It's been closed for over 60 years, but the Cotton Club is still the most famous jazz spot in the world. And now, here's a way to experience what it was like to watch a show at "The Aristocrat of Harlem"; taped on April 20 and 21, 1931 for German radio, these recordings lay dormant in the vaults for 70 years until discovered by an assistant to the legendary John Hammond, Michael Brooks. These two nights were business-as-usual at the Club-Cab Calloway's Orchestra accompanies such little-known artists as Lethia Hill, Eddie Rector and the Cotton Club Trio but for a slice of legendary ambience, you simply couldn't do better. Also on this 2-CD set are commercial recordings from the Cotton Club era, including a 1929 attempt to re-create the Club's live atmosphere inside a recording studio, recordings by artists (Bill Robinson, Libby Holman, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne) who gained fame there and unreleased live recordings from the Cotton Club by Duke Ellington and also by "The Tramp Band, " a fixture at the Club during the 20's. A hardcover book bursting with photos gives the inside story on who ran the nightclub and the shady individuals who in turn ran them. Another Bear Family historical triumph.
1 I'll Make Fun for You [Instrumental] - Cab Calloway
2 (Please Give Me) Something to Remember You By
3 Minnie the Moocher - Cab Calloway
4 Mystery Song
5 St. Louis Blues - Cab Calloway
6 Just a Gigolo
7 Farewell Blues
8 Nite at the Cotton Club, Pt. 1A (Cotton Club Stomp)
9 Nite at the Cotton Club, Pt. 1B (Misty Mornin')
10 Nite at the Cotton Club, Pt. 2A (Goin' to Town)
11 Nite at the Cotton Club, Pt. 2B Passage [Harmonica Solo]
12 Nite at the Cotton Club, Pt. 2C (Freeze and Melt) - Irving Mills
13 Hot Feet - Cootie Williams
14 Ain't Misbehavin' - Bill Robinson
15 Minnie the Moocher - Dick Robertson
16 Blue Rhythm - Mills Blue Rhythm Band
17 Farewell Blues - Cab Calloway
18 St. Louis Blues - Cab Calloway
19 Mystery Song
20 I'll Make Fun for You - Dave Wilborn
21 I've Found a New Baby - Andy Preer
22 I Must Have That Man! - Adelaide Hall
23 Miss Linda Brown [Take 1]
24 (Please Give Me) Something to Remember You By - Libby Holman
25 Ease on Down - Luis Russell & His Orchestra
26 Just a Gigolo - Louis Armstrong
27 I Just Couldn't Take It Baby - Ethel Waters
28 As Long As I Live - Lena Horne
- Disc 2 -
1 Excerpts from the Revue "Black and White Birds": Truckin'/Solitude - Adelaide Hall
2 Stepping Into Swing Society
3 If You Were in My Place (What Would You Do?)
4 Mood Indigo
5 East St. Louis Toodle-Oo [Close of Show]
6 East St. Louis Toodle-Oo [Start of the 2nd Show]
7 Oh, Babe! Maybe Someday
8 Prelude in C Sharp Minor
9 Rockin' in Rhythm
10 Three Blind Mice
11 On the Sunny Side of the Street
12 Dinah's in a Jam
13 Harmony in Harlem
14 At Your Beck and Call
15 Solitude
16 Gal from Joe's
17 Ridin' on a Blue Note
18 If Dreams Come True
19 Lost in Meditation
20 Demi-Tasse (Ev'ry Day)
21 Echoes of Harlem
22 Birmingham Breakdown
23 Rose Room
24 If Dreams Come True
25 It's the Dreamer in Me
It's been closed for over 60 years, but the Cotton Club is still the most famous jazz spot in the world. And now, here's a way to experience what it was like to watch a show at "The Aristocrat of Harlem"; taped on April 20 and 21, 1931 for German radio, these recordings lay dormant in the vaults for 70 years until discovered by an assistant to the legendary John Hammond, Michael Brooks. These two nights were business-as-usual at the Club-Cab Calloway's Orchestra accompanies such little-known artists as Lethia Hill, Eddie Rector and the Cotton Club Trio but for a slice of legendary ambience, you simply couldn't do better. Also on this 2-CD set are commercial recordings from the Cotton Club era, including a 1929 attempt to re-create the Club's live atmosphere inside a recording studio, recordings by artists (Bill Robinson, Libby Holman, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne) who gained fame there and unreleased live recordings from the Cotton Club by Duke Ellington and also by "The Tramp Band, " a fixture at the Club during the 20's. A hardcover book bursting with photos gives the inside story on who ran the nightclub and the shady individuals who in turn ran them. Another Bear Family historical triumph.
