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
