Count Basie and his Orchestra - One o'Clock Jump

Side 1:
01) Going To Chicago Blues
02) You Betcha My Life
03) Down, Down, Down
04) Tune Town Shuffle
05) I'm Tired Of Waiting For You
06) One-Two-Three-O'Lairy
07) Basie Boogie
08) Fancy Meeting You

Side 2:
01) Digging For Dex
02) My Old Flame
03) Fiesta In Blue
04) Tom Thumb
05) Take Me Back, Baby
06) King Joe (Part I)
07) King Joe (Part II)

Side 3:
01) Moon Nocturne
02) Something New
03) I Struck A Match In The Dark
04) Platterbrains
05) All Of Me
06) Feather Merchant
07) Down For Double

Side 4:
01) More Than You Know
02) Harvard Blues
03) Coming-Out Party
04) One O'Clock Jump
05) Blue Shadows And White Gardenias
06) 'Ay Now
07) Basie Blues

One o'Clock Jump (Mega)

One o'Clock Jump (Zippy)

We step back a couple of years from the previous post of early Savoy sides which were mainly recorded in 1944. This time we're having a look at the Count Basie recordings for Columbia / Okeh in 1941-1942. For a selection of 1930s Basie recordings for Decca, see this post -

https://bebopwinorip.blogspot.com/2019/01/count-basie-and-his-orchestra-swingin.html

By the time of the recordings on this 2LP set, the Basie band could no longer boast the twin tenor sax threat of Herschel Evans and Lester Young, but their replacements, Buddy Tate and Don Byas, grace the set with numerous excellent solos. The gatefold cover on this set not only has recording and release details, but also lists the solos on each track, so you can follow who exactly is playing what.

Like most of the big swing bands of the time, whether in a dance hall or a theatre, the Basie band would play a set which called for some romantic (or soppy) balladeering which perhaps hasn't worn well with age. Alto sax man Earl Warren warbles in the style of the day on numbers like "Fancy Meeting You" and "I Struck A Match In The Dark" while by way of contrast Jimmy Rushing's timeless blues shouting on numbers such as "Going To Chicago Blues" and "Take Me Back, Baby" has worn much better.

Albert McCarthy's book "Big Band Jazz" has an amusing story about "I Struck A Match In The Dark" which was something of a hit for the band and was a big set piece in their live performances. The lights would be turned down, Earl Warren would step forward to the microphone, sing the opening line, and strike a match. One time at the Apollo, drummer Jo Jones, fed up with the whole farago, soaked the matches in water and the audience in the darkened theatre was treated to the frantic sound of match after match being struck in vain.

A noted feature of this collection is the guest appearance by Paul Robeson on the two part tribute to heavyweight champ Joe Louis, "King Joe." His operatic style is an unusual addition to big band swing.

The big bands were the "nurseries" for a generation of musicians who would go on to feature in small group jazz, bebop, and rhythm and blues through the late 1940s and 1950s. In the Basie group we have Buddy Tate, Don Byas, Tab Smith, Earl Warren and Jimmy Rushing, all of whom would remain substantial names after big band swing ceased to be the most popular style of music. Don Byas in particular was an important participant in the New York club scene from 1943 to 1946 and went on to record some excellent small group sides for the Savoy label. That could be our next post!

Elsewhere On The Blog:

Swingin' The Blues - 1930's Decca sides

Tab Smith - I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen

Tracklist:

Side 1:

01. I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen

02. Tab Steps Out

03. All Night Long

04. Roebie's Blues

05. Riffin' The Bass

06. Granny Dodging At The Savoy

07. You Lovely You

08. Rosa Lee

Side 2:

01. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

02. Fat Mouth Blues

03. Darling, You're All I Need

04. Jumpin' At The Track

05. Morning Blues

06. Echo Blues

07. Feel Like I Wanna Die

08. Boogie Joogie

Download from:

http://www50.zippyshare.com/v/hXm3LBpZ/file.html

Re-up of an LP first posted on the 29th November, 2008. New front and back cover scans plus label scans are included in the new download.

Original post is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/tab-smith-i-don-want-to-play-in-kitchen_8709.html

Alto sax player Tab Smith was born in North Carolina in 1909. His professional career started with The Carolina Stompers in 1927-29, followed by spells with Ike Dixon, Eddie Johnson's Crackerjacks, Fate Marable, the Lucky Millinder led Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and Frankie Newton.

At the beginning of the 1940s he joined Count Basie and began a spell of band hopping among orks led by Teddy Wilson, Lucky Millinder and Eddie Durham. There was a return to Basie and then a second spell with Lucky Millinder from 1942-44. He left Millinder to form his own small jump band, taking vocalist Trevor Bacon and other Millinder band members with him.

The band started recording for small New York labels in May 1944, which is where this LP starts. Many of the sides he recorded in the mid '40s for labels such as Manor, Regis, Hub and Harlem were later picked up for re-release by King.

Tab's band consciously chose the "play it pretty for the people" route pioneered by Louis Jordan's Tympany Five, recording a mix of jumps, blues, boogies and ballads. In 1951 Tab started recording for United Records in Chicago at a time when his music career was taking a back seat to his business interests. His first release, "Because Of You", was such a success that he continued to record for United until 1957.

In 1958-59 he recorded for Checker with many of the sides being released on the LP "Keeping Tab."

His last sessions as leader were on King in April and August 1960.

The following original release details of the tracks from "I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen" should be read in conjunction with the session details on the back cover of the LP. Please note that the LP information is probably wrong about the chronological order of sessions (e) and (f). Session (e) was in November 1945, and session (f) was in September 1945. See below for further info.

Original release details:

NYC May 10th 1944 session. This was Tab's first "name" session. All personnel were ex- Lucky Millinder except drummer Walter Johnson:

You Lovely You - Decca 8661 (b/w "I'll Live True To You")

All Night Long - Coral 60042 (b/w "Sorry About The Whole Affair")

NYC November 1944 session:

Rosa Lee - Manor 1010 (b/w "I Was Wrong")

Chicago February 1945 session:

Tab Steps Out - Regis 7000 (b/w "The Things You Are")

Los Angeles August 1945 session:

Granny Dodging At The Savoy - 20th Century 20-45 (b/w "So This Must Be Love" credited to Robie Kirk with Tab Smith and His Orchestra)

Roebie's Blues / I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen - Harlem 1022, 1024 and Queen 4180, credited to Roebie Kirk with Tab Smith & His Orchestra. Masters from this session were purchased by King.

NYC September (?) 1945 session (f in sleevenotes):

Jumpin' At The Track / Morning Blues - Southern 125, later as Queen /King 4135

NYC November 1945 session (e in sleevenotes):

Darling You're All I Need / On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Hub 3000 (On The Sunny Side Of The Street later released on King 4546 b/w "Tab's Purple Heart" )

Riffin' The Bass / Fat Mouth Blues - Hub 3009 (Riffin' The Bass later released on King EP 345)

NYC February 15th 1949 session:

Echo Blues - Atlantic 961 b/w "Moon Dream."

Chicago October 24th 1951 session:

Boogie Joogie - United 108 b/w "Hands Across The Table."

Chicago April 10th 1956 session:

I Feel Like I Wanna Die - United 203 b/w "Yo Yo Blues."

Recommended purchase:

Delmark DD-447. 20 United tracks in perfect sound quality. Includes his biggest hit "Because Of You."

Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra - Apollo Jump

Side 1:
1. Apollo Jump
2. Ride, Red, Ride
3. That's All!
4. Shipyard Social Function
5. Hurry, Hurry!
6. Shout, Sister, Shout!
7. Mason Flyer
8. Slide, Mr Trombone
9. There's Good Blues Tonight

Side 2:
1. Let Me Off Uptown
2. Rock Me
3. Little John Special
4. Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well?
5. Trouble In Mind
6. Big Fat Mama
7. Rock Daniel
8. All The Time
9. I Want A Tall Skinny Papa

They say that the real swing that was generated in live performance by the Lucky Millinder Orchestra was never captured on their recordings and that you really had to be there in a packed ballroom to appreciate just how good they actually were. Well there are plenty of tracks throughout this superfine 1983 Affinity LP which get my toes a-tappin’ so this band must have really been something else live.

Lucky Millinder couldn’t play an instrument or even read a music sheet, if we are to believe some accounts. What made him a great bandleader was his ability to choose performers and arrangers who could bring his musical dreams to reality. A dazzling parade of future R&B and jazz stars came through the ranks of this band, especially during the years they recorded for Decca (1941 – 47), the period of the recordings on this selection.

Here’s a sample of the instrumental talent on these tracks: Bill Doggett, Panama Francis, Tab Smith, Bull Moose Jackson, Stafford Simon, Sir Charles Thompson, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam “The Man” Taylor, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Clyde Hart and Preston Love.

Vocal numbers were an important feature in Millinder’s live set and his recordings. In 1941 the band had Trevor Bacon and the remarkable Sister Rosetta Tharpe at the mic. The good Sister was a gospel singer and guitarist who for a time was not averse to performing more worldly material. She left the band in 1942 to perform at Café Society before finally giving up the sinful blues in order to devote herself to The Lord’s music. All of her tracks on this LP are superb. A mixture of the sacred and the not exactly profane. Check her out on YouTube to see some incredible performances with Lucky Millinder in the 1940’s through to television broadcasts from the 1960’s.

Trevor Bacon was a guitarist with a pleasant, if limited singing voice who could handle blues and ballads. His biggest hits with the band, “When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World)” and “Sweet Slumber” aren’t on this collection, but “Big Fat Mama” and “Let Me Off Uptown” are fine swinging showcases for his vocal ability. In 1944 he left the Millinder outfit to hook up with a “breakaway” group led by Tab Smith. See the Be Bop Wino post “I Don’t Want To Play In The Kitchen” for more of the Tab Smith / Trevor Bacon story.

After the departure of Bacon, Millinder picked up Wynonie Harris as a replacement, and it’s hard to think of a greater contrast in voices. Wynonie’s powerhouse blues shouting is a world away from Bacon’s light voiced singing. “Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well?” was a number one R&B hit in 1945, by which time Wynonie had already disappeared over the horizon in search of solo glory.

His replacement came from within the ranks of the band – tenor sax man Benjamin “Bull Moose” Jackson stepping forward to take up vocal duties. Unfortunately his singing doesn’t feature on this collection. He fronted a series of recordings on the Queen and King labels which were really Millinder band performances issued under a different name to get round the Decca contract. See the Be Bop Wino post “Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again” for more Bull Moose.

Annisteen Allen recorded with the Millinder band between 1945 and 1951. Her only performance on this LP is “There’s Good Blues Tonight” which is a kind of precursor to “Good Rockin’ Tonight.” Other notable recordings by this fine singer include “Let It Roll” and “In The Middle Of The Night” but you’ll have to look elsewhere to find them, my swinging friends.

There’s a fair sprinkling of good instrumental numbers in this collection. “Mason Flyer” and “Little John Special” are most often cited by jazz critics as the best Millinder recordings. Both have solos by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, alto sax man Tab Smith and tenor sax player Stafford “Pazuzza” Simon. The propulsive “Apollo Jump” has a riff which Chuck Higgins fans will find oddly familiar.

Lucky Millinder himself was an occasional vocalist (“Shorty’s Got To Go”) with the one example here being “Ride Red Ride” which is a hangover from his days fronting the Mills Blue Rhythm Band back in the 1930’s. The Millinder Orchestra switched to RCA Victor in 1949 (“D Natural Blues”) and finally got to record officially for King between 1950 and 1952, including a reunion with Wynonie Harris for a great cover of Louis Prima’s “Oh Babe!” and a tremendous "Night Train." The break up came around that time, although Millinder did come out of musical semi retirement to front one last King session in 1955. See the Be Bop Wino post “Ram-Bunk-Shush” for Lucky Millinder’s 1950's King recordings.


Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

Download from here:

http://www84.zippyshare.com/v/tPXqnNYV/file.html

1. Apollo Jump
2. Ride, Red, Ride (vocal – Lucky Millinder)
3. That's All! ((vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe + band)
4. Shipyard Social Function
5. Hurry, Hurry! (vocal – Wynonie Harris)
6. Shout, Sister, Shout! (vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
7. Mason Flyer
8. Slide, Mr Trombone (vocal – Trevor Bacon)
9. There's Good Blues Tonight (vocal – Anisteen Allen)
10. Let Me Off Uptown (vocal – Trevor Bacon)
11. Rock Me (vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
12. Little John Special
13. Who Threw The Whiskey Down The Well (vocal – Wynonie Harris)
14. Trouble In Mind (vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
15. Big Fat Mama (vocal – Trevor Bacon)
16. Rock Daniel (vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe + band)
17. All The Time (vocal – The Lucky Seven)
18. I Want A Tall Skinny Papa (vocal – Sister Rosetta Tharpe + band)

Recommended purchase:

“Jukebox Hits 1942-1951” on the Acrobat label (has it been revived?) is available both as a CD and mp3 collection on Amazon. It has 20 tracks including 2 under Bull Moose Jackson’s name. Recordings from Decca, RCA and King, including many not on the LP posted here. Go git it! The world needs to swing more.

Tab Smith - I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen

With this compilation of mainly mid 1940s sides by alto sax player Tab Smith we continue our exploration of early jump groups that started with the Buddy Banks post. Tab Smith’s music career started in the 1920s with territory bands in the Carolinas and Midwest and really took off when he joined the Lucky Millinder led Mills Blue Rhythm band in 1936.

When the band broke up in 1938 Tab Smith went on to record with (among others) Red Allan, Teddy Wilson, Billie Holiday and Count Basie. In 1942 Tab joined the Lucky Millinder Orchestra and left in early 1944 to form his own small group which usually consisted of ex Millinder sidemen. Tab’s group followed the R&B route rather than that of bebop. His swing and jump dominated sound was released on a succession of labels including King, Gotham, Hub, Regis, Manor, Atlantic and Premium. In 1951 he recorded for the United label of Chicago with whom he stayed until 1957. His first release for the label, “Because of You” was a massive hit and set the pattern for most of his subsequent releases – an echo drenched ballad on the A side and a jump number on the B side.

This 1984 Mr R&B LP concentrates on Tab’s 1944 – 45 output when his sound was still heavily influenced by big band swing. There are good vocal performances, especially from ex Lucky Millinder vocalist Trevor Bacon. “Echo Blues”, recorded for Atlantic in 1949, is a forerunner of the sound that would sell so well for United. Only the last two tracks on this collection are from the United era.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www50.zippyshare.com/v/hXm3LBpZ/file.html


1. I Don't Want To Play In The Kitchen (v – Roebie Kirk)
2. Tab Steps Out
3. All Night Long (v- Trevor Bacon)
4. Roebie's Blues (v – Roebie Kirk)
5. Riffin' The Bass
6. Granny Dodging At The Savoy
7. You Lovely You (v- Trevor Bacon)
8. Rosa Lee (v- Trevor Bacon)
9. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
10. Fat Mouth Blues (v- Betty Mays)
11. Darling, You're All I Need (v – Tab Smith)
12. Jumpin' At The Track
13. Morning Blues (v – Jack Galbreath)
14. Echo Blues
15. Feel Like I Wanna Die (v- Ray King)
16. Boogie Joogie