BENNY CARTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1946-1948 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1043 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Benny Carter, like Coleman Hawkins, spent the '40s rubbing shoulders with bebop's young Turks, while mostly maintaining the style he forged during the early jazz and swing years. Possibly, like Hawkins again, Carter's '30s stay in Europe opened him up to the progressive nature of jazz and the necessity of always taking advantage of the music's complexities and malleability. And while Carter didn't ape Charlie Parker's alto flights or become a fixture at Minton's Playhouse, he did head up some fine big bands that featured the likes of Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson, Max Roach, and Howard McGhee, to name a few bebop figures. This Classics discs takes in some of Carter's adventurous big band sides from 1946-1948, including a California outfit with Davis and Gerald Wilson. On the more traditional end, Carter is also heard with swing contemporaries like Buck Clayton and Ben Webster. A fine document of the fertile transition from swing to bebop. Stephen Cook     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 :

BENNY GOODMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947-1948 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1418 (2006) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The magnitude of Benny Goodman's recorded legacy becomes apparent when one reflects upon the fact that this is Volume 32 in the Classics reissue label's comprehensive chronology of his complete works. Aware that the second AFM recording ban would soon paralyze commercial studio activity in the U.S., Goodman waxed quite a number of sides during December 1947 with his sextet, septet and orchestra. Three individuals who really shone during this period were vibraphonist Red Norvo, vocalist Peggy Lee, who had swiftly matured into a sultry, expressive interpreter of romantic songs, and trumpeter Jake "Vernon" Porter who added an extra dimension to Goodman's ensembles by growling through a mute like Herman Autrey or Cootie Williams. The sextet sessions of December 9 and 11 resulted in several superb instrumentals including the old Dixieland standard "That's a Plenty," Rodgers & Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me" and Fats Waller's "Henderson Stomp," here arranged by Fletcher Henderson himself. Henderson's big-band arrangement of Kid Ory's "Muskrat Ramble" yielded spectacular results; how frustrating it must have been for Goodman to know that within days he would be officially prevented from continuing this wonderful spell of creative production. Capitol chose not to issue "The Record Ban Blues," part of a subgenre of protest songs devised and recorded by artists who were disgruntled with the policies of AFM president James C. Petrillo. Goodman wasn't able to record in a studio under his own name again until August 20, 1948, when he cut a series of government-sponsored V-Discs with a stunningly cool and modern ensemble that included tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray and pianist, arranger and composer Mary Lou Williams. Four out of six sides were rejected; only "Benny's Bop" and "There's a Small Hotel" were deemed suitable for circulation among armed forces personnel. Anybody who loves Wardell Gray should be sure and latch on to the beautiful recordings that he made during the summer of 1948 with the Benny Goodman Sextet. arwulf arwulf

Tracklist :

BENNY CARTER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1946-1948 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1043 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Benny Carter, like Coleman Hawkins, spent the '40s rubbing shoulders with bebop's young Turks, while mostly maintaining the style he forged during the early jazz and swing years. Possibly, like Hawkins again, Carter's '30s stay in Europe opened him up to the progressive nature of jazz and the necessity of always taking advantage of the music's complexities and malleability. And while Carter didn't ape Charlie Parker's alto flights or become a fixture at Minton's Playhouse, he did head up some fine big bands that featured the likes of Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, J.J. Johnson, Max Roach, and Howard McGhee, to name a few bebop figures. This Classics discs takes in some of Carter's adventurous big band sides from 1946-1948, including a California outfit with Davis and Gerald Wilson. On the more traditional end, Carter is also heard with swing contemporaries like Buck Clayton and Ben Webster. A fine document of the fertile transition from swing to bebop. Stephen Cook
Tracklist :
1    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Melodrama In A V-Disc Record Room    3:30
2    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    I Can't Get Started    2:54
Vernon Duke / Ira Gershwin
3    Kay Starr With Orchestra–    He's Funny That Way 2:43
Vocals – Kay Starr
Neil Moret / Richard A. Whiting
4    Benny Carter Quintet–    Moonglow    2:51
Eddie DeLange / Will Hudson / Irving Mills
5    Benny Carter Quintet–    Give Me Something To Remember You By    2:48
 Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
6    Benny Carter Quintet–    Lady Be Good    2:38
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
7    Benny Carter Quintet–    Deep Purple    3:11
Peter DeRose / Mitchell Parish
8    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Back Bay Boogie    5:17
 Benny Carter
9    Benny Carter And Orchestra–    Prelude To A Kiss    3:05
Duke Ellington / Irving Gordon / Irving Mills
10    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Re-Bop Boogie    3:00
Benny Carter
11    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Twelve O'Clock Jump    2:54
Benny Carter
12    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Your Conscience Tells You So 2:37
Vocals – Lu Elliott
Benny Carter / Don Raye
13    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Mexican Hat Dance    2:53
Traditional
14    Benny Carter And His Chocolate Dandies–    Sweet Georgia Brown    2:36
Ben Bernie / Kenneth Casey / Maceo Pinkard
15    Benny Carter And His Chocolate Dandies–    Out Of My Way 3:01
Vocals – Sid Catlett
Big Sid Catlett / Tiny Grimes
16    Benny Carter And His Chocolate Dandies–    What'll Be    3:16
Ben Webster
17    Benny Carter And His Chocolate Dandies–    Cadillac Slim    3:03
Ben Webster
18    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Baby You're Mine For Keeps 2:40
Vocals – Emma Lou Welch
19    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    You'll Never Break My Heart Again 2:53
Vocals – Emma Lou Welch, The Enchanters
20    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Chilpanicingo 2:54
Vocals – Bob Decker, The Enchanters
21    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    An Old Love Story 2:59
Vocals – Emma Lou Welch, The Enchanters
22    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Reina (My Lovely Queen) 2:58
Vocals – Bob Decker, The Enchanters
23    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Let Us Drink A Toast Together 2:42
Vocals – The Enchanters
24    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    June Comes Around Every Year 3:07
Vocals – Larry Stewart
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
25    Benny Carter And His Orchestra–    Forever Blue    3:08
Benny Carter
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone – Jewell Grant (tracks: 24), Joe Epps (tracks: 25), Porter Kilbert (tracks: 24, 25)
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Willard Brown (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 13, 25)
Baritone Saxophone – John Taylor (tracks: 24)
Bass – Charles Drayton (tracks: 24), Dallas Bartley (tracks: 18 to 23), John Simmons (tracks: 14 to 17), Tommy Moultrie (tracks: 1 to 3, 8 to 13, 25), Unknown Artist (tracks: 4 to 7)
Drums – Henry Tucker (tracks: 18 to 23), Max Roach (tracks: 24), Percy Brice (tracks: 1 to 3, 8 to 13, 25), Sid Catlett (tracks: 14 to 17), Unknown Artist (tracks: 4 to 7)
Guitar – Herman Mitchell (tracks: 24), Jack Marshall (tracks: 18 to 23), James Cannady (tracks: 1 to 3, 8 to 13, 25), Unknown Artist (tracks: 4 to 7)
Piano – Cyril Haynes (tracks: 18 to 23), Rufus Webster (tracks: 24, 25), Sonny White (tracks: 1 to 17)
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: 14 to 17), Bumps Myers (tracks: 1 to 3, 8 to 13, 18 to 25), Harold Clark (tracks: 24, 25)
Trombone – Al Grey (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 17, 25), Alton Moore (tracks: 24, 25), Charles Johnson (tracks: 25), Clarence "Candy" Ross (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 13), George Washington (tracks: 24), Henry Coker (tracks: 18 to 24), John Morris (tracks: 25), Louis Taylor (tracks: 24)
Trumpet – Buck Clayton (tracks: 14 to 17), Calvin Strickland (tracks: 1, 2), Emmett Berry (tracks: 24), Fred Trainer (tracks: 1, 2, 24), Gerald Wilson (tracks: 24), Leonard "Idris Sulieman" Graham (tracks: 25), Ira Pettiford (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 13), Irving Lewis (tracks: 24), Lewis Botton (tracks: 25), Lew Obergh (tracks: 18 to 23), Louis Gray (tracks: 25), Miles Davis (tracks: 1, 2), Paul Cohen (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 13, 24), Wallace Jones (tracks: 25), Walter Williams (tracks: 1, 2, 8 to 13)
Trumpet, Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Directed By – Benny Carter