Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1951-01-26
rain 9 THE
r { G @ r D s
RECORDED JAZZ GEMS
Rx J. Henrx Randall

IS waXinEs which have weathered
the test OF time and popularity.
and which were recorded by some
of the great names in the jazz
idiom.
The collection is an adjunct 10
the disCcry's Red Seal category
entitled "A Treasury OF Immortal
Performances" Broken down into
six albums Of three discs each.
the tunes are for the first time on
the revolutionary - and 3Sls
rpm speeds
Lest there be any confusion or
hcsitancc about smoking these
over. let's run through the titles
and personages in each packet,
First, there is the one entitled
Theme Songs" the signature
tunes so closely associated with a
band or musical group In this
division, there are Artie Shaw's
Nightmare, Lionel Hampton's
Flying Home. Duke Elhngton's
Take The "A" Train. Benny Good.
mans Goodbye. Charlie Barnctt's
Cherokee. and Louis Armstrong;
When IT'S SLEEPY Time Down
South.
With the exception Of Shaw's
opus, these melodies were not
originally conceived as themes
nor were they written by the
bandleadcr who made It "A byword
IN jazz annals. For example, the
composer Of the Ellingtonian
theme is not Duke as is commonly
thought but Billy Strayhorn, the
bands top-notCh arranger and
Dukes fcllOw-COmpOscr. "Chcro-
kec," OF course, is the Ray Noble
composition; GoOdmRn's theme
was written by an unknown com
p0sCr-RrrRnger In those days His
name is Gordon Jenkins, now a
bandlcadcr in his own right
Flying Home was Joint ef-
fort Of Hampton and Goodman,
while "SatChmo" used the Leon
and OTIS Rene Clarence Muse
DiXielandlsh opus. SatCh first re-
corded the tune in 1891. and the
version in the album dates from
December 1882 Shaw disdained
the use of his best seller Begin
the Beguine" for his own exciting
and weird composition. Night
mare"
Under Dance Band Hits" art
Tommy DOrscys B0Ogir WOOHie,
which featured Charlie Spivak
and Buddy Morrow Cthc latter
known then as Moe ZudekOfD {.
Larry Clinton on Martha. with
Bca Wynn Chirping the vocal re-
frain; Ted Wcems and his Latcn-
lied styling Of HeartaChes, &C
companicd by the distinctive
whistling of Elmo Tanner and
Hal Kemp's popular staccatu
treatment Of Got A Date With An
Angel, which had Skinncy Ennis
tnow bandleaderl on lyrics.
Also in this album are the late
Glenn Miller's treatment of Song
OF The NOlga BOatmen and the
Ellington (several times record
ed Mood Indigo. This u the
authentic 1880 version, display
ing the tonal hues OF the Dukes
aggregation Of that period. Al
least one other version had the
late Ivy Anderson on vocal.
No collection would be complete
without examples of Small Com
DO Hits. the third album In the
series. Sides are StOmpInE A.
The Savoy. Benny Goodman
Quartet THE Goodman. Hampton.
Wilson and Krupa cliquc): Smoke
Gets In Your Eyes, Artic Shaw
and his Grammercy Five, HOUSE
Of Morgan. Lionel Hampton with
the Cole Trio: the Blk BeiderbeCk
immortal In A Mist by the late
Bunny Berigan and his Men: and
Johnny Green's Body and Soul, a
superb Interpretation given by
tenor sax ace Coleman Hawkins.
The sixth side Is a Dixieland or
rather "ragtime" excursion on
Blues, Called a Jam Session at
Victor" II features Tommy Dor
sey and George wettling, and the
late Fats" Waller, Bunny Bcn-
gan and Dick McDonough.
For the Keyboard Kings Of
Jazz, there are Meade Lux"
Lewis doing his classic version Of
IIonky Tonk Train: the team of
Pete johnson and the late Albert
Ammons on WaIIin' the BooEie (:
Fats Walters claAsically inter
preted Honey SBckIe Rose; ting.
ger fingered Count Basic betting
away on Swinging the Blues,
which has the luSty sounds Of
"Jumpin' at the woodsidc" and
Others Of that iIk: and Duke e.
hngtOns alluring mood painting
Of Solitude. Earl ''Fatha'" Hines
Chicago style jazz appears In his
brilliant arrangement Of W. C.
Handy's st Louis Blues" en-
titled BOoGie WOOEie ON the 81
Louis Blues. We might add here
that the recorded exhOrtatiOn 10
Hines 20 play tiH 1851" should b.
moved up another 100 years. at
least.