DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1086 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Ellington band was in transition when these sides were cut in 1947. The big-band scene was slowly winding down after World War II, but the group had just signed with Columbia, an assurance of better distribution. But the band was also being handed some pretty weird material -- commercial fare like "Kitty," "Cowboy Rhumba" (with Woody Herman guesting on vocals), and "Antidisestablishmentarianismist." There's some great music here, but file this volume under "for completists only." Cub Koda    Tracklist + Credits :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1936-1937 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1042 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Woody Herman led many big bands throughout his career. Some biographies give very little space to his earliest groups and start out with the First Herd of 1944-46, but Herman was a bandleader as early as 1936. This CD actually starts out with a few Herman appearances with Isham Jones during March 1936. The full orchestra performs "Stompin' At The Savoy" and then "Isham Jones' Juniors" (an octet taken from the big band) performs six numbers, four of which include Herman vocals. Virginia Verrell sings a spirited "Slappin' The Bass" and the only instrumental is "Nola" but the best number (and one that would reappear with Herman in the future) is "Fan It." By Nov. 1936 the clarinetist-altoist was leading his own big band, one that also included five other musicians from Isham Jones' orchestra which had broken up a few months earlier. Few listeners probably know that the very first Herman big band mostly featured his ballad vocalizing; "Woodchoppers Ball" would not change the orchestra's direction until 1939. Only one song among the 16 selections by Woody Herman's orchestra is an instrumental ("Mr. Ghost Goes To Town"). The leader' singing ranges from insipid and romantic to (in a few cases) swinging; best are "Doctor Jazz," "Trouble In Mind" and "It Happened Down In Dixieland." But this set is strictly for completists and Woody Herman collectors who are curious to know how he started out. Scott Yanow              Tracklist + Credits :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1937-1938 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1090 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This entry in the chronological rundown of Woody Herman recordings focuses on all of his 1937 and 1938 Decca recordings. The Band That Plays the Blues was still searching for a style that would click with a public hungry for all swing music, and the song selection is a combination of standards, blues, a couple of boogie-woogies, and a stray novelty or two like "Flat Foot Floogie." It also features the oddball "Laughing Boy Blues" (his only hit in 1938) and "River Bed Blues," the first recording by the small group within the band, the Woodchoppers. The best was still to come. Cub Koda
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WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1128 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Woody Herman had a breakthrough during the period of time covered by Classics' third Herman CD. The Apr. 12, 1939, session yielded "Woodchopper's Ball," Herman's first hit, and it also featured "Dallas Blues," "Blues Downstairs," and "Blues Upstairs." From then on, Herman's first group would be known as "The Band That Plays the Blues." Other highlights of this enjoyable CD include four titles featuring singer Connie Boswell, the Andrews Sisters guesting on "Begin the Beguine," some vocals by Mary Ann McCall, and the tracks "The Sheik of Araby" and "Farewell Blues." Despite the lack of any major soloists (beyond the leader), things were definitely looking up by August 1939 for Herman. Scott Yanow       Tracklist :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1939-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1163 (2001) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This second installment in the Classics Charlie Parker chronology contains quite a number of Bird's best-loved and most respected recordings. The first 12 tracks, recorded in New York for the Dial label in October and November of 1947, are all masterpieces of modern music, with the ballads, especially "Embraceable You," constituting some of Parker's very best recorded work. This is the classic 1947 quintet with Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach. Even if his personal life was characteristically chaotic, 1947 was a good year for Charlie Parker's music. It was in November 1947 that this band hit the road to play the El Sino Club on St. Antoine Boulevard in Detroit. Unfortunately, Bird got really snockered and couldn't perform, so the El Sino management canceled the gig. Bird ultimately destroyed his saxophone by throwing it out of a hotel window onto the street below. (A tragic and disturbing image!) Back in New York, the band -- now a sextet with the addition of trombonist J.J. Johnson -- made six more sides for Dial on December 17, 1947. Once again the quintet visited Detroit to make good on its broken contract with the El Sino, and this time the band's return engagement was a success. Miles Davis later remembered: "Bird played his ass off." Vocalist Betty Carter even sat in. While they were still in Detroit, producer Teddy Reig had "the Charlie Parker Quintette" make more records for the Savoy label. The four master takes heard here contain music that is still studied and cherished by musicians, poets, lovers, cultural historians, and devout listeners everywhere. arwulf arwulf        Tracklist :

WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1243 (2002) FLAC (tracks), lossless

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WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940-1941 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1304 (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

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NAT "KING" COLE – 1949-1950 | The Chronogical Classics – 914 (1996) FLAC (tracks), lossless

With his amazingly warm and intimate vocal style, Nat King Cole could handle any song he came across, transforming it into a cool expressive croon that is unsurpassed in the pop realm. This collection includes perhaps his most famous song, the string-drenched "Mona Lisa," but it also features several lesser known pieces, many of them falling into the novelty song category, a genre Cole practically defined with his assured singing and often innovative (and spare) arrangements. "The Horse Told Me" is a case in point. Essentially a game of whispers turned into a song, Cole's easy vocal puts it over while the odd arrangement, a mix of junkyard percussion and classy piano, keeps it fresh. Another highlight here is "Calypso Blues," which features a marvelously controlled vocal set over a sparse bongo track, and it indicates how versatile Cole was. There is really no song or style he couldn't make his own. While this release is relatively narrow in its focus, it shouldn't be passed over by Cole fans. Steve Leggett  
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ERROLL GARNER – 1953-1954 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1423 (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The 16th installment in the Classics Erroll Garner chronology combines eight numbers recorded for Columbia in New York on March 30, 1953; eight more for the same label cut in Detroit on July 8, 1954; and two tracks for Mercury Records in Chicago on July 27, 1954. At this point in his career, Garner became increasingly inventive, expressive, and rambunctious, as his bluesy take on Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" and knuckle-busting renditions of "Frenesi" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" illustrate. The Detroit session is remarkable for the presence of Woody Herman. Familiar to the public as a clarinet-blowing big-band leader with a penchant for rowdy novelty tunes and a tendency, during the late '40s, to employ young musicians with bop sensibilities, Herman appears with the Erroll Garner Trio as a warm and persuasive vocalist. Track nine, a medley lasting nearly 11 minutes, traces a progression from new love to romance to hopeless infatuation to heartbreak. Each successive vocal track is a gem, and the mutual enjoyment felt by Herman and Garner is palpable. Throughout this entire compilation, Garner's bassist was Pittsburgh native Wyatt "Bull" Ruther and his drummer was Eugene "Fats" Heard, who had worked with Lionel Hampton and Coleman Hawkins and who would leave Garner's band in 1955 to settle down and make steady money as a businessman in his hometown of Cleveland, OH. This album closes with two examples of what the Erroll Garner Trio sounded like when spiced up by the conga drumming of Cuban percussionist Candido Camero. arwulf arwulf  
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CHARLIE BYRD ft. THE WOODY HERMAN BIG BAND - Bamba-Samba Bossa Nova (1959-2005) RM / APE (image+.cue), lossless

For this unusual set, guitarist Charlie Byrd is accompanied by what is billed as the Woody Herman Big Band, although it is mostly a studio orchestra sprinkled with a few of Herman's associates. The first four selections are Byrd originals that almost sound like bossa nova in spots, even though the style had not solidified and been named yet. Byrd's classical training and interest in Brazilian music are very much in evidence. The final selections are a re-creation of Ralph Burns' four-part "Summer Sequence," which at the time was over a decade old. The main difference between this and the original Herman recording is that Byrd is the main soloist throughout much of the extensive work. Although not quite essential, Bamba-Samba Bossa Nova (which has often been reissued under Woody Herman's name) has its moments of interest and shows how Charlie Byrd sounded before bossa nova took off. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist
1    Bamba Samba (Bossa Nova) 3:08
Charlie Byrd
2    Original #2 3:05
Charlie Byrd
3    Love Song Ballad 4:05
Charlie Byrd
4    Prelude a La Cha Cha 4:00
Charlie Byrd
5    Summer Sequence, Pt. 1 3:55
Ralph Burns
6    Summer Sequence, Pt. 2 2:11
Ralph Burns
7    Summer Sequence, Pt. 3 3:44
Ralph Burns
8    Summer Sequence, Pt. 4 4:08
Ralph Burns
Credits:
Acoustic Guitar – Charlie Byrd
Alto Saxophone – Sam Marowitz (faixas: 1 to 4)
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Joe Soldo (faixas: 1 to 4)
Arranged By – Ralph Burns (faixas: 5 to 8), Sid Feller (faixas: 1 to 4)
Baritone Saxophone – Bill Slapin
Bass – Bill Betts
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Woody Herman
Drums – Jimmy Campbell
Mastered By – Rick Pantoja
Piano, Vibraphone – Eddie Costa
Tenor Saxophone – Dick Hafer (faixas: 5 to 8), Jerry Sanfino (faixas: 5 to 8), Harold Feldman (faixas: 1 to 4), Mike Tinnes (faixas: 1 to 4)
Trombone – Billy Byers (faixas: 5 to 8), Dick Lieb (faixas: 5 to 8), Ed Price (faixas: 1 to 4), Frank Rehak, Jim Dahl (faixas: 1 to 4)
Trumpet – Al Derisi (faixas: 5 to 8), Charlie Shavers (faixas: 1 to 4), Ernie Royal, Jimmy Maxwell (faixas: 5 to 8), Irving Markowitz (faixas: 5 to 8), Nat Adderley, Nick Travis (faixas: 1 to 4), Paul Cohen (faixas: 1 to 4)