My taste in jazz is, as they say, strictly from squaresville. The stuff I love -- "sweet" dance band music -- doesn't get a lot of respect in "real" jazz circles. Only recently have the jazz purists reluctantly and begrudgingly admitted that some of the big bands actually had it going on... For the most part, the hep cat crowd would prefer to believe that jazz music began with Dizzy Gillespie, and only really picked up steam in the smoky confines of the 1950s. I, on the other hand, adore the softer stuff, and love delving into the corny but well-crafted sentimentality of the Tin Pan Alley tradition. And, frankly, I prefer listening to something I can hum along to, rather than some squonky improvisation that requires concerted effort to really "get". Hard jazz is just too damn cerebral for my tastes... So here is my celebration of good old-fashioned corny, simple love songs, backed by perky little melodies.
That being said, this page is a work in progress, and currently contains no content. Check back with me in a while.
Some other pages of interest:
Hoagy Carmichael/Various Artists "From 'Star Dust' To 'Ole Buttermilk Sky' " (CBS/Book-Of-The-Month, 1980) (LP)
Ah, Book-Of-The-Month Club! How we loved ye! I'm sure this collection must have been issued in some other form, but these old LPs are fine by me. Sadly, Hoagy only sings on a handful of tunes, so the laconic charm seen in his appearance in the film To Have And Have Not remains elusive on these discs. But with Mildred Bailey, Connie Boswell, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Les Brown and others pitching in, this is quite a satisfying overview of Carmichael's work. The exaggerated Americana aspect gets repetitive, but his offhand delivery -- which remains present even when interpreted by others -- has an enduring appeal.
Frank Loesser "Frank Sings Loesser" (Koch Music, 1995)
An absolutely charming collection of rare performances by this renowned songwriter... Television and radio outtakes and some random records, such as a series of children's songs based on fairy tales like "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Ugly Duckling"... Loesser's wit and playful good humor shine through on every single track... He's one of those guys who make it all seem so easy... A relaxed fella, and obviously the life of the party wherever he went. This might be hard to find, but it's certainly worth tracking down!
Johnny Mercer "Collector's Series" (Capitol Records, 1989)
Songwriter Johnny Mercer had considerable success in Hollywood before co-founding Capitol Records in 1942. The maverick Los Angeles-based label had some of the hugest hits of the wartime era, starting with Ella Mae Morse's "Cow Cow Boogie," and continuing on through a slew of other great artists. Mercer himself recorded prolifically, and though his own versions of his songs tended to sell less spectacularly than versions cut by various popular bandleaders, he did alright as a singer, too. Mercer's bluesy, hepcat vocal style is a little hokey, but fun nonetheless, and no expense was spared on the punchy big band arrangements. This disc is packed with great Mercer originals, such as "G.I. Jive," with its goofy Slim Gaillard-style scatting, "Ac-Cent-Chu-Ate The Positive," "Glow Worm" and "The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe." Mercer also did fine versions of songs by other standards writers, such as "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," and Frank Loesser's "Baby It's Cold Outside." Backing him up throughout are Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers, top talent of the time. The Capitol studios had a great, readily identifiable production style -- clean, punchy, solid arrangements, pointing to a new "vocal" style that would redefine pop music in the wake of the big band era. And there was Johnny Mercer, right at the heart of it all. This is a great collection, well worth looking for.
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