One of the great showmen of the past century and a flamboyant, enthusiastic personality, Cabell 'Cab' Calloway was a superior jazz singer; his vast range from a booming bass to a shrieking falsetto has not been surpassed by any other male jazz vocalist. The irrepressible Calloway first made it big in 1931 when he waxed Minnie The Moocher at a moment when he was fronting his orchestra regularly at New York's celebrated Cotton Club. A colourful character soon to become a houshold name, he enjoyed several additional hits over the following two decades, displaying his boundless energy and ingenious invention while fronting a top-notch orchestra that always sounded good, and at one time of another featured jazz greats such as Doc Cheatham, Mario Bauza, Jonah Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Chu Berry or Ike Quebec.

Showcasing the great Cab Calloway in a variety of formats and environments, the splended compilation of "soundies" and clips from the 1947 feature film Hi-De-Ho is testament to the master showman's talent. a fantastic performer, Calloway always managed to steal the show, be it fronting his first-class big band in numbers such as Foo A Little Broogaloo or Call Of The Jitterbug or heading a crackerjack small group in The Calloway Boogie, St. James Infirmary or the immortal Minnie The Moocher.

TRACKS:
[1] Hi-De-Ho
[2] Foo A Little Boogaloo
[3] I Was Here When You Left Me
[4] We The Cats Shall Help Ya
[5] Minnie The Moocher
[6] One For My Baby
[7] I Can't Give You Anything But Love
[8] St. James Infirmary
[9] Calloway Boogie
[10] How To Do The Razz-Ma-Tazz
[11] Long About Midnight
[12] Call Of The Jitterbug
[13] Blowtop Blues
[14] Blues In The Night
[15] Skunk Song
[16] Virginia, Georgia and Caroline

TOTAL TIME : 101:32
Track 1 from Hi-De-Ho, a full length film directed by Josh Binney, 1847; tracks 10-12 from Jitterbug Party, directed by Fred Walter, 1935.

back to previous page

back to previous page