The Boswell Sisters
The Boswell Sisters Collection
Storyville Records
www.storyvillerecords.com
By George W. Harris

If the Boswell Sisters (Martha, Connie and Helvetia) didn’t invent jazz
singing, they, along with Armstrong and Crosby, at least influenced
every singer since. Like Babe Ruth did for baseball, by hitting more
home runs in a year than any other TEAM, the 3 ladies from New Orleans
played music on a completely different plane than everyone else,
changing rhythm, harmony and melody in songs that was as iconoclastic
as Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz work, yet as accessible as Perry Como’s
crooning.

This 5 cd and 1 dvd set from Storyville includes just about everything
you need to know about these darling divas. The sessions go from
1931-36, and have the ladies backed by studio bands or orchestras lead
by Victor Young, The Dorsey Brothers, Red Nichols and Don Redman. The
sideman are a “who’s who” of Depression Era jazz: Joe Venuti, Jimmy
Dorsey, Dick McDonough, Eddie Lang, Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan and
Glenn Miller, just to whet your palate.

The songs themselves are simply revelatory. Little two minute ditties
like “Everybody Loves My Baby” or “Heebie Jeebies” play games with
words, syllables, rhythms and pitch that will make your head swirl like
a top. The various moods in “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue See”
mix harmonies with solos, changing mood like a hand held camera for an
“The Bourne Identity.” Their southern lilt on “If I Had A Million
Dollars” as well as “The Object Of My Affection” create a dreamy mood,
while nothing in life can swing harder than the ladies’ treatment of
“That’s How Rhythm Was Born” or the iconic “Forty-Second Street.”
Comparing their voices to the contemporary white male singers on a tune
like “OK America” is like watching other long jumpers compete with Bob
Beamon during the 1968 Olympics; no one comes close.The dvd features
some cute short films of the ladies perform classics like “Coffee In
The Morning” and “Heebie Jeebies.” If you’re even infinitesimally
interested in singing, this is an absolutely essential collection.