RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1157 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In this segment of the Red Norvo story, the xylophonist's collaborations with his wife, Mildred Bailey, predominate. This was a fine jazz orchestra with excellent soloists. One great and glowing jewel in the band was clarinetist Hank D'Amico, and Norvo's sparkling percussive passages are always a delight. Each of the five instrumental tracks resound with that fascinating combination of xylophone and big band, tidy brass over solidly arranged reeds, and -- beginning in January of 1938 -- precision drumming by George Wettling, that mainstay of Eddie Condon and his Commodore jam bands. With 16 out of 24 tracks serving as features for Bailey's pleasant vocals, this package will satisfy anyone who has a taste for her style and personality. As always, most of her material deals with romance or heartbreak. She sounds quite pleasant during a handsome treatment of George Gershwin's "Love Is Here to Stay," but if you scratch beneath the surface of Tin Pan Alley, things don't always look so rosy. Johnny Mercer's catchy "Weekend of a Private Secretary" seems at first like a cute description of a naughty vacation, but the lyrics, penned by Nebraska native Bernie Hanighen, reveal the mottled underbelly of old-fashioned North American bigotry. As Bailey shrewdly pronounces the phrase "Cuban gent," the song quickly evolves into a flippant essay on Caucasian infatuation with The Exotic Other. Ultimately, she presents a crude list of social stereotypes that a working girl would be likely to encounter while seeking out male companionship. These include a slicker, a hick, a Reuben -- this was originally a carnival or circus term for a rustic rube -- and even that time-honored American racial epithet, "darky." The band is tight, maracas and all, and Norvo's xylophone sounds great surrounded by Caribbean rhythm effects, but rancid social undercurrents leave an odd taste in the mouth. Further ethical/ethnic discomfiture may be experienced while listening to "There's a Boy in Harlem," which must be the most racist opus ever contrived by the otherwise admirable songwriting team of Rodgers & Hart. While accurately admitting that "all the writers copy" an unidentified Afro-American composer, lyricist Larry Hart describes the "boy" as sloppily dressed (!) and even paraphrases a nasty figure of speech by referring to him as "this person in the woodpile." The fact that "Mr. and Mrs. Swing" elected to record these vulgar songs speaks volumes about the prevailing social climate during the 1930s and momentarily sheds an unseemly light on their respective careers. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938-1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1192 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This is the fourth volume in the chronologically reissued recordings of Red Norvo on Classics. Norvo was married to Mildred Bailey from 1933-1939, and they made a lot of records together. Every side that appeared under her own name has been brought out in a parallel series, while all those originally issued under the heading of the Red Norvo Orchestra are woven into the Norvo chronology. That is why there are several volumes in the Red Norvo story that feel a lot like chapters in the life and times of Mildred Bailey. This feisty little woman was at her best when singing wistful songs of love and longing in her rather small, warmly pleasant voice. She would also dig right into a hot swing number and could occasionally be heard encouraging the band with little energetic exclamations, slightly off-mike. With one exception, all of her performances on this disc have merit. Unable to shake an apparent penchant for topical inanities caricaturing ethnic minorities, Norvo and Bailey opted for something called "Wigwammin'." Recorded in June 1938, this trite piece of rubbish trivializes life on an Indian reservation with stupid lyrics and periodic choruses of Hollywood-style "Indian" war whoops from the band. Bailey sings on 11 out of 23 tracks, and thankfully the rest of her thematic choices were more dignified. "Put Your Heart in a Song" and "The Sunny Side of Things" constitute a pair of optimistic essays brimming with good advice. "Jump Jump's Here" is a smart strut, sounding like one of Lil Hardin Armstrong's enthusiastic routines. "Cuckoo in the Clock" and "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" typify Bailey's approach to the silly novelty genre. Fats Waller's version of Ella Fitzgerald's "Tasket" tune, recorded in London exactly one month to the day after Mildred's, would out-swing everybody else's renditions, including Ella's original. Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer's "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," introduced in the 1938 motion picture Jezebel, comes across like a charmingly antiquated piece of vaudeville, maybe even a throwback to the Paul Whiteman orchestra where Norvo and Bailey first met. This apparently deliberate spoof of older-styled entertainment features a rather funny, stilted vocal by "the Three Ickkies" -- Norvo, Bailey, and a guy by the name of Terry Allen. An ickkey, of course, was the official hep-talk tag for an un-hip individual. Speaking of ickkies, Norvo chose to sacrifice six entire tunes to Terry Allen, a morbidly tepid vocalist when left to his own designs. Only the band and the leader's xylophone solos redeem those ill-starred selections. Each of the five instrumental tracks are solidly swung, with the two Charlie Shavers compositions -- "Undecided" and "Rehearsin' for a Nervous Breakdown" -- sounding exceptionally fine. [Note that the enclosed discography contains a factual error, something relatively uncommon for the Classics label. Although personnel on the session dated September 29, 1938, lists essentially the John Kirby Sextet plus Red Norvo, this cannot be the case, as the Norvo big band is clearly audible, trombones and all.] The Norvo orchestra's personnel began to change, and irreversible damage was sustained when clarinetist Hank D'Amico left during the spring of 1939 to join Richard Himber. By June of that year, Norvo's orchestra would dissolve, paving the way for an entirely new phase of his career. arwulf arwulf  
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CHARLIE BARNET AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1226 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 1939 Charlie Barnet made some of the best records of his entire career. Inspired by the example of Duke Ellington, he developed his orchestra into a formidable swing machine that sometimes seemed more closely connected to the Afro-American tradition than most of the other white big bands on the scene at that time. This volume in the Barnet chronology contains eight tracks with vocals by Judy Ellington (no relation to Duke!) and five by an insufferable droopy-voiced nerd by the name of Larry Taylor. Often sounding sweet and harmless, Judy did some of her best singing with Barnet in 1939. "Strange Enchantment" has a film noir intro and Barnet's alto sax sounds deliberately mysterious. "The All-Night Record Man" appears to be a sequel to "Milkman's Matinee," a nocturnal program on WNEW hosted by Stan Shaw. But the artistically substantial recordings are the 11 instrumentals, beginning with possibly the hippest version of Rudolf Friml's "Only a Rose" ever waxed by a jazz band. Listeners get a taste of Barnet's soprano sax during Ellington's "Echoes of Harlem," and his alto bubbles over as he navigates the devilish changes of "Scotch and Soda." These tracks were all recorded on April 5, 1939, a session noteworthy for expressive trumpeting by Bob Burnet, Johnny Mendell, and guest artist Charlie Shavers. Barnet also used his soprano sax on "Miss Annabelle Lee," a tune traceable back to the 1925 repertoire of the California Ramblers, the band whose name he borrowed the second time he broke his Victor contract to record for the Variety label in May of 1937 [see Classics 1159 -- Charlie Barnet 1936-1937]. "Lazy Bug," a collaborative opus by Barnet and Juan Tizol, has the ethereal feel of an Ellington dream. Barnet's flair for wild musical ideas manifests itself in the eccentric progressions of his "Midweek Function." Barnet's approach to "I Never Knew" -- Ted Fiorito's best jazz tune -- was to jump and swing like mad. On July 17, 1939, Barnet's band recorded Ray Noble's "Cherokee." This one record would help to establish the Charlie Barnet Orchestra's popularity for years to come. Legend has it Billy May came up with the famous arrangement en route to the studio. This excellent disc culminates with a steaming stomp entitled "The Last Jump (A Jump to End All Jumps)." arwulf arwulf
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CHARLIE BARNET AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1266 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

So inspired was Charlie Barnet by two of the all-time greatest Afro-American jazz orchestras that he acknowledged their influence with instrumental works conceived and rendered in honorary emulation of their respective styles. "The Duke's Idea" sounds a lot like an Ellington opus, as Barnet delivers a credible imitation of Johnny Hodges with his alto saxophone and Bob Burnet growls through his trumpet in the manner of Cootie Williams. "Count's Idea" carefully re-creates the Kansas City swing style of William Basie's formidable big band. The remaining tracks from the same date have chirping vocals by Judy Ellington and one prescription tranquilizer of a tune sung by a syrupy fellow calling himself Del Casino. This session -- and its successor conducted one month later in October of 1939 -- took place in Los Angeles. "Ogoun Badagris" is the name of a Haitian voodoo Loa. The Loas are powerful ancestral mystery spirits, directly traceable to the deities of the West African pantheon. How interesting that Barnet concocted this exciting rhythmic exercise bearing the name of a particularly fierce and awesome spiritual entity. One can only wonder how aware he was of the power inherent in the name. This is certainly one of Barnet's all-time hottest recordings, with exuberant drumming by Ray Michaels. The melody itself bears more than a passing resemblance to Buster Harding's "Lady Day." On a much sillier level, "The Wrong Idea" sends up every existing stylistic gimmick then current in popular big-band music: cute licks, steel guitar (an apparent jab at Alvino Rey), gargling Clyde McCoy-styled trumpet, even raucous "bad" notes amid wavering Guy Lombardo reeds. After a goofy spoken introduction over the strains of "Make Believe Ballroom," Billy May (as "Slappy Happy") sings about bands that "bring you down," altering Sammy Kaye's slogan as he urges listeners to "swing and sweat with Charlie Barnet." As if to assert the primacy of what he considered authentic jazz, Barnet's next selection was called "The Right Idea." This is straight-up big-band swing with no tricks or frills, followed by "Night Glow," an attractive opus for alto sax and big band. Judy Ellington made 21 records with Charlie Barnet, and "Two Hearts Are Better Than One" was to be her last. Mary Ann McCall was the new vocalist when the band returned to the studio in New York on December 11, 1939. McCall sounds sweet and slightly timid on her first half-dozen sides, even when trying to sound hip on "Between 18th and 19th on Chestnut Street." Four remaining instrumentals round off the package nicely. "Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie," yet another vintage tune from the 1925 repertoire of the California Ramblers, gets a red-hot treatment that almost outdoes a similar version of this song recorded by Count Basie's orchestra on August 4, 1939. Three hot jams recorded in January of 1940 demonstrate exactly why this band was so popular among dancers and fans of undiluted big-band jazz. arwulf arwulf
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CHARLIE BARNET AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1318 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 In what appears to be a premonition of the recording industry's postwar fascination with star vocalists, this volume in the Charlie Barnet chronology seems almost like part of the Mary Ann McCall chronology instead. After making a handful of tentative-sounding sides with the band in December of 1939, McCall quickly developed into a stronger and more self-assured vocalist. While sugary sweet at times, her usual mode is snappy, fresh, and cheeky. Barnet's orchestra invariably dishes out excellent backing, and the leader plays fine and sensuous saxophone throughout, but McCall is featured on a whopping 18 of the 24 tracks. Furthermore, Larry Taylor's groaning on "You and Who Else?" knocks the tally of instrumentals down to a paltry five, which feels like a reversion to the vocal pop epidemic of 1936. Anyone hungry for wordless jazz will naturally fasten onto each instrumental track with passionate persistence. Barnet blows tenor sax in proud and skillful emulation of Coleman Hawkins on "A Lover's Lullaby," and "Leapin' at the Lincoln" is a really fine big-band bounce brimming with hot solos. "Shake, Rattle and Roll" features Bus Etri's electrified guitar during the intro -- he also executes a passage of authentic electric blues guitar before McCall's vocal on "Wanderin' Blues," introducing an element quite unusual for a 1940 white big band. "Reminiscing" is a pensive dirge-like apparition and "Flying Home" nearly cuts the Hampton/Goodman original for sheer force and caloric intensity. But this is mainly a Mary Ann McCall disc, ideal for those who enjoy her style of singing. arwulf arwulf
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