BENNIE MOTEN's KANSAS CITY ORCHESTRA – 1923-1927 | The Classics Chronological Series – 549 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Pianist Bennie Moten led one of the finest jazz bands on record in the 1920s, a group that included many of the top musicians of the Midwest. On the first of four Classics CDs -- all of which are recommended to vintage jazz collectors -- that reissue the master takes of all of Moten's recordings, the band quickly evolves from a sextet in 1923 to a solid 11-piece orchestra. Despite a few novelty effects (including clarinetist Woody Walder occasionally getting weird sounds by playing only the mouthpiece of his horn), even the most primitive numbers on this set are quite enjoyable. Highlights include the original version of "South" (Moten's big hit), "Goofy Dust," "Thick Lip Blues" and "Sugar." Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Elephant's Wobble 3:09
Bennie Moten    
2     Crawdad Blues 2:51
Bennie Moten    
3     South 2:46
Thamon Hayes / Bennie Moten
4     Vine Street Blues 3:02
Pete Johnson / Bennie Moten    
5     Tulsa Blues 2:51
Bennie Moten
6     Goofy Dust 2:40
Bennie Moten
7     Baby Dear 2:54
Thamon Hayes / Tubby Hayes / Bennie Moten
8     She's Sweeter Than Sugar 2:33
Bennie Moten
Vocals – William Little Jr.    
9     South Street Blues 2:45
Bennie Moten
10     Sister Honky Tonk 2:38
Bennie Moten
11     As I Like It 2:52
Bennie Moten    
12     Things Seem So Blue to Me 3:12
Bennie Moten    
13     18th Street Strut 3:00
Bartley Costello / Bennie Moten
14     Kater Street Rag 2:34
Bennie Moten    
15     Thick Lip Stomp 2:51
Bennie Moten    
16     Harmony Blues 3:33
Jelly Roll Morton / Bennie Moten    
17     Kansas City Shuffle 2:50
Bennie Moten    
18     Yazoo Blues 2:45
Bennie Moten
19     White Lightnin' Blues 3:34
Bennie Moten    
20     Muscle Shoals Blues 3:24
George W. Thomas
21     Midnight Mama 2:59
Bennie Moten    
22     Missouri Wobble 3:08
Bennie Moten
23     Sugar 2:49
Edna Alexander / Sidney Mitchell / Maceo Pinkard    
24     Dear Heart 3:11
Laforest Dent
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – LaForest Dent (tracks: 15 to 24)
Banjo – LaForest Dent (tracks: 8 to 14), Leroy Berry (tracks: 23, 24), Sam Tall (tracks: 1 to 7, 15 to 22)
Brass Bass – Vernon Page (tracks: 6 to 24)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Jack Washington (tracks: 23, 24)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Harlan Leonard (tracks: 3 to 24)
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Kazoo – Woody Walder
Cornet – Ed Lewis (tracks: 23, 24), Harry Cooper (tracks: 3 to 14), Lammar Wright (tracks: 1 to 22), Paul Webster (tracks: 23, 24)
Drums – Willie Hall (tracks: 1 to 14), Willie McWashington (tracks: 15 to 24)
Piano, Directed By – Bennie Moten
Trombone – Thamon Hayes

BENNIE MOTEN's KANSAS CITY ORCHESTRA – 1927-1929 | The Classics Chronological Series – 558 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

During the period covered by this second of four Classics CDs, Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra was at the peak of its powers, dominating the jazz scene of the Midwest. There were not a lot of famous names in the group yet, but the soloists were colorful, and the band's ensembles could really rock in a pre-swing manner. The main players at the time included cornetist Ed Lewis, Harlan Leonard on various reeds, baritonist Jack Washington and Moten himself on piano. Highlights include "Moten Stomp," "Kansas City Breakdown," "Get Low-Down Blues," "Terrific Blues" and the remake of the band's hit "South." Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     The New Tulsa Blues 3:03
Bennie Moten
2     Baby Dear 3:01
Tubby Hayes / Bennie Moten
Vocals – LaForest Dent, Thamon Hayes
3     Twelfth Street Rag 3:19
Euday L. Bowman
4     Pass Out Lightly (There Ain't Nothin' to It) 3:05
Jack Washington
5     Ding-Dong Blues 3:05
Bennie Moten
6     Moten Stomp 2:56
Bennie Moten
7     Justrite 2:40
Bennie Moten
8     Slow Motion 2:36
Bennie Moten
9     Tough Breaks 2:51
Bennie Moten
10     It's Hard to Laugh or Smile 2:41
Bennie Moten
11     Sad Man Blues 3:17
Bennie Moten
Vocals – James Taylor
12     Kansas City Breakdown 2:53
Bennie Moten / Woodie Walder
13     Trouble in Mind 3:06
Richard M. Jones
14     Hot Water Blues 2:30
Bennie Moten    
15     Get Low-Down Blues 2:56
Bennie Moten
Speech – Bennie Moten, Ed Lewis
16     She's No Trouble (Sweetheart) 3:19    
Hayes   
17     South 2:30
Bennie Moten / Jack Washington
18     Terrific Stomp 2:40
Bennie Moten / Jack Washington    
19     Let's Get It 3:15
Bennie Moten    
20     Kansas City Squabble 2:50
Bennie Moten    
21     Rite Tite 2:50
Bennie Moten
22     Moten's Blues 3:04
Bennie Moten
23     That's What I'm Talking About 3:04
Bennie Moten / Woodie Walder
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – LaForest Dent (tracks: 1 to 6)
Banjo – Leroy Berry
Brass Bass – Vernon Page
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Jack Washington
Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Harlan Leonard
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Woody Walder
Cornet – Booker Washington (tracks: 7 to 23), Ed Lewis, Paul Webster (tracks: 1 to 6)
Drums – Willie McWashington
Piano Accordion, Piano – Buster Moten (tracks: 18 to 23)
Piano, Directed By – Bennie Moten
Trombone – Thamon Hayes

BENNIE MOTEN's KANSAS CITY ORCHESTRA – 1929-1930 | The Classics Chronological Series – 578 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

From 1929-30, the Bennie Moten Orchestra could hold its own with fellow big bands like Fletcher Henderson, Paul Whiteman and McKinney's Cotton Pickers, although it was the least known nationally of the four. The third of four Classics CDs completely reissuing Moten's recordings finds the young Count Basie taking over the piano slot and such stars joining the band as singer Jimmy Rushing and (by 1930) trumpeter Hot Lips Page. With cornetist Ed Lewis, Eddie Durham on trombone and guitar, clarinetist Harlan Leonard and Buster Moten (on accordion) also heard from, this was a mighty orchestra, as displayed on such numbers as "New Goofy Dust Rag," "The Jones Law Blues" and "New Vine Street Blues." The four imported Classics sets are certainly more complete than the two CDs put out domestically by Bluebird. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    That Certain Motion    3:00
 Bennie Moten
2    It Won't Be Long    2:47
 Bennie Moten
3    When Life Seems So Blue    2:50
 Bennie Moten
4    Loose Like A Goose    2:54
 Bennie Moten
5    Just Say It's Me    2:52
 Bennie Moten
6    New Goofy Dust Rag    2:38
 Bennie Moten
7    Rumba Negro (Spanish Stomp)    2:47
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
8    The Jones Law Blues    3:05
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
9    Band Box Shuffle    2:27
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
10    Small Black    3:18
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
11    Every Day Blues (Yo Yo Blues)    3:05
 Eddie Durham / Bennie Moten
12    Boot It    3:13
 Bennie Moten
13    Mary Lee    3:15
 Bennie Moten / Speckled Red
14    Rit-Dit-Ray 2:46
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
Vocals – Willie McWashington
15    New Vine Street Blues    2:58
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
16    Sweetheart Of Yesterday    2:37
 Bennie Moten / Carl Sigman
17    Won't You Be My Baby? 3:11
 Bennie Moten / Jimmy Rushing
Vocals – Jimmy Rushing
18    I Wish I Could Be Blue    3:08
 Count Basie / Eddie Durham / Bennie Moten
19    h! Eddie    2:54
 Eddie Durham / Bennie Moten
20    That Too, Do 3:18
 Count Basie / Eddie Durham / Bennie Moten
Vocals – Jimmy Rushing
21    Mack's Rhythm    3:00
 Count Basie / Bennie Moten
22    You Made Me Happy    3:20
 Eddie Durham / Bennie Moten
23    Here Comes Marjorie    2:53
 Bennie Moten / Henri Woode
Credits :    
Banjo – Leroy Berry (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 23)
Brass Bass – Vernon Page (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 23)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Jack Washington (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 23)
Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Harlan Leonard (tracks: 1 to 3, 6 to 23)
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Woody Walder
Cornet – Booker Washington (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 23), Ed Lewis (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 23)
Directed By – Bennie Moten
Drums – Willie McWashington
Piano – Bennie Moten (tracks: 1 to 6), Count Basie (tracks: 7 to 23)
Piano Accordion, Piano – Buster Moten
Trombone – Thamon Hayes (tracks: 1 to 3, 6 to 23)
Trombone, Guitar – Eddie Durham (tracks: 7 to 23)
Trumpet – Oran "Hot Lips" Page (tracks: 17 to 23)

PETE BROWN – 1942-1945 (1998) The Classics Chronological Series – 1029 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Alto saxophonist Pete Brown has been showing up on Keynote and Savoy reissues for years, but seldom if ever has there been an entire package devoted to recordings made under his name. The Classics Chronological series has accomplished many impressive feats, but this disc deserves special attention. Brown brought excitement and sonic ballast to nearly every band he ever sat in with. His works with John Kirby and especially Frankie Newton are satisfying, but this CD contains the very heart of Brown's artistry. It opens with "Cannon Ball," a boogie-woogie from 1942 sung by Nora Lee King. This relatively rare Decca recording features Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Hamilton, and Sammy Price, the pianist with whom Brown would make outstanding music a bit further on down the road. Similarly rare and even more captivating are two extended jams recorded in Chicago in April of 1944. Brown's quartet on this date consisted of electrically amplified guitarist Jim Daddy Walker, bassist John Levy, and drummer Eddie Nicholson. "Jim's Idea" and "Pete's Idea" are groove exercises, vamping struts built on hot riffs. Brown's sax tone usually had an attractive bite to it. His facility was comparable to that of Earl Bostic, even bordering at times on the gritty intensity of Charlie Parker. Pete Brown was first and foremost a relentless straight-ahead jammer who made his most stunning moves in a series of Kansas City-style blues and boogie jams. The Savoy session of July 11, 1944, epitomizes this "Mr. Hyde" aspect of the saxophonist. Four Keynote sides recorded eight days later are just as lively. "That's My Weakness Now" is light years away from the Paul Whiteman/Bix Beiderbecke version (with silly vocal trio) recorded in June of 1928. Trumpeter Joe Thomas was a perfect accomplice on this date, and the rhythm section of Kenny Kersey, Milt Hinton, and J.C. Heard made this the most artistically accomplished band that Brown ever led. Beginning with the exciting "Boot Zoot," the remaining 11 tracks are all mid-'40s swing-to-bop jams with steady R&B overtones. Guitarists Herman Mitchell, Al Casey, and Bill Moore keep things sounding contemporary for the mid-'40s. "That's the Curfew" has a melodic line similar to Fats Waller's "Dry Bones." Brown actually sings on his own laid-back "Sunshine Blues," an offshoot of "Trouble in Mind" using that famous line "The sun's gonna shine in my back door someday." arwulf arwulf
Tracklist
1    Pete Brown And His Band–    Cannon Ball 2:46
 Nora Lee King / Clarence Williams
Vocals – Nora Lee King
2    Pete Brown Quartet–    Jim's Idea    4:07
3    Pete Brown Quartet–    Pete's Idea    4:24
 Pete Brown
4    Pete Brown Quintette–    Ooh-Wee    2:44
5    Pete Brown Quintette–    Bellevue For You    2:43
 Pete Brown
6    Pete Brown Quintette–    Pete Brown's Boogie (P.B. Boogie)    2:56
 Pete Brown
7    Pete Brown Quintette–    Moppin' The Blues    2:59
 Pete Brown
8    Pete Brown All Star Quintet–    It All Depends On You    4:24
Lew Brown / Buddy DeSylva / Ray Henderson
9    Pete Brown All Star Quintet–    That's My Weakness Now    4:06
 Bud Green / Sam H. Stept
10    Pete Brown All Star Quintet–    It's The Talk Of The Town    4:33
 Jerry Livingston / Al J. Neiburg / Marty Symes
11    Pete Brown All Star Quintet–    I May Be Wrong    4:00
 Harry Ruskin / Henry Sullivan
12    Pete Brown's Band–    Boot Zoot    2:59
 Pete Brown
13    Pete Brown's Band–    It's Great    3:03
 Pete Brown
14    Pete Brown's Band–    Lazy Day    3:06
 Pete Brown
15    Pete Brown's Band–    Sunshine Blues 3:07
 Pete Brown
Vocals – Pete Brown
16    Pete Brown's Sextette–    Fat Man's Boogie (Big Boy Boogie)    2:53
 Pete Brown
17    Pete Brown's Sextette–    That's The Curfew    2:42
 Pete Brown
18    Pete Brown's Sextette–    Midnite Blues    2:57
 Pete Brown
19    Pete Brown's Sextette–    That's It    2:43
 Pete Brown
20    Pete Brown's Sextette–    Just Plain Shuffle    2:56
 Pete Brown
21    Pete Brown's Sextette–    Pushin' The Mop    2:47
 Pete Brown
22    Pete Brown's Sextette–    Back Talk Boogie    2:38
 Pete Brown
Credits :    
Alto Saxophone – Pete Brown
Bass – Al Hall (tracks: 12 to 15), Al Matthews (tracks: 4 to 7, 16 to 22), Charlie Drayton (tracks: 1), John Levy (tracks: 2, 3), Milt Hinton (tracks: 8 to 11)
Clarinet – Jimmy Hamilton (tracks: 1)
Drums – Eddie Nicholson (tracks: 2 to 7, 12 to 15), J.C. Heard (tracks: 8 to 11), Ray Nathan (tracks: 1, 16 to 22)
Guitar – Al Casey (tracks: 4 to 7, 16 to 19), Bill Moore (tracks: 20 to 22), Herman Mitchell (tracks: 12 to 15), Jim Daddy Walker (tracks: 2, 3)
Piano – Kenny Kersey (tracks: 8 to 11), Kenny Watts (tracks: 4 to 7, 12 to 15), Ray Parker (5) (tracks: 16 to 22), Sam Price* (tracks: 1)
Trumpet – Dizzy Gillespie (tracks: 1), Ed Lewis (tracks: 16 to 22), Joe Thomas (4) (tracks: 8 to 11)