Share your favourite Jazz

[Starius]

I feel a Jazz Trance coming over me today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKwQ_zeRwEs

 

[tbrunke]

My favorites are:

Benny Goodman:

Everything during and before his famous Carnegie Hall Concert, when his band was at its best!

Bunny Berigan:

"I Can't Get Started With You" as well as many others

Woody Herman:

"Blue Flame" "Blue Prelude" and "At The Woodchoppers Ball", especially

Duke Ellington
Harry James
Dorsey Brothers

Those are my top favorites!

 

[Forgotten Man]

Since my taste evolved from Big Band music in the early 1990s, I have cultured a taste for some earlier Jazz which I feel is “Jazz” in it’s purest sense of the word.

We’re talkin’ Coon Sanders and His Nighthawks, early Jan Garber (1926-1930) McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, early Duke Ellington from 1927-1930, also, Louis Armstrong from about 1929-1934. Also, I’m really into George Olson’s stuff from 1927-1930. Let’s not forget Jack Hylton and most of the other British Jazz/Dance Bands of the 20s and 30s… there’s a later recording that Jack Hylton did of “Blue Skies Around the Corner” that is nothing short of beautiful! It’s a wonderful tune, I strongly suggest that if anyone can find a copy of it to give it a spin... If I can find it on YouTube I'll post the link here.

And we can’t forget early Bing Crosby! His recordings with the famous Paul Whitman Rhythm Boys are among my favorites! Bing had a real nice casual Jazz style with some amazing scatting and those wonderful whistling solos up to 1934.

Speaking of Benny Goodman, his earlier band did some amazing recordings and one which I just am nuts about is “Nitwit Serenade” from 1934… I have an original Columbia pressing of this song and the entire record is BLUE! On the flip side is his first recording of Bugle Call Rag.

Over the many years of listening to just about any Big Band artist I could get my mits on, I’ve started to appreciate most earlier recordings… some acoustic but, mostly early electric recordings. What I have discovered over the many years of listening to vintage music is that there were so many bands from 1925-1945 that played some amazing tunes and so many songs were recorded that it’s safe to say that I’ll never ever hear all that was recorded in my life time.

It’s great to have favorites ( Have mine) but, to dive feet first into the world of Jazz and embrace all or most of what was recorded is taking a trip back in time to another era where music played a bigger roll in life then it dose today I think. Each artist has his or her own style and you can pick up on it with each recording. I’m also a big Ruth Etting fan too.

My roots are there and I still love and embrace the Big Band era of the 40s and will always have a very soft spot for Glenn Miller, Harry James, Artie Shaw and so on… but right now my heart is enjoying the roots of those 40s dance band greats.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Excellent taste, FM, in singling out George Olsen. His late twenties/early thirties sides are among the best stage-band stuff of the era, and his vocalists -- Ethel Shutta, Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Wright, et. al -- were among the best of their style as well.

Along the same lines, I recommend Abe Lyman and his (California) Orchestra -- a very high quality dance band which could play hot when the mood suited, and which made hundreds of fun records thru the twenties and thirties. The vocals by Mrs Lyman, Rose Blaine, on the thirties sides are distinctive as well -- their 1939 Decca of "Monkeys Have No Tails In Pago-Pago" is one of my favorite records.

And while jazz purists may wrinkle their noses, I've yet to hear a record by Kay Kyser and company from 1937-42 that I didn't really enjoy. Ish Kabibble lives!

 

[Forgotten Man]

Excellent taste, FM, in singling out George Olsen. His late twenties/early thirties sides are among the best stage-band stuff of the era, and his vocalists -- Ethel Shutta, Fran Frey, Bob Borger, Bob Wright, et. al -- were among the best of their style as well.

Along the same lines, I recommend Abe Lyman and his (California) Orchestra -- a very high quality dance band which could play hot when the mood suited, and which made hundreds of fun records thru the twenties and thirties. The vocals by Mrs Lyman, Rose Blaine, on the thirties sides are distinctive as well -- their 1939 Decca of "Monkeys Have No Tails In Pago-Pago" is one of my favorite records.

And while jazz purists may wrinkle their noses, I've yet to hear a record by Kay Kyser and company from 1937-42 that I didn't really enjoy. Ish Kabibble lives!

Oh yeah, Abe Lyman! I love his band! Lots of fun sides... I have a some of his work on CD's... just fun to listen to!

Kay Kyser is fun! They made some good, fun, enjoyable stuff! And Ish is a hoot! Harry Babbitt was a smooth singer and worked well with the Kyser outfit. Kyser never really seems to get the recognition he deserves.

 

[tbrunke]

As of late I have been listening to Radio Dismuke, and the songs I'm hearing are tops! Dismuke realy does a great job, tons of 20's to early 30's music.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

"Juke Box Saturday Night" by (Glenn Miller's) Modernaires w/ Paula Kelly, 1946

(Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtKhamBdCNo)

.

Hope everyone's well,
- CH

 

[WH1]

Louis Armstrong "Live In Europe"
Louis Armstrong&Ella Fitzgerald "Ella and Louis"
Ella Fitzgerald "Live in Berlin"
Anything by Stan Kenton, a big fan of his music, although I know most big band/Jazz aficianados are not.

 

[kittypackard]

Bix Beiderbecke is a perennial favorite. As are Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, Fletch Henderson, Pops, all of the British dance bands (yes, of course that includes George Olsen, well done all of you!) the Cocoanut Grove bandleaders Abe Lyman and Gus Arnheim, Bing Crosby's work with Paul Whiteman, The Dorsey Brothers, Irving Aaronson & His Commanders,Ukelele Ike,Red Nichols, Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians, Ben Selvin, Jean Goldkette, Benny, Bunny, Duke, & Django ... to name the few ...

 

[Professor]

Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians

I have a handful of those old Victor releases, and they're some of my favorites. A few years ago in a bookstore I came across Waring LP's and picked 'em up, having absolutely no clue that ol' Fred had abandoned jazz for choral! I'm just glad I didn't spend too much money on that dribble. :eusa_doh:

 

[kittypackard]

I have a handful of those old Victor releases, and they're some of my favorites. A few years ago in a bookstore I came across Waring LP's and picked 'em up, having absolutely no clue that ol' Fred had abandoned jazz for choral! I'm just glad I didn't spend too much money on that dribble. :eusa_doh:

No kiddin'? CHORAL music? Well I'll be a monkey's uncle.
I'm glad you didn't break the bank over it too!

 

[NicknNora]

Love Jazz, Blues and Swing

Lately we've been listening to a lot of Duke Ellington from the late 20s to early 30s. We love the growl trumpet that Bubber Miley introduced to the Ellington Band. Does anyone know of other artists from that time period where the wa wa sound was used (other than Cab Calloway on Minnie the Moocher)?

We've also been listening to Django & Grappelli (my favorite of theirs is Minor Swing), Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Mugsy Spanier.

When I did a Fathers Day tribute to my late father on my website I included YouTube videos of these artists. You can listen to them here.

 

[NicknNora]

I wasn't quite sure where to start this thread, but i think i've found the most appropriate place. Favourite music isn't really an accoutrement A couple of other threads have recently diverted into jazz discussion, and i know the folks populating the lounge must like jazz ...

Anyway, here's the deal - Share your favourite jazz tunes, bands etc. from the 30s-50s And if you can find online audio/video clips, all the better.

I'll start with my favourite band. The quintette du hot club de France - wearing some fantastic tuxedos.

Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grapelli and their classic band. The movie below is from a website by some guys that restore old movies. Enjoy ...

http://www.lobsterfilms.com/retour_de_flamme.66.htm

Nice post! I love Django and Grappelli. I have two sets of 78s of the Quintette du hot club de France. Unfortunately the 2nd set I purchased from ebay the seller sent them to me with zero protection. Naturally the records arrived in pieces. It broke my heart that those records had survived all of those years only to have some nimrod carelessly break them. And to top it off when I examined the pieces they appeared to be mint.

 

[NicknNora]

I wanted to pass these tips along regarding Jazz (Swing in paticular) and OTR (Old Time Radio). You may be well aware of this (I haven’t explored all of the lounge yet) but thought if you weren’t, you’d really enjoy it.

Kingdom Of Swing:

http://www.live365.com/stations/yankaroo

Crimetime:

http://www.live365.com/stations/otrnow

I believe you can listen for free by just clicking the “Play” button on each page. I move between these two stations and they pretty much cover everything for me. There are other stations running comedy and drama as well to so just search around under the “OTR” designation. It really sets the mood in my place.

By the way, I have a 1949 bakelite Sylvania radio in great condition and I’m just trying to figure how to run the stations through it as that would be the really authentic sound! Any suggestions?

Cool! Thank you for providing the links.:eusa_clap

 

[NicknNora]

I have just moved to Vernon, Texas, the home of Jack Teagarden, who was the best jazz trombonist in the history of the universe. He played and sang with just about everyone, from Benny Pollack to Paul Whiteman, from Benny Goodman to Louis Armstrong, and all points in between. He's kinda sidelined these days, but there is a number of CDs out and available that showcase his amazing range and talent. The guy invented slide positions that have never been duplicated. He was that cool. Watching him play a solo is like watching a magic trick; you have no idea how he does it. Really.

Of course, I like a lot of the big band stuff, as well as later Jazz artists, like Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman and Cannonball Adderley. Style-wise, I prefer West Coast jazz to East Coast Jazz, though there are some exceptions.

My father LOVED Teagarden. I haven't heard a lot of his stuff but he's definitely on my list of musicians to follow. Dad loved Teagarden and Spanier. He always talked about both of them.

 

[NicknNora]

Took this last week

LD

I love Ella's version of Bir Mir Bist Du Schoen:eusa_clap

 

[Ethan Bentley]

Not so much the Golden Era but Dave Brubeck.
Also a big fan of Oscar Peterson & Cole Porter.

 

[Matthew Thompson]

Favorite jazz album of all time...

Hard to get any better than Ella in her creamy, sultry, prime.

 

[Ephraim Tutt]

Such a sexy piece...

 

[Spitfire]

They are at the top of my list! Any day - any night!