Red Hot Jazzmen: The Singers

The Upbeat label from England has compiled many rewarding CDs through the years. Their “Great Jazz” series previously released Various Artists sets CDs titled Great Clarinetists, Great Drummers, The Great Ladies of Jazz and Swing, and two of Great Trumpets. The most recent compilation is one of their most fun: Red Hot Jazzmen: The Singers.

There are an infinite number of possible choices for this 24-song set. John Petters, who produced the CD and contributed excellent liner notes, picked out a couple dozen particularly enjoyable performances with vocals from 16 different male singers plus the Mills Brothers.

The set begins with Fats Waller making fun of the lyrics of “The Curse Of An Aching Heart,” singing the blues on “Fats Waller’s Original E Flat Blues,” and interacting with Jack Teagarden during the witty “That’s What I Like About You.” Teagarden next sings and plays “Beale St. Blues” in 1931 with the Venuti/Lang All-Star Orchestra; “Beale St. Blues” would be in his repertoire for the next 30 years.

While they had occasional collaborations, Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby should have worked together more often. Their version of “Lazy Bones” from a radio show in 1950 is quite funny. Armstrong is also featured on “Marie” with the Mills Brothers, “Shoe Shine Boy” with his big band in 1935, and “Basin St. Blues” from the soundtrack of the Glenn Miller Story. Crosby returns for the jazz-oriented “I Ain’t Got Nobody” and a meeting with Johnny Mercer on “My Meadowlark.” Jelly Roll Morton, who only recorded one vocal in the 1920s (“Dr. Jazz”), is featured as a solo singer-pianist on 1939’s “Mamie’s Blues” and romping with an all-star band on “Ballin’ The Jack.” Cab Calloway sings the original version of his greatest hit “Minnie The Moocher,” Henry “Red” Allen in 1933 sings and plays “You’re Gonna Lose Your Gal,” and Roy Eldridge is featured with Gene Krupa’s Orchestra on “Knock Me A Kiss.”

Among the highlights are hearing Hoagy Carmichael scatting his way through “Don’t Forget To Say No Baby” and playing a hot celeste on “The Old Music Master.” Jimmy Rushing with the Count Basie Orchestra on a broadcast from 1937 sings “Good Morning Blues,” the relatively obscure Pleasant Joe is featured on “Layin’ My Rules On The Blues,” Leo Watson does some crazy scatting on “Tutti Frutti” with the Gene Krupa Orchestra and Slim Gaillard, on “Jumpin’ At The Record Shop,” creates swinging lyrics out of the names of other music stars of the 1940s. Red Hot Jazzmen: The Singers concludes with Frank Sinatra on “Sweet Lorraine” joined by the Metronome All-Stars and Nat King Cole singing “Frim Fram Sauce” with his trio and “Orange Colored Sky” with Stan Kenton’s orchestra.

While many trad jazz and swing collectors will have most of these selections, getting to hear them one after another is an enjoyable experience.

Red Hot Jazzmen: The Singers
Upbeat URCD 349
www.upbeatmailorder.co.uk and www.amazon.com

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.