Jazz Focus

Bob Wallis was a good trumpet player who played in Acker Bilk's first groups before founding his own. These 1957-61 recordings sample the first part of his bandleading career featuring Bilk, Keith "Avo" Avison on trombone, Doug Richmond on clarinet, Hugh Rainey on banjo, Dick Heckstall-Smith on soprano sax, a very young, pre-Cream Ginger Baker on drums and others . . all playing in a solid four beat New Orleans style

The legendary New Orleans clarinetist returned home in the early 1940's and led bands there until he died in 1949. This group was a regular eight piece group modeled after the Bob Cats and featuring Whimpy Miller, Julian Lane, Steve Giarratano, Pete Laudeman, Bunny Franks and Charlie Dukes.

Garner was known primarily as a solo pianist or by working in a trio, but early in his career he played as a sideman with several groups (strange, given that he didn't read music). Here we hear him small groups led by Wardell Gray, Don Byas, Charlie Parker and Lucky Thompson (also with Stuff Smith) and a big band led by Georgie Auld (with Dizzy Gillespie, Trummy Young, Al Cohn and Al Killian).

Mezzrow was never a great clarinet player, but certainly was a great character and excelled at surrounding himself with very good musicians. These versions of the Mezz Mezzrow Orchestra and Swing band include Teddy Wilson, Willie The Lion Smith, Sonny White, Frankie Newton, Max Kaminsky, Sy Oliver, J.C. Higginbotham, Floyd O'Brien, Bud Freeman, Benny Carter, Johnny Russell, Happy Caldwell, Pops Foster, Wellman Braud and others

The buoyant alto player known for his 1930's recordings is here presented leading bands in the 1940's that go from swing to bop to rhythm and blues . . records for Savoy and World Transcriptions featuring Jonah Jones and Ed Lewis on trumpets, Zed Jackson and Ray Parker on piano, Al Casey and Bill Moore on electric guitar, Dallas Bartley on bass, Ed Nicholson on drums and others.

The amazingly progressive tenor saxophonist Byas in four quartet sessions featuring slightly different personnel - Erroll Garner, Johnny Guarnieri, Slam Stewart, Al Hall, Eddie Safranski, Sid Catlett, Doc West and J.C. Heard - doing a varied program of standards, blues and originals

The great Harlem stride pianist Johnson recorded many piano rolls for various companies including QRS, Universal and Perfection, creating an early prototype of the stride style. Here he is featured playing his own compositions as well as interpretations of other tunes from Tin Pan Alley and the black theatre, including one duet with his erstwhile student Fats Waller

Johnny Windhurst was born in 1926 and by the time he was in his late teens was playing with Eddie Condon and Sidney Bechet. Here is a sampling of his work - informed in equal parts by Bobby Hackett and Louis Armstrong. Sidney Bechet's New Orleans Rhythm Kings (with Pops Foster), Eddie Condon and His Band (with Cutty Cutshall, Ed Hall and Gene Schroeder), Barbara Lea and the Billy Taylor Quintet, Walt Gifford's New Yorkers (with Condon, Eddie Hubble, Dick Cary and Bob Mitchell) and his own quartet in Boston.

Sidney Bechet's New Orleans Rhythm Kings live from the Savoy Cafe in Boston, May 1945. For three weeks following the disastrous run with Bechet and Bunk Johnson, the New Orleans trumpet player Peter Bocage was brought in and he is featured on about six broadcasts, which are sampled here! Also featuring Ray Parker on piano, Pops Foster on bass, George Thompson on drums and on two tunes Brad Gowans on valve trombone

Almost unknown guitarist who could have provided some competition to Django Reinhardt in the 1930's . . Born in Argentina, Aleman lived in Paris for most of the 30's, returning home when war clouds gathered. Here are solo recordings of his, his own trio and quintet as well as sideman adventures with Bill Coleman, Garland Wilson, Danny Polo, Una Mae Carlisle, Alix Combelle, Phillipe Brun, Eddie Bruner, Wilson Myers and Tommy Benford

Studio band led by the New Orleans trumpeter Wingy Manone for Vocalion, OKeh and Banner in 1934 and 1935. Using members of the Ben Pollack Orchestra (Matty Matlock, Eddie Miller, Gil Bowers, Nappy Lamare, Harry Goodman, Ray Bauduc) Manone recorded a mix of original jazz tunes and Tin Pan Alley pops with a driving rhythm and outstanding solos.

Hodges' studio groups - mostly featuring Ellingtonians - recorded during his period away from the band. Harold "Shorty" Baker, Clark Terry (trumpet), Lawrence Brown (trombone), Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet and tenor sax), Arthur "Babe" Clarke (tenor sax), Harry Carney (baritone sax), Billy Strayhorn, Call Cobbs, Leroy Lovett (piano), Lloyd Trottman, Jimmy Woode (bass), Louis Bellson, Joe Marshall, Sonny Greer (drums)

Studio band using the Red Nichols stock company and led by trombonist Mole - one of the unsung heroes of 1920's Jazz. With Nichols on cornet, Art Schutt and Joe Sullivan on piano, Vic Berton, Gene Krupa and Stan King on drums, Eddie Lang, Carl Kress and Dick McDonough on guitar and banjo, Joe Tarto on tuba and reeds played by Jimmy Dorsey, Pee Wee Russell, Fud Livingston and Adrian Rollini. All recorded for OKeh in New York!

Live Recordings by the influential trad group with Waldo on piano and vocals, Roy Tate on trumpet, Jim Snyder on trombone, Frank Powers on clarinet and tenor sax, Bob Sundstrom and Bill Moorhead on banjo, Mike Walbridge on tuba and Wayne Jones on drums and vocal . . special guest Edith Wilson on vocals!

These 1995-2002 sessions for Challenge records feature the crack Dutch big band playing published and unpublished arrangements and compositions by Billy Strayhorn, including a very early version of "Lush Life" (aka "Lonely Again") all featuring tremendous solos by the members of the band

Unusual sessions during the Depression - black big bands active in Chicago in the 1930's (most musicians from the previous decade) playing good jazz! . .Richard M. Jones (with Artie Starks, Preston Jackson, Herschel Evans, Louis Metcalf, Ed Saint, others), Frankie Half Pint Jaxon (with Guy Kelly, Al Wynn, Dalbert Bright, Dave Young, others), and Reuben "River" Reeves (with Gerald Reeves, Franz Jackson, Norval Morton, Tubby Hall, others)

On the face of it, the New Orleans trumpeter Manone and the great swing tenor sax player Berry were ill-fitted, but these 1938 and 1939 sessions were remarkably successful, featuring jazz standards and some pop tunes as well as Buster Bailey, Gus Fetterer, Buck Scott, Joe Marsala, Conrad Lanoue, Danny Barker, Zeb Julian and Cozy Cole

The Chicago-based West End Jazz Band (featuring Mike and Leah Bezin, Frank Gualtieri, John Otto, Mike Walbridge, Wayne Jones and Mike Albiniak) was especially active in the first fifteen years of the 21st Century and specialized in Hot Dance. Here, they play a series of selections recorded in the 1920's by the Coon Sanders Nighthawks. Terrific arrangements - the six piece band sounds like at least ten!

Great recordings made by Ethel Waters in 1938 and 1939 for Bluebird . . accompanied by her husband at the time, Eddie Mallory and His Orchestra which included Mallory, Shirly Clay, Tyree Glenn, Castor McCord, Benny Carter, Garvin Bushell, Reginald Beane, Danny Barker, Milt Hinton and Charles Turner

Rhapsody in Blue is 100 years old as of Febuary, 2024! Here are some historical as well as great jazz performances of the iconic piece - George Gershwin on piano roll and with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Bert Firman (with Carroll Gibbons), Eddie South, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, Leroy Smith and Glenn Miller

Small group sides from 1926-30 recorded by Southside African-American bands in Chicago . . Luis Russell (with George Mitchell, Kid Ory, Barney Bigard, Albert Nicholas, Johnny St. Cyr), Tiny Parham (with Kid Ory, Junie Cobb, Roy Hobson), Frankie Half Pint Jaxon (with Punch Miller), Banjo Ikey Robinson (with Jabbo Smith), and Lloyd Smith.

First sessions by the Illinois Jacquet Orchestra in 1945 while he was between engagements with Cab Calloway and Count Basie . .eight piece band with his brother Russell on trumpet, Henry Coker or Vic Dickenson on trombone, John Brown on alto, Arthur Dennis on bari, Tom Archia occasionally playing tenor, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Ulysses Livingston on guitar and Charles Mingus on bass with vocals by Russell and Wynonie Harris . .the focus is on the fleet and inventive tenor playing of the leader with a minimum of the showboating for which he was often criticized

Bands led by two almost forgotten black musicians from Chicago - drummer Harry Dial and pianist/composer/arranger Alex Hill. In Chicago Harry Dial's Bluesicians included Shirley Clay, Lester Boone, Omer Simeon, George Dixon, Cecil Irwin, and Hayes Alvis . . Hill's band in Chicago from 1930 had Bob Shoffner, George Dixon, Cecil Irwin, Darnell Howard, George James, Zinky Cohn and Sid Catlett . . his 1934 New York band had Joe Thomas, Benny Carter, Clyde Bernhardt, Claude Jones, George James, Albert Nicholas, Gene Sedric, Garnett Clark and others . . excellent sides showcasing many little known players!

Great unheard jazz from various black groups active in Chicago in the late 1920's - Dave Nelson, Kline Tindall, Vance Dixon, Ernest "Mike" Michall, Cicero Thomas and others producing some exceptionally hot sounds just below the radar . .recordings for Paramount and Gennett.

Great band straddling swing, bop and R&B, all featuring the Texas tenor, Illinois Jacquet with his brother Russell and Joe Newman on trumpets, J.J. Johnson and Henry Coker on trombones, Ray Perry on alto, Leo Parker and Maurice Simon on baritones, John Lewis and Sir Charles Thompson on piano, John Collins on guitar, Al Lucas on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums

Bud Freeman was one of the most in-demand sidemen on record sessions in the 1930's - here he is featured extensively with Bunny Berigan (with Forrest Crawford, Chick Bullock), Gene Gifford (with Berigan, Matty Matlock, Claude Thornhill, Morey Samuels), Wingy Manone (with Dicky Wells, Teddy Wilson, Matty Matlock, Gil Bowers, Artie Shaw) and Eddie Condon (with Max Kaminsky, Floyd O'Brien, Pee Wee Russell, Joe Sullivan, Alex Hill) - all between 1933 and 1936.

Great jazz sides by Richard M. Jones' Jazz Wizards, featuring Shirley Clay, William Franklin, Roy Carew, Omer Simeon, Artie Starks, Johnny St. Cyr, Willie Hightower and others, playing the compositions and arrangements of the New Orleans pianist, composer and talent scout Jones.

Great studio band playing hot stock arrangements in 1924 and 1925 . . featuring Red Nichols, Mickey Bloom, Miff Mole, Vincent Grande, Charles Panelli, Bennie Krueger, Rube Bloom, Harry Reser, Joe Tarto and others

Great sessions for Charles Delauney's Swing label in New York in 1946 featuring Benny Carter and The Chocolate Dandies (Buck Clayton, Al Grey, Ben Webster, Sonny White, John Simmons and Sid Catlett), Jonah Jones and His Cats (Tyree Glenn, Rudy Powell, Ike Quebec, Dave Rivera, Milt Hinton, Kansas Fields) and Gene Sedric (Lincoln Mills, Freddy Jefferson, Danny Settle, Slick Jones), including two bonus Sedric tracks for Keynote

Great early version of the George Lewis band, featuring the trumpet player the leader always said was his favorite - Elmer "Coo Coo" Talbert. Live and transcription recordings from 1949 to 1950 (when Talbert died) also featuring Jim Robinson, Alton Purnell, Lawrence Marrero, Slow Drag Pavageau and Joe Watkins

Benny Carter led a big band from 1932 until 1947, but none was better than the 1945-46 edition, which split time between New York and Los Angeles. Featured in his regular band are Bumps Myers, Idrees Sulieman, Max Roach, Al Grey, Sonny White and of course Carter himself on alto, trumpet and clarinet, with most of the arrangements being his. The two sessions with his all-star band have some of those musicians plus Trummy Young, Dickie Wells, Emmett Berry, Joe Newman, Don Byas, Flip Phillips and others.

Tiny Parham was a well known theater musician, arranger and composer who had a series of recording sessions for Victor in 1928-1930 featuring his compositions and arrangements. This show focuses on two sessions, each of which features the New Orleans trumpeter Punch Miller along with Charles Lawson, Charles Johnson, Dalbert Bright, Mike McKendrick and others.

Earl Hines' very few solo recordings during this period - Blue Note, Victor and Bluebird as well as a trio with Al Casey and Oscar Pettiford and a Keynote session led by Charlie Shavers with Tab Smith.

Three of the few white dance bands in Chicago in the 1930's playing good jazz - Jack and Charlie Teagarden fronting the Charles Lavere band (with Bud Freeman, Rod Cless, Bob Conselman, Dick McPartland), the slightly later Lavere group (with Jabbo Smith, Marty Marsala, Joe Marsala, Joe Masek), and Frankie Trumbauer's short-lived big band featuring mainly himself, but good solos from Joe Harris as well

Great houseband for Rudi Blesh's radio show "This Is Jazz" in 1947. Selections from two broadcasts of the show and two appearances on the same days by the same band on another program. .. .Wild Bill Davison on cornet, Jimmy Archey on trombone, Ed Hall on clarinet, Ralph Sutton on piano, Danny Barker on guitar, Pops Foster on bass and Baby Dodds on drums.

Perhaps the first true New Orleans revival session - George Lewis and His Band was essentially the same group that recorded with Bunk Johnson, but with Avery "Kid" Howard bringing a more modern style to the band. Jim Robinson, Lawrence Marrero, Chester Zardis, Edgar Mosely and "Jim Little" (Sidney Brown) round out the group.

Excellent if unapprecciated big band led by the great pianist Earl Hines. Featuring arrangments by Franz Jackson, Budd Johnson and Gerald Valentine, soloists include Johnson, Jackson, tenor sax player Bob Crowder, alto sax Scoops Carey, clarinets Omer Simeon and Leroy Harris and brass players including John "Streamline" Ewing, Harry Jackson, Walter Fuller and Ed Sims. Vocals by Billy Eckstine!

The New Orleans trombone player Preston Jackson was an active participant in Southside jazz bands in the 1920's . .here he is featured with Richard M. Jones Jazz Wizards (Shirley Clay, Artie Starks, Johnny St. Cyr, George Reynolds, Clifford "Snags" Jones), Bertha "Chippie" Hill and his own Uptown Band (featuring Jones' musicians) and also Luis Russell's Heebie Jeebie Stompers with Bob Shoffner, Darnell Howard, Barney Bigard and St. Cyr.

Swing to Bop records made by members of Woody Herman's First Herd in 1944-46 . . groups led by Harris (with Conte Candoli, Alvin Burroughs and Phillips), Berman (Harris, Phillips, Serge Chaloff) and Phillips (Neal Hefti, Harris, Aaron Sachs and Bill Shine) with a more or less steady rhythm section of Ralph Burns, Billy Bauer, Chubby Jackson and either Dave Tough or Don Lamond.

Teddy Wilson solo piano performances, from his first (unreleased) session in 1934 through some occasional 1941 tracks for Brunswick, ARC and Columbia. He was known as the "Quintessence of Swing" and these somewhat rare solos demonstrate why!

Small groups that played regularly at Cafe Society and other New York establishments for about four years, led by the great pianist Teddy Wilson. Columbia and transcription recordings featuring Bill Coleman, Emmett Berry, Benny Morton, Jimmy Hamilton, Edmond Hall, George James, Al Hall, Specs Powell, Sid Catlett, Slam Stewart and others . .also Helen Ward and Lena Horne on vocals!

Small group recordings featuring Woody Herman's First Herd tenor saxophonist - with Earl Hines (Ray Nance, Johnny Hodges, Betty Roche), Red Norvo (Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Teddy Wilson, Slam Stewart) and under his own name with Ralph Burns, Chubby Jackson, Billy Bauer and Don Lamond

The largely forgotten clarinet player Archie Semple was a mainstay in Alex Welsh's great band in the 1950's and 60's before suffering an emotional and physical breakdown that sadly ended his playing days. Here is a sample of the relatively few tracks he recorded under his own name, featuring Welsh, Dickie Hawdon on trumpet, Roy Crimmins on trombone, Fred Hunt on piano and others, but focusing on the leader's clarinet, reflecting the twin influences of Pee Wee Russell and Edmond Hall

Lovie Austin was a busy pianist/arranger/composer in Chicago in the 1920's - as one of the few women in an almost exclusively male business she carved out a niche for herself, influencing other women performers to come, such as Mary Lou Williams. Her instrumental recordings are here from 1924-26 and feature Tommy Ladnier, Natty Dominique, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, Jimmy O'Bryant, W.E Burton, Priscilla Stewart and others, with Austin holding it all together as a player, arranger and composer.

Recordings made by one of the greatest versions of the Basie band for Verve in January, 1956. Featuring arrangements by Ernie Wilkins, Neal Hefti, Joe Newman, Frank Wess and Frank Foster and solos by the two Franks, Newman, Thad Jones, Bill Hughes, Henry Coker, Benny Powell, Bill Graham, Marshall Royal and the great rhythm section of Basie, Freddie Green, Eddie Jones and Sonny Payne.

Trumpeter Welsh led one of the most musical yet exciting trad bands of the 1950's and 60's - with Roy Crimmins on trombone, Archie Semple on clarinet, Fred Hunt on piano and Lennie Hastings on drums (and several guitars and bassists), the band mined a wide range of jazz repertoire from ragtime to New Orleans and swing, all within a Chicago Jazz/Eddie Condon perspective.

Great Roulette recordings by the New Testament Basie Band reinterpreting the tunes from his 1930's and 40's band. Featuring great work by Billy Mitchell, Henry Coker, Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Jimmy Nottingham, Seldon Powell, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Marshall Royal, Benny Powell and Basie himself!

Almost forgotten big band that played at the Savoy in NYC at the same time as Chick Webb. Hopkins was among the best stride pianists of the day and a very good arranger as well - his band included Sylvester Lewis and Ovie Alston on trumpets, Fred Norman and Fernando Arbello on trombones, Gene Johnson and Bobby Sands on saxes and most notably Edmond Hall on clarinet and baritone sax.

Alex Welsh was known as a traditional/dixieland trumpet player in the 1950's and mid 1960's. By the late 1960's the band had evolved from a Chicago styled group to a mainstream unit featuring trombonist Roy Williams, reed player Johnny Barnes, pianist Fred Hunt, guitar/banjo player Jim Douglas and drummer Lennie Hastings. Ranging from New Orleans numbers through swing and Gerry Mulligan tunes, this group had a good ten year run.

Series of recordings by Harlem-based big bands, all featuring Ben Webster's emerging tenor sax. . .Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, Teddy Wilson and Duke Ellington all prized Webster . . recordings also feature Shad Collins, Irving Randolph, Emmett Berry, Jerry Blake, Keg Johnson, Jake Wiley, Glyn Paque, Garvin Bushell, Leroy Maxey, Shorty Baker, Karl George, Joe Nanton, Barney Bigard and Ivy Anderson . . .

Bebop meets R&B . . the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet (Dizzy, Bill Graham on baritone sax, Wade Legge, Milt Jackson or Wynton Kelly on piano, Al Jones on drums, Percy Heath on bass) with Milt Jackson on vibes, Joe Caroll and Melvin Moore singing, and Stuff Smith on violin. 1951 recordings for DeeGee and Savoy and live at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, 1953.

The early recordings by the Charlie Barnet Orchestra (and Glen Island Casino Orchestra and California Ramblers) . . before he hit it big, good records featuring the leader, Kermit Simmons, Chris Griffin (trumpet), Don Morres (clarinet), Bill Miller and Red Norvo (piano) and others . . transitional swing!

Great early bop sessions led by the innovative drummer including Fats Navarro, Kenny Dorham, Benny Bailey and Howard McGhee on trumpets, Julius Watkins on french horn, Sonny Stitt, John Brown, Jimmy Heath and Hubert Fol on altos, Jimmy Powell, Billy Mitchell and Ray Abrams on tenors, Eddie De Verteuil and Cecil Payne on baris, John Lewis and Bud Powell on piano, John Collins on guitar and Al Hall, Curly Russell and Al McKibbon on basses . . 1946-49

Great small groups using Woody Herman's musicians (Conte Candoli, Bill Harris, Flip Phillips, Billy Bauer, Tony Aless, Arnold Fishkind, Dave Tough, Shelly Manne, Mel Zelnick, Frank Socolow and Emmett Carls) and some guests including Howard McGhee and Denzil Best. These sides are on the cusp of Bebop, done for Keynote, Prestige and Esquire in 1945, 47, 48 and 49.

A wide range of 1930's swing groups featuring the great trumpet player Jonah Jones . . groups led by Adrian Rollini, Dick Porter (with Edgar Sampson, Clyde Hart and Joe Marsala), Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson (Benny Goodman, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, Johnny Hodges) and Lil Armstrong (Don Stovall). Jones' consistency and authority marks him as one of the foremost trumpet players of the era

Perry Bradford was the epitome of a hustling musician in the 1910's and 20's - largely responsible for bringing the first black singer (Mamie Smith) into the studio to record blues, he also had a series of recordings under his own name, featuring his own compositions and singing. Featured are Louis Armstrong, Louis Metcalf, Bubber Miley, Gus Aiken, Bud Aiken, Jimmy Harrison, Don Redman, Buster Bailey, Bob Fuller, Garvin Bushell, Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson among others.

Selections from two great LPs featuring Brookmeyer playing valve trombone with a rhythm section (including future composer John Williams on piano!) and a blended group using some of Jimmy Giuffre's musicians - Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, Bill Crow and Osie Johnson

Great but under-recorded big bands from Harlem of the late 1920's - Leroy Smith's band, Joe Steele, Lloyd Scott's group later taken over by his brother Cecil, Wooding's Grand Central Redcaps. Early solos by Dickie Wells, Bill Coleman, Cecil Scott, Ward Pinkett, Wilbur DeParis, Jimmy Archey, Charlie Holmes, Don Frye and Joe Steele!

Great studio recordings all featuring Lester Young on tenor sax, Dickie Wells on trombone and Jo Jones on drums, with either Buck Clayton or Bill Coleman on trumpets, Count Basie, Joe Bushkin, Ellis Larkins, Rodney Richardson, Freddie Green, Walter Page, and John Simmons. Recordings for Vocalion, Commodore, Signature and Keynote.

Great white dance band that recorded prolifically for many companies under many pseudonyms. Featuring soon-to-be stars Johnny Mince on clarinet, Pee Wee Erwin on trumpet, Dick Clark on tenor sax, Mike Doty on alto and Ward Silloway and Les Jenkins on trombones, the real centerpieces were the leader's arrangements, which were terrific examples of the early swing style.

Early British Trad - The beginnings of the traditional jazz boom in England - New Orleans-styled dixieland by Freddy Mirfield's Garbage Men, Freddy Randall and His Band and George Webb's Dixielanders . .Wally Fawkes, Humphrey Lyttleton, Al Mead, Johnny Dankworth, Bruce Turner . . great hot sounds by young musicians!

First sides under the great cornetist's name - ranging from straight Condon-styled dixieland through progressive big band sounds in 1939 and 40 to Bix recreations. Also featuring George Brunies, Brad

The beginnings of the traditional jazz boom in England - New Orleans-styled dixieland by Freddy Mirfield's Garbage Men, Freddy Randall and His Band and George Webb's Dixielanders . .Wally Fawkes, Humphrey Lyttleton, Al Mead, Johnny Dankworth, Bruce Turner . . great hot sounds by young musicians!

First sides under the great cornetist's name - ranging from straight Condon-styled dixieland through progressive big band sounds in 1939 and 40 to Bix recreations. Also featuring George Brunies, Brad Gowans, Pee Wee Russell, Bernie Billings, Hank Kmen, Dave Bowman and Eddie Condon

The great trumpeter and tenor saxophonist were on tour with Benny Goodman's Sextet (which never recorded) in the spring of 1950 and were engaged, singly and together, for three recording dates for Vogue. Joined by Goodman bandmates Dick Hyman and Ed Shaughnessy on one session and Gerald Wiggins and Kenny Clarke on the other two (with Pierre Michelot on all sides), Eldridge and Sims created a prototype for mainstream jazz!

Great trio sides with Freeman's tenor sax backed by Jess Stacy and George Wettling in a series of sides for Commodore in 1938 and 1939. Along with that are the two sides by "Four of the Bobcats" from Bob Crosby's band - Eddie Miller, Bob Zurke, Bob Haggart and Ray Bauduc. If that weren't enough - there is Freeman's comic skit "Private Jives" with Everett Sloan and Gertrude Lawrence . . .

The first regular band Chick Webb had at the Savoy Ballroom before Ella Fitzgerald joined. Taft Jordan, Bobby Stark, Sandy Williams, Pete Clark, Edgar Sampson, Elmer Williams, Joe Steele, Don Kirkpatrick, John Truehart, John Kirby and Webb himself created some classic big band sounds largely directed by the compositions and arrangements by Sampson. Records for Columbia, OKeh, Decca.

Great Capitol recordings from a fairly unheralded period in Ellington's career. These show his abilities as a soloist - accompanied by bass and drums he has free reign to interpret his own works (some standard, some not) and one magnificent version of "All The Things You Are" from 1957.

James P. Johnson solos - Great solo piano recordings by the great Harlem Stride master from 1921-1930. Several standards and pop tunes, but mostly originals by Johnson!

Hardly anyone has heard of Teddy Grace, but her handful of records (two CDs worth) from the 1930's demonstrate a singular talent, appreciated by musicians if not the public. Here she is with Bud Freeman's Summa Cum Laude Band, the Bob Crosby Orchestra and small groups featuring Bobby Hackett, Buddy Morrow, Jack Teagarden, Buster Bailey, Charlie Shavers, Billy Kyle, Sonny Lee and Slats Long

Great solo piano recordings by the great Harlem Stride master from 1921-1930. Several standards and pop tunes, but mostly originals by Johnson!

Great band that made numerous LPs for Decca from 1951-58 organized around themes - Jelly Roll Morton, Ragtime, King Oliver, ODJB, etc. Featuring the core members - Yank Lawson, Lou McGarity, Bill Stegmeyer, Lou Stein, Bob Haggart and Cliff Leeman, the group was occasionally expanded by Peanuts Hucko, Cutty Cutshall, Billy Butterfield, Bud Freeman and George Barnes - a selection of their dixieland and swing work!

The flute wasn't a prominent instrument in jazz or dance bands before the 1950's, but here are some excellent outliers . . the Cuban Albert Socarras recorded with Bennett's Swamplanders, Lizzie Miles and Clarence Williams (with Ed Allen, King Oliver, Arville Harris and Cyrus St. Clair) and Wayman Carver was with Benny Carter, Spike Hughes, Chick Webb and Ella Fitzgerald (Taft Jordan, Red Allen, Bobby Stark, Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Teddy McCrae, Don Kirkpatrick, Teddy Wilson, Sid Catlett and others) and as a bonus, Charles Frazier with Willie Bryant's Orchestra.

Great eight piece band ushering in the era of Jazz nostalgia! With the leader on tenor sax was Max Kaminsky, Pee Wee Russell and trombonist and arranger Brad Gowans setting the style. In the rhythm section were Dave Bowman, Eddie Condon and several bassists and drummers.

Great 1933 sessions by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra featuring Red Allen, Bobby Stark, Dicky Wells, Hilton Jefferson, Russell Procope, Coleman Hawkins, John Kirby, Horace Henderson and Walter Johnson. Great arrangements by both Hendersons and Will Hudson and some of Hawkins' first ballad performances.

Live and studio recordings by the Second Herd, 2.0....Getz, Sims and Steward were gone, replaced by Gene Ammons, Jimmy Giuffre and Buddy Savitt, but Serge Chaloff is still there, along with Ernie Royal, Earl Swope, Lou Levy, Terry Gibbs, Shorty Rogers and a guest appearance by Nat "King" Cole - progressive 1949 big band music!

From 1934-1940 the Six Swingers recorded several hundred sides for Regal Zonophone and Columbia of popular tunes, blues, jazz and novelties. Led by pianist George Scott Wood, the band at different times featured Max Goldberg, Lew Davis, Ted Heath, Tony Thorpe and others, but the star was reed player Freddy Gardner, whose clarinet, baritone and especially alto solos located him in the forefront of European jazz musicians.

Live and studio recordings by the Second Herd, 2.0....Getz, Sims and Steward were gone, replaced by Gene Ammons, Jimmy Giuffre and Buddy Savitt, but Serge Chaloff is still there, along with Ernie Royal, Earl Swope, Lou Levy, Terry Gibbs, Shorty Rogers and a guest appearance by Nat "King" Cole - progressive 1949 big band music!

The Benny Goodman Sextet (actually a septet) performed with the big band during the second half of Charlie Christian's tenure with the band in 1940 until he had to leave in the summer of 1941 due to ill health. With Cootie Williams, Georgie Auld, Artie Bernstein and a mix of Count Basie, Kenny Kersey, Milt Raskin and Johnny Guarnieri on piano and Dave Tough, Harry Jaeger and Nick Fatool on drums, the small group had superior jazz talent as well as great arrangements built on the riffs of Christian and his electric guitar.

Great black band active in Paris during the 1930's - this series of recordings for the Pathe label feature Benny Carter (sax, trumpet and arrangements) on the first session and Bill Coleman, Frank "Big Boy" Goudie, George Johnson and Adelaide Hall on the rest. Throughout is magnificent piano playing by Herman Chittison.

Some oddly constructed small groups featured by Goodman on his regular radio broadcasts in 1939. This was the time between when Gene Krupa and his replacement Dave Tough left and Charlie Christian appeared and Goodman was obviously trying different things, including using Leonard Ware and George Rose on electric guitar. Also unique was a duo between Goodman and bass player Artie Bernstein on "Tea For Two."

Two great dance bands from the Hot Dance period - Dave Nelson's Harlem Highlights and Kingsmen with Buster Bailey, Glyn Pacque, Charles Frazier and Wilbur DeParis and the Savoy Bearcats with Joe Steele, Carmelo Jari and Demas Dean . . terrific recordings from mostly forgotten bands and a cameo from King Oliver....

The "pre-Louis" band . . records done before Louis Armstrong joined the Roseland Ballroom orchestra led by Fletcher Henderson . .this group was still a force to be reckoned with in Harlem music circles . . featuring Elmer Chambers, Howard Scott, Teddy Nixon, Don Redman, Charlie Dixon, Billy Fowler, Ralph Escudero, Kaiser Marshall and Allie Ross, these records also have the first recorded solos of Charlie Green and Coleman Hawkins.

The great swing era trumpet player on three pickup dates after he left Cab Calloway's band . . the first with Sammy Price (also featuring, Vic Dickenson, Pete Brown, Milt Hinton and JC Heard), second with George Wettling (with Bud Freeman, Dave Bowman, Milt Hinton and George Barnes), and third with Sidney Bechet (with Jimmy Archey, Buddy Weed, Walter Page and Johnny Blowers).

Spike Hughes was a white British music critic and bass player who had a successful series of recordings for British Decca in the early 1930's. He came to the US in 1933 to record some of his own compositions and arrangements with an all-star band put together by Benny Carter, who used mostly his own band and soloists from Fletcher Henderson and Luis Russell's orchestras. Red Allen, Shad Collins, Dickie Wells, Wayman Carver, Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Red Rodriguez, Sid Catlett and others. Also, the last date Coleman Hawkins recorded with the Henderson band in March, 1934 - Buster Bailey, Red Allen, etc.!

Not yet "Western Swing," this music is Texas Swing - musicians in the string band tradition who identified as Jazz players. Steel guitarist Bob Dunn, clarinetists John Harvey and Butch Gibson, saxophonist Earl Driver, pianist Landon Beaver, violinist Darrell Kirkpatrick and others play a range of jazz songs (mostly from the 1920's) with a relentless beat and great solos!

Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers was really just a radio band . . Boyd would record using a floating personnel of whoever was available (much as did Lionel Hampton, Red Allen and Teddy Wilson in New York). Members of Roy Newman's band, the Modern Mountaineers and the Light Crust Doughboys appear on this subset of Boyd's huge discography from the period - slanted mostly towards jazz and pop music of the 1920's these records feature Knocky Parker and Smoky Wood on piano, Marvin Montgomery on banjo, Carroll Hubbard, Jesse Ashlock and J.R. Chatwell on violins and Butch Gibson on clarinet as well as Boyd's brother Jim on bass and vocals.

The clarinet playing vaudevillian had very popular bands in the 1920's and 30's, but his playing was not it's feature - he would hire fine jazzmen such as clarinetists Don Murray, Jimmy Dorsey, Frank Teschemacher and Slats Long (and Benny Goodman, who we played on a previous show) as well as George Brunies and Muggsy Spanier . . great hot dance from 1928-1933.

Reed player Bingie Madison had a big band in 1930-31 in Harlem that never recorded under his name but which backed Oliver, Williams and Johnson on a series of sessions. Soloists include Madison on tenor sax, Buster Bailey on clarinet, Fred Skerritt on baritone sax, Henry "Moon" Jones on alto, Gene Rodgers on piano, Goldie Lucas on guitar and banjo, Richard Fullbright on bass and tuba, Bill Beason on drums, Jimmy Archey on trombone, Ward Pinkett and Bill Dillard on trumpets. Great transition between "Hot Dance" and the Swing Era!

Two great quartet sessions for Aladdin featuring the alto player at the top of his game with either Russ Freeman or Carl Perkins on piano, Ben Tucker on bass and Chuck Flores on drums . . standards, blues and originals.

Sessions for Keynote (and one for Signature) in 1946 . . Shorty Sherock (featuring Willie Smith, Corky Corcoran, Arnold Ross), Milt Hinton and His Orchestra (featuring Jonah Jones, Al Gibson, Tyree Glenn), Clyde Hurley (with Babe Russin, Murray McEachern, Tommy Todd, Dave Barbour), and Mannie Klein (with Russin, Skitch Henderson, George Van Eps). .late period swing by veterans of the era!

Great swing sessions for Keynote, mostly on the West Coast led by Herbie Haymer, Corky Corcoran, Babe Russin, Ted Nash in 1945-6. Also featuring Joe Thomas, Clyde Hurley, Emmett Berry, Heinie Beau, Willie Smith, Al Hendrickson, Jud DeNaut, Jackie Mills, Dave Barbour, Tommy Todd, Dodo Marmarosa, Allan Reuss, Arnold Ross, Nick Fatool and others.

Great brass band recordings for American Music (Bunk Johnson with Kid Shots Madison, George Lewis, Jim Robinson, Baby Dodds, Lawrence Marrero, Joe Clark, Isadore Barbarin and others) and Riverside (George Lewis with Kid Howard, Peter Bocage, Robinson, Dodds, Marrero, Barbarin, Joe Howard). .done in 1945 and 1946 in New Orleans

The great 1940-41 Ellington band with Ben Webster and Jimmy Blanton (and Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Ray Nance, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown, Tricky Sam Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney and Sonny Greer) doing live and radio transcription versions of the great tunes they recorded for RCA Victor.

The Wanderers made one recording date in 1935 and placed themselves as an excellent territory jazz band . .featuring three members (Marvin Montgomery on banjo, Dick Reinhart on guitar and Bert Dodson on bass) that went to the Light Crust Doughboys later that year. These are their first records and then a selection of Light Crust DB sides featuring them as well as Kenneth Pitts, Cecil Brower, Muryel "Zeke" Campbell on electric guitar (pre-Charlie Christian!) and the great Knocky Parker on piano

The Jess Stacy Duo, Trio and Quartet recording for Brunswick, Atlantic, Capitol and Hanover . . featuring the pianist with George Van Epps on guitar, Morty Corb, Artie Bernstein on bass and Nick Fatool on drums.

Two Cozy Cole sessions (with Coleman Hawkins, Budd Johnson, Eddie Barefield, Johnny Guarnieri), one Walter Thomas (Ben Webster, Budd Johnson, Clyde Hart) and under his own name (Don Byas, Dave Rivera, Milt Hinton, JC Heard) all feature the matchless trumpet of Emmett Berry in 1944 and 1945.

Lester Young left the Basie band in 1940 to try his hand at bandleading . . It didn't work well so he returned to the fold in the late fall of 1943. No commercial records were made during this period but Lang-Worth transcriptions and AFRS shows fill in the gaps - here is the band with Harry Edison, Joe Newman and Al Killian playing trumpet solos; Dicky Wells on trombone; Earl Warren, Jimmy Powell, Buddy Tate, Lester Young and Rudy Rutherford in the sax section and the Basie rhythm section of the boss, Freddy Green, Rodney Richardson and Jo Jones.

Two sessions with the great Bob Crosby alumn Eddie Miller - 1979 featuring Johnny Varro, Ray Leatherwood and Gene Estes and 1982 with George Masso, John Bunch, Milt Hinton and Duffy Jackson . .great late period swing!