GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1935-1938 | The Chronogical Classics – 754 (1994) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first CD in the European Classics label's "complete" Gene Krupa series starts off with two all-star sessions that preceded the drummer's first dates as a big-band leader. Krupa, Benny Goodman, bassist Israel Crosby (featured on "Blues of Israel") and several sideman from Goodman's 1935 band jam four songs, and from the following year, Krupa is joined by trumpeter Roy Eldridge, tenor saxophonist Chu Berry, pianist Jess Stacy, guitarist Allan Reuss, Crosby and (on two of the four songs) singer Helen Ward. The two instrumentals ("I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music" and "Swing Is Here") are near-classics that are quite heated. Otherwise, this CD has Krupa's first 15 numbers with his big band, a promising outfit which during 1938 also featured tenor saxophonist Vido Musso, pianist Milt Raskin and the vocals of Irene Daye and Helen Ward. Highlights include "Feeling High and Happy," "Wire Brush Stomp" and the previously unissued "The Madam Swings It." Scott Yanow  Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938 | The Chronogical Classics – 767 (1994) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The second Gene Krupa CD in Classics complete reissuance of his swing-era recordings has 22 titles from Krupa's Orchestra during the latter half of 1938. The big band did not yet have its own personality, but Irene Day was a fine pop/swing vocalist; Leo Watson is in typically eccentric form singing four goodtime numbers; the arrangements of Jimmy Mundy and Chappie Willett generally swing hard; Vido Musso and Sam Donahue get off some fine tenor solos; and the leader/drummer really drives the band. Well worth picking up by swing fans. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939 | The Chronogical Classics – 799 (1994) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless

The European label's third Gene Krupa set reissues all of the recordings made by the drummer's big band during a five-month period in 1939. Although working steadily, Krupa's Orchestra had not broken through yet (it was still two years away from its prime period). With Irene Daye contributing ten pleasing vocals among the 22 selections and such soloists as trumpeter Nate Kazebier, trombonist Floyd O'Brien, tenor-saxophonist Sam Donahue and pianist Milt Raskin (along with the drummer/leader), the group was starting to show some strong potential, particularly on the instrumentals such as "The Madam Swings It" and "Hodge Podge." Well-played if not overly distinctive swing music. Scott Yanow          Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1940 | The Chronogical Classics – 834 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The fourth CD in the Classics label's "complete" Gene Krupa series contains 23 recordings recorded by the drummer with his big band during a seven-month period. Irene Daye does a generally fine job on her 14 vocals and singer Howard Dulany weighs down one ballad but naturally the instrumentals are of greatest interest. This period in Krupa's career is generally overlooked in favor of his famous performances with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge but there are several gems including a swinging rendition of "My Old Kentucky Home," "On the Beam," "Symphony in Riffs," the hit "Drummin' Man," "Three Little Words," the two part "Blue Rhythm Fantasy," "The Rumba Jumps" and "Boog It." The main soloists include trumpeter Corky Cornelius, the Artie Shaw-inspired clarinetist Sam Musiker and tenorman Sam Donahue in addition to the colorful leader. Scott Yanow       Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940 | The Chronogical Classics – 859 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The fifth Gene Krupa CD in Classics' series (which reissues all of the drummer's swing-era studio recordings as a leader) documents Krupa's big band during a four-month period. Of the 22 selections (the majority of which have not been reissued elsewhere), seven have commercial ballad vocals by Howard Dulany, and six have reasonably enjoyable singing from Irene Daye. Of greatest interest are the nine instrumentals (including "Say Si Si," "Manhattan Transfer," "Tuxedo Junction," "Tiger Rag," "No Name Jive" and "Blues Krieg"), although during this era Krupa's orchestra had few major soloists. Tenor saxophonist Sam Donahue plays well, as do trumpeters Shorty Sherock (before he departed in May) and Corky Cornelius, but the Krupa big band's great days were still in the future. Still, swing collectors will want this entire series. Scott Yanow           Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940, Vol. 2 | The Chronogical Classics – 883 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The seventh CD in the Classics label's Gene Krupa reissue series is mostly fairly weak. Despite Krupa's presence, his band at the time was average (only trumpeter Shorty Sherock had much of a reputation as a soloist) and, of the 21 selections on this disc, only three are instrumentals. Irene Daye's nine vocals are certainly listenable, although Howard Dulany's seven ballad features are more routine; Daye and Dulany take "You Forgot About Me" as a vocal duet. The instrumentals ("Hamtramck," "Full Dress Hop" and an excellent version of "Sweet Georgia Brown") are fine, but this CD is only recommended to completists. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940, Vol. 3 | The Chronogical Classics – 917 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The seventh CD in the Classics label's Gene Krupa reissue series is mostly fairly weak. Despite Krupa's presence, his band at the time was average (only trumpeter Shorty Sherock had much of a reputation as a soloist) and, of the 21 selections on this disc, only three are instrumentals. Irene Daye's nine vocals are certainly listenable, although Howard Dulany's seven ballad features are more routine; Daye and Dulany take "You Forgot About Me" as a vocal duet. The instrumentals ("Hamtramck," "Full Dress Hop" and an excellent version of "Sweet Georgia Brown") are fine, but this CD is only recommended to completists. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941 | The Chronogical Classics – 960 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Gene Krupa's band was in a state of transition when these sides were cut in 1941. Vocalist Irene Day was leaving, the marvelous Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge were coming aboard, and the band was finally coming up to their leader's fiery level of playing. You can hear the change on tracks like "Alreet," and Anita's and Roy's spirited exchange on "Let Me Off Uptown." Everything on here works just fine, grade-A swing propelled by Krupa's always explosive drumming and the spirited playing of his band. Transfers of the of the old Okeh 78s are a bit fusty but generally fine, and the enclosed information in the booklet make this a good buy worth tracking down. Cub Koda
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941, Vol. 2 | The Chronogical Classics – 1006 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This volume in the Classics Gene Krupa chronology presents everything recorded by the Gene Krupa Orchestra between June 5 and October 3, 1941. These sessions took place in New York, Chicago, and Hollywood. The music came out on the OKeh label and was well received by a record-buying public with an apparently insatiable appetite for pop vocals. In addition to smooth crooning from Howard Dulany and Johnny Desmond there were snappy, jazzy vocals from Anita O'Day. Dulany's best moments occur during the humorous "Love Me as I Am," a humble opus peppered with references to snoring and tabletop doodling. But the real gold in this part of the Krupa saga came from trumpeter Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge, whose magnificent presentation of Hoagy Carmichael's "Rockin' Chair" -- arranged by Benny Carter -- ranks with the best recordings Eldridge ever made under any circumstances. The enclosed discography leads one to expect a vocal on this track, but here Eldridge funneled his soul into the trumpet exclusively. In 1941 a black man performing with a white big band (and a white female singer!) often ran into racial discrimination. This probably explains why Roy Eldridge and Anita O'Day only sang together on a tiny handful of studio recordings. Here Eldridge adds a humorous extra dimension to O'Day's coolly understated vocal on "The Walls Keep Talking" by screaming loudly and skillfully imitating a barn owl before exclaiming "Lemme get out of here!" arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941-1942 | The Chronogical Classics – 1096 (1999) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Gene Krupa's big band made a sizable number of records for OKeh and Columbia during the 1940s, with gaping holes in the chronology caused by a World War and two AFM recording bans. The Classics reissue label presents all of this material in chronological order, with this volume covering a time line from October 1941 to February 1942. The main attractions throughout are perky, sensual vocalist Anita O'Day and trumpet archetype Roy "Little Jazz" Eldridge, who is particularly exciting on the instrumental "Ball of Fire." This disc just happens to contain some of O'Day's tastiest performances; "Skylark" and "Side by Side" are richly rewarding, as is a previously unreleased take of Jimmy Mundy's "Bolero at the Savoy." She also demonstrates a penchant for scat singing on the disarmingly cool "That's What You Think." Safer and more conventional pop vocals were emitted by Giovanni Alfredo di Simone, a wholesome young fellow from Detroit known in the music business as Johnny Desmond. Given the militaristically inclined material chosen by many of the big bands during the months preceding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it is clear that the U.S. was preparing for war. During Gene Krupa's recording session of June 5, 1941, Howard DuLany had sung "'Til Reveille," a sentimental offering directed at armed forces personnel who were separated from their loved ones (see Classics 1006, Gene Krupa 1941, Vol. 2). On November 25, 1941, Johnny Desmond chortled away during "Keep 'Em Flying," a zealous paean to the war effort that predates said war by nearly two weeks. By January and February of 1942, Desmond was in full harness with "The Marines' Hymn" and "The Caissons Go Rolling Along." By August of that year Desmond would find himself playing cymbals in the United States Air Force Band. His next involvement with a jazz-inflected big band would be as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Meanwhile, Anita O'Day paid dutiful tribute to "Fightin' Doug MacArthur" and even saluted Afro-American soldiery with "Harlem on Parade," a cousin to Irving Berlin's "That's What the Well-Dressed Man in Harlem Will Wear." These tracks prove that she could handle any subject matter without copping out or losing her cool. Here, then, is a variegated slice of history, packed with equal parts jazz and U.S. pop culture. The CD booklet contains a vintage photograph of Anita O'Day, looking dolled up and more than slightly dangerous. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1942-1945 | The Chronogical Classics – 1096 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The 11th CD in Classics' Gene Krupa series has the final recordings of his 1942 big band, all eight recordings by his short-lived "Band That Swings With Strings" and the debut of the Gene Krupa Trio. The last numbers by the 1942 band include four Anita O'Day vocals (highlighted by "Massachusetts" and "Murder, He Says"), trumpeter Roy Eldridge's vocal on "Knock Me a Kiss," and the instrumental "That Drummer's Band." A special bonus on this CD are two trio cuts from 1944 with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and pianist Dodo Marmarosa that were originally issued as V-Discs. The string orchestra was a frivolity, and its best recording actually did not include the strings -- the pioneering bop vocal "What's This" featuring Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart. The CD concludes with three selections ("Dark Eyes," "Body and Soul," and "Stompin' at the Savoy") by the Krupa trio with tenor-saxophonist Charlie Ventura. Highly recommended. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist + Credits : 

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1945 | The Chronogical Classics – 1143 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Gene Krupa's recordings for a four-month period are traced on this CD in the Classics "complete" series. The first eight formerly rare selections feature the Gene Krupa Trio with the extroverted (and sometimes too enthusiastic) tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura and pianist George Walters; three of the numbers were originally V-discs, three others were not released until the LP era, and the two remaining songs have never been out before. In addition, there are 15 numbers from the Gene Krupa Big Band. The returning Anita O'Day (who gave Krupa new hits in "Opus No. 1," "Boogie Blues," and "Chickery Chick") and ballad singer Buddy Stewart are on all but "It's Up to You" and "Lover." Among the soloists are trumpeter Don Fagerquist and Ventura. The 1945 Gene Krupa Orchestra did not catch on to the level of the 1941-1942 edition, but it definitely had its moments.  Scott Yanow  
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1945-1946 | The Chronogical Classics – 1231 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although there are some moments of interest on this set of 25 performances, the Gene Krupa Orchestra's studio recordings are mostly weighed down by vocals. Bop trumpeter Red Rodney was with Krupa for part of 1946, but the band just recorded a dozen numbers during this period, with all but "How High the Moon" (which has an early swinging arrangement from Gerry Mulligan) featuring so-so vocals from Buddy Stewart and Carola Grey. Rodney sneaks in a few boppish licks here and there, but overall these are disappointing, particularly compared to the orchestra's radio transcriptions of the era. There are five cuts from 1945: three Anita O'Day vocals (including a fine "Tea for Two"), a good instrumental version of "Lover," and a bombastic Charlie Ventura tenor feature on "Yesterdays." In addition, there are also eight slightly later tracks. Charlie Kennedy gets in some boppish alto solos that sound similar to Charlie Parker, but vocals dominate five numbers, while the other three are not that essential. So this is a lesser release overall, mostly recommended to Gene Krupa completists. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947-1949 | The Chronogical Classics – 1319 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After Anita O'Day suddenly quit his band in 1946, Gene Krupa went out looking for a replacement female vocalist. He discovered Carolyn Grey performing with a no-name intermission band and hired her at once. Grey, who also sang with Woody Herman and Sonny Dunham, had a pleasant voice and may be heard at her best on "Old Devil Moon," the opening track of this 14th installment in the complete chronologically reissued works of Gene Krupa on Classics. These recordings, made in New York and Los Angeles between January 1947 and January 1949, all originally appeared on 78-rpm 10" red label Columbia records. During this portion of Krupa's career, stylistic adjustments were made to modernize the overall sound of the band. Gerry Mulligan's arrangement of his and Krupa's collaborative opus "Disc Jockey Jump" meets all the requirements of big-band bop. "By the River St. Marie" was the marvelously solid flip side of Columbia 38590. It's worth noting that some of the best solos on this compilation come from the saxophone section. As popular tastes demanded increasingly large quantities of sentimental vocals, Krupa employed Tom Berry and Buddy Hughes, a couple of standard-issue male crooners. Yet by the end of 1947, Krupa's band was sounding positively progressive, with flashy original compositions and arrangements by Eddie Finckel. Carolyn Grey had been replaced by Delores Hawkins, a comparatively deep-voiced individual who sounds much better here than on a horribly overbearing remake of "Let Me Off Uptown," where she carries on with all the subtlety of Cass Daley. The recordings made on January 26, 1949, feature Hawkins at her best during "Bop Boogie," excellent bop scat vocals from trombonist Frank Rosolino, deep tones from the timpani, and a bongo handler worthy of Machito's Orquesta. On the "exotic" "Similau," Bill Black's conventional crooning is strafed with lightning-quick bop scat runs sung in duet by Rosolino and Hawkins. This music, so emblematic of Krupa's (and Woody Herman's and Charlie Barnet's) passing involvement with bop during the late '40s, adds yet another dimension to the already diverse life and works of Gene Krupa. arwulf arwulf          Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA – 1949-1951 | The Chronogical Classics – 1359 (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 The 15th installment in the Classics Gene Krupa chronology opens with a big-band arrangement of a "madcap" melody by Soviet composer Dmitri Kabalevsky. The last of Krupa's Columbia records were cut in Los Angeles on May 9, 1949, with sanguine spoken outbursts and wild trumpet solos by Roy Eldridge. There's creamy singing from Bill Black and a stilted group vocal -- a routine borrowed from Tommy Dorsey -- during "Why Fall in Love with a Stranger." Delores Hawkins, heard at her sultriest on "Watch Out!," appears to be emulating Ella Fitzgerald. After more than ten years as a Columbia recording artist, Krupa switched over to Victor in March of 1950. Bassist Don Simpson wrote the arrangements for new versions of six melodies composed by Fats Waller, and for some strange reason known only to arranger George Williams, a big-band adaptation of Gene Autrey's "Dust" opens with a quote from Richard Strauss' tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra. During the spring of 1950, Krupa began alternating his big-band dates with tight little blowing sessions featuring an old-fashioned Eddie Condon-type jazz band. Both bands featured vocalist Bobby Scoots, a lively specimen most appropriately chosen to sing the lyrics to that immortal discourse on the human condition, "Cincinnati Dancing Pig." The only antidote for this is a solid instrumental rendering of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," one of the most popular hits of 1919, here given the ham-and-eggs treatment by a band assisting Krupa in returning to his Chicago-style roots. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA – 1952-1953 | The Chronogical Classics – 1390 (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Volume 16 in the Classics Gene Krupa chronology documents his recording activity between March 1952 and September 1953. Although Krupa had struggled for years to keep his big band together, he had to throw in the towel in 1951. By the spring of the following year, he was leading his first small-group recording date for producer Norman Granz. Having spent years at the helm of a big band that expended a lot of energy accompanying jazz and pop vocalists, Krupa seems to have relished the intimacy and immediacy of these exciting instrumental blowing sessions with pianist Teddy Napoleon and tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura. The opening track, "St. Louis Blues" runs for seven-and-a-half steamy minutes, and Ventura uses his baritone for a deliciously deep-toned interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust." The big horn was also in evidence on a friendly laid-back rendition of "My Blue Heaven" and reflections of a "Moon on the Ruined Castle" recorded in Tokyo for the Victor label one month later when the trio was visiting Japan as part of an all-star entourage financed and presided over by Norman Granz. As Victor was not his company, Granz allowed the taping to occur but prevented the recordings from being released. Back in New York two weeks later, Granz and Krupa began making records using slightly larger ensembles. The six- and seven-piece bands that are heard on the last six titles of this compilation had powerful front liners in Ben Webster, Charlie Shavers, Bill Harris and Willie Smith; the rhythm sections were stoked with Teddy Wilson, Israel Crosby, Ray Brown, Steve Jordan and Herb Ellis. This outstanding compilation chronicles a sunny and artistically rewarding chapter in the life of Gene Krupa. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :

GENE KRUPA – 1953-1954 | The Chronogical Classics – 1433 (2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Released in 2007 as number 1433 in the Classics Chronological catalog, the 17th installment in the complete works of drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa consists of intimate trio and sextet recordings produced by Norman Granz and issued on his Clef and Verve labels. Tracks one through six amount to all but the first two titles from The Exciting Gene Krupa, an album recorded on September 10, 1953, with trumpeter Charlie Shavers, trombonist Bill Harris, tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, pianist Teddy Wilson, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown. Shavers, who composed four of the six tunes heard here, was almost certainly inspired to use the title "Midget" by Lester Young, who is known to have jokingly employed the word in reference to Shavers and fellow trumpeter Roy Eldridge (both men were short, rambunctious, and loved to tease Lester Young). Recorded on February 1, 1954, tracks seven through 14 comprised the trio album Sing, Sing, Sing. Here Krupa interacted with pianist Teddy Napoleon and versatile multi-instrumentalist Eddie Shu, who plays trumpet, clarinet, alto, and tenor saxes as well as a mouth organ on "Harmonica Shu Boogie." (Although Shu was also a trained ventriloquist, that skill does not seem to have been employed on this occasion.) This highly satisfying compilation closes with the first three titles from the sextet album The Driving Gene Krupa, recorded on February 2, 1954, with Charlie Shavers, Bill Harris, tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Teddy Wilson, and bassist Ray Brown. Like its immediate predecessor in the series, this core sample of Krupa's post-big-band career contains some of the very best mainstream jazz sessions that he ever got a chance to participate in. Highly recommended as accessible jazz suitable for almost any occasion. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :

NEW ORLEANS RHYTHM KINGS – 1925-1935 | The Chronogical Classics – 1150 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The 1922-1923 recordings of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings are essential listening for anyone trying to piece together the evolution of New Orleans/Chicago-style jazz (see Classics 1129). To be permitted chronological access to everything that subsequently appeared under the banner of the NORK is a ticket to Elysium for all lovers of classic jazz. The first six selections, recorded in New Orleans near the beginning of 1925, reveal a much different band than the ensembles of 1923. Obviously, Jelly Roll Morton isn't directly involved anymore, even if "Golden Leaf Blues" sounds a lot like "Milenberg Joys." Paul Mares and Leon Roppolo retain their position at the center of things, but trombonist George Brunies has been replaced by the dashing Santo Pecora. Each little three-minute performance is solid and warm. Now the action moves up to New York City. A small cluster of originally unissued test pressings from June of 1934 includes a vaudeville version of "Shine" by a quartet calling itself "the Four Bales of Cotton," with scatting, trumpeting, and friendly patter by Wingy Manone. Although "Shine," with its mildly Jim Crow lyrics, always does better as an instrumental, this theatrical singalong approach is somehow fascinating. The same session yielded two hot instrumentals by a reassembled Rhythm Kings with a front line of Manone, either Brunies or Pecora, clarinetist Sidney Arodin, and the tenor saxophone of Eddie Miller. Why these sides were rejected in 1934 is anybody's guess. By September of that year, Decca was taking them more seriously. Brunies and Manone led a six-piece mob through eight outstanding stomps. Arodin's marvelous "San Antonio Shout" is succeeded by one traditional jazz anthem after the next. Their handling of "Jazz Me Blues" is particularly tasty. The session of September 26 was shaped by a deliberate emphasis on material harking back to the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Back in Chicago on January 26, 1935, Paul Mares led his own version of a reconstituted Rhythm Kings band, referencing the earliest NORK sessions by reviving the Friars Society Orchestra name. The appropriately titled "Reincarnation" is elegantly, majestically blue. "Land of Dreams," "Nagasaki," and "Maple Leaf" swing hard. Pecora is back, along with the mighty Omer Simeon and a tough alto sax player by the name of Boyce Brown. The last band to record under this name in the 1930s had a strong front line in Muggsy Spanier, George Brunies, and Eddie Miller. Two of the numbers are hot Fats Waller spinoffs, while "No Lovers Allowed" is OK and "Since We Fell Out of Love" has notably stupid lyrics, made insufferable by Red McKenzie, who insists on warbling away at each song without mercy. Either you love him or you want to cram a comb down his throat. Whenever the singer runs out of lyrics, Muggsy's cornet shines like the harvest moon. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

EDDIE CONDON – 1927-1938 | The Chronogical Classics – 742 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Here's a package that defines traditional Chicago-styled jazz from the roots on up. Closely patterned after the style of Bix Beiderbecke, four hot stomps recorded for the OKeh label in December of 1927 form a handsome keystone to the Eddie Condon chronology. It's the Austin High Gang, appearing on record as McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans, and they swing hard. What a great front line: Frank Teschemacher, Jimmy McPartland, and Bud Freeman. Gene Krupa kicks like a mule. Legend has it Mezz Mezzrow played cymbals, although Condon claimed all Mezz did was hold on to the bass drum so Krupa wouldn't knock it across the room. In July of 1928, Condon, Krupa, and Tesch made a pair of records with pianist Joe Sullivan. "Oh Baby (Rain or Shine)" begins with a group scat vocal and cooks to a gravy. Teschemacher plays both clarinet and alto sax on this date. Shortly before his death in 1973, a mature Eddie Condon made this wry statement regarding both "Indiana," recorded for Parlophone on July 28, 1928, and the art of singing in general: "This record paid the rent at the Cumberland Hotel for one month; for all four guys in the band. I sing here. I was young and didn't know any better. I do now." Condon also sang on "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry," chirping the lyrics over Art Miller's delightful bowed bass. These innocent vocals are endearing and do not detract in any way from the musical entertainment. "Makin' Friends" has a vocal by Texas trombonist Jack Teagarden with whiny spoken interjections by Mezz Mezzrow. Was this the inspiration for Nappy Lamare's incessant chattering on Wingy Manone's records of the mid-'30s? Alarming thought. Great insights into the socioeconomic reality of jazz musicians can be found in Condon's autobiography, We Called It Music. It is there that Condon claims that the Victor session of February 8, 1929, was considered an "experiment" in racially mixed recording, possibly the first integrated date for a major label. The next "experiment" that Condon would put together for Victor was the notorious "Fats Waller & His Buddies" adventure, another racially mixed session that came together haphazardly one month later. Those sides appear as part of the Fats Waller chronology on Classics 689. The Condon story continues here on Classics 742 with a series of excellent recordings made for Brunswick in 1933 and Commodore in 1938. What's documented here is the flowering of Condon's career and those of the men who collaborated with him. The Brunswick sides are relatively rare. Here are Max Kaminsky, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Floyd O'Brien, Artie Bernstein, Sid Catlett, and the great pianist Alex Hill, who really comes across beautifully. The Commodore material brings on George Brunies, Jess Stacy, Artie Shapiro, George Wettling, and Bobby Hackett, who renders up his famously gorgeous treatment of "Embraceable You." It is fitting that this disc ends with "Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland," an ancient saloon song gassed up into a perfect riot of joyous energy. It is the perfect closer for this cardinal Condon collection. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :

BIX BEIDERBECKE – 1927-1930 | The Chronogical Classics – 788 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is the second volume in the all-too-brief Classics Bix Beiderbecke chronology. It presents all 13 Okeh Records cut by Beiderbecke & His Gang between October 5, 1927 and September 21, 1928, followed by Beiderbecke's very last recordings, made between May 21 and September 15, 1930 for the Victor, Vocalion and Brunswick labels. He is heard leading his own band and sitting in with Hoagy Carmichael's orchestra as well as Irving Mills & His Hotsy Totsy Gang. Three years into his brief recording career, Beiderbecke was already beginning to feel confined by the artistic limitations of the entertainment industry. In his excellent and insightful novel-length tribute "Remembering Bix," Ralph Berton recalled his final encounter with Beiderbecke, which took place during the autumn of 1927 shortly before Bix began working for Paul Whiteman. Berton describes their conversation as they listened to the recently waxed Bix & His Gang sides. Although Berton rightfully perceived that some of these were among the hottest and best of Beiderbecke's recordings, Bix was not entirely happy with the results, and even threatened to destroy the master of "Goose Pimples" which was soon issued as Okeh 8544. During this performance he momentarily intruded upon the opening of Frank Signorelli's piano solo, became frustrated and tossed off what he later called a "phony Charleston lick," then responded to gesticulations made by an engineer urging him to finish up before they ran out of room on the disc by letting loose with a couple of very atypical high notes, sharp and fortissimo. Beiderbecke was horrified, incredulous and ultimately contemptuous when the session's producers went ahead and issued what is demonstrably a botched take. Yet in retrospect the excitement of hot jazz transforms even these obvious flaws into personable idiosyncrasies. All 13 sides are anchored with beefy bass saxophones, handled expertly by Adrian Rollini or ably by Min Leibrook. Like the turning of a page, the '30s began for Beiderbecke with a series of collaborations hinting at potential developments that either blossomed or withered away. With names like Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Bud Freeman, Gene Krupa, Hoagy Carmichael and violinist Joe Venuti (who can be heard bawdily intoning the words "Barnacle Bill the Shit-head" in a raspy voice), this home stretch of the Beiderbecke discography reads like a "most likely to succeed" roster. Yet three gifted participants would soon be taken out 'way ahead of schedule; guitarist Eddie Lang was soon to die from complications following a tonsillectomy, Ellington's ex-trumpeter Bubber Miley was already in the process of drinking himself into an early grave, and Bix Beiderbecke's days were numbered. On August 6, 1931 he succumbed to alcoholism and pneumonia at the age of 28. The music on this compilation is an essential portion of his legacy. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :