From the Record Shelves #270 - Trouble in MindFrom the Record Shelves #270 – Trouble in Mind – Bertha “Chippie” Hill was a very good singer, and she had a good accompanist in Louis Armstrong, with the result of some classic numbers. But it’s also interesting to hear another quite different version that she did (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #256 - Let’s MisbehaveFrom the Record Shelves #256 – Let’s Misbehave – This was the first of the “year” records that came out in the Vintage Series. I think that the year was 1967, at least that was the year I bought my copy. For me, it was an introduction to several fine dance orchestras. (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #255 - WhisperingFrom the Record Shelves #255 – Whispering – Paul Whiteman had a smash hit with whispering in 1920. The record features an element of novelty effect, which is a chorus of slide whistle. By 1928, it was time for a revival of the song and a modernized version. Typically (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #216 - ’Taint So, Honey, ’Taint SoFrom the Record Shelves #216 – ’Taint So, Honey, ’Taint So – It was raining like mad, but I was out on my bike. I had a very important business to take care of, which was buying a record. When I came to Leif Anderson he opened the door wearing his bathrobe. Leif was (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #209 - I’m Through, GoodbyeFrom the Record Shelves #209 – I’m Through, Goodbye – This record is from 1966, when I was sixteen. I was working in the fields in the summer, and half of the earnings went to my mother. For the rest I bought clothes and a few records. Some time ago I met a guy that (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #193 - GypsyFrom the Record Shelves #193 – Gypsy – There was a time—it seems long ago now—when all the early recordings of jazz were not available. Originals were hard to come by, and the reissues were not plentiful. It was an exciting age in which (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #112 - My Baby Came HomeFrom the Record Shelves #112 – My Baby Came Home. It’s not a generally agreed upon judgement, but to my ears and taste Red McKenzie had a wonderful voice and his expression of sentiments is fine with me. On this compilation of singers from the jazz age (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #106 - I Must Have That ManFrom the Record Shelves #106 – I Must Have That Man. Here we have an album dedicated to a man of the rhythm section namely the tuba player Joe Tarto. Included is a lot of information about his career that spanned over more than six decades (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #105 - Yellow Dog BluesFrom the Record Shelves #105 – Yellow Dog Blues. Number three in the Cotton Club series includes some oddities in the house bands book. W. C. Handy’s blues has been interpreted by many and here in 1928 it gets the early Duke Ellington treatment (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #91 - Move Over From the Record Shelves #91 – Move Over . When I saw this record in the shop, a department store, some day back in 1966 the price was over my budget. But I just had to have it, so I swapped etiquettes with a cheaper one. It was the only time, and I’m a bit shamed, but (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #86 - Blue Blowers BluesFrom the Record Shelves #86 – Blue Blowers Blues. The LP has two contrasting orchestral sounds. On side one there is a lively washboard and kazoo group, but today I chose to put the attention to the other side with Cutis Mosby’s Blue Blowers and (…) read more and listenread more and listen

From the Record Shelves #79 - Somebody Stole My GalFrom the Record Shelves #79 – Somebody Stole My Gal. The Spanish-American pianist Fred Elizalde played an important part as a jazz pioneer in England in the 1920s. As a student at Cambridge he organized a band and after having a certain success with this he (…) read more and listenread more and listen