IKE QUEBEC – 1944-1946 | The Chronogical Classics – 957 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ike Quebec was something like Ben Webster in his ability to play lush ballads or to scream like a smokestack when the band was cooking. After working for Roy Eldridge and Frankie Newton, Quebec became Cab Calloway's star tenor man in 1944, making everyone sit up and take notice when he wailed over Cab's band in a wonderfully raspy tone utilizing the instrument's extremities for maximum effect. Each of Quebec's sessions as a leader produced staggeringly potent records. J.C. Heard is the drummer on all 20 tracks -- check him out on "Indiana" -- and for bassists you have Milt Hinton, Grachan Moncur II, or Oscar Pettiford. While Roger Ramirez was an excellent pianist, it is a gas hearing Johnny Guarnieri on the Savoy session. Guest horn players are Buck Clayton, Keg Johnson, Jonah Jones, and Tyree Glenn. Guitarist Tiny Grimes is present on three of these dates. His "Tiny's Exercise" is one of the high points of the whole collection. The repertoire throughout is excellent. Languid blues and ballads mingle with piping-hot jam structures. Two very pleasant surprises arrive in a smoothly swung version of Fats Waller's "Blue Turning Grey Over You" and the pleasant "Girl of My Dreams," scheduled to resurface in 1959 as a streamlined vehicle driven by the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop. With all due respect to the Mosaic label and their exhaustively compiled Ike Quebec/John Hardee box, it's good to have these Blue Note master takes together on one disc along with the magnificent Savoy All Stars session that concludes this portion of the chronology. In just a little over one year, Ike Quebec made all of these great jazz records. Each one is a knockout performance guaranteed to blow you away every time you go back and get another taste. arwulf arwulf             Tracklist + Credits :

CAB CALLOWAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1934-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 554 (1990) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Cab Calloway, who first became popular in 1930, retained his popularity (despite a lot of competition) throughout the swing era. On this excellent CD (the fifth of 12 in the European label Classics' Complete Calloway series), highlights include "Keep That Hi-De-Hi in Your Soul," "Nagasaki," "Copper Colored Gal," "Frisco Flo" and a crazy "That Man Is Here Again." With fine soloists in trumpeters Lammar Wright and Shad Collins, trombonist Claude Jones and (by 1936) the great tenor Ben Webster (along with a top-notch rhythm section that includes bassist Milt Hinton), this was a much better swing orchestra than it is generally rated in jazz history books. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Weakness 3:09
Edwin Swayzee
2     Good Sauce from the Gravy Bowl 3:06
Cab Calloway / Irving Mills / Edwin Swayzee    
3     Keep That Hi-De-Hi in Your Soul 2:56
Cab Calloway / Irving Mills / Morris White    
4     Miss Otis Regrets 3:01
Cole Porter    
5     I Ain't Got Nobody (And Nobody Cares for Me) 3:01
Roger Graham / Dave Peyton / Spencer Williams
6     Nagasaki 2:54
Mort Dixon / Harry Warren
7     Baby Won't You Please Come Home 3:14
Charles Warfield / Clarence Williams
8     I Love to Sing-A 3:06
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg    
9     You're the Cure for What Ails Me 3:02
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
10     Save Me, Sister
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg 3:02
11     Love Is the Reason 3:13
Otis Rene / Leon René
12     When You're Smiling 3:17
Mark Fisher / Joe Goodwin / Larry Shay
13     Jess's Natu'lly Lazy 3:09
Stone / Scharpe / Bishop
14     Are You in Love With Me Again? 3:08
Unknown
15     Copper Colored Gal 2:44
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis    
16     Frisco Flo 3:25
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis    
17     The Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Swing 3:17
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
18     The Hi-De-Ho Miracle Man 3:14
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis
19     Don't Know If I'm Comin' or Goin' 2:42
Lupin Fein / Lee Wainer    
20     My Gal Mezzanine 2:40
Ben Ellison / Otis Rene / Leon René    
21     That Man Is Here Again 3:35    
22     Peckin' 2:55
Harry James / Ben Pollack
23     Congo 2:33
Morris White

CAB CALLOWAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 568 (1991) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

The swing era may have been at its height during the time covered by this CD (the sixth of 12 put out by the Classics label that reissue all of Cab Calloway's 1930-42 recordings) but the colorful vocalist held onto his audience and remained a household name. With such soloists as Ben Webster or Chu Berry on tenor, trumpeters Shad Collins and Lammar Wright and a rhythm section including guitarist Danny Barker and bassist Milt Hinton, Calloway had a particularly strong (if generally overlooked) orchestra. Among the more memorable selections of the 24 included on this CD are "Swing, Swing, Swing," "She's Tall, She's Tan, She's Terrific," "Bugle Blues" and "Hi-De-Ho Romeo." Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Swing, Swing, Swing 2:43
Morris White
2     Wake up and Live 2:30
Mack Gordon / Harry Revel
3     Manhattan Jam 2:39
Cab Calloway    
4     Moon at Sea 3:00
Harry Pease / Vincent Rose / Larry Stock
5     I'm Always in the Mood for You 2:58
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis
6     She's Tall, She's Tan, She's Terrific 2:35
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
7     Go South, Young Man 2:13
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis
8     Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm 3:05
Richard Byron / Jerome Jerome / Walter Kent
9     Hi De Ho Romeo 2:50
J. Fred Coots / Joe Davis
10     Queen Isabella 2:46
Joe Davis / Paul Denniker
11     Savage Rhythm 2:35
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
12     Every Day's a Holiday 2:29
Sam Coslow / Barry Trivers
13     Jubilee 2:33
Stanley Adams / Hoagy Carmichael
14     In an Old English Village 3:12
Edward Pola / Albert Sendrey    
15     (Just an) Error in the News 2:51
Will Hudson / Irving Mills / Henry Nemo
16     A Minor Breakdown (Rustle of Swing) 2:28
Unknown
17     Bugle Blues  2:28
Irving Mills / Jack Pettis / Elmer Schoebel
18     One Big Union for Two 2:56
Harold Rome
19     Doing the Reactionary 2:42
Harold Rome
20     Rustle of Swing 3:00
Cab Calloway / Ralph Yaw
21     Three Swings and Out 2:16
Cab Calloway / Ralph Yaw
22     I Like Music (Played With a Swing Like This) 2:37
Cab Calloway / Ralph Yaw
23     Foolin' With You 2:34
Morris White
24     Azure 2:48
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
Credits :    
Directed By – Cab Calloway
Orchestra – Cab Calloway And His Orchestra
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: 1 to 3, 7 to 24), Chu Berry (tracks: 4 to 6)
Vocals – Cab Calloway (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 9, 12 to 15, 18, 19, 22 to 24)

CAB CALLOWAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938-1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 576 (1991) APE (image+.cue), lossless

The seventh of the Classics label's 12 Cab Calloway CDs traces his progress during an 11-month period through 24 recordings. The band's main soloists at the time included trumpeters Shad Collins and Irving Randolph, trombonists Claude Jones and Keg Johnson and especially tenor great Chu Berry (the band gets four instrumentals on this set). Singer June Richmond has a couple of vocals but obviously Cab Calloway is the main reason that the orchestra was working so steadily. With such songs as "Shout Shout, Shout," "Do You Wanna Jump Children" and "F.D.R. Jones" among the more memorable tracks, this CD (along with the others in the valuable series) is well worth picking up. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Skrontch    2:50
Ellington / Mills
2    We're Breakin' Up A Lovely Affair    2:57
unknown
3    Peck-A-Doodle-Do    2:51
Calloway / Jones / Mosby / Mills
4    At The Clambake Carnival    2:28
Chu Berry
5    Hoy-Hoy    2:49
Conrad
6    Miss Hallelujah Brown    2:21
Davis / Coots
7    The Congo-Conga    3:00
Davis / Coots
8    The Boogie-Woogie    2:37
Davis / Coots
9    There's A Sunny Side To Everything    2:25
Davis / Coots
10    Shout, Shout, Shout    2:36
Blake
11    Mister Paganini - Swing For Minnie    2:50
Lambert / Richards
12    Jive (Page One Of Hepster's Dictionary)    2:57
Calloway / Payne / Berry
13    Do you Wanna Jump, Children    2:23
Donahue / Heusen / Bryan / Selsman
14    I'm Madly In Love With You    2:58
Davis / Coots
15    April In My Heart    2:36
Melnardi / Carmichael
16    Blue Interlude    2:35
Carter / Kurtz / Mills
17    F.D.R. Jones    2:20
Rome
18    Deep In A Dream    2:58
DeLange / Heusen
19    Tee-Um Tee-Um Tee-I, Tahiti    2:09
Johnson / Shuster / Powell
20    Angels With Dirty Faces    2:56
Spitalny / Fisher
21    Long Long Ago    2:22
Unknown
22    Afraid Of Love    2:30
Fenderson / Miller / Spitalny
23    Ratamacue    2:25
Cole / Thomas / Battle
24    Ad-De-Dey    2:42
Hupfeld

CAB CALLOWAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 595 (1991) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Cab Calloway had one of his strongest orchestras during the period covered by this CD, the eighth of 12 put out by the European Classics label that reissue all of his studio recordings from 1930-42. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie joined the band by the time of its Aug. 30, 1939 session and he has several short solos on these tracks in addition to being well-featured on the adventurous "Pickin' the Cabbage." In addition, the great tenor Chu Berry gets plenty of solo space, the impressive rhythm section (with guitarist Danny Barker, bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Cozy Cole) really propels the ensembles and Cab Calloway is in typically exuberant voice. Among the highlights are "The Ghost of Smoky Joe," "Crescendo in Drums" (a feature for Cole), "Pluckin' the Bass" (Hinton's showcase) and even "Jiveformation Please." Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     A New Moon and an Old Serenade 2:36
Sam Coslow
2     One Look at You 2:46
 George Forrest / Herbert Stothart / Edward Ward / Robert Wright
3     The Ghost of Smokey Joe 2:46
Rube Bloom / Ted Koehler
4     Floogie Walk 2:19
Rube Bloom / Ted Koehler
5     Trylon Swing 2:48
Earl Bostic / Irving Mills
6     Utt da Zay (The Tailor's Song) 2:55
Irving Mills / Buck Ram
7     Crescendo in Drums 2:48
Edgar Battle / Cozy Cole / Lorenz Hart / Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith
8     (Hep-Hep!) The Jumpin' Jive 2:49
Cab Calloway / Frank Froeba / Jack Palmer
9     For the Last Time I Cried over You 2:51
Cab Calloway / Frank Froeba / Jack Palmer
10     Twee-Twee-Tweet 2:45
Robert Maxwell / Josef Myrow    
11     Pluckin' the Bass 2:46
Roy Eldridge
12     I Ain't Gettin' Nowhere Fast 2:47
Cab Calloway / Porter Grainger / Chappie Willett
13     Chili con Conga 3:02
Paul Girlando / Irving Mills / Abe Tuvim
14     Tarzan of Harlem 2:49
Lupin Fein / Irving Mills / Henry Nemo / Buck Ram
15     Jiveformation, Please 2:30
Lupin Fein / Irving Mills / Buck Ram
16     Vuelva 2:54
Patricia Platzman    
17     A Bee Gezindt 2:53
Henry Nemo    
18     Give, Baby, Give 2:37
Irv Carroll / Gladys Shelley / Otis Spencer
19     Sincere Love 2:44
Danny Barker
20     Do It Again 2:54
Kay Werner    
21     Pickin' the Cabbage 2:50
Dizzy Gillespie     
22     Chop, Chop, Charlie Chan (From China) 3:02
Cab Calloway / Jack Palmer / Buck Ram

CAB CALLOWAY AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 614 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With such soloists as trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, Chu Berry on tenor and trombonist Tyree Glenn, along with a rhythm section that includes bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Cozy Cole, this was a particularly strong edition of the Cab Calloway Orchestra. There are six instrumentals among the 22 selections on this Classics CD (the ninth of 12 Calloway Complete sets) including Berry's famous version of "Ghost of a Chance" and a spot for Gillespie on "Bye Bye Blues," but nearly every performance has its interesting solos; most of the ones with short spots for Gillespie have rarely been reissued. Cab Calloway, who as usual is the main star, is in spirited form. The other highlights include "Hi-De-Ho Serenade," "Fifteen Minute Intermission," "Papa's in Bed with His Britches On" and "Are You Hep to the Jive?" It's recommended, as are all of the CD's in this important series. Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1 Paradiddle 2:57
Cozy Cole / Dizzy Gillespie
2 Boog It 2:55
Cab Calloway / Jack Palmer / Buck Ram
3 Calling All Bars 2:43
Leonard Feather
4 Do I Care, No No 2:43
Cab Calloway / Lester Lee / Jerry Seelen / Dan Shapiro
5 The Lone Arranger 2:28
Benny Carter
6 Feelin' Tip Top 2:34
Buddy Feyne
7 Hard Times 3:14
Alex Rogers / Bert Williams
8 Hi-De-Ho Serenade 2:48
Cab Calloway / Battle Thomas
9 Who's Yehoodi? 3:02
Matt Dennis / Bill Seckler
10 Fifteen Minute Intermission 2:47
Buddy Cannon / Sunny Skylar
11 Rhapsody in Rhumba 2:42
Cab Calloway / Buster Harding
12 Come on with the "Come On" 2:51
Cab Calloway / Andy Gibson
13 I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You 2:55
Bing Crosby / Ned Washington / Victor Young
14 Bye Bye Blues 2:48
David Bennett / Chauncey Gray / Frederick Hamm / Bert Lown
15 Papa's in Bed With His Britches On 2:29
Jesse Stone
16 Silly Old Moon 3:00
Cab Calloway / Andy Gibson
17 Boo-Wah Boo-Wah 2:43
Larry Clinton / Buster Harding
18 Sunset 3:06
Cab Calloway / Buster Harding
19 Yo Eta Cansa 2:54
Albert Socarras
20 Cupid's Nightmare 2:35
Don Redman
21 Levee Lullaby 2:35
Edgar Battle / Cab Calloway / Francis Shuman
22 Are You Hep to the Jive? 2:44
Cab Calloway / Buck Ram

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1932-1933 | The Classics Chronological Series – 529 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The European Classics label may or may not be a "legitimate" record label but it currently has the best reissue series for those listeners wanting the complete output of vintage jazz artists. These 24 selections, as with the less complete Laughin' Louie set, find Armstrong mostly overcoming an inferior big band to play some pacesetting trumpet. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     You Rascal You/When It's Sleepy Time Down South/Nobody's Sweetheart 4:19
Ernie Erdman / Gus Kahn / Clarence Muse / Elmer Schoebel / Sam Theard
2     I've Got the World on a String 3:14
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
3     I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues 3:00
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
4     Hustlin' and Bustlin' for Baby 3:07
Harry Woods
5     Sittin' in the Dark 3:00
Harold Adamson / Jesse Greer
6     High Society 3:23
Armand Piron / Clarence Williams
7     He's a Son of the South 2:37
Joe Davis / Reginald Foresythe / Andy Razaf
8     Some Sweet Day 2:59
Tony Jackson / Abe Olman / Ed Rose
9     Basin Street Blues 3:24
Spencer Williams
10     Honey, Do! 2:25
James P. Johnson / Andy Razaf
11     Snowball 3:11
Hoagy Carmichael
12     Mahogany Hall Stomp 2:34
Spencer Williams
13     Swing, You Cats 2:36
Zilner Randolph
14     Honey, Don't You Love Me Anymore? 3:00
Fred Meadows / Tony Shand
15     Mississippi Basin 3:05
Reginald Foresythe / Andy Razaf
16     Laughin' Louie 3:25
Clarence Gaskill
17     Tomorrow Night 3:16
Louis Armstrong / Ralph Mathews / Clarence Williams
18     Dusky Stevedore 2:54
J.C. Johnson / Andy Razaf
19     There's a Cabin in the Pines 3:16
Billy Hill
20     Mighty River 2:42
Billy Baskette
21     Sweet Sue, Just You 2:43
Will J. Harris / Victor Young
22     I Wonder Who 3:07
Louis Armstrong
23     St. Louis Blues 2:39
W.C. Handy
24     Don't Play Me Cheap 2:54
Harry Dial / Zilner Randolph