FATS WALLER – 1935 | The Classics Chronological Series – 746 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

One of several Classics discs chronicling Waller's vast amount of Bluebird combo sides from the '30s and '40s, this roundup of some of the pianist's 1935 offerings includes many fine cuts but doesn't quite rank with the maestro's best work. Featuring Waller's longstanding Fats Waller & His Rhythm band, the 22 numbers may not include any original material, but there is still more than enough in the way of indelible performances. This is especially true for a wonderful "Lulu's Back in Town," the Coots and Gillespie rarity "Whose Honey Are You?," and "Rosetta." An enjoyable if non-essential Waller collection. Stephen Cook
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FATS WALLER – 1935, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 760 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Among his many unfulfilled plans, it was Fats Waller's ambition to tour with a large band, preaching the Gospel as his father had before him. The closest he came to realizing this dream was "There's Gonna Be the Devil to Pay" and "Brother Seek and Ye Shall Find," both recorded during the summer of 1935. These are hot stomps but the inherent religious message is made abundantly clear by the piano player, who belts out Biblical references like "Samson, where lies thy strength?" at the top of his lungs. Fats would have made a good preacher. You get just a glimpse of this potential every time he raises his voice. 1935 was a particularly successful year for this man and his hot little bands. This particular slice of the chronology happens to focus upon a short period of time during which reedman Gene Sedric was replaced by an expressive clarinetist and alto saxophonist named Rudy Powell. It's easy to see why this band was so popular. Every sort of mood and subject matter is given the Waller treatment. Love songs become joyously moving testimonials, as in "My Very Good Friend the Milkman," or riotously gleeful celebrations like "Sweet Sue" and "Got a Bran' New Suit." Heartbreak is lampooned with gusto in "Sugar Blues," "Woe! Is Me," "Somebody Stole My Gal" and that incredible theatrically charged masterpiece "The Girl I Left Behind Me." Sloth actually becomes a virtue in "Loafin' Time." If you want to experience six men jamming with reckless abandon, go directly to "12th Street Rag." Records like these are literally unforgettable. Once heard they become part of the cerebral cortex and at any moment the record might start spinning again inside the memory bank where everything is allowed. "Truckin'" is a cousin to "Slummin' on Park Avenue" in that both songs describe white folks visiting Afro-American neighborhoods, wrinkling their noses while picking up on dances, speech patterns and clothing styles for their own gratification. The dance called "Truckin'" started up in Harlem where it was discovered by visitors who took it back with them to white society, where it became trendy. Sound familiar? The song was already quite a piece of work as written. Hearing Fats Waller and His Rhythm cook it up is one of the high points of this excellent album of classic small band swing. arwulf arwulf  
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EDGAR HAYES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 730 (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Whatever happened to Orlando Roberson? He recorded with Fats Waller & His Buddies in December of 1929 and with Claude Hopkins in 1933 and 1934, then resurfaced in March 1937 crooning away in practically the same voice in front of a band led by Edgar Hayes -- but billed this one time as Orlando Roberson & His Orchestra. Many jazz fans would cringe at these two sentimental pop songs, but aside from serving as a fascinating circumstantial footnote to the Fats Waller story they form the first steps in the chronological recordings of Waller's exact contemporary, Edgar Hayes (1904-1979). The real springboard for this story is "Manhattan Jam," recorded at the same session as Roberson's sleepy confections. This lively stomp has a melody similar to Cab Calloway's notorious 1932 hit, "Reefer Man." Trombonist Robert Horton sounds a bit like Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton -- next to him stands the great Clyde Bernhardt -- and that's young Kenny "Klook" Clarke knocking the stuffing out of his drums. This in fact was where Clarke's recording career began. The arrangements are wonderful, particularly Hayes' version of Ellington and Tizol's "Caravan." Each instrumental is a delight to behold. "Edgar Steps Out" has an irresistible rhythm that may very well result in toe-tapping or improvised dancing. During "Laughing at Life," the band sings back at Ralph Sawyer in a stylized routine known to have been developed by Steve Washington and stolen by Tommy Dorsey. "Stompin' at the Renny" was composed by tenor saxophonist Joe Garland, who during his solo uses a riff that would later surface as the theme of Lionel Hampton's smash hit "Flyin' Home." A second version of "Laughing at Life" has a considerably cooler vocal by trumpeter Bernie Flood. "Satan Takes a Holiday" contains a couple of lively vibraphone solos by Kenny Clarke. He sticks with the vibes on the following session, a quintet date with vocals by Bill Darnell. Present in this little band was clarinetist Rudy Powell, famous for his earlier recordings with Thomas "Fats" Waller. Fortunately, Darnell sings tolerably well, allowing the listener to stick with this band long enough to marvel at Clarke's vibraphone work and the sympathetic intonations of Powell's clarinet. Hayes himself was a capable pianist, with a surefooted swing style comparable to that of Count Basie. "Queen Isabella" is a solid instrumental, a valuable commodity nestled among no less than nine vocals by the ubiquitous Darnell. Somebody, presumably the dexterous Robert Horton, manages to emit "ya-ya" syllables from his trombone during "Old King Cole," making the Joe Nanton comparison even more accurate. Clarke trundles out the vibraphone from time to time, and Darnell won't stop singing. On January 14, 1938, the Edgar Hayes band made history by recording without any vocals by Bill Darnell. The band swings marvelously on the instrumental Joe Garland composition appropriately entitled "Meet the Band." What makes these 1938 sides work so well is the arranging -- and baritone sax work -- of Garland. "Fugitive from a Harem" and "Swingin' in the Promised Land" are big-band swing records suitable for jitterbugging and cutting the rug. arwulf arwulf  
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EDGAR HAYES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1938-1948 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1053 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The recordings of Edgar Hayes have long been scattered to the winds, tucked away in compilations and all but lost in obscure anthologies. The producers of the Classics Chronological Series have done the world a favor by gathering these rare sides together in two volumes for all to study and enjoy. The Edgar Hayes Orchestra sounds smooth and hot on the recordings made for Decca in February of 1938. On "Help Me," Eddie Gibbs contributes a "Hawaiian" guitar intro and Kenny Clarke plays the vibes but sounds like he's working over a xylophone. Clyde Bernhardt, sounding a bit like Jimmy Rushing, sings his own composition, "Without You." James Clay Anderson was a fluttery vocalist similar to Pha Terrell, and sounds silly coming after Bernhardt's soulful take. Hayes plays piano beautifully on this band's excellent instrumental renditions of Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" and Will Hudson's "Sophisticated Swing." Joe Garland's "In the Mood" really changed the face of popular music during the 1930s and early '40s. Based on a lick borrowed from Wingy Manone, the tune became an international hit after Glenn Miller came out with a close cover using the same arrangement about a year and a half after this version was recorded. It was Miller's big break. Meanwhile, Edgar Hayes took some of his band to Sweden, making four records in Stockholm on March 8, 1938, under the heading of Kenny Clarke's Kvintett. Clarke plays vibraphone wonderfully. There are hot solos from trumpeter Henry Goodwin and reedman Rudy Powell. Three of these records are awash with milky vocals by James Clay Anderson and the fourth is a stimulating jam version of "Sweet Sue." It's amazing how much stylistic ground can be covered by a chronological survey of one person's musical career. For a man who began by working with Fess Williams in 1924, led various bands under the names of the Blue Grass Buddies, the Eight Black Pirates, and the Symphonic Harmonists, who played piano and wrote arrangements for the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and led his own jazz orchestra in 1937 and 1938, it must have been frustrating for Hayes to have had to dissolve his band in 1941. According to this discography, eight years transpired before he was able to record again. Leading an intimate rhythm section billed as Edgar Hayes & His Stardusters, the pianist cut a version of "Stardust" for V-Disc in May of 1946 with a vocal by drummer Bryant Allen. The rest of the story took place in Los Angeles, where in 1948 Hayes laid down eight superb tracks with Allen, amplified guitarist Teddy Bunn, and legendary West Coast bassist Curtis Counce. Just as "In the Mood" had an enormous impact on popular music before and during the Second World War, "Fat Meat 'n Greens" would prove to be resoundingly influential throughout the 1950s. "Edgar's Boogie" and five additional groove tunes form a very hip finale to the Edgar Hayes story, with a strong shot of R&B and several unidentified horn players adding their sauce to the mix. arwulf arwulf  
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CLIFF JACKSON – 1930-1945 | The Classics Chronological Series – 979 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

None of this material has ever been easy to find. The selections by Cliff Jackson and his Krazy Kats are exceptionally rare. In addition to Jackson's occasional flourishes of dexterous Harlem piano, highlights include a trombonist named Noisy Richardson, trumpeter and scat vocalist Henry Goodwin and reedman Rudy Powell, who would make a lot of great records with Fats Waller in 1935. Some of these numbers are pleasantly frantic stomps, "Horse Feathers," "Torrid Rhythm" and "The Terror" sounding similar in some ways to recordings made between 1925 and 1930 by other large hot bands, such as Fess Williams, Charlie Johnson or Sam Wooding. Also issued bearing the names of the Tuxedo Syncopators and the Newport Syncopators, most of these early records came out on the Grey Gull record label under the name of Marvin Smolev and His Syncopators. Whoever the hell Smolev was, he had a hand in composing 8 out of 12 songs included here, and quite a number of these are quaint, conventional hotsy totsy stuff. It's a shame that this band didn't get around to making more records. The Krazy Kats (also billed as the Crazy Cats) first came on the scene in 1927 and were considered by other bands to be formidably awesome competition. Major phonograph companies apparently never figured this out. Like many worthy musicians, Jackson had to wait a long time -- March of 1944 -- before he could lead another band in a recording studio. Fortunately the quartet contained clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, bassist Bob Casey and drummer Jack "The Bear" Parker. They emitted a fairly rowdy number called "Quiet Please," Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me," James P. Johnson's "If I Could Be With You" and a wild rip through the "Weary Blues," with blistering runs on the piano and a good example of the Bear's percussive bravado. The eight remaining tracks are piano solos of great potency, allowing the listener to appreciate Jackson's Eastern Seaboard style in all its glory. "Royal Garden Blues" packs in just about everything that needs to be said in only a little over two minutes. "Limehouse Blues" is similarly hot, and places Jackson directly within the realm of what critics and historians call the Harlem Stride Piano tradition. "Who" and "Tea for Two" are dizzyingly executed, bringing on the inevitable question -- why wasn't this man given more opportunities to record? arwulf arwulf
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