Tenor saxist and bandleader Charlie Barnet is best known for 3 things, his definitive solo and version of “Cherokee”, his affinity for Duke Ellington’s sound and being married 11 times. We’ll only get to cover two of those topics here, on this two disc, 45 song collection of his later years.
Technically, the 1946 version here of “Cherokee” is many years after his more popular take, but it and “The New Redskin Rhumba” are excellent reworkings. His dedication to The Duke is evident in pieces such as his covers of Ellingtonia on “Caravan”, “Moods” (which is almost exactly “Mood Indigo”), “Rockin’ In Rhythm”, “The Gal From Joes” and then his own tribute “Portrait of Edward Kennedy Ellington”.
Barnet was also (like Woody Herman) able to adapt to the more sophisticated Bebop Era, bringing in Dave Lambert and Buddy Stewart for a hip vocal on “Bebop Spoken Here” while also riding the Cuban wave on “Pan Americana”. Interestingly, before John Coltrane added the soprano sax to his repertoire, Barnet beat him to the punch by 15+ years on clever charts like “Eugipellive” and “Lonely Street”. A take of “Gloomy Sunday” with vocalist Trudy Richards is a harrowing tale as well. This band was also fertile ground for upcoming artists like Shorty Rogers, Barney Kessel, Clark Terry, Doc Severinson and arranger Neal Hefti, paving the way the renaissance of big bands in the 50s. This guy changed with the times and the music still sounds fresh, and anyone who went through 11 marriages has learned how to adapt!