DON REDMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1931-1933 | The Chronogical Classics – 543 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first of three Don Redman Classics CDs consists of his orchestra's earliest sessions. Although Redman's big band never hit it as big as his former employers' (Fletcher Henderson and McKinney's Cotton Pickers), it was an impressive outfit, thanks to the leader's advanced arrangements. Among the key sidemen on these performances are trumpeters Red Allen (who is on the first two sessions) and Sidney DeParis, tenor saxophonist Robert Carroll, and pianist Horace Henderson. Highlights include "Chant of the Weed" (Redman's atmospheric theme song), "I Heard," "How'm I Doin'," and "Hot and Anxious." The main Don Redman CD to get. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

DON REDMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1933-1936 | The Chronogical Classics – 553 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The great arranger Don Redman made Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in the mid-1920s the first real swing band, but during the swing era itself, Redman was little known to the general public. His big band (heard here on the second of three "complete" Classics CDs) failed to really catch on, although it stayed together throughout the 1930s. After recording a bunch of sessions in 1933, Redman's orchestra only cut two sides in Jan. 1934 and then none until May 1936. There are vocals on 22 of the 25 selections on this CD; of the three instrumentals, this version of "Christopher Columbus" might not be by Redman. The leader's charming vocals are fine, but the nine by Harlan Lattimore are of lesser interest, and Chick Bullock dominates a six-song session. There are some good solos along the way, particularly by trumpeter Sidney DeParis, trombonists Benny Morton and Claude Jones and the forgotten tenor Robert Carroll, but this CD is primarily for completists. Scott Yanow 
Tracklist + Credits :

DON REDMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1939 | The Chronogical Classics – 574 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third in the series of Don Redman Classics CDs finds the innovative arranger adjusting to the swing era. His big band is heard on sessions cut for ARC in 1936 ("Bugle Call Rag" is excellent), Variety in 1937 (including a previously unreleased "Swingin' With the Fat Man"), and Bluebird during 1938-39 (including "I Got Ya," "Down Home Rag" and "Milenberg Joys"). A lot of interesting names passed through the band during this era, including trumpeter Sidney DeParis, trombonist Quentin Jackson and singer Laurel Watson, and there is some pleasing music despite a fair amount of vocals. This series ended before Redman's last two big band sessions, but those have often been made available by RCA/Bluebird. The first CD in Classics' Redman series is the most essential. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

MARY LOU WILLIAMS – 1927-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 630 (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD features the great pianist Mary Lou Williams during her earliest period. She is heard in 1927 on six selections with The Synco Jazzers (a small group that included her then-husband John Williams on alto) and then on the first 19 selections ever recorded under her own name. Performed during the long period when she was the regular pianist with Andy Kirk's 12 Clouds of Joy, Williams is featured on two hot stride solos in 1930, leading trios in 1936 and 1938, playing "Little Joe from Chicago" unaccompanied in 1939 and heading septets in 1940; among her sidemen were trumpeter Harold "Shorty" Baker and the legendary tenor Dick Wilson. Many of the compositions were written by Williams including "Night Life," "New Froggy Bottom," "Mary's special," and "Scratchin' the Gravel;" her version of Jelly Roll Morton's "The Pearls" is a highpoint. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Jeanette's Synco Jazzers–    Midnight Stomp 2:42
Written-By – Williams
2    Jeanette's Synco Jazzers–    The Bumps 2:37
Written-By – Williams
3    John Williams' Synco Jazzers–    Down In Gallion 3:11
Written-By – Unknown
4    John Williams' Synco Jazzers–    Goose Grease 3:15
Written-By – Unknown
5    John Williams' Synco Jazzers–    Pee Wee Blues 3:27
Written-By – Unknown
6    John Williams' Synco Jazzers–    Now Cut Loose 2:47
Written-By – Unknown
7    Mary Lou Williams–    Night Life 2:56
Written-By – Williams
8    Mary Lou Williams–    Drag 'Em 2:52
Written-By – Williams
9    Mary Lou Williams–    Corny Rhythm 2:42
Written-By – Williams
10    Mary Lou Williams–    Overhand (New Froggy Bottom) 2:46
Written-By – Williams
11    Mary Lou Williams–    Isabelle 2:55
Written-By – Williams
12    Mary Lou Williams–    Swingin' For Joy 2:34
Written-By – Williams
13    Mary Lou Williams–    Clean Pickin' 2:48
Written-By – Williams
14    Mary Lou Williams–    Mary's Special 2:46
Written-By – Williams
15    Mary Lou Williams–    The Pearls 3:01
Written-By – Morton
16    Mary Lou Williams–    Mr. Freddie Blues 2:44
Written-By – Shayne
17    Mary Lou Williams–    Sweet (Patootie) Patunia 2:30
Written-By – Williams, Rogan, Alexander
18    Mary Lou Williams–    The Rocks 2:34
Written-By – Burley
19    Mary Lou Williams–    Little Joe From Chicago 2:33
Written-By – Wells, Williams
20    Six Men And A Girl–    Mary Lou Williams Blues 3:15
Written-By – Williams
21    Six Men And A Girl–    Tea For Two 2:48
Written-By – Caesar, Youmans
22    Six Men And A Girl–    Scratchin' The Gravel 3:11
Written-By – Williams
23    Six Men And A Girl–    Zonky 2:54
Written-By – Razaf, Waller
24    Mary Lou Williams And Her Kansas City Seven–    Baby Dear 2:47
Written-By – Moten, Hayes
25    Mary Lou Williams And Her Kansas City Seven–    Harmony Blues 2:47
Written-By – Moten
Credits :   
Alto Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – John Williams (tracks: 1 to 6)
Banjo – Joe Williams (tracks: 1 to 6)
Bass – Booker Collins (tracks: 9 to 18, 20 to 25)
Celesta – Mary Lou Williams (tracks: 14)
Clarinet – Edward Inge (tracks: 20 to 23)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Earl "Buddy" Miller (tracks: 20 to 23)
Drums – Ben Thigpen (tracks: 9 to 18, 20 to 25), Robert Price (tracks: 1 to 6)
Electric Guitar – Floyd Smith (tracks: 20 to 23)
Guitar [?] – Ted Robinson (tracks: 14)
Piano – Mary Lou Williams
Tenor Saxophone – Dick Wilson (tracks: 20 to 25)
Trombone – Bradley Bullett (tracks: 1 to 6), Ted Donnelly (tracks: 20 to 23)
Trumpet – Earl Thompson (tracks: 20 to 23), Harold Baker (tracks: 20 to 23), Henry McCord (tracks: 1 to 6)

BENNY MORTON – 1934-1945 (1999) The Classics Chronological Series – 906 | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Benny Morton didn't make very many recordings as a leader. What you've got here are apparently all of them. The 1934 band contained several musicians who had worked in Don Redman's orchestra. "Fare Thee Well to Harlem" is one of many preposterous Tin Pan Alley songs depicting a "negro" who yearns to go back to the noble South, in this case because of the questionable assumption that down there people go to church instead of hanging out in bars. Note that Duke Ellington always insisted there were more churches than nightclubs in Harlem. Ellington gave the world the diametric opposite of this song when in 1941 he composed "Jump For Joy," that ode to emancipation with its opening lyric: "Fare thee well, land of cotton, fare thee well." It's almost as if he was responding to this particular song! Will we ever know? "Tailor Made" was composed and arranged by bassist Billy Taylor, who chugs away behind the band without soloing. "The Gold Digger's Song," with its refrain of "We're in the money," came directly out of Busby Berkeley's Hollywood during the Great Depression. Nobody ever sang a hipper version of this giddy paean to economic denial than Henry "Red" Allen. Edward Inge quotes both "Yankee Doodle" and "Pagliacci" during his clarinet solo. Benny Morton's Trombone Choir was a follow-up for Roy Eldridge's Trumpet Ensemble and Coleman Hawkins & His Sax Ensemble, all brilliantly produced by Harry Lim for Keynote Records. The fact that four trombones were considered a choir is immediately understandable when you immerse yourself in their glowing tonalities. The music is sculpted with great precision, and the 'bones are able to strut their stuff largely because of the excellent rhythm section of Johnny Guarnieri, Al Hall and Sid Catlett. Although Leonard Feather is credited as the composer of "Sliphorn Outing," the tune is clearly recognizable as an upbeat version of "Avalon." You realize Al Jolson could have sued for royalties! "Sliphorn" is also a necessary blow-out after the beautifully controlled cooperation and perfectly blended harmonies of "Where or When," "Liza" and "Once in a While." The Blue Note recordings of Benny Morton's All Stars, featuring Barney Bigard and Ben Webster, are precious as lapis lazuli. "My Old Flame" comes across like an Ellington tune, for obvious reasons. "Conversing In Blue" might be one of the greatest collective improvisations in all of traditional jazz. Six men interact, three of them using wind instruments in strikingly expressive ways, carefully listening to each other while voicing their innermost feelings with honesty and passion. The ballad and the blues are perfectly matched by a pair of hot standards. All four sides were originally issued on 12" 78s, allowing additional time for extended solos and prolonged exchanges between the horns. The album ends with four obscure titles issued on the Stinson label. Benny Morton's gentle approach to the trombone is beautifully demonstrated on "Stardust." Prince Robinson's clarinet is a noticeable presence during "Boogie" and those quirkily titled romps, "Williphant Willie" and "Chicken at the Chester." Not a bad career retrospective for a man who spent most of his time playing in the brass section of other peoples' bands. arwulf arwulf 
Tracklist :
1    Benny Morton And His Orchestra–    Get Goin' 3:13
Arranged By – Jerry Blake
Vocals – Jerry Blake
Written-By – Oakland, Conrad, Drake
2    Benny Morton And His Orchestra–    Fare-Thee-Well To Harlem 3:05
Vocals – Jerry Blake
Written-By – Hanighen, Mercer
3    Benny Morton And His Orchestra–    Tailor Made 3:12
Written-By, Arranged By – Billy Taylor
4    Benny Morton And His Orchestra–    The Gold Digger's Song (We're In The Money) 3:10
Vocals – Henry "Red" Allen
Written-By – Dubin, Warren
5    Benny Morton's Trombone Choir–    Where Or When 4:38
Written-By – Rodgers - Hart
6    Benny Morton's Trombone Choir–    Liza
Written-By – Gershwin - Gershwin
7    Benny Morton's Trombone Choir–    Once In A While 4:42
Written-By – Green, Edwards
8    Benny Morton's Trombone Choir–    Sliphorn Outing 4:33
Written-By – Feather
9    Benny Morton's All Stars–    My Old Flame 4:14
Written-By – Johnson, Coslow
10    Benny Morton's All Stars–    Conversing In Blue 4:38
Written-By – Benny Morton
11    Benny Morton's All Stars–    The Sheik Of Araby 4:35
Written-By – Wheeler, Smith, Snyder
12    Benny Morton's All Stars–    Limehouse Blues 4:09
Written-By – Furber, Braham
13    Benny Morton–    Boogie 2:36
Written-By – Unknown Artist
14    Benny Morton–    Williphant Willie 2:25
Written-By – Unknown Artist
15    Benny Morton–    Stardust 2:57
Written-By – Hoagy Carmichael
16    Benny Morton–    Chicken At The Chester 2:23
Written-By – Unknown Artist
Credits :   
Bass – Al Hall (tracks: 5 to 8), Billy Taylor (tracks: 1 to 4), Israel Crosby (tracks: 9 to 12), Jimmy Butts (tracks: 13 to 16)
Clarinet – Barney Bigard (tracks: 9 to 12), Prince Robinson (tracks: 13 to 16)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Edward Inge (tracks: 1 to 4), Jerry Blake (tracks: 1 to 4)
Drums – Eddie Dougherty (tracks: 9 to 16), Manzie Johnson (tracks: 1 to 4), Sid Catlett (tracks: 5 to 8)
Guitar – Bobby Johnson (tracks: 1 to 4)
Piano – Don Kirkpatrick (tracks: 1 to 4), Johnny Guarnieri (tracks: 5 to 8), Sammy Benskin (tracks: 9 to 16)
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: 9 to 12), Ted McRae (tracks: 1 to 4)
Trombone – Benny Morton, Bill Harris (tracks: 5 to 8), Claude Jones (tracks: 5 to 8), Vic Dickenson (tracks: 5 to 8)
Trumpet – Bobby Stark (tracks: 13 to 16), Henry "Red" Allen (tracks: 1 to 4)