Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher (1985)

As featured in the smash film The Blues Brothers apparently, there's no information about when the tracks on this low budget, out of copyright, not a penny to Calloway or his family, compilation. Picked up for a quid in a charity show, no doubt, I'm not sure it's seen the inside of a CD player until now.

So, taking it for what it is, a low budget, poorly recorded mono compilation of 1930s and 1940s big band music, it's actually far more engaging than I'd expected.

Highlights are The Jumpin' Jive (later popularised by Joe Jackson), signature tune Minnie The Moocher (although the trademark Hi Di Hi Di Hi Di Hi crops up in later songs) and Two Blocks Down Turn Left and Birth Of The Blues make an impression. We The Cats is another one familiar from Joe Jackson's interpretation.

But, by the halfway point, I've had enough and it's all merging into one big background.

If you're desperate for an hour of 1930s / 1940s jazz standards, this is your thing, but after half an hour or so, I'm done. I can stream on the odd occasions I need a Cab Calloway fix.

A full album of this music isn't my thing, but it's not unpleasant.

Link to a different compilation with much overlap

2* - a budget jazz collection, with some interesting moments