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.
CD031 - Earl Hines (1934) Vol.2
CD032 - Earl Hines (1935-38) Vol.3
CD033 - Earl Hines (1939-40) Vol.4
CD034 - Earl Hines (1940-41) Vol.5
CD035 - Earl Hines (1941-42) Vol.6
CD036 - Chick Webb (1931-34) Vol.1
CD037 - Chick Webb (1935-37) Vol.2
CD038 - Chick Webb (1937-38) Vol.3
CD039 - Chick Webb (1938-39) Vol.4
CD040 - Claude Hopkins (1932-34) Vol.1
CD 31: Earl Hines 1934
EARL MINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Just To Be In Caroline (Carpenter - Hines)
02. Just To Be In Caroline (Carpenter - Hines)
03. We Found Romance (Carpenter - Dunlap - Irwin)
04. We Found Romance (Carpenter - Dunlap - Irwin)
05. Blue (Carpenter - Wilson)
06. Blue (Carpenter - Wilson)
07. Madhouse (Mundy)
08. Julia (Dixon)
09. Julia (Dixon)
10. Darkness (Hines)
11. You're The One Of My Dreams (Irwin)
12. Swingin' Down (Hines)
13. That's A Plenty (Pollack)
14. Fat Babes (Mundy)
15. Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)
16. Sweet Georgia Brown (Pinkard - Bernie - Casey)
17. Rosetta (Hines - Woode)
18. Copenhagen (Davis - Melrose)
19. Angry (Mecum - Cossard - Brunies - Brunies)
20. Wolverine Blues (Morton)
21. Rock And Rye (Hines)
22. Cavernism (Hines)
CD 32: Earl Hines 1935-38
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Disappointed In Love (Razaf - Denniker)
02. Rhythm Lullaby (Razaf - Denniker)
03. Japanese Sandman (Whiting - Egan)
04. Bubbling Over (Hines - Dunlap - Carpenter)
05. Blue (Wilson - Dunlap - Carpenter)
06. Julia (Dixon)
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA / EARL HINES QUARTET
07. Flany Doodle Swing (Hines)
08. Pianology (Hines)
09. Rhythm Sundae (Hines)
10. Inspiration (Hines)
11. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (Gaskill - McHugh)
12. Honeysuckle Rose (Guartet) (Razaf - Waller)
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
13. Blue Skies (Berlin)
14. Blue Skies (Berlin)
15. Hines Rhythm (Hines)
16. Hines Rhythm (Hines)
17. Rhythm Rhapsody (Randall)
18. A Mellow Bit Of Rhythm (Williams - Walden)
19. Ridin' A Riff (Hines)
20. Solid Mama (Mundy)
21. Goodnight, Sweet Dreams, Goodnight (Unknown)
CD 33: Earl Hines 1939-40
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Indiana (McDonald - Hanley)
02. G.T. Stomp (Hirsch - Marks)
03. G.T. Stomp (Hirsch - Marks)
04. Ridin' And Jivin' (Williams)
05. Grand Terrace Shuffle (Hines)
06. Father Steps In (Dixon - Randall - Hines - Fox)
07. Piano Man (Hines)
08. Riff Medley (Johnson)
09. Me And Columbus (Hirsch - Marks)
10. XYZ (Johnson)
11. 'Gator Swing (Hirsch - Marks)
12. After All I've Been To You (O'Flinn - Redmond - David)
13. Lightly And Politely (Bring - Leaf - Snyder)
EARL HINES
14. Rosetta (Hines - Woods)
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
15. Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues (Handy)
16. Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues (Handy)
17. Deep Forest (Razaf - Forsythe - Hines)
18. My Heart Beats For You (Fisher - Allen - Kendrick)
19. Number 19 (Hines)
EARL HINES
20. Body And Soul (Green - Heyman - Eyton - Sour)
21. Child Of A Disordered Brain (Hines)
CD 34: Earl Hines 1940-41
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Wait 'Til It Happens To You (Eckstine - Crowder - Dunlap)
02. Call Me Happy (Harding - Skylar)
03. Ann (Hines - Carpenter)
04. Topsy Turvy (Calloway - Noel - Battle)
05. Blue Because Of You (Carpenter - Dunlap - Wilson)
06. You Can Depend On Me (Carpenter - Dunlap - Hines)
07. Tantalizing A Cuban (Hines)
08. Easy Rhythm (Mundy)
09. In Swamp Lands (Fredericks - Madison)
10. I'm Falling For You (Hubert - Williams - Sanders)
11. Everything Depends On You (Carpenter - Dunlap - Hines)
12. Coming Home (Jackson)
13. Jelly, Jelly (Hines - Eckstine)
14. Up Jumped The Devil (Mundy)
15. Sally Won't You Come Back? (Buck - Stamper)
16. Jersey Bounce (Wright - Plater - Bradshaw - Johnson)
17. Julia (Dixon - Johnson)
18. Southside (Jackson)
EARL HINES Piano Solo
19. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Fields - McHugh)
20. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Fields - McHugh)
21. My Melancholy Baby (Burnett - Watson)
22. My Melancholy Baby (Burnett - Watson)
CD 35: Earl Hines 1941-42
EARL HINES AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. It Had To Be You (Kahn - Jones)
02. Windy City Jive (Harding)
03. Straight To Love (Hines)
04. Water Boy (Trad.)
05. Swingin' On C (Durham)
06. Yellow Fire (Jackson - Battle)
07. Somehow (Maser)
08. Got It Bad (Webster - Ellington)
09. Never Dreamt (Parsons - Ellis)
10. The Father Jumps (Hines)
11. The Boy With The Wistful Eyes (Raye - DePaul)
12. The Jitney Man (Hines - Valentine)
13. The Earl (Powell)
14. You Don't Know What Love Is (Raye - DePaul)
15. She'll Always Remember (Pola - Marks)
16. Skylark (Mercer - Carmichael)
17. Second Balcony Jump (Valentine)
18. Stormy Monday Blues (Eckstine - Hines - Crowder)
CD 36: Chick Webb 1931-34
CHICK WEBB AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Heebie Jeebies (Atkins)
02. Blues In My Heart (Carter)
03. Soft And Sweet (Sampson)
CHICK WEBB'S SAVOY ORCHESTRA
04. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Fields - McHugh)
05. The Darktown Strutters' Ball (Brooks)
06. If Dreams Come True (Sampson - Goodman - Mills)
07. Let's Get Together (Webb)
08. Can't Dance (I Got Ants In My Pants) (Gaines - Williams)
09. Imagination (VanHeusen)
10. Why Should I Beg For Love? (Sampson)
11. Stompin' At The Savoy (Sampson - Webb - Goodman - Razaf)
12. Blue Minor (Sampson)
13. True (Samuels - Whitcup)
14. Lonesome Moments (Sampson - Webb)
15. If It Ain't Love (Razaf - Redman - Waller)
CHICK WEBB AND HIS ORCHESTRA
16. That Rhythm Man (Razaf - Waller - Brooks)
17. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Fields - McHugh)
18. Lona (Bauza)
19. Blue Minor (Sampson)
20. It's Over Because We're Through (Bryant)
21. Don't Be That Way (Sampson)
22. What A Shuffle (Kirkpatrick)
23. Blue Lou (Sampson - Mills)
CD 37: Chick Webb 1935-37
CHICK WEBB AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. I'll Chase The Blues Away (Sampson - Harrison)
02. Down Home Rag (Lewis - Sweatman)
03. Are You Here To Stay? (Sampson - Harrison)
04. Love And Kisses (Curtis)
05. Rhythm And Romance (Johnson - Whiting - Schwartz)
06. Moonlight And Magnolias (DeRose - Gillespie)
07. I'll Chase The Blues Away (Sampson - Harrison)
08. May Be Wrong (Sullivan - Ruskin)
09. Facts And Figures (Sampson)
10. Cryin' My Heart Out For You (Hopkins - Johnson)
11. Under The Spell Of The Blues (Sampson - Harrison)
12. When I Get Low, I Get High (Sunshine)
13. Go Harlem (Razaf - Johnson)
14. Sing Me A Swing Song (And Let Me Dance) (Carmichael - Adams)
15. A Little Bit Later On (Levinson - Nieburg)
16. Love, You're Just A Laugh (Gardner - Cahn - Chaplin)
17. Devoting My Time To You (Webb - Williams)
18. You'll Have To Swing It (Coslow)
19. Swingin' On The Reservation (Carver - Webb)
20. I Got The Spring Fever Blues (Werner - Bauer)
21. Vote For Mr. Rhythm (Robin - Rainger)
22. Take Another Guess (Sherman - Newman - Mencher)
23. Love Marches On (Loeb - Tobias)
24. There's Frost On The Moon (Young - Ahlert)
25. Gee! But You're Swell (Tobias - Baer)
CD 38: Chick Webb 1937-38
CHICK WEBB AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Rusty Hinge (LaFremiere - Brown)
02. Wake Up And Live (Gordon - Revel)
03. It's Swell Of You (Gordon - Revel)
04. You Showed Me The Way (Green - McRae)
05. Clap Hands! Here Comes Charley (Meyer - Rose - McDonald)
06. Cryin' Mood (Razaf - Webb)
07. Love Is The Thing, So They Say (Werner - Werner)
08. That Naughty Waltz (Levy - Stanley)
09. Just A Simple Melody (Cahn - Chaplin)
10. I Got A Guy (Sunshine)
11. Strictly Jive (Webb)
12. Holiday In Harlem (Reed - Webb)
13. Rock It For Me (Werner)
14. Squeeze Me (Waller - Williams)
15. Harlem Congo (White)
16. I Want To Be Happy (Youmans - Caesar - Harbach)
17. The Dipsy Doodle (Clinton)
18. If Dreams Come True (Sampson)
19. Hallelujah (Youmans - Robin - Grey)
20. Midnite In A Madhouse (Midnite In Harlem) (Clinton)
21. A-Tisket, A-Tasket (Fitzgerald - Alexander)
22. Heart Of Mine (Webb - Heyman)
23. I'm Just A Jitterbug (David - Livingston)
24. Azure (Ellington)
CD 39: Chick Webb 1938-39
CHICK WEBB AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Spinnin' The Webb (Fitzgerald - Webb)
02. Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away) (Gershwin - Gershwin - Kahn)
03. Pack Up Your Sins And Go To The Devil (Berlin)
04. MacPherson Is Rehearsin' (To Swing) (Sunshine)
05. Everybody Step (Berlin)
06. Ella (Ellsworth - Webb)
07. Wacky Dust (Adams - Levant)
08. Gotta Pebble In My Shoe (Feldman)
09. Can't Stop Loving You (Jones - Webb)
10. Who Ya Hunchin'? (Webb - Fitzgerald)
11. Let A Tear Fall In The River (David - Livingstone - Webb)
12. F.D.R. Jones (Rome)
13. Love Each Move You Make (Grumble - Webb)
14. It's Foxy (Bishop - Webb)
15. I Found My Yellow Basket (Fitzgarald - Webb)
16. Undecided (Shavers - Robin)
17. Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That Cha Do It) (Young - Oliver)
18. In The Groove At The Grove (Webb)
19. One Side Of Me (Sunshine)
20. My Heart Belongs To Daddy (Porter)
21. Sugar Pie (Beal - Webb)
22. It's Slumbertime Along The Swanee (Tinturin - Sacco)
23. I'm Up A Tree (Stillman - Webb - Cooke)
24. Chew-Chew-Chew (Your Bubble Gum) (Webb - Ram - Fitzgerald)
CD 40: Claude Hopkins 1932-34
CLAUDE HOPKINS AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. I Would Do Anything For You (Hill - Williams - Hopkins)
02. Mad Moments (Hopkins)
03. Mush Mouth (Mundy)
04. How'm I Doin'? (Redman - Branch)
05. Three Little Words (Ruby - Kalmar)
06. Would Do Anything For You (Hill - Williams - Hopkins)
07. Hopkins' Scream (Hopkins)
08. Washington Squabble (Hopkins)
09. Look Who's Here! (Whitmer - Klages)
10. He's A Son Of The South (Razaf - Davis - Forsythe)
11. Canadian Capers (Chandler - White - Cohen)
12. California, Here I Come (DeSylva - Meyer - Johnson)
13. Three Little Words (Ruby - Kalmar)
14. Shake Your Ashes (Hill)
15. Mystic Moan (Hopkins)
16. Just You, Just Me (Greer - Klages)
17. Washington Squabble (Hopkins)
18. Ain't Misbehavin' (Waller - Razaf - Brooks)
19. Honeysuckle Rose (Waller - Razaf)
20. Washington Squabble (Hopkins)
21. Mystic Moan (Hopkins)
22. Marie (Berlin)
23. Ain't Misbehavin' (Waller - Razaf - Brooks)
24. Harlem Rhythm Dance (Hopkins)
25. Minor Mania (Hopkins)
