HAL SINGER "Classics 1948 -1951"

The Chronological Hal Singer Tenor sax player Hal "Cornbread" Singer spent his career moving with ease between jazz, R&B and early rock & roll, and his hard, muscular sax sound is unmistakable, practically defining the words "searing" and "scorching" on key instrumentals like "Cornbread" (his first big solo hit) and its follow-up, "Beef Stew." Both tracks are included here in this collection of his earliest solo sides for Savoy Records, along with two late-'40s sessions with pianist Sir Charles Thompson and Chicago shouter Carl Davis, Singer's first side with Coral Records, and "Spo-Dee-O-Dee," his lone Mercury Records recording. Singer was never wilder or more dynamic than on these wonderful sides, and he shows remarkable versatility on pieces like "Disc Jockey Boogie" and his slightly slowed version of "Rock Around the Clock," even though his attack mode is roughly the same. The horn-blasts during the breaks in the latter song are nothing less than a force of nature, while his rough-hewed gentleness on "Blue Velvet," the final track here, is full of a kind of rugged beauty. This is a marvelous compilation, and an ideal introduction to an important sax man. (Steve Leggett, AMG)

trax:
01 Swanee River 02 Plug For Cliff 03 Cornbread 04 Rent Party 05 Singer Song 06 Rice And Red Beans 07 Swing Shift 08 Cooking With Cookie 09 Blue Monday Caravan 10 Jiblets 11 Disc Jockey Boogie 12 Teddy's Dream 13 Beef Stew 14 One For Willie 15 Neck Bones 16 Happy Days 17 Midnight Jump 18 Hot Bread 19 Loose Riff 20 Travelin' Shoes 21 I Feel So Good 22 Rock Around The Clock 23 Fine As Wine 24 Buttermilk And Beans 25 Blue Velvet
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