1939-1944

• Artist: Stuff Smith
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Total Time: 67:50
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Jazz

Review

This segment of the Stuff Smith story finds the fiddler facing personal and professional difficulties that prevented him from recording as much as he'd have liked to. The music that did get committed to wax is more or less uniformly satisfying. The first five selections heard here benefit greatly from the presence of trumpet ace Jonah Jones. "Big Wig in the Wigwam," a song with little redeeming social value when presented by Lionel Hampton, became a solid piece of swing when Stuff's band got a hold of it. Here it bristles with elements of "Diga Diga Doo" and Stuff's earlier rowdy masterpiece "Old Joe's Hittin' the Jug." Four titles released on the budget Varsity label in 1940 include a Grenadine-flavored sob story by Stella Brooks, two high-spirited group vocals, and a wild "Crescendo in Drums," with violin improvisations that seem like premonitions of the sound currents that Leroy Jenkins would be generating with his violin many years later. In November of 1943, Stuff Smith & His Trio made ten sides for the World Broadcasting Service, with Stuff's solos resembling some of Eddie South's best work, with flourishing touches worthy of Florian Zabach. Featured here and on the following two sessions were bassist John Levy and pianist Jimmy Jones, both excellent improvisers who were perfectly suited to Stuff Smith's style and persona. A quartet date with amplified guitarist Mary Osborne sports a pair of modernistic studies in blue, and the vocal duet between Stuff and Osbourne is deservedly famous among people who are interested in historical collaborations. This fine CD closes with six additional trio sides produced by Moses Asch, sounding pleasantly progressive for 1944. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Big Wig in the Wigwam	David Katz, Bernard Young	Stuff Smith	(2:40)
It's Up to You	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:56)
I've Got You Under My Skin	Cole Porter	Stuff Smith	(2:46)
Crescendo in Drums	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:47)
Joshua	Traditional	Stuff Smith	(3:21)
Humoresque	Antonin Dvorák	Stuff Smith	(2:32)
I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You	Bing Crosby, Ned Washington, Victor Young	Stuff Smith	(2:56)
Minuet in Swing	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:18)
The Red Jumps	Sam Allen	Stuff Smith	(2:25)
Melody in F	Anton Rubinstein	Stuff Smith	(2:25)
She's Funny That Way	Richard Whiting, Neil Moret	Stuff Smith	(2:58)
To a Wild Rose	Edward MacDowell	Stuff Smith	(2:30)
Bugle Call Rag	Jack Pettis, Elmer Schoebel, Billy Meyers	Stuff Smith And His Trio	(2:13)
Desert Sands	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(3:20)
La Cinquantaine	Gabriel Marie	Stuff Smith	(2:09)
Blues in Mary's Flat	Mary Osborne, Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:46)
Blues in Stuff's Flat	Mary Osborne, Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:55)
I Got Rhythm	George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin	Stuff Smith	(3:07)
Sweet Lorraine	Mitchell Parish, Clifford R. Burwell	Stuff Smith	(2:45)
Midway	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:12)
Look at Me	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:52)
Skip It	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:25)
Stop-Look	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith And His Trio	(2:58)
Don't You Think	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:52)
Desert Sands	Stuff Smith	Stuff Smith	(2:42)

Credits

Jonah Jones (Trumpet), Jonah Jones (Tuba), Mary Osborne (Guitar), Mary Osborne (Viola), Mary Osborne (Vocals), Bernard Addison (Guitar), Sam Allen (Piano), George Clarke (Sax (Tenor)), Jimmy Jones (Piano), John Levy (Bass), Stuff Smith (Violin), Stuff Smith (Viola), Stuff Smith (Vocals), Stuff Smith (Main Performer), Duncan P. Schiedt (Photography), Anatol Schenker (Liner Notes), Anatol Schenker (Annotation), John Brown (Bass), Eric Henry (Piano), Stella Brooks (Vocals)