Swing Is In The Air
Sunday May 31st, 2020 with Bruce Walton
Covers of jazz standards / 1930's-'40's small-group jazz

Covers of some well-known tunes in the first hour; small-group jazz from the Swing era in the second. "Small'' groups defined rather liberally - essentially, smaller than full-on Swing big bands

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (1971)
John McLaughlin - Knit Clasics sampler

Cherokee (1953)
Clifford Brown - Brownie Speaks (compilation)

Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You
Geoff Muldaur - Is Having A Wonderful Time (1975)

The next track was written in 1934. It was used in a movie in 1936, at which point it fell afoul of the Hollywood Production Code, and the reference to cocaine was changed. Anita O'Day sings the original lyrics.

I Get A Kick Out Of You
Anita O'Day - Anita O'Day Swings Cole Porter w/Billy May (1959)

Milestones
Bug Alley - Bug Alley (1980)

Moanin' (1959)
Lambert Hendricks & Ross - Everybody's Boppin' (compilation)

Cherokee (1954)
Joe Harriott Quartet - The Joe Harriott Story (compilation)

Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You
Sammy Price - Boogie & Jazz Classics (Switzerland, 1975)

I Get A Kick Out Of You
Paul Desmond w/Jim Hall - First Place Again (1959)

Milestones (1947)
Miles Davis All-Stars - Bebop Spoken Here (compilation)

Moanin' (live, 1961)
Joe Harriott Quintet - Genius (compilation)

Cherokee
Lenny Breau & Tal Farlow - Chance Meeting (live, 1980)

Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You (1943)
Nat 'King' Cole - Best Of

Milestones
Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery - Further Adventures Of Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery (1966)

Christopher Columbus (1936)
Fats Waller - Best Of

Gone With The Gin (1940)
Hot Lips Page & His Texas Bluesicians - 52nd Street Swing - New York In The '30's

The Minor Drag (1929)
Fats Waller - Best Of

You're Gonna Get My Letter In The Morning (1947)
Mary Osborne - Guitar Rarities, vol. 2

Charlie Two-Step (1932)
The Boswell Sisters - The Boswell Sisters, vol. 2

Jive At Five (1939)
Count Basie - Essential Lester Young

The groups captured in The Duke's Men cd are all slightly smaller versions of the Ellington orchestra. Ellington pno, Fred Guy gtr, Billy Taylor bs, Sonny Greer dr, and Harry Carney bari, appear on all the tracks; the groups are rounded out by some combination of Cootie Williams or Rex Stewart tpt, Juan Tizol or Sam Nanton or Lawrence Brown tb, and Barney Bigard or Johnny Hodges, reeds. In addition to the groups heard here nominally led by Stewart and Bigard, the other groups were Johnny Hodges & His Orchestra and Cootie Williams & His Rug Cutters.

Back Room Romp (1936)
Rex Stewart & His 52nd Street Stompers - The Duke's Men

Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea (Paris, 1937)
Dickie Wells (Django Reinhart, gtr) - Best Of

Rhythm (1933)
The Spirits Of Rhythm - Complete Jazz Series, 1933-1945

I Would Do Anything For You (1940)
Hot Lips Page & His Texas Bluesicians - 52nd Street Swing - New York In The '30's

Oh Lady Be Good (1936)
Jones-Smith Inc. - Essential Lester Young

St. Louis Blues (1942)
Count Basie - Count Basie Small Groups

Back In Your Own Backyard (1938)
Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra - A Musical Romance (Billie & Lester)

Twilight In Turkey (1937)
Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys - 52nd Street Swing - New York In The '30's

Lester Leaps In (1939)
Count Basie & The Kansas City 7 - The Real Kansas City Of the '20's, '30's & '40's

I haven't checked, but it's probably a safe bet that "Lazy Man's Shuffle" is the only Duke Ellington tune featuring a steel guitar

Lazy Man's Shuffle (1936)
Rex Stewart & His 52nd Street Stompers - The Duke's Men

Farewell Blues
The Delta 4 (Roy Eldridge) - 52nd Street Swing - New York In The '30's

The session which produced "Frolic Sam" also saw the first recording of Juan Tizol's "Caravan", which has gone on to be one of the most-recorded jazz tunes ever.

Frolic Sam (1936)
Barney Bigard & His Jazzopators - The Duke's Men

Royal Garden Blues (1939)
John Kirby & His Orchestra - The 1930's - Small Combos

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