JOE VENUTI – 1926-1928 | The Chronogical Classics – 1211 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This particular slice of the Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang chronology presents some of their all-time best instrumental performances garnished with a small bouquet of precious novelties and sugary love songs with delightfully naïve vocals by Scrappy Lambert, Billy Hillpot, and Rube Bloom. The sweetest of these are sung in a manner so euphoric as to be almost nonsensically charming. This is true even of a suspiciously idyllic paean to the pleasures of "Pickin' Cotton," a faintly onerous song representing a tenebrous subgenre of Tin Pan Alley tunes that wistfully glorified the gallant bygone days of slave or cheap "emancipated" labor. Venuti's lyrically inspired handling of the violin and Lang's virtuosic guitar still sound surprisingly fresh and imaginative. These earliest Venuti and Lang collaborations exude a special sort of positive energy that is unique in all of classic jazz. Some of the instrumental tracks feel like well-organized, improvised hot chamber music. Fortunately, Venuti's "Kickin' the Cat" and "Beatin' the Dog" are presented without any nasty lyrics or cruel sound effects. arwulf arwulf  
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THE RED HEADS – 1925-1927 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1267 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Red Heads was a pseudonym for Red Nichols & His Five Pennies whenever their recordings were released on the Melotone, Oriole, or Perfect labels during the years 1925-1927. Following in the wake of EPM Musique's 25-track Complete edition of 1998, Jazz Oracle's 74-track, three-CD set of 2004 augmented the main body of their work with a surprisingly large number of sides by pop vocalists Jay C. Flippen and Cliff Edwards with sweet and jazzy accompaniments by the Red Heads. Edwards, also known as Ukulele Ike, eventually achieved international fame as the voice of Jiminy Cricket. This exhaustively thorough chronological survey also features vocals by Frank Gould and Arthur Fields. Having all of these charming period pop vocals in the package should be regarded as a confectionary bonus rather than a distracting disadvantage. The producers have placed the instrumentals in full context by including harmless pleasantries like "You Should See My Tootsie" and "I'm 'Gonna' Hang Around My Sugar," with the word "gonna" in quotes. Instrumentalists of note in the Red Heads discography are trumpeters Red Nichols and Wingy Manone; cornetist Brad Gowans, trombonist Miff Mole, reed players Jimmy Dorsey and Fud Livingston; pianists Arthur Schutt and Rube Bloom; guitarists Dick McDonough and Eddie Lang, and ace percussionist Vic Berton. This amazing anthology is not exclusively intended or recommended for historians, specialists, or recluses. It is a thrilling magnum dose of great historic jazz, dance, and pop recordings from smack in the middle of the '20s. No one should be put off by the quantity of tracks, the modest helping of alternate takes, or the marvelously old-fashioned nature of the music within. It is perhaps most important that it be heard by people who do not specialize in music and culture from this period. The Red Heads can and will speak to anyone. arwulf arwulf

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