Original 1927 Recordings

Paul Whiteman | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 2000)
• Original Release Date: March 14, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Storyville Records
• ASIN: B00003Z9VC
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #670,818 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Manhattan Mary

2. Whiteman Stomp - 1

3. Sensation Stomp - 1

4. Cheerie Beerie Bee

5. Five Step - 2

6. Broadway

7. The Calinda

8. Just A Memory

9. It Won't Be Long Now - 4

10. Ooh! Maybe It's You

11. Shaking The Blues Away

12. Mississippi Suite Pt.1

13. Mississippi Suite Pt.2

14. Beautiful Ohio

15. Missouri Waltz

16. A Shady Tree

17. Dancing Tambourine

18. Wang Wang Blues

19. Washboard Blues -1

20. Whiteman Stomp -3

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect collection!, December 10, 2000

By 

Lee Hartsfeld (Central Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original 1927 Recordings (Audio CD)

From Denmark, a Paul Whiteman collection that focuses on the year 1927 and which boasts the best possible restored sound. There are songs by the likes of Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, DeSylva-Brown-Henderson, and future "As Time Goes By" writer Herman Hupfeld. And there are masterful arrangements by the likes of Ferde Grofe, Bill Challis, Don Redman, and Matty Malneck. A rare version of "Wang Wang Blues" by (Henry) Busse's Buzzards steals the show, but there are gems throughout. A more purely enjoyable CD would be hard to find. Anyone for 1926?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflections of a Long-Gone Era, April 7, 2002

By 

Michael D. Robbins (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original 1927 Recordings (Audio CD)

Paul Whiteman dominated polular music in the 1920s. His trademark title, King of Jazz, was not accurate, but his orchestra was always excellent, and it captured well the spirit of that long-gone time. His influence was inescapable, and was acknowledged by bandleaders as disparate as Duke Ellington and Guy Lombardo.

This CD issues every surviving Whiteman recording made from mid-July until mid-November, 1927, ending with Bix Beiderbecke's first session with the band. Whiteman presented a little of everything in the pop field. The disk contains show tunes, jazz pieces, novelties, waltzes, and a concert piece. The liner notes are extensive, and the sound restoration is great.

Whiteman hired first-class musicians, such as Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Matty Malneck, Bix Beiderbecke, Henry Busse, Willie Hall, and Mike Pingitore. Guest artists include Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang (both of whom would later become regular band members), and Hoagy Carmichael. The vocalists include Bing Crosby and the Rhythm Boys. Ferde Grofe, Don Redman, Matty Malneck, and Bill Challis wrote the arrangements.

Redman's jazz arrangements of "Whiteman Stomp" and "Sensation Stomp," and Challis's haunting score of "Washboard Blues" have been reissued often over the years, but Malneck's arrangement of "It Won't Be Long Now" is not well known. It is a surprisingly sophisticated jazz-oriented chart, featuring a hot trumpet solo by Tommy Dorsey. Grofe's "Mississippi Suite" was abbreviated in order to fit onto two sides of a single 78 record. "Dancing Tambourine" has a trombone duet that anticipates Duke Ellington's "Braggin' In Brass." "Manhattan Mary" and "Broadway" were featured in a long-forgotten musical. They glorify 1920s New York, and they took on an unintended poignancy when I played them in the days after September 11.

This CD is a worthwhile acquisition for those interested in the music of the 1920s, as well as those who want to explore the foundations of American pop.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 1927 was a great year for Paul Whiteman, October 19, 2005

By 

John J. Murphy, Jr "John" (Wantagh, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Original 1927 Recordings (Audio CD)

This is a great album for any collection of Jazz Age recordings. There are many of Paul Whiteman's hit recordings sprinkled throughout this album, which features the 1927 recordings of this orchestra, but I find the lesser known recordings to be gems in the rough, particularly "It Won't be Long Now" with a very svelte Tommy Dorsey solo during the song's beginning, followed by Jimmy Dorsey's throaty saxophone work just prior to the Rhythm Boys' (yup, that's Bing Crosby in there before crooning) lively vocal. To make it even better there is another take of the recording with a different tempo. This album was produced by John R.T. Davies, a master of jazz age reissues, whom I believe had a soft spot for the Dorsey Brothers. Mr. Davies was noted for reissuing alternate takes of popular recordings in many of his productions.

I find because of the Dorsey Brothers' presence in many of the songs that the album has a dual nature to it: the influence of the main protagonist, Whiteman, himself, and the Dorseys and a grand parade of great jazz musicians. It is quite noteworthy that the song "Changes" contains the final work of Tommy Dorsey with the band but the first work of Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke therein. Jimmy Dorsey would leave the band in February 1928.

A look at the band as a whole reveals it to be a well-honed music machine of excellent musicians that were able to play the orchestrations without a hitch. Listen to the alternate takes of several recordings as Whiteman and his arrangers experiment with the music. It is a treat and glimpse into the finest popular big band of the 1920's. Consequently, it is no small wonder that the 1928 New Year's edition of Variety Magazine featuring all of Paul Whiteman's musicians exclaimed that 1927 was a very good year for him.