Jazz Focus

Clyde Hart . . unheralded pianist who recorded with everyone from Red Allen and Eddie Condon to Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.  A transitional figure from swing to bop, Hart died of TB at the very moment he was being embraced by the modernists.  This is a selection of recordings made during 1944 and 45 (he died in March, 1945) featuring Hart with Eddie Condon, Dizzy Gillespie, Tiny Grimes, Trummy Young, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, Hot Lips Page, Ben Webster, Lester Young and Charlie Shavers

The King Jazz Story - recordings by the reed tandem of Sidney Bechet and Mezz Mezzrow in the middle 1940's . . also featuring Hot Lips Page, James P. Johnson, Sammy Price, Kaiser Marshall, Baby Dodds, Wellman Braud, Sid Catlett, Pops Foster and Vernon Brown

Smoky Wood . . practically unknown Western Swing pianist influenced instrumentally, vocally and comically by Fats Waller.  These sides for Bluebird in the mid 1930's feature his band, the Modern Mountaineers and Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, with basically similar personnel.  Great reed playing by Hal Herbert, trumpet by George Clark, violin by Cecil Brower and JR Chatwell and steel guitar by JC Way.  Lots of Jazz here!

Great small group recording sessions led by xylophonist and marimbaist Red Norvo featuring Bunny Berigan, Stew Pletcher, Jimmy Dorsey, Don McCook, Johnny Mince, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman (on bass clarinet!), Jack Jenney, Charlie Barnet, Chu Berry, Herbie Haymer, Teddy Wilson, Ram Ramirez, Dick McDonough, Artie Bernstein, Moe Purtill and Gene Krupa . . Red knew his musicians . . . .

Bands from Cuba and musicians from Trinidad and Tobago playing jazz-influenced music with Caribbean rhythms from the 1920's and 30's - Charlie Shavers, Billy Kyle, Porter Granger and Rupert Cole appear with traditional musicians like Don Barretto (recording in Paris and sounding a lot like Django), Don Azpiasu, Sam Manning and Jack Sneed

Teddy Hill and His Orchestra . . interesting but short-lived big band that recorded from 1936-7 or so and featured Roy Eldridge, Chu Berry, Dickie Wells, Cecil Scott, Frankie Newton, Shad Collins, Russell Procope, Howard Johnson, Sam Allen, Bill Beason and, for his first recorded solos, Dizzy Gillespie!

Sidney Bechet in the 1930's . . .with Noble Sissle's Swingsters, Tommy Ladnier's Orchestra, Sidney Bechet Orchestra . .featuring Ernie Caceres, Mezz Mezzrow, Cliff Jackson, Billy Banks, Clarence Brereton, Leonard Ware

Benny Goodman the sideman!  While he was leading the most popular big band in the country, BG still made occasional appearances in the recording studio with other bands - Teddy Wilson, Mel Powell and Gene Krupa's sessions are presented here with BG along with the leaders, Harry James, Jonah Jones, Roy Eldridge, Chu Berry, Ben Webster, Jess Stacy and Israel Crosby among others.

Great concert recordings by Johnny Hodges with the Duke Ellington All Stars at the Sportpalast in March, 1961 . . The Duke was busy composing the music for Paris Blues so Hodges took this group on a short European tour.  Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Al Williams, Aaron Bell and Sam Woodyard play Ellington standards and features for each member.

Sunset of Swing - the mid 1940's sessions done for Eddie Laguna's Sunset records in Los Angeles . . lots of Willie Smith, Vido Musso, Charlie Ventura, Howard Magee, Arnold Ross, Dave Barbour, Lem Davis, Emmett Berry, Vic Dickenson, Herbie Haymer, Harry Edison and a 16 year old Andre Previn