CD1 Mixed Bag 1945-46
1. The Hornet
2. The Glider
3. Love of my Life
4. Let’s Walk
5. Love for Sale
6. My Heart Belongs to Daddy
7. Begin the Beguine
8. Get Out of Town
9. What Is This Thing Called Love?
10. Guilty
11. I’ve Got the Sun in the Morning
12. Changing My Tune
13. It’s the Same Old Dream
14. Anniversary Song
15. For You, For Me, Forever More
16. I Believe
17. When You’re Around
18. Connecticut
19. Sunny Side Up
Artie Shaw - Clarinet
Roy Eldridge, Stan Fishelson, Bernie Glow, George Schwartz - Trumpets
Harry Rogers, Gus Dixon, Ollie Wilson, Bob Swift - Trombones
Rudy Tanza, Lou Prisby - Alto saxes
Herbie Steward, Jon Walton - Tenor saxes
Chuck Gentry - Baritone sax
Dodo Marmarosa - Piano
Barney Kessel - Guitar
Morris Rayman - Bass
Lou Fromm - Drums
Mel Tormé and the Mel-Tones - Vocals
CD2 The Big Band 1949
1.Krazy Kat
2. I Cover the Waterfront
3. Fred's Delight
4. Stardust
5. Aesop's Foibles
6. Orinoco
7. They Can't Take That Away from Me
8. Smooth 'n Easy
9. I Get a Kick out of You
10. Afro-Cubana
11. So Easy
12. 'S Wonderful
13. Innuendo
14. Similau
15. Carnival
16. Mucho De Nada
Artie Shaw - Clarinet
Dan Palladino, Don Fagerquist, Dale Pierce, Vie Ford - Trumpets
Sonny Russo, Fred Zito, Angie Callea, Porky Cohen - Trombones
Herbie Steward, Frank Socolow - Alto saxes
Al Cohn, Zoot Sims - Tenor saxes
Danny Bank - Baritone sax
Gil Barrios - Piano
Jimmy Raney - Guitar
Dick Nevison - Bass
Irv Kruger - Drums
Artie Shaw was probably one of the most charismatic yet enigmatic
figures who rose to be the number one bandleader in the world during
the height of the big band period of the late 1930's to the mid 1940's.
Coupled with his matinee idol looks (he married eight times, including
Lana Turner and Ava Gardner among his wives), he was a brilliant clarinettist
with a beautiful liquid tone in the upper registers and subsequently
was known as “The King of the Clarinet”. During his heyday, he recorded
prodigiously and his output included countless tunes that were considered
as classics both then and now.
Mixed Bag is an appropriate title for CD1, as the first four
songs come from what was Shaw’s last band in 1945 and the other 14
tunes were with a pick-up studio orchestra with strings. Among those
first four, of particular note are The Hornet and The Glider
both of which are originals by Buster Harding who later was known
for his work with Count Basie and have fiery trumpet solos
by Roy Eldridge. As part of the studio sessions, Shaw offered a reworking
of his 1938 hit Begin the Beguine but with strings added. It
turned out to be a pale comparison to the original, especially the
version that was part of Shaw’s live Blue Room at the Hotel Lincoln
sessions. Looking to experiment further with these recordings, Shaw
then decided to hook up with a twenty-year-old singer named Mel Tormé
and his little vocal group the Mel-Tones. The idea was to use
them as a “section” along with the brass, reeds and strings. This
combination produced something of a minor hit with What Is This
Thing Called Love? Now while none of the other tracks such as
Guilty, Get Out Of Town, and I've Got The Sun In The Morning
reached hit status, the Mel-Tones became the precursor to such jazz-influenced
vocal groups as the Four Freshmen and Manhattan Transfer. It should
also be noted that Shaw is the featured soloist on all tracks, and
he does some excellent work - particularly on The Anniversary Song
and more interestingly on Love For Sale which was one of the
first examples of overdubbing. Finally the disc finishes with a surprise,
Sunny Side Up, a Shaw original which comes from his 1954 Gramercy
Five and was the last one he led before his retirement.
CD2 entitled The Big Band 1949 refers to the band originally
brought together by Shaw because he was having troubles with the US
Internal Revenue Service and he needed to find a way to raise some
money. Staffed with first-rate musicians such as Al Cohn, Zoot Sims,
Don Fagerquist and Jimmy Raney among others, this was a bop-inspired
unit that lasted only a few months because audiences were turned off
by the band's arrangements. In retrospect this seems unusual as the
arrangers in question such as Tadd Dameron, Johnny Mandel, Gene Roland
and George Russell reached iconic status in later years. Among the
tracks showcased here, Tadd Dameron contributed the boppy Fred’s
Delight, Johnny Mandel arranged Krazy Kat, George Russell
offered the polytonal Similau and Gene Roland was front and
centre with Aesop’s Foibles.
As expected, Shaw’s clarinet sails over the ensemble playing with
his usual virtuosity and he takes up the lion’s share of the solo
space. Most of the tenor solos are by Al Cohn although Zoot Sims can
be heard to good effect on I Cover the Waterfront.
It was fortunate that Shaw decided to bring this group into the studio
during its brief history, as these tracks appear to be the complete
recorded output of this organization which might rank with the best
bands Shaw ever had.
The original sides were released by MusicMasters, and Nimbus has
done a terrific job with the digital re-mastering. In addition the
liner notes are especially comprehensive.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Nimbus 2729/30
