri on harpsichord. Concluding this CD are four songs with a studio orchestra and four others with a very interesting interracial group that includes trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen, trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, altoist Benny Carter, Lena Horne (taking two vocals), and a string section. There are lots of stimulating and surprising performances heard throughout this pleasing program by the great clarinetist. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

PEGGY CONNELLY - That Old Black Magic (1956-2014) [24bits-96khz] RM / FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1     That Old Black Magic 3:15
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
2     Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 3:19
Cole Porter
3     Trav'lin' Light 2:30
Johnny Mercer
4     Ev'ry Time 2:11
Blane, Martin   
5     It Never Entered My Mind 4:27
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
6     Why Shouldn't I 3:00
Cole Porter
7     Gentlemen Friend 2:47
Horwitt, Lewine
8     What is There to Say 2:55
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
9     He Was Too Good to Me 2:43
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
10     I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' 2:41
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
11     Fools Rush in 2:25
Johnny Mercer
12     Alone Together 3:17
Schwartz-Dietz
Credits :
Accompanied By – Russ Garcia "Wigville" Band
Alto Saxophone – Charlie Mariano
Baritone Saxophone – Jimmy Giuffre
Bass – Max Bennett
Drums – Stan Levey
Guitar – Al Hendrickson
Leader – Russ Garcia
Soprano Saxophone – Russ Cheever
Tenor Saxophone – Bill Holman
Trumpet – Pete Candoli, Stu Williamson

JOANIE SOMMERS - Softly: The Brazilian Sound [1964]

Released in 1964, the aptly titled Softly, the Brazilian Sound was Joanie Sommers' seventh long-player for Warner Bros. in under five years. She had been marketed as a torch balladeer to popular jazz and Great American Songbook enthusiasts, as well as a teenybopper to a considerably younger audience. Sommers joins forces with Laurindo Almeida (guitarist/arranger) in a move that predates Frank Sinatra's collaborative efforts with Antonio Carlos Jobim by several years. In actuality, the so-called "bossa nova" movement was one of the only trends to have any effect on the American pop scene during the mid-'60s -- particularly when going up against British Invasion bands. And it's little wonder that Jobim's name crops up throughout the effort, as he co-penned a couple of tunes -- including the sultry opener, "Meditation" (Meditacao). Comparatively traditional is Henry Mancini's title theme to Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page's concurrent romantic comedy, Dear Heart. Almeida's score is tempered, yet stays fairly close to Andy Williams' Top 30 hit reading of the song. "Watching the World Go By" -- which shouldn't be confused with the Dean Martin classic -- is the other cinematic selection. Sommers' refined confidence not only sells the number, but makes it one of the project's least dated entries. Although arguably obligatory, "Quiet Nights (Corcovado)" gives Almeida an opportunity to weave his lyrical and romantically charged acoustic guitar on the Jobim bossa nova archetype. Conversely, Almeida could have gotten significantly more mileage had he removed the syrupy and heavy-handed string section. "Once (Ils S'Aimaient)" is a perfect match for Sommers' expressive voice as she subtly contributes to the composition's ever so slight sense of melancholia. After an instrumental introduction that seems to portend a reflective ballad, "Softly, as I Leave You" is taken at a quicker tempo, giving the singer a bit more melody to work with. Unquestionably, Sommers' downy intonations are at once hypnotic and seductive. "I Could Have Danced All Night" then counters with a happy-go-lucky visage that settles into one of the finest samba vibes on the platter. She offers the same unencumbered flair to the bluesy "You Can't Go Home Again," while the Johnny Mercer collaboration with Almeida on "Old Guitaron" allows Sommers to engage listeners with the warm, inviting intimacy that she was becoming known for. In 2007, Collectors' Choice Music combined Softly, the Brazilian Sound with Sommers' 1960 long-playing debut, Positively the Most, making each available for the first time in decades. by Lindsay Planer  
Track Listing
1 Meditation (Meditacao) 3:01
2 Dear Heart 3:19
3 Watching the World Go By 3:09
4 Quiet Nights (Corcovado)  2:52
5      Once (Ils S'Aimaient) 2:47
6 Softly, As I Leave You 3:23
Giorgio Calabrese / Antonio de Vita
7 I Could Have Danced All Night 2:24
8 I'll Remember April 3:00
Gene DePaul / Buddy Johnson / Don Raye
9 You Can't Go Home Again 3:30
10 Carnival (Manha de Carnaval) 3:26
Luigi Creatore
11 Old Guitaron 3:59
 12 That's All 2:49
Alan Brandt / Bob Haymes
Credits
Arranged By, Conductor – Laurindo Almeida
Electric Guitar – Al Viola, Howard Roberts, Tony Rizzi
French Horn – Justin Gordon
Guitar [Spanish Guitar] – Al Hendrickson
Vibraphone [Mallet Instruments] – Emil Richards

  JOANIE SOMMERS - Softly: The Brazilian Sound 

[1964] Warner Bros. Records / FLAC / scans 

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