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Kansas City Jazz:
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The Best of Count Basie. Decca DXSB-7170.
The lineage of the Count Basie band is one of the more impressive pedigrees
in Kansas City jazz. East Coast transplant William "Count" Basie joined
Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1926, then Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra
in 1929, which evolved into the Count Basie Orchestra a few years later.
These original Decca recordings date from 1937-39.
The Essential Count Basie, Vol. 1-3. Columbia CJ 40608, CJ 40835,
CJ 44150.
The first recordings of the Basie era were cut on October 9, 1936, when
Basie, Lester Young, Walter Page, Jo Jones and Carl Smith recorded as
Smith-Jones Incorporated for Vocalion. These and other Vocalion, Okeh,
Brunswick and Columbia sessions through 1941 are found on these three
volumes.
Good Morning Blues. MCA2-4108.
Companion set to The Best of Count Basie, above, this collection presents
additional recordings from Basie's 1937-39 sessions for Decca.
One O'clock Jump. Columbia CL 997.
These Columbia recordings from 1942, 1946 and 1950-51 provide an important
stylistic bridge in Basie's career from his Kaycee days to his later post-war
recordings.
Super Chief. Columbia CG 31224.
These early recordings for Brunswick, Okeh, Vocalion and Columbia date
from 1936-42, and are a companion to the Essential Count Basie volumes
above. (See also Bennie Moten, Jimmy
Rushing, Lester Young)
Confessin' the Blues. Affinity AFF66.
Brown first recorded with Jay McShann's band for Decca in 1941. After
the war, Brown recorded R&B sides for King, Signature and Mercury. He
reunited with McShann on these sessions recorded in Kansas City for Capitol
Records in 1949. (See also Jay McShann)
Original Night Hawk Orchestra, Vol. 1-3. Broadway Intermission
144, 145, 146.
Led by Carlton Coon and Joe Sanders, the Night Hawks were a white society
band that gained national recognition through its late-night broadcasts
from the Muehlbach Hotel's Plantation Grill. Their broadcasts–heard across
the country and from Canada to Mexico–Made the Night Hawks one of Kansas
City's first orchestras to earn nationwide acclaim. These recordings date
from 1924-28.
Radio's Aces. RCA LPV-511.
During the band's brief 11-year recording career, the Night Hawks' popularity
rivaled that of Whiteman and Goldkette. These original Victor recordings
date from 1925-29.
Boogie Woogie Mood. MCA 1333.
One of the few Kaycee musicians to be an actual Kansas City native, these
early-‘40s sessions for Decca feature Johnson in big band, small group
and solo settings.
Pete Johnson/Earl Hines/Teddy Bunn Blue Note Sessions. Mosaic
MR1-119.
Side one of this record features Johnson's classic Blue Note trio sessions
from late 1939. (See also Joe Turner, Jimmy
Rushing)
All Out for Hicksville. Hep 1007.
Kirk assumed control of T Holder's territory band in 1929 and formed the
Clouds of Joy. His bands recorded for the next two decades, first with
Brunswick, and then more successfully for Decca from the mid ‘30s through
1948. These rare Brunswick sessions date from 1930-31, with the group
recording as both Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy and Blanche Calloway
and Her Joy Boys.
Cloudy. Hep 1002.
These are Kirk's earliest sessions with the Clouds of Joy, recorded for
Brunswick in 1929-30.
Instrumentally Speaking. MCA 1308.
This album features some of Kirk's classic Decca recordings, dating from
1936-42.
The Lady Who Swings the Band. MCA 1343.
These Decca sessions from 1936-38 feature Kirk's signature tune and biggest
hit, "Until the Real Thing Comes Along," sung by Pha Terrell. (See also
Mary Lou Williams)
Kansas City Star. Bear Family BCD 15770 EI.
Julia Lee performed with her brother George E. Lee's orchestra until the
mid ‘30s, then established a successful solo career which lasted until
her death in 1958. This five-CD set chronicles her career from 1924, through
her Capitol sessions from 1944-52, and later recordings for the Damon
and Foremost labels.
Harlan Leonard and His Rockets. RCA LPV-531.
This important but underrated Kansas City orchestra included–at various
times–Tadd Dameron and Charlie Parker. A veteran of Moten's band, Leonard
formed the Rockets from the remnants of Tommy Douglas' orchestra in the
late ‘30s and kept the band together through 1946. Despite working more
than a decade, the band cut only 26 sides in four sessions for Bluebird
in 1940, 15 of which are presented on this LP.
Early Bird. Spotlite120.
Jay McShann came to Kansas City from Muskogee, Oklahoma, and established
one of the best orchestras to emerge in the waning days of Kaycee jazz.
This LP presents McShann's earliest recordings: two 1940 broadcasts from
station KFBI in Wichita, Kansas. These sessions are also the first recordings
of McShann's lead alto, a young Charlie Parker.
Hootie's K.C. Blues. Affinity AFS 1006.
These recordings for Decca in 1941-42 produced several hit records for
McShann. His career was on the ascendence, though Kansas City's heyday
as a jazz center was on the decline.
McShann's Piano. Capitol T 2645.
Produced by Kansas City native Dave Dexter, Jr., this 1966 recording presents
McShann both solo and with a small group. (See also Charlie
Parker)
Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra 1923-1929. Historical Records
Vol. 9.
One of Kansas City's leading bandleaders from the early ‘20s until his
death in 1935, Moten's was also one of the first Kaycee jazz bands to
gain nationwide success. These recordings, dating from 1923-29, are from
his band's earliest sessions.
Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra 1923-25. Retrieval FJ-120.
Though there is some overlap, this album provides additional Okeh sessions
from 1923-24 which are omitted from the album above.
The Complete Bennie Moten, Vol. I-VI. RCA PM 42410, 43693, 45688.
These six LPs chronicle Moten's successful years with Victor in complete
discographical order, from 1926 through 1932. The creative evolution of
what would become the Kansas City sound is documented on these recordings.
Bird/The Savoy Recordings (Master Takes). Savoy SJL 2201.
Weaned on the swirling swing of Kansas City's jazz scene in the ‘30s;
schooled in the art of solo ingenuity by Lester Young, Buster Smith and
others; and reared in the ensemble swing of Jay McShann's band, Parker
was instrumental in transforming Kaycee's blues-based riffs and hard-swinging
improvisation into bebop. This two-record set presents the master takes
from Parker's Savoy sessions from 1944-48.
Charlie Parker. Warner Bros. 6BS 3159.
Every take from Parker's limited but brilliant output for the Dial label–12
sessions spread over two years--is presented in this six-record set. Also
of note is the "famous alto break," Bird's breathtaking solo during "Night
in Tunisia," that brought the session to a jaw-dropping halt. (See also
Jay McShann)
Barrelhouse and Blues. Jazztone J1207.
One of many vaudeville-circuit veterans who wound up in Kansas City, Price
eventually moved on to New York City and served as Decca Records' house
pianist, backing vocalists such as Trixie Smith, Sister Rosetta Tharpe
and Big Joe Turner. This recording features Price with his Kaycee Stompers,
including Vic Dickenson and Milt Hinton.
If This Ain't the Blues. Vanguard VRS-8513.
Having left the Basie band seven years earlier, this 1957 session finds
Rushing in the midst of his successful solo career.
Listen to the Blues. Jazztone J1244.
A Kaycee veteran, Rushing sang with Walter Page's Blue Devils, Bennie
Moten and Basie. Here he rejoins Page, along with other Basie alums Freddie
Greene, Jo Jones, Buddy Tate and Pete Johnson for this 1955 session originally
cut for Vanguard. (See also Count Basie)
The Legendary Buster Smith. Atlantic 1323.
Smith joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in his native Dallas in 1925, and
became a part of Basie's Reno Club band in 1936. He also formed his own
group, worked with Andy Kirk and Claude Hopkins and served as an arranger
for Benny Carter and Count Basie. However, he is most noted for mentoring
a young Kansas City sax player named Charlie Parker, who performed with
Smith in the late ‘30s. Apart from four obscure sides from the mid-‘50s,
this 1959 session is Smith's only recording as a leader.
Early Big Joe. MCA 1325.
Kansas City-native Turner got his professional start singing the blues
with Pete Johnson at the Backbiter's Club on Independence Avenue. These
recordings from the early- to mid-‘40s feature Turner with Johnson, Sammy
Price, Willie "The Lion" Smith and others.
Have No Fear, Big Joe Turner is Here. Savoy SJL 2223.
Turner was a major figure in the development of jump blues and R&B that
evolved after World War II. Featuring large West Coast orchestras from
1945-47, these sessions are clearly the forerunner of what would become
rock ‘n' roll.
The Boss of the Blues. Atlantic SD 8812.
That the blues and jazz of Kaycee is a direct antecedent of rock ‘n' roll
is evidenced in Joe Turner's sessions for Atlantic, which began in 1951
and continued through 1959. These recordings produced such hits as "Honey
Hush" and the classic "Shake, Rattle and Roll," the latter of which has
become a rock standard and was penned (under the pseudonym of Charles
Calhoun) by Atlantic arranger and Kaycee jazz veteran Jesse Stone. This
session, from 1956, features Turner with Pete Johnson, Freddie Greene,
Walter Page and others. (See also Pete Johnson)
Roll ‘Em. Audiophile AP-8.
Williams came to Kansas City from Memphis with her husband, sax player
John Williams, in 1929. She established her career as composer, arranger
and pianist with Andy Kirk's bands from 1929-42. In these broadcast transcriptions
from 1944, Williams' playing bridges the gap from classic Kaycee stride
to the emerging bebop style which she helped nurture in the mid ‘40s.
The Asch Recordings, 1944-47. Folkways FA 2966.
Mary Lou Williams moved to New York City in 1941, performing at the Café
Society and the clubs along 52nd Street, where she befriended the young
musicians who were forging a new direction in jazz. She also hosted after-hours
sessions nightly in her Manhattan apartment, which served as a cradle
of development for what became known as bebop. These sessions, made for
Moses Asch's Disc and Asch labels, are her only recordings from this era.
(See also Andy Kirk)
Goin' to Kansas City Blues. RCA Victor LPM-1639.
Though not a Kaycee performer per se, the Arkansas-born Witherspoon replaced
Walter Brown in Jay McShann's band in 1944. Released in 1958, this album,
also featuring McShann and his band, recreates their Kansas City swing.
The Kansas City Six With Lester Young. Commodore XFL 15352.
Young was, along with Coleman Hawkins, one of the two stylistic icons
of the jazz saxophone. These sessions from March of 1944, just months
before his induction into the army–an event that would alter him both
personally and creatively--feature Lester Young at his loose, swinging
peak.
The Lester Young Story, Vol. 1-5. Columbia JG 33502, JG 34837,
JG 34840, JG 34843, C2 34849.
From 1936 to 1941, Lester Young recorded over 100 sides for Okeh, Vocalion,
Brunswick and Columbia with a variety of groups including Jones-Smith
Incorporated, Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Glenn Hardman
and Benny Goodman. These sessions (some of which are also on Basie's Super
Chief and The Essential Count Basie albums) are often considered Lester
Young's best work.
Pres at His Very Best. Emarcy SRE 66010.
Originally recorded for Keynote Records, the first session on this album
(December 1943) presents the Lester Young Quartet three years after the
tenor player left the Basie band for a solo career. The second session
(March 1944) features the Lester Young-led Kansas City Seven, with Basie
on piano.
Pres/The Complete Savoy Recordings. Savoy SJL 2202.
These two sessions, from 1944 and 1949, bridge Young's output immediately
before and just following his stint in the army. Included is Basie's only
commercial recording session made during Young's final stay with that
band, and the only post-1948 studio session by Young's own sextet, the
latter of which illustrates Pres' influence on the burgeoning bebop movement.
(See also Count Basie)
From Spirituals to Swing, Vanguard VSD 47/48; John Hammond's
Spirituals to Swing 30th Anniversary Concert, Columbia G 30776.
In 1936, a Kansas City-based contributor to Downbeat and Metronome named
Dave Dexter introduced producer John Hammond to the sights and sounds
of Kaycee jazz. The two covered the town, from saloon to ballroom, taking
in most every performer of note. Two years later, Hammond staged his first
Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall on December 23, 1938, and
a second on Christmas Eve, 1939. The program included delta blues, dixieland
and swing, but also served as the national unveiling for the Kansas City
sound, featuring Pete Johnson and Joe Turner, Count Basie, Lester Young,
Walter Page, Buck Clayton and more. An additional highlight is the recreation
of Basie's Reno Club band, recorded here for the first time. Three decades
later, Hammond's reunion concert re-teamed many of these same artists.
Kansas City Jazz. Decca DL 8044.
Produced by Kansas City native Dave E. Dexter, Jr., this collection is
a who's who of classic Kaycee jazz. The set features the orchestras of
Basie, Eddie Durham, Pete Johnson, Andy Kirk, Hot Lips Page, Joe Turner
and Mary Lou Williams.
Kansas City Memories. IAJRC 44.
Released by the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors in
conjunction with their 1985 convention which was held in Kansas City,
this album of rare 78s, broadcast transcriptions and unissued recordings
is an invaluable collection featuring seldom-heard artists such as Jesse
Stone, The Missourians and the Memphis Stompers, led by Mary Lou Williams'
husband John Williams.
K.C. in the ‘30s. Capitol T1057.
This recreation of Kaycee's musical heyday (from post-war sessions produced
in Kansas City by Dave Dexter) includes performances by Jay McShann, Julia
Lee, Bennie Moten's cousin Bus Moten, Jesse Price, Tommy Douglass, Charlotte
Mansfield, Walter Brown and Crown Prince Waterford.
The Sound of Jazz. Columbia CL 1098.
Though this CBS television broadcast from 1957 features a broad cross-section
of jazz styles, it is a landmark in the importance of Kansas City jazz.
Two decades after bursting upon the national scene, the classic Basie
lineup is reunited with Jimmy Rushing, Billie Holiday and Lester Young.
However, this triumph is bittersweet: Walter Page, the dynamic force behind
the Blue Devils and, as a result, the orchestras of Moten and Basie, was
too ill to make the session and died less than two weeks after the broadcast;
Holiday and Young, who complement each other poignantly and soulfully
on "Fine and Mellow," died just months apart two years later.
Sweet and Low Blues. New World Records NW 256.
Rare recordings from territory bands of the ‘20s, including Kansas City
and Southwest-based orchestras such as the Blue Devils, George E. Lee,
Alphonso Trent and Jesse Stone's Blues Serenaders.
Territory Bands Vol. 2. Historical Records HLP 26.
Though there is some overlap with the Sweet and Low Blues album above,
this collection features additional rarities from George E. Lee's Orchestra.
– Discography by Scott O'Kelley 1/00
