JOE MARSALA – 1944-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 902 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is the story of a man who got his start with traditionally oriented musicians like Wingy Manone and Eddie Condon, then gradually evolved into a "modern" sounding artist who never completely turned his back on the old-fashioned music that had spawned him. Beginning with a typical Chicago jam formula blowing session, Joe's All-Timers -- essentially the Condon band with Joe as leader -- present the slow blues/fast blues pairing, sandwiched between two standard New Orleans stomps. A striking contrast occurs when we encounter the session of November 29, 1944 as Joe's wife Adele Girard opens several of the tunes with arpeggios from her harp. Sounding a bit like her contemporary Robert Maxwell, she swings a bit but also sends flurries of almost Harpo Marx-like effervescence into the air. This combines strangely with Chuck Wayne's amplified guitar and the mingling of trumpet and clarinet. The melodies themselves demonstrate a very modernized swing, with an unmistakable bop edge, right on the money for the mid-1940s, if not somewhat ahead of their time. The tempi are very quick, hasty enough to have given Eddie Condon a headache if he'd even listen to such stuff. During the dynamic "Joe-Joe Jump" Adele plays virtuosic swing harp, showing off her amazing technique. This must have been a very exciting act in person. On the second half of the date Adele takes a break while Linda Keene sings two interpersonal relationship blues, very slow and sultry, obviously inspired by Billie Holiday. Joe was an exceptionally sensitive bluesman, working in wonderfully understated ways with trumpeter Joe Thomas. Sitting in at the piano behind the singer was Leonard Feather, who also wrote the material for her. Leonard composed topical blues for a lot of musicians, most notably Hot Lips Page. "Don't Let It End" is Joe's own piece of blues, deep and clear, powerfully effective as an instrumental. The Joe Marsala Sextet had Dizzy Gillespie sitting in on January 12,1945. It's interesting to compare these sides with the other recordings Gillespie participated in during that same month (see Classics 888). "Perdido" is a creative delight and "Melancholy Baby" becomes a feisty swing-to-bop outing. Chuck Wayne is very plugged in and Diz enjoys himself, working up wild solos over these familiar melodies, signing his name all over "On the Alamo." Joe of course takes this in stride, sounding as comfortable as ever with the music evolving so rapidly all around him. "Cherokee" inevitably exudes bop juice, running rapid and sailing through frantic changes as Diz rips it up. On May 4, 1945 Adele Girard got feature billing with her husband's septet, integrating her swing harp into the ensemble as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "Southern Comfort" is a suave line, as cool as cukes. There's a spry run through Rodgers & Hart's "Lover," a welcome reinterpretation of "Don't Let It End" (sounding really nice with the addition of the harp), and a sassy version of "Gotta Be This or That," with vocal by Marsala himself. "East of the Sun" is all lavender and lace and "Slightly Dizzy" pours on the bop, showcasing the inventive piano of young Gene DiNovi. "I Would Do Anything for You" comes out elegant, sophisticated and calm. A marvelous finale for this fascinating portrait of a remarkable clarinetist and the unique bands that he led at the stylistic crossroads of 1944 and 1945. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist + Credits :

BOB HOWARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1076 (1999) | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Bob Howard did a lot of recording in the mid-'30s for Decca, with the hope that his Fats Waller-influenced jive singing would catch on as Waller's records had for Victor. It did not work out, but Howard did record enough material to fill up three CDs. This particular set has the 21 selections that he cut during five sessions in 1936-1937. Howard, who also played piano, sticks here exclusively to singing and is joined by sextets/septets that often include trumpeter Marty Marsalis, Sid Trucker, or Slats Long on clarinet and Zinky Cohn or Frank Froeba on piano. The music (which includes "Bojangles of Harlem," "Copper Colored Gal," "Me, Myself And I," "Penny Wise and Pound Foolish," and "He's a Gypsy From Poughkeepsie") is pleasing in small doses but a bit too derivative for extensive listening. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Bojangles of Harlem 2:42
Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern
2     Mendel's Son's Swing Song 2:53
Erard
3     Sing Baby Sing 2:57
Channing Pollack / Jack Yellen
4     Swinging on the Moon 3:16
Mel Tormé / Joseph Young
5     Copper Colored Gal 2:50
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
6     That's What You Mean to Me 3:14
J. Fred Coots / Benny Davis
7     Hop, Skip and Jump 2:36
Bloch / Chancer         
8     You're Giving Me a Song and a Dance 2:52
Milton Ager / Marty Symes
9     Me, Myself and I 3:13
Irving Gordon / Alvin Kaufman / Allan Roberts
10     Spring Cleaning 2:27
Teddy Powell / Walter Samuels / Leonard Whitcup
11     You Can't Take It With You 2:50
Wes Hein
12     You're Just a Little Diff'rent 2:37
Mandell / Littau    
13     Bundle of Love 2:55
Joyner     
14     You're Precious to Me 2:56
Ballard / Pellish / Brusiloff
15     Fan My Brow 2:44
Unknown
16     Formal Night Harlem 3:10
Shuman / Faro / Leman     
17     He's a Gyspy from Poughkeepsie 2:49
Bud Green
18     Easy Living 2:44
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
19     I'll Take the Key and Lock You Up 2:44
Tinturin /  Lawrence / Howell    
20     Sing and Be Happy 2:36
Akst / Clare
21     Penny Wise and Pound Foolish 2:31
Fred Rose

BOB HOWARD AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1055 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

By September of 1937, Bob Howard had begun to outgrow his annoying habit of imitating Fats Waller's every nuance. Think of it -- as a Decca recording artist Howard was placed in the uncomfortable position of competing with Waller, Victor's hugely successful vocalist, pianist, and master of small-group swing. Earlier Howard recordings possess the power to drive Waller fans up the wall with irritation. Here, happily, the problem seems to have been (mostly) resolved, as Howard sounds more or less like himself, even when covering songs that were and still are almost entirely associated with Thomas Waller ("Beat It Out," "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry," and "She's Tall, She's Tan, She's Terrific"). When forging ahead into songs that seemed ripe for the Waller treatment (although, sadly, Waller never lived long enough to record them), Howard delivers the goods in a perfect combination of his own and Waller's styles. Most of the material packed into this portion of the Bob Howard chronology features the singer standing well away from the piano so as to be able to concentrate on singing his little heart out. Decca lined him up with consistently excellent players like trumpeter Eddie Farley, tenor saxophonist Babe Russin, guitarist Teddy Bunn, drummers O'Neill Spencer and Stan King, and pianists Frank Froeba and Billy Kyle. The winning combination of Kyle and Spencer makes some of this stuff sound a bit like a bracing preview of the John Kirby Sextet. There is a delightful treatment of "Casey Jones" and a perfectly reasonable rendering of Waller's "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," constituting a rare example of Bob Howard/Decca paying composer royalties to Fats Waller/Victor. A reference to marijuana usage during "There Ain't Gonna Be No Doggone Afterwhile" seems to presage Howard's version of Stuff Smith's full-blown hymn to cannabis indulgence, "If You're a Viper." Legend has it that Fats Waller & His Rhythm also waxed a version of this happy opus in 1938, but the master recording was actually destroyed by a naïve and apparently brainwashed record company employee who panicked after apparently overdosing on Harry J. Anslinger/J. Edgar Hoover-inspired vice squad propaganda. Waller had his revenge when he cut a particularly lascivious rendition of the song for the Armed Forces' V-Disc label shortly before his early demise in 1943. This fascinating bundle of rare novelty swing closes with two rather scratchy sides recorded for the Atlantic label in 1947. Howard, back at the piano in the company of Everett Barksdale, John Simmons, and Cozy Cole, rendered up a delightful paean to "Mo'lasses" and a version of "Button Up Your Overcoat" that Ruth Etting certainly never dreamt of. This excellent disc is packed with tasty performances that are far superior to Bob Howard's earlier work. arwulf arwulf
Tracklist :
1    Beat It Out    2:49
2    I'm Sorry I Made You Cry    2:44
3    What Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For    2:31
4    She's Tall, She's Tan, She's Terrific    2:38
5    There Ain't Gonna Be No Doggone Afterwhile    2:30
6    If You're A Viper    2:22
7    Baby And It Must Be Love    2:46
8    Raggedy But Right    2:52
9    In My Miz    2:26
10    Toodle-Oo    2:47
11    Just About The Time    2:26
12    Talk To Me    2:45
13    I Can Tell By Looking In Your Eyes    2:29
14    You Better Come Back    2:42
15    Dapper Dan    2:51
16    Southern Casey Jones    3:10
17    I Used To Love You    2:46
18    Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now    2:44
19    Sweet Emalina, My Gal    2:55
20    Beale Street Mama    2:37
21    You're Lucky In Kentucky Sure As You're Born    2:54
22    Any Rags    2:42
23    On Revival Day    2:37
24    Mo'lasses    2:40
25    Button Up Your Overcoat    2:50
Credits
Bass – Haig Stephens (tracks: 1 to 23), John Simmons (tracks: 24, 25)
Clarinet – Slats Long (tracks: 1 to 4)
Drums – Cozy Cole (tracks: 24, 25), O'Neil Spencer (tracks: 5 to 23), Stan King (tracks: 1 to 4)
Guitar – Everett Barksdale (tracks: 24, 25), Frank Victor (tracks: 1 to 4), Teddy Bunn (tracks: 5 to 23)
Piano – Billy Kyle (tracks: 13 to 23), Bob Howard (tracks: 24, 25), Frank Froeba (tracks: 1 to 12)
Tenor Saxophone – Babe Russin (tracks: 1 to 4)
Trumpet – Eddie Farley (tracks: 1 to 4)
Vocals – Bob Howard