Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra    Moten Swing (1932)
Joe Keyes, Oran 'Hot Lips' Page, Dee Stewart (t); Dan Minor (tb), Eddie Durham (tb, g, arr); Eddie Barefield (as, cl), Jack Washington (as, bars), Ben Webster (ts); Count Basie (p); Leroy Berry (g); Walter Page (b); Willie McWashington (d); Bennie Moten (dir).

This is from the last recording of the Moten band, and it is has already almost metamorphosed into the Basie band. Basie's playing throughout is fascinating, as it mixes an older two-beat stride with a newer pared-down style. Half of the classic Basie rhythm section--piano and bass--is in place, and there's plenty of swing, supported by Walter Page's strong 4/4 walking bass.

It's hard to say what the tune is in this AABA form piece -- the band plays a number of different things together but none of them come back for a second chorus. This is typical of Kansas City-style pieces. But it's not simply a "head arrangement" (that is, a collection of riffs worked out on the bandstand by the players themselves). It is the work of the multitalented Eddie Durham, one of the great originals of the Kansas City scene. Not only was he a fine trombone player, he was also a guitarist, one of the first to experiment with amplified versions of that instrument, and on top of that an imaginative arranger.

Billie Holiday and her Orchestra    He's Funny That Way (1937)
Billie Holiday (voc); Buck Clayton (t); Buster Bailey (cl); Lester Young (ts); Claude Thornhill (p); Freddie Green (g); Walter Page (b); Jo Jones (d).

Billie Holiday with the rhythm section of Count Basie's band (but not Basie himself, it's Claude Thornhill on piano) and two of Basie's star soloists, Lester Young and Buck Clayton. Holiday and Lester Young are very much of the same understated, lyrical spirit. Holiday's phrasing and her way of paring down and recomposing a song owe a lot to Louis Armstrong, but you have to listen closely to hear the connection because while Armstrong's emotional range as a singer went from sweet to happy to ebullient, Holiday's goes from tragic to melancholy to bittersweet.

Count Basie and His Orchestra    Taxi War Dance (1939)
Buck Clayton, Shad Collins, Harry Edison, Ed Lewis (t); Dan Minor, Bennie Morton, Dickie Wells (tb); Earl Warren, Jack Washington (as), Buddy Tate, Lester Young (ts); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Walter Page (b); Jo Jones (d).

This is a great example of the simple "head arrangements" that were characteristic of Basie and other Kansas City bands. There is no theme, and the arrangement is simply a few riffs played by the band to set off or egg on the soloists. The soloists and the rhythm section get plenty of space to swing to their hearts content. The piece uses the chord progression of a song called "Willow Weep for Me" but neither the overall mood nor the riffs that are played have any real connection to that song, which is usually done as a somber ballad.

Though the recording quality here is not fantastic, it is good enough to hear pretty clearly the members of the rhythm section each doing their thing--Jo Jones playing his ride pattern on an opening and closing hi-hat, Basie comping on piano, Walter Page walking on bass, and, if you listen very closely, Freddie Green on guitar playing a chord on each beat.

The star soloist here is Lester Young, but another tenor player, Buddy Tate, gets some solo time too, and the contrast between the two is interesting and instructive. Coleman Hawkins was the primary role model for tenor players at this time, and Buddy Tate is one Hawkins' many followers, while Young approached the instrument in a new and fresh manner. For more on this, see the guide for Body and Soul.

Count Basie's Kansas City Seven    Lester Leaps In (1939)
Count Basie (p); Buck Clayton (t); Dickie Wells (tb); Lester Young (ts); Freddie Green (g); Walter Page (b); Jo Jones (d).

A riff-based "head chart" at it's most straightforward, featuring Lester Young and the less-is-more playing of Count Basie. This is a small group drawn from the Basie band, and it shows that bands rhythms section in peak form.

It is an AABA form tune, based on rhythm changes but simplified. See if you can hear how the bridge (the B section) is the same as in rhythm changes.

Quintette of the Hot Club of France    Dinah (1934)
Stephane Grappelli (vn); Django Reinhardt, Rager Chaput, Joseph Reinhardt (g); Louis Vola (b)

Benny Goodman and his Orchestra    Down South Camp Meetin' (1937)
 

This is the Benny Goodman band playing an arrangement (and composition) by Fletcher Henderson. Notice the polish and blend in this band (it is especially noticeable in the reed sound). Gene Krupa's drumming adds some raw energy. He tends to punctuate most sections with the cowbell or tom-tom, while at other times he adds sizzle by bringing out the cymbal sound.

This is a complicated piece. It has three parts, each with a different structure. The first part is ABA form, then, after a transition there is a new tune that is in AABA form (but to distinguish these As and Bs from the earlier As and Bs I'll call it CCDC), then another transition and another new tune, E.

The Kansas City Six    Countless Blues (1938)
Buck Clayton (t), Lester Young (cl), Eddie Durham, (elec g), Freddie Green (g), Walter Page (b), Joe Jones (d)

This is a very clear example of the 12-bar blues form as it is used by jazz musicians.

Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra    Body and Soul (1939)
Coleman Hawkins (ts); Joe Guy, Tommy Lindsay (t); Earl Hardy (tb); Jackie Fields, Eustace Moore (as), Gene Rodgers (p); William Oscar Smith (b); Arthur Smith (d).

In the 13 years between when he recorded "The Stampede" with Fletcher Henderson and this recording, Coleman Hawkins had become the preeminent jazz tenor saxophonist, though by the late 30s he had a number of serious challengers for the title (Lester Young, Ben Webster, and others). Though few jazz standards have been played and recorded more than this ballad (a song taken from a Broadway show), Hawkins' performance is the standard to which all the others are compared.

The tune and player are an excellent match, because the tune has an elaborate and rich chord progression, and Hawkins was a harmonically oriented player, meaning that he played off of the chords of a song instead of the melody. This may be a difficult point for non-musicians to grasp, but it will become clearer if you compare Hawkins' playing to Lester Young's. Hawkins goes up and down more, playing more notes in the process. Young's playing is more melodic, he seems to be making elegant lines while Hawkins makes loops and arabesques (in the standard nomenclature of jazz writing, Young's playing is "horizontal" while Hawkins' is "vertical"). They also have very different sounds, Young's light and clear, with a very light vibrato (vibrato is a fast wavering of pitch that singers and instrumentalists use on notes that are held out), while Hawkins' sound is heavier and breathier, with a pronounced vibrato. Even the swing feel is markedly different between these two players, quite pronounced, sometimes even jerky on Hawkins' side but subtle and flowing with Young. It is possible to push this dichotomy too far--both players played to some extent melodically and to some extent harmonically, and there was some overlap in the range of sound qualities each could draw on--but their two distinct styles and sounds mapped out the bulk of the territory available to the jazz tenor saxophone, and most later players seem to follow in the footsteps of one or the other of these two great stylists.