Fletcher Henderson- Best Sounding Recordings

What are the best sounding Fletcher Henderson recordings and where can I buy them? I can’t find the John RT Davies discs anywhere. Interested in building a solid collection on either CD or vinyl (not 78s though). Thanks in advance.

 

I have this Frog Records CD
FLETCHER HENDERSON & HIS ORCHESTRA - "Do That Thing"
I wish that Volume 2 would get released, Volume 1 sounds excellent, especially for acoustically recorded sides.

FLETCHER HENDERSON & HIS ORCHESTRA - "Do That Thing" Frog Records: Jazz/Blues music

 

The comp I mentioned above contains some stone cold classic Henderson Orchestra sides.
Some that became 'standards' for a time.

Tea Pot Dome Blues
Strutter's Drag
Do That Thing
Shanghai Shuffle
and
Copenhagen

I'd post some youtube clips, but none are from this particular Frog CD, and the CD sounds miles better than most of the YT tracks from the same time/sides.

I can't believe this thread hasn't had more traction. There has to be other Henderson fans on this board.

 

That's a tough one. Almost all the Henderson transfers are pretty bad.

I went on a pretty big Henderson binge a year or so ago when I was reading Jeffrey Magee's great book, Fletcher Henderson: The Uncrowned King of Swing, and so I went through a lot of the currently available early Henderson transfers. I grew up with the Columbia Study in Frustration box on vinyl (and some MCA one-offs), which, despite having the best, most comprehensive song selection, is pretty horrible sound-wise, with aggressive noise reduction and cockamamie tape editing.

The John RT Davies transfers are the best that I found -- though that leaves behind a lot of all time classic, important Henderson music, some of his major records like "The Gouge of Armour Avenue" with the famous Big Green trombone solo, and "The Stampede" with the famous Coleman Hawkins solo.

The John RT Davies collections of Harmony and Vocalions sides, are great (especially Vol. 2), and sound fab. They don't seem to be available new on hardcopy in the US easily -- though I don't know if they're OOP, have you contacted the label? -- and can be expensive to obtain on CD, but they're not totally unobtainable that way, and I think both are streaming.

Yeah Man on Hep Records (Hep CD 1016), is available new on CD and sounds pretty good and is a great collection of crucial early '30s stuff covering the emergence of riff-swing. That's a Davies transfer IIRC and still available. Also the '34 stuff from Davies transfers is on another Hep anth, Wild Party (Hep 1009), which I think you can still buy new on Amazon.

There's a Davies collection of Armstrong with Henderson on Timeless, that sounds great. I dunno if its OOP, but it's mostly just a couple of complete tunes, and a bunch of Armstrong solos but not the whole Henderson record performance on those tunes -- going back to the old idea that not all of Henderson's early music is of "jazz interest."

What's frustrating is, as I said, I don't know of any current really good transfers of some of those really great, important early records, especially Columbia sides like "The Stampede" -- that might be best heard on a Coleman Hawkins collection somewhere, just like some of the Armstrong with Henderson sides might be best heard on an Armstrong collection like Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

You can always grab the Henderson Chronological Classics issues year by year to grab stuff material you need to have. The transfers tend to be indifferent, but not heavily manipulated.

I'm not really up on the best current transfers of some of the later '30s stuff like "Christopher Columbus."

 

I'm going to see if I can find a copy of this. I know the label has a rep for good transfers and Davies did some and I see that "The Gouge... " is on there.

 

Nick Dellow did the transfers and mastering. I think it sounds really great, especially for, as I said above, acoustically recorded sides. I'm dying for Frog to release the volume 2 they reference in the blurb for vol. 1 on their web page.

I'd like for them to continue with Henderson's post Pathe and Vocalion recordings.

 

I love Fletcher Henderson, have a whole bunch of CDs, and non cone to mind as sounding that great. I’ll have to pull them out and check. I’d live to see a definitive chronological box set come out with new hi res transfers, but doubt it would happen.

 

Chervocas,

Thanks for your response. I recently read the Uncrowned King of Swing and share your opinion, excellent book. I wasn’t aware the Study in Depression was edited until recently so I started looking for different versions. I’m surprised Mosaic Records hasn’t issued a set. Their Coleman Hawkins set contains quite a few recordings though. I think I’m going to order the Hep release. I’ve been listening to some of the Chronological discs and they don’t sound too bad, not as heavily filtered as some of their other releases. I’ll look into that Armstrong disc you mentioned. Thanks again for your detailed response.

 

Great transfers, and brilliant performances... I did feel some tracks were mastered a bit loud, but probably as good as it gets for an in-print Henderson CD. Also, I like the inclusion of The Meanest Kind O' Blues (pre-Armstrong version), the first Shanghai Shuffle (Pathe version, which I prefer), and the original Naughty Man (Vocalion, preferred as well).

A mystery with Naughty Man (Redman-Dixon): it's the same melody as The Washingtonians' Rainy Nights (Trent-Donaldson-Lopez), recorded the same month. Rainy Nights is slower and bluesy, Naughty Man relatively up-tempo and arranged for a larger band.

One very rare take (Take 2, Oriole) isn't on the set Louis with Fletcher Henderson (Forte). I think its only reissue was various artists CD A Gift From The President (Jazz Oracle), recommended:

BDW 8047 – Jazz Oracle

 

Parlophone put out some Dixie Stompers lps in surprisingly good sound. The original recordings were non-electric, so the sound isn't great to begin with, but the music is great. I wish they had done the Columbia material too.

 

A great set with lots of Henderson up to 1933 is Mosaic's Classic Coleman Hawkins Sessions 1922-1947, which is unfortunately OOP. Just thought I'd mention it, in case you can get it for a reasonable price.

 

The Frog and HEP CDs are excellent and the sound quality is relatively good, taking into account the age of the recordings and the technical limitations of the era. Highly recommended.

My Henderson collection (all CD), in addition to the Mosaic set:

• The Complete Louis Armstrong with Fletcher Henderson 1924-1925 – 2CD, Forte (Canada)

• The Harmony and Vocalion Sessions Vol.1: 1925-1926 – Timeless (Netherlands)

• The Harmony and Vocalion Sessions Vol.2: 1927-1928 – Timeless (Netherlands)

• Yeah Man! – Hep (UK); 1931-1933 recordings

• Wild Party! – Hep (UK); 1934 recordings

 

I think I need to buy this one. Everything I’ve heard is extremely positive. I believe the tracks were taken from one individual’s collection?

 

I do have this one, it’s an amazing set.

 

Thanks J.A.W., I wasn’t aware that Hep had some Henderson releases. Someone in this forum recommended some of their Benny Goodman discs which sound absolutely fantastic. I’m looking into these.

 

From the liner notes:
"...many thanks to Mark Berresford for allowing Frog Records access to his amazing 78 and photographic archives. Also to Nick Dellow for 78s and expert transfers and sound restoration on these magnificent acoustic recordings."

Seems to be from two collections, but I'd bet most of the discs were from Mark Berresford's collection.

 

No comment on the sound, but don't you find this 1991 LP interesting?

 

When there are only a few assorted highly regarded Henderson CDs, there are 18 Chronological Classics CDs plus two CDs of Alternative Takes.

Twenty CDs cannot be ignored if you wish to study Henderson

 

You got me curious. Maybe silence is golden.

 

Still trying to find a definitive collection of Fletcher Henderson's greatest records. This Amazon review by Stephen Espinola of A Study in Frustration is marvelous - it's ridiculous that it was never properly remastered and I guess it never will be:

The other reviewers' comments about Fletcher Henderson's music are generally accurate, and I will let those speak for themselves.

This SHOULD be a definitive collection of Fletcher Henderson's music. It is intelligently selected, programmed, and annotated, as was the original issue of this set, in 1961, when it was a box of 4 LPs on the Columbia label. I have that set.

Unfortunately, this 3 CD version suffers from the same EXACT problem as that set and a later (1970's) 2-LP Smithsonian collection based on that set. The mastering on the 1961 version was inexusably bad, the worst I have ever heard on a major-label compilation of recordings of 78's. Amazingly, this set uses the same exact transfer tapes as the original, in spite of the existence of far better source discs.

The original engineer apparently took it upon himself to remove the clicks in the 78's by making small cuts in the tape, which sounds much worse than any original scratches. (Alternately, I suppose the transfer tapes may have been damaged and simply spliced to piece them back together....unlikely given some of the editing choices.) The problem is worst on the earlier material, but the edits continue even through some of the late 1930's recordings.

The result is that band appears to momentarily lose their sense of rhythm: uncannily, in perfect sync. This may account for the descriptions, over the years, of the band lacking a "sense of swing" in the early years. These transfers have been, for the last 44 years, the most accessable and listened-to recordings of the early orchestra. In addition, some pretty lousy EQ'ing was done on many of these recordings, making them sound much tinnier than necessary.

For comparison, listen to a 3-CD collection called "The Complete Louis Armstrong with Fletcher Henderson" on the Canadian Forte Records label, mastered, masterfully, by John R.T. Davies. Compare take 4 of "Alabamy Bound" on that collection (disc 2, #22) with the same exact performance of "Alabamy Bound" on this set (disc 1 #8). The Forte transfer is has a full frequency range (given that it is a 1925 acoustic recording) and no edits. The Columbia transfer sounds like an old telephone, and is missing several complete beats from :32 through about :55 in the recording. I count 24 to 28 tracks on the CD with this same editing problem to varying degrees; 4 on Disc 2 are subtle and questionable, and I have nothing to compare them to. That's roughly 40% of the recordings in this collection.

I'm a sensitive guy, but everytime I hear the rhythm skip on this set I feel pummelled. When better transfers exist, there is no excuse for this in such an expensive set by a major label.

This is a complete listing of the tracks where I notice the problems. There may be more skips in each cut than the ones I noted:

Disc 1: 13 problematic tracks.
Shanghai Shuffle (1924) [edit 2:00]
Copenhagen (1924) take 13928 [bands' pauses edited at very end, making band appear to speed up]
Alabamy Bound (1925) [take 4, extreme edits at :32 -:50 & 2:37, poor EQ. This is the worst of a bad lot.]
T.N.T (1925) [poor edits & EQ]
The Stampede (1926) [bad edit at 1:31 etc]
Jackass Blues (1926) [1:22 bad edit]
Henderson Stomp (1926) [bad edit at 2:22]
The Chant (1926) [poor edit at 1:10]
Rocky Mountain Blues (1927) [poor edit at :28 seconds]
St. Louis Shuffle (1927) [poor edit at 2:34]
I'm Coming Virginia (1927) [violent cut at 1:11]
Variety Stomp (1927) [beat missing at 0:13]
St. Louis Blues (1927) [possible minor glitches at 1:26 and 1:37]

Disc 2: Somewhere between 7 and 11 problematic tracks
King Porter Stomp (1928) [edits at :12 and 1:10]
Old Black Joe Blues (1928) [rather abrupt cutoff at end]
Easy Money (1928) [edit at 1:26]
Come On Baby (1928) [edit at :25]
Raisin' The Roof (1929) [minor edit at :23]
Blazin' (1929) [edit at 2:31]
Wang Wang Blues (1929) [are they edits or actually sloppy performance? maybe the latter.]
My Gal Sal (1931) [almost subtle edits at :22, 1:25 and 1:46]
Clarinet Marmalade (1931) [1:22, perhaps?]
Comin' And Goin' (1931) [BAD skip at :03-4 and possibly at 1:25 & 1:56 & 2:21 & 2:56]
Sugar (1931) [possible small jumps at 0:25 and 0:57]

Disc 3: 4 problematic tracks.
Yeah Man (1933) [decently timed but audible edit at 1:57]
Stealin' Apples (1936) [edit at :53 or :54]
Back In Your Own Backyard (1937) [edit at 1:50]
Sing You Sinners (1937) [small edit at 2:06]

Unfortunately, I don't know of another set that is this comprehensive, and I don't even know of a single other set that has _all_ of the listed cuts in one place. The other options tend to be collections with every single take of every single song from a given period. From sampling tracks on Amazon, it appears that the Classics sets actually use some of these same edited versions. As does Ken Burns' recent Henderson collection.

Whoever packaged the set did a beautiful, beyond-fetishistic job of including every single photo and every line of text from the original package. Even notes containing information that was out-of-date after 1961 were re-included and carefully dated: The statement "A tome about Henderson is in the works" was true in 1961, but the book eventually came out, so updated notes correct the information elsewhere. It's too bad that the "authenticity" of the reproduction extended to the wretched sound of the original set.

Buyer beware.

(Update: Decent alternatives to the many of the 1920's era recordings found here are on "The Harmony & Vocalion Sessions, Vols. 1 & 2." These were mastered by John R. T. Davies and sound phenomenal. A few specific performances even overlap with those on this set. It's a better place to start, and has the added benefit of being in print.)

 

Coleman Hawkins stated, very emphatically and extensively, in the 90 minute interview released on Riverside Records, that the Henderson Band just could not get it in the studio, that none of their 78s had anything close to the energy and swing that they had on stage.

It probably has nothing to do with the transfers or transfer methods. It probably had much more to do with the command and control nature of the studio recording engineers and the sterile nature of the studio.

There are not all that many options if one wishes to buy Henderson on CD. It is not impossible to buy them all.

If one is very devoted, go for the 78s themselves. But they are now rare and expensive

 

I've heard that said, but honestly, if there was any cookin'-er more swinging music cut in '20's jazz, I don't know any hotter example than this one:



If the Henderson band routinely played hotter than that live, they would have been arrested on charges of arson!

 

Having said the above, the whole more relaxed, more four beat feel than two beat feel kind of "swing" is kind of a later in the era invention. Like if you listen to the last of the three Henderson band recordings of "King Porter Stomp," which I guess is the arrangement that went into the Goodman book, with more of the final riff, not all the exposition of the earlier strains, it's definitely a more conventionally swinging performance than some of the early Henderson recordings.

 

Henderson recorded a lot for a lot of labels, like Ellington in the era. There's not a great comprehensive, cross-licensed '20s and '30s Ellington collection either.

That said, if you grab the Davies Harmony & Vocalion volume 2, the Davies Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong set and, the Yeah Man and Wild Party Hep sets, you'll have a lot of primo stuff in good sound. It's mostly the Columbia stuff -- like "The Stampede," itself a pretty swinging number with one of Coleman Hawkins' best early solos on record that's not well represented at all in reissues. Some other Henderson classic numbers, like "The Gouge of Armour Avenue," are also not as well represented on any high quality transfers on good collections.