Cab Calloway Volume 1: The Early Years 1930-1934 CD - Import

Personnel: Cabell "Cab" Calloway (vocals); Benny Payne (vocals, piano, celesta); Chick Bullock (vocals); Morris White (guitar, banjo); Roy Smeck (guitar); Eddie Barefield (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Walter Thomas (flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Arville Harris, William Thornton Blue (clarinet, alto saxophone); Doc Cheatham, Edwin Swayzee, Lammar Wright, Sr., R.Q. Dickerson, Reuben Reeves (trumpet); De Priest Wheeler, Harry White (trombone); Earres Prince (piano); Leroy Maxey (drums).
Audio Remasterer: John R.T. Davies.
Liner Note Author: Sally-Ann Worsfold.
Recording information: Chicago, IL (07/24/1930-09/04/1934); New York, NY (07/24/1930-09/04/1934).
Director: Cabell "Cab" Calloway.
This excellent collection presents Cab Calloway at the very beginning of his career. All the hallmarks of Calloway's style are here: his rakish wit, his precise, elastic singing, and his irrepressible exuberance. Whereas the age of these recordings might discourage some listeners (due to the potentially poor sound quality), VOLUME ONE: THE EARLY YEARS boasts superior restoration and remastering that help these sides from the early 1930s truly sparkle.
The set list includes Calloway originals like "Aw You Dog" and the first recording of the Cabman's signature tune, "Minnie the Moocher," as well as spirited versions of classics like "St. Louis Blues" and "Basin Street Blues." As a bandleader, Calloway was notoriously strict, and his group from this era is as talented, tight, and swinging as any in his career. With a stunning 94 tracks, there is plenty of music to appreciate, and the top-quality sound restoration makes it impossible not to do so.
Cab Calloway made a lot of records besides Minnie the Moocher. The best of these date from the first 15 years of his recording career. If you want to delve deeper than the standard thimbleful of over-circulated novelty hits, you might as well opt for JSP's affordably priced four-CD compilation Vol. 1: The Early Years 1930-1934. It contains every single issued recording he made between July 24, 1930 and September 4, 1934, lined up in chronological sequence. While this time line stops short of Calloway's masterful 1935 scat version of "Nagasaki," the sheer volume of vintage material makes this a rolling goldmine of classic early swing. Young Calloway was still patterning his act after big sister Blanche Calloway, a boisterous entertainer who pushed every song to the limit. Both Calloways tended towards shouting and screaming the lyrics; certainly Cab's outbursts on "St. Louis Blues" and "Bugle Call Rag" straddle the line between abrasive and manic. Other highlights include the justifiably famous "St. James Infirmary," the Duke Ellington covers "Creole Love Call" and "Mood Indigo"; Fats Waller's "Old Yazoo," and those notorious anthems of substance abuse, "The Reefer Man," "Kickin' the Gong Around" and "The Man from Harlem." Although Calloway was not noted for his instrumentals, several excellent examples occur in this part of the man's discography, including "Moon Glow," "Hot Toddy," "The Nightmare," "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" and Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag." This is the young, fresh, slightly over-the-top Cab Calloway. Guaranteed to keep everyone awake. ~ arwulf arwulf

4-CD Box;