Bunny Berigan Selected

Having made a name for himself in the bands of Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, trumpeter Bunny Berigan set out on his own in 1937. Heading up a big band that included such shifting personnel as drummer Buddy Rich, tenor saxophonist George Auld, trumpeter/arranger Ray Conniff, and pianist Joe Bushkin, Berigan blazed brightly and briefly, until alcoholism and a lack of discipline forced him to break up his band in 1939. This Classics disc features tracks cut before things went south. Covering the years 1937-1938, the 20 sides find Berigan and company in their prime, with sparkling solos coming from Berigan, Auld, Conniff, and Bushkin. While the disc sags a bit with some requisite filler by vocalist Ruth Gaylor, instrumental highlights like "Wacky Dust" (a possible cocaine-reference here?), Ellington's "Azure," and Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby" ensure this batch of mostly solid swingers stays fresh.

Bunny Berigan began his prime stretch of solo recordings with this collection of songs cut between 1935-1936. Berigan still worked as a sideman for the likes of Benny Goodman during this period, and he even did some session and film work, but it is his own material which has solidified his reputation as a top figure of the big band era. And while later sides from 1937-1939 would trump some of the ones included here, this collection still brims over with exciting and tight material from a variety of Berigan contingents. In addition to his first stab at "I Can't Get Started" (somewhat inferior to the classic version from 1937), Berigan is featured on a bevy of small group and a large ensemble highlights, like "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues"…

There is a great deal of remarkable music included on this two-hour two-CD set. Among the 40 selections (all dating from the early years of swing) are sessions led by violinist Joe Venuti, bass saxophonist Adrian Rollini, Benny Goodman (in an all-star group with trombonist Jack Teagarden), Bud Freeman, trumpeter Bunny Berigan, Gene Krupa and piano solos by Joe Sullivan and Jess Stacy. The recording sessions are all complete and the music is quite rewarding and often very exciting.

The Mound City Blue Blowers originally made history with a dozen high-quality novelty recordings during 1924-25 that featured the trio of Red McKenzie's comb, Dick Slevin's kazoo and banjoist Jack Bland; guitarist Eddie Lang solidified the rhythm on their later six numbers. However, other than McKenzie's participation, those dates had little to do with the 25 recordings on this Classics CD, the last issued under the Mound City Blue Blowers' name. In fact, other than taking four vocals on the first date, McKenzie makes only cameo appearances on kazoo during the remainder of the program, although he had clearly organized the bands…

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic album series with a re-mastered 2CD release by Georgie Auld, complete with original artwork and liner notes. “In The Land Of Hi-Fi”; “Misty”; “The Melody Lingers On” and “Good Enough To Keep”.
For our four albums by swing tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld we are taking a musical journey through the many styles Auld has played over a career going back to the 1930’s when he joined the Bunny Berigan band from 1937-38. In a career spanning over fifty years Auld has also played with many of the greats including Artie Shaw (1938-39), Benny Goodman in the early forties, Erroll Garner, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Eckstine and Ella Fitzgerald…

1921-1923 (1994). Ethel Waters was one of the few singers from the early '20s whose early recordings are still quite listenable. This CD from the Classics label has her first 22 sides (many previously rare including five interesting instrumentals by Waters's band) and, although not on the same level as her performances from a few years later, the music is quite good for the time period. The sidemen are mostly obscure but include pianist Fletcher Henderson and cornetists Gus Aiken and Joe Smith with the highlights being "The New York Glide," "Down Home Blues," "There'll Be Some Changes Made" and "Midnight Blues"…

Ray Vega pays tribute to 13 fellow trumpeters on Boperation, offering Latin jazz interpretations of songs that were, in most cases, written by the trumpeters themselves. All of the trumpeters that Vega salutes became well known after World War II and made their mark playing bop, cool, or post-bop; the Puerto Rican New Yorker doesn't embrace anything by pre-bop icons like Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, and Harry James, but, rather, turns his attention to the works of post-swing improvisers ranging from Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, and the Fats Navarro/Howard McGhee team to Clifford Brown and his admirers, including Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, and Donald Byrd…