Jazz Focus

Sonny Clay was an outstanding pianist who led bands in California all through the 1920's and 30's.  After a period playing drums with Jelly Roll Morton and Kid Ory, he put together groups to play at some of the better nightclubs in Los Angeles and made a handful of recordings that run the gamut from New Orleans style jazz to hot dance music.  There is a healthy dose of New Orleans here with cornetist Ernest Coycault, who was a contemporary of Bunk Johnson and Freddie Keppard and some other outstanding players like clarinetist Leonard Davidson, trombonist W.B. Woodman, Sr., and trumpeter Yank Porter

Battle of the Saxes - Harry Carney with groups not led by Duke Ellington in the 1940's  - Coleman Hawkins All-Star Sax Ensemble (with Don Byas, Tab Smith and Johnny Guarnieri), Johnny Bothwell (with Ray Nance), Esquire All Stars (with Coleman Hawkins and Charlie Shavers), Edmond Hall (with Benny Morton and Don Frye) and others

Early Humph - the first (pre-Parlophone) recordings by Humphrey Lyttelton and His Band for Esquire, London and Tempo in 1948-49.  Great early trad featuring Lyttelton, Keith Christie, Harry Brown, Wally Fawkes, George Webb, and Neville Skrimshire

WETF Show Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra - big band studio recordings and a live date at the Golden Gate Ballroom in 1939, featuring Ben Webster, Karl George, Rudy Powell, Jake Wiley, J.C. Heard, Shorty Baker.  One of the most musical big bands of the period!

Sliphorn Outing - some of the sides recorded featuring the great Benny Morton on trombone.  With his own groups in 1934 (with Red Allen, Ed Inge, Jerry Blake and Teddy McRae) and 1944 (Ben Webster and Barney Bigard) and with Edmond Hall (Harry Carney and Sid Catlett), Eddie Condon (Jess Stacy and Bobby Hackett), Earl Bostic (Don Byas) and Hot Lips Page (Ben Webster).

Foot Scuffle . . most of the recordings of the legendary Joseph Robichaux and His New Orleans Rhythm Boys of 1933 . . a hot swing band from New Orleans that miraculously made a number of records in New York - featuring Robichaux on piano, Eugene Ware on trumpet, Gene Porter on clarinet and tenor and Rene Hall on banjo among others

BritTrad 1 - Sandy Brown and His Jazz Band . . the idiosyncratic Scots clarinetist and bandleader with Al Fairweather, John R.T. Davies, Diz Disley and many others playing originals by the leader and Fairweather . .all recorded for Tempo in London, 1955-56

WETF Show - James P Johnson and the blues singers . . Stride legend backing Ethel Waters, Rosa Henderson, Clara Smith and Bessie Smith in the 1920's and early 30's

WETF Show - Barrelhouse Blues - band sides including Kansas City Frank Melrose in the late 1920's - featuring Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, Freddie Keppard (maybe), Cicero Thomas, Wingy Manone, Frank Teschemacher, Bud Freeman, George Wettling, Darnell Howard, Jimmy Bertrand . .South and Northside hot jazz

Delayed Action - the first recordings of George Shearing - solo and groups in London with Leonard Feather, Harry Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Tommy Whittle, George Chisholm, Kenny Baker, Pete Chilvers, and others