SKEETS TOLBERT AND HIS GENTLEMEN OF SWING – 1931-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 978 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

As a boy in Charlotte, NC, Campbell A. Tolbert acquired the nickname "Skeets," which was short for "Mosquito." Proficient on the alto saxophone -- his sound has been compared to that of Johnny Hodges, Louis Jordan, and Pete Brown -- Tolbert made his first recordings with Taylor's Dixie Orchestra, and listeners are fortunate to have two recordings from 1931 as examples of his tenure with this grand old "territory band." Harry Prather blows fine tuba and the vocalists are excellent. Tolbert made his way to New York shortly thereafter and gigged with Fats Waller. He soon formed his own Gentlemen of Swing, a tight little group that performed in Greenwich Village and on 52nd Street rather than uptown in Harlem. In addition to Tolbert's homie Harry Prather -- now playing the upright string bass -- this band had trumpeter Carl "Tatti" Smith, famous for having participated in the very first recordings ever made by Lester Young. That historical 1936 "Smith-Jones, Inc." session was also Count Basie's first date as a leader. Another strong player is tenor saxophonist Lem Johnson, who struts his stuff nicely on "Bouncing Rhythm" and sings bawdy lyrics during "The Stuff's Out." Johnson's vocal on "Railroad Blues" is relatively sobering, as is Clarence Easter's delivery on "Harlem Ain't What It Used to Be," a slow, serious evocation of economic hardship, strained living conditions, and an apparent need for rent control. Yet most of the material heard here was meant to entertain and amuse. "Papa's in Bed with His Britches On" is possibly even better than Una Mae Carlisle's version, recorded six months later. "W.P.A.," a send-up of the Works Progress Administration programs of the late '30s, makes fun of the entire concept with references to being lazy and the refrain "I'm so tired...but I can't get fired." Still and all, the most useful tunes here are the solid instrumentals like "Swing Out" and "Jumpin' Jack." This disc also contains a handful of sides which represent the recording debut of pianist and vocalist Charles "Red" Richards. arwulf arwulf
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SKEETS TOLBERT AND HIS GENTLEMEN OF SWING – 1940-1942 | The Classics Chronological Series – 993 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Skeets Tolbert led a tidy little swing band from the late '30s to the mid-'40s. This group's recorded legacy consists of 40 sides originally released on the Decca label and reissued for the first time on compact disc in the late '90s by the Classics Chronological series. This second volume opens with a novelty bounce dedicated to the topic of a butcher and the various meats available from "Sammy's Choppin' Block." Yack Taylor sings a "Sugar Boogie" and delivers a slow, bluesy attempt at seduction on the flip side, sounding a little like Bertha "Chippie" Hill. On Tolbert's last session of 1940, Taylor returned and sang "Those Draftin' Blues," a cousin of Hot Lips Page's "Uncle Sam Blues." Let it be known that Skeets Tolbert composed "Hit That Jive, Jack," a humongous hit for Nat King Cole's trio in late 1941. Three Johnny Dunn tunes (credited to publisher Clarence Williams and Perry Bradford) are trundled out and performed with immaculate ease. The third of these, "Uncle Eph's Dream," introduces pianist Buddy Johnson, soon to become established as an influential bandleader. Tolbert, in fact, is said to have written arrangements for two Buddy Johnson hits, "Stop Pretendin'" and "Please, Mr. Johnson." The catchy "Big Fat Butterfly" is Tolbert's hopped-up Steve Washington-styled treatment of the popular ballad "Poor Butterfly," and was used on a 1945 Melodisc recording by a group calling themselves the Flennoy Trio. "Jumpin' in the Numbers" carries on in a Slim Gaillard bag while "The Rhumba Blues" showcases Hubert Pettaway's percussive talents. Tolbert used several different pianists, opting for Charles "Red" Richards on his "Messy Boogie" and Herbert Goodwin on "Delta Land Blues." The band's final instrumental, "Fill Up," a steamy strut using a lick from "Hold Tight Want Some Seafood Mama," was committed to wax in January of 1942. Tolbert featured quite a number of vocalists, with the novelty and blues-oriented acts seriously outnumbering the sentimental pop singers. His last pair of records were topical novelties: "C.O.D." makes light of the financial aspect of interpersonal relationships and "Hey Man! Hey Man!" is a takeoff on the spiritual "Amen! Amen!" By the middle of the 1940s Tolbert bailed out of bandleading and retreated to Houston, TX, where he worked for the musician's union, as a teacher, and as the proprietor of a music store. The rest of his story has yet to be told. arwulf arwulf
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COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1938 – The Classics Chronological Series – 503 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bill (Count) Basie first shows up on record at the end of the 1920s, playing piano with Bennie Moten & the Kansas City Orchestra. Legend has it that Basie became a "Count" after Moten teasingly referred to him as "that no-account Basie." Classics No. 503 presents Basie's first recordings as a leader. On October 9th, 1936, a five-piece band cut two instrumental stomps and a pair of blues with vocals by Jimmy Rushing. Since Basie was breaking a contract by recording for the Vocalion label, the band was billed as "Jones-Smith, Inc." The "Jones" was drummer Jo Jones, and the "Smith" was trumpeter Carl Smith, filling in that day for Buck Clayton, who had a split lip. Basie opened up "Shoe Shine Boy" with a bit of his own brand of Harlem stride piano, powerfully supported by Walter Page's bass fiddle. Lester Young, shining like the rising sun, was making his very first appearance on phonograph record. Strong as nails, full of ideas and rhythmic enthusiasm, Young was obviously happy to be cooking in front of the microphone that day. On the 21st of January, 1937 the Count Basie Orchestra became a phonographic reality, utilizing former members of Walter Page's Blue Devils and Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. Basie honored his Harlem roots by dishing up a smart instrumental treatment of Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose," and a stomp dedicated to Waller's preferred cathouse, the Daisy Chain. "Roseland Shuffle" is remarkable for the extended "conversation" between Lester Young's sax and Basie's piano. Jimmy Rushing is often narrowly categorized as a blues singer rather than a versatile jazz vocalist who could sing anything, including the blues, with extraordinary passion. Rushing had developed himself as a singer of pop songs with Moten, so it's not surprising that he does so well with "Pennies From Heaven." Rushing often made it seem as though he himself had written the songs he sang. He did all he could with "Boo Hoo," a cutesy Guy Lombardo hit made into a smoking instrumental in 1937 by Fats Waller His Rhythm & His Orchestra. Waller sang on his own version of "Smarty," while Basie was wise enough to keep it instrumental. This left more room for a solo by Herschel Evans, who shared clarinet and tenor sax responsibilities with Lester Young. The March 26, 1937 version of "Boogie Woogie" is a big band expansion of the blues shuffle recorded with the small group five months earlier, and the effect is anything but redundant. What an amazing band! "One O'Clock Jump" made its very first appearance in July of '37, featuring Lester Young in all his glory. Compare his solo with that of Herschel Evans' on "John's Idea" and you'll be savoring one of the greatest tenor sax dichotomies in the history of big band jazz. Evans sounds like Coleman Hawkins or Chu Berry. Young sounds like Young and nobody else. In just a few years, half the tenors in the world would be trying to sound exactly like him. 1937 and '38 were wonderful years for this group of musicians. Things evolved steadily. New energies gradually began to pervade the ensemble: Earle Warren, Freddie Green, Eddie Durham, Benny Morton. Each man brought his personality along with his chops. The future looked, and was, very bright for Basie's Orchestra. What a treat to catch this wonderful band as it perpetually reinvented itself for all to hear. arwulf arwulf