You meet ardent collectors among jazz fans who simply must have each and every album of their favourite music that has been published. Some even possess only records of just a few bands or soloists. But the majority of jazz buffs will most likely act spontaneously once they know what they like: When they hear exciting music of the kind they prefer, they will try to get it on record. Like this they accumulate a large quantity of music and the mixture is quite exciting.
The glorious time of the big bands which was followed by the dance hall craze in the swing era started in the 1920s. Bandleader Fletcher Henderson and his arranger Don Redman developed the style of the big bands. They organized the band completely different from the way it was done in classical jazz. Now they had a brass section with more trumpets and trombones, a reed section with several saxophones and a strong rhythm section. The result was a new powerful sound, based on sophisticated arrangements fired by hot solos. The Henderson band that employed soloist like Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Chu Berry on tenor and trumpeters Rex Stewart, Roy Eldridge and Henry “Red” Allen was the role model for many following big bands.
Benny Goodman, the King of Swing of the 1930s, learned a lot from Henderson. He copied his big band concept and played his arrangements. Henderson wrote some of his best pieces for Goodman. The encyclopedia includes many recordings of Goodman’s big band in the 1930s and 1940s. The powerful sound of a swinging big band, distributed by radio and on records,attracted more and more people and the number of successful bands grew immensely. Even well-informed jazz enthusiasts find it hard to name the best among the many bands. Satchmo-fans will stick to their idol and confer the title on Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra, others think Duke Ellington’s band was the greatest, or maybe one of the white bands led by Artie Shaw, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey.
For many connoisseurs however Count Basie’s orchestra was the ideal of a big band, fiercely swinging and relaxed. In 1932 Basie formed his first band with members of the Bennie Moten orchestra and he successfully led big bands for many years. He worked with soloists such as the trumpeters Harry “Sweets” Edison and Buck Clayton, saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans and the famous All American Rhythm Section with Walter Page on Bass, Freddie Green on guitar and the drummer Jo Jones. In 1939 the Basie band performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York City, playing two concerts “From Spiritual to Swing” which were organized by the promoter and Basie fan John Hammond.
CD021 - Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1932-33) Vol.3
CD022 - Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1934-35) Vol.4
CD023 - Mills Blue Rhythm Band (1935-36) Vol.5
CD024 - Jimmie Lunceford (1934) Vol.1
CD025 - Jimmie Lunceford (1934-35) Vol.2
CD026 - Jimmie Lunceford (1935-37) Vol.3
CD027 - Jimmie Lunceford (1937-39) Vol.4
CD028 - Jimmie Lunceford (1939) Vol.5
CD029 - Jimmie Lunceford (1939-40) Vol.6
CD030 - Earl Hines (1932-33) Vol.1
CD 21: Mills Blue Rhythm Band 1932-34
BARON LEE AND HIS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
01. Jazz Cocktail (Carter)
02. Smoke Rings (Gifford)
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
03. Ridin' In Rhythm (Hayes)
04. Weary Traveller (Hughes)
05. Buddy's Wednesday Outing (Hughes)
BLUE RHYTHM BAND
06. Harlem After Midnight (Garland)
07. Jazz Martini (Garland)
08. Feeling Gay (Blue Rhythm Band)
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND with LUCKY MILLINDER
09. Break It Down (Rose)
10. Kokey Joe (Hayes)
11. Love's Serenade (Hayes)
12. Harlem After Midnight (Garland)
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
13. The Stuff Is Here (Garland)
14. The Growl (Hayes)
CHICK BULLOCK AND HIS LEVEE LOUNGERS
15. Frankie And Johnny (P.D.)
16.1 Can't Dance (I've Got Ants In My Pants) (Gaines - Williams)
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
17. Swingin' In E Flat (Washington)
18. Let's Have A Jubilee (Hill - Mills)
19. Out Of A Dream (Washington - Hayes)
CD 22: Mills Blue Rhythm Band 1934-35
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
01. African Lullaby (Hayes - Mills)
02. Solitude (Ellington - DeLange - Mills)
03. Dancing Dogs (Hudson)
04. Love's Serenade (Hayes - Kurtz - Mills)
05. Keep That Rhythm Going (Garland)
06. Like A Bolt From The Blue (Oakland - Parish - Mills)
CHUCK RICHARDS
07. Blue Interlude (Carter)
08. A Rainbow Filled With Music (Hayes)
09. Devil In The Moon (Mills)
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
10. Back Beats (Hill - Mills)
11. Spitfire (Hudson)
12. Brown Sugar Mine (Garland - Kurtz - Mills)
13. Ride, Red, Ride (Millinder - Mills)
14. Harlem Heat (Hudson)
15. Once To Every Heart (Garland - Kurtz - Mills)
16. Congo Caravan (Garland)
17. There's Rhythm In Harlem (Garland)
18. Talahassee (Hayes - Kurtz - Mills)
19. Waiting In The Garden (unknown)
20. Dinah Lou (Koehler- Bloom)
21. Cotton (Koehler)
22. Truckin' (Koehler - Bloom)
CD 23: Mills Blue Rhythm Band 1934-35
MILLS BLUE RHYTHM BAND
01. Blue Mood (Hayes - Mills)
02. E-Flat Stride (unknown)
03. Broken Dreams Of You (Kerr - Spitalny)
04. Yes Yes (My Baby Said Yes) (unknown)
05. Shoe Shine Boy (Kahn - Chaplin)
06. Midnight Ramble (unknown)
07. Red Rhythm (Allen)
08. Everything Is Still Okay (Higginbotham)
09. Jes' Natch'ully Lazy (Stone - Tharpe - Bishop)
10. St. Louis Wiggle Rhythm (Millinder - Smith)
11. Merry-Go-Round (Ellington - Mills)
12. Until The Real Thing Comes Along (Cahn - Chaplin - Freeman)
13. In A Sentimental Mood (Ellington - Mills)
14. Carry Me Back To Green Pastures (Pepper)
15. Balloonacy (Millinder - Smith)
16. Barrelhouse (Smith)
17. The Moon Is Grinning At Me (Hudson - Jones - Mills)
18. Showboat Shuffle (Ellington)
19. Big John's Special (Henderson)
20. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town (Parish - Hudson - Mills)
21. Callin' Your Bluff (Kyle)
22. Algiers Stomp (Allen)
CD 24: Mills Blue Rhythm Band 1934-35
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. White Heat (Hudson)
02. Jazznocracy (Hudson)
03. Chillun, Get Up (Koehler - Parker)
04. Leaving Me (Razaf - Waller - Mills)
05. Swingin' Uptown (Oliver - Lunceford)
06. Swingin' Uptown (Oliver - Lunceford)
07. Breakfast Ball (Koehler-Arlen)
08. Here Goes (Koehler- Arlen)
09. Here Goes (Koehler - Arlen)
10. Remember When (Hudson - DeLange)
11. Remember When (Hudson - DeLange)
12. Sophisticated Lady (Ellington - Hayes - Mills)
13. Mood Indigo (Bigard - Ellington - Mills)
14. Rose Room (In Sunny Roseland) (Williams - Hickman)
15. Black And Tan Fantasy (Miley - Ellington)
16. Stratosphere (Lunceford)
17. Nana (Cohen)
18. Miss Otis Regrets (Porter)
19. Unsophisticated Sue (Simon - Raymond - Raza)
20. Star Dust (Carmichael - Parish)
CD 25: Mills Blue Rhythm Band 1934-35
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Dream Of You (Oliver - Lunceford - Moran)
02. Stomp It Off (Oliver - Lunceford)
03. Call It Anything (It Wasn't Love) (Fisher)
04. Because You're You (Lunceford - Hudson - Oliver)
05. Chillun' Get Up (Parker)
06. Solitude (Ellington - DeLange - Mills)
07. Rain (Ford - Swansstrom - Morgan)
08. Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down (Lodwig - Quicksell)
09. Jealous (Little - Marlie - Finch)
10. Rhythm Is Our Business (Lunceford - Chaplin - Cahn)
11. Rhythm Is Our Business (Lunceford - Chaplin - Cahn)
12. I'm Walking Through Heaven With You (Lunceford)
13. Shake Your Head (From Side To Side) (Cahn - Gerow)
14. Sleepy Time Gal (Lorenzo - Whiting - Alden)
15. Bird Of Paradise (Ellington)
16. Rhapsody Junior (Ellington)
17. Runnin' Wild (Grey - Wood - Gibbs)
18. Four Or Five Times (Gay - Helman)
19. (If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes (Cahn - Ray - Chaplin - Lunceford)
20. Babs (Young - Ahlert)
21. Swanee River (Foster)
22. Thunder (Manners - Lewis)
23. Oh Boy (Durham - Lunceford)
CD 26: Jimmie Lunceford 1935-37
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. I'll Take The South (Palmer- Klages)
02. Avalon (Jolson - Rose - DeSylva)
03. Charmaine (Rapee - Pollack)
04. Hittin' The Bottle (Koehler-Arlen)
05. My Blue Heaven (Whiting - Donaldson)
06. I'm Nuts About Screwy Music (Rose)
07. The Best Things In Life Are Free (Brown - Henderson - DeSylva)
08. The Melody Man (Hendricks- Oliver)
09. Organ Grinder's Swing (Hudson - Parish - Mills)
10. On The Beach At Bali-Bali (Meskill - Silver- Sherman)
11. Me And The Moon (Hirsh - Handman)
12. Living From Day To Day (Schaeffer- Levinson)
13. 'Tain't No Good (Like A Nickel Made Of Wood) (Bernier-Haid -Whiting)
14. Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan) (Richman -Trent - DeRose)
15. I Can't Escape From You (Robin -Whiting) (
16. Harlem Shout (Durham - Lunceford)
17. My Last Affair (Johnson)
18. Running A Temperature (Pascal -Fairchild)
19. Count Me Out (Lunceford - Curtis - Tate)
20. I'll See You In My Dreams (Kahn-Jones)
21. He Ain't Got Rhythm (Berlin)
22. Linger Awhile (Owens- Rose)
23. Honest And Truly (Rose)
24. Slumming On Park Avenue (Berlin)
CD 27: Jimmie Lunceford 1937-39
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Coquette (Kahn - Green - Lombardo)
02. The Merry-Go-Round (Friend - Franklin)
03. Raggin' The Scale (Claypoole)
04. Hell's Bells (Kassel)
05. For Dancers Only (Oliver)
06. Posin' (Cahn - Chaplin)
07. The First Time I Saw You (Wrubel - Shilkret)
08. Honey, Keep Your Mind On Me (Roberts - Lunceford)
09. Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet (Murphy - Wenrich)
10. Pigeon Walk (Monaco)
11. Like A Ship At Sea (Lunceford - Welcker)
12. Teasin' Tessie Brown (Razaf - Roberts - Lunceford)
13. Annie Laurie (Trad.)
14. Frisco Fog (Carr)
15. Margie (Conrad - Robinson - Davis)
16. The Love Nest (Hirsch - Harbach)
17. I'm Laughing Up My Sleeve (Lawrence - Tinturin)
18. Down By The Old Mill Stream (Taylor - Taylor)
19. My Melancholy Baby (Burnett - Norton - Watson)
20. Sweet Sue Just You (Harris -Young)
21. By The River Sainte Marie (Leslie - Warren)
22. Rainin' (Oliver)
23. 'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That Cha Do It) (Oliver -Young)
24. Cheatin' On Me (Yellen - Pollack)
25. Le Jazz Hot (Mooney)
26. Time's A Wastin' (Madden - Lunceford)
CD 28: Jimmie Lunceford 1939
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home (Warfield - Williams)
02. You're Just A Dream (Gaillard)
03. The Lonesome Road (Austin - Shilkret)
04. You Set Me On Fire (Colwell - McKinnon)
05. I've Only Myself To Blame (Tinturin)
06. What Is This Thing Called Swing? (Hecht - Bass)
07. Mixup (Oliver)
08. Shoemaker's Holiday (McKay)
09. Blue Blazes (Oliver- Nowling)
10. Mandy (Clarke - Turk - Meyer - Johnston)
11. Easter Parade (Berlin)
12. Ain't She Sweet? (Yellen - Ager)
13. White Heat (Hudson)
14. Oh Why, Oh Why (Hecht - Bass)
15. Well All Right Then (Lunceford Orchestra)
16. You Let Me Down (McKinnon - Colwell)
17. I Love You (Thompson - Archer)
18. Who Did You Meet Last Night? (Shuster - Cunningham - Robertson)
19. You Let Me Down (Colwell - McKinnon)
20. Sassin' The Boss (McKinnon - Wagner - Adams)
21. I Want The Waiter (With The Water) (Werner - Werner)
22. I Used To Love You (But It's All Over Now) (Brown - VanTilzer)
23. Belgium Stomp (Moore)
24. You Can Fool Some Of The People (Some Of The Time) (Feather)
25. Think Of Me, Little Daddy (Whitman)
26. Liza (AII The Crowds'll Roll Away) (Gershwin - Gershwin - Kahn)
CD 29: Jimmie Lunceford 1939-40
JIMMIE LUNCEFORD AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Put It Away (Choate - Waters - Berns)
02. I'm Alone With You (Estes)
03. Rock It For Me (Werner - Werner)
04. I'm In An Awful Mood (Young - Buckner)
05. Wham (Rebop, Boom, Bam) (Miller - Durham)
06. Pretty Eyes (Redding)
07. Uptown Blues (Marylin Comes On) (Lunceford)
08. Lunceford Special (Lunceford)
09. Bugs Parade (Moore)
10. Blues In The Groove (Durham)
11. I Wanna Hear Swing Songs (Oliver - Moore)
12. It's Time To Jump And Shout (Durham)
13. What's Your Story, Morning Glory? (Lawrence - Webster - Williams)
14. Dinah, Part 1 (Lewis - Young - Akst)
15. Dinah, Part 2 (Lewis - Young - Akst)
16. Sonata by Beethoven (PD, arr. Willet)
17. I Got It (Young)
18. Chopin's Prelude No. 7 (PD, arr. Lunceford)
19. Swingin' On C (Durham)
20. Let's Try Again (Hammond-Moore)
21. Monotony In Four Flats (Moore)
22. Barefoot Blues (Moore- Hammond - Hardy)
23. Minnie The Moocherls Dead (Musgrove -Taylor)
24. I Ain't Gonna Study War No More (PD)
25. Pavanne (Gould)
CD 30: Earl Hines 1932-33
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Deep Forest (Hines)
02. Oh! You Sweet Thing (Razaf - Waller)
03. Blue Drag (Myrow)
04. Blue Drag (Myrow)
05. I Love You Because I Love You (Murray - Goodheart - Hoffman)
06. I Love You Because I Love You (Murray - Goodheart - Hoffman)
07. I Love You Because I Love You (Murray - Goodheart - Hoffman)
08. Sensational Mood (Floyd - Woode)
09. Sensational Mood (Floyd - Woode)
10. Rosetta (Hines - Woode)
11. Why Must We Part? (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
12. Why Must We Part? (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
13. Maybe I'm To Blame (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
14. Maybe I'm To Blame (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
15. Cavernism (Hines - Mundy)
16. Cavernism (Hines - Mundy)
17. Take It Easy (Mundy)
18. Harlem Lament (Wilson)
19. Bubbling Over (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
20. I Want A Lot Of Love (Dunlap - Carpenter - Hines)
