Paul Whiteman

[Late]

 

1921-1934

Thoughts on Whiteman's music (as opposed to public persona)?

[JSngry]

It is what it is, and some days are better than others.

[Late]

Any appreciators* of Whiteman on this board? In smallish doses, I like the music quite a bit.

 

* as opposed to admirers 😛

[Big Beat Steve]

1 hour ago, Late said:

Any appreciators* of Whiteman on this board? In smallish doses, I like the music quite a bit.

* as opposed to admirers 😛

That's a fine and appropriate distinction you are making. 

Anyone who is into Bix at least to some degree (or certain other white jazzmen of the 20s who were featured as soloists) will invariably wind up with a fair share of recordings by the Paul Whiteman orchestra on vinyl or CD reissues. So this is likely how this band is experienced today - as the background to the soloists. And as long as diehard reissuers (on certain of those "boutique labels" ) drool about almost any run-of-the-mill 20s dance bands just for the presence of 12 or 16 bars of "hot choruses" by this or that jazzman and push them onto the reissue market (which seems to have happened for decades) the Whiteman orchestra, by comparison, had the merits of always having had its act together musicality-wise and often with cleaner (for the time) recording and reproduction technology (for listenability to the average ears of today - not everyone will be able or willing to "listen through" the shattering sounds of jazz or jazzish recordings from the "acoustic" era for greater lengths of time. )

As for the Whiteman band on its own terms, for me the twofer on French RCA ("The Famous Paul Whiteman - Jazz à la King 1920-1936", Black & White series) does go a long way. 

[Rabshakeh]

There was a period when his music seemed to be coming in for reappraisal.

[EKE BBB]

Well, nobody can deny Whiteman's was one of most (if not the most) popular orchestras during the 20s. He hired some of the most relevant musicians and vocalists of that time (among them Bix, Trumbauer, the Dorseys, Red Nichols, Bing Crosby, Bill Rank, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang...), as well as probably the two most outstanding arrangers, Bill Challis and Ferde Grofé). 

As mentioned before, in small doses, and picking up here and there, I would say the around 10 CDs I own are "not essential" in my shelves -except for a few sides with Bix-, but "nice to have".

Then, you have "Rhapsody In Blue"... the initial acoustic recording recording is a delight.

The "King of Jazz" was a star back then...

Edited 4 hours ago by EKE BBB

[EKE BBB]

This is a good taster of Paul Whiteman's production in the 1920-1927 period: