What Kind O’ Man Is You?
LP CBS BPG 62098
There are a few entries in the discographies of this wonderful Hoagy Carmichael composition. A couple are made in modern times, and among them is a version with my band, because we were inspired to transcribe it and have Kiki sing it. Back in the twenties, there were two recordings with the composer at the piano, and one of them had the singing of Mildred Bailey. Her penetrating voice with a hot vibrato fits the tune perfectly. It is, in fact, her recording debut.
The accompanying band, under the formal leadership of Eddie Lang, consists of musicians from Paul Whiteman’s orchestra, and there is a reed player that just started with them called Bernard Daly, and it’s probably he who plays a short chase on alto sax with Izzy Friedman on tenor. He played earlier with Ray Miller and seems to be influenced by Frankie Trumbauer’s soft playing. (Unless the discographies are wrong and it’s actually Trumbauer himself on alto.) Otherwise, it’s Andy Secrest with his Bix-inspired cornet that is sharing the limelight with Bailey.