For a period of time, arguably the most influential drummer and singer in jazz got together for a few brief years and made some of the swingin’-est music ever. Chick Webb, who briefly inhabited this planet from 1909-1939, lead a fiercely fantastic big band that featured the likes of Benny Carter, Hilton Jefferson, Louis Jordan, Taft Jordon and Edgar Sampson (who arranged two of the Swing Era’s greatest hits, with “Don’t Be That Way” and “Stompin’ At The Savoy”). When he hired the virtually unknown teenager Ella Fitzgerald, he made his band not only one of the most popular but also one of the hardest driving ensemble known to mankind, with a reputation for leaving no prisoners at their famous “Battle of the Bands” pitted against the likes of Basie and Ellington. This 8 cd set (limited edition of course-even with a few unissued tracks) has the whole meghilla, mixing some of the most relentless swing you’ll ever come across, as well as some playing and arranging that still sounds fresher than 75% of what is presently being put out.
What you’ve got here is some stuff from the fledging band, actually going back to 1929, and then onward to his 30s band when Carter is “Heebie Jeebies” while Sampson is bringing out iconic introductions of songs like “On The Sunny Side of the Street,” “Blue Lou,” and the aforementioned “Don’t Be That Way.” Comparing these versions to the more popular Benny Goodman versions is like comparing an original oil painting to a lithograph. These versions have so many textures and colors that you’ll never want to go back to the reproductions. The band was filled with some of the best musicians around, with underrated fireballs like pianist Ram Ramirez, reedmen Eddie Barefield and Wayman Carver, trumpeters Bobby Stark or Mario Bauza, and bassist John Kirby, all lending their personal charms to tunes like “Harlem Congo” and “Who Ya Hunchin’?” Not only was the full orchestra one of the best around, but the smaller groups like “The Little Chicks” and “The Savoy Eight” were hip little units, with tight cohesive takes of ” I Got Rhythm” “My Last Affair” and “Organ Grinder’s Swing” that are cookers. This band really had it all, and with Ella joining both the small and large teams, you had a formidable force.
The fact of the matter is, however, that this boxed set is mostly about Ella. Only 23 of the songs from the 8 cds are instrumentals, and except for a few male vocals (Taft Jordan is a hoot!) the collection shows the impact that a young girl who won a talent show, but couldn’t get a job for a big named band because she was too “frumpy.” Talking about missing out on a first round draft pick!! At this introductory stage of her career, Ella’s voice was buoyant, sharp and light, almost sounding like a version of crooner 1960s Wayne Newton at times. The youthful vigor is contagious if a bit indistinct on the initial tracks, yet she’s got the rhythm down on songs like “Darktown Strutter’s Ball” and of course the signature hit “A-Tisket A-Tasket” which still sounds fantastic with that velvety sax section riffing like a bull whip. She makes every song as irresistibly cheerful as possible, even putting a smile on “My Melancholy Baby.” Her love and symbiotic relationship with novelty madcap tunes is manifest here as well; only Ella could make sense out of “ The Dipsy Doodle,” “Rock It For Me,” and “Undecided,” which became another hit for her and the band. She wasn’t adverse to ballads, however, and does a terrific and credible reading of “You Can’t Be Mine” while sounding upbeat even on material such as “My Last Affair.” Even better is her handful of sessions with the Mills Brothers, particularly on a cozy “Big Boy Blue,” her glowing interpretations of “Little White Lies” and “That Was My Heart,” with the band all from a high water mark in 1939.
It was at this apotheosis that Webb died.Fitzgerald kept the band together on the strength of her personality and voice. She rose to the challenge, and with a band that still included trumpeter Taft Jordan, shining brightly on “Stairway to the Stars” and glistened on slower tunes like “Out of Nowhere”, “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” and “Shake Down the Stars” while still able to snap out toe tappers like “When My Sugar Walks Down the Street” and “Five O’clock Whistle.” By the time WWII rolled around for the US in 1941, Ella broke up the band, because as the song says, she had “taken it as fer as she could go” and started up her solo career that would make her one of the world’s musical icons. You can argue until your blue in the face about the value and importance of her sessions on Decca, Verve or Pablo, but this initial era is ignored at the jazz fans’ peril-you’ve got 9+ hours of pure Depression Era joy!
The accompanying 36 page full sized booklet has some excellent and insightful writing by John McDonough, as usual, and the rare photos capture the feel and excitement of the era. At only 5000 copies, it is sure to be another of Mosaic’s collector’s items, so order early and with confidence.
Mosaic Records