COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1946-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 988 (1998) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Here's a crash course in the flashy post-WWII big band sound of Count Basie's Orchestra. This was a much different act from the Basie band of 1944-45. The entire presentation had changed considerably in just a couple of years. Arrangers had a lot to do with such rapid transformation, along with creative young players like J.J. Johnson, Paul Gonsalves and Illinois Jacquet. Basie himself was maturing already into that famously glib, tinkling pianist who could and did occasionally play his ass off. A number of stylistic modes are clearly at work during the summer of 1946. Two sentimental pop vocals, one lightweight novelty tune and a solid Jimmy Rushing blues are interspersed with several exciting instrumentals. Buster Harding cooked up a few heavy-handed boogies, Tadd Dameron contributed the stimulating, modern composition "Stay On It," and Harry "Sweets" Edison composed and arranged "Mutton Leg," a sizzling feature for Illinois Jacquet. This would be the saxophonist's last extroverted studio recording with this band, and the eight selections from 1946 were the last of Basie's mid-'40s Columbia sides. Signing up with Victor for the next three years, Basie continued to move in step with rapidly evolving developments in pop, bebop and rhythm and blues. The Victor sides have not been reissued very often, and have proved much more difficult to obtain than Basie's earlier recordings from the Columbia and Decca catalogs. The people in charge of the Classics chronological series are to be commended for making these historical recordings available. The Victor material is markedly varied, revealing an orchestra searching for its next stylistic identity. "Open the Door, Richard" is one of the coolest versions of this silly piece of neo-vaudeville ever recorded, mainly because of Harry "Sweets" Edison's very hip, high-voiced spoken delivery. "One O'Clock Boogie" is recognizable Basie, but two lush ballads, arranged by Hugo Winterhalter, of all people, are atypical for this band. "Futile Frustration," though nominally co-composed by Basie, is a jaggedly futuristic Raymond Scott-styled experiment by Jimmy Mundy. Two live V-Disc jams, each exceeding the four-minute mark, feature Basie and rhythm with a snappy front line of Roy Eldridge and Illinois Jacquet. Art Ford, square peg in a round universe, introduces "Lady Be Good." "Jammin' on a V-Disc," which has a line that sounds uncannily like Sun Ra's "Space is the Place," runs at a brisk clip with wonderful solos from both of the horns. Illinois bites the reed to make his sax squeal and everybody rocks. Buddy Rich is in his element here, as the assignment calls for furious drumming. This segment of the chronology ends with three excellent instrumentals including smart remakes of "St. Louis Boogie" and "Swingin' the Blues." The pianist switches over to Hammond organ in the middle of "Basie's Basement," an authentically low-down blues graced with echoes of Fats Waller's personality. The rest of the fine music recorded by Basie and his men during the month of May 1947 appears at the beginning of the next volume of the complete recordings of Count Basie in chronological order. arwulf arwulf   Tracklist + Credits :

LUCKY MILLINDER AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1943-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1026 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Lucky Millinder Orchestra's best-known recordings are from 1941-42, making this Classics CD of great interest due to the many rarities and a lot of variety. First there are four V-discs from 1943 that showcase with Millinder (for the last time) the singing and guitar playing of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who does remakes of four of her hits (including "That's All" and "Rock Daniel"). "Savoy," from the same period, is highlighted by one of trumpeter Joe Guy's best-recorded solos, and "Shipyard Social Junction" was one of the band's final top-notch instrumentals. Of the four numbers from 1944, two songs have the recording debut of singer Wynonie Harris, and on "Hurry, Hurry," the legendary trumpeter Freddy Webster can be heard briefly. There are also two okay numbers from 1945, six from 1946 (including singer Annisteen Allen on "There's Good Blues Tonight" and some good spots for the tenor of Sam "The Man" Taylor) and four vocal cuts from the following year. Many of the very interesting sidemen actually have no real solo space (including tenors Lucky Thompson and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis), but most of the vocals are easy to take and the Millinder Orchestra was adjusting well to the rise of R&B. An interesting and often historic set. Scott Yanow  
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WYNONIE HARRIS – 1944-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 885 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Blues shouter Wynonie Harris made his biggest impact while on the King label between 1948-1952. Alongside contemporary jump blues singer Roy Brown, Harris helped lay the foundations of rock & roll at the Cincinnati-based company, scoring such smashes as "Good Rockin' Tonight" (a Brown composition), "Bloodshot Eyes," and "All She Wants to Do Is Rock." Although Harris' beginnings were less auspicious, his talent was certainly in full view from the start; this first of three Classics discs makes the case with 22 of the finest slices of early R&B from the mid-'40s. In addition to such early hits as "Playful Baby" and "Wynonie's Blues," the mix contains lower-profile gems like the bop-infused "Everybody's Boogie" and the sonorous "Papa Tree Top." Harris' first recordings with bandleader Lucky Millinder, "Hurry, Hurry" and "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well," are also included. And besides Millinder, the collection features the likes of Illinois Jacquet, a young Charles Mingus, and a combo comprised of drummer Johnny Otis, trumpeter Howard McGhee, and tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards. A perfect disc for fans wanting to dig deeper into the Harris catalog. Stephen Cook
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COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1945-1946 | The Classics Chronological Series – 934 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD can easily be divided into two. The first 14 selections are from 1945 and feature the Basie band at a time that Lucky Thompson and Buddy Tate were the tenor sax soloists, and the repertoire included such hot tunes as "Avenue C," "High Tide," and "Blue Skies"; a few of the selections are taken from V-Discs. The final six numbers have Illinois Jacquet taking over on tenor and include "Rambo" and the exciting "The King." Throughout, the Basie rhythm section swings as hard and as lightly as usual while the horn sections are full of lively players, including Harry "Sweets" Edison and Dicky Wells. Another strong entry in the Classics label's chronological study of the early Count Basie band. Scott Yanow

COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1018 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Keeping a big band together became increasingly challenging during the late 1940s. Stylistic adjustments were crucial as promoters and audiences alike became infatuated with star vocalists, an obsession from which the entertainment industry has yet to recover. Having helped to define big band jazz over the course of his first ten years as a leader, the diminutive pianist from Red Bank, New Jersey continued to modify the sound of his full-sized orchestra with arrangements that were smooth, garish, rowdy or sweet. He also experimented regularly with smaller groups. A pared down ensemble presented as "Count Basie, His Instrumentalists and Rhythm" allowed for intimate interactions between the players that would have been difficult under the influence of big band arrangements. Emmett Berry is sharp as a tack during "Backstage at Stuff's" and Paul Gonsalves rocks hard when necessary but expresses himself most gently during Maceo Pinkard's "Sugar." Ex-Bennie Moten reedman Jack Washington is positively pulverizing when he solos all over the baritone sax during "Lopin''. This tune is also a showcase for percussionist Jo Jones at his very rowdiest. The full-sized big band session of May 22, 1947 had its share of corn, beginning with "The Jungle King," a fairly ponderous incursion into Cab Calloway territory. "Take a Little Off the Top" is an extremely corny barbershop skit, garnished with the appropriate "shave and a haircut -- two bits" lick. Taps Miller scats his way through "I Ain't Mad at You," but by this time we're getting an awful lot of ensemble vocals from the band. It's enough to wear you down. There is a potently cool treatment of Bennie Moten's 1924 hit, "South." Back in 1937, "Blue and Sentimental" was the designated feature ballad for Herschel Evans' Coleman Hawkins-inspired tenor saxophone. Ten years later, the sax serves as a sort of pimp for Bob Bailey's gushy crooning. We do get two blues and two ballads by Jimmy Rushing. Properly wired for sound, Mr. 5 x 5 sounds as though he's enjoying the fact that he no longer has to bellow in order to be heard over a 17-piece band. Even amidst sweetened sips of vintage mood music like Will Hudson's "Sophisticated Swing" and a couple of gruesome heartbreak ballads sung by Jeanne Taylor, some of the material begins to sound downright progressive. "7th Avenue Express" is a typical Buck Clayton pressure cooker, while "Mister Roberts' Roost" rocks at medium hot. "Guest in a Nest" hints at the formula Basie would use so effectively during the next decade: elegant, flashy big band with a decidedly cool aspect that allows for brief understated vamps from the pianist. arwulf arwulf