Jazz Focus

Benny Sent Me - the Benny Goodman Quartet (and Trio) featuring Dave Tough . . all studio and live recordings with Goodman, Tough, Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton from 1938

WETF Show -  Solo Hop - early Glenn Miller arrangements for the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, The Ray Noble American Orchestra and Miller's first recording session.  Charlie Spivak, Bunny Berigan, Pee Wee Erwin, George Thow, Tommy Dorsey, Jack Jenney, Johnny Mince, Jimmy Dorsey, Skeets Herfurt, Eddie Miller, Bud Freeman, Claude Thornhill and others!

Wild Women - Ida Cox . .the "Uncrowned Queen of the Blues" in recordings from her most famous period in the 1920's featuring Lovie Austin, Jesse Crump, Tommy Ladnier and Jimmie O'Bryant along with two later appearances in the 1940's with Hot Lips Page, JC Higginbotham, Edmund Hall, James P. Johnson, Charlie Christian, Artie Bernstein, Lionel Hampton, Jo Jones, Walter Page, Buddy Tate, Dickie Wells and Shad Collins, and then at the end of her life with Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Sammy Price, Milt Hinton and Jo Jones.

Sold American - first Glenn Miller Orchestra recordings . . these are early, almost prototype records made by Miller in 1937 and 1938 when he was "getting it together" - more jazz than later featuring Sterling Bose, Pee Wee Erwin, Johnny Austin, Irving Fazola, Hal McIntyre, Jerry Jerome, Tex Beneke and others.  Also, three early live recordings of his early band.

Speculation - the Teddy Wilson Quintet and the All Star Sextet, all featuring Charlie Shavers, Red Norvo, Teddy Wilson, Remo Palmieri, Al Hall and Specs Powell, with a cameo by Maxine Sullivan - 1944-45

Tuxedo Stomp - State Street Ramblers II . .too good to let go with one episode.  Two versions of the SST - the first featuring Natty Dominique with alto player Joe Walker  and Jimmy Blythe and WE Burton.  The second is a reed duo with Alvin Fernandez and Baldy MacDonald with Blythe, Burton, Bill Johnson and Clifford "Snags" Jones . .great hot jazz from the Southside of Chicago, 1928!

Straight Life - two Contemporary albums from the late 1950's by Art Pepper - Plus Eleven and Meets The Rhythm Section . .good alto, clarinet and tenor by Pepper with Jack Sheldon, Russ Freeman, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones

WETF show . . Fats Waller - the instrumental sides recorded for Bluebird in the 1930's - Herman Autrey, Johnny Hamilton, Gene Sedric, Rudy Powell, Benny Carter, Alton Moore, Gene Porter, Al Casey, John Smith, Yank Porter, Slick Jones, Charles Turner .  great piano and small group jazz

Earl Hines and Muggsy Spanier - the great band led by two Chicago stalwarts in the late 1950's - featuring very tight arrangements of dixieland standards, hot dance numbers and swing tunes also featuring Jimmy Archey, Darnell Howard, Pops Foster and Earl Watkins.  Live recordings!

Lem Fowler - little known and largely forgotten pianist and composer.  He recorded numerous original tunes and arrangements, often in the company of the equally forgotten reedman Percy Glascoe.  Great hot washboard jazz of the 1920's in the company of Seymour Irick, Clarence Wheeler, and a very young Sidney DeParis.