Southern Jazz Music

Pop-oriented and "sweet" band cuts from the Billy May Orchestra, which enjoyed prominence in the early '50s before May sold the band to Ray Anthony in 1954. This anthology includes songs with Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Jeri Southern, plus George Shearing.
Track Listing
1. Charmaine
2. Unforgettable
3. Fat Man Boogie
4. My Silent Love
5. There Is No Greater Love
6. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plans
7. Say It Isn't So
8. You're Driving Me Crazy
9. When Your Lover Has Gone
10. Diane
11. Please Be Kind
12. Tenderly
13. Young At Heart
14. Perfidia
15. Cocktails For Two
16. Cheek To Cheek
17. All Of Me
18. Lean Baby

I would like to give this recording 5 stars, but without Tri Fi Drums (Dan Ingram's closing theme) it cannot be considered a best of. Hopefully that song will surface on a re-issue.

I REALLY ENJOY TRYING NEW THINGS. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT IS A BIG BAND ALBUM BUT WITHOUT STRINGS. IT DOES A GOOD JOB PLAYING THE OLD STANDARDS WE HAVE COME TO ENJOY. I WOULD HAVE RATED IT HIGHER BUT IT ONLY HAD 10 OUT OF 18 SONGS THAT I REALLY LIKED.

As with all of Billy May's albums, this is another 'par excellence' and I recommend it to anyone with a love and/or interest if big band music at its very best.

Purists (like me) should know that these original monophonic recordings have been electronically "stereoized" on this CD. Basic sound quality is very good, but untampered mono would have been even better.

KING CURTIS WAS AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS MUSICAL CAREER IN THE 1960S WHEN MOST OF THESE GREAT TUNES WERE PERFORMED AND RECORDED BY HIM AND HIS BAND. EVEN BUDDY HOLLY SAW THE GREAT TALENT KING CURTIS POSSESSED AND HIRED KING TO PLAY HIS BEAUTIFUL SOUND ON SOME OF BUDDY'S TUNES JUST PRIOR TO BUDDY DYING IN THAT PLANE CRASH IN 1959. YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH KING CURTIS.

If you love movies, this CD is for you! I have listened to it all at least a hundred times, and I'm still not tired of it. I'm a big movie buff, so this collection is perfect for me! It contains most of the important cult movie songs that we all know and love, along with some extra tracks that are pretty sweet. So, instead of buying twenty different soundtracks with songs I didn't really want to hear, I got almost all of the songs I wanted in one collection. There's current stuff and older stuff. It has something for everyone!

The artists involved really took time to craft an album that proves without a doubt that Jason Becker is an even better writer/composer than he was a guitarist.

Its a very good double cd packed with music. Jason has inspired countless musicians and its great to see a few great names and some upcoming 'stars' paying tribute here.

Listen to Air on this cd and you'll see how technically advanced Jason was for his age. The guitarist playing this song couldn't keep it as clean or fluid as Jason.

Jason Becker was a guitar prodigy until Lou Gehrig's Disease robbed him of his guitar playing ability. This 31 song collection on a 2 CD set (approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes of music) brings together some of the best artist that could truely do his material justice as well as bring a few origanals to the plate. A few of the artists include: Stormwind, Vinnie Moore, Chris Poland, Jeffe Watsn, Steve Morse, Jeff Scheetz, Jeff Pilson, Marty Friedman, Paul Gilbert, James Byrd, and many many others. All the artist's royalties and Lion Music's label profits from this album are donated to Jason Becker's family. All artists (including the cover design artist) have donated their work and recordings totally for free. This is a fantastic effort to provide help to a guitarist that has influenced so many others through out the world.

This cd rules! All of the tracks have been redone by guitar greats like Neil Zaza and Paul Gilbert. This is definetely a must for all guitar players. The only bad thing is that there isn't enough songs,there should be more, even still it rocks.

You will buy this album not only because it's a double CD album with lots of great guitarist and with incredible songs that any guitar lover will enjoy... You will buy it because when you buy this album you do a donation to world's best guitar player: Jason Becker. That worth the money.

Where the Southern Crosses the Yellow Dog, Johnny Maddox
This is another concept album form Crazy Otto Music, featuring the blues and blues-derived music of the early 20th-century. Nine of the 20 tracks are in fact by WC Handy, a legend that heard Maddox himself in 1952. Just about all of the most famous handy pieces are on the play list. And there is the understanding that the `ragtime era', as it is so-called, also encompassed the early blues tradition. It is hard to distinguish some of the rags from the blues of the time. It would be more accurate to describe a piece as a `bluesy rag' or as a `raggy blues'. Johnny gives those borderline pieces as much ragtime flavor as they can handle, and none of the tunes is mired down in the slow `down and out' feel often given by lesser-informed players.

Another reason that Johnny Maddox is one of the most successful artists of his time is his total immersion in the music, as a prodigious collector and researcher who has at hand sheet music, vintage recordings, piano rolls and more. He's also the descendent and piano student of a musician from the St Louis World's Fair era (see CO-004) and as noted by a 1913 photograph in this CD, son of a trombonist with the Commercial Club Band, Gallatin Tennessee.

Johnny's long been recognized as an artist and pioneer, but a particularly early note of recognition is displayed on the back of the CD booklet for this recording. None other than pioneering ragtime researcher Rudi Blesh wrote in a letter to Johnny in 1951: "(The records) have quite an infectious spirit and a kind of easy going lilt that ragtime should have." The assessment after more than 50 years remains the same.

By David Reffkin, Director, The American Ragtime Ensemble; Producer/Host, "The Ragtime Machine" (KUSF, San Francisco)

This CD re-issues Jeri Southern's finest session "You Better Go Now" which was originally released on Decca, now only available on this exellent import CD, also included is "When You're Hearts On Fire" another Decca LP, so you really get two LP's on one CD. However the main reason to get this enjoyable CD is for the songs from the "You Better Go Now" session, which include "The Man That Got Away" "Dancing On The Ceiling" "When I Fall In Love" "That Old Devil Called Love" "Give Me Time" and "Something I Dreamed Last Night" are just a few of the highlights from this CD. For those unfamiliar with Southern's talents as a vocalist/pianist. She was a jazz based piano playing singer, very unlike Blossom Dearie(however they both had soft voices). Southern's vocal style is more like Peggy Lee's(however, she's not on the same level as Lee) but it's an unfair comparison, because she's unique. She was a favorite of other jazz musicians and singers like Miles Davis & Mel Torme who listed her as a favorite singer. Very much like Lee Wiley in the 30's/40's was a favorite of Eddie Condon, and Jess Satcy. She's one of those rare singers who sings the lyrics with a jazz phrasing like Sinatra. However she really didn't improvise in her singing, as much as she did in her paino playing. This CD will give you a good overview of this wonderful singer. Also get Jeri Southern Meets Cole Porter with Billy May & His Orch.

Pianist Jeri Southern covers standard jazz tunes well, but falls short of showcasing her finest talents. The brief keyboard solos highlight an otherwise, well, standard entry.

Saying that Jeri Southern is inferior to Peggy Lee is an insult. Jeri is at her top form in this cd. She is such a marvelous vocalist because it sounds like she sincerely means what she is singing. This is definite especially in "Something I Dreamed Last Night." Her version of "When I Fall in Love" brings shame to Nat King Cole's.

Jeri is the best torch singer there has ever been - and there have been many excellent ones down the years. Of Jeri's contemporaries, Polly Bergen, Julie London, Gogi Grant and Peggy Lee are the ones that spring immediately to mind. I love them all and I have most of their music. They were generally more versatile than Jeri. Peggy, in particular, could pick up the tempo to great effect when she chose to. Jeri could never do that - her style was altogether too intimate and understated. And that's exactly why she was the best torch singer of them all - and still is, even though she has long since left us.

Jeri didn't try to do the upbeat stuff. There were, and are, plenty of others for that. When rock'n'roll took over the charts, Jeri simply carried on as if nothing had happened. When record companies put pressure on her to change, she resisted - and eventually quit the business. Jeri knew what she could do, and stuck to it. This twofer is an excellent example of Jeri's music.

Many of these songs have become classics, though it is usually other singers who are identified with these songs. When I fall in love was originally a hit for Doris Day, and later a much bigger hit for Nat King Cole. I love both those singers and I enjoy their versions. I've also heard many other excellent versions, but none of them can match Jeri. Smoke gets in your eyes dates from the 1930's although most people remember the rock'n'roll cover by the Platters. I love that version and (even better) I love Margaret Whiting's lovely romantic version on her Jerome Kern tribute album. I call her Magic Maggie, and for very good reason. Yet, even she could not match Jeri's version of the song, although she came very close.

I remember you, another often recorded song, can be sung many different ways, and I've heard some great uptempo versions. Jeri's interpretation is very slow and intimate (of course) and is among the most distinctive - she sounded as if she meant it (as she did in every song).

Other highlights include You better go now, Dancing on the ceiling, That ole devil called love and Someone to watch over me - but it's all brilliant, intimate and romantic. Jeri did pick up the tempo slightly on You make me feel so young, but not much, just enough to provide a little variation.

If you want to boogie on down, leave Jeri alone (may I suggest that you try the Andrews sisters instead?), but if you want soft, romantic music for a candle-lit dinner, Jeri's music beats anything I've ever heard, although the previously mentioned Polly, Julie, Gogi and Peggy would also be good choices, if you select the right album.