An Upbeat Berlin Sampler

“ALWAYS.” Various artists. Verve 835 450-2.

Irving Berlin’s 100th birthday provided a reason to dip into the Verve and Mercury vaults for 16 1950s cuts, six by Ella Fitzgerald and/or Louis Armstrong, four by Sarah Vaughan and/or Billy Eckstine.

There are golden moments, most notably the long “Cheek to Cheek” cut, sung first by Armstrong, then by Fitzgerald with Armstrong providing trumpet and vocal obbligatos, and their magnificent prestissimo duet on “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Armstrong is also in superb form on “Top Hat.”

“White Christmas” is assigned to Fitzgerald; Bing Crosby’s only track is an amiable “Heat Wave.” Fred Astaire’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “Change Partners” find him in elegant jazz company, with solos by Oscar Peterson, Flip Phillips and Charlie Shavers. A similar band backs Billie Holiday on “Remember” (sung not as what the annotator calls “an artful waltz,” but in a casual 4/4 readout) and on a more successful “How Deep Is the Ocean.”

Dinah Washington’s “Say It Isn’t So” is marked by her acidly personal imprimatur; contrary to the listing (did anyone listen to these sides before reissuing them?), Cannonball Adderley and Junior Mance are not featured soloists.

The Vaughan and Eckstine cuts have their value, despite being saddled by sometimes glutinous string arrangements; their “Easter Parade” duet comes off best.

Perhaps because of a limit to available material, the project is slightly flawed. However, for the more felicitous moments, this CD is a four-star package; but the LP version, Verve 835 450-1, in which four of the best items are missing, rates 3 1/2 stars.

“THE IRVING BERLIN SONGBOOK.” Elisabeth Welch. Verve Digital 835 491-2. Elisabeth Welch, an American singer who has lived in London since the early 1930s, sings only four of the same songs heard in the above anthology; moreover, five of her songs are performed as waltzes, which renders this set more in character for Berlin. Her voice is small and the treatments are unpretentious, yet she captures with total charm the magic of Berlin’s best works, from the grandly oscillating “Shaking the Blues Away” and the cute corn of “Snooky Okums” (written in 1913) to the brief but poignant “Supper Time.” The backing, by piano and/or a British band, is adequate. The capper is that Welch, who made her recording debut in 1928 and was returned to the U.S. only briefly (she was in “Black Broadway” in 1980) is now in her middle 80s. She still rates 4 stars.

“FACE THE MUSIC” A CENTURY OF IRVING BERLIN.” Dick Hyman. Music Masters MMD 61147 A. Despite the inclusion of six songs not heard in the other Berlin sets (“Lady of the Evening,” “The Best Thing for You Is Me,” “How About Me?” etc.), this is one of the more expendable outings by one of America’s most indispensable pianists. There is some super-stride in “Russian Lullaby,” humor in the downward modulations on “Cheek to Cheek,” but cuts like “Easter Parade” sound perfunctory, lacking Hyman’s potential warmth. Switching to organ, or adding bass and drums here and there, would have helped. 3 stars.

“ELLA IN HOME: THE BIRTHDAY CONCERT.” Ella Fitzgerald. Verve 835-454-2. Released now for the first time, this celebration of Fitzgerald’s 40th birthday (30 years ago last month) is a rewarding reminder of our ultimate jazz singer in the prime of her time. A full hour of Fitzgerald handling Handy, Ellington, Gershwin (a profoundly heartfelt “I Loves You Porgy”), Rodgers & Hart and Arlen and Porter, with felicitous support by Lou Levy’s trio (replaced for the jubilant scat-in finale by the Oscar Peterson Quartet), it leaves no conceivable room for improvement. (You even get Norman Granz announcing in Italian.) The CD has 16 songs, the LP 12; either way, it’s 5 stars.

“TAKE 6.” Take 6. Reprise 25670-1. On no account should “Take 6” be omitted from any purchase list. This amazing sextet (originally a quartet, formed in 1980 at a small black Christian school in Alabama) sings, entirely a cappella, hymns and traditional spirituals (but with a powerful jazz orientation), along with a few originals by members: Claude V. McKnight, director and baritone; Mark Kibble, chief arranger, and Mervyn Warren. Blend, beat and harmony are nonpareil. You may have heard “David and Goliath,” “Get Away Jordan” and “Milky-White Way” before, but never like this. 5 stars.

“LIVE JAZZ.” Nancy Kelly. Amherst 93317. In a mixed debut, Kelly sings nine pop/jazz standards to a background that’s mainly jazz, with fusion touches. She’s best on such ballads as “Love Man,” weakest when her intonation falters on the up tempos. In “twisted” she distorts Wardell Gray’s melody, then lapses onto a meaningless monologue and senseless scatting. Worst, on “Yesterdays” she mangles the inviolable Jerome Kern melody line in the second eight bars. Why didn’t producer Jeff Tyzik spot this? Ernie Watts’ sax solos are extensive and valuable. Kelly, using her range and power more carefully, could be a talent to keep in mind. 2 1/2 stars.

JEAN-LOUP LONGNON & HIS NEW YORK ORCHESTRA. Atlantic 81829. An oddity: this Frenchman, visiting New York, manages to secure the release, on a major label, of an expensive project involving a 20 piece orchestra; meanwhile some of the best (and regularly organized) American bands are having trouble getting recorded. This would be acceptable if Longnon were an exceptional talent, but listen to his scat vocal on “Torride,” a shameless take-off of Clark Terry. Nor is his trumpet more than competent. He is a capable composer-arranger who uses flutes well and adds tuba for body. Ted Nash, credited as co-leader, almost steals the show, such as it is, with his alto sax on “Jazz a Paris” and the jaunty, tongue-in-cheek Royal Garden Blues.”3 stars.

Video Reviews

“FIDDLER’S DREAM.” Claude Williams. MT Productions. MTP 1285-1. Fame escaped Williams when he quit the Basie band just before it hit the big time. Born in 1908, originally a guitarist but later well known as a violinist, he is seen at home in Kansas City playing, reminiscing, teaching, singing the blues. The tributes (by Billy Taylor, Big Joe Turner, Stephane Grappelli, Andy Kirk and others) are eloquent, but take up too much time vis a vis the performance in this too short (23 1/2 minutes) attempt to capture the essence of an underrated artist. 2 1/2 stars.

“CONFESSIN’ THE BLUES.” Jay McShann. MT Productions. MTP 1286-2. As long as the camera and mike are on McShann’s piano and blues singing, the screen lights up vividly. Sittin in with a student band at UC. San Diego (with Jimmy Cheatham conducting), or on location in Kansas City or Toronto, McShann is a timeless delight; but the numerous tributes are neither articulate nor informative enough, and the examination of Kansas City in the Pendergrast era is superficial. The premise of seeing McShann through the eyes of a fictitious writer seems contrived. It would have been better to devote the entire 35 minutes to the subject himself in concert. 2 1/2 stars.