Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - The Best

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:15
Size: 87.6 MB
Styles: Big band, Early jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:01] 1. Get Low-Down Blues
[3:03] 2. Ill Natured Blues
[2:55] 3. Kansas City Breakdown
[2:50] 4. Kansas City Shuffle 1
[2:48] 5. Kansas City Shuffle 2
[2:31] 6. Kater Street Rag
[3:20] 7. Moten Swing
[2:59] 8. Moten's Stomp
[3:21] 9. Muscle Shoals Blues
[2:52] 10. Rumba Negro Spanish Stomp
[3:16] 11. Small Black
[2:43] 12. South 1
[2:31] 13. South 2

In the late 1920s, Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra was the most sucessful Jazz band of the Midwest. The band toured all over the country and had a top selling recording in 1927 for Victor named "South". In 1929, the young Count Basie of The Blue Devils joined the band, and several other members of that band soon followed. Among them were bass player Walter Page, trumpeter Hot Lips Page, vocalist Jimmy Rushing and guitarist Eddie Durham (the first guitarist to experiment with proto-amplifiers, in the solo of Band Box Shuffle in October 1929). The acquisition of all these members of the Blue Devils caused the exodus of long-time Moten Band members Thamon Hayes and Harlan Leonard, who founded their own ensemble.

When Moten hired Ben Webster and Eddie Barefield in 1932, the modernization of the band was complete. Later that same year, Moten recorded Moten's Swing, one of the first recordings to use a riff, the foundation of Kansas City jazz. Count Basie took over the band after Moten's death in 1935.

The Best mc
The Best zippy

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Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - The Chronological Classics 1929-1930

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:28
Size: 167,5 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:05)  1. That Certain Motion
(2:50)  2. It Won't Be Long
(2:52)  3. When Life Seems So Blue
(2:55)  4. Loose Like A Goose
(2:55)  5. Just Say It's Me
(2:41)  6. New Goofy Dust Rag
(2:50)  7. Rumba Negro (Spanish Stomp)
(3:08)  8. The Jones Law Blues
(2:31)  9. Band Box Shuffle
(3:18) 10. Small Black
(3:07) 11. Every Day Blues (Yo Yo Blues)
(3:16) 12. Boot It
(3:18) 13. Mary Lee
(2:49) 14. Rit-Dit-Ray
(2:59) 15. New Vine Street Blues
(2:40) 16. Sweetheart Of Yesterday
(3:14) 17. Won't You Be My Baby?
(3:13) 18. I Wish I Could Be Blue
(2:56) 19. Oh! Eddie
(3:21) 20. That Too, Do
(3:03) 21. Mack's Rhythm
(3:23) 22. You Made Be Happy
(2:55) 23. Here Comes Marjorie

From 1929-30, the Bennie Moten Orchestra could hold its own with fellow big bands like Fletcher Henderson, Paul Whiteman and McKinney's Cotton Pickers, although it was the least known nationally of the four. The third of four Classics CDs completely reissuing Moten's recordings finds the young Count Basie taking over the piano slot and such stars joining the band as singer Jimmy Rushing and (by 1930) trumpeter Hot Lips Page. With cornetist Ed Lewis, Eddie Durham on trombone and guitar, clarinetist Harlan Leonard and Buster Moten (on accordion) also heard from, this was a mighty orchestra, as displayed on such numbers as "New Goofy Dust Rag," "The Jones Law Blues" and "New Vine Street Blues." The four imported Classics sets are certainly more complete than the two CDs put out domestically by Bluebird. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1065137&style=music&fulldesc=T

The Chronological Classics   1929-1930

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Bennie Moten - 1929-1932: Band Box Shuffle (2-Disc Set)

While most of Bennie Moten's music has been released, a single and complete volume of his important Victor recordings is still missing. Now there's Hep's Band Box Shuffle, which takes in Moten's prime 1929-1932 stretch for the company via 47 superbly remastered tracks. And mirroring the sterling transfers engineer John R.T. Davies has supplied, the liner notes, written by jazz photographer and historian Frank Driggs, provide a hugely readable and exhaustive account of the group's history. Of course, that history recounts the Moten band's position as one of the best of the many territory bands to emerge in the Southwest during the '20s, which was due in no small part to the presence of Count Basie and many of the other stars who would help him form his own big band in the '30s. Basie's future jump fleetness is especially evident on the ten classic 1932 sides that close this set, notably complex barnstormers like "Toby," "Lafayette," and "Moten Swing." The likes of Ben Webster, Hot Lips Page, and Walter Page all contribute to the fine swing. A good share of the remaining tracks, while often maligned in relation to these later cuts, have worn well, too -- clunky tuba, accordion, and all. ~Stephen Cook

Album: 1929-1932: Band Box Shuffle (Disc 1)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 73:36

Size: 168.5 MB

Styles: Big band

Year: 2005

[2:51] 1. Rumba Negro (Spanish Stomp)

[3:07] 2. The Jones Law Blues

[3:15] 3. Jones Law Blues

[2:34] 4. Band Box Shuffle

[3:10] 5. Small Black

[3:21] 6. Small Black

[3:08] 7. Everyday Blues (Yo Yo Blues)

[3:13] 8. Boot It

[3:14] 9. Mary Lee

[2:46] 10. Rit-Dit-Ray 2

[2:46] 11. Rit-Dit-Ray

[2:58] 12. New Vine Street Blues

[2:36] 13. Sweetheart Of Yesterday

[3:31] 14. Won't You Be My Baby

[3:14] 15. Won't You Be My Baby

[3:07] 16. I Wish I Could Be Blue

[3:08] 17. I Wish I Could Be Blue

[2:53] 18. Oh! Eddie

[2:54] 19. Oh! Eddie

[3:12] 20. That Too, Do

[3:20] 21. That Too, Do

[2:58] 22. Mack's Rhythm

[3:15] 23. You Made Me Happy

[2:54] 24. Here Comes Marjorie

1929-1932: Band Box Shuffle (Disc 1)

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Album: 1929-1932: Band Box Shuffle (Disc 2)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 71:25

Size: 163.5 MB

Styles: Big band

Year: 2005

Art: Front

[3:10] 1. The Count

[3:02] 2. Liza Lee

[3:05] 3. Liza Lee

[2:56] 4. Get Goin' (Get Ready To Love)

[3:22] 5. Professor Hot Stuff

[3:12] 6. When I'm Alone

[2:51] 7. New Moten Stomp

[3:07] 8. As Long As I Love You

[3:04] 9. Somebody Stole My Gal

[3:02] 10. Now That I Need You

[3:10] 11. Bouncin' Round

[3:14] 12. Ya Got Love

[2:55] 13. I Wanna Be Around My Baby All The Time

[3:24] 14. Toby

[3:20] 15. Moten Swing

[3:22] 16. The Blue Room

[3:23] 17. Imagination

[2:59] 18. New Orleans

[3:12] 19. The Only Girl I Ever Loved

[2:46] 20. Milenberg Joys

[2:46] 21. Lafayette

[2:50] 22. Prince Of Wails

[3:03] 23. Two Times

1929-1932: Band Box Shuffle (Disc 2)

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