7-disc CD box set from legendary trumpeter Roy Eldridge and the Verve Label. Includes his complete recordings 24-bit digitally remastered and booklet with rare photos.Born in Pittsburgh in 1911, he began playing professionally in carnival bands and such before making a name for himself in a few Midwest regional bands. He arrived in New York in 1931, where Elmer Snowden, McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and Teddy Hill all employed him. He also backed Billie Holiday and featured with Fletcher Henderson. In the late 1930s, he was leading his own octet in Chicago with brother Joe on alto saxophone..
Roy was a trailblazer socially as well as musically; in the 1940s, he joined Gene Krupa’s band, making him the first black musician to tour with Krupa. His classic version of “Rockin’ Chair” and the always enjoyable feature “Let Me Off Uptown” with Anita O’Day are from this period. He continued to perform and record as a leader, and worked for a stint with Artie Shaw (1944-45). Later in the 1940s, he hooked up with Benny Goodman, and also with Norman Granz for a tour in Europe with Jazz at the Philharmonic. But fearing that the modernists in jazz were getting all the attention Stateside, he stayed in Europe, believing his career in America was over.
What happened next is why these Verve recordings exist.
Musicians :
Roy Eldridge (vocals, trumpet); Dizzy Gillespie (vocals, trumpet); Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel (guitar); Eddie Barefield (clarinet); Hal McKusick, Sam Markowitz, Benny Carter (alto saxophone); Flip Phillips, Al Cohn, Buddy Tate (tenor saxophone); Danny Bank (baritone saxophone); Harry "Sweets" Edison , Lou Oles, Al Porcino, Bernie Glow, Al DeRisi (trumpet); Benny Morton (trombone); Oscar Peterson (piano, organ); Bruce McDonald, Dick Wellstood, John Richard Lewis, Ronnie Ball, Teddy Brannon (piano); Eddie Locke, Gus Johnson , J.C. Heard, Jo Jones , Louie Bellson, Alvin Stoller, Stan Levey, Buddy Rich (drums).
Disc 1
1. Baby, What's the Matter With You (3:21)
2. Yard Dog (2:56)
3. Sweet Lorraine (2:52)
4. Jumbo the Elephant (2:49)
5. Basin Street Blues (2:43)
6. I Remember Harlem (3:30)
7. Easter Parade (2:50)
8. I See Everybody's Baby (2:54)
9. Roy's Riff (3:09)
10. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (3:21)
11. Rockin' Chair (3:16)
12. Little Jazz (2:38)
13. Love for Sale (3:41)
14. Dale's Wail (3:37)
15. The Man I Love (3:42)
16. Oscar's Arrangement (2:43)
17. Dale's Wail (alternate take 10) (3:05)
18. Dale's Wail (alternate take 12) (3:28)
19. Dale's Wail (alternate take 13) (3:39)
Disc 2
1. Willow Weep for Me (3:20)
2. Somebody Loves Me (3:33)
3. When Your Lover Has Gone (3:09)
4. When It's Sleepy Time Down South (3:05)
5. Feeling a Draft (3:32)
6. Don't Blame Me (3:14)
7. Echoes of Harlem (3:46)
8. I Can't Get Started (3:24)
9. When It's Sleepy Time Down South (alternate take) (3:03)
10. Echoes of Harlem (10" LP master) (4:03)
11. A Foggy Day (5:44)
12. Blue Moon (4:00)
13. Stormy Weather (4:27)
14. Sweethearts on Parade (4:33)
15. If I Had You (3:48)
16. I Only Have Eyes for You (7:15)
17. Sweet Georgia Brown (4:32)
18. The Song Is Ended (3:35)
Disc 3
1. Sometimes I'm Happy (5:24)
2. Algo bueno (6:11)
3. Trumpet Blues (7:56)
4. The Heat's On (6:29)
5. The Ballad Medley: I'm Through With Love / Can't We Be Friends / Don't You Think / I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do / If I Had You (11:18)
6. Blue Moon (9:05)
7. I've Found a New Baby (9:15)
8. Pretty-Eyed Baby (5:34)
9. I Can't Get Started (10:59)
Disc 4
1. Limehouse Blues (9:55)
2. Steeplechase (17:26)
3. Tour de Force (11:09)
4. Ballad Medley: I'm Through With Love / The Nearness of You / Moonlight in Vermont / Summertime (8:41)
5. Les tricheurs (3:14)
6. Phil's Tune (4:22)
Disc 5
1. I Still Love Him So (5:46)
2. The Moon Is Low (LP version) (6:06)
3. I Missed My Hat (5:19)
4. Ballad Medley: I Remember You / Chelsea Bridge / I've Got the World on a String (6:18)
5. Polite Blues (8:35)
6. Close Your Eyes (2:39)
7. The Moon Is Low (78 version) (2:28)
8. The Moon Is Low (alternate take) (3:09)
9. I Missed My Hat (alternate take) (5:26)
10. Close Your Eyes (alternate take) (2:42)
11. Ballad Medley: I Remember You / Chelsea Bridge / I've Got the World on a String (alternate take) (5:44)
12. Where's Art? (4:06)
13. I Don't Know (4:36)
14. Striding (4:36)
15. Wailing (3:13)
Disc 6
1. That's a Plenty (5:35)
2. Royal Garden Blues (6:16)
3. Jazz Me Blues (4:42)
4. Tin Roof Blues (7:32)
5. Struttin' With Some Barbecue (5:31)
6. Black and Blue (7:38)
7. Bugle Call Rag (5:06)
8. Ja-Da (4:37)
9. Royal Garden Blues (alternate take) (5:48)
10. Music for a Stripteaser (4:01)
11. Sprang (4:39)
Disc 7
1. It Never Entered My Mind (2:00)
2. You're Blasé (3:17)
3. A Foggy Day (2:32)
4. Stars Fell on Alabama (2:26)
5. Can't We Be Friends (2:40)
6. I Can't Get Started (3:10)
7. How Long Has This Been Going On (3:06)
8. Have You Met Miss Jones (2:52)
9. Our Love Is Here to Stay (3:07)
10. Cheek to Cheek (2:12)
11. They Can't Take That Away From Me (2:30)
12. Blue Moon (3:17)
13. Bossa Nova (2:46)
14. The Way You Look Tonight (2:25)
15. Sweet Sue, Just You (2:28)
16. I've Got a Crush on You (2:25)
17. When I Grow Too Old to Dream (3:02)
18. Dreamy (2:41)
19. Honeysuckle Rose (4:16)
20. All the Things You Are (3:30)
21. Easy Living (3:48)
22. But Not for Me (3:19)
23. Song of the Islands (3:07)
24. Misty (2:48)
