Rating:
Genre: Vocal Music
Release Date: 03/13/2007

In honor of what would have been her 100th birthday, Living Era presents a double-CD tribute to Mildred Bailey that should be considered among the very best in her entire digital discography. One of at least five Bailey compilations with the words "Rockin' Chair" in the title, this 50-track "Centenary Issue" deserves high praise for excellent sound quality, intelligent liner notes, meticulously researched discographical information, and the beautifully colorized and retouched photograph of Bailey that graces the album, inside and out. After opening with her famous 1937 rendering of Hoagy Carmichael's "Rockin' Chair," the well-chosen titles are presented in chronological sequence, beginning with a handful of sides recorded during the period when she was a satellite of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (1929-1931). Throughout the 1930s, Bailey surrounded herself with some of the world's finest jazz musicians, including Benny Goodman, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Teddy Wilson, Johnny Hodges, Bunny Berigan, and Roy Eldridge. Three of Fats Waller's best tunes were trundled out for her Alley Cats session of December 6, 1935; here's a rare opportunity to hear Andy Razaf's lyrics to Waller's hauntingly beautiful, almost always instrumentally rendered "Willow Tree." The Mildred Bailey/Red Norvo partnership is well documented here, beginning with their 1936 recording of "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid," first introduced by Fats Waller & His Rhythm in 1934. In 1938 and 1939, Bailey made a series of excellent recordings with the John Kirby Sextet, a quartet led by Mary Lou Williams, and the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The closing chapters of this portrait album find the singer backed by ensembles under the direction of Alec Wilder and Ellis Larkins; her exquisitely relaxed 1946 interpretation of Walter Donaldson's "At Sundown" is positively analgesic. This edition is the best conceivable introduction to Mildred Bailey; anyone duly smitten should then pursue her complete recorded works -- with and without Red Norvo -- reissued in chronological sequence by the Classics label.

~arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

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Hoagy Carmichael - Piano
Hoagy Carmichael - Cello
Buster Bailey - Clarinet
Bunny Berigan - Trumpet
Chu Berry - Sax (Tenor)
Buck Clayton - Trumpet
Roy Eldridge - Trumpet
Freddie Green - Guitar
Johnny Hodges - Sax (Alto)
Jo Jones - Drums
John Kirby - Bass
Gene Krupa - Drums
Red Norvo - Xylophone
Charlie Shavers - Trumpet
Dave Barbour - Guitar
Cozy Cole - Drums
Hank D'Amico - Clarinet
Hank D'Amico - Sax (Alto)
Ziggy Elman - Trumpet
Bob Haggart - Bass
Edmond Hall - Clarinet
Pee Wee Hunt - Trombone
Carl Kress - Guitar
Zutty Singleton - Drums
Frankie Trumbauer - Reeds
George Wettling - Drums
Grachan Moncur III - Piano
Mitch Miller - Oboe
Coleman Hawkins - Sax (Tenor)
Russell Procope - Sax (Alto)
Mary Lou Williams - Piano
Walter Page - Bass
Red Ballard - Trombone
Bus Bassey - Sax (Tenor)
Bill Beason - Drums
George Berg - Clarinet
George Berg - Sax (Tenor)
Artie Bernstein - Bass
Larry Binyon - Clarinet
Larry Binyon - Sax (Tenor)
Tony Briglia - Drums
Vernon Brown - Trombone
Scoops Carey - Sax (Alto)
Henderson Chambers - Sax (Tenor)
Kurt Dieterle - Violin
Jimmy Dorsey - Clarinet
Tommy Dorsey - Trombone
Eddie Dougherty - Drums
Buff Estes - Sax (Alto)
Herschel Evans - Sax (Tenor)
Digby Fairweather - Liner Notes
Nick Fatool - Drums
Fletcher Henderson - Piano
Barry Galbraith - Guitar
Al George - Trombone
Chris Griffin - Trumpet
Joe Hall - Piano
Herbie Haymer - Sax (Tenor)
Bill Hyland - Trumpet
Jerry Jerome - Sax (Tenor)
Stan King - Drums
Manny Klein - Trumpet
Billy Kyle - Piano
Jimmy Maxwell - Trumpet
Toots Mondello - Sax (Alto)
Louis Mucci - Trumpet
Truck Parham - Bass
Moe Purtill - Drums
Irving "Mouse" Randolph - Trumpet
Bill Rank - Trombone
Allan Reuss - Guitar
Mischa Russell - Violin
Andy Russo - Trombone
Kenny Sargent - Clarinet
Kenny Sargent - Sax (Alto)
Eddie Sauter - Trumpet
Eddie Sauter - Arranger
Arthur Schutt - Piano
O'Neill Spencer - Drums
Ted Vesely - Trombone
George Wendt - Trumpet
John Williams - Bass
Jimmy Blake - Trumpet
Dick McDonough - Guitar
Roy Bargy - Piano
Allen Hanlon - Guitar
Carl Prager - Clarinet (Bass)
Joe Allard - Clarinet
Joe Allard - Clarinet (Bass)
Joe Allard - Sax (Alto)
Joe Allard - Sax (Baritone)
Teddy Cole - Piano
Arnold Covey - Guitar
Pat Davis - Clarinet
Pat Davis - Flute
Pat Davis - Sax (Tenor)
Stanley Dennis - Bass
Jack Fulton - Trombone
Gene Gifford - Guitar
Harry Goldfield - Trumpet
Mel Jenssen - Violin
Joe Liss - Piano
Matty Malneck - Violin
Fulton McGrath - Piano
Reggie Merrill - Clarinet
Reggie Merrill - Sax (Alto)
Mike Pingatore - Banjo
Stew Pletcher - Trumpet
Billy Rauch - Trombone
Andy Secrest - Clarinet
Andy Secrest - Trumpet
Frank Simeone - Clarinet
Frank Simeone - Sax (Alto)
Bobby Lee Jones - Trumpet
Zeke Zarchy - Trumpet
Sonny Dunham - Trumpet
Grady Watts - Trumpet
Chester Hazlett - Reeds
Nat Natoli - Trumpet
Slats Long - Clarinet
Slats Long - Sax (Alto)
Charlie Margulis - Trumpet