Clarence Williams – “Whoop It Up” The Columbia Recordings Volume 2

Description

Release Date:  1997

Label:  Frog Records

 

Track List

1 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings If You Like Me Like I Like You
2 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Have You Ever Felt That Way
3 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Breeze (Blow My Baby Back To Me)
4 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Mountain City Blues
5 –Bertha Idaho Down On Pennsylvania Avenue
6 –Bertha Idaho Move It On Out Of Here
7 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings In Our Cottage Of Love
8 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Them Things Got Me
9 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Whoop It Up
10 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings I’m Not Worrying
11 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings A Pane In The Glass
12 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Freeze Out
13 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Nervous Breakdown
14 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Railroad Rhythm
15 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings Zonky
16 –Clarence Williams’ Jazz Kings You’ve Got To Be Modernistic
17 –Jimmy Johnson* And Clarence Williams How Could I Be Blue?
18 –Jimmy Johnson* And Clarence Williams I’ve Found A New Baby
19 –Lazy Levee Loungers If I Could Be With You
20 –Lazy Levee Loungers Shout, Sister, Shout
21 –Clarence Williams And His Jazz Kings* High Society Blues
22 –Clarence Williams And His Jazz Kings* Lazy Levee Loungers
23 –Clarence Williams And His Jazz Kings* Shout, Sister, Shout
24 –Clarence Williams And His Jazz Kings* A Papa De-Da-Da
25 –Clarence Williams And His Jazz Kings* Baby Won’t You Please Come Home?

 

Review

Kudos to Frog Records for keeping this music alive. Now relegated to a subsection of Jazz history that intersected with pop music, Clarence Williams’ music remains a highly distinct aspect of that subcategory. Or to put it another way, its just good music.

As much influenced by the looser, more improvisatory Jazz coming out of New Orleans as the arranged, peppy (at times jerky) pop music in New York and Chicago, there is definitely a Williams “sound” to his discography, partially due to the instrumentalists he would employ on countless recordings. Trumpeter Ed Allen, tuba player Cyrus St. Clair and imports from the legendary Fletcher Henderson band such as tenor sax Coleman Hawkins and clarinetist Buster Bailey pop up frequently, all displaying highly individual solos of varying degrees of instrumental adroitness. The music is a mix of blues, improvised ensembles, vocal accompaniments and arranged instrumentals of pop ditties, as well as 2 of William’s workmanlike piano solos. The music is really impressive: the faster pieces have a catchy Jazz Age groove and are peppered with “hot” solos (such as for example the title track where tenor sax, alto sax and trombone split up the melody statement), and in the slower numbers such as “Breeze”, “Move It On Outta Here” and “Mountain City” the band intones a relaxed yet rhythmic backdrop to the vocals (including those by the leader: pianist, singer, songwriter, jack of all trades, master of none). Of non-musical interest, “Down On Pennsylvania Avenue” sung by Betha Idaho features a lengthy, at times graphic description of one of Baltimore’s brothels!

Recorded sound of this period, no matter how talented the engineer, will always take some adjustment by contemporary ears accustomed to crystal clear, digitized multitrack recording. As far as reissues of this music go, Frog Records is pretty good, with a minimum of background noise and clarity of sound without sounding like it was remastered in a coffee can =)

This disc is a good example of the interest, variety and above all excitement to be found in the 1920’s discography beyond Armstrong/Bechet/Hines. Highly recommended, as is sampling the rest of Frog’s amazing catalog of pre WW2 Jazz.