1928

Various Artists - Mexican-American Border Music - An Introduction, 1928-1958 (1994) {Arhoolie CD-7001}
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© 1994 Arhoolie | CD-7001
Latin / Tejano / Corrido / Mexican Traditions / Norteno / Tex-Mex

The first album in Arhoolie's superb Tex-Mex series, this traces the roots of the modern norteño-Tejano-conjunto sound. We hear the early accordion players and duet singers, then see them come together in the 1930s and '40s, forming the heart of the style as it has existed ever since. All the key names are here, from the blind fiddler El Ciego Melquiades to the magnificent Texan diva Lydia Mendoza, accordion pioneers Santiago Jiménez and Narciso Martinez, and the trend-setting Alegres de Teran. A 36-page booklet puts the music in context and makes this an essential purchase for anyone interested in border music.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life…

This CD traces Jelly Roll Morton's period in New York, starting with his second record date in the Big Apple. A few of the sessions have Morton joined by an excess of musicians, with the results certainly being spirited, if bordering on getting out of control. "Tank Town Bump" and "Red Hot Pepper Stomp" are the best of these numbers. In addition, Morton is heard on four excellent piano solos (including "Seattle Hunch" and "Freakish"), leading a nucleus taken from the Luis Russell Orchestra on four other songs, and playing as a sideman with vaudevillian clarinetist Wilton Crawley's pickup band, sometimes to hilarious effect. One of the true jazz giants, every recording by Jelly Roll Morton is well worth acquiring in one form or another.

Although this is technically the third volume in the Classics Bix Beiderbecke chronology, close examination reveals that volumes three and four retrace a timeline already traversed by the earlier installments, resulting in a reshuffled, non-linear progression that is atypical of the Classics Chronological Series yet seems oddly appropriate for an authentically surreal character like Beiderbecke. This volume follows a timeline from November 18, 1927 to April 22, 1928. Because the producers of this series ladled most of the "Bix & Tram" collaborations into the Frankie Trumbauer portion of their label's catalog, the entire Classics "Bixology" initially fit into two volumes (issued in 1996) with two additional volumes (issued in 2002) documenting Beiderbecke's tenure as a sideman with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra during the years 1927-1929…

During 1928, the main stars of Duke Ellington's orchestra (in addition to the leader/pianist/composer/arranger) were trumpeter Bubber Miley, trombonist Joe Tricky Sam Nanton, clarinetist Barney Bigard, and (starting in June) altoist Johnny Hodges. All of the master takes (including ones for different labels) are being reissued in the Classics series. This disc is highlighted by "Black Beauty" (particularly Ellington's solo piano version), the heated "Hot and Bothered" (featuring guest guitarist Lonnie Johnson and singer Baby Cox), "Louisiana," and "I Can't Give You Anything but Love." Two songs feature singer Ozie Ware backed by a small combo taken from Ellington's big band. This CD has plenty of timeless classics, most of which are also available in other reissue programs.

As usual with the Classics series, the music on this CD is released complete and in chronological order, covering the music originally released by several record labels but without including alternate takes. In the case of Duke Ellington, because he would frequently record the same song slightly rearranged on several occasions for different companies, there are multiple versions of some titles on this CD, but the alternate versions that he made for the labels have been left out. During the very important period covered by this disc, the Duke Ellington Orchestra (having recently found their sound) was hired by the Cotton Club as the house band and they hit the big time…

This CD traces Jelly Roll Morton's period in New York, starting with his second record date in the Big Apple. A few of the sessions have Morton joined by an excess of musicians, with the results certainly being spirited, if bordering on getting out of control. "Tank Town Bump" and "Red Hot Pepper Stomp" are the best of these numbers. In addition, Morton is heard on four excellent piano solos (including "Seattle Hunch" and "Freakish"), leading a nucleus taken from the Luis Russell Orchestra on four other songs, and playing as a sideman with vaudevillian clarinetist Wilton Crawley's pickup band, sometimes to hilarious effect. One of the true jazz giants, every recording by Jelly Roll Morton is well worth acquiring in one form or another.