Cab Calloway Music

I found the fruits of this Hanrahan/Reed project superior to the first Conjure CD featuring Taj Mahal. The songs are much stronger, and the cast more varied and versatile. A desert island disc, for sure.

Long ago a friend gave me this definition of poetry: "the marriage of meaning & music!" I have no idea how literally he meant that, but I don't think he apprehended anything this specific, this swinging, this funky. What we have here is a seamless, peripatetic meld of contexts, word and tune, spirit and ensemble.

This is not a sequel but a full-fledged complement to the earlier album, CONJURE: MUSIC FOR THE TEXTS OF ISHMAEL REED, likewise an eclectic jazzy, bluesy, toe-tapping nuptials of musical compositions and arrangements especially crafted by Kip Hanrahan to embrace the NeoHooDoo peregrinations of that linguistic shaman, Ishmael Reed. And Hanrahan doesn't skimp on assembling a legion of adept musical accomplices.

This stuff percolates along your nerve tracks. Reed's acerbic wit and skewed observations ("No one's ever seen a dead crow along the highway") eagle rock over, under and through Hanrahan's wicked tracks. One of my all time favorites, especially for the opening track, with Bobby Womack's ballsy baritone setting the stage. Defies categorization. Go ahead and check it out, you won't be sorry.

I found the fruits of this Hanrahan/Reed project superior to the first Conjure CD featuring Taj Mahal. The songs are much stronger, and the cast more varied and versatile. A desert island disc, for sure.

Long ago a friend gave me this definition of poetry: "the marriage of meaning & music!" I have no idea how literally he meant that, but I don't think he apprehended anything this specific, this swinging, this funky. What we have here is a seamless, peripatetic meld of contexts, word and tune, spirit and ensemble.

This is not a sequel but a full-fledged complement to the earlier album, CONJURE: MUSIC FOR THE TEXTS OF ISHMAEL REED, likewise an eclectic jazzy, bluesy, toe-tapping nuptials of musical compositions and arrangements especially crafted by Kip Hanrahan to embrace the NeoHooDoo peregrinations of that linguistic shaman, Ishmael Reed. And Hanrahan doesn't skimp on assembling a legion of adept musical accomplices.

This stuff percolates along your nerve tracks. Reed's acerbic wit and skewed observations ("No one's ever seen a dead crow along the highway") eagle rock over, under and through Hanrahan's wicked tracks. One of my all time favorites, especially for the opening track, with Bobby Womack's ballsy baritone setting the stage. Defies categorization. Go ahead and check it out, you won't be sorry.

About an hour's worth of musical numbers featuring Cab Calloway and orchestra. Although the numbers are presented in music video format (song title, star, etc.) the source is not given. Most appear to come from MANHATTAN MERRY-GO-ROUND (1937) and HI-DE-HO (1947). Acceptable but varying video and audio quality. Annoying, sporadic appearances of company watermark throughout.

Calloway was a world class entertainer, and watching him perform his standards is infectious fun. In fact, I think I'd probably avoid an audio only cd because I'd much rather watch than listen to him. Modern audiences probably remember him best for his performance of "Minnie the Moocher" in THE BLUES BROTHERS. At its best, a fun peek back at one hep jive cat.

Track list -
1- Mama, I Wanna Make Rhythm
2- Blues in the Night
3- Minnie the Moocher
4- Virginia, Georgia and Caroline
5- The Skunk Song (featuring the Cabliers)
6- Hi De Ho
7- St. James Infirmary
8- Dawntime
9- Righteous Riff
10- Hey Now
11- Caravan - (instrumental)
12- Little Old Lady from Baltimore (Peters Sisters)
13- Nettie
14- Blow Top Blues
15- I Can't Give You Anything But Love (featuring Jonah Jones)

I'm no Calloway officianado but I'd say this is easily the worst album in my entire collection. In fact, it is so disappointing I'm heading immediately to a record store to trade for something else. I thought Cab Calloway was a singer. The first 5 tracks I've listened to don't have any singing-- most notably Viper's Drag and Happy Feet. What's the point? I expect that most newcomers to Cab Calloway will be sorely disappointed with this one. Oh yeah, and the sound quality of the last third of the album is terrible. Unless you're trying to impress someone, save your money, 'cause you're never going to listen to this album again.

Though this CD features Cab Calloways earliest sides as a leader, with an enjoyable Calloway vocal on "Some Of These Days." The main reason to pick up this essential CD is for The 1st dozen or so tracks that feature The Missourians, the hot group that Calloway eventually took over. These histocical and hot sides are the hottest jazz ever recorded in the 20's, the sides Calloway recorded as e leader are also wonderful making this CD the difinitive and only CD with The Missourians as well as Cab Calloway's earlist seesions as a leader. ESSENTIAL

The 1st 23 tracks on this excellent CD are by one of the hottest groups of the 20's(the other being Williamsons Beale Street Flolic Orchestra only available on an import CD titled "Memphis Stomp.") The Missourians, which Cab Calloway eventaully took over as leader, vocalist. All of Calloway's ealiest sessions as a leader come after the essential Missourian tracks. The entire CD as a whole includes the entire output of the red hot group The Missourians and Calloway's best and earliest sessions, Calloway's vocals are pleasing and already recocnizable on "Some Of These Days." This is a MUST HAVE CD. Highly recommended.