VA - The Complete H.R.S. Sessions [6 CD, 1999/FLAC]

 

The Hot Record Society, a New York-based group of jazz recording enthusiasts organized in 1937 by Stephen W. Smith, quickly evolved from a clearinghouse and auction outlet for collectors into a real recording organization. Across ten years from 1937 through 1947, HRS recorded such outfits as Pee Wee Russell's Rhythmakers (an ad hoc group formed by members of Count Basie's and Eddie Condon's bands), Sidney Bechet and Muggsy Spanier, Rex Stewart's Big Seven, Brick Fleagle's Orchestra, Sandy Williams' Big Eight, Jimmy Jones, J.C. Higginbotham, Joe Thomas, Harry Carney, Buck Clayton, Trummy Young, the Billy Taylor Quartet, Russell Procope, Dicky Wells, Babe Mathews and Joe Thomas, and Billy Kyle. It's all here, 124 tracks encompassing everything from prewar New Orleans jazz to the early bop period of the mid-'40s, and while there are gaps -- Smith went for years without recording after the outbreak of the Second World War, owing to a government priority for shellac (the substance that 78s were made from) that barely kept the major labels in business -- it's a good account of what happened with jazz over the decade represented here. Some of the selected material is a little odd, owing to choices made based on copyright accessibility (or nonexistence), and there are perhaps too many alternate takes for the novice listener. On the other hand, the sources are excellent, the recording venue was very fine, and the Mosaic people have done their usual excellent remastering job, so that, say, Budd Johnson's tenor sax and Jimmy Jones' piano on "Sunny Side Up" and "Strollin' Easy" sound incredibly clean and close, and Freddie Green's guitar gets one of its better showcases of the era. And the Brick Fleagle sides, starting with the extraordinary "Brick's Boogie," are almost worth the price of admission by themselves, just to hear what this overlooked, prodigiously talented musician had to offer in his prime, 60 years earlier.

 



DISC ONE

Pee Wee Russell
1. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home? 2:26
2. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home? (alt tk) 3:15
3. There'll Be Some Changes Made (tk.1) 2:51
4. There'll Be Some Changes Made (tk.2) 2:54
5. Zutty's Hootie Blues 2:58
6. Dinah 2:37
7. I've Found A New Baby 2:15
8. Everybody Loves My Baby 2:21

Sidney Bechet-Muggsy Spanier
9. Four Or Five Times 3:55
10. Sweet Lorraine 4:11
11. Lazy River 4:04
12. China Boy 3:45
13. China Boy (alt tk) 3:46
14. If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight 3:57
15. That's A Plenty (alt tk) 3:25
16. That's A Plenty 4:04
17. Squeeze Me 3:46
18. Sweet Sue, Just You 4:00

DISC TWO

Rex Stewart
1. Cherry 4:21
2. Solid Rock 4:14
3. Bugle Call Rag 4:17
4. Diga Diga Doo 4:13

Jack Teagarden
5. St. James Infirmary 4:10
6. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise 4:05
7. Big Eight Blues 4:10
8. Shine 3:51

Sandy Williams
9. Mountain Air 2:59
10. Sumpin' Jumpin' Round Here 2:56
11. After Hours On Dream Street 3:17
12. Chili Con Carney 2:35

J.C. Higginbothan
13. Dutch Treat 2:46
14. A Penny For Your Blues 3:07

Jimmy Jones
15. Old Juice On The Loose 3:09
16. Departure From Dixie 3:00
17. A Woman's Got A Right To Change Her Mind 3:25
18. Muddy Miss 3:03

Babe Mathews & Joe Thomas
19. No Better For Ya 2:33
20. He's Got So Much 3:04

DISC THREE

Joe Thomas
1. Riff Street 3:02
2. A Touch Of Blue 2:41

Harry Carney
3. Minor Mirage 2:43
4. Jamaica Rumble 2:33
5. Shadowy Sands (alt tk)
6. Shadowy Sands 2:42
7. Candy Cane 3:13

Dickie Wells
8. We're Through 2:38
9. Bed Rock 2:50
10. Opera In Blue 2:59
11. Drag Nasty - The Walk 2:29

Sandy Williams
12. Tea for Me 3:04
13. Frost On The Moon 3:05
14. Sam-Pan 2:51
15. Sam-Pan (alt tk) 2:52
16. Sandy's Blues (alt tk) 3:09
17. Sandy's Blues 3:08
18. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You 3:11

Buck Clayton
19. Dawn Dance 3:10
20. Wells-a-poppin' 3:12
21. On The Sunny Side Of The Street 3:29
21. It's Dizzy 3:05
22. Basie's Morning Bluesicale (alt tk) 3:15
23. Basie's Morning Bluesicale 3:19

DISC FOUR

Buck Clayton
1. Saratoga Special (alt tk) 2:46
2. Saratoga Special 2:38
3. Sentimental Summer 3:20
4. Harlem Cradle Song (alt tk) 3:25
5. Harlem Cradle Song 2:38
6. My Good Man Sam 2:36
7. I Want a Little Girl 2:50

Trummy Young
8. Fruitie Cutie (alt tk) 3:07
9. Fruitie Cutie 3:05
10. Blues Triste 3:00
11. Blues Triste (alt tk) 2:59
12. Johnson Rock 3:13
13. Lucky Draw 2:43

Billy Kyle
14. H.R.S. Bounce 2:58
15. Ooh Baby, You Knock Me Out 2:47
16. Date For Eight (alt tk) 2:55
17. Date For Eight 2:57
18. Contemporary Blues 2:56

Russell Procope
19. Bottle It 2:54
20. Denzil's Best 2:39
21. Right Foot, Then Left Foot 2:58
22. Four Wheel Drive 2:53

DISC FIVE

Billy Taylor (pianist)
1. Well Taylor-ed 2:46
2. I Don't Ask Questions, I Just Have Fun (alt tk) 2:43
3. I Don't Ask Questions, I Just Have Fun 2:45
4. So You Think You're Cute 2:37
5. Twinkle Toes 2:42

Rex Stewart
6. Flim Flam 2:41
7. Blues Kicked The Bucket 2:55
8. Madeleine 2:43
9. Madeleine (alt tk) 2:41
10. Loopin' Lobo 2:47

Jimmy Jones
11. Sunny Side Up 2:38
12. Strollin' Easy 3:03
13. Keeping Up With Jones 2:48
14. Weeta 2:38

Billy Taylor (bassist)
15. Late On Saturday 3:02
16. Flight Of The Bebop 2:48
17. My Mind's Made Up On You 3:06
18. Taylor Made 2:45

Billy Taylor (pianist)
19. Restricted 2:44
20. Striding Down The Champs Elysees 3:03
21. Mitch's Pitch 2:55
22. Mr. B "Bops" 2:47

DISC SIX

Brick Fleagle
1. Brick's Boogie 2:44
2. K.C. Caboose 2:32
3. The Fried Piper 3:04
4. So Blue Love 1:58
5. When The Mice Are Away 3:07
6. Helena's Dream 3:12
7. Shufflin' Shoes 1:59
8. Night Wind 1:56
9. Frost On The Moon 2:04
10. Swamp Mist 1:55
11. Double Doghouse 3:02
12. Pastiche 3:15
13. Same Old Sheaves 3:18
14. A Slight Case Of The Shakes 3:14
15. They'll Do It Every Time 2:59
16. On You, It Looks Good 3:04
17. Wig Wham Blues (aka Green Light) 3:03
18. Blue Stew (aka Jive Junction) 2:51