Few female singers matched the hard-swinging and equally hard-living Anita O'Day for sheer exuberance and talent in all areas of jazz vocals. Though three or four outshone her in pure quality of voice, her splendid improvising, wide dynamic tone and innate sense of rhythm made her the most enjoyable singer of the age. O'Day's first appearances... [+] Read More

Few female singers matched the hard-swinging and equally hard-living Anita O'Day for sheer exuberance and talent in all areas of jazz vocals. Though three or four outshone her in pure quality of voice, her splendid improvising, wide dynamic tone and innate sense of rhythm made her the most enjoyable singer of the age. O'Day's first appearances in a big band shattered the traditional image of a demure female vocalist by swinging just as hard as the other musicians on the bandstand, best heard on her vocal trading with Roy Eldridge on the Gene Krupa recording "Let Me Off Uptown." After making her solo debut in the mid-'40s, she began incorporating bop modernism into her vocals and recorded over a dozen of the best vocal LPs of the era for Verve during the 1950s and '60s. Though hampered by heavy drinking and later, drug addiction, during her peak period, she made a comeback and continued singing into the 1990s.

Born Anita Belle Colton in Chicago, she was raised largely by her mother, and entered her first marathon-dance contest while barely a teenager. She spent time on the road and occasionally back at home, later moving from dancing to singing at the contests. After bad experiences amid brief tenures with Benny Goodman and even Raymond Scott, O'Day earned a place in Gene Krupa's band in 1941. Several weeks later, Krupa also hired trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and the trio combined to become an effective force displayed on hits like "Let Me Off Uptown," "Boogie Blues" and "Just a Little Bit South of North Carolina." She spent a brief period away from Krupa with Woody Herman, but returned to the band, only to have it break up by 1943. After moving to Stan Kenton, she starred on Kenton's first big hit, 1944's "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine." Another stint with Krupa presaged her solo debut in 1946, and with drummer John Poole as her accompanist, she recorded a moderate hit one year later with the novelty "Hi Ho Trailus Boot Whip."

Her career really ignited after her first album (and the first LP ever released by Verve), 1955's Anita (also known as This Is Anita). Much more successful in the jazz world than she was in its pop equivalent, she performed at jazz festivals and jazz-oriented concerts, appearing with figures including Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk, and George Shearing. Her performance at 1958's Newport Jazz Festival made her fame worldwide after being released on film titled Jazz on a Summer's Day.

O'Day's series of almost twenty Verve LPs during the '50s and '60s proved her to be one of the most distinctive, trend-setting, and successful vocal artists of the time, arguably surpassed only by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. She worked with a variety of arrangers and in many different settings, including a hard-swinging Billy May collaboration (Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter with Billy May), an excellent, intimate set with the Oscar Peterson Quartet (Anita Sings the Most), several with the mainstream Buddy Bregman Orchestra (Pick Yourself Up, Anita), one with the cool-toned Jimmy Giuffre (Cool Heat), and a Latin date with Cal Tjader (Time for Two) as well as a collaborative LP with the Blue Note instrumental trio the Three Sounds. Even by the early '60s however, her ebullient voice had begun sounding tired; the cumulative effects of heroin addiction, its resulting lifestyle, and a non-stop concert schedule forced her into a physical collapse by 1967.

After taking several years to kick alcohol and drug addictions, she made a comeback at the 1970 Berlin Jazz Festival and returned in the early '70s with a flood of live and studio albums, many recorded in Japan and some released on her own label, Emily Records. Her autobiography, 1981's High Times, Hard Times was typically honest and direct regarding her colorful past. Though her voice gradually deteriorated, O'Day recorded throughout the 1970s and '80s, into the '90s remaining an exciting, forceful vocalist on record as well as in concert. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Jimmy Dorsey was both an accomplished reed player, specializing in alto saxophone and clarinet, and one of the top bandleaders of the swing era. In the early and late periods of his career, he co-led bands with his younger brother Tommy; in between, he scored a series of Latin-tinged hits that established his orchestra as one of the most... [+] Read More

Jimmy Dorsey was both an accomplished reed player, specializing in alto saxophone and clarinet, and one of the top bandleaders of the swing era. In the early and late periods of his career, he co-led bands with his younger brother Tommy; in between, he scored a series of Latin-tinged hits that established his orchestra as one of the most successful recording and performing units of the early '40s. The first son of Thomas Francis Dorsey, Sr., a music teacher and marching-band director, and Theresa Langton Dorsey, Dorsey received early music instruction from his father; by the age of seven, he was playing cornet in his father's band. Switching to trumpet, he made his professional debut at nine when he appeared with J. Carson McGee's King Trumpeters in New York in September 1913. But two years later, he had switched to reed instruments, alternating on alto saxophone and clarinet. Less than two years younger, his brother Tommy had taken up horn instruments, sometimes playing trumpet but mainly trombone, and the brothers formed Dorsey's Novelty Six in 1920. As Dorsey's Wild Canaries, they played an extended engagement at a Baltimore amusement park and made their radio debut. Dorsey then left to join the Scranton Sirens. Around September 1924, he moved to New York and joined the California Ramblers, switching to the Jean Goldkette Orchestra in 1925 and to Paul Whiteman's orchestra in 1926. His younger brother followed him into each of these bands. Eventually the brothers settled in New York, where they worked as session musicians, appearing on records, on radio, and in the pit bands of Broadway musicals. Beginning in 1927, they began organizing studio-only ensembles dubbed the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra for recordings on OKeh Records, and they first reached the charts in June 1928 with "Coquette" (vocal by Bill Dutton). Their first Top Ten placing came in the spring of 1929 with "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" (vocal by Bing Crosby). The Dorseys organized a permanent touring band in April 1934 and later signed to the newly formed Decca Records. They reached the Top Ten in the fall with "What a Diff'rence a Day Made" (vocal by Bob Crosby) and in the winter of 1935 with "I Believe in Miracles" (vocal by Bob Crosby), "Tiny Little Fingerprints" (vocal by Kay Weber), and "Night Wind" (vocal by Bob Crosby). "Lullaby of Broadway" (vocal by Bob Crosby) hit number one in May. The same month, the brothers had a falling-out, and Tommy Dorsey left the band to form his own group. Several recordings, however, were still in the pipeline, and "Chasing Shadows" (vocal by Bob Eberly) hit number one in June, while "Every Little Movement" entered the charts in July and reached the Top Ten. Despite his brother's departure, Jimmy Dorsey at first continued to record as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, and he scored two Top Ten hits in the fall of 1935, "You Are My Lucky Star" and "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'." (These and all other Dorsey hits unless otherwise noted featured Bob Eberly on vocals.) By the end of the year, however, with Tommy Dorsey having launched his own band, Jimmy Dorsey changed the group's billing to Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra, scoring his first chart entry under that name with "You Let Me Down" in December. The same month, Dorsey signed on to provide the musical accompaniment for host Bing Crosby on the weekly radio series Kraft Music Hall, remaining with the show until July 1937. By squabbling, the Dorseys had lost crucial momentum in their careers; while they sorted themselves out, Benny Goodman emerged and was crowned "the King of Swing." Tommy Dorsey quickly put together a highly commercial outfit and gave Goodman serious competition. Jimmy Dorsey was not as successful at first, though he topped the charts in June 1936 with "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" It was only after he left the Crosby radio show and began appearing extensively on his own that he started to figure among the more popular bands. In 1938, he scored seven Top Ten hits culminating in "Change Partners," which hit number one in October. He had six Top Ten hits in 1939 and three in 1940, including the chart-topper "The Breeze and I," which was a key hit, since it began a series of adaptations of Spanish songs arranged by Tutti Camerata. Dorsey's career really took off in 1941 when he scored 12 Top Ten hits. "I Hear a Rhapsody" reached number one in April, followed by "High on a Windy Hill" the same month. Another key hit was Dorsey's third consecutive chart-topper, "Amapola," with alternate verses sung by Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell, which hit number one in March and was the most popular record of the year. Before 1941 was over, Dorsey had returned to number one with "My Sister and I," "Green Eyes" (another duet between Eberly and O'Connell), "Maria Elena," and "Blue Champagne," and he ranked second only to Glenn Miller as the most successful recording artist of the year. Hollywood took an interest in him, and he made his film debut in Lady, Be Good in September 1941. The recording ban called by the American Federation of Musicians in August 1942 cut down on Dorsey's recording opportunities, but he still managed to score six Top Ten hits during the year, among them "Tangerine," another Latin-tinged number with duet vocals by Eberly and O'Connell, which was featured in his second film, The Fleet's In, released in March. Overall, he ranked as the fourth biggest recording artist of the year behind Miller, Harry James, and Kay Kyser. 1943 was more of a struggle, but Decca settled with the union a year ahead of its rivals, Columbia and RCA Victor, and so its artists, Dorsey among them, were able to dominate the charts in 1944. Dorsey scored five Top Ten hits, among them the chart-topper "Besame Mucho" (vocals by Bob Eberly and Kitty Kallen), ranking as the third most successful recording artist of the year behind Decca labelmates Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. The Dorsey Band went into a commercial decline from 1945 on, though there were two Top Ten hits in 1945 and one in 1946. By 1947, Dorsey had moved to MGM Records. In May 1947, he participated in a largely fictionalized film biography of himself and his brother, The Fabulous Dorseys. He scored a Top Ten hit with "Ballerina" (vocal by Bob Carroll) in January 1948 and continued to reach the charts for another couple of years, having moved to Columbia Records by 1950. But he was forced to disband his orchestra, and in 1953 he accepted an offer from his brother to join the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra as a featured player. Soon, the band was being billed as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. From 1954 to 1956, the brothers hosted Stage Show, a live television series. Elvis Presley made his national TV debut on the show in January 1956. Dorsey was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1956. In November 1956, his brother died suddenly, and he took over the band briefly until he was hospitalized in March 1957. His last recording session for Fraternity Records had included "So Rare" (vocals by the Arthur Malvin Singers), which peaked in the Top Five the week of his death at 53. Jimmy Dorsey earned a place as a major jazz instrumentalist in the '20s. He backed into bandleading in the '30s, but by the early '40s had built one of the more successful orchestras of the big band era, with a distinctive style. His hits on Decca (now controlled by the Universal Music Group) are augmented by recordings for Columbia and many small labels, with many of his airchecks also available. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide [-] Hide

From time to time, Gerald Wilson seems like one of Los Angeles' better-kept secrets, an unusually skillful, imaginative and charismatic bandleader who hasn't received his due outside the West Coast. His arrangements have distinctive, often complex voicings and harmonies, rooted in swing and bop yet always forward-looking and energetic in tone.... [+] Read More

From time to time, Gerald Wilson seems like one of Los Angeles' better-kept secrets, an unusually skillful, imaginative and charismatic bandleader who hasn't received his due outside the West Coast. His arrangements have distinctive, often complex voicings and harmonies, rooted in swing and bop yet always forward-looking and energetic in tone. He likes to play around with structures, which contributes to the restless quality in much of his music -- and being a bullfight aficionado, he was one of the first arrangers to make use of Spanish influences. He has been consistently able to attract top-rank musicians to his bands, who play with immaculate precision and brio for the flamboyantly gesticulating maestro. Upon moving from Memphis to Detroit with his family in 1932, Wilson studied music in high school and played with the Plantation Music Orchestra before undergoing the formative experience of his life, working with the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1939 to 1942. Replacing Sy Oliver as arranger, conductor and trumpet soloist, Wilson learned his craft in the Lunceford band, after which he took off for Los Angeles to play with the bands of Les Hite, Benny Carter and Willie Smith. Wilson organized his first big band in 1944, which sported an intriguing blend of swing and bop and featured musicians like Melba Liston and Snooky Young. But it only lasted three years, and after playing for Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie in 1947-48, Wilson quit the music business for a while to try his hand in the grocery trade. After a tentative return as a bandleader in 1952, it took awhile for Wilson to gradually ease his way back into jazz full-time; he even made appearances as a TV actor.

In 1961, after experimenting with a workshop band for four years, Wilson formed a new orchestra which made a string of successful albums for the Pacific Jazz label throughout the '60s, featuring soloists like Harold Land, Teddy Edwards, Bud Shank, Jack Wilson and Joe Pass. One tune that he wrote for the Moment of Truth album, "Viva Tirado" (later reprised on Live and Swinging) became a surprise hit single for the Latin rock group El Chicano in 1970. He scored films and TV programs, worked as an arranger for recordings by singers such as Al Hibbler, Bobby Darin and Johnny Hartman, contributed arrangements to the Duke Ellington band, and wrote music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also started a series of hugely entertaining and informative classes in jazz history at California State University, Northridge (then San Fernando Valley State College) in 1970, moving them to UCLA in 1992, and had his own radio program on L.A.'s KBCA-FM from 1969 to 1976.

Wilson continued to lead big bands off and on through the 1980s and '90s, as well as running the orchestra for Redd Foxx's NBC shows and serving as one of the Los Angeles jazz scene's more revered elder statesmen. In 1995, he commemorated more than half a century as a leader by releasing State Street Sweet, a vigorous tribute to the durability of his work, and scoring a solid hit at the Playboy Jazz Festival. In 1996 Wilson's life's work was archived by the Library Of Congress, and in 1997 he completed Theme For Monterey, a piece commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2003 he recorded New York, New Sound, his debut for Mack Avenue Records, which went on receive a Grammy nomination in the "Best Large Jazz Ensemble" category. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Bennie Moten is today best-remembered as the leader of a band that partly became the nucelus of the original Count Basie Orchestra, but Moten deserves better. He was a fine ragtime-oriented pianist who led the top territory band of the 1920s, an orchestra that really set the standard for Kansas City jazz. In fact it was so dominant that Moten... [+] Read More

Bennie Moten is today best-remembered as the leader of a band that partly became the nucelus of the original Count Basie Orchestra, but Moten deserves better. He was a fine ragtime-oriented pianist who led the top territory band of the 1920s, an orchestra that really set the standard for Kansas City jazz. In fact it was so dominant that Moten was able to swallow up some of his competitors' groups including Walter Page's Blue Devils, most of whom eventually became members of Moten's big band. Moten formed his group (originally a sextet) in 1922 and the following year they made their first recordings. Among Moten's 1923-25 sides for Okeh was the original version of his greatest hit "South." During 1926-32 Moten's Orchestra recorded for Victor and, although none of his original musicians became famous, the later additions included his brother Buster on occasional jazz accordion, Harlan Leonard, Jack Washington, Eddie Durham, Jimmy Rushing, Hot Lips Page and (starting in 1929) Count Basie. So impressed was Moten by Basie's playing that Count assumed the piano chair for recordings from that point on (although in clubs Moten would generally play a feature or two). The most famous Bennie Moten recording session was also his last, ten songs cut on December 13, 1932 that find the ensemble strongly resembling Basie's five years later. In addition to Hot Lips Page, Durham, Washington and Basie, the band at that point also starred Ben Webster, Eddie Barefield and Walter Page and one of the highpoints was the debut of "Moten Swing."

Tragically Bennie Moten died in 1935 from a botched tonsillectomy operation. Buster Moten briefly took over the band, but many of its top members (along with some important additions like Lester Young) eventually gravitated towards Count Basie. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Andy Kirk was never a major musician (in fact he never really soloed), arranger or personality yet he was a successful big bandleader in the 1930s and '40s. He started playing bass sax and tuba in Denver with George Morrison's band in 1918. In 1925 he moved to Dallas where he played with Terrence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929 he took over... [+] Read More

Andy Kirk was never a major musician (in fact he never really soloed), arranger or personality yet he was a successful big bandleader in the 1930s and '40s. He started playing bass sax and tuba in Denver with George Morrison's band in 1918. In 1925 he moved to Dallas where he played with Terrence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929 he took over leadership of the band (which was renamed Andy Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy) and moved to Kansas City. During 1929-30 they recorded some excellent hot performances with such players as pianist/arranger Mary Lou Williams, violinist Claude Williams and trumpeter Edgar "Puddinghead" Battle. Surprisingly Kirk's Orchestra was off records entirely during 1931-35 but in 1936 (the year it relocated to New York) it immediately had a pop hit in "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" featuring the high voice of singer Pha Terrell. In future years such fine soloists as tenor saxophonist Dick Wilson, the early electric guitarist Floyd Smith, Don Byas, Harold "Shorty" Baker, Howard McGhee (1942-43), Jimmy Forrest and even Fats Navarro and (briefly) Charlie Parker would be among Kirk's sidemen. However Mary Lou Williams was the most important musician in the band, both as a soloist and as an arranger. In 1948 Andy Kirk broke up the band (which had recorded mostly for Decca) and in later years ran a hotel and served as an official in the Musicians' Union. A lone "reunion" date in 1956 featured the classic charts but almost none of the original sidemen. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Charlie Barnet reached his greatest popularity during his years with Bluebird (1939-42) but the orchestra he led during his period with Decca (1942-46) was even more powerful. This CD contains 20 of their best recordings and, even if "Skyliner" was their only commercial hit, such top soloists as trumpeters Peanuts Holland, Al Killian and Roy... [+] Read More

Charlie Barnet reached his greatest popularity during his years with Bluebird (1939-42) but the orchestra he led during his period with Decca (1942-46) was even more powerful. This CD contains 20 of their best recordings and, even if "Skyliner" was their only commercial hit, such top soloists as trumpeters Peanuts Holland, Al Killian and Roy Eldridge, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, pianists Dodo Marmarosa and Al Haig, guitarist Barney Kessel and singer Kay Starr (not to mention Barnet himself) make strong appearances on this well-conceived and hard-swinging set. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Fletcher Henderson's five Decca sessions are reissued in full on this fine CD. The 1931 and 1934 big bands are showcased. While the former group (heard on eight numbers) features such soloists as trumpeters Bobby Stark and Rex Stewart, trombonist Benny Morton and Coleman Hawkins on tenor, the later group showcases trumpeter Red Allen, trombonist... [+] Read More

Fletcher Henderson's five Decca sessions are reissued in full on this fine CD. The 1931 and 1934 big bands are showcased. While the former group (heard on eight numbers) features such soloists as trumpeters Bobby Stark and Rex Stewart, trombonist Benny Morton and Coleman Hawkins on tenor, the later group showcases trumpeter Red Allen, trombonist Claude Jones, clarinetist Buster Bailey and tenor Ben Webster; altoist Benny Carter has a guest appearance on "Liza." Highlights of these early swing performances include "Sugar Foot Stomp," "Singin' the Blues" (which has Rex Stewart paying tribute to Bix Beiderbecke), the atmospheric "Radio Rhythm," "Big John's Special," "Down South Camp Meetin"' and "Rug Cutter's Swing." Excellent music that proves that swing did not begin with Benny Goodman in 1935. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Popular Frank Sinatra, Vol. 1 is a wonderful, 20-track collection of highlights from Sinatra's stint with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Every song on the collection was recorded between 1940 and 1941, as his star was on the rise, and while this doesn't contain all of his most familiar songs from the period, it contains a good portion of them,... [+] Read More

The Popular Frank Sinatra, Vol. 1 is a wonderful, 20-track collection of highlights from Sinatra's stint with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Every song on the collection was recorded between 1940 and 1941, as his star was on the rise, and while this doesn't contain all of his most familiar songs from the period, it contains a good portion of them, as well as recordings with the Pied Pipers, Connie Hains and Jo Stafford. For collectors who don't want to invest in the box set, yet want more than a greatest-hits disc, this is an ideal series. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Columbia's Greatest Hits features many of Duke Ellington's best-known songs and biggest hits, including "Satin Doll," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Take the 'A' Train," "Solitude," "Mood Indigo," "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Prelude to a Kiss" and "Perdido." It's a fine sampling of Ellington's most familiar melodies and works as a good... [+] Read More

Columbia's Greatest Hits features many of Duke Ellington's best-known songs and biggest hits, including "Satin Doll," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Take the 'A' Train," "Solitude," "Mood Indigo," "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Prelude to a Kiss" and "Perdido." It's a fine sampling of Ellington's most familiar melodies and works as a good introduction for novices. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

A very nice two-disc set indeed, with a wonderful cross section of Hampton's career, with the focus rightfully on the pre-1950 stage, with the final few cuts taking Hampton as far as a 1963 club date with trumpeter Charlie Teagarden. The music here is often delicate, spun from silver, and it's doubtful you'll find a better compilation of jazz... [+] Read More

A very nice two-disc set indeed, with a wonderful cross section of Hampton's career, with the focus rightfully on the pre-1950 stage, with the final few cuts taking Hampton as far as a 1963 club date with trumpeter Charlie Teagarden. The music here is often delicate, spun from silver, and it's doubtful you'll find a better compilation of jazz vibraphone work. One fascinating highlight: Hampton's 15-minute version of "Stardust." ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide [-] Hide