Jean Goldkette Bands 1924-29

Artist: Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra
Label: Timeless Holland
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 8711458208437
ASIN: B000093NN3

Release Date: 2003-04-08

Related Categories:

General

| Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

General

| Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band

| Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band

| Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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| Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz

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Tracks:

In the Evening
It's the Blues
Play Me Slow
Dinah
Drifting Apart
"Gimme" a Little Kiss, Will "Ya"? Huh?
Lonesome and Sorry
My Ohio Home
So Tired
Here Comes the Show Boat
Here Comes the Show Boat
Just a Little Kiss from a Little Man
Just Imagine
Just Imagine
Just Imagine
That's Just My Way of Forgetting You
That's What Puts the "Sweet" in Home Sweet Home
My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now
My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now
Don't Be Like That
Don't Be Like That
Take a Good Look at Mine
Ya' Comin' Up to Night, Huh?
Birmingham Bertha

Similar Items:

With Jean Goldkette's Orchestra 1924-1927
Victor Recordings 1924-28
Goldkette Project
Breaking Out of New Orleans 1922-1929
The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, Vol. 2

Customer Reviews:

Best of the Roaring '20s!.......2006-04-09

Pianist and businessman Jean Goldkette operated several popular dance bands in the mid-1920s. Several different groups recorded under his name for the Victor label from 1924-1929, the most famous being the group that included Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Steve Brown, Joe Venuti, the Dorsey Brothers, and others. Goldkette's recordings with Bix have been reissued dozens of times through the years, but unfortuantely, those sides without Bix have received little attention. Until now.

This CD of Jean Goldkette bands fills in the gaps with some of Goldkette's best non-Bix sides. Really, though, you don't miss Bix (since he had seldom soloed on Goldkette records in the first place). There are some really snappy numbers here, like "Dinah" with a hot Joe Venuti violin solo and heavy-duty bass slappin' from Steve Brown. "Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?" is a clever little novelty tune with great "kissing" effects, "My Ohio Home" and "So Tired" were recorded in Kansas City by a group composed mostly of members of the former Royal Peacock Orchestra, featuring Hoagy Carmichael singing the vocals. "Just Imagine," is one of the most haunting of all 1920s dance band numbers, with a brilliant Bix-like cornet obbligato behind Greta Woodson's charming vocal. Others, like "My Blackbirds Are Blue Birds Now" and "Take A Good Look At Mine" demonstrate why the Goldkette outfit was one of the hottest white bands of the '20s. And the final track, "Birmingham Bertha" was somewhat of a fluke: it was meant to be recorded by Goldkette's No. 1 white band, but when the band's bus broke down on the way to the Chicago Victor studios from Detroit, another Goldkette group, the black McKinney's Cotton Pickers was called into to complete the scheduled date (since they had been rehearsing the tune and were already at the studio for their own session later). The McKinney's Cotton Pickers recording turned out so well that it was issued under the regular Goldkette name.

These are excellent examples of the best dance band music the '20s had to offer: innovative and interesting arrangements played with vigor and pep by talented musicians. The sound restoration by Hans Eekhoff is wonderful: the recordings sound crisp and clear, with minimal surface noise, and no digital artifacts. Many of the recordings on this CD were also released on Bill Hebden's "Vintage Music Productions" label at about the same time as this disc, but Hebden's disc suffers from poor remastering. THIS is the set to get. In addition to superior sound, you get a full booklet. The liner notes, while occasionally a bit confusing and containing some grammatical errors, are nevertheless enlightening and beautifully-presented with a healty dose of photographs. A complete discography is also included with full personnel listings, recording dates and locations, etc., is also included. And finally, many thanks to the folks at Timeless for including as many alternate takes as possible. The alternates present a rare and valuable glimpse into the way the band operated; you can clearly hear individual solos change and develop from one take to the next.

Although I'll admit to being a Bix-fan, I actually find many of the performances on this disc to be more inspired than most of the Goldkette records with Bix. There are plenty of hot Bix-like cornet breaks scattered throughout this disc (more than on the sides WITH Bix!). The tunes for this compilation have obviously been selected with a preference for "hot" dance music--there are not waltzes or slow sappy numbers here.

I've got several hundred CDs of 1920s dance bands (and more LPs and 78s than I'd care to admit). This CD represents the cream of the crop. It's an excellent place to begin for '20s music newcomers; for long-time collectors, it provides a well-programmed set to fill in gaps in the Goldkette discography. Highly recommended!

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