1950-1953

• Artist: Willie "The Lion" Smith
• Rating:
• Release Date: November 15, 2005
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Jazz

Review

This sixth volume in the Classics Willie "The Lion" Smith chronology is packed with exceptionally fine music, beginning with seven Commodore piano solos recorded near the end of 1950. The Lion is in excellent form here -- his thunderously percussive rendition of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" could serve as a sort of primal preface to Cecil Taylor's 1959 reconstitution of Porter's "Get Out of Town." The Lion's Blue Circle session of August 15, 1953, features a robust little band with a front line of trumpeter Henry Goodwin, trombonist Jimmy Archey, and reedman Cecil Scott. Myra Johnson, Fats Waller's feisty touring vocalist during the late '30s and early '40s, chips in with a rowdy reading of "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Stop It, Joe," a James P. Johnson composition erroneously credited here to Willie "The Lion" Smith. The instrumental tracks from this session, "The Lion Steps Out," "Willie's Blues," and "The Romp," are wonderfully hot traditional jazz of the highest order. "Background Music for a Cocktail Party" has laughter and conversation running continuously in the background, and appears to be an early example of looped mood-adjustment overdubbing. This marvelous compilation closes with a pair of duets with drummer Keg Purnell and a veritable mini-album of eight piano solos based on melodies by James P. Johnson. This series begins and ends with Smith's masterpiece "Echoes of Spring," referred to here as "The Lion's Theme." ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:47)
I Can't Give You Anything But Love		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:42)
Just One of Those Things	Cole Porter	Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:51)
Madelon		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:50)
Hallelujah		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:56)
Poor Butterfly		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(3:09)
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes	Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach	Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:59)
The Lion Steps Out		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:29)
When the Saints Go Marching In		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:45)
Willie's Blues		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:41)
Stop It Joe		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:47)
The Romp		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:42)
Background Music for a Cocktail Party		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:42)
Carolina Shout	James P. Johnson	Willie "The Lion" Smith	(3:08)
Hoity Toiti		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:24)
The Lion's Theme (Echoes of Spring) [Charleston]		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(3:00)
Old Fashioned Love		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:53)
The Mule Walk		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(3:03)
If I Could Be with You		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:48)
Caprice Rag		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:53)
A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:50)
Carolina Shout	James P. Johnson	Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:51)
Daintiness -- The Lion's Theme (Echoes of Spring)		Willie "The Lion" Smith	(2:41)

Credits

Myra Johnson (Vocals), Duncan P. Schiedt (Photography), Henry Goodwin (Trumpet), Willie "The Lion" Smith (Vocals), Willie "The Lion" Smith (Piano), Cecil Scott (Sax (Tenor)), Anatol Schenker (Liner Notes), Pops Foster (Bass), Charles Peterson (Cover Photo), Willie "The Lion" Smith (Soloist), Jimmy Archey (Trombone), Cecil Scott (Clarinet)