Cab Calloway - Are You Hep to the Jive?

The influence of Cab Calloway simply cannot be understated. He was present at the genesis of R&B, rock, hip-hop, swing, and jazz, and his contributions shaped the way the world hears pop music. Thankfully, this task fell upon the zoot-suited shoulders of an artist of wit, intelligence, energy, and the ability to connect one-on-one with his audience. This collection includes tracks from the late '30s up to the late '40s and offers listeners a taste of all Calloway's incredible talents. From his hepster raps like "Are You All Reet?" to his hits like "Minnie the Moocher," Calloway's performances are carefully orchestrated yet loose-limbed and sparkling with humor, and for recordings in mono, the sound is surprisingly good. Highly recommended. --S. Duda Amazon.com

Solid boys, I dig!!

Ok folks, I know nothing about jazz. I couldn't tell you the difference between Coletrain and a choo-choo train. But, I can tell you with complete authority that this CD is the most complete, undiluted, unadulterated expression of pure joy I've ever heard. Listening to this collection is like taking a happy pill!

If contemporary artists have any pretense to being "cool" or "hip", they need only to investigate Calloway and his music for a reality check. This man is the real thing, the founder, the patriarch of generations of hipster wannabes.

There's not a bad cut on this release. Pop it in, turn it up, and prepare to take a lesson from the Professor of Jive! March 10, 2008

Love This!

I love this collection from Cab Calloway.

It's great for driving or cooking in the kitchen...
and my six year old selects this when she needs something
"jazzy" to dance to.

There are many rocking songs with great lyrics.
...Have a banana Hannah...


If you like old time and big band style jazz
I think you will like this.
I love it.
February 21, 2008

Hi-Dee-Hi-Dee Hi-Dee-Ho

Cabell Calloway, born in Rochester, N/Y. on Christmas Day 1907, had his first hit as a band leader with St. Louis Blues when that W.C. Handy classic went to # 16 for the Brunswick label as by "The Jungle Band." A few months later what became his theme song, and based on the old folk tune, Willie The Weeper, rose to # 1 as Minnie The Moocher in the spring of 1931 on Brunswick 6074. The version here (he re-recorded it many times) was cut on February 2, 1942 and released on Okeh 4753, but did not chart. Another re-make, this time in 1978 for RCA, made it to # 91 R&B and was his last hit single b/w a new version of A Chicken Ain't Nothin' But A Bird (a 1940 version released on Okeh 5847 is here at track 18).

Over the years he would record "sequels" to Minnie, which includes the rarely seen Kicking The Gong Around (a # 4 in late 1921 on Brunswick 6209)), Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day (a # 8 in summer 1932 on Brunswick 6321)), and The Ghost Of Smokey Joe (# 13 in June 1939 on Vocalion 4807). I would dearly love to see all four originals on a compilation one day.

In terms of hit singles, Cab registered 48 from 1930 to 1978 for Brunswick (21 - a 1943 re-issue of his first hit charted again), Victor (2), Variety (6), Vocalion (6), Okeh (5), Columbia (5), ABC-Paramount (1 - a duet with daughter Lael on Little Child in 1956), Boom (1) and RCA (1).

None of the Oke, Vocalion and Columbia cuts included here were hits for Cab, although Foo A Little Bally-Hoo (track 22) was the B-side to Let's Take The Long Way Home, from the film Here Comes The Waves, and a # 20 hit in March 1945 - but it isn't included here).

Even so, these are highly representative of the Calloway style, and the sound reproduction is flawless. With the insert are six pages of background notes written in April 1994 by noted music columnist/musician Al Quaglieri, several more vintage photos of Cab, and a discography of the contents showing recording dates and label numbers where applicable.

The last page has a column titled "Are You REALLY Hep To The Jive? and provides a little quiz related to Everybody Eats When They Come To My House wherein Cab relates what foods are available at his house. In the quiz you have to name the food that rhymes with a list of names ("you get the cherry, jerry" and "give with the gravy, Davey." All good fun, as were most of his recordings.

But make no mistake, like Spike Jones & His City Slickers and Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, his bands over the years included some superb musicians, such as Chu Berry and Ben Webster on sax, Jonah Jones and Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, and drummer Cozy Cole. October 3, 2007

Cab "the man" Calloway

If you are a Cab fan, you must own this. If you are a fan of swing music, you should own this. August 16, 2007

All reet!

The twenty-two tracks on CAB CALLOWAY * ARE YOU HEP TO THE JIVE? were recorded between 1939 and 1947, and are drawn from the COLUMBIA, OKEH and VOCALION archives. One wonders why 1950's "Jumpin' Jive" isn't here as well-- it would fit nicely. Three songs within this set, "What's Buzzin' Cousin," "Chant Of The Jungle" and "Don't Falter At The Altar" are previously unreleased material.

These old 78s have been meticulously remastered, and the transfers have a lot of presence. Truth is, the pre-hi-fi records of the 1940's sounded darn good, as this album clearly demonstrates. Regarding the performances: the mature Calloway was as vital as in his Cotton Club days, but with the advantage of clean sound and a little polish. Widely dismissed as a novelty act for the masses by contemporary jazz critics, Cab clearly deserves a reassessment. He had it all: popularity, pizzazz, presence and poise. Whether zoot-suited or in a spotless white tux, Calloway was always nothing less than great. He was a groovy cat, Jackson-- are you hep?

The twelve-page booklet contains a bio, vintage photos and recording dates for all tracks. Recommended for all fans of swing, jive and '40s dance music.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 62:47
March 7, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...