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