Recorded at a time when
Mary Lou Williams
was performing regularly at
Cafe Society
downtown and sitting in at
Minton's
uptown, these two dozen tracks represent the heart of her 1944 artistic output as documented by
Moses Asch
on the record label bearing his own name. The opening piano solos are exceptionally fine and the
Chosen Five
sides are exquisitely rendered using a front line of trumpeter
Frankie Newton
, trombonist
Vic Dickenson
, and clarinetist
Edmond Hall
. With
Al Lucas
and
Jack Parker
working alongside her,
presided over this little band in the creation of a beautiful
ballad
, two
boogies
, and
"Satchel Mouth Baby,"
a
novelty
bounce with group vocal. One additional track from this session, involving only the rhythm section, was issued under the same heading as
the Chosen Five
. Three more piano solos -- a
boogie
, a slow drag, and a delicious treatment of
"St. Louis Blues"
-- were recorded in April of this fruitful year. A few weeks later,
Williams
accompanied vocalist
Nora Lee King
as she sang a domestic
blues
embellished with scat syllables. Four tracks recorded on June 5, 1944, were released by
Mary Lou Williams & Her Orchestra
. This was a slightly expanded, reconstituted septet now featuring tenor saxophonist
Don Byas
and trumpeter
Dick Vance
. The mood established by the
/
Byas
composition
"Man o' Mine"
exquisitely conveys the sense of a wartime society in transition so peculiar to the mid-'40s. This ethereal tide also flows into an oddly bifurcated version of
"Stardust,"
its halves weirdly separated here by an upbeat
swing
stomp called
"Gjon Mili Jam Session."
The only rationale for reissuing the tracks in this order -- with
"Pt. 2"
placed first and
"Gjon Mili"
interrupting the mood before
"Pt. 1"
-- is that the effect is something like a film soundtrack laid over contrasting scenes, with maybe a reprise of the earlier theme bringing the "plot" full circle. In any case, the music is excellent.
waxed six sides with bassist
Al Hall
Bill Coleman
in August of 1944, beginning with solid renditions of two of
Irving Berlin
's most enduring melodies,
"Russian Lullaby"
"Blue Skies."
Both
"Persian Rug"
"Night and Day"
are delightful and
Coleman
sings
"You Know Baby,"
a plea in a minor key for "a kiss and a hug." This wonderful trio session wraps up most inventively with an
experimental
version of
"I Found a New Baby."
And the disc itself closes with two comparatively brassy
V-Discs
(with a much different sound quality than those rusty old
Asch
sides!) featuring trumpeter
Charlie Shavers
Trummy Young
, guitarist
Remo Palmieri
, bassist
Hall
, and shuffle/
bop
drummer
Gordon "Specs" Powell
. It is an exhilarating finish for this outstanding album of vintage
jazz
recordings by our lady of the fine piano and solid arrangements,
. ~ arwulf arwulf