In addition to serving as a primal ingredient in
the Duke Ellington Orchestra
,
Charles "Cootie" Williams
led a series of outstanding small groups and
big bands
during the 1940s, employing and encouraging young, innovative musicians at a time when other bandleaders resisted the inevitable evolution of
swing
to
bop
. This collection assembles eight sessions' worth of rare recordings made over a relatively short period of time. Vocalists are
Pearl Bailey
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
, and
Williams
himself. Four superb septet sides from May 1941 feature the trumpeter bolstered by a well-oiled front line of trombone and alto and baritone saxophones driven by drummer
Jo Jones
, pianist
Johnny Guarnieri
, and bassist
Artie Bernstein
.
"West End Blues"
and
"Blues in My Condition"
are without question two of
' greatest achievements on record. Two recordings dating from April 1942 are emblematic of major stylistic movements that were evolving rapidly among Afro-American musicians.
Cleanhead Vinson
established himself as a modern
blues
vocalist with
"When My Baby Left Me"
the Cootie Williams Orchestra
served up what was without question the most advanced piece of music on the scene at that time:
"Fly Right,"
also known as
"Epistrophy,"
is credited to
Thelonious Monk
Kenny Clarke
Cootie Williams
. What the senior members of this band --
Louis Bacon
Charlie Holmes
John Williams
, musicians whose careers reached back to the 1920s -- thought of this futuristic opus is food for thought. Beginning with
"Floogie Boo,"
the remaining 19 tracks all date from the year 1944, and illustrate
' position near the eye of the hurricane of modern
jazz
. For now he had begun to employ remarkably imaginative musicians, taking the young
Bud Powell
under his wing and welcoming into the pack such fiery personalities as
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Charlie Parker
. The most exciting record of all is saved for the last track, as
demonstrates his uncanny ability to talk through his trumpet using the mute in a mysterious manner with a facility equaled only by
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton
. This rare recording of
"Blue Garden Blues,"
a gloriously modern
big-band
treatment of the old
"Royal Garden Blues,"
is an astonishing, startling, mind-blowing treat, one of the greatest accomplishments in all of recorded
. ~ arwulf arwulf