Title: Studio, Broadcast, Concert & Apartment Performances Artist: Stuff Smith Release Date: 12/2002 Label: AB Fable Album Type(s): Greatest Hits Genre: Jazz Style: Swing Moods: Bright, Amiable/Good-Natured, Confident, Energetic, Freewheeling, Party/Celebratory, Passionate, Romantic, Warm, Happy, Humorous, Hungry, Organic, Playful, Rambunctious, Reflective, Swaggering, Joyous, Relaxed, Rollicking, Sensual, Silly, Sophisticated, Stylish Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 2

1. Blue Skies
2. Rip
3. Bugle Call Rag
4. Bugle Call Rag
5. Midway
6. Midway
7. Look at Me
8. Skip It
9. Skip It
10. Stop-Look [Rehearsal]
11. Stop-Look
12. Stop-Look
13. Don't You Think? (aka Time and Again)
14. Desert Sands
15. Stop-Look
16. Humoresque
17. Perdido
18. Stop-Look
19. Humoresque
20. Humoresque
21. Perdido
22. My Thoughts
23. Our Waltz
24. Bugle Call Rag

1. Fugue in Swing (aka Fuguish Feeling)
2. Waltz With Me (aka Adventure in Feeling)
3. Toe Jam Blues
4. Test Pilots
5. Swing Test 2149
6. My Rhythm
7. La Cinquantaine
8. Perdido
9. Bugle Call Rag
10. Desert Sands
11. Time and Again
12. Is! Is!
13. Night Falls Again
14. Up Jumped the Devil

Year Type Label Catalog # 2002 CD AB Fable

No other editions were found for this album.

Stuff Smith was one of the major forces in jazz violin during the 1930s and 1940s, though few titles under his name have turned up during the CD era. This English two-CD set includes airchecks, songs recorded for long-defunct labels like Asch and Musicraft, and even a few rehearsals and alternate takes, among other unissued tracks. In spite of the aged source material, the sound is often surprisingly good.

Most of Disc One focuses on the popular trio Smith led with pianist Jimmy Jones and bassist John Levy. Smith varies his approach to his original "Skip It" over two takes, while his swinging "Stop-Look" features his effective (if somewhat gravelly) vocals. The trio version of the exotic "Desert Sands," one of his best-known compositions, ranks alongside any later versions made for other labels.

Two separate airchecks of "Humoresque" are present. The first features vibraphonist Red Norvo, pianist Teddy Wilson, guitarist Remo Palmieri, bassist Al Hall, and drummer Specs Powell, with the leader's antics breaking up the audience. Another version from the same radio program substitutes Mary Lou Williams for Wilson, and omits Norvo, though the band stays more in the background in comparison to the earlier broadcast.

An informal session features pianist Erroll Garner, drummer George Wettling, and trombonist Bobby Pratt. "Toe Jam Blues" (based somewhat on Duke Ellington's "C Jam Blues") adds tenor saxophonist Gene Sedric, while Lucky Thompson replaces Sedric for the cooking "Test Pilots," though it takes longer to take shape.

Smith's 1945 Town Hall concert segment suffers from overmodulation which couldn't be corrected by any amount of engineering, but his smoking version of "Perdido," a frenetic "Bugle Call Rag," and his shimmering "Desert Sands" make up for any distortion. The talented pianist is a very young Billy Taylor, with Ted Sturgis on bass. One can only hope that AB Fable will continue to make additional rare music by Stuff Smith available in future compilations. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

Name Credits Stuff Smith Main Performer