AL COOPER'S SAVOY SULTANS – 1938-1941 (1993) The Classics Chronological Series – 728 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Trombonist Dicky Wells once said that Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans were "...a living headache to everyone. They could swing and make most bands happy to play 'Home Sweet Home.' When a band like that's on your tail, the night seems to never end. They didn't seem to know the meaning of letting up." As the house band at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom, this group undoubtedly knew how to keep a large crowd entertained with music for dancing purposes. In person they must have been tight and right in order to warrant such praise from other musicians and to hold down their gig at the Savoy for nine years. On record the excitement only comes through on about half of their recordings. This is by no means unusual -- Coleman Hawkins always insisted that Fletcher Henderson's orchestra sounded terrible in the studio compared to what they could do in person. The Savoy Sultans, according to Dicky Wells, succeeded with their live audiences because they kept their arrangements relatively simple. This is evident on those tracks that cook in a solid groove but also seems to be the root of the problem with certain stodgy performances. A brief discussion of the band's better moments seems in order. "The Thing" is most memorable for an extended bowed bass solo by Grachan Moncur, father of modern jazz trombonist Grachan Moncur III. At the beginning of his solo the bassist even hums a little in the style of Slam Stewart. This is by far Moncur's longest solo on record. "Looney" has a clarinet solo by Cooper, who also played alto and baritone saxophones. "Gettin' in the Groove" is a solid strut and the Sultans were wise to present "Rhythm Doctor Man" as an instrumental. "Jeep's Blues" is a plausible emulation of the Duke Ellington sound even though Rudy Rutherford was no Johnny Hodges. "Stitches" and the rock-solid "Jumpin' the Blues" (no relation to the Jay McShann/Charlie Parker tune) are good examples of why Wells considered this band to be such formidable competition. "Jumpin' at the Savoy," however, doesn't jump and is not exciting. "Frenzy" and "Norfolk Ferry" are solid swing numbers that really cook. Al Cooper's wonderfully titled "Second Balcony Jump" is completely different from the famous Gerald Valentine/Earl Hines tune and predates it by a little more than a year. arwulf arwulf   
Tracklist
1 Jump Steady 2:56
 Jack Chapman
2 The Thing 3:13
 Al Cooper
3 Looney 3:08
 Al Cooper
4 Rhythm Doctor Man 2:46
 Al Cooper
5 Gettin' In The Groove 2:54
 Al Cooper
6 Someone Outside Is Taking Your Mind Off Me 3:16
Unknown
Vocals – Helen Proctor
7 Jeep's Blues 3:10
 Duke Ellington / Johnny Hodges
8 You Never Miss The Water 'Til The Well Runs Dry 2:42
Hunt
Vocals – Helen Proctor
9 Stitches 2:52
 Al Cooper
10 Jumpin' At The Savoy 2:46
 Jack Chapman
11 We'd Rather Jump Than Swing 2:47
Jenkins
Vocals – Pat Jenkins
12 Draggin' My Heart Around 2:39
 Alex Hill
Vocals – Evelyn White
13 Little Sally Water 2:28
 Al Cooper
14 Jumpin' The Blues 2:38
 Jack Chapman
15 Love Gave Me You 2:42
 Jack Chapman
Vocals – Paul Chapman
16 When I Grow Too Old To Dream 2:28
 Oscar Hammerstein II / Sigmund Romberg
Vocals – Evelyn White
17 Frenzy 2:58
 Al Cooper
18 (If You Don't Know What You're Doing) Stop! And Ask Somebody 2:53
 Jack Chapman
Vocals – Paul Chapman
19 Wishing And Crying For You 2:57
 Al Cooper / Diggs
Vocals – Evelyn White
20 Sophisticated Jump 3:08
Haynes
21 Norfolk Ferry 2:55
 Erskine Hawkins
22 Second Balcony Jump 2:47
 Al Cooper
23 See What I Mean! 3:01
 Jack Chapman
24 Jackie Boy 3:07
 Jack Chapman
Credits :   
Acoustic Guitar – Paul Chapman (faixas: 9 to 16, 21 to 24)
Alto Saxophone – Rudy Williams
Bass – Grachan Moncur
Drums – Alex "Razz" Mitchell
Leader – Al Cooper
Piano – Cyril Haynes (faixas: 9 to 16, 21 to 24), Oliver Richardson (faixas: 1 to 8)
Tenor Saxophone – Ed McNeil (faixas: 1 to 8), George Kelley (faixas: 21 to 24), Irving "Skinny" Brown (faixas: 17 to 20), Sam Simmons (faixas: 9 to 16, 21 to 24)
Trumpet – Pat Jenkins, Sam Massenberg