A Century of Music

[Zeeba Neighba]

Ella Fitzgerald - The Early Years, Pt 1 (1935-38)

Finished last week with this - spun some Chick Webb Orchestra earlier in the 1930s, but these are the singles after a young vocalist Ella Fitzgerald joined his band. Ella, naturally, sounds young but clearly still has that charisma that was so present in her work from the get go.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Coleman Hawkins - Body and Soul (comp - 1939-56)

Moving from the 1930s to the 40s - there are so many artists like The Andrew Sisters and Harry James whose success started in the 30s then continued onward in the next decade. Wanted to start with Coleman Hawkins as no survey of 1930s music should omit the tremendous jazz instrumental "Body and Soul" from 1939, one of the most important and wonderful jazz singles ever. In just 3 minutes, Hawkins (along with Lester Young in the 30s), a pioneer of the tenor, shows off the range and improvisational potential of his instrument. This whole CD is great though - Hawkins was such a muscular saxophone and had a wide influence not only on the bop musicians to come but even into the hard bop era of the 50s

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Coleman Hawkins - Rainbow Mist (rec. 1944)

Sticking with Coleman Hawkins, because I definitely wanna revisit this one. With over 20 years of playing tenor under his belt, Hawkins was a seasoned vet for this session, but was always looking ahead. He invited some young guns like up-and-comers Dizzy Gillespie, drummer Max Roach, and bassist Oscar Pettiford for these two sessions - these are often cited as the first bop recordings. Important stuff...but it really cooks too.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Songs That Got Us Through WW2 (Volumes 1 & 2)

Especially as I move forward and get into individual years (starting in the 1950s), I don't want to make my selections so artist focused (with comps) or album focused that I forget to appreciate the wonderful singles/hits from the years. These are two nice 40s Rhino comps that include some artists I will highlight further (e.g. Ink Spots, Andrew Sisters) but others that probably won't get the full comp treatment (e.g Pied Pipers whose "Mairzy Doats" is so fun and was a favorite of my father, Roy Rogers, Martha Tilton's "I'll Walk Alone").

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Andrew Sisters - 50th Anniversary Collection, Volumes 1 & 2

Every Sunday AM as a child, would watch the local station's Abbot & Costello flick of the week - always got a kick when the Andrew Sisters would appear in some of the movies. Have enjoyed them since.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Ink Spots - The Greatest Hits

Ultimate cool sound (still remember the use of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" in a Chanel No. 5 commercial plus their songs in quite a few films) that would influence doo wop groups of the 50s and even ultimately R&B groups. We're getting to the point in the series where I'm playing artists that I was exposed through my father. Though born in 1940, one would think he would've loved rock and roll more - Elvis, early 60s stuff but he, like me, loved the music of the decade before - swing, big band, vocal groups (Ink Spots, Mills Brothers) as well as the doo wob groups to come

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Band

If one was making an absolute essentials list of the first three decades of recorded jazz, would definitely include some choices I've played so far - Louis Armstrong's Hot Five & Sevens, Count Basie's Decca recordings, and Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall concert. Here's another one to add to the list - arguably Duke's best band (named for the presence of tenor Ben Webster and bassist Jimmy Blanton), this 3-disc collection reads like a swing/big band greatest hits - "Take the 'A' Train", "I've Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)", "Cottontail", "Perdido", "Ko-Ko", "Sentimental Lady", "In A Mellow Tone". Fantastic set!

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Louis Jordan - The Best of Louis Jordan

Combining swing with "jump boogie" and upbeat blues, Jordan's always a delight to listen to - fun, upbeat and energetic with great backup by the Tympani Five. Tremendously influential on the 50s R&B to come

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Essential Glenn Miller (rec. 1939-44)

Miller was the best selling recording artist from 1939-1942 with 16 number-one records and 69 top ten hits

 

[Ojai Sam]

Didn't he take the clarinet as far as it could go?

Of course, that was much later.

He took a number of wives to their breaking point, as well.

Of course, this is about the music....

Artie had a tough life....

 

[Ojai Sam]

Zeeb has done a great job moving us onward to the 30's and beyond in my absence.

Here's an artist better known for film than records, but her steamy shellac can melt your turntable.

Mae West - Sixteen Sultry Songs (rec. 1933-38, Rosetta comp. 1987)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

Spotify has this collection with even more Mae:

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Vaughn Monroe - Classic Years of Vaughn Monroe

Monroe's baritone definitely evokes its era, and, indeed, not many break out his music much any more (except on oldies Christmas stations with his version of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"). Still 42 top 40 hits (including 5 number 1s) is nothing to sneeze at. I still love his version of "Riders In the Sky" above most others. Again, he first recorded "Let It Snow" and also had the most successful recording of "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" (50s fans may remember Vic Dana's version). While dated, I have always found Monroe's voice warm and comforting.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Woody Herman - Blowin' Up A Storm: The Columbia Years 1945-47

Great set - by no means unknown, Herman's name doesn't have the same resonance among many today as Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller as far as popularity, but he should. At the time, his big band tackled some more experimental stuff (ex. Igor Stravinsky wrote the Ebony Concerto, one in a series of compositions commissioned by Herman with solo clarinet, for this band) as well as producing some fantastic big band jazz. Also where tenor Stan Getz got his start (as part of the "Four Brothers" sax section which also included Zoot Sims) as part of Herman's "Second Herd" so quite fond of Woody.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Harry James - I've Heard That Song Before: The Hits of Harry James

The definitive James compilation assembled with love by the folks of the Harry James Appreciation Society - yes it's a thing. Delighted to own this 49 track set, released in 2004 as there was a dearth of really good James comps on the market prior. Great trumpeter both with Benny Goodman's band in the 30s and on his own in the late 30s/40s. He discovered Sinatra (who would leave for Tommy Dorsey's band in 7 months) and married Betty Grable - man could spot talent

 

[Ojai Sam]

Let's end the week in a fog, Velvet Fog that is.

Mel Torme - Try A Little Tenderness

After initial success as the boy singer in Chico Marx's band, Mel hit the Los Angeles music scene in the mid 1940's fronting a college vocal group similar to The Pied Pipers. As Mel's reputation grew, the group changed its name from "The School Kids" to "The Mel-Tones". Mel's low key but expressive vocals resonated with a public eager for peace after the turmoil of WWII.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Louis Jordan - On Film vol. 1 & 2 (rec. 1942-48, Krazy Kat kompilations 1983)

Vinyl Rips of the Day.

During the 1940's, many popular artists made low budget films featuring their music. Jordan, the King Of The Jukebox, was no exception. Wiki tells us:

In addition to singing in many films and appearing in mainstream films such as Meet Miss Bobby Sox (1944) and Follow the Boys (1944), Jordan starred in several race films: Beware! (1946), Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947), and Look-Out Sister (1947).

His prolific use of film as a promotional vehicle broke new ground, garnering admiration from the trade press, including Billboard, which gushed, "The movies have helped the one-nighters, which have also been helped by recordings, which have also helped the movies, which in turn have become more profitable. It's a delicious circle, and other bands are now exploring the possibilities."

Krazy Kat assembled these two albums in the early 80's. The music was poorly recorded and often interrupted by dialogue but producer Bruce Bastin did an outstanding job of editing to make it highly listenable.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Charlie Christian - Genius of the Electric Guitar (1939-41)

Great collection of Christian's work with Benny Goodman. A tremendous talent whose career was cut short at age 25 from tuberculosis, but who had a tremendous influence on the guitar essentially exploring the possibilities of the instrument as a soloist (rather than prior when guitar stayed in the rhythm section).

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra

Who's this beanpole who's become so popular?!
After his 7 months with Harry James, Sinatra spent two years with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra (1940-42) before launching on an unsuccessful solo career

 

[Ojai Sam]

Harry James - 1940-41 (Sunbeam comp. 1973)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

Like yesterday's VROD, today's rip from Harry James spotlights another forgotten aspect of 40's music. Back in the day, taking your girl to dinner and dancing was THE epitome of classy dating. Every big city hotel had a special venue dedicated to the big bands of the day, and the national radio networks filled their late evening schedules with live remote broadcasts. This Sunbeam album offers two complete pre-WWII shows by Harry James, from The Southland Cafe in Boston and the Hotel Lincoln in NYC. Of course, Harry's stratospheric trumpet gets top billing, but the creamy voice of young Dick Haymes adds a nice contrast.

 

[axolotl]

The Essential Frank Sinatra with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
Who's this beanpole who's become so popular?!
After his 7 months with Harry James, Sinatra spent two years with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra (1940-42) before launching on an unsuccessful solo career

I was misinformed. I thought he was kinda okay.