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.
CD081 - Artie Shaw (1940-42) Vol.3
CD082 - Artie Shaw (1941-45) Vol.4
CD083 - Woody Herman (1937-38) Vol.1
CD084 - Woody Herman (1937-43) Vol.2
CD085 - Woody Herman (1946) Vol.3
CD086 - Woody Herman (1946-54) Vol.4
CD087 - Tommy Dorsey (1935-36) Vol.1
CD088 - Tommy Dorsey (1937) Vol.2
CD089 - Tommy Dorsey (1937-38) Vol.3
CD090 - Tommy Dorsey (1939-45) Vol.4
CD 81: Artie Shaw 1940 - 41
ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. The Calypso (Magidson - Oakland)
02. Beau Night In Hotchkiss Corners (Magidson - Oakland)
03. Concerto For Clarinet - Part 1 (Shaw)
04. Concerto For Clarinet - Part 2 (Shaw)
05. Dancing In The Dark (Schwartz - Dietz)
06. Cover The Waterfront (Green - Heyman)
07. Moonglow (DeLange - Mills - Hudson)
08. Alone Together (Schwartz - Dietz)
09. If I Had You (Shapiro - Campbell - Connelly)
10. Georgia On My Mind (Carmichael - Gorrell)
11. Why Shouldn't I? (Shaw)
12. It Had To Be You (Kahn - Jones)
13. (That I Love You) (Neiburg - Dougherty - Reynolds)
14. Love Me A Little Little (Holmes - Smith - Orr)
15. Beyond The Blue Horizon (Robin -Whiting - Harlin)
16. Don't Take Your Love From Me (Nemo)
17. Blues In The Night (Mercer - Arlen)
18. Nocturne (Griselle)
19. Rockin' Chair (Carmichael)
20. Take Your Shoes Off, Baby (And Start Runnin' Through My Mind) (Austin)
21. Solid Sam (Norman)
22. Just Kiddin' Around (Conniff)
CD 82: Artie Shaw 1941 - 45
ARTIE SHAW AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. To A Broadway Rose (Conniff)
02. St. James Infirmary Blues - Part 1 (Primrose)
03. St. James Infirmary Blues -Part 2 (Primrose)
04. Deuces Wild (Gibson)
05. Suite No. 8 (Jordan)
06. Someone's Rocking My Dream Boat (Scott - Rene - Rene)
07. Absent-Minded Moon (Burke -Van Heusen)
08. Hindustan (Wallace - Weeks)
09. Carnival (Jordan)
10. Needlenose (Conniff - McKimmey)
11. Two In One Blues (Jordan)
12. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (Trad.)
13. Ac-centuate The Positive (Mercer - Arlen)
14. Lady Day (Mundy)
15. Let's Take The Long Way Home (Mercer - Arlen)
16. Jumpin' On The Merry-Go-Round (Conniff)
17. I'll Never Be The Same (Kahn - Malneck - Signorelli)
18. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Kern - Hammerstein II)
19. 'S Wonderful (Gershwin - Gershwin)
20. Bedford Drive (Harding)
21. September Song (Anderson - Weill)
22. Little Jazz (Harding)
23. But Not For Me (Gershwin - Gershwin)
CD 83: Woody Herman 1937 - 38
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Double Dare You (Shand - Eaton)
02. Why Talk About Love (Pollack - Mitchell)
03. My Fine Feathered Friend (McHugh - Adamson)
04. You're A Sweetheart (McHugh - Adamson)
05. Let's Pitch A Little Woo (Mineo - Prussin)
06. I Wanna Be In Winchell's Column (Revel - Gordon)
07. Loch Lomond (Trad.)
08. Broadway's Gone Hawaii (Gordon - Revel)
09. Calliope Blues (Herman - Linehan)
10. Twin City Blues (Jenkins - Bishop)
11. Carolina In The Morning (Donaldson - Kahn)
12. (I've Been) Saving Myself For You (Cahn - Chaplin)
13. Laughing Boy Blues (Cahn - Chaplin)
14. The Flat Foot Floogie (Gaillard - Stewart - Green)
15. Lullaby In Rhythm (Goodman - Sampson - Profit - Hirsch)
16. Don't Wake Up My Heart (Lewis - Meyer - Wendlin)
17. Blue Evening (Jenkins - Bishop)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS WOODCHOPPERS
18. River Bed Blues (White - Herman)
19. Indian Boogie Woogie (Herman)
CD 84: Woody Herman 1937 - 43
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Dupree Blues (Trad.)
02. Doctor Jazz (Morton)
03. Woodchoppers' Ball (Bishop - Herman)
04. Blues Downstairs / Upstairs (Herman - Bishop)
05. East Side Kick (McDonald)
06. Blues On Parade (Herman - Tyler)
07. Careless (Quadling - Howard - Jurgens)
08. It's A Blue World (Wright - Forest)
09. Blue Ink (Herman - Mersey)
10. Herman At The Sherman (Herman - Randolph)
11. Jukin' (Herman - Mersey)
12. Get Your Boots Laced Papa - Part 1 & 2 (Herman - Bishop)
13. Golden Wedding (La Cinuantaine) (Main)
14. Blue Flame (Noble)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS WOODCHOPPERS
15. South (Moten)
16. Fan It (Jaxon - Howell)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
17. Woodsheddin' With Woody (Martin)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS WOODCHOPPERS
18. Too Late (Wakely)
19. Fort Worth Jail (Reinhart)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS FOUR CHIPS
20. Yardbird Shuffle (Noble)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA 21. Four Or Five Times (Hellman - Gay) 22. Who Dat Up Dere? (Kent - Russell)
CD 85: Woody Herman 1946
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Bijou (Burns)
02. Sweet And Lovely (Arnheim - Tobias - Lamare)
03. Superman With A Horn (Candoli)
04. Blowin' Up A Storm (Hefti - Herman)
05. The Man I Love (Gershwin - Gershwin)
06. Four Men On A Horse (Jackson)
07. The Good Earth (Hefti)
08. Your Father's Moustache (Harris - Herman)
09. Everywhere (Harris)
10. Mean To Me (Turk - Ahlert)
11. Red Top (Herman)
12. Panacea (Burns - Feather)
THE WOODCHOPPERS
13. Hallelujah (Youmans - Grey - Robin)
14. Heads Up (Rogers - Norvo)
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
15. Wild Root (Hefti - Herman)
CD 86: Woody Herman 1946 - 54
WOODY HERMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Four Brothers (Giuffre)
02. Everywhere (Harris)
03. Keen And Peachy (Burns - Rogers)
04. Early Autumn (Burns - Herman)
05. Keeper Of The Flame (Rogers)
06. Lemon Drop (Wallington)
07. More Moon (Rogers)
08. Not Really The Blues (Mandel)
09. Rhapsody In Wood (Bums)
10. Here Comes The Blues (Harris)
11. Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries (Henderson - Brown)
12. Cohn's Alley (Cohn)
13. Mulligantawny (Pierce)
14. M- Why Not? (Hefti)
15. Would He? (Albam)
16. Off Shore (Diamond)
17. Hitting The Bottle (Pierce)
18. It Happens To Me (Kent - Gallop)
19. Strange (Fisher - Latouche)
20. Moten Swing (Moten - Moten)
CD 87: Tommy Dorsey 1935 - 36
TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Weary Blues (Matthews)
02. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You (Bassman - Washington)
03. I'm Shooting High (McHugh - Koehler)
04. Rhythm Saved The World (Kahn - Chaplin)
05. Royal Garden Blues (Williams - Williams)
06. Star Dust (Carmichael - Parish)
07. Ja Da (Carlton)
08. Mary Had A Little Lamb (Symes - Malneck)
09. You've Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby (Gordon - Revel)
10. On The Beach At Bali - Bali (Sherman - Meskill - Silver)
11. San Francisco (Kahn - Kaper - Jurman)
12. That's A Plenty (Pollack)
13. After You've Gone (Creamer - Layton)
14. Head Over Heels In Love (Gordon - Revel)
15. Sleep (Leibig)
16. Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)
17. There's Frost On The Moon (Ahlert - Young)
18. Tea On The Terrace (Coslow)
19. I'm In A Dancing Mood (Hoffman - Goodheart - Sigler)
20. Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now (Waller - Razaf)
21. Jamboree (McHugh - Adamson)
CD 88: Tommy Dorsey 1937
TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. The Goona Goo (Ahlert - Reser - Young)
02. If My Heart Could Only Talk (Samuels - Whitcup - Powell)
03. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town (Hudson - Parish - Mills)
04. Lookin' Around Corners For You (Revel - Gordon)
05. Who'll Buy My Violets? (Padilla - Johnson)
06. On A Little Bamboo Bridge (Sherman - Fletcher)
07. How Could You? (Warren - Dubin)
08. Melody In F (Rubinstein)
09. You're Here, You're There, You're Everywhere (Loeb - Kahal)
10. io. Song Of India (Rimsky - Korsakov)
11. Marie (Berlin)
12. Dedicated To You (Kahn - Chaplin - Zaret)
13. Sweet Is The Word For You (Rainger - Robin)
14. In A Little Hula Heaven (Rainger - Robin)
15. I'll Dream My Way To Heaven (Franklin)
16. Thanks For Everything (Jones - Stone)
17. Liebestraum (Liszt)
18. Mendelssohn's Spring Song (Mendelssohn)
19. Blue Danube (Strauss)
20. Dark Eyes (Otchitchornyia) (Trad.)
21. Jammin' (Coslow)
22. They Can't Take That Away From Me (Gershwin - Gershwin)
23. Twilight In Turkey (Scott)
24. Satan Takes A Holiday (Clinton)
25. Stop, Look And Listen (Van Eps)
CD 89: Tommy Dorsey 1937 - 38
TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Humoresque (Dvorak)
02. Beale Street Blues (Handy)
03. That Stolen Melody (Fisher)
04. Night And Day (Porter)
05. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Harbach - Kern)
06. Canadian Capers (Chandler - White - Cohen)
07. Getting Some Fun Out Of Life (Leslie - Burke)
08. Who? (Harbach - Hammerstein II - Kern)
09. The Dipsy Doodle (Clinton)
10. The Big Dipper (Clinton)
11. Shine On, Harvest Moon (Norworth - Bayes)
12. Music, Maestro, Please (Magidson - Wrubel)
13. Panama (Tyers)
14. Washboard Blues (Carmichael - Callahan)
15. Copenhagen (Melrose - Davis)
16. Symphony In Riffs (Carter)
17. Boogie Woogie (Smith)
18. Tin Roof Blues (Mares - Pollack - Roppolo - Stitzel - Brunis - Melrose)
19. Sweet Sue, Just You (Harris - Young)
CD 90: Tommy Dorsey 1939 - 45
TOMMY DORSEY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
01. Lonesome Road - Parti (Austin - Shilkret)
02. Lonesome Road - Part 2 (Austin - Shilkret)
03. Well All Right (Faye - Raye - Howell)
04. Night In Sudan (Dorsey)
05. Stomp It Off (Oliver)
06. Easy Does It (Oliver - Young)
07. Quiet Please (Oliver)
08. So What (Oliver)
09. Swing High (Oliver)
10. Swanee River (Old Folks At Home) (Foster, arr. Oliver)
11. Deep River (Oliver)
12. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (Trad.)
13. Yes Indeed (Oliver)
14. Loose Lid Special (Oliver)
15. Blue Skies (Berlin)
16. Swingin' On Nothin' (Oliver - Moore)
17. Hallelujah! (Robin - Grey - Youmans)
18. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Porter)
19. Moonlight On The Ganges (Wallace - Myers)
20. Well, Git It! (Oliver)
21. Mandy (Berlin)
22. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Fields - McHugh)
23. Opus 1 (Oliver)
24. Chloe (The Song Of The Swamp) (Kahn - Moret)
25. At The Fat Man's (Oliver)
