ETHEL WATERS - 1921-1923 {CC, 796} (1994) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Ethel Waters was one of the few singers from the early '20s whose early recordings are still quite listenable. This CD from the Classics label has her first 22 sides (many previously rare including five interesting instrumentals by Waters's band) and, although not on the same level as her performances from a few years later, the music is quite good for the time period. The sidemen are mostly obscure but include pianist Fletcher Henderson and cornetists Gus Aiken and Joe Smith with the highlights being "The New York Glide," "Down Home Blues," "There'll Be Some Changes Made" and "Midnight Blues."  by Scott Yanow

Tracklist:
1     The New York Glide    3:04  
2     At the New Jump Steady Ball    3:26
Tom Delaney / Sidney Easton
3     Oh, Daddy    3:18  
Victor Herbert / Willy Russell
4     Down Home Blues    3:26
Tom Delaney
5     One Man Nan    2:56
Victor Herbert / Willy Russell
6     There'll Be Some Changes Made    3:22
Billy Higgins / W. Benton Overstreet
7     Dying With the Blues    2:57  
Fletcher Henderson
8     Kiss Your Pretty Baby Nice    3:07
Edgar Dowell
9     'Frisco Jazz Band Blues    3:27  
10     Royal Garden Blues    3:12
Clarence Williams / Spencer Williams
11     Bugle Blues    2:38  
W.C. Handy
12     Jazzin' Babies Blues    3:07  
Ralph "Shrimp" Jones
13     Kind Lovin' Blues    3:04  
Fletcher Henderson / Sidney Mitchell / Ethel Waters
14     Georgia Blues    3:13  
Billy Higgins / W. Benton Overstreet
15     That Da Da Strain    2:55  
Edgar Dowell / Mamie Medina
16     Tiger Rag    3:09
Harry Da Costa / Eddie Edwards / Nick LaRocca / Henry W. Ragas / Tony Sbarbaro / Larry Shields
17     Pacific Coast Blues    3:36  
18     At the New Jump Steady Ball    2:53  
Tom Delaney / Sidney Easton
19     Oh Joe, Play That Trombone    2:37  
Edgar Dowell
20     Memphis Man    2:44  
21     Midnight Blues    3:02
 Clarence Williams
22     Brown Baby    2:59
Credits:
Bud Aiken     Trombone
Gus Aiken     Cornet
George Brashear     Trombone
Garvin Bushell     Clarinet
Edgar Campbell     Clarinet
Elmer Chambers     Cornet
Ralph Escudero     Bowed Bass
Raymond Green     Drums
Clarence Harris     Sax (Alto)
Fletcher Henderson     Composer, Piano
Reverend Charlie Jackson     Violin
Chink Johnson     Trombone
Joseph "Kaiser" Marshall     Drums
John Mitchell     Banjo
James Reevy     Trombone
Clarence Robinson     Clarinet
Joe "Fox" Smith     Cornet
Ethel Waters     Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
Cordy Williams     Violin

ETHEL WATERS - 1925-1926 {CC, 672} (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD in the Classics Ethel Waters series contains plenty of gems, including "You Can't Do What My Last Man Did," the original version of "Dinah," "Shake That Thing," "I've Found a New Baby" (which has some memorable cornet playing from Joe Smith), "Sugar," and "Heebie Jeebies." On "Maybe Not at All," Waters does eerie imitations of both Bessie Smith and Clara Smith. She had few competitors as a jazz singer during this era, and the mostly intimate recordings (12 of the 23 tracks find her backed by just a pianist) feature Waters at her best. by Scott Yanow

Tracklist:
1     Loud Speakin' Papa (You'd Better Speak Easy to Me)    3:01  
Channing Pollack
2     You Can't Do What My Last Man Did    3:03
J.C. Johnson / J.C. Jones / Ali Moore
3     Pickininny Blues    3:00  
4     Sweet Man    2:48  
Maceo Pinkard / Roy Turk
5     Dinah    3:12  
Harry Akst / Sam M. Lewis / Joe Young
6     No Man's Mamma    3:05  
Channing Pollack
7     Tell 'Em About Me (When You Reach Tennessee)    3:00  
Sidney Easton / Ethel Waters
8     Maybe Not at All    3:08  
Sidney Easton / Ethel Waters
9     Shake That Thing    3:13  
Papa Charlie Jackson
10     I've Found a New Baby    2:56  
Jack Palmer / Spencer Williams
11     Make Me a Pallet on the Floor    2:50  
Shelton Brooks / Traditional
12     Bring Your Greenbacks    2:47  
Shelton Brooks
13     After All These Years    3:02  
Shelton Brooks
14     Throw Dirt in Your Face    2:48  
Shelton Brooks
15     I'm Saving It All for You    2:46  
Clarence Williams
16     Refrigeratin' Papa (Mama's Gonna Warm You Up)    3:16  
17     If You Can't Hold the Man You Love (Don't Cry When He's Gone)    2:45  
Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal
18     Satisfyin' Papa        2:52  
Nathaniel Reed / Ethel Waters
19     Sugar    3:06  
Edna Alexander / Sidney Mitchell / Maceo Pinkard
20     I Wonder What's Become of Joe?    2:43
Maceo Pinkard / Roy Turk
21     You'll Want Me Back    3:04  
Nathaniel Reed / Ethel Waters
22     Heebie Jeebies  2:46  
Boyd Atkins / Ralph "Shrimp" Jones
23     Ev'rybody Mess Aroun'    2:44
Credits:
Lester Armstead     Piano
Jesse Baltimore     Drums
Bill Benford     Bowed Bass
Shelton Brooks     Accompaniment, Composer, Piano
Sammy Fain     Accompaniment, Composer, Piano
Coleman Hawkins     Sax (Baritone)
Fletcher Henderson     Accompaniment, Piano
Horace Holmes     Cornet
Louis Hooper     Accompaniment, Piano
Alex Jackson     Sax (Baritone)
Maceo Jefferson     Banjo
Ralph "Shrimp" Jones     Composer, Director, Violin
Joe King     Clarinet, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Trombone
Maceo Pinkard     Accompaniment, Composer, Piano
Nathaniel Reed     Accompaniment, Composer, Piano
Joe "Fox" Smith     Contralto (Vocal)
Harry Tate     Cornet
Roy Turk     Composer
Ethel Waters     Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
Pearl Wright     Accompaniment, Piano

ETHEL WATERS – 1929-1931 | The Classics Chronological Series – 721 (1993) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

During the period covered in this CD from Classics' Complete Ethel Waters series, the singer was quickly developing into a top musical comedy and Broadway star. Although her backup was not as jazz-oriented as previously (despite the presence of such players as clarinetist Benny Goodman, trombonist Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey on clarinet and alto and trumpeter Manny Klein), Waters's renditions of many of these future standards are definitive, particularly "True Blue Lou," "Waiting at the End of the Road," "Porgy," "You're Lucky to Me" and "When Your Lover Has Gone." Superior jazz-oriented singing from one of the very best. Scott Yanow

Tracklist:
1     Second-Handed Man    2:46    

Sidney Easton / Ethel Waters
2     True Blue Lou    2:58    
Sam Coslow / Leo Robin / Richard A. Whiting
3     Do I Know What I'm Doing?    2:47    
Sam Coslow / Leo Robin / Richard A. Whiting
4     Shoo Shoo Boogie Boo    2:47    
Sam Coslow / Leo Robin / Richard A. Whiting
5     Georgia Blues    3:21   
Billy Higgins / W. Benton Overstreet
6     I Like the Way He Does It    2:31
7     Waiting at the End of the Road    3:18    
Irving Berlin
8     Trav'lin' All Alone    2:56    
J.C. Johnson
9     Long Lean Lanky Mama    2:48 
10     Better Keep Your Eye on Your Man    2:54    
11     Porgy    3:30    
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
12     Black and Blue    2:55    
Harry Brooks / Andy Razaf / Fats Waller
13     My Kind of Man    2:58    
14     You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me    3:20    
Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal / Peter Norman
15     You're Lucky to Me    3:07    
Eubie Blake / Andy Razaf
16     Memories of You    3:07    
Eubie Blake / Andy Razaf
17     I Got Rhythm    3:05    
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
18     Three Little Words 3:05   
Bert Kalmar / Harry Ruby  
19     When Your Lover Has Gone    3:07    
Einar A. Swan
20     Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone    3:13    
Sidney Clare / Sam H. Stept
21     You Can't Stop Me from Loving You    3:19    
Mann Holiner / Alberta Nichols
22     Without That Gal!    2:51
Walter Donaldson
Credits :    
Bass Saxophone – Adrian Rollini (tracks: 13, 14)
Bass [String Bass] – Joe Tarto (tracks: 2 to 4, 11, 12), Unknown Artist (tracks: 15, 16)
Clarinet – Benny Goodman (tracks: 13, 14, 19 to 22)
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Jimmy Dorsey (tracks: 2 to 4, 17, 18)
Drums – Stan King (tracks: 2 to 4)
Guitar – Dick McDonough (tracks: 21, 22), Eddie Lang (tracks: 19, 20), Tony Colucci (tracks: 2 to 4, 11, 12), Unknown Artist (tracks: 7, 8, 17, 18)
Organ – Unknown Artist (tracks: 15, 16)
Piano – Frank Signorelli (tracks: 2 to 4, 11, 12), Pearl Wright (tracks: 1, 5 to 10), Rube Bloom (tracks: 13, 14, 19 to 22), Unknown Artist (tracks: 15 to 18)
Trombone – Tommy Dorsey (tracks: 2 to 4, 13, 14, 17 to 22)
Trumpet – Bob Effros (tracks: 2 to 4, 7, 8), Manny Klein (tracks: 13, 14, 17 to 22)
Trumpet [And/Or] – Manny Klein (tracks: 11, 12), Muggsy Spanier (tracks: 11, 12)
Violin – Ben Selvin (tracks: 2 to 4, 11 to 14, 17, 18), Joe Venuti (tracks: 19, 20), Unknown Artist (tracks: 7, 8, 15, 16)
Violoncello – Unknown Artist (tracks: 7, 8)
Vocals – Ethel Waters

  

ETHEL WATERS – 1931-1934 | The Classics Chronological Series – 735 (1993) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Ethel Waters was one of the very few Black performers who was able to keep working in music during the early years of the Depression; in fact her fame grew during the period covered by this excellent CD from Classics' Complete series. Among her backup musicians on these consistently excellent sides are violinist Joe Venuti, the Dorsey Brothers, trumpeter Bunny Berigan, trombonist Jack Teagarden, clarinetist Benny Goodman members of the Chick Webb big band and the entire Duke Ellington orchestra (the latter on "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" and "Porgy"). Highpoints include the Ellington tracks, "St. Louis Blues" (with The Cecil Mack Choir), the original version of "Stormy Weather," "A Hundred Years from Today" and a remake of "Dinah." Highly recommended as are all of the Ethel Waters Classics discs. Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1  River, Stay 'Way from My Door 3:00 
Mort Dixon / Harry Woods
2  Shine on Harvest Moon 2:58 
Nora Bayes / Jack Norworth
3  I Can't Give You Anything But Love 3:03 
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
4  Porgy 3:09 
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
5  St. Louis Blues 3:24
W.C. Handy
6  Stormy Weather 3:09 
Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
7  Love Is the Thing 3:15
Ned Washington / Victor Young
8  Don't Blame Me 3:13 
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh / David Raksin / F. Wess
9  Shadows on the Swanee 2:59 
Johnny Burke / Harold Spina / Joe Young
10  Heat Wave 2:58 
Irving Berlin
11  Harlem on My Mind 3:26 
Irving Berlin
12  I Just Couldn't Take It, Baby 2:54 
Mann Holiner / Alberta Nichols
13  A Hundred Years from Today 2:45 
Ned Washington / Joseph Young / Victor Young
14  Come up and See Me Sometime 3:08 
Louis Alter
15  You've Seen Harlem at Its Best 2:56 
Dorothy Fields / Jimmy McHugh
16  Miss Otis Regrets 3:02 
Cole Porter
17  Dinah 2:43 
Harry Akst / Sam M. Lewis / Joe Young
18  When It's Sleepy Time Down South 2:43 
Clarence Muse / Otis Rene / Leon René
19  Moonglow 3:19 
Eddie DeLange / Will Hudson / Irving Mills
20  Give Me a Heart to Sing To 3:18 
Ned Washington / Joe Young
21  I Ain't Gonna Sin No More 3:06
Herbert Magidson
22  Trade Mark 3:01 
Sidney Easton
23  You're Going to Leave the Old Home, Jim 3:03
Traditional
Credits :
Larry Binyon – Clarinet, Sax (Tenor)
Jimmy Dorsey – Clarinet, Sax (Alto)
Tommy Dorsey – Drums, Guitar, Piano, Trombone, Violin
 Duke Ellington – Director, Piano
Benny Goodman – Clarinet, Piano, Sax (Tenor), Viola, Violin
Harry Hoffman, Lou Kosloff, Walter Edelstein – Violin
Art Karle – Sax (Tenor)
Stan King, Gene Krupa, Chauncey Morehouse – Drums
John Kirby, Artie Bernstein – Bass
Manny Klein – Clarinet, Trombone, Trumpet
Dick McDonough, John Trueheart – Guitar
Edgar Sampson – Sax (Alto), Violin
Joe Steele, Joe Sullivan, Joe Meresco, Fulton McGrath – Piano
Jack Teagarden, Sandy Williams, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Lawrence Brown – Trombone
Joe Venuti – Guitar, Piano, Violin
Ethel Waters – Vocals
Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, Shirley Clay, Freddie Jenkins, Taft Jordan, Charlie Teagarden, Bunny Berigan, Sterling Bose – Trumpet
Elmer "Skippy" Williams – Sax (Tenor)

  

ETHEL WATERS – 1935-1940 | The Classics Chronological Series – 755 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Classics does its usual stellar job in chronicling a five-year tenure of Ethel Waters, covering sides she made for Bluebird, Decca, and New York's Liberty Music Shop. It's an interesting mix of blues, pop, and jazz, with her inimitable style guiding it all. A few big jazz names like Tyree Glenn, Danny Barker, and Milt Hinton pop up in the various backing units, but ultimately, it's all Waters' show. Cub Koda

Tracklist :

1  Hottentot Potentate  3:24 

Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz

Ethel Waters

feat: Russell Wooding

2  Thief in the Night 3:13

Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz

Ethel Waters

feat: Russell Wooding

  3  You're a Sweetheart 2:58 

Harold Adamson / Jimmy McHugh

4  How Can I Face This Wearied World Alone? 2:33 

Eddie Mallory

5  I'll Get Along Somehow  2:29

Dorothy Fields / Gerald Marks

6  You're Mine 2:46 

Sam M. Lewis / Joseph Young

Ethel Waters

feat: Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

7  Frankie and Johnny 2:59 

Traditional

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

8  They Say  2:27 

Edward Heyman / Paul Mann / Stephen Weiss

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

9  Jeepers Creepers 2:47

Johnny Mercer / Harry Warren

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

  10  Lonesome Walls 2:34

DuBose Heyward / Jerome Kern

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

  11  If You Ever Change Your Mind 2:47 

Bud Green / Johnny Green / Maurice Sigler / Grady Watts / Mayme Watts

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

12  What Goes up Must Come Down 3:00 

Rube Bloom / Ted Koehler

Ethel Waters

feat: Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

13  Y' Had It Comin' to You  2:15

Alan Jay Lerner

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord / William Steiner

  14  Bread and Gravy 2:52

Hoagy Carmichael

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

   15  Down in My Soul 2:59 

Porter Grainger

Ethel Waters

feat: Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

16  Georgia on My Mind 3:23

Hoagy Carmichael / Stuart Gorrell

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

  17  Stop Myself from Worryin' over You 2:41 

Reginald Beane / Ethel Waters

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

18  Old Man Harlem 2:52 

Hoagy Carmichael / Rudy Vallée

Ethel Waters

feat: Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

19  Push Out  2:42 

Nathaniel Reed

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Benny Carter / Shirley Clay / Tyree Glenn / Eddie Mallory / Castor McCord

20  Baby, What Else Can I Do? 2:56 

Walter Hirsch / Gerald Marks

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Garvin Bushell / Benny Carter / Eddie Mallory / Charles Turner

21  I Just Got a Letter 2:22 

Dave Franklin / David Franklin

Ethel Waters

feat: Reginald Beane / Garvin Bushell / Benny Carter / Eddie Mallory / Charles Turner

22  Taking a Chance on Love3:03 

Vernon Duke / Ted Fetter / John Latouche

Ethel Waters

feat: Max Meth & His Orchestra

23  Honey in the Honeycomb 2:47 

Vernon Duke / John Latouche

Ethel Waters

feat: Max Meth & His Orchestra

24  Cabin in the Sky 3:14 

Vernon Duke / John Latouche

Ethel Waters

feat: Max Meth & His Orchestra

25  Love Turned the Light Out 2:52 

Vernon Duke / John Latouche

Credits :
Danny Barker – Guitar
Reginald Beane – Composer, Organ, Piano
Garvin Bushell  – Sax (Alto)
Benny Carter  – Clarinet
Shirley Clay  – Trumpet
Tyree Glenn – Trombone, Vocals (Background)
Milt Hinton  – Sax (Baritone)
Eddie Mallory – Composer, Conductor, Trumpet
Castor McCord – Clarinet
Max Meth – Conductor
Max Meth & His Orchestra
William Steiner  – Sax (Alto)
Ethel Waters – Composer, Vocals
Russell Wooding  – Conductor

ETHEL WATERS – 1946-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1249 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ethel Waters recorded steadily between 1921-1940. By the early '40s she was so involved in acting that she was largely off records for several years. The titles included on 1946-1947 are, with the exception of a set from the late '50s, and a couple of religious-oriented albums in the '60s, Waters' last recordings. At the age of 50, Waters' voice was still in prime form as she shows on these three sessions. She is featured in a septet with trumpeter George Treadwell, guitarist Mary Osborne, and her longtime pianist Reginald Beane. In addition, there are two songs with Herman Chittison, and a dozen in which she is just accompanied by Beane. Among the many highlights are "Cabin in the Sky," "Am I Blue," "Careless Love," "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "St. Louis Blues." Not everything works, since the version of "Taking a Chance on Love" here is a bit erratic, and "Suppertime" is not too subtle, but overall this is a very rewarding set of the last known recordings of Ethel Waters during her most significant years. Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1 Taking a Chance on Love 2:59
Vernon Duke / John Latouche
2 Dinah 2:47 
Harry Akst / Sam M. Lewis / Joe Young
3 Man Wanted 3:06 
Leonard Feather
4 You Took My Man  2:49
Leonard Feather
5 Honey in a Hurry 2:56
Leonard Feather
6 Cabin in the Sky 3:00
Vernon Duke / John Latouche
7 Am I Blue 2:49
Harry Akst / Grant Clarke
8 I Shoulda Quit When I Was Ahead 2:46
Leonard Feather
9 Careless Love  3:06
W.C. Handy / Martha E. Koenig / Spencer Williams
10 Blues in My Heart 3:11
Benny Carter / Irving Mills
11 Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe 3:11
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
12 A Hundred Years from Today 3:00
Ned Washington / Joseph Young
13 Throw the Dirt 2:23
14 Summertime 3:05
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
15 Supper Time 3:14
Irving Berlin
16 Little Black Boy 3:17
Unknown Blues Band
17 It Is Only a Paper Moon  2:15
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
18 Can't Help Lovin' That Man 2:31
Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern
19  St. Louis Blues 2:21 
W.C. Handy
20  Travelin'   2:55
Unknown Blues Band
21 Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 3:13
Unknown Blues Band / Traditional
22 The Crucificxion 3:09
Unknown Blues Band
Credits :
Everett Barksdale – Guitar
Reginald Beane – Piano, Vocals
Herman Chittison – Piano, Vocals
Dicky Harris – Trombone
J.C. Heard – Drums
Al McKibbon  – Bass
Mary Osborne  –  Guitar
Ray Perry – Sax (Alto), Violin
Carlton Powell  – Bass
George Treadwell  – Trumpet, Vocals
Ethel Waters – Vocals