VA - The Jazz Singers: A Smithsonian Collection of Jazz Vocals from 1919-1994 [5CD Box Set] (1998)

19 Jan, 10:40
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Artist: Various Artists
Title: The Jazz Singers: A Smithsonian Collection of Jazz Vocals from 1919-1994
Year Of Release: 1998
Label: Smithsonian Collection [RD 113] / Sony Music Special Products [A 28979]
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Swing, Traditional Pop
Quality: 320 kbps / FLAC (tracks+cue, log) / WAV (tracks)
Total Time: 6:05:45
Total Size: 921 mb / 1.63 gb / 3.68 gb
WebSite: Album Preview

The compilers of this five-CD/cassette box set anthology, which contains 104 tracks and runs over six hours, have taken an inclusive, open-ended approach to both their selections and their sequencing. Unconventionally, the album is organized not chronologically, but thematically, in eight categories -- "Steeped in the Blues," Straight out of Church," "Let's Have a Party," "Swinging the Songbook," "After Hours: Slow-Dancing and Torching the Songbook," "Jazz Compositions," and "Novelties and Take-Offs" (in other words, blues, gospel, dance, standards, slow standards, scatting and vocalese, and other). Annotator Robert G. O'Meally is quick to acknowledge that the categories are slippery, however, and to invite the listener to re-arrange the sequencing as he sees fit, a suggestion some may not appreciate. The sequencing is roughly chronological within the categories, but since they do not correspond to CD or cassette sides, it is easy for a pristine 1993 recording to be followed by a sonically challenged 1937 one as you go from one category to another. It isn't consistently comprehensible from a strictly auditory perspective, but it allows the compilers occasional felicitous and instructional juxtapositions. Many of the performers are obvious choices, among them Holiday (seven selections), Ella Fitzgerald (five), and Louis Armstrong (eight), but there are also some surprising names (Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green) as well as some surprising omissions (Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, and Lee Wiley). Most of the selections are standard studio takes, and the compilers have avoided many choices one would expect to appear on any compilation of jazz singing: there is no "Lady, Be Good" by Ella Fitzgerald, for example, and Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" is a live take from Clef Records, not the studio version from Commodore. All of this is to say, however, that The Jazz Singers is deliberately intended as an introductory sampler of vocal jazz, not as a final statement. That's fair enough, though buyers of an expensive box set from the Smithsonian might be expecting something definitive rather than merely representative.

:: TRACKLIST ::

Disc 1 (01:12:13)

Steeped In The Blues
1. Eva Taylor – West End Blues (03:09)
2. Bessie Smith – In The House Blues (02:59)
3. Louis Armstrong – 2:19 Blues (02:52)
4. Jimmy Rushing – I Left My Baby (03:10)
5. Billie Holiday – 'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do (03:19)
6. Helen Humes – Blues With Helen (04:08)
7. Hot Lips Page – I Won't Be Here Long (02:40)
8. Billy Eckstine – Jelly, Jelly (03:28)
9. Julia Lee – Lotus Blossom (03:17)
10. Jimmy Witherspoon – Goin' To Kansas City (03:11)
11. Joe Williams & Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – Goin' To Chicago (04:09)
12. Ernie Andrews – She's Got To Go (04:01)
13. Ernestine Anderson – Never Make Your Move Too Soon (03:27)
14. Lorez Alexandria – D.B. Blues (02:56)
15. Cassandra Wilson – Come On In My Kitchen (04:53)

Straight Out Of Church
16. Blind Willie Johnson – Nobody's Fault But Mine (03:09)
17. Angelic Gospel Singers & The Dixie Hummingbirds – One Day (02:14)
18. Mahalia Jackson – I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About In My Song (02:36)

Rhythm Singers: Let's Have A Party
19. Bessie Smith – Gimme A Pigfoot (03:28)
20. Jelly Roll Morton – Doctor Jazz (03:20)
21. Don Redman – Shakin' The African (02:38)
22. Ivie Anderson – It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (03:09)

Disc 2 (01:12:17)
1. Cab Calloway – The Man From Harlem (03:06)
2. Anita O'Day – Let Me Off Uptown (03:02)
3. Pearl Bailey & Moms Mabley – Saturday Night Fish Fry (02:52)
4. Louis Jordan – Hogwash (02:57)
5. Wynonie Harris – Good Rockin' Tonight (02:46)

Swinging The Songbook
6. Louis Armstrong – All Of Me (02:55)
7. Louis Armstrong – Top Hat, White Tie, And Tails (04:08)
8. Ethel Waters – I Can't Give You Anything But Love (03:07)
9. Billie Holiday – I Can't Give You Anything But Love (03:26)
10. Billie Holiday – These Foolish Things (03:16)
11. Billie Holiday – Me, Myself, And I (02:35)
12. Mildred Bailey – Lover, Come Back To Me (03:09)
13. Al Hibbler – Don't Get Around Much Anymore (03:01)
14. Joe Turner – You're Driving Me Crazy (04:12)
15. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Don't Be That Way (04:59)
16. Frank Sinatra – Night And Day (03:57)
17. Jimmy Rushing – Some Of These Days (04:47)
18. Sarah Vaughan – Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (02:30)
19. Dinah Washington – I Get A Kick Out Of You (06:17)
20. Joe Williams – There's A Small Hotel (02:15)
21. Nat King Cole – Just You, Just Me (03:00)

Disc 3 (01:10:32)
1. Dakota Staton – Give Me The Simple Life (02:13)
2. Nina Simone – Love Me Or Leave Me (04:04)
3. Aretha Franklin – You Are My Sunshine (04:18)
4. Marvin Gaye – What's Going On (03:47)
5. Etta Jones – I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (And Throw Away The Key) (03:10)

After Hours: Slow-Dancing And Torching The Songbook
6. Billie Holiday – Yesterdays (03:23)
7. Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit (03:06)
8. Billie Holiday – You've Changed (03:16)
9. Ella Fitzgerald – Someone To Watch Over Me (03:14)
10. Ella Fitzgerald – Until The Real Thing Comes Along (02:55)
11. Fats Waller & His Rhythm – Until The Real Thing Comes Along (03:23)
12. Dinah Washington – You Don't Know What Love Is (04:00)
13. June Christy – For All We Know (02:46)
14. Chris Connor – Angel Eyes (03:41)
15. Billy Eckstine – In The Still Of The Night (03:40)
16. Nancy Wilson – Save Your Love For Me (02:42)
17. Shirley Horn – Travelin' Light (02:46)
18. Sarah Vaughan – Prelude To A Kiss (02:45)
19. Gloria Lynne – My Little Brown Book (02:30)
20. Johnny Hartman – Lush Life (05:27)
21. Carmen McRae – I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (03:26)

Disc 4 (01:11:52)
1. Betty Carter – This Is Always (03:10)
2. Little Jimmy Scott – All Of Me (02:57)
3. Earl Coleman – What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? (05:47)
4. Helen Merrill – You're My Thrill (03:16)
5. Al Green – Could I Be The One? (04:05)

Jazz Compositions
6. Lucille Hegamin – Jazz Me Blues (02:33)
7. Baby Cox – The Mooche (03:11)
8. King Pleasure – Parker's Mood (02:58)
9. Sarah Vaughan – Lullaby Of Birdland (03:59)
10. Mel Tormé – Down For Double (02:31)
11. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross – Jumpin' At The Woodside (03:17)
12. Abbey Lincoln – Left Alone (06:45)
13. Mark Murphy – Stolen Moments (05:43)
14. Jeanne Lee – Worry Now Later (01:25)
15. Carmen McRae – Get It Straight (03:54)
16. Bobby McFerrin – 'Round Midnight (05:33)
17. Dee Dee Bridgewater – Doodlin' (06:04)

Scat And Vocalese
18. Jelly Roll Morton – Improvised Scat Song (01:45)
19. Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five – Hotter Than That (02:59)

Disc 5 (01:12:44)
1. Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra – Sweet Sue (Just You) (02:44)
2. Bing Crosby & The Mills Brothers – My Honey's Lovin' Arms (02:56)
3. Dizzy Gillespie – Ool Ya Koo (06:00)
4. Eddie Jefferson – Disappointed (Excerpt) (02:48)
5. Ella Fitzgerald – Them There Eyes (05:05)
6. Anita O'Day – The Way You Look Tonight (02:10)
7. George Benson – The Masquerade (Excerpt) (03:17)
8. Betty Carter – Frenesi (02:30)

Novelties And Take-Offs
9. Noble Sissle – Jazzola (02:51)
10. Louis Armstrong – Hobo, You Can't Ride This Train (03:03)
11. Louis Armstrong – Rockin' Chair (05:15)
12. Trummy Young – 'Tain't What You Do (03:02)
13. George "Bon Bon" Tunnell – Vol Vist Du Gaily Star (03:03)
14. Leo Watson And The Spirits Of Rhythm – We've Got The Blues (03:18)
15. Ella Fitzgerald – Cow Cow Boogie (02:52)
16. Slim Gaillard And His Orchestra – Babalu (Orooney) (03:30)
17. Nellie Lutcher And Her Rhythm – Chi-Chi-Chi-Chicago (02:58)
18. Ben Webster – Did You Call Her Today? (Excerpt) (06:25)
19. Lester Young – Takes Two To Tango (03:26)
20. Clark Terry – Mumbles (02:00)
21. Slam Stewart & Major Holley – Close Your Eyes (Shut Yo' Mouth) (03:31)

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