New York Scene

 Various Artists - 'The New York Scene In the 40's - From Be-Bop to Cool'

On vinyl. Found while digging through bins. A Jazz compilation and history. Two of my favorite subjects. 

Number 27 in the 'Do You Like Jazz' series. Implies there are others to search for. 

Jack Teagarden

'1944' from Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra.

Big Band Jazz. On vinyl. A compilation of his recordings from 1944.

Jack Teagarden sings and plays trombone.

 

Judy Garland

It wasn't all that long ago when I would have never listened to Judy Garland. I would have never given it a chance. But with age came an interest in the music from the decades before I was born.

Big Band sounds from the late 1930's and 40's. This now is history to me ..... as much as any book I own. I want to hear these sounds that my parents most likely danced and sang along to. Bonus points for being on vinyl.

I don't recall purchasing this but I obviously did. Looking through the collection and there it was.

Billie Holiday

This was last evening's listening experience. A pleasure. Billie Holiday ..... Not something that I would have listened to as recently as ten years ago. Fortunately I've since managed to evolve beyond an apparent state of clueless. Jazz vocals from the 1940's and 50's.  A compilation of recordings. One of the greatest voices in history. Some of the songs were recorded on 78's and sound a bit scratchy but that only adds to the ambiance.

The great Jazz bassist, Charles Mingus is playing on some of the tunes.

I found the compact disc earlier in the day at the public library's annual book sale. Fifty cents for great music!! A bargain!! Note that her first name was spelled incorrectly on the album cover.

Could Have Been My Parents Playlist

Foggy outside. Dreading going to work in the morning. Late Sunday evening. The Music Choice cable TV audio theme channels. The Singers & Swing channel. Still developing an appreciation for the genre. I surely need more of these sounds in my collection. I love the mood created. I usually get overly nostalgic with music from my youth but these sounds are from times before I was born (assumedly) so I'm doing OK with it ......

• Duke Ellington / Ivie Anderson - I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
• Pete Fountain - Avalon
• Jack Teagarden - Beale Street Blues .... Read a Rolling Stone magazine, interview with Jackson Browne many years ago where he spoke of his father recording or playing live music with Jack Teagarden.
• Jackie Gleason - Paddlin' Madelin' Home .... Learning something new. Until now I thought he was known only as an actor.
• Glenn Miller - Tuxedo Junction .... Seem to recall seeing a few of his records in my parents collection.
• The Leiber-Stroller Big Band - Kansas City
• Teddy Wilson / Frances Hunt - You Brought a New Kind of Love To Me
• Billy May - There Is No Greater Love
• Count Basie - Blues In Hoss' Flat
• Django Reinhardt / Stephane Grappelli - St. Louis Blues .... Recognized the players immediately without looking at the caption on the television screen. 
• Helen Forrest with Harry James - Mister Five By Five .... From 1942. I'm fascinated with the sounds that came out during World War II. Wondering what they meant at the time to a nation?
• Sy Oliver - Oh, Them Golden Slippers
• Kay Kyser / Sully Martin - Ma (He's Makin' Eyes At Me)
• Andy Kirk - Bear Down
• Louis Prima / Keely Smith - That Old Black Magic
• Peggy Lee - Why Don't You Do Right .... Fascinated by the lyrics of the songs with vocals. It's like looking into history at decades and generations of peoples attitudes and what music meant to them.
• Billie Holiday - East Of the Sun .... Heard enough in the past to recognize this voice!!

Making The Jazz Scene

A two compact disc compilation of late 1940's Jazz from various musicians ..... Studio recordings from Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Billy Strayhorn and much more. Included is a booklet with liner notes and black & white photoraphs of many of the musicians. This was originally a limited edition of 12-inch, 78-rpm vinyl discs and a collectors item in that format.

World War II had just ended. I don't know if they were into Jazz but I can visualize my parents in their youth, newly hopeful about their life ahead, listening to these sounds.

It's part of my own maturation process and interest in and appreciation of music history. Prior to ten years ago, I might not have given it a second look. Nowadays it's the sort of thing that I'm on the lookout for.