Jumpin' & Jivin', Vol. 1

A hugely entertaining collection of clips featuring some of jazz and swing's greatest artists from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, the first volume of Jumpin' & Jivin' includes nearly 30 performances, most of them taken from "soundies" (short black-and-white music videos produced for clubs, bars, jukeboxes, and such) starring giants such as Duke Ellington (the sublime "Sophisticated Lady," with Louis Bellson on drums), Fats Waller ("Ain't Misbehavin'," "Honeysuckle Rose"), Louis Jordan (three delightful clips, including one where the saxophonist-singer and his Tympany Five are decked out in clown suits), Dizzy Gillespie ("Oop Bop Sh Bam" is about as hip as it gets), Lena Horne ("Unlucky Woman," with pianists Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson), Billy Eckstine ("Rhythm in a Riff," with a young Art Blakey on the skins, is soooo smooth), and the Treniers (the riotous "It's Rock, It's Roll, It's Swing," which is exactly as advertised). Many artists will certainly be familiar to jazz buffs, while others are decidedly obscure (consider yourself an expert if you're familiar with the likes of Teddy Powell, Will Bradley and his Six Texas Hot Dogs, Al Donahue, or Ralph Flanagan)—but all look and sound great, notwithstanding some occasional hiss and distortion on the ancient audio tracks, and the dancing and clothes are almost as cool as the music, presented here in Dolby Digital stereo. Perhaps equally notable is the presentation: whereas too many collections of this sort are desultory, slapdash affairs lacking such basic information as names, dates, and origins, Jumpin' & Jivin' features an informative booklet. A great value, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)