Search - Slim Gaillard :: Laughing in Rhythm

Jumpin'!

GameraGal | Sydney | 10/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll confess to an ongoing amour with the proper box set. I can't believe something this cheap (let's face it...the price is incredible!) is consistently of such high quality. They look great, feel nice, are beautifully packaged, and include booklets (yes! tiny books) with great info on and pics of their subjects.



So what about Slim? Well this cat is jumpin'. He is high class and hilarious...what a great combination. And there's suprising variety through this invariably rhythmic set. Most tracks are upbeat and you could fill up the CD shuffler and dance to this all night. I just can't believe his name isn't as familiar to us as the likes of Louis Jordan.



I was a bit worried about all this vouting...this guy sounded like he could get really annoying...and he wouldn't be around so you could slap him in the face and tell him to snap out of it. But he only indulges in sporadic vouting binges and they are only occasionally obtrusive.



When I bought this I thought I'd probably select songs and boil it down in to one excellent CD I could love unconditionally. But this cat doesn't let you down...which has made for a least one very happy kitten."

Three Stooges + Bebop = Slim Gaillard

andy7 | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Slim Gaillard is what you get when you combine slapstick humor with bebop jazz. Even Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie couldn't resist playing on his records-they appear on a few tracks on this great 4 CD box set.

Did I mention you get 30 tracks per disc making this the deal of the century? Such a deal! For the low price listed above you get at least 120 tracks of pure Slim brilliance. I have to warn you, though, his sense of humor is very non-PC but also not mean spirited, either. He lampoons every ethnic group under the sun including his own (in "African Jive" he runs down a soul food menu to a tribal African beat).

I also liked his enthusiasm for ethnic food, particularly Jewish delicacies:

Matzo Balls (sung Jimmy Durante style), Dunkin' Bagels ("splash! in the coffee"), and the classic Potato Chips ("crunch crunch I don't want no lunch").

Recommended tracks: Popity Pop, Atomic Cocktail, Dopey Joe, B-19, Palm Springs Jump, Little Red Riding Woods, Tee Say Malee, etc. I could go and on. Dunk some bagels and enjoy!"

The original witty Slim

Herjlfur Kolbrnarson | Iceland | 07/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is incredible how much of his material would even for today be considered original and ahead of its time .

But yet at the same time having this childish and simple humor such as de-ranging known phrases and basically creating his own language out of it.

Slim is a one of a kind and should be remembered amongs the greats of jazz and witty music."