BIG BAND JAZZ-THE JUBILEE SESSIONS

[Ed S]

The Mosaic site is featuring this non-Mosaic collection over on the side of the page where the new releases are found. It seems a little unusual for them to be selling somethng like this off of their website and not just sell it through True Blue.

Is there something special about this set that warrants special treatment? Anyone know the story on this?

[Brad]

Here's the AMG Review. Sounds like an impressive set.

[Brad]

Looks like Worlds Records has it for $29, about $6 cheaper. True Blue is always more expensive than elsewhere.

[Christiern]

SToryville (Denmark) is, with some regularity, issuing all the Jubilee transcriptions on single CDs. Rather than concentrate on the big band tracks, they give you the entire show, complete with banter and comedy skits.

[Ed S]

It does indeed sound interesting. I'll have to keep this one in mind as I'm checking out various online stores. looks like a nice one to pick up.

[BERIGAN]

I was surprised to see this as well, and I should have mentioned to folks you could have gotten it for $12-$13 bucks just a few months ago at Amazon! Now, it is back to $31, but it is well worth it, with better sound than the few RST cds I heard....Hindsight put out a very nice live set of live Artie Shaw in the same kind of long box set with a good sized booklet.... http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=music&n=507846

Oh, and >Harry James as well!<

[clandy44]

This is a review of the set by Nat Hentoff which appeared in the Wall Street Journal this week. The review mentions Mosaic, which probably accounts for the special promo on its web site.

BIG BAND JAZZ

The Jubilee Sessions, 1943-1946

Hindsight/ Mosaic Records

Jubilant Sounds Swinging

Through America

By NAT HENTOFF

Just as our Constitution -- as Justice John Marshall said -- is a living document, not fixed in the time of its origin, so too the free spirit of jazz keeps changing as it moves on. But largely lost have been the big jazz bands that for years filled the nation's ballrooms and those clubs big enough to hold them.

As a boy growing up during the big-band era, I likened those exultant ensembles to the flare of trains roaring through the American night. Swinging through towns and cities from coast to coast, these crisp musicians lighted the dark with excitement, surprises and romance. An enduring memory is standing as close as I could get to the magisterial Duke Ellington orchestra in a Boston ballroom, and whispering to baritone saxophonist Harry Carney at the end of a number, "What was the name of that?"

"He hasn't named it yet," was the genial answer. I had heard history in the making.

There are still some traveling big bands, but none with the luster of Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Andy Kirk & His Clouds of Joy, among many others. These bands are among the 20 joyful orchestras in the three-CD set "Big Band Jazz/The Jubilee Sessions/1943-1946" (Hindsight Records, available from that cornucopia of invaluable reissues, Mosaic Records, 203-327-7111).

Peter Kline, who assembled these sessions for Hindsight, tells me that most of the performances were actual live recordings of airchecks, along with a few rehearsals and some studio tracks. They were originally cut by Armed Forces Radio and aired primarily for black service personnel during the war years. Hindsight, formed by the late Wally Heider, has never gone in much for promotion, so I didn't know about this treasure trove until the label's Don Mupo sent it to this fellow big-band enthusiast.

In addition to the aforementioned renowned bands, there are jubilant sounds from the battalions of Lucky Millinder, Benny Carter, Earl "Fatha" Hines (one of the hottest of the big bands), Erskine Hawkins, Billy Eckstine (where many later icons of modern jazz were sidemen), and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, who proved that men have no monopoly on swinging and unmistakably individual soloist sounds. Listening to such "Sweethearts" as tenor saxophonist Viola Burnside would not reveal the gender of the player as the horn bursts into "Tuxedo Junction" and the rhythm section comes on like the Wabash Cannonball locomotive.

Coursing through all the Jubilee sessions is the musicians' sheer collective delight in being part of this glorious American enterprise that so entranced the home-folks across the land. Ralph Ellison remembered the impact of the bands on him as a boy in "Living with Music" (the Modern Library):

"Their uniforms, their sophistication, their skills, their golden horns, their flights of controlled and disciplined fantasy. . . . They were news from the great wide world."

Among the timeless skills of the players on these tracks is the soulful, worldly wise singing of Jimmy Rushing, found here in "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" at a 1943 Count Basie rehearsal. And the golden tenor horn of often forgotten Paul Bascomb on "The Bear Mash Blues" reminded me of the deeply satisfying consistency of the Erskine Hawkins orchestra, which deserves much more attention in jazz histories and reissue projects.

I had entirely forgotten the arranging and composing mastery of Jimmy Mundy, who scored "Sing, Sing, Sing" and "Swingtime in the Rockies" for Benny Goodman and "Queer Street" for Count Basie. Leading his own band on several shows in this set, Mundy's easy rolling "Hello, Goodbye, Forget" exemplifies what "grooving" means.

On the Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy sessions, the disciplined passion of the long overlooked trumpet player Howard McGhee is showcased on "McGhee Special." Also seldom mentioned in jazz magazines these days is the distinctive, often rollicking, Jimmie Lunceford Harlem Express, which combined precise showmanship with adventurous solos and unexpected ensemble voicings.

The opening of the sensuous Lunceford version of "Alone Together" recalled Duke Ellington telling me of how when alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges was playing a ballad at a dance and a sigh came from the floor, "that sigh became part of our music." That relationship between the dancer-listener and the jazz storyteller was long at the core of the jazz experience, but is found mostly these nights in memories.

While Earl Hines is remembered primarily for his "trumpet-style" piano and his early recordings with Louis Armstrong, his big band -- as in "Scoops Carry Mary," recorded at a show in Hollywood in 1944 -- has such energizing drive that back then I'd put his recordings on when I wanted a special lift.

As Tom Reed recalls in the notes to the Jubilee Sessions, in those years, "There was no Civil Rights Act, no integration to speak of, and yet it was a period of supreme African American artistry under conditions of duress. . . . As these great bands traveled from coast to coast, they encountered the 'Colored can't stay -- but they can play' signs with regard to hotel accommodations. White night clubs featured African American bands for White Clientele only -- and there were 'we serve colored in the rear' signs when it came to finding a place to eat, as they toured from town to town."

But, as Ralph Ellison wrote, "Who were so worldly, who so elegant, who so mockingly creative?. . . And who treated the social limitations placed in their paths with greater disdain?" But also with no little anger, as I heard sidemen tell of Jim Crow waiting outside the ballroom or the stage door.

All of it -- the pride, the anger, the anticipation of making more joy in the next set -- is in the music, thanks to Armed Forces Radio and Hindsight, which has an extensive catalog of rare big- and small-combo jazz of all colors, available at (800) 775-8467.

[Ed S]

Thanks for posting that. Very nice review. This set looks like one to pick up for sure.

[BeBop]

I've owned and enjoyed this for going on five years (I reckon). It is a nice compilation with enough variety to satisfy anyone with even a passing interest in this era. Many hard-to-find recordings and some seldom-heard bands.

And yet Nat Hentoff misses the real point of this recording:

* * " ERNIE BUBBLES WHITMAN " * *

[montg]

I've got this too and the fidelity of the recordings is very good. A swingin' time in Hot Horn Hall!

[clandy44]

I have ordered this and the Jubilee Jam Sessions disc from Storyville. I have the Basie Jubilee disc and both the music and sound are excellent. The history of the Jubilee music surprised-I knew the Armed Forces were segregated in WWII, but I guess I never knew that there was separate music as well.

[ghost of miles]

Did a big-band show based around this several weeks ago... hopefully we'll have it online next month, in case anybody wants to get a sense of what the box sounds like. Definitely worth picking up if you're into this era and style of music.

Edited March 8, 2005 by ghost of miles

[John L]

Ghost hipped me to this set a few years ago when we were discussing Freddie Webster, who probably has his greatest recorded moment here. I have really enjoyed the entire set ever since.

[Guest DizzySpells]

Got it off Caiman through Amazon.de not so long ago. Cost me 19 Euro or thereabouts. They should still have it.

Great set! Highly recommended!

[homer9600]

This is a great set. the remastering is excellent and the source material is in great shape. What you don't get however, are complete programs. That isn't a problem with this box because the music is so wonderful.

As mentioned earlier Storyville has issued about ten complete shows on CD which are of equally good quality. I cannot say enough about Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman as host. The complete programs did not simply showcase music but also comedians as well.

Jubilee is one of the best variety programs ever produced. The artists were all presented respectfully. The Hindsight box is awesome.

If you want to hear complete Jubilee programs you can pick up a double CD in MP3 format with 86 shows and almost forty hours playing time from OTRCAT:

http://www.otrcat.com/jubilee.htm

The quality ranges from awful to excellent and is generally good.

Edited March 9, 2005 by homer9600

[Ron S]

Thanks to Ghost of Miles' resuscitation of this thread today, all the prior and subsequent glowing reviews, and a listen to the samples on Amazon, I just ordered the Hindsight Jubilee set. The samples sound phenomenal. Can't wait to get it. Thanks guys.

[Christiern]

Storyville's April releases include this Jubilee volume (as well as the next in the Tatum series, and a Tommy Flanagan release).

Noble Sissle Orch. Barney Bigard Combo, Sister Roseta Tharpe, Cee Pee Johnson Orchestra, Delta Rhythm Boys, Johnny Mercer Jubilee Shows Vol. 10 (Shows 56 & 61)

Introduction & One O’Clock Jump / Skater’s Waltz / Sunday, Monday And Always / C Jam Blues / I Got Rhythm / Hey, Lawdy Mama / Shoo Shoo Baby / That’s All / Boogie Woogie Special / Signoff & Theme: One O’Clock Jump / Introduction & One O’Clock Jump / Sherman Shuffle / That Old Black Magic / Bring Enough Clothes For Three Days / Mop Mop / G.I. Jive / Knock Me A Kiss / Swing Crazy / Signoff & Theme: One O’Clock Jump

• Recorded in November 1943, these two half-hour radio programs were part of a series made in the 1940’s specifically for the US Armed Forces. This series of recordings represent a cross-section of the best of black entertainment of the 40’s. Featured on this CD are the swing orchestras of Noble Sissle and Cee Pee Johnson, the clarinet combo of Barney Bigard, and the singing of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, The Delta Rhythm Boys and Johnny Mercer. Sister Rosetta Tharpe – one of the leading gospel performers of the time – presents a wonderful blues set where she both sings and plays guitar. The Delta Rhythm Boys were one of the top jazz vocal groups of the 40’s. This CD contains some truly obscure performances.
  

LABEL: The Jubilee Shows

CATALOG NUMBER: 501 1010

GENRE: Big band swing, Jazz combos & vocalists

BARCODE: 717101101023

[neveronfriday]

More people should have this box.

If you are interested in big band jJazz and swing, this is an absolute must-have. The music is just so much fun, and it swings like mad. I have tons of bb and swing jazz, much of it many times more expensive than this box, but this one gets constant airplay around here. I should have bought this one a lot earlier than I did.

Very highly recommended, especially since you can pick it up cheap from various vendors all over the Internet. Haven't checked lately, but it should be available at very reasonable prices.

Love it.

[king ubu]

bump!

Just about to finish my first listen to this box (took in in small doses, as the somewhat indifferent sound ends up suggesting a bit of a sameness - which musically isn't the case, but to my ears it sounds all a bit flat).

Lots of wonderful music! Lots of band music that focuses more on the collective rather than on individual soloists, but of course you get to hear plenty of great solos as well. Pity there's not information on soloists, I'm not familiar with many of these bands, even less with particular band members, so if there's no information in the shortish track-by-track notes, I have mostly no clue who's soloing here.

But hey, this all doesn't really matter... there's so much good music here! Well-known bands like Lionel Hampton's, Basie's (rehearsals, two titles with Pres), but also bands I've never heard before (Wilbert Baranco, for instance, or the International Sweethearts of Rhythm).

Edited December 23, 2008 by king ubu

[Big Beat Steve]

Reading all this (I had not been aware of the earlier parts of this thread as this was before I got on board this forum) I awsume there isn't all that much that is totally new to the market?

I.e. a lot of the Jubilee music on this set has been around elsewhere on other reissues before? (e.g. the International Sweethearts of Rhythm on their Rosetta release and Wilbert Baranco on the Hep LP?) And since Hindsight seems to beinvolved, how much of the music was lifted straight of their earlier "The Uncollected" series? Anybody has any clue on this?

Thanks beforehand for filling me in.

Re- Bubbles "The Stomach That Walks like a Man" Whitman, I agree that his emcee antics really are part of the fun of the entire procedings! :D

[bichos]

bump!

Just about to finish my first listen to this box (took in in small doses, as the somewhat indifferent sound ends up suggesting a bit of a sameness - which musically isn't the case, but to my ears it sounds all a bit flat).

Lots of wonderful music! Lots of band music that focuses more on the collective rather than on individual soloists, but of course you get to hear plenty of great solos as well. Pity there's not information on soloists, I'm not familiar with many of these bands, even less with particular band members, so if there's no information in the shortish track-by-track notes, I have mostly no clue who's soloing here.

But hey, this all doesn't really matter... there's so much good music here! Well-known bands like Lionel Hampton's, Basie's (rehearsals, two titles with Pres), but also bands I've never heard before (Wilbert Baranco, for instance, or the International Sweethearts of Rhythm).

to help you a little bit, here is a complete online discography of the wonderful jubilee sessions:

http://home.swipnet.se/dooji/jubilee.htm

keep boppin´

marcel

[ghost of miles]

Just recently picked up Hep's COUNT BASIE--THE JUBILEE ALTERNATIVES, which I can enthusiastically recommend for fans of WWII-era Basie band (half the cuts include Prez during his late-war, pre-induction stint with the band; also a couple of cuts with Thelma Carpenter, a vocalist I like).

[jazzbo]

That's a very good one! I've had that one for years. Basie and Pres. . . how can it be bad!