CD Jazz Library: Swing to Avant-Garde

We music lovers live in exciting times. The establishment of the compact disc has been more than a technological revolution. From the standpoint of many jazz students it has become an incentive to start a serious, comprehensive library.

It’s sad to reflect that most of today’s jazz fans are too young ever to have heard in person the majority of giants created by this art form. To them, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Jack Teagarden, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Charlie Parker are just names in a history book or on a record label.

But by the same token it is rewarding to know that jazz, more than any music that preceded it, has been preserved in large measure through the ever greater fidelity of phonograph records, and that the compact disc represents the disc medium in its most sophisticated state.

The jazz market has provided most major companies with an opportunity to repackage, usually with enhanced sound and often with additional, previously unissued tracks, some of the masterpieces of the last 60-plus years. Within a few years the LP will be well on its way to oblivion, while CDs will have become the dominant medium for listening to recorded music.

The list that follows is designed for (a) the neophyte whose interest in jazz may have coincided with the arrival of the CD, (b) collectors who may have a modest store of LPs but who would like to flesh out their library to include in the CD format most of the indispensable figures.

Because MCA Records has not yet transferred to CD its early masterpieces by Art Tatum, Basie, Nat King Cole and Benny Goodman, substitutions were made wherever possible. Inexplicably too, MCA and CBS have left on the shelf their classic works by Jimmie Lunceford (who led one of the three great bands of the Swing Era alongside Ellington’s and Basie’s). Nor has CBS made CDs of its exclusive store of works by the greatest of all blues singers, Bessie Smith.

These omissions aside, the list takes in all but a handful of the vitally important artists. It represents my own opinion rather than a reflection of mass popularity. In the case of the fusion and avant-garde selections, the term “classic” has been used loosely; after all, it takes decades to determine whether a work is really of classic stature.

Traditional

Louis Armstrong--”Great Original Performances 1923-1931.” BBC CD 597. Tracing Satchmo from his King Oliver days through the first crude attempts to lead a band, this set is mainly valuable for the Hot Five and Hot Seven cuts that established him as the role model for every trumpeter and singer of the day: “West End Blues,” “Muggles,” “St. James Infirmary “ and “Knockin’ a Jug,” etc. With him are Earl Hines, Lil Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Johnny Dodds and Lonnie Johnson.

“At the Jazz Band Ball--Chicago/New York/Dixieland.” RCA Bluebird 6752-2RB. A fine cross section of dates by white musicians who took their jazz seriously in the 1930s. Of the 22 cuts, 16 are by Muggsy Spanier’s Ragtime Band, with the rugged Irish-American cornetist surrounded by the likes of Joe Bushkin and George Brunies; four are by Bud Freeman’s Summa Cum Laude Band, with the tenor sax pioneer slipping and sliding his sui generis way through “The Eel.” There are two early Eddie Condon cuts with trombonist Jack Teagarden playing and singing his soul out.

“Jazz in the Thirties.” Disques Swing CDSW 8457. This two-CD gold mine yields Jess Stacy playing two of Bix Beiderbecke’s piano pieces; Gene Krupa in “Blues of Israel” with Israel Crosby on bass; numerous examples of Joe Venuti as catalytic jazz violinist and of Benny Goodman leading a small jam band; Bunny Berigan heading combos that include Edgar Sampson (composer of “Stomping at the Savoy”) in a rare appearance as solo saxophonist; Adrian Rollini, a pioneer of the now all-but-defunct bass saxophone, leading a band that includes the Dorsey Brothers, and Joe Sullivan, a Hines-inspired pianist, in his own “Little Rock Getaway” and “Gin Mill Blues.” Many of these names may be unfamiliar or dim memories, but the music is invaluable.

“Kansas City Jazz.” Atlantic 7-81701-2. The rolling, driving sounds of Kansas City jazz were part of the 1930s Pendergast era, yet they are re-created with total fidelity in these 1950s and 1970s sessions. This is a jubilant and soulful collection, with “Confessin’ the Blues” sung and played by pianist Jay McShann (using, of all people, John Scofield on guitar), with Big Joe Turner singing the blues about Piney Brown, and one Buster Smith, who allegedly was Charlie Parker’s mentor, in a rare appearance on record, not to mention the instrumentals with Buck Clayton on trumpet and Vic Dickenson on trombone.

“Ridin’ in Rhythm.” Disques Swing CDSW 8453. Several of the great black bands of the 1930s are gathered under this two-CD roof: Duke Ellington in his first version of “Sophisticated Lady,” Benny Carter leading the most elegant of all sax sections, the brothers Fletcher and Horace Henderson leading their own bands, the tenor saxophone grandsire Coleman Hawkins in New York (with the Hendersons) and London (with Jack Hylton). As a bonus there’s the first famous boogie-woogie solo, Meade Lux Lewis playing his own “Honky Tonk Train Blues,” which in 1936 triggered the nationwide mania for eight-to-the-bar piano.

Fats Waller--”Great Original Performances 1927-1934.” BBC CD 598. Waller was much more than the Clown Prince of Jazz, as this odd miscellany reveals. He’s heard as a powerfully individual piano soloist (in his own “Alligator Crawl” and “Handful of Keys”); as leader of various recording units with Red Allen, Pee Wee Russell, Jack Teagarden and J.C. Higginbotham; as organist, pianist and/or vocalist in groups led by the black cornetist Thomas Morris and the white vaudevillian Ted Lewis. There’s even a group called the Little Chocolate Dandies with Don Redman, Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins, all in the sax section.

Swing

Duke Ellington--”The Blanton-Webster Band.” RCA Bluebird 5651 2 RB. Though the CD is named for bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, who joined Ellington in 1939, the band during this period was a galaxy of geniuses: Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams, Lawrence Brown, all perfect subjects for Ellington’s (and Billy Strayhorn’s) pen. Beyond question, this was the most glorious of all orchestras in its peak glory years.

“From Spirituals to Swing.” Vanguard VC D2 47/48. At these live Carnegie Hall concerts presented by John Hammond in 1938 and 1939, the roots of jazz were represented by Mitchell’s Christian Singers, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry and Ida Cox; early jazz and swing by Sidney Bechet, Lester Young, Hot Lips Page, the Count Basie band and the Benny Goodman Sextet.

Benny Goodman--”Sing, Sing, Sing.” RCA Bluebird 5630-2-RB. The definitive representation of the band during its halcyon years, notable for the inclusion of such arrangers as Edgar Sampson (“Don’t Be That Way”), Fletcher Henderson (“Sometimes I’m Happy” and “King Porter Stomp”), Mary Lou Williams (Roll ‘Em”) and Gordon Jenkins (“Goodbye”). Along with the leader and the other soloists there are such bonuses as vocals by Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Rushing.

Artie Shaw--”Begin the Beguine.” RCA Bluebird 6274-2-RB. An admirable cross-section of the Swing Era. The 20 cuts include a small combo (the Gramercy 5, with Johnny Guarnieri on harpsichord and Billy Butterfield on trumpet), the regular orchestra (“Star Dust,” with Jack Jenney on trombone) and the enlarged ensemble with strings (“Frenesi,” “Temptation”). Unlike most virtuoso leaders, Shaw was not only a magnificent clarinetist but a talented composer-arranger: He wrote the band’s haunting theme, “Nightmare,” the lyrics and music to “Any Old Time” (vocal by Billie Holiday) and co-wrote “Moonray.” William Grant Still’s two-part “Blues” is a unique example of a great black classical composer’s successful venture into jazz.

“The Best of Art Tatum.” Pablo PACD 2405-418-2. Tatum was the greatest jazz soloist who ever lived, in the view of all those who don’t accord that honor to Charlie Parker. Though recorded in his declining years, this set is a compendium of sessions surrounded by his peers: Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Buddy De Franco, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Buddy Rich, Jo Jones, Louie Bellson.

Bebop

Dizzy Gillespie--”Shaw Nuff.” Musicraft MVSCD 53. As was made clear in my original liner notes (reprinted on this CD reissue), the small group works of the mid-’40s triggered the bebop revolution: One tune with Dexter Gordon, seven with Charlie Parker, four with Sonny Stitt. Of the nine big band items, a few are of value as illustrations of how the idiom was adapted to the orchestral form, and as early examples of the work of John Lewis and Ray Brown. But did we really need two versions of a tune called “He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped”?

“Charlie Parker Compact Jazz.” Verve 833-288-2. Bird’s work by 1948-53 was uneven, but there are several masterpieces here; the unforgettable “Just Friends” with a string ensemble, “Bloomdido” in a reunion with Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, and such Parker originals as “Au Privave” (with Miles Davis); also “Lover Man” (with Red Rodney).

Bud Powell--”Jazz Giant.” Verve 829-937 2. Powell’s early (and best) works are on Blue Note, not yet on CDs, but the 1949 session here, with Ray Brown and Max Roach, including such Powell pieces as “Celia” and “Tempus Fugit,” reaffirm that he was the guiding bebop piano force.

Clifford Brown-Max Roach--”Study in Brown.” EmArcy 814-646-2. Brown, who died at 25, was a lyrical 1950s counterpart to Gillespie; both as trumpeter and composer he is brilliantly represented here in a quintet with Harold Land on tenor sax.

Vocal

Ella Fitzgerald--”These Are the Blues.” Verve 829-536-2. The dozens of Fitzgerald albums of Kern, Porter, Berlin, Ellington et al. have attested to her stature as the doyenne of pop-vocal jazz, but the blues cannot be contested as a common denominator. Moreover, her aides here (Roy Eldridge on trumpet, Wild Bill Davis on organ, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and Gus Johnson on drums) are searing plus factors in a set devoted mainly to songs by other singers (Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Leroy Carr, Louis Armstrong, Joe Turner).

“The Quintessential Billie Holiday.” Vol. I, 1933-1935. Columbia CK 40646. The pristine Lady Day is surrounded by various Teddy Wilson combos featuring Benny Goodman, Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Hodges, Chu Berry, Dave Barbour, et. al. The songs vary from attractive (“If You Were Mine,” “You Let Me Down”) to atrocious (“Eeny Meeny Miney Mo”), but Holiday administers CPR to all of them.

Dinah Washington--”The Bessie Smith Songbook.” EmArcy 826 663-2. Just as vocalists today are singing Dinah Washington tributes, the Queen herself paid homage to her own forebear. “Jail House Blues,” “Back Water Blues” and the rest succeed because Washington rises above the mock-antiquated backgrounds with her tart, imperious sound.

“The Singers: 1940s.” Columbia CK 40652. Sarah Vaughan’s “Summertime,” Mildred Bailey’s “I’m Nobody’s Baby” and blues cuts by Jack Teagarden, Maxine Sullivan, Cleanhead Vinson and others light up this rich reminder of a golden vocal age.

“The Singers: 1950s.” Columbia CK 40799. The too-soon-forgotten Lee Wiley (her sound cushioned by Bobby Hackett’s cornet), Jimmy Rushing, Billie Holiday in a superb “Fine and Mellow,” and Betty Roche taking the A Train lead to hints of the ‘60s in Lambert, Hendricks & Ross and Betty Carter. (If you find the Joe Williams cut inadequate, check out “Count Basie & Joe Williams,” Verve 835-329-2).

Midway

Dave Brubeck--”Time Out.” Columbia CK 40585. Brubeck and Paul Desmond, his alto saxophonist in the ‘50s and ‘60s, defied the convention that all jazz had to be played in 4/4 (and occasionally 3/4) time; out of this defiance came “Take Five,” in 5/4, “Blue Rondo a La Turk” in 9/8, not to mention the use of two meters in contrapuntal contest. Oddly enough, this was not only Brubeck’s best-selling album but also his best.

Miles Davis--”Kind of Blue.” Columbia CK 40579. This was a bridge over the troubled waters that had separated jazz in chords from jazz using modes--a difference you can feel even if you don’t know the technical meaning. Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane and Bill Evans contributed to this catalytic innovation.

Miles Davis--”Sketches of Spain.” Columbia CK 40578. Gil Evans’ arrangements used textures almost unknown to orchestral jazz; the Spanish tinge established this as the greatest in a memorable series of Davis-Evans collaborations.

Modern Jazz Quartet--”Pyramid.” Atlantic 1325-2. The definitive chamber jazz unit, with John Lewis playing his own “Django” and “Vendome,” Jim Hall’s “Romaine” and Ray Brown’s title tune. Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Connie Kay were the sidemen then (1959-60) as now.

“Atlantic Jazz Piano.” Atlantic 7 81707-2. Arranged chronologically, the 16 tunes provide a fascinating cross section of ‘50s and ‘60s keyboard jazz: Erroll Garner, Mary Lou Williams, Lennie Tristano, Ray Charles, Thelonious Monk (with Art Blakey’s Messengers), McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, even an acoustic Joe Zawinul.

J.A.T.P. All Stars--”Return to Happiness, Tokyo, 1983.” Pablo PACD-2620-117-2. No library would be complete without an example of the live-concert jam session format, with which producer Norman Granz revolutionized jazz recording in the 1940s. This double package, given the presence of Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Ella Fitzgerald, Sweets Edison and Lockjaw Davis, is typical in its jubilant swing-cum-bop spirit.

Fusion

“Chick Corea Compact Jazz.” Polydor 831-365-2. This involves both early incarnations of Corea’s Return to Forever group: The early unit with its Brazilian infusions and the late-’70s band with its strong rock dynamics. Along the way Flora Purim, Joe Farrell, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Jean-Luc Ponty are heard from. Corea’s mastery of acoustic and electric keyboards is in full view throughout.

Miles Davis--”Bitches’ Brew.” Columbia G2K 40577. Yet another Davis breakthrough, this was the gateway to the electronic era in jazz. The two-record set has a floating personnel with Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and/or Larry Young on keyboards, John McLaughlin on guitar, Wayne Shorter on soprano sax, and others on the cutting edge of 1969 fusion.

“Atlantic Jazz Fusion.” Atlantic 7 81711-2. The internationalization of fusion is represented by the Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous, the German saxophonist Klaus Doldinger and electric groups led by Larry Coryell, Billy Cobham, Les McCann and Jean-Luc Ponty in the 1970s.

Weather Report--”Black Market.” Columbia CK 34099. Midway through the life of their pioneering fusion band, Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter had Jaco Pastorius on bass, the Peruvian Alex Acuna on percussion and Chester Thompson on drums. Originals by both leaders, and “Barbary Coast” by Pastorius, helped elevate the group to its zenith.

Avant-Garde

Ornette Coleman--”Free Jazz.” Atlantic 1364-2. Enormously influential in its day, this double-quartet (with Don Cherry, Scott La Faro and Bill Higgins backing Coleman on one channel while Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell occupy the others) now includes, in the CD version only, an additional first take never before heard. What sounded like total chaos in 1961 seems only partially chaotic today.

John Coltrane--”A Love Supreme.” MCA Impulse MCAD 5560 VC 467. In the all but illegibly small liner notes, Coltrane describes his spiritual awakening and the path that led to this “humble offering” to God. Recorded in 1964 with McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison, this was a singular achievement on an impassioned level far from the chordal (but scarcely less influential) days of his “Giant Steps.”

“Anthony Braxton Live.” RCA Bluebird 6626-2 RB. The musician most emblematic of the 1970s avant-garde, Braxton plays six instruments, from flute to contrabass sax, at festivals in Montreux (with the Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler) and Berlin (with George Lewis on trombone). His compositions, identified by geometric designs instead of titles, are challengingly adventurous.

“Atlantic Jazz: The Avant Garde.” Atlantic 7 81709-2. Charles Mingus’ “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting,” Roland Kirk’s “Inflated Tear” and the Art Ensemble of Chicago (in a piece by saxophonoist Roscoe Mitchell) are highlights in this set, which also includes Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” and John Coltrane’s “Countdown.” The eight works show how greatly the avant-garde varies in accessibility and abstraction.