52nd Street Swing

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH

During 1935-46, 52nd Street in New York was jazz heaven, an area where there were so many jazz clubs housed so close together that it seemed as if the history of jazz could be experienced in one long night. The CD 52nd Street Swing, put out by the GRP label when they had a Decca reissue program, gives one a strong sampling of the types of combos from the 1934-41 period that were active on Swing Street.

The Delta Four’s two numbers feature trumpeter Roy Eldridge and clarinetist Joe Marsalis. The Spirits Of Rhythm, a good-time ensemble most notable for the scat-singing of Leo Watson and the guitar playing of Teddy Bunn, are represented by three numbers. There are also three songs apiece from violinist Stuff Smith’s Onyx Club Band (featuring trumpeter Jonah Jones), the classic John Kirby Sextet, and a group headed by trumpeter Hot Lips Page. In addition, critic Leonard Feather’s All-Star Jam Band (with altoist Benny Carter and cornetist Bobby Hackett) is featured on four songs and there are two numbers by Sammy Price’s Texas Blusicians with tenor great Lester Young.

52nd Street Swing contains more than its share of the exciting sounds heard nightly on the legendary street. If only something similar existed today!

52nd Street Swing
GRP/Decca GRD-646

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.