GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET | RED NORVO TRIO – Midnight on Cloud 69 (1956-1993) RM | MONOAURAL | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1. Sorry Wrong Rumba (George Shearing Quintet) (3:22)
2. Cotton Top (George Shearing Quintet) (2:50)
3. Be Bop's Fables (George Shearing Quintet) (3:05)
4. Midnight On Cloud 69 (George Shearing Quintet) (3:10)
5. Little White Lies (Red Norvo Trio) (3:50)
6. I'm Yours (Red Norvo Trio) (4:11)
7. Moon Over Miami (George Shearing Quintet) (3:13)
8. Cherokee (George Shearing Quintet) (2:44)
9. Life With Feather (George Shearing Quintet) (3:11)
10. Four Bars Short (George Shearing Quintet) (2:25)
11. Time And Tide (Red Norvo Trio) (2:38)
12. Night And Day (Red Norvo Trio) (4:09)

George Shearing Quintet (tracks #1-4, 7-10)
George Shearing - p
Marjorie Hyams - vib
Chuck Wayne - g
John Levy - b
Denzil Best - d

Red Norvo Trio (tracks #5, 6, 11, 12)
Red Norvo - vib
Tal Farlow - g
Charles Mingus - b
Note
1 to 4 & 7 to 10 recorded January 31, 1949
5 recorded October 13, 1950
6 recorded April 13, 1951
11 & 12 recorded May 3, 1950

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1945-1946 | The Classics Chronological Series – 985 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

There is a lot of intriguing music on this CD, which features Duke Ellington's postwar orchestra. "Dancers in Love" (from "Perfume Suite") and "Carnegie Blues" (from "Black, Brown and Beige") managed to catch on as individual pieces, "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" and "Just Squeeze Me" were hits, and both "Tonk" and "Drawing Room Blues" showcased the piano duo of Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. A few numbers are V-Discs, including a brief version of "C Jam Blues" that features the combined orchestras of Duke Ellington and Woody Herman (his First Herd). Among the changes in personnel were Russell Procope taking over for the retiring Otto Hardwick on alto and clarinet and Oscar Pettiford succeeding Junior Raglin on bass. This underrated music ranks with some of Duke's best work. Scott Yanow   Tracklist :

COZY COLE – 1944 | The Chronogical Classics – 819 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Check this out -- probably the best overall Cozy Cole collection, and possibly one of the top picks for mid-'40s small-group swing. There are distinct reasons for such a strongly stated claim. They are, specifically: Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Budd Johnson, and Don Byas. Got that? Three additional reasons are Teddy Wilson, Johnny Guarnieri, and Earl Hines. This is no offhand list of incidental participants, but a pantheon of indispensable figures in mid-20th century jazz. Their combined experience and influence add up to direct involvement with the heart and soul of this music, from Armstrong and Ellington to Bird and Diz. Glance at the rest of the collective personnel and you're confronted with a stunning lineup containing some of the most accomplished jazz musicians on the scene during the year 1944. The Cozy Cole All Stars session recorded for Keynote on the 22nd of February still stands near the apex of that label's best achievements, especially because of the electromagnetic field created by putting Hawkins and Hines into the same room at the same time. These Keynotes sound better than ever presented, with 17 vivid sides issued on the Savoy label, which like Commodore and Keynote granted the musicians absolute artistic control. This is precisely why the music holds up so well regardless of the passage of time. Johnny Guarnieri is particularly well represented, as is Teddy Wilson, who sparkles during the Buck Ram All Stars session. There are a couple of percussion feature numbers where attention is deliberately focused upon Cole, but generally speaking every selection is defined, supported, and shaken to its roots by the energetic presence of this indefatigable drummer. arwulf arwulf
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EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1942-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 876 (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For Earl Hines fans looking beyond the bandleader's glory days of the '30s, this Classics chronological disc -- one of several Hines titles in the series -- is worth picking up. It's not as solid as Classics' 1941 survey, due in part to that disc's tighter, vintage-issue charts, but many of these 21 tracks still stand out, thanks to some fine Eckstine vocals and stealth backing by the likes of Wardell Gray, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Shavers, Budd Johnson, Red Norvo, and Oscar Pettiford -- not to mention a few Betty Roche vocal turns. A fine, if unessential, Hines collection. Stephen Cook
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1933-1936 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1085 (1999) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Aside from a handful of early pioneers such as Harry A. Yerkes, Charles Hamilton Green, and Jimmy Bertrand, Red Norvo was the first person to regularly play jazz on the xylophone. He also led the way in presenting that kind of music on vibraphone and marimba. This first volume of his complete recordings in chronological order documents Norvo's outstanding experiments in chamber jazz and small group swing during the years 1933-1935. Also covered in detail is the next phase of Norvo's career, as he led a big band either graced with or encumbered by jazz/pop vocalists. The first two sessions, recorded for the Brunswick label during the spring and autumn of 1933, resulted in four pieces unlike anything else being presented to the public at that time. "Knockin' On Wood" and "Hole in the Wall" are zippy features for xylophone with support from clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey and a sympathetic trio of pianist Fulton McGrath, guitar virtuoso Dick McDonough, and bassist Artie Bernstein. "Dance of the Octopus" and Bix Beiderbecke's "In a Mist" are rendered by a quartet that positively glows with the fascinating combination of Norvo's sublime marimba and Benny Goodman's colorful bass clarinet. The Swing Septet sessions of 1934 are remarkable for the combined presence of four men remembered today for having helped to shape the course of musical history by leading their own swing bands during the 1930s and '40s: Teddy Wilson, Artie Shaw, Charlie Barnet, and Red Norvo. The lineup on the following session -- apparently Norvo's only date as a leader during the year 1935 -- is every bit as formidable, as Bunny Berigan and Chu Berry appear alongside Wilson, Bernstein, George Van Eps, and Gene Krupa. These first 12 tracks are worth the price of admission. A 13th selection, "Gramercy Square," is an instrumental sweet serenade with richly rumbling reeds behind the xylophone. Its original flip side, "Decca Stomp," is a smooth but caffeinated foxtrot, correctly appraised in the liner notes as a premonition of what John Kirby's Sextet would be playing by the end of the decade. But something has surely changed -- these sessions from January of 1936 were a turning point as Norvo now began leading a semi-sweet jazz orchestra gilded at first with weirdly chosen vocalists. The trio heard singing "Polly Wolly Doodle" also tried to handle "The Wedding of Jack and Jill" but this is terminally cute stuff, strangely disconcerting after all of the honest jazz heard earlier in the chronology. Things get even more bizarre with Mae Questal -- the original voice of Popeye's Olive Oyl -- squealing and giggling as she sings "The Music Goes 'Round and Around" in her overgrown little girl's voice. This Betty Boop routine actually works better than her attempt at presenting "The Broken Record," a clever song re-creating the exact pace of a skipping 78-rpm platter. While Wingy Manone's rendition of this song is charming [see Classics 828], Questal's alarming hiccup effect is distracting at best. Finally, six melodies recorded in February 1936 and subsequently issued on the Champion label are deadened by trumpeter Stew Pletcher's attempts at romantic vocalizing. If only he'd kept his horn glued to his lips, these would have been pleasant instrumentals, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. arwulf arwulf
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1123 (2000) FLAC (tracks), lossless

The first two selections on this chronological reissue of Red Norvo's early recordings has the xylophonist jamming "I Got Rhythm" and "Lady Be Good" in an octet in early 1936. Otherwise he is featured with his 12 to 13 piece big band on 21 selections, 13 of which have vocals by his wife Mildred Bailey (including "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid," "It's Love I'm After," "Smoke Dreams," and "Slummin' on Park Avenue"). The instrumentals are highlighted by "I Know That You Know," "Remember" (famous for trumpeter Stew Pletcher's odd solo), "I Would Do Anything for You," and "Jiving the Jeep." Eddie Sauter's arrangements and Norvo's xylophone gave the big band its own unique musical personality. Scott Yanow
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1157 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In this segment of the Red Norvo story, the xylophonist's collaborations with his wife, Mildred Bailey, predominate. This was a fine jazz orchestra with excellent soloists. One great and glowing jewel in the band was clarinetist Hank D'Amico, and Norvo's sparkling percussive passages are always a delight. Each of the five instrumental tracks resound with that fascinating combination of xylophone and big band, tidy brass over solidly arranged reeds, and -- beginning in January of 1938 -- precision drumming by George Wettling, that mainstay of Eddie Condon and his Commodore jam bands. With 16 out of 24 tracks serving as features for Bailey's pleasant vocals, this package will satisfy anyone who has a taste for her style and personality. As always, most of her material deals with romance or heartbreak. She sounds quite pleasant during a handsome treatment of George Gershwin's "Love Is Here to Stay," but if you scratch beneath the surface of Tin Pan Alley, things don't always look so rosy. Johnny Mercer's catchy "Weekend of a Private Secretary" seems at first like a cute description of a naughty vacation, but the lyrics, penned by Nebraska native Bernie Hanighen, reveal the mottled underbelly of old-fashioned North American bigotry. As Bailey shrewdly pronounces the phrase "Cuban gent," the song quickly evolves into a flippant essay on Caucasian infatuation with The Exotic Other. Ultimately, she presents a crude list of social stereotypes that a working girl would be likely to encounter while seeking out male companionship. These include a slicker, a hick, a Reuben -- this was originally a carnival or circus term for a rustic rube -- and even that time-honored American racial epithet, "darky." The band is tight, maracas and all, and Norvo's xylophone sounds great surrounded by Caribbean rhythm effects, but rancid social undercurrents leave an odd taste in the mouth. Further ethical/ethnic discomfiture may be experienced while listening to "There's a Boy in Harlem," which must be the most racist opus ever contrived by the otherwise admirable songwriting team of Rodgers & Hart. While accurately admitting that "all the writers copy" an unidentified Afro-American composer, lyricist Larry Hart describes the "boy" as sloppily dressed (!) and even paraphrases a nasty figure of speech by referring to him as "this person in the woodpile." The fact that "Mr. and Mrs. Swing" elected to record these vulgar songs speaks volumes about the prevailing social climate during the 1930s and momentarily sheds an unseemly light on their respective careers. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938-1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1192 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This is the fourth volume in the chronologically reissued recordings of Red Norvo on Classics. Norvo was married to Mildred Bailey from 1933-1939, and they made a lot of records together. Every side that appeared under her own name has been brought out in a parallel series, while all those originally issued under the heading of the Red Norvo Orchestra are woven into the Norvo chronology. That is why there are several volumes in the Red Norvo story that feel a lot like chapters in the life and times of Mildred Bailey. This feisty little woman was at her best when singing wistful songs of love and longing in her rather small, warmly pleasant voice. She would also dig right into a hot swing number and could occasionally be heard encouraging the band with little energetic exclamations, slightly off-mike. With one exception, all of her performances on this disc have merit. Unable to shake an apparent penchant for topical inanities caricaturing ethnic minorities, Norvo and Bailey opted for something called "Wigwammin'." Recorded in June 1938, this trite piece of rubbish trivializes life on an Indian reservation with stupid lyrics and periodic choruses of Hollywood-style "Indian" war whoops from the band. Bailey sings on 11 out of 23 tracks, and thankfully the rest of her thematic choices were more dignified. "Put Your Heart in a Song" and "The Sunny Side of Things" constitute a pair of optimistic essays brimming with good advice. "Jump Jump's Here" is a smart strut, sounding like one of Lil Hardin Armstrong's enthusiastic routines. "Cuckoo in the Clock" and "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" typify Bailey's approach to the silly novelty genre. Fats Waller's version of Ella Fitzgerald's "Tasket" tune, recorded in London exactly one month to the day after Mildred's, would out-swing everybody else's renditions, including Ella's original. Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer's "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," introduced in the 1938 motion picture Jezebel, comes across like a charmingly antiquated piece of vaudeville, maybe even a throwback to the Paul Whiteman orchestra where Norvo and Bailey first met. This apparently deliberate spoof of older-styled entertainment features a rather funny, stilted vocal by "the Three Ickkies" -- Norvo, Bailey, and a guy by the name of Terry Allen. An ickkey, of course, was the official hep-talk tag for an un-hip individual. Speaking of ickkies, Norvo chose to sacrifice six entire tunes to Terry Allen, a morbidly tepid vocalist when left to his own designs. Only the band and the leader's xylophone solos redeem those ill-starred selections. Each of the five instrumental tracks are solidly swung, with the two Charlie Shavers compositions -- "Undecided" and "Rehearsin' for a Nervous Breakdown" -- sounding exceptionally fine. [Note that the enclosed discography contains a factual error, something relatively uncommon for the Classics label. Although personnel on the session dated September 29, 1938, lists essentially the John Kirby Sextet plus Red Norvo, this cannot be the case, as the Norvo big band is clearly audible, trombones and all.] The Norvo orchestra's personnel began to change, and irreversible damage was sustained when clarinetist Hank D'Amico left during the spring of 1939 to join Richard Himber. By June of that year, Norvo's orchestra would dissolve, paving the way for an entirely new phase of his career. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1943 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1232 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first ten tracks of this fifth volume of Red Norvo's complete recordings document the gradual demise of Norvo's big band, a unit he'd fronted since January of 1936. Only one of these -- a jumpin' arrangement of "Some Like It Hot" -- is instrumental. Seven tracks are burdened with the vapid vocalizing of Terry Allen. Mildred Bailey sings "There'll Never Be Another You," not to be confused with the more famous song with a similar title, introduced in 1942 by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. She also performs the weirdly infantile "Three Little Fishes," a goofy number that gooses her into sounding almost as silly as Mae Questal. Norvo disbanded the group in June of 1939, and briefly reassembled a different 15-piece ensemble to record four sides for Columbia in March of 1942. Mildred Bailey, who had recorded with Harry Sosnik's orchestra one month earlier, sat in to sing on what would number among the last records she would ever make with her ex-husband Red Norvo. "I'll Be Around" is gorgeous, not as stylized as Cab Calloway's marvelously polished version, but beautifully rendered with dramatic tenderness. The lively, humorous "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry" is one of her very best performances on record, fortified with a snappy infusion of rhumba rhythm and full-blown big-band swing. The next leg of Norvo's journey involved concentrated work for the war effort. He was one of the first to make lightweight 12" 78-rpm records for V-Disc, providing musical entertainment for armed forces personnel during the Second World War. As usual, spoken introductions were grafted onto some of the selections, first by vocalist Carol Bruce and even Norvo himself, who greets the troops before launching into what is apparently the first recording ever made of "1-2-3-4 Jump." This kickin' jam tune, which would serve him well in the years to come, is followed by three similarly exciting instrumentals, including an expanded five-minute treatment of Duke Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone." With these magnificent performances, Red Norvo attained artistic maturity as he prepared to accelerate his own stylistic evolution in a manner commensurate with the progressive jazz scene of the 1940s. arwulf arwulf    Tracklist + Credits :

RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1943-1944 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1306 (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

With chronological precision, this delightful disc covers eight months in the life of Red Norvo, who by November of 1943 had permanently switched from playing xylophone to the smoother, cooler, more modern vibraphone. Five V-Disc sides feature two attractive vocals by Helen Ward and excellent solos from rising tenor sax star Flip Phillips, clarinetist Aaron Sachs (who appears on four of the five sessions reissued here), trumpeter Dale Pearce, and trombonist Dick Taylor. A rhythm section of Ralph Burns, Clyde Lombardi, and Johnny Blowers rounds off this outstanding, up-to-date octet. Jazz-wise, the music recorded at this blowing session is strikingly superior to the stuff Norvo had produced only 18 months earlier, and vastly different from his big-band output during the late '30s. Norvo's next recording date took place in Chicago on April 5, 1944. Four exciting sides, originally issued on the Steiner Davis label, are distinguished by the easygoing interplay between Norvo, Lombardi, guitarist Remo Palmieri, and the great jazz violinist Stuff Smith. "Rehearsal" is exactly that -- three and a half minutes of impromptu jamming laced with laughter, discussion, and even a little scat singing. "Red's Stuff" is probably the creative apex of this incredible date, a rare treat for connoisseurs of vintage mid-20th century jazz. An authentically modern-sounding series of bop ideas, tonalities, and phrasing verify the radically progressive direction being pursued by the Red Norvo Sextet as they recorded for Brunswick in May of 1944. Their absorption of contemporary musical modes is evident in an amazing rendition of Denzil de Costa Best's "Dee Dee's Dance," a brand new approach to "Blue Skies," and especially the busy Benny Goodman/Charlie Christian jam vehicle "Seven Come Eleven." Three similarly advanced V-Discs from May of 1944 -- clocking in at nearly five minutes per side -- lead listeners to the threshold of Norvo's tenure as a Keynote recording artist. On July 27, 1944, at his first session for Harry Lim's ambitious modern jazz label, the vibraphonist and a small contingent from the previous date were joined by Teddy Wilson and Slam Stewart. The other half of the material from this session may be found on Classics 1356, the 1944-1945 volume in the label's Red Norvo chronology. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1944-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1356 (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Anyone who listens through the previous six volumes of Red Norvo on Classics will likely experience a visceral sense of excitement from 1943 onward as Norvo switches from xylophone to vibraphone and adopts a noticeably modern attitude toward the music. Norvo underwent a profound artistic transformation in 1944-1945, his many years of experience enabling him to settle into a new role as established recording artist and bandleader with an open-minded respect for young artists bearing new ideas. Norvo's remarkable skills as an improviser coupled with a willingness to participate in what music critics call the bop revolution often placed him squarely within the eye of the rapidly evolving cultural hurricane of modern music. This seventh album in the Norvo chronology delivers an unprecedented dosage of top-notch jazz, documenting the historical swing-to-bop phenomenon in 16 wonderful tracks. With five Keynote sides, two V-Discs, and an epochal meeting with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, topped off by Norvo's Nonet/Quintet set at the fabulous 1945 Town Hall Jazz Concert, this is by far the best volume in the Classics chronology of his recorded works, and might very well be the greatest all-purpose Red Norvo album ever released to the public. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1945-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1386 (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Volume eight in the Classics Red Norvo chronology opens with two extended jams from Timme Rosenkrantz's Town Hall Jazz Concert of June 9, 1945. A wild romp on "Seven Come Eleven" runs for ten-and-a-half minutes while "In a Mellotone" lasts more than a quarter-of-an-hour. This particular Town Hall event was audio-documented by Milt Gabler and the recordings eventually appeared on his Commodore record label. Unlike most of the concerts held at Town Hall during the '40s and organized by staunch traditionalist Eddie Condon, this gig resounded with music of a slightly more modern and bop-informed nature, with Specs Powell, Slam Stewart, Remo Palmieri, Teddy Wilson, and Red Norvo providing steamy support for trumpeter Shorty Rogers, trombonist Eddie Bert, clarinetist Aaron Sachs, and tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips, who cuts loose in ways that anticipate his behavior at JATP concerts a few years later. The inclusion of these two precious live jams makes this installment in the Norvo chronology extra special. Most of the rest of the material was recorded for the Capitol label in Los Angeles between October 13 and December 18, 1947. For the October 13 session the band, billed as "Ten Cats and a Mouse," engaged in a peculiar experiment, as everybody swapped instruments. This meant, for example, that Red Norvo played piano, Paul Weston blew the clarinet, Benny Carter played tenor sax, and Peggy Lee (the "Mouse") played drums! On the following day, the instruments all returned to their rightful owners and Kansas City legend Jesse Price was behind the drum kit. On November 28, 1947, Norvo's Septet included cool guitarist Barney Kessel and young saxophonists Dexter Gordon and Jimmy Giuffre, as well as visionary pianist Dodo Marmarosa. Both "I'll Follow You" and "Bop!" are more modern-sounding than anything Norvo had previously presented to the public. The fascinating overlap between bop and R&B is evident on the other two tracks from this date, issued as by Jesse Price and his Blues Band, with shout blues vocals by Price. For the two ultra-modern sessions from mid-December 1947, Norvo switched back to the drier sound of the xylophone in front of smooth ensembles playing arrangements (suitable for film noir soundtrack purposes) written by Johnny Thompson. Even the old "Twelfth Street Rag," handled here by an ensemble equipped with a pair of French horns, comes across as bracingly futuristic. One expects Art Pepper and Warned Marsh to come in at any moment. This excellent compilation closes with two previously omitted V-Disc jams from November 1944 and February 1945, originally issued under Paul Baron's name but featuring the vibraphone of Red Norvo. arwulf arwulf  
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RED NORVO – 1950-1951 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1422 (2006) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Red Norvo was an example of resilient adaptability. During the early '40s, having dissolved his politely accessible swing band, he began performing and recording with musicians who were poised at the cutting edge of modern jazz; the most famous examples being Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Throughout the '40s and well into the '50s, Norvo seemed willing and eager to grow with the brisk and somewhat challenging patterns of the new music. The formation of a trio featuring guitarist Tal Farlow and bassist Charles Mingus (identified at this early date as "Charlie") was a decisively creative development. The recordings assembled here were made in Los Angeles and Chicago between May 3, 1950 and April 13, 1951. Some of these rapid-fire bop lines might evoke the unprecedented velocities attainable on newly constructed highways, or maybe even convey a taste of Benzedrine. While this might at first appear to be mellow postwar entertainment, the subtext and the context for the music are thought-provoking. Near the end of his poetically charged autobiographical novel Beneath the Underdog, Charles Mingus left a bitter account of his experiences as a member of the Red Norvo Trio. Without mincing words he described what it was like touring through the Southern United States with two somewhat careless white men and his white girlfriend, and how he ultimately left the group after a white bassist was hired to fill in for him when the Trio appeared on television. If Norvo had chosen Red Mitchell, Mingus reasoned, he might have been able to believe that it had something to do with his playing. Some leaders would have walked off the gig in protest. Norvo didn't, and Mingus never forgave him for it. The psychological landscape underlying this music, then, is as powerful as anything else that Mingus ever lived through and strove to communicate. Sometimes the trio hovers as if swimming gently across the night sky. "Time and Tide" suggests a passage from Rainer Maria Rilke: "The chiming clocks call each to each, and one sees to the floor of time." The rhythmic pattern used in the intro is a clear precedent for "Ysabel's Table Dance," one of the spicier episodes in Mingus' 1957 Tijuana Moods album. arwulf arwulf  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1187 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This is volume five in the Classics Mildred Bailey chronology. It contains all of the Vocalion records she made between January 18 and June 14, 1939. For all of her concessions to mainstream pop culture, Mildred Bailey was a blues-inflected jazz singer with traditional roots reaching back into the early '20s. Each of the ensembles featured on this particular compilation are decidedly hipper than most of her previous backup bands. Bailey's March 16, 1939 session with pianist Mary Lou Williams, guitarist Floyd Smith, bassist John Williams and drummer Eddie Dougherty resulted in a series of fine and soulful renderings of old time melodies like the "Arkansas Blues," "Gulf Coast Blues," "You Don't Know My Mind Blues" and Russ Columbo's "Prisoner of Love." Sixteen of this compilation's 22 tracks feature the John Kirby Sextet. This brilliant and creatively concise group had a frontline of trumpeter Charlie Shavers, clarinetist Buster Bailey and alto saxophonist Russell Procope; its well-oiled rhythm section contained pianist Billy Kyle, bassist John Kirby and drummer O'Neill Spencer. This little band was capable of handling material from the jazz, pop and European classical traditions; the Bailey/Kirby magic is most evident on Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine," Ziggy Elman's "And the Angels Sing," Lovie Austin and Alberta Hunter's "Down Hearted Blues" and the "Tit Willow" aria from Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado. On most of the Kirby sides, xylophonist Red Norvo can be heard obviously enjoying the opportunity to collaborate with exceptionally gifted improvisers. Premonitions of things to come! Norvo dissolved his big band in June 1939, not long after the recording of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," and began working with smaller, more modern-sounding ensembles. While Red Norvo would become an integral participant in the bop revolution of the '40s and '50s, Mildred Bailey's career gradually decelerated during the '40s, particularly after her health began to deteriorate. The records she cut during the first half of 1939 add up to some of the best music she ever made. For that reason, this particular installment in Mildred Bailey's Classics chronology is most highly recommended. arwulf arwulf  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1114 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Volume three in Mildred Bailey's Classics chronology revives 24 excellent recordings she made for the Vocalion label between January 19, 1937 and March 14, 1938. During this period, Bailey sang on quite a number of recordings issued (and subsequently reissued) under the name of her third husband, xylophonist Red Norvo. Everything on this compilation came out under the name of Mildred Bailey & Her Orchestra. A glance at the enclosed discography substantiates a claim made by producer Anatol Schenker in his liner notes: "The small band recordings made by Mildred Bailey in the late thirties certainly bear comparison with those made by Billie Holiday." Alternating throughout the discography with sessions featuring Red Norvo's big band, the septets heard backing Mildred Bailey are populated with accomplished improvisers like Roy Eldridge, Chu Berry, Buck Clayton, Scoops Carey, Herschel Evans, Hank D'Amico and Edmond Hall. The rhythm sections were driven by such master musicians as Teddy Wilson, Zutty Singleton, Freddie Green, Walter Page and Dave Tough. Anyone seeking particularly wonderful examples of Tough's marvelously controlled percussion artistry needs to listen to "I See Your Face Before Me," "Thanks for the Memory," "From the Land of Sky Blue Water" and "Lover Come Back to Me." Mildred Bailey was among the very first people in showbiz to recognize Billie Holiday's unique abilities as a jazz vocalist. This compilation demonstrates some of the songs, moods and instrumentalists that the two singers had in common. A more far-reaching assessment of their parallel careers is sobering; Billie Holiday struggled against racism, patriarchal oppression, entrenched conventions that made her feel like her own voice was "not legitimate," and a swarm of pernicious addictions that ultimately slew her. Mildred Bailey pioneered the feminine art of jazz singing and enjoyed enormous popularity for a while during the '30s; then, obese and diabetic, she found herself marginalized as an insufficiently svelte anomaly and was ultimately discarded by an entertainment industry that has always valued physical glamour over artistic ability. arwulf arwulf  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1160 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This fourth volume in the Classics Mildred Bailey chronology presents all of her Vocalion recordings made between April 19 and December 8, 1938. This was the big time for Bailey and her xylophonist husband Red Norvo; of the many records they made together, those issued under Norvo's name appear in his own Classics chronology, and everything that came out under the heading of Mildred Bailey & Her Orchestra has been assigned to her own portion of this label's historical reissue series. Most of Mildred's 1938 recordings found her comfortably backed by Red Norvo's big band; two important names in this well-knit ensemble were clarinetist Hank D'Amico and drummer George Wettling. On September 29, 1938, Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey made an excellent pair of recordings with the John Kirby Sextet. Certainly this little group's rendering of W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues" belongs with some of Mildred Bailey's all-time greatest recorded performances. Human error presents collectors with a potentially confusing conundrum: according to a footnote amended to Classics 1225 [Mildred Bailey 1939-1940], the version of "St. Louis Blues" heard here was actually recorded on January 18, 1939, which means it should have appeared on Classics 1187 [Mildred Bailey 1939]. Initially rejected by the folks at Vocalion, the "St. Louis Blues" recorded on September 29, 1938 has been grafted onto Classics 1225. Both versions are excellent. Got that? arwulf arwulf  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1939-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1225 (2002) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Volume Six in Mildred Bailey's Classics chronology is truly a mixed bag of recordings cut for Vocalion and Columbia between June 27, 1939 and January 25, 1940, with two initially rejected items from September 1938 tacked on like a couple of lost cabooses. The first four tracks feature the John Kirby Sextet-plus-Red Norvo combination that worked so well earlier in the year (see Mildred Bailey's previous volume on Classics). The first three in a series of titles associated with the tradition of American Negro Spirituals find Mildred Bailey collaborating with a vocal group known as the Charioteers. This is one of several sessions heard on this compilation that took place under the direction of composer and arranger Alec Wilder, using 'chamber' instrumentalists like that master of the oboe and Cor anglais, Mitch Miller. This kind of production worked best when Bailey's voice was able to wrap itself around truly wonderful lyrics and melodies like "All the Things You Are," "Easy to Love" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Jazz-wise, in addition to the aforementioned John Kirby tracks, the hippest recordings here are "Blue Rain" and "I Shoulda Stood In Bed" waxed on November 3, 1939 in the company of saxophonist Ben Webster and pianist Teddy Wilson. Although Mildred Bailey's duet with Roy Eldridge on "Wham" sounds a bit self-conscious, she manages quite well with that famous exercise in Yiddish hep talk, "A Bee Gezindt." arwulf arwulf  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1943-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1316 (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Most of Mildred Bailey's recordings have been reissued, but this CD is particularly special. With the exception of the final four songs, all of the music was originally out on fairly rare V-discs, making this a strong addition to swing and vocal jazz fans' collections. Bailey was one of the most distinctive singers of the 1930s and '40s and she was at the peak of her powers during the World War II years. Particularly worthy are the first four selections (including an extended version of "Rockin' Chair") in which she is accompanied by pianist Teddy Wilson. "Squeeze Me" is taken from the Esquire All-American concert of 1944. There are three songs in which Bailey is joined by a sextet led by her husband vibraphonist Red Norvo (clarinetist Aaron Sachs is in good form), ten songs on which Bailey is accompanied by Paul Baron's orchestra, a heated version of "Dinah" with Wilson and trumpeter Charlie Shavers, and the final studio date with a nonet. In addition to the first version of "Rockin' Chair," other highlights include "Sunday, Monday or Always," "More Than You Know," "Downhearted Blues," "From the Land of the Sky Blue Water," and "I'm Glad There Is You." Recommended. Scott Yanow  
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MILDRED BAILEY – 1945-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1337 (2003) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

As she neared the end of her recording career, Mildred Bailey suffered from a steadily shrinking voice, but her interpretive powers were undiminished. The Classics volume 1945-1947 proves that point with a program of 25 performances backed by orchestras including Eddie Sauter's and Ted Dale's, and sidemen including vibraphonist Red Norvo (Mr. Swing to her Mrs. Swing), pianist Ellis Larkins, clarinetist Hank d'Amico, and trumpeter Dick Vance. Bailey reflects on her long professional life with a raft of melancholy standards -- "Lover, Come Back to Me," "These Foolish Things," and a tender "Can't We Be Friends?" John Bush  
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TEDDY WILSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 548 (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This Classics CD traces pianist Teddy Wilson's recordings during a seven-month period. He backs singer Billie Holiday on eight memorable performances (including "My Man," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "When You're Smiling," and "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me"), is showcased on a pair of piano solos, accompanies singer Sally Gooding on four songs that were not initially released until the 1980s, and is heard on four almost-as-rare numbers with vocalist Nan Wynn. Most significant among the occasional instrumentals are a few tunes (including the two-part "Just a Mood" and "Honeysuckle Rose") that Wilson performs in an exquisite quartet with trumpeter Harry James, xylophonist Red Norvo, and bassist John Simmons. Among the other sidemen heard on this valuable CD are trumpeters Buck Clayton, Hot Lips Page, and Bobby Hackett, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, the tenors of Chu Berry and Lester Young, and altoist Tab Smith.  Scott Yanow
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