Jazz Focus

Live and studio recordings by the Second Herd, 2.0....Getz, Sims and Steward were gone, replaced by Gene Ammons, Jimmy Giuffre and Buddy Savitt, but Serge Chaloff is still there, along with Ernie Royal, Earl Swope, Lou Levy, Terry Gibbs, Shorty Rogers and a guest appearance by Nat "King" Cole - progressive 1949 big band music! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

From 1934-1940 the Six Swingers recorded several hundred sides for Regal Zonophone and Columbia of popular tunes, blues, jazz and novelties. Led by pianist George Scott Wood, the band at different times featured Max Goldberg, Lew Davis, Ted Heath, Tony Thorpe and others, but the star was reed player Freddy Gardner, whose clarinet, baritone and especially alto solos located him in the forefront of European jazz musicians. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

The Benny Goodman Sextet (actually a septet) performed with the big band during the second half of Charlie Christian's tenure with the band in 1940 until he had to leave in the summer of 1941 due to ill health. With Cootie Williams, Georgie Auld, Artie Bernstein and a mix of Count Basie, Kenny Kersey, Milt Raskin and Johnny Guarnieri on piano and Dave Tough, Harry Jaeger and Nick Fatool on drums, the small group had superior jazz talent as well as great arrangements built on the riffs of Christian and his electric guitar. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

Great black band active in Paris during the 1930's - this series of recordings for the Pathe label feature Benny Carter (sax, trumpet and arrangements) on the first session and Bill Coleman, Frank "Big Boy" Goudie, George Johnson and Adelaide Hall on the rest. Throughout is magnificent piano playing by Herman Chittison. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

Some oddly constructed small groups featured by Goodman on his regular radio broadcasts in 1939. This was the time between when Gene Krupa and his replacement Dave Tough left and Charlie Christian appeared and Goodman was obviously trying different things, including using Leonard Ware and George Rose on electric guitar. Also unique was a duo between Goodman and bass player Artie Bernstein on "Tea For Two." --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

Two great dance bands from the Hot Dance period - Dave Nelson's Harlem Highlights and Kingsmen with Buster Bailey, Glyn Pacque, Charles Frazier and Wilbur DeParis and the Savoy Bearcats with Joe Steele, Carmelo Jari and Demas Dean . . terrific recordings from mostly forgotten bands and a cameo from King Oliver.... --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

The "pre-Louis" band . . records done before Louis Armstrong joined the Roseland Ballroom orchestra led by Fletcher Henderson . .this group was still a force to be reckoned with in Harlem music circles . . featuring Elmer Chambers, Howard Scott, Teddy Nixon, Don Redman, Charlie Dixon, Billy Fowler, Ralph Escudero, Kaiser Marshall and Allie Ross, these records also have the first recorded solos of Charlie Green and Coleman Hawkins. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

The great swing era trumpet player on three pickup dates after he left Cab Calloway's band . . the first with Sammy Price (also featuring, Vic Dickenson, Pete Brown, Milt Hinton and JC Heard), second with George Wettling (with Bud Freeman, Dave Bowman, Milt Hinton and George Barnes), and third with Sidney Bechet (with Jimmy Archey, Buddy Weed, Walter Page and Johnny Blowers). --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

Great solo piano recordings by the great Harlem Stride master from 1921-1930. Several standards and pop tunes, but mostly originals by Johnson! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support

Spike Hughes was a white British music critic and bass player who had a successful series of recordings for British Decca in the early 1930's. He came to the US in 1933 to record some of his own compositions and arrangements with an all-star band put together by Benny Carter, who used mostly his own band and soloists from Fletcher Henderson and Luis Russell's orchestras. Red Allen, Shad Collins, Dickie Wells, Wayman Carver, Coleman Hawkins, Chu Berry, Red Rodriguez, Sid Catlett and others. Also, the last date Coleman Hawkins recorded with the Henderson band in March, 1934 - Buster Bailey, Red Allen, etc.! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-clark49/support