Earl Hines Once

The great American musical invention of the 20th century, jazz is an ever-youthful, still evolving music of beauty, sensitivity, and brilliance that has produced (and been produced by) an extraordinary progression of talented artists. JAZZ: The Smithsonian Anthology traces the turning points in its history through its legendary innovators among them Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, Parker, Gillespie, Davis, Hancock, Corea, Marsalis and notable styles, from early ragtime to
international modernism and every major movement in between.

Trombonist Dicky Wells once said that Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans were "…a living headache to everyone. They could swing and make most bands happy to play 'Home Sweet Home.' When a band like that's on your tail, the night seems to never end. They didn't seem to know the meaning of letting up." As the house band at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom, this group undoubtedly knew how to keep a large crowd entertained with music for dancing purposes. In person they must have been tight and right in order to warrant such praise from other musicians and to hold down their gig at the Savoy for nine years…

For those who wish to develop a strong relationship with early jazz, there are certain records that may help the listener to cultivate an inner understanding, the kind of vital personal connection that reams of critical description can only hint at. Once you become accustomed to the sound of Johnny Dodds' clarinet, for example, the old-fashioned funkiness of South Side Chicago jazz from the 1920s might well become an essential element in your personal musical universe. Put everything post-modern aside for a few minutes and surrender to these remarkable historic recordings. It is January 1927, and the band, fortified with Freddie Keppard and Tiny Parham, is calling itself Jasper Taylor & His State Street Boys…

As was the case with Fats Waller, Erroll Garner's natural and advanced musical talent ingratiated him to jazz aficionados and experts alike. Garner took to the piano intuitively, never needing to take lessons because of his exceptional ear for music. Further breaking the mold, he transcended many of the jazz styles he came up with, including both swing and bebop. You hear the power of swing pianist Earl Hines in his fleet and robust approach, and, yes, he once played with Charlie Parker, but as heard on this Columbia collection from 1951-1952, Garner concocts a unique blend of the big band's svelte rhythms and bebop's heady swing…

Uptown's 2013 release Boston 1950 features highlights from a series of concerts the great tenor saxophonist Lester Young gave at Boston's Hi-Hat between May 26 and June 11, 1950. He was performing with trumpeter Jesse Drakes, pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Joe Schulman, and drummer Connie Kay. Lester was at one of his peaks during the late '40s and early '50s and these performances have an appealing blend of lively jump and warmth, qualities that are apparent even underneath the somewhat thin audio quality. Listen beyond those compressed sonics and you'll find thoroughly enjoyable, big-hearted hard bop that's something of a joy to hear…

This compilation contains selections from five different nightclub engagements; Bop City in New York in 1950, Club Hangover in San Francisco in 1952, Storyville in Boston in 1953, Basin Street in New York in 1955 and the Brant Inn in Ontario in 1958–featuring five different iterations of Armstrong's All Stars, featuring top sidemen such as Jack Teagarden, Barney Bigard, Earl Fatha Hines, Arvell Shaw, Cozy Cole, Marty Napoleon, Milt Hinton, Barrett Deems, Edmond Hall and more. The exciting nightclub performances on this collection are not only being released for the first time, but every track is taken from the Research Collections of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, with the majority emanating from Armstrong's personal reel-to-reel tape collection. This important new release once again demonstrates with finality that Pops was always tops.