Georgie Auld - The Chronological Classics '2003-2006

Tracks list

Tracks:


Georgie Auld - 1940-1945 {CC, 1322}

Smooth and sometimes flashy tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld was heavily featured
with Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan, and Artie Shaw, whose band Auld attempted to
front after Shaw, suffering psychological distress at finding himself mobbed by
hyper-appreciative fans, retreated to Mexico in order to obtain some sort of
privacy. Eight sides from January and February 1940 sound a lot like the
previous Shaw orchestra; Kay Fosters vocals sweeten up five of these, while This
Is Romance, Juke Box Jump, and Sweet Sue are solid, danceable big-band
instrumentals. The orchestra was not a success and soon threw in the towel,
partly because, unlike Shaws previous material, these records came out on the
little Varsity label rather than Victors Bluebird imprint. Cut to the spring of
1944, and music of an entirely different sort. A saxtet co-led by Auld, Ben
Webster, and Coleman Hawkins makes four sides for the progressive Apollo label,
with Charlie Shavers, Israel Crosby, and Specs Powell in the band, among others.
Hawkins naturally steers, with Webster riding shotgun. Porgy and Uptown Lullaby
are languid ballads, while the exciting Pick-Up Boys, with its off-mike vocal
interjections, is perfectly matched by Salt Peanuts, which in 1944 placed these
musicians on the cutting edge of new jazz. This exquisite session makes the
whole package worth having. The rest of the chronological survey shows Auld
leading his orchestra in an up-to-date fashion. Five sides were recorded for
Apollo only five days after the saxtet date, now bolstered with groovin
arrangements by Budd Johnson. The presence of Al Cohn and Howard McGhee doesnt
hurt, either. Auld shows off a bit on a luxuriant Concerto for Tenor and steams
up the place during Taps Miller. I Cant Get Started, bifurcated so as to fit on
either side of a 10 record, is essentially Aulds homage to Coleman Hawkins. In
February and March of 1945, Auld gathered together an exceptionally hot band for
a brief spate of recordings issued on the Guild label. Aulds perceptive
personnel choices included Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Butterfield, Freddy Webster,
Trummy Young, Al Cohn, Manny Albam, Chubby Jackson, Erroll Garner, and Shadow
Wilson! Patti Powers had a pretty little voice while Gordon Drake, whose droopy
balladeering bordered on the soporific, served as a sort of laudanum poultice on
I Fall in Love Too Easily. Not surprisingly, the instrumentals (Georgie Porgie,
In the Middle, and Co-Pilot) provide more excitement and gratification.

01. Angel (2:51)
02. I Want My Mama (2:17)
03. This Is Romance (2:59)
04. Juke Box Jump (2:53)
05. Shake Down the Stars (3:04)
06. Imagination (2:29)
07. With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair (2:32)
08. Sweet Sue, Just You (3:03)
09. Pick-Up Boys (3:01)
10. Porgy (3:03)
11. Uptown Lullaby (3:20)
12. Salt Peanuts (2:56)
13. Sweet and Lovely (3:11)
14. Concerto for Tenor (3:16)
15. Taps Miller (3:11)
16. I Cant Get Started - Part 1 (2:06)
17. I Cant Get Started - Part 2 (2:24)
18. Georgie Porgie (2:54)
19. Sweetheart of My All Dreams (3:04)
20. I Fall in Love Too Easily (2:56)
21. In the Middle (3:13)
22. Lover Man (3:22)
23. Co-Pilot (2:49)
24. Ill Never Be the Same (2:55) 


Georgie Auld - 1945-1946 {CC, 1351}

This second volume in the Classics Georgie Auld chronology presents all of his
studio recordings made between May 24, 1945 and April 30, 1946. Aulds big band
shared some stylistic qualities with Billy Eckstines orchestra; both groups
handled the innovations of bop with intelligence and creative precision. The
first two tracks on this collection were originally issued on the Guild record
label; the rest appeared on Musicraft. Georgie Auld, whose career at times
paralleled that of Charlie Barnet, played soprano and alto in addition to his
customary tenor saxophone; also like Barnet he was a capable vocalist. There are
three examples of Aulds singing voice in this part of the chronology: he
delivers a fine rendering of I Dont Know Why (once closely associated with Russ
Columbo), a tidy take on Route 66 that closely mimics the version recorded only
six weeks earlier by Nat King Cole, and a boppish `big band update of Honey, an
attractive Richard Whiting melody dating from 1928. Nine tracks feature vocalist
Lynne Stevens -- she is at her best on Ellington and Strayhorns Just A-Settin
and A-Rockin -- but the truly substantial element here is the band itself, a
17-piece ensemble working with arrangements penned by Budd Johnson, Tadd
Dameron, Al Cohn, Franz Jackson and Neal Hefti. Auld also used Hugo
Winterhalters excellent arrangement of Time on My Hands, apparently the same
chart used by Count Basie in 1942. Note the presence of baritone saxophonist
Serge Chaloff alongside Cohn and Auld in the reeds; thats Joe Albany and Stan
Levey in the rhythm section. The vocal highlight of the whole album is Sarah
Vaughans lovely interpretation of 100 Years from Today, a Victor Young melody
with words by Ned Washington published in 1933. Georgie Auld had a really fine
big band from 1943-1946, and led an exceptional group during the year 1949. His
early-50s recordings sometimes involve group vocals or lounge atmosphere; by
1955 and 1956 he fronted a group known as the Hollywood All Stars, using
arrangements by Billy May. Most of his music is worth the effort it takes to
chase it down and soak it up.

01. Honey (2:11)
02. Stompin at the Savoy (3:09)
03. Jump, Georgie, Jump (2:35)
04. Daily Trouble (2:59)
05. Here Comes Heaven Again (3:16)
06. It Had to Be You (2:43)
07. Airmail Special (3:01)
08. Just A-Settin and A-Rockin (3:13)
09. Time on My Hands (3:17)
10. Blue Moon (2:57)
11. Come to Baby, Do (2:41)
12. Lets Jump (3:21)
13. Chicken Lickin (2:56)
14. Ive Got a Right to Know (3:11)
15. Stormy Weather (3:18)
16. You Havent Changed at All (3:01)
17. Blue Moon (3:06)
18. Seems Like Old Times (2:49)
19. Daily Trouble (2:58)
20. Just You, Just Me (2:50)
21. 100 Years from Today (2:57)
22. I Dont Know Why (3:02)
23. Route 66 (2:44) 


Georgie Auld - 1946-1951 {CC, 1371}

Volume three in the Classics Georgie Auld chronology opens with the last four
sides he cut for the Musicraft label on June 14, 1946. The 16-piece big band had
Neal Hefti in the trumpet section, Auld, Al Cohn and Serge Chaloff in the reeds,
and vocalist Sarah Vaughan featured on Youre Blasé. While Heftis two original
compositions are pleasantly modern sounding, the true gem from this date was
Budd Johnsons rock-solid Canyon Passage. Changes in the postwar entertainment
industry resulted in the dissolution and dispersal of many big bands. Auld threw
in the towel and waited about two-and-a-half years before resuming his recording
career on January 17, 1949. His new band had ten pieces, including trombonist
Billy Byers, pianist Jimmy Rowles and drummer Alvin Stoller. Eight sides cut for
the Discovery record label on this date and on March 21 used mostly Hal Vernon
arrangements; Byers scored the charts for Hollywood Bazaar and Mild and Mellow.
(For a 100-percent satisfying example of Auld leading a ten-piece band similar
to this one, seek out You Got Me Jumpin (Sounds of Yesteryear 6680), recorded
live at the Empire in Hollywood, CA, 1949.) The next leg of the chronology
consists of nine titles recorded for the Royal Roost record label on January 24,
1951 by the Georgie Auld Quintet, with trombonist Frank Rosolino, pianist Lou
Levy, bassist Max Bennett and drummer Tiny Kahn, whose eccentric opus Seh! Seh!
is group participation bop; the band shouts the songs title at regular intervals
as part of the melodic line. This little-known session hatched a veritable
goldmine of cruising cookers and luscious ballads; Taps Miller and New Airmail
Special are particularly piquant.

01. Canyon Passage (2:56)
02. Youre Blase (3:01)
03. Handicap (2:55)
04. Mo Mo (2:42)
05. Youve Got Me Jumpin (2:38)
06. Darn That Dream (3:02)
07. Hollywood Bazaar (2:45)
08. They Didnt Believe Me (2:38)
09. Nashooma (3:12)
10. Vox Bop (2:54)
11. Mild And Mellow (2:55)
12. Settin The Pace (3:15)
13. Seh! Seh! (2:39)
14. New Airmail Special (3:02)
15. Autumn In New York (2:31)
16. Be My Love (2:36)
17. Taps Miller (2:48)
18. Out Of Nowhere (3:08)
19. Whats New? (2:31)
20. You Made Me Love You (2:33)
21. The Things We Did Last Summer (2:39)

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