Jazz-Club: Vocal (1952-1965)

Back when I was 19 years old and just out of high school, I had a fun job in downtown Hartford with a great boss named Joe Bascetta. I worked at The Pelican, which had two locations. The upscale store on Main Street carried clothes and accessories for punks, ravers, freaky conservatives and alternative-types in general. The location on Park Street, on the other hand, did carry clothing, but did most of its business in "tobacco" paraphernalia, sex toys and martial arts weapons. I worked three days a week at Main Street and two on Park Street. Park Street was rough back then. I used to take the city bus into work each day. On the job, I was constantly surrounded by a fascinating group of people: insurance types, drag queens, clubbers, artists, junkies, you name it. The Main Street location is closed now and the Park Street location is now a tattoo shop.

Joe Bascetta is a cool cat. In the seventies, he lived in New York City, where he and his wife made and sold platform shoes. In fact, David Bowie is wearing a pair of his in the "Ashes to Ashes" video. New York Dolls member David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter) was the best man at his wedding. He's the kind of guy to wear a $1000 suit over a worn-out $20 Izod shirt. Anyway, working there was a blast.

We used to loosely rotate among the employees what music was played. Almost nothing was off-limits. Joe loved to play Fine Young Cannibals (I was already a big fan) and the Jazz-Club: Vocal compilation that Verve had released that year in 1989. I had a passing familiarity with jazz from the 20s and 30s; I had bought a comp or two and knew enough to know that I loved Fats Waller. This, however, was my first exposure to vocal jazz from the 50s and 60s. And what an introduction it was! Nearly every track is an absolute gem! In the 18 years since, I've listened to this literally hundreds of times.

This type of jazz is probably under the radar for many of my regular visitors here. Many of my favorite jazz vocalists are here, all performing absolute standards. In the 30s and 40s, jazz was mainstream and was the current "popular music." When rock 'n' roll came along in the 50s, pop music changed. But all of those great singers and players from that earlier era kept working and kept performing. There was a resurgence in popularity of this type of traditional vocal jazz during the mid-50s and into the mid-60s, most notably from the likes of Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack and Louis Prima. Some would argue (like me), that, within the context of its somewhat more modernized setting, the form reached it peak during this period.

If the names here are unknown to you or you only vaguely recognize some, then you really need to give this a shot! There is something wonderful to be found here. If you already love this type of music and don't already have this compilation, then you definitely need this! It's essential. A word of warning, though: the first track can be a bit off-putting if you're unfamiliar with Ella Fitzgerald's unique, almost stream of consciousness vocalese. Don't let that throw you. You may eventually learn to appreciate it and, down the road, maybe even love it. In the meantime, if it bugs you, just click past it. I've placed what recording details were available in the comment field.

Check out this live clip of Ella Fitzgerald from 1957 performing "Air Mail Special":



Check out this live clip of Joe Williams with Count Basie & His Orchestra performing "Alright, O.K. You Win":



Jazz-Club: Vocal (1952-1965)
1. Ella Fitzgerald - Air Mail Special [1956] (4:07)
2. Billie Holiday - Stormy Weather [1952] (3:41)
3. Sarah Vaughan - He's My Guy [1954] (4:09)
4. Anita O'Day - S'Wonderful / They Can't Take That Away from Me [1957] (2:55)
5. Dinah Washington - Back Water Blues [1958] (5:00)
6. Astrud Gilberto - One Note Samba [1964] (3:15)
7. Nina Simone - The Other Woman [1964] (3:00)
8. Carmen McRae - The Very Thought of You [1960] (2:31)
9. Louis Armstrong - On the Sunny Side of the Street [1956] (3:28)
10. Jack Teagarden - Mis'ry and the Blues [1961] (5:19)
11. Jimmy Rushing - Evenin' [1957] (3:35)
12. Mel Tormé - Take the "A" Train [1960] (2:50)
13. Joe Williams - Alright, O.K. You Win [1955] (2:48)
14. Billy Eckstine - St. Louis Blues Part 1 & 2 [1953] (6:20)
15. Jon Hendricks - Stockholm Sweetnin' [1965] (3:45)
16. Dave Lambert - Donna Lee [1965] (2:49)

83.87MB RAR archive
MP3: Variable bitrate (195.9kbps average)
Audiograbber 1.83.1 w/LAME 3.97 (--preset fast extreme)

DOWNLOAD
Password: p-l-m.blogspot.com