CHARLIE BARNET AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1159 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There's no denying that it's good to hear every single record that Charlie Barnet's band made during the 1930s. This is, after all, part of our cultural heritage, and every piece of the puzzle helps to place the entire body of Barnet's work -- indeed that of every popular big band from the 1930s -- in perspective. Nevertheless, 18 of its 23 tracks come with vocals, and several of these are packed in corn syrup, as it were, in an effort to appease the appetites of the record-buying public. Bob Parks carefully squeezes out the lyrics to "When I'm With You," and Kurt Bloom seems to be emulating Ozzie Nelson on "You're Looking for Romance." Joe Hostetter asks the revealing question "Where Is My Heart?" and trundles out a stable-full of "Empty Saddles." This acts as a benign sequel to his marvelously entertaining vocal on "I'm an Old Cowhand," which was recorded only a few minutes earlier on the same day [see Classics 1133 -- Charlie Barnet 1933-1936]. The leader of the band sings on no less than seven tracks, sounding a little like Dean Martin during "Rainbow on the River" and periodically supplying tasty fills with his saxophones. He's really delightful at the helm of the bouncy, swinging "Long Ago and Far Away" and sounds particularly smooth on "Until the Real Thing Comes Along." Barnet could be oddly charming, as any one of his 11 wives could probably testify. Three tracks feature a vocal group billed as the Barnet Modernaires. Their treatment of "Bye Bye Baby" is precise and polished, conforming closely to the prevailing style of conventional 1930s white big band vocal groups. Fats Waller's cheerful rendition -- recorded only two days earlier -- is much groovier than this squeaky clean routine, but he was making jazz and the Modernaires were playing to the pop market. "Make-Believe Ballroom" was used as the theme song of Martin Block's WNEW radio program. Block began using the title near the end of 1934, having swiped it from Al Jarvis, a DJ on KFWB in Los Angeles. The all-night Milkman's Matinee also ran on WNEW, hosted by Stan Shaw from 1935 until Art Ford took it on in 1942. There's nothing quite like hearing a team of sober adults singing "Everything's 'Grade A' at the Milkman's Matinee" in perfect harmony. As for the instrumental tracks, the Barnet treatment of Irving Berlin's "Always" swings handsomely, and four titles recorded for Irving Mills' Variety label are interesting examples of a band in transition. "Take My Word" is superb smooth and easy dream music, with Barnet's sax sounding something like what Coleman Hawkins blew back in 1933 when he and Charlie were both making records for the Banner label. "Swingin' Down to Rio" is plenty hot, and the other two numbers are straightforward swing, right out of the Fletcher Henderson book. For this session, conducted in direct violation of his contract with Victor/Bluebird Records, Barnet unearthed the name of a hot dance band from the 1920s to masquerade with his orchestra on this one occasion as the California Ramblers. The next leg of the Charlie Barnet story will demonstrate the blossoming of a creative, hard-swinging jazz band. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :

BUNNY BERIGAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 766 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

1937 was the year Bunny Berigan went out on his own as a bandleader. He had cut his teeth with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, before paving the way to his own big band career with some small group sessions in 1936. On the heels of several if these combo dates, Berigan teamed up with such stellar players as tenor saxophonist George Auld, trombonist Sonny Lee, drummer George Wettling, and clarinetist Joe Dixon to begin one of the more overlooked swing outfits of the late '30s. While not always on par with such highly original groups as those led by Ellington, Lunceford, and Goodmam, Berigan's band did deliver over 100 quality sides for RCA between 1937-1939. This Classics roundup focuses on that monumental first year, with such highlights as "I Can't Get Started," "Frankie and Johnny," "Mahogany Hall Stomp," and "Black Bottom." For fans looking to follow Berigan's chronological trail, do yourself a favor and start out of sequence with this collection. Stephen Cook  
Tracklist :
1     Roses in December 3:10
George Jessel / Herbert Magidson / Ben Oakland
2     Mother Goose 3:01
Shank
3     Frankie and Johnny 2:45
Traditional
4     Mahogany Hall Stomp 2:29
Spencer Williams
5     Let 'Er Go 3:17
Larry Clinton    
6     Turn on That Red-Hot Heat (Burn Your Blues Away) 3:19
Louis Alter / Paul Francis Webster
7     I Can't Get Started 4:40
Vernon Duke / Ira Gershwin    
8     The Prisoner's Song 4:06
Guy Massey    
9     Why Talk About Love? 2:48
Sidney Mitchell / Lew Pollack
10     Caravan 3:27
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
11     A Study in Brown 3:04
Larry Clinton
12     Sweet Varsity Sue 2:30
Sam M. Lewis / Charles Tobias
13     Gee, But It's Great to Meet a Friend 2:24
Fred Fisher
14     Ebb Tide 3:05
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin    
15     Have You Ever Been in Heaven? 3:07
Jack Lawrence / Peter Tinturin
16     Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm 2:45
Richard Byron / Jerome Jerome / Walter Kent
17     I'd Love to Play a Love Scene (Opposite You) 2:50
18     I Want a New Romance 3:01
Burton Lane
19     Miles Apart 2:50
Mack David    
20     A Strange Loneliness 2:54
Johnny Burke / Sammy Mysels    
21     In a Little Spanish Town 3:10
Sam M. Lewis / Mabel Wayne / Joe Young
22     Black Bottom 3:19
Lew Brown / Buddy DeSylva / Ray Henderson

BUNNY BERIGAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 815 (1995) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Here's the Berigan band arguably at its peak, taking the music of Bix Beiderbecke to the next level, almost making these sides a case study in "what would Bix have sounded like had he lived and worked with a big band"? Although sides like "The Pied Piper" and "Ten Easy Lessons' feature vocals by Ruth Gaylor (herself a knockoff of Benny Goodman vocalist Helen Ward), instrumentals like "Jelly Roll Blues," "In a Mist," and "Livery Stable Blues," stress the Bix connection and bring these tunes into the big band age. On all but four tracks, the drumming chores are handled by a young Buddy Rich, swinging the band for all he's worth. Cub Koda
Tracklist :
1    The Pied Piper 3:30
Bernard Arnold / Jack Gould
2     Tonight Will Live 3:04
Agustín Lara / Ned Washington
3     (A Sky of Blue and You) And So Forth 3:02
Joseph M. Davis / Howard Johnson
4     (How to Make Love in) Ten Easy Lessons 3:25
George Bailey / Mark Fisher
5     When a Prince of a Fella Meets Cinderella 3:21
James Van Heusen
6     Livery Stable Blues 3:24
Marvin Lee / Ray Lopez / Alcide "Yellow" Nunez
7     Let This Be a Warning to You 3:02
Mack David
8     Why Doesn't Somebody Tell Me These Things? 2:50
Jim Eaton / Terry Shand
9     High Society 2:43
Walter Melrose / Porter Steele
10     Father, Dear Father 2:47
Dacosta / McCarthy
11     Simple and Sweet 3:12
Abel Baer / Green Baer / Bud Green
12     Button, Button (Who's Got the Button?) 2:41    
13     I Won't Tell a Soul (I Love You) 3:10
Hughie Charles / Ross Parker
14     Rockin' Rollers' Jubilee 2:30
Joe Davis    
15     Sobbin' Blues 3:18
Vic Berton / Victor Burton / Art Kassel
16     I Cried for You 3:15
Gus Arnheim / Arthur Freed / Abe Lyman
17     Jelly Roll Blues 3:21
Jelly Roll Morton
18     'Deed I Do 2:49
Walter Hirsch / Fred Rose
19     In a Mist 3:07
Bix Beiderbecke
20     Flashes 2:47
Bix Beiderbecke
21     Davenport Blues 3:17
Bix Beiderbecke    
22     Candlelights 3:10
Bix Beiderbecke