1942-1947 Review

07/13/2005 6:29 AM, AMG


The final CD of the Classic label's complete reissuance of Cab Calloway's 1930-47 recordings also includes the last recordings of Cab with his regularly working big band. This 1998 CD starts out with a couple of superior but originally rejected numbers ("What's Buzzin', Cousin?" and "Chant of the Jungle") from 1942, followed by a couple of rare V-disc numbers from 1944. Otherwise, the material dates from 1945 or 1947 with just two selections from 1946. During this era, the still-popular Calloway was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his orchestra together, as were all the other bandleaders, but the quality of his music remained fairly high, even touched slightly by bop in some of the arranged passages. Some of the vocals are a bit silly, particularly "Dawn Time and "Afternoon Moon," but there are also a few near-classic jive numbers. Highlights include the snobbish "A Blue Serge Suit With a Belt in the Back," "Don't Falter at the Altar" (released here for the first time), "The Jungle King" (one of two numbers done with a septet called the Cab-Jivers), "Give Me Twenty Nickels for a Dollar," "Two Blocks Down, Turn to the Left," "The Calloway Boogie," "Everybody Eats When They Come To My House," and the somewhat bizarre "The San Francisco Fan." Although Calloway dominates the music, there are scattered and consistently worthwhile solos by trumpeter Jonah Jones and tenors Ike Quebec and Sam "The Man" Taylor. Virtually all of these recordings are obscure, making the release of this music quite noteworthy both for swing collectors and Calloway fans. Recommended, as are all of the CDs in Classics' perfectly done Cab Calloway series. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide