ROY ELDRIDGE – 1950-1951 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1259 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It is June 1950. Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge is in Paris, making records with a small band of younger musicians. Easily adapting to rapidly evolving styles in music, the trumpeter eases himself into a steadily developing tide of modernity. The music forms a wonderful and comparatively elegant sequel to his rip-snorting big-band recordings of the 1940s. It is a pleasure to hear young tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims relaxing with Eldridge, and the pianist is 23-year-old Dick Hyman, already a strikingly facile and inventive performer. Pierre Michelot and Eddie Shaughnessy form the rest of the rhythm section in this tight little group. Continuing his personal tradition of great ballad interpretations, Eldridge delivers "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" with an open horn. "King David," "Undecided," and "The Man I Love" are each cooked at brisk velocities. Anita Love joins with Eldridge in energetic scat singing throughout Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing." Yet the very funny, effortlessly hip, and decidedly cool "Ain't No Flies On Me" allows the two singers to relax and interact more deliciously than ever. The next session in the Eldridge chronology scales the band down to a quartet, with Gerald Wiggins, Pierre Michelot, and the great Kenny "Klook" Clarke. Eldridge ambles through Irving Berlin's "Easter Parade" -- which sounds a bit like "Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet" -- and renders up two more gorgeous ballads. "Goliath Bounce" is a smooth walk and "Wild Driver" a rolling boil, but the hottest number from this date, simply titled "Nuts," opens with a sort of Caribbean brushfire percussion maneuver by Clarke. As the tune unfolds its many intricate bop ideas, Clarke rides his cymbals most excitingly. The session of October 28, 1950, touched upon a wide range of styles and moods. "I Remember Harlem" is a deep study in reflective blue impressions, chamber jazz with bowed bass and haunted horn. Fats Waller's sobering "Black and Blue" gets a slight adjustment in the lyric, "Baby, Don't Do Me Like that" is more or less patterned after Louis Jordan's R&B act, and "L'Isle Adam" is a burner for muted trumpet on the fast track. Eldridge also sang two of his original songs with French lyrics, including a cheerful ode to lettuce and mayonnaise. The great surprise in this package is the inclusion of three long-forgotten piano solos from the same session. "Boogie Eldridge" is the veritable spark plug, as our man growls and even howls while massaging the keys. The last two tracks find Eldridge in Stockholm, sitting in with musicians well schooled in every style of jazz and popular music of the day. Duke Ellington's "Echoes of Harlem" is deep and ominous, while "School Days" plays off of the novelty antics of Joe Carroll and Dizzy Gillespie. arwulf arwulf  
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ROY ELDRIDGE – 1951 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1311 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Roy Eldridge visited Stockholm in January of 1951. The first two numbers recorded there were issued on Classics 1259 (1950-1951). These remaining Swedish selections cover a wide range of styles and moods. Eldridge's adaptation of Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry" was issued on two sides of a 78-rpm platter. His approach to "They Raided the Joint" is not quite as rowdy as that of Hot Lips Page. "The Heat's On" and "Estrad Swing" convey powerful currents of what at the time was modern, up-to-date jazz, comparable to what Coleman Hawkins was blowing. "No Rolling Blues" is a slow exercise in artful complaining, the subject being a dishonest woman. Two final Stockholm recordings, spruced up with Charles Norman's harpsichord, resemble the Artie Shaw Gramercy Five at their finest, when the tinkling keyboard was handled by Johnny Guarnieri. Back in Paris during March of 1951, Eldridge pooled his energies with tenor saxophonist Don Byas and a rhythm trio featuring Claude Bolling at the piano. This blowing session, resulting in three pressure cookers and a cool processional, was energized by the inspired drumming of Armand Molinetti. On the following day, Eldridge recorded a fine pair of duets with Claude Bolling as a tribute to Earl Hines and Louis Armstrong. "Wild Man Blues" evokes the original pairing, while "Fireworks" is based on the famous stomp by Armstrong's Hot Five. Back in New York six months later, Eldridge collaborated wonderfully with tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate on a mixed bag of selections recorded for the Mercury label. Tate pours himself into "Baby What's the Matter With You." "Sweet Lorraine" features the trumpet with lots of reverb, and "Yard Dog," initially waxed by Eldridge's big band in May of 1946, whips along at an almost alarmingly rapid pace, with Charlie Smith socking the drums and Buddy Tate booting away on his tenor. Considering the fact that "Jumbo the Elephant" is a novelty singalong, Eldridge's band manages to swing fairly hard with it. In December of 1951 Norman Granz recorded Eldridge backed by a large string ensemble. This was not at all unusual at the time, as Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday made many wonderful records using this sort of instrumentation. Roy Eldridge was such a soulful, pungent player that these orchestral settings come off as honest, reflective, and substantial. arwulf arwulf  
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