Artie Shaw made his first public appearance as a band leader in 1936, but was very active in the dance scene well before this time. At 20 years old he worked alongside the Harlem stride pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith and many other well known dance bands led by the likes of Paul Specht, Vincent Lopez, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Red Nichols and Fred Rich. He also work as a session musician with the likes of Bunny Berigan and Billie Holiday prior to starting his own band.
Artie Shaw was American clarinet trained musician but often also played tenor and alto saxophone.
This double record compilation covers his recordings from 1939 until 1945
Many other well known American musicians also accompany Artie on these recordings, too many to list but they are all documented inside the gatefold cover.
Artie Shaw - Concerto For Clarinet
RCA Victor Records
Cat# VPM2-7000
Australian release
1970's - Early 1980's (date of release is not indicated but other releases of this compilation album were during the period indicated)
I cannot be sure but suspect this is a mono recording, due to the time period these recordings were made and there is NO indication anywhere on this release of a conversion to stereo, remastering etc.
My hearing isn't the best these days but (to me) I would say it "sounds" mono without the sound stage of stereo recordings.
Gatefold record cover is in very good condition, no tears, barely any edge wear from normal handling, no seam splits. There is some writing, rear cover has an F in a circle (blue biro used) and inside the gatefold, three of the songs have numbers written next to them within a circle (looks to be black fountain pen used) There is a small "dot" on the rear, centre top area where the graphic has been damaged - but this is a small area.
New inner plastic sleeves
Both vinyl are in very good condition, inspected under a white halogen light source and I can see quite a few very light scratches on each side, of each record. I then played all four sides entirely, no significant issues with surface noise and just a couple of click/pop events. Very good, "modern" swing jazz.
New outer protective sleeve
Tracks: Nightmare, Back Bay Shuffle, Any Old Time, Yesterdays, Copenhagen, My Heart Stood Still, Deep Purple, Begin The Beguine, One Night Stand, I'm Coming Virginia, Pastel Blue, Carioca, One Foot In The Groove, I Surrender Dear, Oh Lady Be Good, Traffic Jam, Frenesi, Adios Marquita Linda, Chantez Les Bas, April In Paris, Stardust, I'm Confessin', Blues Parts I And II, Blues In The Night, Solid Sam, Deuces Wild, Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, Bedford Drive, Little Jazz
