17. Alex Hill: Ain't It Nice? 1928-1934

Alex Hill is not a name that immediately springs to mind when considering early jazz recordings. His name cropped up when I was researching into various other, perhaps more notable, piano players. Yet curiosity got the better of me and I ended up listening to this little gem of an album. What we have here is the late 20's and early 30's Chicago jazz sound. Right from the off, "Parkway Stomp", encapsulates the way jazz was being played at this time - heavily influenced by the likes of Armstrong, Morton, Beiderbecke and Ellington. The song "Chicago Rhythm" may not have been heard much over the 1920's airwaves yet it is a song definitely of it's time with an infectious syncopated beat held down by a tuba with a wailing clarinet.

Hill eventually ended up in New York in the early 30's after a period playing at the Savoy Ballroom. As an accomplished arranger and pianist he worked with the likes of Chu Berry, drummer "Big" Sid Catlett, Eddie Condon and tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman. The latter can be heard to wonderful effect on the sublime track "The Eel". As a piano player Hill was no slouch either as evidenced by great songs like "Stomping 'En Down" and "Tack Head Blues". He was held in such high regard that Irving Mills asked him in the mid 30's to fill in for Duke Ellington who had found himself indisposed.

1. Parkway Stomp
2. Mississippi Wobble
3. She's Funny That Way
4. Shake That Jelly Roll
5. Chicago Rhythm
6. Once or Twice
7. The Eel
8. Tennessee Twilight
9. Madam Dynamite
10. Home Cooking
11. Stompin' 'em Down
12. Tack Head Blues
13. Dyin' With the Blues
14. Toogaloo Shout
15. St. James Infirmary
16. Southbound (1)
17. Southbound (2)
18. I'm Having My Fun
19. You've Had Your Way
20. Ain't It Nice?
21. Functionizin'
22. Song of the Plow
23. Let's Have a Jubilee

16. Benny Carter & His Orchestra 1929 - 1933

This is, in my opinion, an essential album to have in any jazz collection, for a number of reasons. Firstly, the recordings capture how jazz was moving from it's New Orleans and Chicago roots at the end of the 1920's to the big band sound that would dominate the 1930's and early 1940's. Secondly, it contains some of the best players of their generation. Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Rex Stewart, Fats Waller, JC Higginbotham, Don Redman, Dicky Wells, Red Allen and Sid Catlett are all showcased here. Finally, it provides an excellent introduction to one of the giants of 20th century jazz and one of it's finest alto sax players, Benny Carter.

The first seven tracks are Benny Carter's arrangements of the Chocolate Dandies, a kind of offshoot of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Worth noting is the riff of Six Or Seven Times which was to be used in Count Basie's One O'Clock Jump nine years later. The next few tracks are from Carter's own orchestra. He would never attain the heights of Goodman or Ellington in terms of success yet there are some great tracks here, in particular the frenetic Swing It. Yet it is the last half of the album that should get the most attention. Labelled under "Spike Hughes And His Negro Orchestra", the songs are regarded as some of the finest jazz recordings. In songs like Bugle Call Rag, the talents of the tenor giants Hawkins and Berry are well showcased as are those of Red Allen, Shad Collins, Dickie Wells and Carter himself.


1. That's How I Feel Today
2. Six or Seven Times
3. Goodbye Blues
4. Cloudy Skies
5. Got Another Sweetie Now
6. Bugle Call Rag
7. Dee Blues
8. Tell All Your Day Dreams to Me
9. Swing It
10. Synthetic Love
11. Six Bells Stampede
12. Love, You're Not the One for Me
13. Nocturne
14. Someone Stole Gabriel's Horn
15. Pastorale
16. Bugle Call Rag
17. Arabesque
18. Fanfare
19. Sweet Sorrow Blues
20. Music at Midnight
21. Sweet Sue, Just You
22. Air in D Flat
23. Donegal Cradle Song

15. Fletcher Henderson: His Best Recordings 1921-1941

Until the career of Duke Ellington began to take of in the late 20's, Fletcher Henderson was probably the most popular and successful band leader and arranger in the 20's jazz scene, particularly in New York. He wasn't one for the limelight and preferred his star musicians to take centre stage. This is perhaps one of the reasons that I haven't focused on him exclusively in the main blog yet I have looked at a lot of the musicians that came into contact with his band throughout the 20's and 30's. Musicians like Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fats Waller, Tommy Ladnier, Chu Berry, Roy Eldridge and (sadly unrecorded) Lester Young.

And so we have a collection from the excellent "Best Of Jazz" label that showcases the music of Henderson's career from 1921 to 1941. A twenty year span that encompasses the very early days of jazz right through to the end of its most popular form. The collection kicks off quite inauspiciously with the track "Pretty Ways". it's a very stiff number that may not even be considered jazz - more of a ragtime number. Yet it serves as a nice reminder of where the subsequent music emanated from. Coleman Hawkins joined Henderson's orchestra as far back as 1923. A colossus in terms of his impact on jazz yet in the early years his style and technique were decidedly wooden. It took the arrival of Louis Armstrong to the band in 1924 to shake things up and to alter the direction of Henderson's orchestra and to leave a considerable impression on the likes of Hawkins (check out track 18 "Big John's Special" for evidence of this). Satchmo's playing is represented well in the tracks "Everybody Loves My Baby" and "Sugar Foot Stomp".

Despite being the top big band of the time, Henderson's recordings at this time were not exactly prolific.Yet there are some great tracks on this collection from the period 1926 -1927 featuring Fats Waller on the piano on "The Henderson Stomp" and "The Chant". Armstrong's replacement in Tommy Ladnier is the man on the horn on the tracks "Fidgety Feet", "I'm Coming Virginia" and "Hop Off".  Henderson and his brother Horace took over the arrangements after the departure of Don Redman and effected a more nuanced swing sensibility to the band in the early 1930's. The track "Hot And Anxious" features an extremely familiar riff from a track that would become one of the most instantly recognisable songs in popular music history - Glenn Miller's "In The Mood".

With Coleman Hawkins deciding to embark on new musical adventures in Europe coinciding with the rise of the new "King Of Swing", Benny Goodman, Henderson's musical fortunes began to wane in the mid 30's and he turned his attention to arranging. He did however find time to make one more big hit in the form of "Christopher Columbus" featuring a young Roy Eldridge and Chu Berry. This along with the recording of "Blue Lou" and "Stealin' Apples" are featured in this collection. The final track is a great choice as it features a nice piano solo from the man himself.


1. Pretty Ways
2. Unknown Blues
3. Hard Hearted Hannah
4. Everybody Loves My Baby
5. Sugar Foot Stomp
6. What-Cha-Call-'Em Blues
7.  Henderson Stomp
8. The Chant
9. Fidgety Feet
10.I'm Coming Virginia
11. Hop Off
12. Blazin'
13. Somebody Loves Me
14. Hot and Anxious
15. The House of David Blues
16. Honeysuckle Rose
17. It's the Talk of the Town
18. Big John's Special
19. Christopher Columbus
20. Blue Lou
21. Stealin' Apples
22.  Let's Go Home

14. Kid Ory: His Best Recordings 1922 - 1944 (Best Of Jazz Series)

A true jazz pioneer, trombonist Kid Ory's place in the history and development in jazz is assured. Born in 1890 he claimed to have heard the legendary Buddy Bolden when he was eight years old. He was on the scene in New Orleans and was leading his own band by 1912. Members of that band included at one time or another, Sidney Bechet, Johnny Dodds, King Oliver, Jimmy Noone and Louis Armstrong. His band, Ory's Creole Orchestra, was to be the first African American band to cut a legitimate jazz record, in 1922. He was  also an important figure in the eye of the jazz storm that was Chicago in the mid 20's.

This album serves a couple of purposes. Firstly, the tracks heavily feature Kid Ory's innovative solos and "tailgate" style where the trombone would play the rhythmic line behind the clarinet and the trumpet. Secondly, the historic track "Ory's Creole Trombone" from the aforementioned 1922 session is present. Finally, such was the demand for Ory that this album is a bit of a who's who of the New Orleans players who made it big in the mid 20's and announced jazz to the world. Louis Armstrong's & His Hot 5 feature prominently with tracks like "Gut Bucket Blues", "Muskrat Ramble" and the sublime "Savoy Blues" with it's wonderful ascending glisando. Also included are Luis Russell's Hot Six, King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators (inventing the wah wah on the way), The New Orleans Wanderers (essentially the Hot 5 minus Armstrong) and Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers.

Ory was to hang up his trombone in the early thirties (to go into the chicken farm business) but emerged again in the 40s as Dixieland jazz began a revival. A couple of tracks from this time are represented here. The wonderful "South" and "Blues For Jimmie", a tribute to his friend Jimmie Noone who had just died. Also playing on these tracks was another New Orleans legend, "Papa" Mutt Carey.

Ory would continue to record and perform well into the 50s and 60s but these tracks represent a particular high point in his career.


1 Ory's creole trombone
2 Gut Bucket Blues
3 Muskrat Ramble 
4 29th And Dearborn
5 Too Bad
6 Sugar Foot Stomp
7 Wa Wa Wa
8 Dropping Shucks
9 Gatemouth
10 Papa Dip 
11 Flat Foot  
12 Mad Dog  
13 Black Bottom Stomp
14 Dead Man Blues
15 Jazz Lips
16 Put'em Down Blues
17 Ory's Creole Trombone
18 Once in a While
19 Hotter Than That
20 Savoy Blues 
21 South See All 9
22 Blues For Jimmie

13. Fats Waller: On-Air Sessions 1938

Fats Waller was one of the most famous and prolific jazz pianists. He wrote hundreds of songs and was at the forefront of establishing the stride piano style that embodied 20's Harlem jazz. He wrote and had a number of hits including Ain't Misbehavin' , The Joint Is Jumpin' and Honeysuckle Rose. Any of these tracks can be found on the numerous "greatest hits" collections out there. They are essential listening but I wanted to try a different tack when choosing a Fats Waller album for the Kind Of Jazz Library.

Waller's musicianship is unquestioned yet he managed to combine it with some serious showmanship. This album has both in spades. The recordings are from three complete radio sessions that he did in 1938. The first seven tracks are from a NBC recording made in July 12th. Tracks 15-26 are from a sound check at the Yacht Club in October 1938. Both sessions include musicians from his Rhythm band and the swing does not let up. In between the two sessions is a recording made in London at St George's Hall. This was originally a transatlantic broadcast and the album includes the quaint radio announcements as well. On these tracks he accompanies the vocalist Adelaide Hall on the piano and the pipe organ. The sound on these tracks isn't great but the crackle just adds to the atmosphere of hearing records made in the 30's that were transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean.

1. Ain't Misbehavin'
2. The Joint Is Jumpin
3. Inside (This Heart Of Mine)
4. I Had To Do It
5. E Flat Blues
6. Honeysuckle Rose
7. Hold My Hand
8. Ain't Misbehavin' Intro
9. Marie
10. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
11. Handfull Of Keys
12. That Old Feeling
13. Flat Foot Floogie
14. Ain't Misbehavin' Theme
15. Yacht Club Swing
16. You Can't Be Mine And Somebody Else's Too'
17. Monday Mornin'
18. What Do You Know About Love?
19. I Had To Do It
20. African Ripples
21. I Got Rhythm
22. Old Folks
23. Some Of These Days
24. Stop Beatin' Around The Mulberry Bush
25. Summer Souvenirs
26. Yacht Club Swing Theme
27. Dream Man
28. I Used To Love You (But It's All Over Now)
29. Come Down To Earth My Angel
30. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

1-7:  NBC Broadcast - July 12, 1938, NYC
8-14: Broadcast To America - September 10, 1938, London
15-26:  Yacht Club Broadcast - October 18, 1938, Yacht Club, NYC
27-30: Bonus Tracks

12. Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra: 1930 - 1932

To borrow a football (soccer) expression, this is an album of two halves. The first half of these recordings were made between 1930 and 1931. The final ten tracks were recorded at a single session on December 13th 1932. Both sets are excellent and are a great representation of where jazz music was heading for the rest of the decade. However the inclusion by Moten of bassist Walter Page on the December session really elevates these songs into jazz history. It didn't hurt that he also employed a young Ben Webster to blow some tenor sax as well.

Bennie Moten's recording career from 1923 to 1932 is a perfect microcosm of the jazz world from those eras. His first recordings in 1923 were influenced by ragtime. Three years later his recordings would echo the more sophisticated sounds made popular by the incredibly famous Fletcher Henderson. Yet it was while touring incessantly with Kansas City Orchestra around the "territories" in the late 20's that Moten developed a more unique sound. The riffing style that he popularised was to become the hallmark of swing jazz in the mid 30's.

Another incredibly popular territory band of the time was The Blue Devils, led by bassist Walter Page. Many of the musicians that played with The Blue Devils were to become very famous in late years, including Lester Young, Jimmy Rushing, Eddie Durham, Oran "Hot Lips" Page and Count Basie himself. Rather than do battle with this band, Moten decided to simply offer them better contracts and so over time many of them came over to the Kansas City Orchestra. Page himself joined in 1931 after he could no longer keep the band intact. Page's bass style was nothing short of revolutionary and as such completely changed the sound of Moten's band and sowed the seeds of the sound that would become synonymous with The Count Basie Orchestra a few years later.

The December session would include artists who would go on to make up the Count Basie Orchestra in 1936. Walter Page's impact was immediate and his walking bass style jumps out of the album from "Toby" onwards. Freeing up Basie's left hand meant that his trademark light piano style would mark a decisive shift away from the busy stride piano style popular in the 20's. "Moten Swing" was Bennie Moten's most famous track. It's riff style was to become emblematic of the big band sound of the 1930's and well beyond. The Rat Pack and the Las Vegas scene of the early 60's would have sounded very different without the influence of this track. The brass section simply jumps off the record. Hot Lips Page's solo was notable for being remarkably un-Armstrong in its approach. His solo in the wonderful "Lafayette" was also nothing short of superb.

This is an great album that demonstrates a music in flux and is a great showcase for early Basie.


1     The Count
2     Liza Lee
3     Get Goin' (Get Ready To Love)
4     Professor Hot Stuff
5     When I'm Alone
6     New Moten Stomp
7     As Long As I Love You (Jeannette)
8     Somebody Stole My Gal
9     Now That I Need You
10   Bouncin' Round
11   Ya Got Love
12   I Wanna Be Around My Baby All The Time
13   Toby
14   Moten Swing
15   The Blue Room
16   Imagination
17   New Orleans
18   The Only Girl I Ever Loved
19   Milenberg Joys
20   Lafayette
21   Prince Of Wails
22   Two Times

11. Jimmie Noone: Apex Blues (Decca Jazz)

By the early 1920s, all cities had speakeasies where the sound of trained and untrained musicians merged in a cacophony of alcohol. Just like electrical guitar today, it's easy to play a "little" clarinet. Squeak too much, and you were not long for the gig. There was incentive to get good. And good some cats got . . . very good. Michael Pellecchia (Jazz.com)




In the mid 1920's Chicago jazz scene, the clarinet was king. This is sometimes a little hard to grasp for the modern jazz listener. The instruments that spring to mind when the conversation turns to jazz are the saxophone, the trumpet or even the guitar. Yet it was the clarinet that jumped out of the polyphonic jazz sound that was born in New Orleans. From the earliest recordings of The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 through to the pinnacle of Swing's popularity, the clarinet was a pivotal instrument. The last entry of the CJL saw us look at the bluesy tones of the legendary Johnny Dodds. Also, one of my earlier entries looked at the first recordings of Sidney Bechet who switched effortlessly between the blackstick and the unmistakable sound of the soprano sax.

However, one glaring omission from my main blog when looking at jazz figures from the 20's was that of Jimmie Noone. History hasn't been as kind to Noone as to say Bechet or Dodds in terms of name recognition. Yet he was one of the most popular clarinet players of the Jazz Age (it is even said that he was a favourite of Al Capone). His tone was undoubtedly more "sweet" than those of Bechet or Dodds yet some would argue that his technique was superior - a more sophisticated, classical sound of which he probably obtained from his learning of the instrument from Lorenzo Tio, Jr in New Orleans (although he previously had more informal lessons from a 13 year old Bechet)

Noone was born in Cut Off Louisiana, about 50 miles from New Orleans. Prior to 1917 he had played with some noteable musicians including Buddy Petit and Freddie Keppard. After arriving in Chicago he played with Joe "King" Oliver at the Royal Gardens and made his first recordings a few years later. He began playing to rougher crowds in the after hours speakeasy scene and by the mid 20's was fronting his own band,  The Apex Club Orchestra. Musically he experimented with an unusual line-up. Not content with the New Orleans style cornet, clarinet, trombone front line, he used only himself and an alto saxophone with a back line of guitar, drums and piano. Earl Hines was the pianist for a short time and together they made some wonderful recordings that are included on this album.

"I Know That You Know" is an excellent example of Noone's technique and styling. "Sweet Sue" is a song that critics of Noone would say demonstrates his overly romantic side. Yet for me this just demonstrates another dimension to his playing. "Four Or Five Times" is a great track. Played majestically it displays a knowing wink to the days of Storyville, red lights and The Funky Butt Hall. Other gems represented are the 1928 recordings of "Apex Blues", "A Monday Date" and the excellent "Sweet Lorraine". The album progresses with some of his later work from 1930 including "El Rado Scuffle", "Deep Trouble" and the rollicking "San".

Track Listing
1. I Know That You Know
2. Sweet Sue, Just You
3. Four or Five Times
4. Every Evening (I Miss You)
5. Ready for the River
6. Forever More
7. Apex Blues
8. My Monday Date
9. Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me
10. Oh, Sister! Ain't That Hot!
11. King Joe
12. Sweet Lorraine
13. It's Tight Like That
14. Chicago Rhythm
15. My Daddy Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)
16. Off-Time
17. Rado Scuffle, El
18. Deep Trouble
19. So Sweet
20. San