Cab Calloway Volume 2: 1935-1940 CD - Import

JSP continued its steady trawl through the discography of the swing era's most extroverted bandleader with Vol. 2: 1935-1940, the second four-disc box of Cab Calloway chronological recordings. Four years beyond his breakout with "Minnie the Moocher," Calloway was leading one of the most entertaining bands of the '30s (thanks in large part to his own frontman skills), and after the first session or two here, he began filling it with more musical talent. Ben Webster makes his first appearance midway through the first disc, for a May 1936 date, and though he only appears on 16 selections, his replacement -- Chu Berry -- lost barely a step filling in. On that same 1936 date, bassist Milt Hinton joined the rock-solid rhythm section (also including Leroy Maxey, and later Cozy Cole, on drums, and Benny Payne on piano), for a stint that would last to the end of the decade. With all the talent on display, it's a bit of a shame that Calloway continued recording so many throwaway jive novelties, but he's usually a delight in any circumstances; his 30-second introductory vocal riff on "Nagasaki" is brilliant, and he nearly breaks into laughter at his own nonsense vocals. He does a little Louis Armstrong emulation on the same track, then dips into Bing Crosby during "Save Me, Sister." It shouldn't be a surprise that Calloway dominates the proceedings, but the musicians also get in some good licks on a pair of instrumentals, "Queen Isabelle" and "Savage Rhythm." A dozen tracks, most on the fourth disc, feature a trumpet section boasting Dizzy Gillespie, Mario Bauza, and Doc Cheatham, and find the new additions making an immediate impression. Besides some of the best solos of the period, their compositional and arranging skills benefited Calloway's band tremendously -- "Chili con Conga" and "Vuelva" for Bauza, and "Pickin' the Cabbage" for Gillespie. During the late '30s, a surfeit of similar jive features often caused critics to ignore Cab Calloway & His Orchestra, but as JSP proves, the group recorded dozens of sides worthy of attention from swing fans. ~ John Bush