DJANGO REINHARDT – 1947, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1046 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The combination of an early modern jazz clarinet and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France creates a special kind of chemistry that occurs periodically throughout Django Reinhardt's recorded works. This volume in the Classics Reinhardt chronology contains an unusually high concentration of clarinetists, most notably the great Hubert Rostaing. Given his warm, personable timbre and unusual dexterity, it is surprising that more jazz lovers are not aware of this remarkable musician. The previous Django Reinhardt installment in the Classics chronology, 1947, contained no less than 13 tracks documenting the Rostaing/Reinhardt collaboration. 1947, Vol. 2 (Classics 1046) forks over 15 more examples of their best work together, along with two tracks featuring clarinetist Maurice Meunier and one greasy strut -- "Douce Ambiance" -- involving clarinetist Gerard Leveque. Reinhardt, heard playing electric guitar on all but three of the 20 tracks, sounds as lyrical and inventive as ever. "Brazil," unlike most other peoples' renditions, uses hardly any percussion, zeroing in on the melody first and foremost. It is interesting to hear Reinhardt's interpretation of "Topsy," a jam structure invented by Count Basie and Eddie Durham, who pioneered the newfangled electrified guitar back in 1938. "Gypsy With a Song" is Reinhardt's teasing response to Duke Ellington's beautiful composition "Gypsy Without a Song." The disc finishes off with two fine selections from a Quintet session involving Stéphane Grappelli. The rest of the material recorded on that date -- November 14, 1947 -- can be found on Classics 1317, which chronicles the years 1947-1951. arwulf arwulf    Tracklist + Credits :

REX STEWART – 1946-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1016 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After leaving Duke Ellington's Orchestra, cornetist Rex Stewart went to Europe for a few years, recording extensively. This entry in Classics' "complete" series has a four-song studio session and a jam cut shortly before Stewart went overseas plus sessions in Paris (including six tunes from a concert) and Stockholm. The music is fairly erratic overall. There are some fireworks on a quartet date with pianist Billy Kyle, bassist John Levy, and drummer Cozy Cole, and the two-part, privately recorded "I May Be Wrong" has its moments. With the exception of a previously unreleased alternate take of "Blue Jay" from 1945 (which has a vocal by Joya Sherrill) that had been discovered and was tagged on to the end of this CD, the other selections find Stewart heading a group also including trombonist Sandy Williams (he has some of his best late-period solos), John Harris on clarinet and alto, tenor-saxophonist Vernon Story, pianist Don Gais, Simon Brehm or Fred Ermelin on bass, and drummer Ted Curry. Stewart sings "Run to the Corner" and Honey Johnson is strangely country-oriented on "Waitin' for the Train to Come In"; otherwise the performances are instrumentals. Although Stewart plays in his usual fiery mainstream swing style, some of the arrangements are a bit boppish and do not work that well, plus the recording quality is decent but not great. The overall results are not without their strong moments but are a little uncomfortable and not too essential. However, it is nice to have this formerly scattered music put out in coherent order. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :