ERSKINE HAWKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941-1945 | The Chronogical Classics – 868 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

All of the recordings cut by the always-underrated Erskine Hawkins Orchestra during a four-year period are reissued on this Classics CD. Actually there is only one cut from 1941 and seven songs from 1942 so the bulk of the set deals with the 1945 edition of the orchestra. In general the instrumentals are much more rewarding than the vocals, featuring solos by the trumpeter/leader, altoist Bobby Smith (who stars on the hit record of "Tippin' In") and tenor-saxophonist Julian Dash. The vocals by James Mitchelle, Ida James, Carol Tucker and Dolores Brown are harmless if forgettable; pianist Ace Harris fares best singing "Caldonia." In addition to "Tippin' In," highlights include "Lucky Seven," "Bear Mash Blues" (a near-classic by Sammy Lowe), "Caldonia," "Good Dip" and "Holiday for Swing." This is the fifth Erskine Hawkins CD from Classics and, due to the consistency of the band, all are recommended. Scott Yanow
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ERSKINE HAWKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1946-1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 1008 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although by 1946 Erskine Hawkins no longer had any hit records in the future (1945's Tippin' In was his last one), his orchestra was still one of the best in jazz. Most of the 22 selections on this 1998 CD (the sixth in Classics' complete Hawkins series) are obscure but quite worthwhile. There are vocals on 13 of the songs (four by Jimmy Mitchelle, one from Ruth Christian, Ace Harris sounding spirited on "Well Natch," and seven easy-to-take vocals by Laura Washington) but it is the nine instrumentals that take honors. Although there are hints of bebop in the later records from 1947, most of the music on this CD is still very much in the swing vein. Taken as a whole, there is ample evidence here for the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra to be rated as one of the finest (and most underrated) big bands of the 1946-47 period. The key soloists in the orchestra are Hawkins and Sammy Lowe on trumpets, Matthew Gee on trombone, altoist Bobby Smith, Julian Dash on tenor, and baritonist Haywood Henry who is often heard on clarinet. Highlights include "Sneakin' Out," "Feelin' Low," "Needle Points," and "Lazy Blues." Recommended. Scott Yanow
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ERSKINE HAWKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947-1949 | The Chronogical Classics – 1148 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The swing era may have ended during 1945-1946, but Erskine Hawkins' big band was still a mighty power in the late '40s. Still based at the Savoy Ballroom, Hawkins' ensemble occasionally showed a slight influence of bebop, but was essentially unchanged from five years earlier in style. Dud and Paul Bascomb had departed, but the band still had strong soloists in trumpeter Sammy Lowe, altoist Bobby Smith, tenorman Julian Dash, baritonist/clarinetist Haywood Henry, who is particularly well-featured, and the exciting leader/trumpeter. With occasional vocals by Jimmy Mitchelle, there was no reason to think that this big band would not survive for decades to come. Highlights of the program of little-known but valuable music includes: "Gabriel's Heater," "Rose Room" (during which Henry is excellent on clarinet), "Corn Bread," "Texas Hop," and "Fishtail," among others. Highly recommended to fans of swinging big bands. Scott Yanow  
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ERSKINE HAWKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1950-1951 | The Chronogical Classics – 1257 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Having survived and adapted to changing popular tastes throughout the 1940s, the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra eased into the next decade with six of the most traditionally oriented titles in its entire discography. Sammy Lowe's arrangements, however, were anything but old-fashioned. There's more than a bit of bop in the blaring trumpets, vamping reeds, and whiplash rhythms. "St. Louis Blues" may have been published in 1914, but Hawkins' band has it sounding positively contemporary. With the leader's salty trumpet and a stable of young toughs like Idrees Sulieman, Booty Wood, Haywood Henry, and Julian Dash, there's nary a dull moment. Except for Jimmy Mitchell's tidy vocal on "Careless Love," the first six tracks are thrilling instrumentals. They were issued as an album of three 78-rpm platters bearing the title W.C. Handy for Dancing. This brings listeners to the very last recordings Erskine Hawkins would make for RCA Victor. Efforts were being made to update the band's sound, and the results are different from anything previously recorded by this organization. "Hey Pretty Baby" and "Opportunity" boast Caribbean percussion; both tunes are sung with exceptional charm by Ace Harris. Although the Classics discography seems reluctant to divulge their identity, a retooled ride through "Tuxedo Junction" features the Deep River Boys, who exercise their collective ability to exaggerate a song until it stands taller than a house. Why Classics failed to specify Harris or even mention the Deep River Boys is puzzling, as the original 78s had the vocal credits printed clearly on the labels, right under the song titles. Bongos return during a fortified, updated treatment of Irving Berlin's "Always." Jimmy Mitchell's sweet vocal is spiced with vocal interjections from the band in a style originated by Steve Washington, premiered with Doc Wheeler, and exploited by Tommy Dorsey. Two months later Hawkins was working for Coral Records. On "So Long, Goodbye Blues," this group suddenly sounds a lot like Jay McShann's mid-'40s Kansas City big band. "Skippin' and Hoppin'" clearly resembles the Hawkins orchestra's earlier hit record, "Tippin' In." Continuing to shoot for the jukebox, Hawkins ground out a greasy "Downbeat" and the sugary "Tennessee Waltz." Solid remakes of two hardcore slow blues -- "After Hours" and "Bear Mash Blues" -- closed out 1950, and were followed by yet another pass at "Tuxedo Junction." When they weren't making easy sentimental records, these guys really cooked for the dancing crowd. Here, then, is another fascinating chapter in the life of the mighty Erskine Hawkins. arwulf arwulf  
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LUCKY MILLINDER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1951-1960 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1460 (2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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VALAIDA SNOW – 1940-1953 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1343 | (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

When Valaida Snow made a handful of hot records in Copenhagen during October of 1940, she had no idea that her recording career was about to be violently interrupted for nearly five years by people working for Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany had already occupied Denmark when these "degenerate" jazz records were surreptitiously created in violation of the Nuremberg laws. In a horrible twist of fate, Snow was arrested by the Gestapo, charged with theft and drug use -- two activities at which the Nazis themselves excelled -- and spent many months in a concentration camp before being rescued by influential friends and sent back to the U.S. weighing about 70 lbs. Everything she'd owned had been confiscated, including the gold trumpet given her by Queen Wilhelmina. It took Snow several years to recuperate and gather her strength for a comeback. Her last two authentic swing records are placed at the beginning of this disc. These are amazingly gutsy performances of nice old songs, and she scats beautifully during "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny." The contrast between this pair of pleasant, cheerful stomps and the rest of the material in the chronology -- beginning with the Apollo session of 1945 -- is startling. Recording in New York for the first time since 1933 and sounding at times like young Dinah Washington, Snow sings three torchy ballads and a novelty bounce backed by Bobby Smith, his alto sax and orchestra. The bounce in question is called "Around the World" and features two harmonizing Valaidas in an early example of overdubbing. Her next couple of recording dates took place in Los Angeles, where prevailing pop production values seem to have infected the atmosphere alarmingly. Eight sides issued on the Bel-Tone label prove that Snow was a powerful singer who could flourish in front of any ensemble, even the huge orchestra with strings, flutes, and a keening vocal group billed as the Daydreamers. Snow prevails throughout, especially on "Lonesome Road," where her passionate singing transcends the entire ungainly production menagerie. On the second Bel-Tone session, Snow navigates well through the "exotic" orchestral score of "Caravan." Her ominously paced version of "Solitude" makes for an interesting comparison with Billie Holiday's approach to this Ellington opus. After a pokey, pouty, and slightly insane-sounding lament bearing the almost too-appropriate title "Frustration," Snow sails into "I Must Have That Man." With a brassy big band behind her, the singer sounds more at home than on any of the previous seven selections. From here on out Valaida Snow's story shifts into R&B territory. Recording for the Derby label in January of 1950, she was backed with a rocking jump band led by Jimmy Mundy, spiked with the fiery presences of baritone saxophonist Dave McRae and hot trumpeter Jonah Jones. "Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone" is the cooker. "Chloe" begins with bass clarinet tones and delivers an incredible emotional charge as Snow belts out the lyrics with theatrical intensity. "Coconut Head" is a calypso novelty number, somewhat of a trend in 1950 -- even Sarah Vaughan did a number like this back then. The saga of Valaida Snow tapers off abruptly with two exciting R&B performances recorded in Chicago in 1953. "I Ain't Gonna Tell," a funky baritone sax rocker, is a tantalizing taste of further developments the world would never get to hear from this tough little woman. Underappreciated and grievously underpaid, she struggled to establish herself as a performer in a country where the public had never been all that aware of her existence. Following a performance at New York's Palace Theatre she was felled by a stroke and passed away at the age of 50 in a Brooklyn hospital on the 30th of May 1956. arwulf arwulf   
Tracklist :
1 Some of These Days 2:36
Shelton Brooks
 2 Carry Me Back to Old Virginny 2:49
James A. Bland
 3 The More I Know About Love 2:21
Valaida Snow
4 Around the World  2:33
Bennie Benjamin / George David Weiss
5 Porgy 2:45
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
6 My Heart Is Such a Fool 2:00
Valaida Snow
7 Fool That I Am 3:04
Floyd Hunt
 8 It's the Talk of the Town 2:57
Jerry Livingston / Al J. Neiburg / Marty Symes
 9 Lonesome Road 2:55
Gene Austin / Nat Shilkret
 10 If I Only Had You 2:42
Valaida Snow
11 Caravan 2:55
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
 12 Solitude 2:52
Eddie DeLange / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
 13 Frustration 2:54
Irving Mills
 14 I Must Have That Man 2:10
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
 15 Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone 3:07
Traditional
 16 When a Woman Loves a Man 2:34
Bernie Hanighen / Gordon Jenkins / Johnny Mercer
 17 Chloe 3:08
Neil Moret (Chas. N. Daniels)
 18 Coconut Head 2:55
Valaida Snow
19 I Ain't Gonna Tell 2:36
Rudy Toombs
 20 If You Don't Mean It 2:56
Valaida Snow
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone, Leader – Bobby Smith (3) (tracks: 7 to 10)
Baritone Saxophone – Dave McRae (tracks: 15 to 18)
Bass – Willy Sorensen (tracks: 1, 2)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Aage Voss (tracks: 1, 2)
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Henry Hagemann-Larsen* (tracks: 1, 2)
Directed By – Jimmy Mundy (tracks: 15 to 18)
Drums, Vibraphone – Eric Kragh
Piano – Bertrand Beck (tracks: 1, 2)
Trumpet – Jonah Jones (tracks: 15 to 18), Tage Rasmussen (tracks: 1, 2)
Vocals – The Day Dreamers (tracks: 7 to 10), Valaida Snow (tracks: 3 to 6)
Vocals, Trumpet – Valaida Snow (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 20)