Original Dixieland Jazz Band Music

Similar to the Louis Prima "Say It with a Slap" album, "Breaking It Up!" presents Prima from the early 1950s (post-Dixieland Gang but pre-Vegas). At this time Prima was fronting a big, brassy band and specializing in novelty tunes. This CD captures 15 representative sides from this under-recorded part of Prima's career. Keely Smith joins Louis in several of the vocals.

If you know Louis Prima from his later nightclub-act recordings, these ain't them. The closest this album gets to Prima's familiar, super-charged style is "Oooh-Dahdily-Dah," a frenetic jive dance tune performed with verve by Prima, Smith, and the band. Most of the album features more moderate tempos, like the blues swinger "One Mint Julep" and the bright seasonal perennial "Shake Hands with Santa Claus."

The oppressively "commercial" hand of Columbia Records producer Mitch Miller is felt at least a couple of times. Miller somehow takes all the life out of the Prima favorite "Oh Marie," forcing the band to play it in a super-square, community-sing tempo, and reducing Prima to merely prompting the listener with spoken lyrics. (Miller of course used this same device years later on television, in "Sing Along with Mitch.")

Fortunately for listeners, Miller liked novelty tunes and left Prima alone to have fun with them. That's the long suit here, so if you like Prima's comic flair with novelty numbers, grab this CD. "The Bigger the Figure" is a very funny operatic pastiche that's one of his best. "It's as Good as New (I Painted It Blue)" is in the same vein as Phil Harris's monster hit "The Thing," and "Paul Revere" is reminiscent of Prima's "Robin Hood." There's also plenty of Prima's ethnic humor ("Eleanor," "Luigi," "Basta").

There isn't much recorded material available on Prima's big band, so this CD is a welcome find for Prima fans and big-band collectors. Fidelity is excellent throughout, and the liner notes by Will Friedwald are perceptive.

Pre Sam Butera era. Some tracks feature Keely Smith. "One Mint Julep" was a big R&B hit (Count Basie, The Clovers), "Oooh-Dahdilly-Dah" is probably the best song and it is goddamn hot jump blues, "Chili Sauce" reminds me of Peggy Lee's "Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me)", "Oh Marie" has different arrangement than the one that he recorded later with Sam Butera. It's slow! And of course there are novelty tunes like "Boney Bones", "It's Good As New (I Painted It Blue)".

This set was masterminded by evil-genious Mitch Miller(who unfortionately produced middle of the road muzak for artists as diverse as Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett). He could take a great artist like Louis Prima and make him sing terrible songs backed by an all white "not swingin'" choir. However Louis Prima & Keely Smith got by(just as Rosemary Clooney did on many a session)even with Miller's middle of the road arrangements. Louis Prima is so influenced by Louis Armstrong(he's like an Italian Satchmo) that jazz collectors like myself can't help but buy his records, and Keely Smith(though not as comprehensive as Ella Fitzgerald) has a highly appealing sweet and always swinging voice. This CD re-issue of the original LP "Breakin' It Up" has informative liner notes by jazz critic Will Friedwald author of "Jazz Singing." Although some of the Mitch Miller-ish arrangements may be a tad dated Louis & Keely shine through, and come out winners in this overall enjoyable set, although one wishes Mitch Miller had stuck to playing the obo, rather then have chosen to cheapen american pop music during the 50's. Still this set comes recommended. Also try the more swingin' sets on Capital "The Wildest" and "Call Of The Wildest." Both re-issued on CD.

Any Louis Prima music is great music and if you collect Prima and/or are a fan of big band/swing music you'll love this CD. But there really needs to be a BUYER BEWARE posted on it.
This is similar to the Frank Sinatra collections issued by Columbia. Sinatra was not exactly..ahem...delighted by working with Columbia's Mitch Miller, who liked novelty numbers and a more traditional sound. It was only when he switched to Capitol and Nelson Riddle that his career was reborn. If someone bought a CD with the very early Sinatra they get great music, but NOT the later Sinatra sound...not Sinatra at his peak.
The same thing applies to Prima. This CD's recordings are from an earlier era, again under Miller. And while they are not bad (many are quite good) they are NOT the same Prima sound that emerged years later when Sam Butera joined Prima and created the increasingly popular (I had a teen clerk at a CD store recently go on and on about Prima) sound that Prima created with Butera.
Don't expect the rock-in-disguise sax, the sudden beat changes, etc. This CD music is more akin to music of the late to mid 40s than the Prima music that is used now in movies and commercials as he FINALLY gains the respect and adoration that he was denied during his lifetime.
So this is a good collection...but NOT the Louis Prima sound that has appealed to young people today. Even the novelty numbers don't have the pizazz of later recordings and it all sounds very studio-like. It's like watching a 50s t.v. western with a painted mountain backdrop versus a movie filed on location. The later Prima recordings were alive and reflected the beginnings of the rock revolution; the recordings in this CD look back to the 40s. Nothing wrong with that...but if you're looking for the later sound look elsewhere.

I thought I had all the Louis Prima music I needed....and I love it, but....then I heard this album and knew I needed this too! It's different enough to need but reliably Prima, so of course it's an instant mood lifter! I catch myself singing Basta and The Bigger The Better all the time!

Crazy for that big band sound. Sure wish that I could play like these cats. These are the best soundtracks I've heard in one collection. All of your favorites are collected and brought together on one CD. Songs like: (Truckin') By: "Fats Waller" Also, "Charlie Barnet" doing his version of (Pompton Turnpike) And "Benny Goodman" in (Goodnight my love)Also, Glenn Miller, Lionel Hampton, Arti Shaw, Duke Ellington and many more. Definitly worth buying.

This is a CD to be listened to from at least one room away. The quality of the recording is probably one of the worst I've ever heard at close range, but doesn't sound so bad with distance. There is a continuous "scratchy" sound, especially during trumpet melodies, and percussion and piano both sound dull. This might be an attempt to duplicate the sound of vinyl, or it might be that this CD was ripped from records, but in any case, it sounds like crud. Too bad, since the songs on the CD could be really good.

I love this cd box set. There are 40 cds here of all big band sounds, digitally remastered from the original recordings. You get all the greats-- Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Erskine Hawkins, Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Kupra and More! All the familiar songs from that great era! So much music and this set is a Bargain!! Grab it when you can find this rare box set!

As a youngster some 25 years ago I was fortunate enough to have a neighbor who had records of big band music that he shared.
Long evenings spent listening in my attic room as the old tube amplified record player would reproduce big band music faithfully through a big, old Wurlitzer jukebox speaker. Miller, Goodman, Dorsey, Herman, Armstrong, and others educated me in the art of the big band. For hours on end I would listen to the music pouring forth from the big speaker, and on warm evenings when my window was open the neighbors would also. If I recall correctly I even got requests.
In both repertoire and sonics the "Big Band Box" easily holds its own against the compilations from Time Life, Longines Symphonette Society, Readers Digest, and various others.
The artists picked are some of the most influential of the Swing Era- Benny Goodman, who is credited with starting the big band era circa 1935. Duke Ellington, who is truly an artist "Beyond category." Chick Webb- the harlem dynamo who gave Ella Fitzgerald her start with a Big Band. Fletcher Henderson- a genius whose arrangements often had multiple layers some on top, but others not revealing themselves until multiple listenings. Gene Krupa- the giant of percussion who is still one of the most revered drummers today.
Harry James- The child prodigy from a circus family whose best work was electrifying, but descended into alcoholism and gambling, but stayed true to his craft up until the end. His last recordings revealed a purity of tone and melody that denied he only had weeks to live...
The music selections are also excellant, and reveal a real sensitivty of the big bands real flavorings. A mixture of old chestnuts and seldom heard tunes provide a glimpse of what the music may have sounded like during a club date or radio program. This is a refreshing contrast to the usual "Best of" albums which are often reissued today, which often descend almost to parody, indicating that a band only had perhaps ten songs they played. In reality, the musicians and performers of the big band era were incredibly versatile and productive. This collection allows the neophyte a chance to hear what it was like during those incredible years, and even allows this old amateur disc jockey a few surprise numbers.
The sound quality is really quite good, with the almost total elimination of surface noise. Almost all the Big band recordings were made directly to disc, this was before the adoption of analog tape as a recording medium. The equalization is also very good and sounds very natural and musical. The quality of these old monaural recordings has rarely sounded as good as this.
Liner notes have a summary of each of the covered artists lives as well as their careers. Also the session dates as well as the arrangers and performers are also listed.
May I suggest for future releases that the company include some information on the audio restoration process used. To my untrained ear the restoration is very similar to the "Cedar" process, it would be nice to know what process was used. On the next issuing perhaps they could include some live performances, as like the bands of today, big bands come most alive when they interact with their audiences.
Nit picking aside, if one has even a modicum of interest in Swing music then this set is an absolute bargain, and a must have. We all know that in movies the sequel is seldom the equal of the original. It is often so in music as well. That which was done well originally is difficult to equal, let alone surpass. The time in which this music was created is long gone, as are most of the people who created it. Yet their legacy lives on and has seldom shone greater in recent years than on this "Big Band Box."
Also I recommend the "Cradle of Jazz" set as does reviewer jka1215- ASIN: B00004S7HQ.

Nearly 40 hours of digitally remastered original 78s and 45s for less than $1 each. No, you aren't getting the 1000 greatest hits of the 30s & 40s, but this is a great collection, but at 10% of the price, you get a lot of standards.

Also see the similarly priced "Cradle of Jazz" and "Great Vocalists of Jazz and Entertainment" collections by the German "History" label.

With well over 40 hours of music from around forty artists I feel enlighted from this collection.

I'm a new comer to the jazz scene and although listening to one collection won't put me shoulder to shoulder with the experts, it's a pretty good start.

Thanks to this collection, I am familiar with the styles of very famous big band names such as Benny Goodman and Cab Calloway, but also with artists I had never heard of such as Woody Herman and Stan Kenton.

Some of the music on these CDs is great, but some is pretty forgettable, while some is downright irritating. But due to the scope of the project this almost goes without saying.

The sound quality is generally acceptable and since the cost is only around a buck and a half per CD, even if you only like a tenth of the songs, you've gotten your money's worth.

Speaking for myself, I feel like I have taken a crash course in American pops from when my grandma was a young person and from this perspective, I'm really glad I bought it.

Decca has put together a wide range of early Jazz from a bunch of different artists; some with tracks you would not expect, which I suspect may have been intentional, the dates vary from 1929-1959, but the latter date is a bit misleading (see track list). There is no "modern" jazz here. It is also a self-admitted limited survey, due to the label. Men like Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges are not represented due to the fact that no solos from any Decca, or Decca owned subsidiary, were deemed proper examples of either. But what is included is always classic, even if not the most obvious candidate for the artist. Making up for any shortcomings in that regard is the 79 page booklet included, which is really half the presentation. Well done, informative, and richly packaged, it is a great companion to the disc, and a great gift idea for a jazz aficianado.

BLACK LEGENDS OF JAZZ is a two CD set packaged in a heavy paper slipcover very reminsicent of the type once used to house specialty multiple book sets. The 80-plus page booklet that's included is printed on matted heavyweight cream-colored paper, and has an intentional look of antiquity that is most appropos. This small tome provides a wealth of detail about performers and era.

The 40 songs of the collection, which spans DECCA's golden jazz age (1926-'59), are not in chronological or logical order. This is a hardship only if one is trying to study a year-by-year progression. Output level for all tracks is solid, remastering nothing less than superb. No heavy filtering here, no added echo or reprocessing of any kind. Source material is the best available.

DECCA's BLACK LEGENDS OF JAZZ is an absolutely great album. Highly recommended.

TOTAL RUNNING TIMES --
DISC ONE -- 61:32
DISC TWO -- 56:54