King of Jazz

Paul Whiteman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 23, 1996)
• Original Release Date: April 23, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B000001HIR
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,590 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #71 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Swing Jazz

Track Listings

1. Whispering

2. Wang-Wang Blues

3. Charleston

4. Three O'Clock In The Morning

5. Rhapsody In Blue

6. Whiteman Stomp

7. Changes

8. Ol' Man River

9. Louisiana

10. You Took Advantage Of Me

11. Makin' Whoopee

12. Song Of India

13. Happy Feet

14. When It's Sleepy Time Down South

15. The Bouncing Ball

16. The Darktown Strutters' Ball

17. Slaughter On Tenth Avenue

18. A Night With Paul Whispering At The Biltmore (Medley): Part 1 (A) Intro: Whispering...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, in its own way, June 15, 2006

By 

bukhtan (Chicago, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Jazz (Audio CD)

First off, Paul Whiteman was NOT the King of Jazz. But he was the "King of Jazz". Get it?
Very likely, this very fine musician and leader may in fact have started the big band craze, though perhaps Jean Goldkette did at least as much, especially if you consider the Casa Loma Orchestra one of his vehicles. And Duke Ellington SAYS he was a major influence. Though I can't really say that I hear it in Duke's music.
In any event, this is a varied and entertaining overview of Whiteman's earlier music, from the period in which he really mattered. He commissioned George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", and here it is, the first performance, with Gershwin himself at the piano. Other numbers feature Bing Crosby before he became intolerable, pure-melodied Mildred Bailey, the great Jack Teagarden, who could sing NEARLY as well as he could play trombone (no valves, no kidding), Frankie Trumbauer on his C-melody, and of course Bix Beiderbecke, the real reason Whiteman's music has survived.
Sitting through this that or the other assemblage of Whiteman, waiting for Beiderbecke to solo, I've got to admit, it can be a drag. But really, this guy was a positive force in American music, even though some of these arrangements (especially by those by F. Grofe) may have overreached themselves, even though there's some pretty goofy minstrelizing now and then (lot of singing about "darkies"), and even though he wasn't the king of jazz, though some of his musicians, like Big T. and Bix, certainly played it and even wound up canonized in Jazz History. But whatever "kind" of music it is, it certainly is interesting to listen to now, at least in this judicious selection.