The mid 1940s were a pivotal time, not only for the world due to WWII, but also for jazz, as during these years America’s classical music was in a major transition period. The heyday of the Swing Era was (unbeknownst at the time) slowly winding down, “traditional” jazz (aka “New Orleans” or “Chicago”) was going through a renaissance, and the beginning phase of modern jazz, aka “bebop” was making itself known..
During the war, special recordings were made by jazz artists both famous and obscure in order to send to our soldiers abroad. These recordings capture a period of jazz in a fascinating phase, with all three styles of jazz intersecting in a way that would never happen again. This eleven disc set brings together music that is not only a time capsule of musical styles gone by, but a historic anthology of music that was exciting and vital to culture. This was also the era when vocalists were slowly leaving the confines of being simply “canaries” for big bands and going out on their own, making some of the most intriguing sessions for the likes of Mildred Bailey and Jo Stafford. And of course, there are gobs of fantastic piano and organ soloing by artists in amazingly intimate settings, including gorgeous material by Fats Waller, Nat “King” Cole, Joe Bushkin, Andre Previn and Art Tatum.
What makes this collection all the more enjoyable and precious is that many of the sessions are introduced by the artists themselves. Thus, you get the likes of Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Martha Tilton, Mildred Bailey, Jo Stafford, Pee Wee Russell and Sidney Bechet getting up close and personal before hitting the down beat. Dig in!
Some of these artists are captured in settings they are rarely associated with, such as Woody Herman with some all stars including “Flip Phillips-Ben Webster-George Auld/ts, Chubby Jackson/b on pieces like “John Hardy’s Wife” and “Somebody Loves Me”. Likewise, pianist Teddy Wilson is featured in a rare quartet setting with Joe Thomas/tp, Edmond Hall/cl and Sid Catlett/dr on “How High The Moon”.
Breaking the music into various styles and genres, small group swing ranges from the highly popular Nat Cole with Oscar Moore/g to the more obscure Loumell Morgan or Page Cavanaugh Trio with Andre Previn swinging with Red Callender/b and Lee Young/dr on “I’ve Found A New Baby”. These bon mots are delicious.
“Hot” traditional and Dixieland sounds feature scores of mixes and matches with Sidney Bechet/ss-clPeanuts Hucko/cl, Bobby Hackett/tp, Joe Bushkin/p, Bud Freeman/ts, Yank Lawson/tp, Eddie Condon Hot Lips Page, Pee Wee Russell/cl Wild Bill Davison/cor, Muggsy Spanier, Jack Teagarden/tb and even Louis Armstrong getting into the act with some hard hitting “Jack Armstrong Blues” and Satchmo shining on “I’m Confessin’ That I Love You”. Meade “Lux” Lewis plays piano and celeste on some hard hitting stride with “Doll House Boogie” and “Stomp”
As for straightaheard swing, Bob Crosby straddles the line between swing and trad wit his Bob Cats on “Ghost Of A Chance” . Art Tatum’s solo work here is incendiary, white hot on “Indiana” and rococo gorgeous on “Begin The Beguine”, while Fats Waller at the organ sings with a twinkle in the eye on “Two Sleep People” and “Ain’t Misbehavin”. The classy John Kirby team with Charlie Shavers/tp and Buster Bailey/cl dig in with style on “Tunisian Trail” and “920 Special”. Drum star Gene Krupa has a wild trio with either Buddy DeFranco/cl and Dodo Marmarosa/p or Charlie Ventura/ts and George Walters/p with a mind bending “How High The Moon” and swirling “Dark Eyes” while Roy Eldridge hits the stratosphere on a torrid “I’ve Found A New Baby”
Forward looking sounds of bebop take place with clarinetist Stan Hasselgard sounding ahead of his time on “Cottontop” and “BD Pepper” . Clark Terry sounds both modern and swinging playing and singing “On The Avenue” and glowing on “Sleep”. Bopmeister Lennie Tristano sounds light years ahead of the pack on a trio setting that includes Billy Bauer on “A Night In Tunisia”. WHEW
As far as vocalists, there ‘s a feast here, as Ella Fitzgerald teams up with all stars including Buddy Rich on a frenzied “Lady Be Good” and “That’s Rich”. Swing Era stars Mildred Bailey and Helen Ward are backed by vibist Red Norvo for a bouncy “Too Marvelous For Words” and earthy “Downhearted Blues” respectively . Ellingtonian Betty Roche produces a sublime “Body and S oul”, Hazel Scott teams with Sid Catlet on “People Will Say We’re In Love” and big band stars Martha Tilton and Jack Leonard revive their days with Goodman and Dorsey on “If I Had You” and “Two Sleepy People”Vocal star Jo Stafford is effortlessly clear on “Blue Moon” and “Am I Blue” and pioneer Connee Boswell brings southern comfort to “Goodnight Sweetheart” and “Shine On Harvest Moon”.
The fact that this musical crossroads was able to be captured simply in order to entertain our soldiers stationed abroad is a testimony to not only the wide range of tastes in their popular culture, but how darn swinging it was! Let me ask you, would you want a time capsule of 12 hours of today’s music sent to you to make you think of home? That kind of shows the importance of these recordings, doesn’t it.
As always, there’s a fantastic booklet filled with photos and notes by Michael Steinman, putting artists both world famous and forgotten in their proper perspectives The limited edition 5000 set is an absolute treasure chest, finally unburied.