Artie Shaw Centennial Collection CD

This DVD/remastered audio CD set includes a stellar representation of Artie's live work with special performances taken from select movie clips, as well as insightful live interviews, and awesome short entitled Artie's Class in Swing.

This release includes a bonus DVD featuring movie clips, live interview footage, an a short film entitled ARTIE'S CLASS IN SWING.
Personnel: Artie Shaw (clarinet); Helen Forrest, Billie Holiday (vocals); Georgie Auld (tenor saxophone); Hot Lips Page, Roy Eldridge, Billy Butterfield (trumpet); George Arus (trombone); Johnny Guarnieri (harpsichord); Buddy Rich (drums).
Liner Note Author: Dick Sudhalter.
This volume in RCA Bluebird's Centennial Collection series (whereby the label offers a single-disc CD compilation of classic tracks and a bonus DVD of rare clips from television, documentary, and film footage) focuses on Artie Shaw's late-'30s through mid-'40s period with the Victor and Bluebird labels. Eight of the tunes here originated with radio broadcasts. The 20 audio tracks commence with Shaw's biggest hit, "Begin the Beguine," featuring Georgie Auld, Tony Pastor, and George Wettling. "Grabtown Grapple" features a killer, if brief, solo by Roy Eldridge, and Oran "Hot Lips" Page is showcased on "Evensong" and "Suite No. Eight." The sound here is wonderful throughout. The DVD showcases the Shaw band as widely portrayed in Hollywood movies from the era. There are clips here from Class in Swing, Second Chorus, and an interview with Shaw from 2001 about its Self Portrait box set issue. This is an excellent package and will be a nice addition to any Shaw shelf. ~ Thom Jurek
After Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw was the premiere swing clarinetist, and his fine compositions, sweet tone, and mastery of the instrument's high register hold him in good stead against "the King of Swing." THE CENTENNIAL COLLECTION brings together 20 Shaw selections, eight of which are taken from late-1930s and early-'40s radio broadcasts. The broadcast recordings are preferable, as they are from live dates, with a looser, more immediate feel than the band was able to achieve in the studio. Shaw's wildly successful take on "Begin the Beguine" is a good example; it replicates the studio version melodically, but cooks with a smooth, intense energy.
Gems abound in treatments of traditional songs ("Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"), jazz standards ("Summertime"), and Shaw's own material ("Nightmare"). There are some wonderful surprises tucked into the set, such as Billy Holiday's vocal on the Shaw-penned "Any Old Time," and two cuts featuring Shaw's smaller ensemble, the Gramercy 5. The leader's string-sweetened version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust"--superbly arranged, with a lilting, high-register solo from Shaw--is one of the definitive takes on the tune. A bonus DVD featuring an interview and motion-picture excerpts of Shaw's band puts the ribbon on this fine package.