Eddie South - Recorded In Hollywood 1933 (CD)

All Music Guide

Eddie South was a talented jazz violinist who never really achieved the fame that he deserved; though he was a contemporary of Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith, most of his work was for radio and films. As a result, relatively little of his recordings have appeared on CD. So the discovery of sixteen of his earliest radio transcription programs, all sponsored by a women's beauty product called CheloniSkin, is an important find. They are collected in their entirety in this 3 CD compilation, complete with unidentified announcers (and commercials if there is a music bed by South). While the performances ranges from easy listening to Latin pop themes of the era, tangos, Gypsy swing, novelty numbers and downright corn, the clarity and preservation of these vintage recordings is surprising.South) was a virtuoso violinist who arranged all of the musical selections and also composed a few originals heard in this collection. Most notable among his band's members are bassist Milt Hinton (who wa...s amazed that these recordings were uncovered) and guitarist Everett Barksdale, both of whom are occasionally heard as soloists and vocalists. The remaining musicians, including Clifford King (clarinet and vocals), pianist Antonio Spaulding (who doubles on celesta), J. Wright Smith (strictly an ensemble violinist) and drummer Jimmy Bertrand, provide strong support for South, even if they don't make much of an impression themselves. It is very difficult to comment about the music within this collection without taking into contextwhy it was recorded in the first place: to sell cosmetics. While the typical swing fan may get impatient with the tedious studio announcer, the novelty pieces and the overly sweet textureof some songs, South's abilities are never in doubt and best represented by the occasional standard (including "Star Dust", "Body and Soul", "I'll Never Be the Same," "Three Little Words" and "Moon Songs" and jazz piece (Fats Waller's "If It Ain't Love.") Perhaps the most fascinating discovery is a novelty vocal feature for Hinton, "Throw a Little Salt on the Bluebird's Tail," which also has a bit of scatting. Read more Less