Search - W.C. Handy, Dinah Shore Benny Carter :: Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street

You actually hear the bands! Great for jazz fans.

Scott MacGillivray | Massachusetts, USA | 08/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"NBC's "Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street" was a weekly radio jam session of the 1940s, with two fine house bands backing guest soloists who were the leading exponents of jazz. Most commercially released samples of the program showcase vocalist Dinah Shore at the expense of the resident orchestras, but this CD includes two complete broadcasts, with equal emphasis on the vocals, the guest stars, the two bands, and the commentary between tunes. Most of the commentary pokes fun at highbrow symphony broadcasts, so you'll hear emcee Gene Hamilton peppering the deliberately elaborate text with jazz-musician slang. Jazz fans will especially enjoy W. C. Handy in person, playing trumpet on his own "St. Louis Blues" with Henry Levine's eight-piece dixieland crew enthusiastically riding him home. Both Levine's "Barefooted Philharmonic" and Paul Laval's "Woodwindy Ten" offer excellent performances, with contributions by guest artist Benny Carter. (Levine's band does "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and really sells it.) This CD is a real change of pace for big-band collectors and vintage-radio fans. Sound fidelity is excellent."