Swing Music

Buy this disc with the 1940-1950 disc on the same label and you'll have a great overview of this rockin' big band. This disc focus is on the early years of Hawkins big band. His band rocked as hard as anyone's, with musicians like Julian Dash on Tenor and Avery Parrish on piano leading the way. Though the band never acheived the stardom of the Goodman or Miller bands, these songs will show why the Erskine Hawkins band deserves a place as one of the best swing bands. Highly recommended.

This is one of my favorite discs of all time. The Lion's technique is exquisite--almost reminiscent of Chopin, at times. I want to correct one misconception construed by an earlier reviewer: the four last tracks with Big Joe Turner are absolutely wonderful, and the combination of The Lion and Big Joe is unique and outstanding.
Also look for duos of Big Joe and Pete Johnson on Johnson's disc 1938-39 (CC 656) and Turner's disc 1941-46 (CC 940). All highly recommended!!!

Willie "The Lion" Smith was widely recognised as on a par with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller in the Harlem pianistic pantheon. A wonderful band pianist, his compositions contrasted romantic and rhapsodic themes with explosive stride.

This disc includes the peak of Smith's recording output, the 14 solos he recorded for Commodore in 1939. His best known compositions are here, as are a few idiosyncratically performed standards. Sound quality is not perfect, as is usual with Classics CDs, but the quality of the music shines through.

The remainder of the disc is taken up with four lively small band tracks, and one of the more bizarre mismatches in recorded jazz, four numbers where Smith accompanied (or rather played at the same time as) blues shouter Big Joe Turner. The clash of styles and apparent lack of sympathy between the two makes for entertaining, if not for prolonged, listening.

Strongly recommended for the 1939 solos.

Typical Condon groups. Some of these sides have been around for years but they still sound really great. Interesting part of at least two sides is that Fats Waller is on the piano

Never again will there be such a collections of traditional jazz greats, as those that appeared with Eddie Condon. Max Kaminsky, Pee Wee Russell, Jess Stacy, Jack Teagarden and more. It is too bad the new generation doesn't have much exposure to these fantastic jazzmen. But at least the sounds are still there, as on this CD. Some musicians then (and now) believed "Strut, Miss Lizzie", in this group of great jazz numbers, was one of the best ever recorded by Condon.

Buy this disc with the 1940-1950 disc on the same label and you'll have a great overview of this rockin' big band. This disc focus is on the early years of Hawkins big band. His band rocked as hard as anyone's, with musicians like Julian Dash on Tenor and Avery Parrish on piano leading the way. Though the band never acheived the stardom of the Goodman or Miller bands, these songs will show why the Erskine Hawkins band deserves a place as one of the best swing bands. Highly recommended.