Jazz Focus

Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra, 1939-40

Great live dates from the Savoy Ballroom in 1939 and 1940, featuring the band of the recently deceased Chick Webb, now fronted by Ella Fitzgerald. These are terrific recordings - both musically and in sound quality - and feature great solos by Taft Jordan and Bobby Stark on trumpet, Sandy Williams and George Matthews on trombone, Garvin Bushell and Eddie Barefield on clarinet, Hilton Jefferson on alto, Teddy McRae and Lonnie Simmons on tenor, Wayman Carver on flute, Ram Ramirez and Tommy Fulford on piano, John Truehart on guitar, Beverly Peer on bass and Bill Beason on drums.

Show - Bill Coleman and Don Byas in Europe 1949

Two great record sessions and one live concert featuring the great expat American trumpet and tenor sax player . . with George Daly (vib), Michel de Villers (alto sax), Bernard Peiffer (piano), Jean Bouchety (bass) and Roger Paraboschi (drums)

Buck Clayton in Paris 1949

The great Basie trumpeter Buck Clayton took a band to Europe in the fall of 1949 for about nine months  - those recordings are elsewhere on this station!  These are appearances by Clayton with two other groups led by pianists - Willie "The Lion" Smith and his Quartet (with Claude Luter and Wallace Bishop) and Earl Hines (with Barney Bigard, Arvell Shaw and Bishop).  Four tracks by Hines with just bass and drums recorded on the same date are also included . . .

Show - Billie Holiday 1954 and 55 on Clef

Two sessions featuring the singer heading into her twilight years but still possessing great artistry and backed by great bands.  The first has her own group with Harry Edison on trumpet, Willie Smith on alto sax and Bobby Tucker on piano.  The second is the Tony Scott Orchestra with Scott on clarinet, Budd Johnson on tenor sax, Charlie Shavers on trumpet, Carl Drinkard on piano and Billy Bauer on guitar. 

Ben Webster 1940's

Companion to the other program featuring groups with Webster as the only horn, this one has larger groups, but with the spotlight still on the tenor!  Webster's group nominally led by Bill De Arrango recording for Haven with Leonard Hawkins (Idrees Sulieman) on trumpet, Tony Scott on clarinet, Argonne Thornton (Sadik Hakim) on piano, De Arrango on guitar, John Simmons on bass and Sid Catlett on drums; Webster's Wax Quintet with Bill Coleman on trumpet, Jimmy Jones on piano, Al Hall on bass and Denzil Best on drums; Al Hall's Wax Quintet with the same band with Dick Vance on trumpet; Tony Scott's Downbeat Club All Stars with Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Trummy Young on trombone, Scott on alto and clarinet, Jimmy Jones on piano, Gene Ramey on bass and Eddie Nicholson in drums.

Show - Barney Kessel Septet on Contemporary

Great West Coast/Swing/Mainstream sessions led by guitarist Kessel (who also arranged and composed some of the tunes) for Contemporary Records.  The To Swing or Not To Swing album from 1956 featured Harry Edison on trumpet and either Bill Perkins or Georgie Auld on tenor sax with Shelly Manne on drums and Jimmy Rowles on piano.  The 1959 Some Like It Hot album has Joe Gordon on trumpet, Art Pepper on alto, tenor and clarinet, Rowles and Manne.

Flip Phillips and Bill Harris - 1950-52

Sides demonstrating the connection between trombonist Harris and tenor saxophonist Phillips recording for Clef/Mercury.  The first session also features Harry Edison, Hank Jones and Buddy Rich, the second Lou Levy, Gene Ramey and Jo Jones and the third is by the Nick Esposito Sextet with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown JC Heard and Bennie Green replacing Harris on four tunes.

Show - Tony Kinsey Trio with Joe Harriott and Quintet

British drummer Tony Kinsey had a long career as a player, composer and arranger.  His mid-1950's groups played pretty uncompromising jazz but were commercially successful - a rarity!  This version of his group's records on Esquire and Decca features Jamaican alto sax player Joe Harriott, pianist/vibist Bill Le Sage (who composed half the tunes) and a variety of bass players.  Tenor player Don Rendell is heard in the live session and two tracks with the group backing singer Lita Roza.

Show - Bass Clarinet 2!

More great bass clarinet performances by Don Byron, Eric Dolphy, Harry Carney, Joe Temperley, Hal McKusick, Gene Allen and Buddy De Franco!

Show - Cab Calloway 1932 Band

Great period in the Calloway discography . . from June through December 1932 the band had a very stable personnel featuring Doc Cheatham, Ed Swayzee and Lammar Wright (tpt), DePriest Wheeler and Harry "Fatha" White (tbn), Eddie Barefield, Arville Harris, Andrew Brown and Walter Thomas (reeds), Benny Payne (p), Morris White (g), Al Morgan (sb) and Leroy Maxey (d) backing the leader's athletic vocals.  Arrangements by White, Benny Carter and Will Hudson really show off the ensemble and launch some excellent solos from this driving group.