Jazz Focus

Clarinet Marmalade - Edmond Hall on Commodore - featured as a sideman with Wild Bill Davison's Commodores (including George Brunies, Vernon Brown, Gene Schroeder and Eddie Condon), The DeParis Brothers (Sidney and Wilbur Deparis, Clyde Hart), and George Wettling's Rhythm Kings (Billy Butterfield, Wilbur DeParis, Dave Bowman) . . great mainstream/trad!

Louis Armstrong 1947 . . transition!  Two live concerts (February and April) leading up to his Town Hall Concert in May and the formation of the All-Stars.  The February date has him fronting the Edmund Hall Sextet at Carnegie Hall with Irving "Mouse" Randolph, Henderson Chambers, Ellis Larkins, Johnny Williams and Jimmy Crawford along with Hall . . the April date is the "This Is Jazz" show produced, written and narrated by Rudi Blesh for WOR . . the This Is Jazz All-Stars with Louis are Wild Bill Davison, George Brunies Albert Nicholas, Art Hodes, Danny Barker, Pops Foster and Baby Dodds.

Clarinet Spice . . .recordings featuring two (or more) clarinets!  The Southern Jazz Five (led by Dave Dallwitz), Bechet-Nicholas Blues Five (Albert Nicholas and Sidney Bechet), Clarence Williams Washboard Band (with Bennie Moten and Ben Whitted), Benny Goodman and Stan Hasselgard, Ray Burke and Harry Shields, Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, Johnny Dodds and Junie Cobb, Edmond Hall with Herb Hall and Omer Simeon and others . .

Chasing The Blues Away - recordings for World and Associated Transcriptions in 1935 of the Claude Hopkins Orchestra (with Ovie Alston, Ed Hall, Hilton Jefferson, Bobby Sands and Sylvester Lewis) and 1936 of the Chick Webb Orchestra (with Bobby Stark, Sandy Williams, Pete Clarke, Edgar Sampson, Teddy McRae, Joe Steele and Ella Fitzgerald)

The Reunion - December, 1957 recording sessions featuring Gerry Mulligan.  One with the reunion of Mulligan and Chet Baker in a quartet setting (with Henry Grimes and Dave Bailey) and two tunes from the unreleased album "Gerry Mulligan with the Vinnie Burke String Quartet" featuring Calo Scott and Dick Wetmore

WETF Show - A Side of Cole . . .not Hawkins this time, but Nat "King" Cole recording with other swing groups from 1940-1947.  The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, Lester Young Trio, Dexter Gordon Quintet  and a special addition, Cole's first records - 1936 with his brother Eddie's band.  Featuring Kenneth Roane, Wesley Prince, Oscar Moore, Buddy Rich, Red Callendar, Harry Edison

Mardi Gras . .Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band 1944, 45.  These recordings were in some ways the beginning of the New Orleans Jazz Revival - done for Crescent in Los Angeles they feature mostly New Orleans-born African-American musicians who were active professionally from the first and second decades of the 20th Century.  Mutt Carey, Ory, Omer Simeon, Darnell Howard, Buster Wilson, Bud Scott, Ed Garland, Minor Garland, Alton Redd, and, on two live shots from the Orson Wells radio show, Zutty Singleton and Jimmy Noone.

Teddy's Boogie - Teddy Powell and His Orchestra . . little known big band from 1939 at the beginning of its career featuring live recordings, transcriptions and its first Decca records with Jerry Neary on trumpet, Pete Skinner on trombone, Gus Bivona on clarinet, Don Lodice on tenor sax and Milt Raskin on piano - some great swing playing!

The underrated cornet/trumpet player Sterling Bose was active as a Bix and King Oliver influenced stylist in the 1920's but played with a raft of big bands in the 1930's . . these 1935 recordings focus on three groups (and one bonus) . . .The Vic Berton Orchestra has Bose with the leader on drums, Spencer Clark on bass sax, Matty Matlock, Pee Wee Russell and Chick Bullock while the Little Ramblers are led by Adrian Rollini (on piano!), Sid Stoneburn, Freddy Fallensby and other members of the Joe Haymes Orchestra.  The Haymes musicians (Stoneburn, Bose, and tenor saxophonist Johnny Van Eps) are also with Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven, featuring the leader and Edythe Wright.  The bonus is the actual Joe Haymes Orchestra on one tune  - others will be on a future podcast!

New Moten Stomp - Benny Moten's Kansas City Orchestra from October, 1930 . . one year into the Depression and the Moten band was still popular enough for a marathon recording session for Victor in KC . .featuring Count Basie, Hot Lips Page, Jimmy Rushing, Ed Lewis, Thamon Hayes, Harlan Leonard, Woodie Walder and Willie McWashington