Jazz Focus

Ronnie Scott - British Hard Bop!

Legendary British tenor player during the 1950’s and 60’s in sessions with Tubby Hall, Zoot Sims, Victor Feldman, Dizzy Reese, Derek Humble, Ken Wray, Jimmy Deucher and others

Jelly Roll Morton - Library of Congress recordings 1938

Complete performances of a variety of music from Jelly Roll Morton’s career - ragtime, folk, stride, jazz . .all done spontaneously in the LOC when Morton was running a club in 1938

Frank Wess - small groups, 1954, 55

Great small group sessions featuring Count Basie’s main soloist during this period . . tenor saxophonist Wess is accompanied by Henry Coker and Benny Powell on trombones, Joe Wilder on trumpet, Jimmy Jones on piano, Oscar Pettiford on bass and Ocie Johnson on drums

Connie Boswell solo recordings - 1930's and 40's but mostly 50's

Connie (later Connee) Boswell was the central member of the Boswell Sisters trio in the 1920's and 30's although she had a series of solo recordings at the same time - here we will hear a few things from the 30's and early 40's (with Ben Pollack, John Scott Trotter and Frank Signorelli) as well as the results of two Design lps in the middle 1950's featuring her with a large band doing Rodgers and Hart and Irving Berlin tunes as well as jazz album from the same period where she is backed by the Original Memphis Five (Billy Butterfield, Miff Mole, Jimmy Lytell, Signorelli, Gene Ramey and Tony Spargo).

Artie Shaw and His Orchestra - 1938, 39 live!

Artie Shaw live 1938, 39Great live shots of the Artie Shaw band featuring Bernie Privin, Chuck Peterson and John Best on trumpets, George Arus on trombone, Ronnie Perry or Georgie Auld on tenor sax, Bob Kitsis on piano, Al Avola on guitar, Sid Weiss on bass and George Wettling or Buddy Rich on drums with Helen Forrest and Tony Pastor on vocals. The real star is the leader, whose clarinet work here he never surpassed.

Keynote Tenors - featuring Ted Nash, Corky Corcoran, Babe Russin and Herbie Haymer

Great swing sessions for Keynote, mostly on the West Coast led by Herbie Haymer, Corky Corcoran, Babe Russin, Ted Nash in 1945-6. Also featuring Joe Thomas, Clyde Hurley, Emmett Berry, Heinie Beau, Willie Smith, Al Hendrickson, Jud DeNaut, Jackie Mills, Dave Barbour, Tommy Todd, Dodo Marmarosa, Allan Reuss, Arnold Ross, Nick Fatool and others.