The Spirits of Rhythm were to the 1930s what the Cats & the Fiddle were to the 1940s. Both groups relied upon well-organized, carefully harmonized scat singing and a flurry of adroitly picked tiples and guitar. What the Spirits had going for them was the great Leo "Scat" Watson (1898-1950), drummer, tiple tickler, and one of the most interesting scat singers of all time. Teddy Bunn was their guitarist, and may be heard playing and singing throughout the entire CD. The recordings made in 1933 are exceptionally fine. Two delightful versions of "I Got Rhythm" are matched with "Rhythm," an original by Wilbur Daniels. "I've Got the World on a String" cuts off abruptly during a reprise of the vocal chorus, as they ran out of room on the recording platter. The session of December 6, 1933, introduces bassist Wilson Myers. "I'll Be Ready When the Great Day Comes" is something like a spiritual with humorous overtones: "Didn't the good book say that Cain slew Abel? Hit him in the head with the leg of a table!" Johnny Mercer's "My Old Man" belongs in a special category of cruel songs poking fun at fathers. This picturesque ditty predicts that the parent in question will end up in a garbage can: "Put a bottle of gin there and he'll get in there." The first seven tracks are so satisfying that it's a bit of a jolt when Red McKenzie is featured as lead vocalist on the session of September 11, 1934. Whose idea was it to foist this character onto the Spirits? His wobbly chortling sounds a bit incongruous with such hip backing. The expert picking and scatting come as a relief, after which McKenzie's reprise sounds foolish. He should have confined himself to his famous paper and comb, which would have sounded wonderfully weird with this band. As it is, he sounds about as hip as, say, Nelson Eddy. Three days later, the Spirits were back without McKenzie but with the addition of percussionist and vocalist Virgil Scroggins. "Junk Man" is good fun, and Watson sings a snatch of the old vaudeville number "Horses, Horses," a riff he'd quoted on tiple during a solo on "I Got Rhythm" the previous year. Mercer's lightweight Sherlock Holmes routine is peculiar enough for entertainment purposes, but "That's What I Hate About You" is too closely modeled after a record made several years earlier by Jack Teagarden and Fats Waller. Waller fans who are aware of the original might actually resent the close cover. Now the chronology leaps ahead seven years. Ella Logan's piping vocal with the Spirits on "Tipperary" and "From Monday On" are cute enough, but the two instrumentals from the same session allow us to concentrate on the presence of bassist Wellman Braud and the fine drumming of Watson. "We've Got the Blues" contains a premonition of "Caldonia," and we learn that cement is the reason her head is so hard. The final six sides to appear under this band's name involved only Watson and Bunn from the original group. This 1945 ensemble contains no tiples whatsoever. Leonard Feather is sitting in on piano, Ulysses Livingstone operates a second guitar, and Red Callender is the bassist, while Georgie Vann sings the blues and plays the drums. Here we get a fine dose of Watson's fully developed singing style. No doubt Waller would have approved of "Honey-Sock-Me-on-the-Nose." Watson's throaty interjections on "She Ain't No Saint" sound slightly deranged. Irving Berlin's "Coquette" becomes a smorgasbord centering on "Chicken Croquette." Watson was working with Slim Gaillard during these years, and this last number sounds a lot like something Slim would have dished up. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :
28.9.23
THE SPIRITS OF RHYTHM – 1933-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1028 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
9.9.23
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 :
27.5.23
LEONARD FEATHER – 1937-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 901 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Tracklist + Credits :
21.5.23
ARTIE SHAW AND HIS NEW MUSIC – 1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 929 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Although Artie Shaw's big band did not catch on in 1937, they did record regularly for Brunswick, generally featured superior songs (with a few vocal novelties tossed in), and had impressive musicianship. On the third of the Classics label's Artie Shaw records, highlights include a few eccentric vocals by Leo Watson; the two-part "Blues March"; the original recording of Shaw's theme, "Nightmare"; and fine versions of "Just You, Just Me," "Free for All," and "Nonstop Flight." The clarinetist-leader, Tony Pastor on tenor, and trumpeter John Best are the band's main soloists, but Artie Shaw would have to wait until 1938 before hitting it big. Scott Yanow
Tracklist + Credits :
2.5.23
SLIM GAILLARD – 1940-1942 | The Classics Chronological Series – 753 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Volume three in the complete chronological recordings of Slim Gaillard chronicles the further adventures of Okeh recording artists the Flat Foot Floogee Boys. Garvin Bushell blows clarinet on four titles waxed in September 1940. Bushell's long career as a multi-instrumentalist included a date with Fats Waller and James P. Johnson in 1928 and a fiery residency at the Village Vanguard with John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy in 1961. As a member of the Flat Foot Floogee Boys, Bushell sounds best on the upbeat numbers, interacting warmly with trumpeter Henry Goodwin and engaging in a bit of call and response on "Hit That Mess." Two sessions from 1941 scale the band down to a quartet and signal the return of singing bassist Slam Stewart, Gaillard's original partner in crime. Four titles from March 11 are classic Slim & Slam. "Bassology" is among Stewart's most amazing performances on record and one of the great jazz bass recordings of all time. This session is also notable for the presence of pianist Loumell Morgan and percussionist Kenny Clarke. Moving his act to Hollywood during the summer of 1941, Gaillard began to appear in motion pictures, including an appearance with Slam Stewart, Rex Stewart, and Cee Pee Johnson in a wild flick bearing the title Hellzapoppin'. Unfortunately, this compilation does not contain any portion of that film's soundtrack. What you do get to hear are four swingin' sides that constitute 20-year-old drummer Forrest "Chico" Hamilton's first appearance on record. Still in Hollywood on April 4, 1942, Gaillard and Stewart made three amazing sides with tenor sax heavyweight Ben Webster, pianist Jimmy Rowles, and drummer Leo "Scat" Watson, who couldn't restrain an occasional outburst of his own brand of scat singing. Someone appears to be tapdancing during "Groove Juice Special." If this was Watson then he managed to drum and dance at the same time. Why these three incredible recordings were rejected by Okeh and left unreleased is anybody's guess. This session was certainly a high point in the career of each participant. Gaillard's own progress was interrupted first by the 1942 AFM recording ban and then by the draft board. Gaillard would resume making records in 1945 with a decidedly different cast of characters. As a sort of dessert the folks at Classics have amended the package with four rare recordings by the Royal Rhythm Boys from 1939. This almost forgotten little band consisted of Jimmy Prince at the piano, guitarist Billy Moore, and the mighty Slam Stewart, who sings hip duets with Moore in a manner anticipating the Cats & the Fiddle and the King Cole Trio. Although the Classics discography implies that Moore composed "Peace Brother Peace," this song was written by Clarence Williams and introduced in the mid-'30s by Willie "The Lion" Smith & His Cubs. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Put Your Arms Around Me, Baby 2:55
2 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Lookin' For A Place To Park 3:00
3 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Hit That Mess 2:38
4 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Hey! Chef 2:40
5 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Ah Now 2:54
6 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– A Tip On The Numbers 3:06
7 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Slim Slam Boogie 2:32
8 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Bassology 2:37
9 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Bingie-Bingie-Scootie 2:55
10 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– B-19 3:01
11 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Champagne Lullaby 2:53
12 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– African Jive 2:34
13 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Palm Springs Jump 2:36
14 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Ra-Da-Da-Da 2:36
15 Slim Gaillard & His Flat Foot Floogee Boys– Groove Juice Special 2:40
16 Royal Rhythm Boys– In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town 2:37
17 Royal Rhythm Boys– Blue Skies 3:03
18 Royal Rhythm Boys– Beat It Out, Bumpin' Boy 2:29
19 Royal Rhythm Boys– Peace, Brother, Peace 3:06
Credits :
Clarinet – Garvin Bushell (tracks: 1 to 4)
Double Bass [Acoustic Bass] – Nick Fenton (tracks: 1 to 4), Slam Stewart (tracks: 5 to 19)
Drums – Forrest "Chico" Hamilton (tracks: 9 to 12), Hubert Pettaway (tracks: 1 to 4), Kenny Clarke (tracks: 5 to 8), Leo Watson (tracks: 13 to 15)
Guitar – Billy Moore (tracks: 16 to 19)
Piano – Jimmy Prince (tracks: 16 to 19), Jimmy Rowles (tracks: 13 to 15), Loumell Morgan (tracks: 1 to 8), Tommy Fulford (tracks: 9 to 12)
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: 13 to 15)
Trumpet – Henry Goodwin (tracks: 1 to 4)
Vocals, Guitar – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 1 to 15)
SLIM GAILLARD – 1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 864 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
These 23 different selections recorded in Los Angeles for the Queen, 20th Century, Bee Bee, and Four Star labels feature Gaillard with partner/bassist/vocalist Bam Brown and a variety of different bands, from the Boogiereeners with Fletcher Smith or a quartet with Dodo Marmarosa on piano. A horn section with saxophonists Teddy Edwards, Wild Bill Moore, and Lucky Thompson and trumpeters Howard McGhee and Karl George back the band on four cuts. Gaillard is heard to good effect whether goofing off, playing boogie harpsichord, singing standards, or jamming hard and swinging steadily. The Smith-Gaillard (on harpsichord) combine gets eight shots. There's the wistful scat of the midtempo "Sighing Blues"; the upbeat, Smith-led "Queen's Boogie" and "Nightmare Boogie"; or the slower, occasionally shouted "Voot Boogie. "Sightseeing Boogie," a mellow song with a spoken-word reference to "Gates" aka Lionel Hampton; a straight instrumental, "Central Avenue Boogie"; a more interactive, Queen-rejected "Boogie"; and a more patient instrumental, "Slim's Cement Boogie," all speak to the center of Gaillard's unique approach. With the horns loading up on background charts and solos, Thompson cuts loose on both "Slim Gaillard's Boogie" and "Harlem Hunch," and Edwards gets the spotlight on the rootsy "Tutti Frutti." "Travelin' Blues" is the undisputed highlight, as Gaillard, in a hilarious, narcoleptic stupor, tries to decide at which "mellow" train stop to land: his ex-Detroit home, Cleveland, or Toledo, influenced by Moore and Thompson's solos. Two other cuts with trombonist Vic Dickenson and two unidentified horns are a slowed "Voot Orenee" and the standard postwar ballad "Please Wait for Me." Nine selections with the Marmarosa-Gaillard-Brown-Zutty Singleton (drums) tandem has the leader on guitar, vibes (for the hot yet soft instrumental "Ding Dong Orenee"), and piano. Well-known hits are here, such as "Laguna" ("lyin' in the sun and havin' fun"); "Laguna Orenee" (different key, rejected by Bee Bee); the static, food-referenced swinger "Dunkin' Bagel"; and dueling vocals and some crooning from Gaillard on the easy swinger "Buck Dance Rhythm." Dual pianos crop up on the instrumental "Boogin' at Berg's"; Gaillard sings the standard torch song "Don't Blame Me"; "Carne" is done in Gaillard's "Spanglish" dialect; and "Ya Ha Ha" is the ultimate fun tune. This CD is a companion to Classics label issues 1937-1938, 1939-1940, and 1940-1942. Because this is the latter period's music and is better recorded, it's perhaps Gaillard at his zenith and shows his most developed musical powers. Highly recommended. Michael G. Nastos
Tracklist :
1 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Voot Orenee 3:01
2 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Please Wait For Me 2:30
3 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Sighing Boogie 2:52
4 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Queen's Boogie 2:51
5 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Voot Boogie 2:52
6 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Nightmare Boogie 2:47
7 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Slim Gaillard's Boogie 2:43
8 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Harlem Hunch 2:40
9 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Tutti Frutti 2:44
10 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Travelin' Blues 3:03
11 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Sightseeing Boogie 2:44
12 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Central Avenue Boogie 2:40
13 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Boogie 2:52
14 Slim Gaillard And His Boogiereeners– Slim's Cement Boogie 2:40
15 Slim Gaillard Quartet– Laguna 2:42
16 Slim Gaillard Quartet– Dunkin' Bagel 2:47
17 Slim Gaillard Quartet– Boogin' At Berg's 2:49
18 Slim Gaillard Quartet– Don't Blame Me 3:05
19 Slim Gaillard Quartet– Laguna Oroonee 2:35
20 Slim Gaillard Trio– Ya Ha Ha 3:11
21 Slim Gaillard Trio– Carne 2:49
22 Slim Gaillard Trio– Ding Dong Oreeney 2:51
23 Slim Gaillard Trio– Buck Dance Rhythm 3:10
Credits :
Bass – Thomas "Bam" Brown (tracks: 1 to 23)
Drums – Leo Watson (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 14), Zutty Singleton (tracks: 15 to 23)
Guitar – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 1, 2, 7 to 23)
Harpsichord – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 3)
Piano – Dodo Marmarosa (tracks: 15, 17 to 23), Fletcher Smith (tracks: 1 to 14), Slim Gaillard (tracks: 16)
Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson (tracks: 7, 8, 10 to 14), Teddy Edwards (tracks: 9, 11 to 14), Wild Bill Moore (tracks: 10 to 14)
Trombone, Alto Saxophone – Vic Dickenson (tracks: 1, 2)
Trumpet – Howard McGhee (tracks: 7 to 14), Karl George (tracks: 7 to 14), Unknown Artist (tracks: 1, 2)
Vocals – Slim Gaillard, Thomas "Bam" Brown (tracks: 15 to 23
1.5.23
SLIM GAILLARD – 1946 | The Classics Chronological Series – 962 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
The year 1946 saw Slim Gaillard's act diversifying like never before. This leg of his chronology finds Gaillard singing and playing guitar, piano, drums, and vibraphone. His guest performers included singing pianist Wini Brown, singing drummer Leo "Scat" Watson (an ideal match for Gaillard's bizarre temperament), bop geniuses Marshall Royal, Lucky Thompson, Dodo Marmarosa, and Howard McGhee, and Zutty Singleton or Scatman Crothers on the drums. Boogie woogie was an essential part of the hip end of popular music in 1946, and Gaillard did it up beautifully in the form of a four-handed piano duet with Wini Brown. "Riff City," a prime example of the "Slim & Bam" act in fourth gear, contains some of bassist Tiny "Bam" Brown's best scat singing. The instrumental "Santa Monica Jump" might be the best overall piece of jazz in this grab bag of recordings originally issued on the Bel-Tone, V-Disc, Atomic, Savoy, and Disc labels. Anyone collecting all of the various volumes of the Gaillard chronology on Classics will experience the thrill of amassing several versions of "Cement Mixer." The version heard here faithfully reproduces the Mexican radio announcer routine Gaillard used in live performance, while in fact "Fried Chicken O'Routee" (a remake of "Ya Ha Ha") seems to have actually been recorded in front of an appreciative audience. The live ambiance is even more pronounced during the "Groove Juice Symphony," also known as "Opera in Vout," presented amid much laughter, cheering, and applause on April 22, 1946, at the Shrine Auditorium. Gaillard and Brown open with Skeets Tolbert's "Hit That Jive, Jack," move into a wild version of Duke Ellington's "C Jam Blues" and cap the set with a fractured extension of Gaillard's own "Flat Foot Floogie" tempered with hints of "Big Noise from Winnetka." This disc contains two versions of "Chicken Rhythm," the second introduced by Bob Hope and issued by the Armed Forces on V-Disc. This interesting segment of the Slim Gaillard story ends with a handful of studio sides representing the full range of his musical persona -- cool love songs, hot jam tunes, and weirdly executed novelties with titles like "Oxydol Highball." arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1 Wini Beatty With Slim Gaillard Trio– Early Morning Boogie 2:55
2 Slim Gaillard Trio And Wini Beatty– That Ain't Right, Baby 2:43
3 Slim Gaillard Trio– Riff City 2:50
4 Slim Gaillard Trio– Mean Mama Blues 2:50
5 Slim Gaillard And His Orchestra– Chicken Rhythm 3:04
6 Slim Gaillard And His Orchestra– Santa Monica Jump 3:01
7 Slim Gaillard And His Orchestra– Mean Pretty Mama 3:03
8 Slim Gaillard And His Orchestra– School Kids' Hop 2:55
9 The Slim Gaillard Trio– Cement Mixer 2:19
10 The Slim Gaillard Trio– Fried Chicken O'Routee 3:04
Slim Gaillard And Bam Brown Opera In Vout (Groove Juice Symphony)
11 – Introduzione - Pianissimo 2:38
12 – Recitativo E Finale 2:17
13 – Andante Contabile In Modo De Blues 3:14
14 – Presto Con Stomp 3:35
15 Slim Gaillard– Chicken Rhythm 3:14
Speech [Introduction] – Bob Hope
16 Slim Gaillard Quartette– Jam Man 2:34
17 Slim Gaillard Quartette– I Don't Know Why 2:22
18 Slim Gaillard– The Jam Man 3:02
19 Slim Gaillard– Slim's Riff 1:53
20 Slim Gaillard– I'm Confessin' (That I Love You) 3:10
21 Slim Gaillard– Oxydol Highball 2:24
Credits :
Bass – Bam Brown
Clarinet – Marshall Royal (tracks: 5 to 8)
Drums – Oscar Bradley (tracks: 18 to 21), Scatman Crothers (tracks: 16, 17), Slim Gaillard (tracks: 11 to 14), Zutty Singleton (tracks: 1 to 8)
Drums, Vocals – Leo Watson (tracks: 9, 10, 15)
Guitar – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 1 to 20)
Piano – Bill Early (tracks: 16, 17), Dodo Marmarosa (tracks: 5 to 8), Slim Gaillard (tracks: 10 to 14, 21), Wini Beatty (tracks: 1 to 4)
Piano [possibly] – Dodo Marmarosa (tracks: 18 to 21)
Speech [Introduction] – Bob Hope (tracks: 15)
Tenor Saxophone – Lucky Thompson (tracks: 5 to 8)
Trumpet – Howard McGhee (tracks: 5 to 8)
Vibraphone – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 1 to 4)
Vocals – Slim Gaillard (tracks: 1, 3 to 5, 7 to 18, 20, 21), Bam Brown (tracks: 5, 7 to 18, 20, 21), Wini Beatty (tracks: 1, 2)
+ last month
e.s.t. — Retrospective 'The Very Best Of e.s.t. (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
"Retrospective - The Very Best Of e.s.t." is a retrospective of the unique work of e.s.t. and a tribute to the late mastermind Esb...