''The Happy Jazz of Rex Stewart'', also reissued as ''The Rex Stewart Memorial Album'', is an album by cornetist

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

which was recorded in 1960 and released on

Prestige Records Prestige Records is a jazz record company and label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock in New York City which issued recordings in the mainstream, bop, and cool jazz idioms. The company recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz music ...

' subsidiary Swingville label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, M
Swingville Label Discography
accessed December 3, 2018

Reception

Scott Yanow of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

states, "Stewart's technique and range had shrunk a bit by 1960, but his sense of humor and ability to make colorful tonal variations were still very much intact. This is a particularly fun set with Stewart doubling on kazoo and taking three good-time vocals ... The music is full of good spirits and memorable moments ... Highly recommended and well worth searching for."

Track listing

# "Red Ribbon" (Dorothy J. Odam) – 3:04 # "

If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight) "If I Could Be with You (One Hour Tonight)" is a popular song. The music was written by James P. Johnson, the lyrics by Henry Creamer. The song was published in 1926 and first recorded by Clarence Williams' Blue Five with vocalist Eva Taylor in 1 ...

" (

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, ...

) – 2:52 # "Rasputin" (Rex Stewart) – 7:30 # "

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" is a song published in 1930. It was written by Sam H. Stept with lyrics by Sidney Clare. The original publication also credited singer Bee Palmer as co-composer. Background The lyrics are an admonishmen ...

" (

Sam H. Stept Samuel Howard Stept (aka Sammy Stept; 18 September 1897 – 1 December 1964) was an American songwriter who wrote for Broadway, Hollywood and the big bands. He became known simply as Sam Stept or Sam H. Stept – he rarely used his full middle n ...

Sidney Clare Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include "On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and "Ple ...

) – 3:28 # "Four or Five Times" (

Byron Gay Byron Sturges Gay (August 28, 1886 – December 22, 1945) was an American songwriter. One of his best-known songs "Four or Five Times" (co–written with Marco H. Hellman) has been recorded by numerous artists including King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, ...

, Marco Hellman) – 2:48 # " You Can Depend On Me" (Charles Carpenter, Louis Dunlap,

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

) – 3:48 # "San" (Lindsay McPhail, Walter Michels) – 3:23 # "I Would Do Most Anything for You" (

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...

) – 4:00 # "Tell Me" (Rex Stewart) – 3:40 # "Nagasaki" (Warren,

Mort Dixon Mort Dixon (March 20, 1892 – March 23, 1956) was an American lyricist. Biography Born in New York City, United States, Dixon began writing songs in the early 1920s, and was active into the 1930s. He achieved success with his first published ef ...

) – 2:38

Personnel

–

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

, vocals *John Dengler –

bass saxophone The bass saxophone is one of the lowest-pitched members of the saxophone family—larger and lower than the more common baritone saxophone. It was likely the first type of saxophone built by Adolphe Sax, as first observed by Berlioz in 1842. It ...

, kazoo, washboard *Wilbert Kirk – harmonica,

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

*Jerome Darr, Chauncey "Lord" Westbrook – guitar *

Benny Moten Benny Moten (November 30, 1916 – March 27, 1977) was an American jazz bassist. Moten had a long career as a sideman from the early 1940s, including with Hot Lips Page, Jerry Jerome, Red Allen (1942–49, 1955–65 intermittently), Eddie ...

– bass * Chuck Lampkin – drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Happy Jazz of Rex Stewart, The Rex Stewart albums 1960 albums Swingville Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums produced by Esmond Edwards