David Murray - Home

David Murray might not be among the best known jazz musicians out there but everyone who know about him seems to love him. Murray has his roots in free jazz but overall I wouldn't categorize him in one single sub-genre of jazz because he tends to experiment a lot with personnel and style. He often switches between octets, big bands, quartets etc. so there is always something interesting and new with each record.

Home is a particular favorite of mine from what I have heard of his work so far. The album was released back in 1981 with an octet. The recording is a loveable mix of swing, bebop and free jazz and it starts wonderfully with a blues piece aptly named Home as it invokes a very nostalgic feeling. It's melodic and it's soothing but as the album progresses from song to song it just gets wilder and wilder. The chains break free but not fully as there is always a stable rhythm section that back the whole thing up. There are coherent choruses and riffs but the solos and some chords are often dissonant and aggressive. Often you will find places in this album where a rhythm section plays this modern type of swing, the saxophones play two different (but intertwined) solos while the piano blasts some strange dissonant chords. It all comes together beautifully and daring. It's as if you got together a really old swing group that's just tired of playing the same songs over and over so they just go wild.


Absolutely love this album. Check it out!

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Bix Beiderbecke - Jass Me Blues (1927-8)

Yes! More delightful music from a time when people were so poor that they were too poor to be poor.

Bix Beiderbecke is another early jazz musician that was not known very much in the public but he was highly admired by his fellow musicians. As far as trumpet/cornet rivals go, the only person who was on par with him was Louis Armstrong. It's a real pity that Bix died so early (in '31) because he would most definitely influence modern music in a much larger scope if he only had the time. Sadly alcohol and other various factors made him die young. But, for our consolation he left us a bit of his music behind so that we may grasp a bit of his great playing.

I might sound pompous but that's probably because he's one of my favorite players so I tend to get very subjective about him. In any case the compilation that I'm sharing is (as the title suggests) a bunch of  songs he recorded in his "late"career. At those times ragtime (or hot jazz) was starting to settle down for a more orchestrated and organized way of playing - swing so what you get here is an interesting middle ground between the two types of jazz. Musically speaking this means that songs are much more relaxed, they swing but they still have some great improvised solos which makes this record so great. You'll notice a lot things that are way ahead of their times, especially the sax solos which often hint to the bebop way of playing. They are all instrumentals so we can fully enjoy the wondrous playing of a person that just had so little luck. So sit back and enjoy the swing.

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Gwigwi Mrwebi - Mbaqanga Songs

 I heard somewhere that it's autumn. That time of the year when you do all the shit you do during every other time of the year except now everything around you is dying. Or birthing; for you South Hemispherians. To complete the dying process of everything here's a complimentary album for you to enjoy while being alive or in the process of dying.

Gwigwi Mrwebi comes from a land that has no seasons. The only weather forecast he has is either incredibly hot or impending mauling by lions. To compensate for the lack of anything in his country Gwigwi Mrwebi decided to do some jazz. So Gwigwi Mrwebi packed his shit and came to London to record some authentically awesome jazz from Africa. You don't really get the chance to experience some authentic African production but you do get to experience its players (I couldn't find any information from which country they actually are).

The album was recorded in 1967 which makes it an interesting blend of old and new. It has those light bebop solos here and there, swing melodies and a bit of soul and funk in it. There's a bit of everything in here but it also gives that exotic feeling. You'll know what I mean hopefully when you hear the thing. I can't really explain it. In any case, the main emphasis here is on melody so most songs are very easy to digest even if you're not into jazz. Just some good melodies and great rhythm. Good stuff.

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Stuff Smith - Hot Jazz Violin

Whenever someone mentions jazz nobody really thinks of violins as jazz instruments. Even if they do the only guy that comes to mind is usually just Stephane Grappelli and yes he was an amazing violinist that participated in a lot of historic recordings (aside from his work with Django he also played with Duke Ellington and a lot of other swing orchestras in America) but that's it. Nobody else really gets mentioned.

Stuff Smith is one of those musicians that were around for a long time but never really got very famous. I personally "heard" of him when I was studying that historic photo. So I was interested in his music and found this little compilation of his works that he did for various bands. Stuff on here by, err, Stuff is during 1917 to 1949 so there's a lot of big band swinging here that's practically on fire. It's a shame that we don't get to hear more of  his bebop recordings because later on Stuff really did kill dem strings. On some songs he's not that obvious while on some he get's even a solo or two. It's just so weird for me to hear a violin in a swing band among all those brass and wood instruments. Certainly worth checking out if you like big band music.

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Cab Calloway - Volume 2 1930-1931

Cab Calloway is one of the most famous and popular musicians of our time. Well not that much according to last.fm but where I'm from he is quite well known. :S

I can't really say that I enjoy his later works but that is mostly because I just don't like it. I can't really say that it's bad. On the other hand his early days is where it's at for me which makes this album pretty much all i need. Here you can find all of his old time classics in top quality and they are not remastered from what I managed to perceive with my own ears. Swing is swing and there's really not that much to explain here. All I can say is that those who like swing will definitely enjoy this a great deal. Which is the main reason I uploaded it in FLAC.

If you don't like flac well just convert it to mp3 and that's that.

Tracklist:

01. St. James Infirmary
02. Nobody's Sweetheart
03. Is That Religion ?
04. Dixie Vagabond
05. So Sweet
06. Minnie The Moocher
07. Doin' The Rhumba
08. Mood Indigo
09. Farewell Blues
10. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby
11. Creole Love Song (Creole Love Call)
12. The Levee Low-Down
13. Blues In My Heart
14. My Honey's Lovin' Arms
15. The Nightmare
16. It Looks Like Susie
17. Sweet Georgia Brown
18. Basin Street Blues
19. Black Rhythm
20. Six Or Seven TImes
21. Bugle Call Rag
22. You Rascal You
23. Sweet Jenny Lee


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Grey Gordon Orchestra

I know very little about this swing orchestra. I know that they were active during the 30s and that this what I have seems to be a radio recording. I don't think anyone ever released their works on cd or vinyls. In short, they were forgotten by time. But not by me! :D

I found some scarce information about them on some old web site but due to my hard drive crash I lost that bookmark. What is interesting about this orchestra is that they used an accordion. I don't know about you but this is the first time I heard an accordion in a swing orchestra. Perhaps there are others but I don't know about them. In any case this particular sounds makes them a bit, unique, compared to others from their time. In terms of sound this is as old school as it gets. Merry little melodies and instrumentation coupled with lovable singing voice. Too bad they never got famous. ;(

There are 18 songs in total. I won't bother with tracklist.

Oh and since there are not any photos of them on the net I just added a photo of my little antique (sort of) USSR accordion that I have. ^_^
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Harry Roy and His Mayfair Hotel Orchestra

I love this photo.

In the good days of swing there were a lot of bands. Some are well known and made a mark on history and some were, eh, less successful. Harry Roy and his orchestra falls into the other category. This does not mean that he's terrible or bad at playing. It's just that his orchestra never made it big.

There's not much info about him but his bio on wiki is here so you can read if you'd like. What makes this one a bit more unique from others is that he sometimes would make a bit provocative songs. They are of course perfectly normal songs with perfectly normal lyrics but they make your imagination go wild har har. No one really tried to ban such songs but they can sometimes be quite direct. While most are aimed at sexual references one is even appealing on suicide. It's called "I'm Gonna Kiss Myself, Goodbye" and the lyrics go:

I'm gonna kiss myself goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
I'm gonna get my wings and fly
Up high, up high

In any case I compiled a bunch of his songs so this isn't any album or anything. It's just a bunch of his songs in one zip. Quality varies but most are in good shape.

Tracklist:

01. Be Careful It's My Heart
02. Better Think Twice
03. Bugle Call Rag
04. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
05. Elmer's Tune
06. Hey Little Hen
07. I'm Gonna Kiss Myself, Goodbye
08. It's Only A Paper Moon
09. I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo
10. La Cucaracha
11. Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm
12. Nobody's Sweetheart
13. Oh! You Sweet Thing
14. Okay Toots
15. Pennsylvania 65000
16. Pistol Packin' Mama
17. Remember Me
18. Roll Along Covered Wagon
19. Rosita
20. Run Rabbit Run
21. Sand In My Shoes
22. Shake Down The Stars
23. Someday Monday Always
24. Struttin' In The Sand
25. Sweet Little Sweetheart
26. That Lovely Weekend
27. The Continental
28. The Tuscana (You Just Retreat)
29. They Can't Black Out The Moon
30. This Is The Army Mr. Jones
31. Tiger Rag
32. Troublesome Trumpet
33. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
34. What A Difference A Day Made
35. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
36. Why Don't You Fall In Love With Me
37. You Are My Sunshine
38. Isn't This A Lovely Day
39. She Had To Go And Lose It At The Astor
40. Something Different
41. Pennsylvania Polka
42. They Can't Black Out The Moon
43. Say It

Download.

Ruth Etting

Ahh. Man music suck these days. I wish I lived in the 30s (preferably not in Germany aho ho). The old swing sounds so good. It's nothing like today's upbeat techno pop that feels so; plastic. Sure people like this, it's perfectly normal to enjoy such music in this time. But for me this is so; empty and so shallow. While on the other hand I enjoy the old songs from 30s. Ruth Etting is a fine example of how music used to sound. It felt so real and sincere. Where did that go? When did that feeling disappeared from pop music? It's so vulgar today. The elegance of it was lost long ago I guess. Which is a shame.

Oh well. No point whining about it. What was was, what is is. But I still can be a pretentious dick and listen what I like and force it here on my blog. :3

Ruth Etting was known as America’s Radio Sweetheart, and was the top female vocalist in America for several years, often singing in the ‘torch’ song style. In 1925, Ruth Etting was discovered by a Columbia record executive in Chicago and was signed to a nation-wide deal. In 1927 she was recommended by Irving Berlin to Florenz Ziegfeld for a spot in his Follies. She was an instant success in New York, and the top vocalist in the country for a number of years.

I collected a lot of her songs here. Note that this not an album or a compilation it's just a bunch of her songs I zipped. Some are in good quality, some are in bad.

Songs are:

01. A Needle In A Haystack
02. But I Do, You Know I Do!
03. Button Up Your Overcoat
04. Cigarettes, Cigars
05. Close Your Eyes
06. Could I, Certainly I Could
07. Cuban Love Song
08. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
09. ...leave...
10. Exactly Like You
11. Funny, dear, what love can do
12. Glad Rag Doll
13. Good Night, Sweetheart
14. Guilty
15. If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight
16. I'll Be Blue, Just Thinking of You
17. I'll Get By
18. I'm Bringing A Red, Red Rose
19. I'm Good For Nothing But Love
20. It Happened In Monterey
21. Laughing At Life
22. Life Is A Song
23. Love Me Or Leave Me
24. More Than You Know
25. Nevertheless
26. Out Of Nowhere
27. Summer Is Over
28. Taking the blues away
29. The Kiss Waltz
30. Where Your Eyes Burning Baby
31. Without That Gal!
32. You're The Cream In My Coffee

Get.

Charlie And His Orchestra

Despite characterizing jazz as “Entartete musik”, ironically the Third Reich had their own swing band for propaganda purposes. German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels conceived of using the style in shortwave radio broadcasts aimed at the United States and particularly the United Kingdom. British listeners heard the band every Wednesday and Saturday at around 9 pm.

The purpose of the band was to stir pro-NS sympathy, draw attention to World War II Allied losses, and carry Adolf Hitler’s messages in an entertaining form. The songs stressed how badly the war was going for the target audience, and how it was only going to be a matter of time before they would be beaten.

Led by German accented frontman Karl Schwedler (“Charlie”), conducted by Lutz Templin, and paced by drummer Fritz Brocksieper, the band included Kurt Abraham on reeds and Willy Berking on trombone. The group formed in 1940, making over 90 recordings between March 1941 and February 1943. Arrangements were by Templin, Willy Berking, and Franz Mück, with lyrics written by the Propagandaministerium. Schwedler was allowed permission to travel to neutral and occupied countries to collect jazz and dance music, which helped the band and propaganda ministry to craft more recordings.

Popular American swing songs - and popular British tunes/songs - were initially performed true to the original, until about the second or third verse which were replaced by pro-German lyrics and monologues. For example, in the tune You’re Driving Me Crazy, Schwedler croons about the confusion of new love, and in the third verse continues: Here is Winston Churchill’s latest tear-jerker: Yes, the Germans are driving me crazy / I thought I had brains / But they shot down my planes…” Later, the entire lyric would be modified, clearly based on the original. The band even recorded some “cover versions” of the originals, unaltered.

Indeed, anecdotal accounts indicate that Winston Churchill enjoyed the broadcasts, finding the lyrics hilarious.

Certainly an interesting piece of history to listen. Very peculiar.

Tracklist:

01. And So Another Lovely Day Is Over
02. Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
03. blue moon
04. Bye Bye Blackbird
05. Calling Invasion Forces
06. Daisy
07. Dinah
08. Elmers Tune
09. FDR Jones
10. Germany Calls
11. Hold Tight
12. I Can't Give You Aything But Love
13. I Double Dare You
14. I Got Rythm
15. I'll Never Say 'Never Again' Again
16. I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket
17. I'm Sending You The Siegried Line
18. Indian Love Call
19. Japanese Sandman
20. Makin Whoopee
21. Nice People
22. South Of The Border
23. St. Louis Blues
24. Stardust
25. Tea For Two
26. Thaks For The Memory
27. The Kings Horses
28. The Man With The Big Cigar
29. The Sheik Of Araby
30. Three Little Fishes
31. Under An Umbrella In The Evening
32. United Air Man
33. Who'll Buy My Bublitchky
34. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf
35. Why'd Ya Make Me Fall In Love
36. You Can't Stop Me From Dreaming
37. You're Driving Me Crazy
38. You're The Top

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Inkspots - Bless You

The now all popular band (mostly because of Fallout 3), Ink Spots! Conveniently called haha! xD But in fact if I remember right their song Maybe also played at the beginning in Fallout 1. Ironically I found about them through Vangelis because someone claimed that Ink Spots sang the song "One More Kiss" from the Blade Runner Soundtrack. This is of course not true, Vangelis himself sang in that song but he was largly influenced by Ink Spots and their "If I Didn't Care" song. So anyway I thought should check them out since I liked the One More Kiss song quite a bit. And when I started listening to this I thought "Hey this sounds a lot like that music from Fallo.... hey this is that music from fallout!". :D

Anyway, this is all great, great old swing stuff. One of those harmony bands where the main instrument is just a guitar and voices. The Platters are the most popular example of this music. The Ink Spots are similar to them but not quite like it. I'm not sure if this an actual compilation or whatever but it has many songs so definitely get this if you like this kind of music. The only bad thing in this is that every song starts with the same guitar intro. I don't know why they did that but after a while it gets annoying. Despite this fault this is an awesome example of how music used to sound like. They don't make music like they used to. Ah sad thing indeed.

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Lionel Hampton - Flying Home

Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002), was a bandleader, jazz percussionist and vibraphone virtuoso. Hampton was born in Louisville, Kentucky. “Hamp” ranks among the greatest names in jazz history and worked with a who’s who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman to Charlie Parker to Quincy Jones. His stuff is really good and I enjoy it a lot especially since there's not many vibraphonists around playing that funky instrument. This is supposed to be Flying Home album but the tracklist is way different from what is shown in Discogs so I'm not really sure this or that is the real album. Anyway, there's a lot of songs along with two bonus songs so enjoy!

Tracklist:

01. Flying Home (3:13)
02. Buzzin' Around with the Bee (3:09)
03. On the Sunny Side of the Street (3:16)
04. Stompology (3:02)
05. Shoe Shiner's Drag (3:26)
06. Drum Stomp (Crazy Rhythm) (3:11)
07. I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas) (2:44)
08. I'm in the Mood for Swing (2:50)
09. Everybody Loves My Baby (2:53)
10. 'S Wonderful (3:28)
11. Shufflin' at the Hollywood (3:06)
12. Wizzin' the Wizz (2:26)
13. Hot Mallets (2:16)
14. Early Session Hop (2:41)
15. Singin' the Blues (2:55)
16. Dinah (2:45)
17. Till Tom Special (3:26)
18. Jack the Bellboy (2:51)
19. Hamp's Boogie Woogie (3:15)
20. Benny Goodman Sextet - Rachel's Dream (3:01)
21. Dizzy Gillespie & his Orchestra - Anthropology (2:35)

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Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli - Souvenirs

The two artists that defined French “Hot Jazz,” Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli were the first European jazz greats. Reinhardt was the more innovative and original artist of the two, regularly stunning audiences with his swift guitar phrases that anticipated the bebop innovations of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Grappelli’s achievements were perhaps less remarkable though he was a fine player and was one of the first violinists to be featured in a small jazz combo. Interesting thing is that Django was missing one finger on his left hand so he had developed an unique style of his own playing.

Tracklist:

01. Honeysuckle Rose (2:56)
02. Night and Day (2:45)
03. Sweet Georgia Brown (3:09)
04. Souvenirs (2:47)
05. My Sweet(2:57)
06. Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away) (2:55)
07. Stomping at Decca (2:34)
08. Love's Melody (3:11)
09. Daphne (3:12)
10. Lambeth Walk (2:48)
11. Nuages (3:04)
12. H.C.Q. Strut (2:59)
13. The Man I Love (3:15)
14. Improvisation No. 2 (2:43)
15. Undecided (2:34)
16. Please Be Kind (2:48)
17. Nocturne (3:16)
18. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (2:33)
19. Louise (2:40)
20. Don't Worry 'Bout Me (2:59)

Download.