TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936 | The Classics Chronological Series – 878 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Fans of legendary Chicago drummer Dave Tough will want to listen in on this third installment in the complete recordings of Tommy Dorsey presented in chronological order by Classics. Occurring between sentimental and novelty vocals by sugary Jack Leonard or snappy Edythe Wright, the Dorsey instrumentals of 1936 positively glow with a traditional jazz infusion worthy of Eddie Condon. Indeed, with Dave Tough, trumpeter Max Kaminsky, and tenor sax troubadour Bud Freeman in both the big band and the Clambake Seven, Dorsey was wise to record nice instrumental versions of "Ja-Da," "Royal Garden Blues," "That's a Plenty," "After You've Gone," "Maple Leaf Rag," and "Sleep," a sugary, soporific waltz from the 1920s that by 1936 was taking on new life as an upbeat jazz standard. Spunky Edythe Wright could sing just about anything, even material commonly associated with Shirley Temple. After cordially introducing Bud Freeman, she launches "At the Codfish Ball," a melody lifted directly from an earlier opus, Sam Coslow's "When Erastus Plays His Old Kazoo." As for "You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby," Wright sings the lyrics with gusto and the band cooks the tune to perfection. arwulf arwulf     Tracklist :

TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 916 (1996) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The fourth installment in the Classics Tommy Dorsey chronology opens with the Dorsey Orchestra's last seven recordings of 1936. Fortified with trumpeter Max Kaminsky, tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman, guitarist Carmen Mastren, and master percussionist Dave Tough, this was a particularly fine band. Their instrumental rendition of Fats Waller's "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" is one of Dorsey's all-time greatest recorded achievements. At her best, Edythe Wright sang a bit like Lee Wiley, and therefore her voice might grow on you if you sit still for it. This is more than can be said for either Jack Leonard or the goofy trio billed as the Three Esquires. Beginning on January 7, 1937, Dorsey hit the jackpot when he hired trumpeter Bunny Berigan, a man who had spent most of the first half of the 1930s backing up pop vocalists like Chick Bullock. The pleasant instrumentals on this disc all went over well with the record-buying public. Will Hudson's "Mr. Ghost Goes to Town" and something called "Who'll Buy My Violets?" are catchy tunes that benefit from the absence of vocalists. "Melody in F" receives a bouncy treatment that would certainly have startled its composer, Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Song of India" was a smash hit for Dorsey, who was now commercially clambering to the top of the heap. Yet his really big hit of 1937 was gleaned not from classical Russian composers but was filched from musicians of color in Philadelphia. Dorsey's famous version of Irving Berlin's "Marie" was based on a group vocal arrangement that originated in the mind of a banjoist, guitarist, vocalist, and arranger by the name of Steve Washington, a remarkable individual who had risen to prominence in the jazz world as a member of the Washboard Rhythm Kings. Washington died of pneumonia in January 1936. A few months later his arrangement of "Marie" was being performed at Nixon's Grand Theater in Philadelphia by the Sunset Royal Serenaders, an Afro-American jazz orchestra led at that time by trombonist Doc Wheeler. Dorsey was in the audience one night. He memorized the routine and used it in January 1937 to make a record that ended up earning him enormous quantities of money. This sort of racially informed cultural larceny would soon occur again as Glenn Miller scored his all-time biggest cash money hit by swiping "In the Mood" from Edgar Hayes. arwulf arwulf      Tracklist + Credits :

BUNNY BERIGAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 766 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

1937 was the year Bunny Berigan went out on his own as a bandleader. He had cut his teeth with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, before paving the way to his own big band career with some small group sessions in 1936. On the heels of several if these combo dates, Berigan teamed up with such stellar players as tenor saxophonist George Auld, trombonist Sonny Lee, drummer George Wettling, and clarinetist Joe Dixon to begin one of the more overlooked swing outfits of the late '30s. While not always on par with such highly original groups as those led by Ellington, Lunceford, and Goodmam, Berigan's band did deliver over 100 quality sides for RCA between 1937-1939. This Classics roundup focuses on that monumental first year, with such highlights as "I Can't Get Started," "Frankie and Johnny," "Mahogany Hall Stomp," and "Black Bottom." For fans looking to follow Berigan's chronological trail, do yourself a favor and start out of sequence with this collection. Stephen Cook  
Tracklist :
1     Roses in December 3:10
George Jessel / Herbert Magidson / Ben Oakland
2     Mother Goose 3:01
Shank
3     Frankie and Johnny 2:45
Traditional
4     Mahogany Hall Stomp 2:29
Spencer Williams
5     Let 'Er Go 3:17
Larry Clinton    
6     Turn on That Red-Hot Heat (Burn Your Blues Away) 3:19
Louis Alter / Paul Francis Webster
7     I Can't Get Started 4:40
Vernon Duke / Ira Gershwin    
8     The Prisoner's Song 4:06
Guy Massey    
9     Why Talk About Love? 2:48
Sidney Mitchell / Lew Pollack
10     Caravan 3:27
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
11     A Study in Brown 3:04
Larry Clinton
12     Sweet Varsity Sue 2:30
Sam M. Lewis / Charles Tobias
13     Gee, But It's Great to Meet a Friend 2:24
Fred Fisher
14     Ebb Tide 3:05
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin    
15     Have You Ever Been in Heaven? 3:07
Jack Lawrence / Peter Tinturin
16     Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm 2:45
Richard Byron / Jerome Jerome / Walter Kent
17     I'd Love to Play a Love Scene (Opposite You) 2:50
18     I Want a New Romance 3:01
Burton Lane
19     Miles Apart 2:50
Mack David    
20     A Strange Loneliness 2:54
Johnny Burke / Sammy Mysels    
21     In a Little Spanish Town 3:10
Sam M. Lewis / Mabel Wayne / Joe Young
22     Black Bottom 3:19
Lew Brown / Buddy DeSylva / Ray Henderson

BUNNY BERIGAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 785 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Trees 3:17
Rasbach / Arranged By – Abe Osser
2    Russian Lullaby     3:04
Berlin
3    Can't Help Lovin' That Man     2:35
Kern / Hammerstein
4    Piano Tuner Man 3:31
Rose / Duke
Vocals – Gail Reese
5    Heigh-Ho (The Dwarfs' Marching Song) 2:43
Churchill / Morey
Vocals – Gail Reese
6    A Serenade To The Stars 3:14
Adamson / McHugh
Vocals – Gail Reese
7    Outside Of Paradise 2:57
Tinturin / Lawrence
Vocals – Gail Reese
8    Down Stream 3:20
Lawrence / Nieson / Milton
Vocals – Gail Reese
9    Sophisticated Swing 3:30
Hudson / Parish
Vocals – Gail Reese
10    Caravan Lovelight In The Starlight 3:04
Freed / Hollander
Vocals – Gail Reese
11    Rinka Tinka Man 3:15
Shelton
Vocals – Gail Reese
12    An Old Straw Hat 3:16
Gordon / Revel
Vocals – Gail Reese
13    I Dance Alone 2:45
Kessler / Sillman
Vocals – Gail Reese
14    Never Felt Better, Never Had Less 3:13
Baer / Heff
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
15    I've Got A Guy 3:01
Sunshine
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
16    Moonshine Over Kentucky 3:00
Mitchell / Pollack
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
17    Round The Old Deserted Farm 3:21
Robison
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
18    Azure     3:15
Duke Ellington
19    Somewhere With Somebody Else 2:55
Leslie / Burke
Vocals – Dick Wharton
20    It's The Little Things That Count 3:23
Gillespie / Simmons
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
21    Wacky Dust 2:52
Adams / Levant
Vocals – Ruth Gaylor
22    The Wearin' Of The Green 3:31
Arranged By – Joe Lippman
Credits :    
Bass – Hank Wayland
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Joe Dixon, Mike Doty
Drums – Dave Tough (tracks: 4 to 13), George Wettling (tracks: 1 to 3), Johnny Blowers (tracks: 14 to 22)
Guitar – Dick Wharton (tracks: 14 to 22), Tom Morgan (5) (tracks: 1 to 13)
Piano – Fulton McGrath (tracks: 4 to 7), C. Graham Forbes (tracks: 8 to 13), Joe Bushkin (tracks: 19 to 22), Joe Lippman* (tracks: 1 to 3, 14 to 18)
Tenor Saxophone – Clyde Rounds, George Auld
Trombone – Al George (tracks: 1 to 18), Nat Lobovsky (tracks: 14 to 22), Ray Conniff (tracks: 19 to 22), Sonny Lee (tracks: 1 to 13)
Trumpet – Bunny Berigan, Irving Goodman, Steve Lipkins