Jimmie Lunceford

[Travis]

Speaking of Lunceford - Does anyone know the vocalist on Nagasaki?

Eddie Tompkins

[kitkat]

Best yet...

The Uncollected Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express (1944) [LIVE]

Kirk from Seattle introduced me to this by blowing my mind away playing "For Dancers Only" on the dance floor. It goes at 180, not 150, and has LOTS of energy.

I'm also listening to the tracks on this one by his ghost band that played for a year or two after his tragic death. I like Scratch My Back, Saxology, & Sneaky Pete so far--only 7 tracks in at this point.

[anton]

I just got the Lunceford Special CD (Columbia Legacy, 2001) in the mail and (as many of you have already pointed out) the sound of these old recordings (1939-1940) is amazing! Columbia must have had first-class recording equipment back then! I have noticed that there is similarly great sound on

Cab Calloway - Are You Hep to the Jive (Columbia Legacy, 1994)
Anita O'Day with Gene Krupa - Let Me Off Uptown (Columbia Legacy, 1999)

Are there more must-have swing CD's in this series? (I have tried to search the Legacy website, but it's a mess...)

[kitkat]

Wow, just 2 days ago I was thinking about resurrecting this thread.
Y'all've gotta listen to his band in the year or two after he died.
It's still so moving...it still swings so hard...
I listen to "Sneaky Pete" and it makes me want to cry, shout, dance, groove, then go back for another shout. And this is after their leading member was murdered!

How did they do it? How did they pull themselves together to still swing like that? I'm flabbergasted.

[Haydn]

(I have tried to search the Legacy website, but it's a mess...)

I tried two searches, and got an error message each time

[anton]

Y'all've gotta listen to his band in the year or two after he died.
It's still so moving...it still swings so hard...
I listen to "Sneaky Pete" and it makes me want to cry, shout, dance, groove, then go back for another shout. And this is after their leading member was murdered!

Wow, some of those 1948-1949 songs are incredibly hot!! Sneaky Pete is awesome, I'll DJ it next time. Too bad the sound is not that good - it has that typical "dubbed off LP" distorted sound (which probably means that the first tracks are taken from the Dot LP 3487 - Original Orchestra - Jimmie Lunceford (1963).).

Yes, I am obsessed with sound quality and must mention it in every post..

[Eyeball]

Too bad the sound is not that good - it has that typical "dubbed off LP" distorted sound (which probably means that the first tracks are taken from the Dot LP 3487 - Original Orchestra - Jimmie Lunceford (1963).).

I'm curious as to this LP. AFAIK, the DOT label would not have had any original Lunceford material. I don't rhink they came into being until the 1950s and I have never seen any reissue materialby anyone on DOT.

All they had in the ay of Swing were bands and vocalists of the 30s and 40s recreating their earlier hits in hi-fi and/or stereo.

Now that DOT is controlled by MCA which also controls DECCA, it's such fun looking at a CD and trying to determine which Basie, Mills Brothers or Andrews Sisters sides are original Deccas or original Dots....among a few other artists that were on both labels.

Do you have any more info on this DOT Lunceford issue?

[anton]

I'm curious as to this LP. AFAIK, the DOT label would not have had any original Lunceford material. I don't rhink they came into being until the 1950s and I have never seen any reissue materialby anyone on DOT.

All they had in the ay of Swing were bands and vocalists of the 30s and 40s recreating their earlier hits in hi-fi and/or stereo.

Now that DOT is controlled by MCA which also controls DECCA, it's such fun looking at a CD and trying to determine which Basie, Mills Brothers or Andrews Sisters sides are original Deccas or original Dots....among a few other artists that were on both labels.

Do you have any more info on this DOT Lunceford issue?

The discog of Classics' 1948-1949 says that the first seven tracks were on Manor Records, while the following three tracks first appeared on the Dot LP in 1963. According to the The Dot Records Story, the founder of Dot had a 78rpm mail-order business. My guess is that he had gotten hold of some unissued Manor sides that together with the original 78s went on that (most likely unauthorized) album.

[Eyeball]

Thanks!

That is good info.

I thought I had seen a DOT web site at one time.

Manor is fairly scarce 78 rpm label, not "rare", but not all that common.

Just read thru the DOT story and though it is very rock focused, what they say is what I remember seeing, especially towards the end in the 60s.

The only thing they seemed to have left out were the 'cast-offs' from the Swing era that ended up on DOT. Lots of vocalists who no longer could get record deals with major labels went over to DOT to re-do their stuff in STEREO.

And they signed some good artists from the previous generation who still had something to offer, but near everything on DOT is so commercialized.

Harry James had a run of LPS for DOT in the 60s with 'themes'. I have managed to live w/o "HJ Plays C&W Favorites and James doing "Green Onions".

The Mills Brothers did a ton of LPs over at DOT and had a hit or two, like "Cabdriver: which I can easily see being popular with a less traditionally oriented Lindy crowd.

The Andrews Sisters had a ton of stuff on DOT.

And I think one of the oddest LPs of all time, Johnny Hodges playing with Lawrence Welk orchestra was on DOT. Astounding. Props to Welk for liking Hodges enough to record with him.

And there were a couple of BASIE LPs on DOT that were BETTER than the stuff he had been churning out in his last Verve years. "STANDING OVATION" had BASIE live at a hotel in Vegas doing his classic 30s and 40s stuff. Great.

yeah...at the end.......those oddball Paramount label and Gulf and Westenn issues. There was a Buddy De Franco with the Glenn Miller orchestra live at Albert Hall or somewhere on either P or G&W. Disappeared quickly and no loss b/c it was largely useless.

Hahaha...all these memories of the first years on my record buying experiences...sorry to ramble....and thanks for the link!

John

[russell]

Also check out a great live CD 1943-45 Broadcasts.

http://www.worldsrecords.com/cgi-bin/st ... rase=32915

Also the Masters of Jazz label has complete CDs (with better sound quality than Chronological Classics).
For example Volume 1 - 1927-1934 has great versions of

Chillun, Get Up
Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass (great title )
In Dat Mornin'
Jazznocracy
Swingin' Uptown
White Heat (1934) - a slower version than 1939 version

[Eyeball]

Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass (great title )

Yeah....great title for a hot tune.

It sat unissued in the vault for about 30 years before it came out on LP.

If you look at the matrix number it begins with the prefix - TO - which meant "Test Only" - never intended to be issued.

I read a reference years ago to the 'fabulous "Test Only" ' matrices that were recorded at the time by various and never meant for issue and that were just sitting in a vault. Then....I never read anything else about it.

Anyone come across anything on this series of test recordings?

[Jonas]

I'm looking to get into the Jimmie Lunceford business, and I'd like to get the most and best music for the least money. Could you recommend some CDs? Thanks.

Well, Matthew, it's been more than three years since you asked for material, and got great advice from the guys above, so I guess you have a good Lunceford collection by now...

I have picked up "Stomp It Off" and "Lunceford Special" off these recommendations, and have been very pleased with both the music and the sound quality on both of them. I've also filled in some holes with Chrono Classics, great music too, but not as good in the sound quality department. My dream would be for someone to get me the complete "Masters of Jazz" collection of Lunceford (I think it's seven cd's, with alternates and all, 1927-1940), but unfortunately they're out of print, and therefore hard to find and often kind of expensive.

Now, our friends at Proper are releasing their four-CD "Strictly Lunceford" [Proper Box #125] in early May, and by the looks of the track listing it covers the years 1927-1945. Of course it's not complete, but for the very low price Proper sells, it's enough if it fills some holes for me. Hopefully, the sound quality will be at least ok, so it's gonna be interesting to compare head-to-head with other releases...

/Jonas

[anton]

My dream would be for someone to get me the complete "Masters of Jazz" collection of Lunceford (I think it's seven cd's, with alternates and all, 1927-1940), but unfortunately they're out of print, and therefore hard to find and often kind of expensive.

Now, our friends at Proper are releasing their four-CD "Strictly Lunceford" [Proper Box #125] in early May, and by the looks of the track listing it covers the years 1927-1945. Of course it's not complete, but for the very low price Proper sells, it's enough if it fills some holes for me. Hopefully, the sound quality will be at least ok, so it's gonna be interesting to compare head-to-head with other releases...

Well, if you're lucky, Proper have used the Masters of Jazz series as their "masters".

(As I said before, for me, buying a Proper box or downloading stuff from the Internet is about the same thing...)

[Bob the Builder]

Just been released by Proper Records. link

Jimmie Lunceford gave his audience their fill of beautiful music, finding the secret of pleasing a wide audience, without lowering musical standards. To the dancer it was a fine dance band, to the people who wanted to see a show, it was a theatrical spectacle, to the jazz fan it was a great jazz group.

This fantastic set contains over 100 tracks and a fully illustrated 48 page booklet.

Disc 1 (P1597) JAZZNOCRACY

1. Chickasaw Stomp 3:17
2. Memphis Rag 3:21
3. In Dat Mornin' 3:20
4. Sweet Rhythm 2:43
5. Flaming Reeds And Screaming Brass 2:57
6. While Love Lasts 3:06
7. White Heat 2:29
8. Jazznocracy 2:42
9. Chillun, Get Up! 3:13
10. Leaving Me 3:10
11. Swingin' Uptown 2:36
12. Breakfast Ball 2:59
13. Here Goes (A Fool) 2:45
14. Remember When 3:18
15. Sophisticated Lady 3:03
16. Mood Indigo 2:50
17. Rose Room 2:58
18. Black And Tan Fantasy 2:48
19. Stratosphere 2:12
20. Nana 3:03
21. Miss Otis Regrets 2:40
22. Unsophisticated Sue 3:05
23. Stardust 3:02
24. Dream Of You 3:18
25. Stomp It Off 3:15
26. Call It Anything (It Wasn't Love) 3:17


Disc 2 (P1598) RHYTHM IS OUR BUSINESS

1. Because You're You 3:21
2. Chillun, Get Up! 3:08
3. Solitude 3:11
4. Rain, 3:13
5. Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down 3:25
6. Jealous 3:02
7. Rhythm Is Our Business 3:10
8. I'm Walking Through Heaven With You 3:08
9. Shake Your Head (From Side To Side) 2:43
10. Sleepy-Time Gal 3:10
11. Bird Of Paradise 3:17
12. Runnin' Wild 3:08
13. Four Or Five Times 3:10
14. (If I Had) Rhythm In My Nursery Rhymes 3:05
15. Swanee River 2:45
16. (You Take The East, Take The West, Take The North) I'll Take... 2:36
17. Avalon 3:05
18. Hittin' The Bottle 2:53
19. I'm Nuts About Screwy Music 2:59
20. The Best Things In Life Are Free 3:14
21. The Melody Man 2:56
22. Organ Grinder's Swing 2:39
23. On The Beach At Bali Bali 2:52
24. Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan) 2:53
25. Harlem Shout 3:00


Disc 3 (P1599) FOR DANCERS ONLY

1. Running A Temperature 3:00
2. He Ain't Got Rhythm 3:03
3. Slumming On Park Avenue 3:04
4. Coquette 3:06
5. The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down 2:49
6. Hell's Bells 3:09
7. For Dancers Only 2:41
8. Posin' 2:57
9. The First Time I Saw You 2:44
10. Pigeon Walk 2:40
11. Annie Laurie 3:10
12. Frisco Fog. 3:08
13. Margie 2:56
14. The Love Nest 2:58
15. Down By The Old Mill Stream 2:56
16. My Melancholy Baby 3:00
17. Sweet Sue, Just You 2:48
18. By The River Sainte Marie 3:17
19. 'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It) 3:05
20. Cheatin' On Me 2:47
21. Le Jazz Hot 2:42
22. Time's A-Wastin 2:33
23. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home ? 2:51
24. The Lonesome Road 2:35
25. What Is This Thing Called Swing ? 2:24
26. Easter Parade 2:39


Disc 4 (P1600) BLUES IN THE NIGHT

1. Ain't She Sweet 2:29
2. Well, All Right Then 2:40
3. I Used To Love You (But It's All Over Now) 2:43
4. Belgium Stomp 2:28
5. Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam) 2:55
6. Uptown Blues 2:54
7. Lunceford Special 2:49
8. What's Your Story Morning Glory 3:11
9. I Got It 2:53
10. Monotony In Four Flats 2:52
11. Blue Prelude 2:58
12. Twenty-Four Robbers 3:09
13. Battle Axe 2:47
14. Chocolate 2:56
15. Flamingo 3:03
16. Siesta At The Fiesta 3:00
17. Hi Spook 2:55
18. Yard Dog Mazurka 3:11
19. Impromptu 2:51
20. Blues In The Night, Pts 1 & 2 5:19
21. Strictly Instrumental 2:35
22. Knock Me A Kiss 2:56
23. Back Door Stuff Pts 1 & 2 5:53
24. The Honeydripper 2:43
25. Cement Mixer 2:46


Looks good to me.

Brian

[Swifty]

Those Proper sets are the greatest. I've got 85% of the songs but I'll buy it anyway. The liner notes cannot be beat.