The Merry Macs Sing Mairzy Doats

This 26-song collection of the Merry Macs' work will probably have to be considered definitive, until and unless Proper does a four-CD set (assuming they left behind enough music for that). The material dates from 1939 through 1946 and does overlap with the Collectors' Choice domestic compilation on the quartet, without encompassing all of the latter's content. The sound is good and, in fact, the selection is very pleasing, focusing on their cooler harmony workouts and some of their more syllable-twisting numbers — "A-Rumble A-Rhumba" and "Ta-Hu-Wa-Hu-Wai (Hawaiian War Chant") are worth the price of admission, and even some of the more conventionally styled numbers such as "Johnson Rag" can be savored today for their mix of harmony singing and swing jazz accompaniment (indeed, the unnamed clarinet soloist on the latter number is particularly notable). The sound quality is excellent throughout this release, which is entirely transferred from 78s, and the annotation, if not quite as focused as that on the Collectors' Choice volume, is reasonably informative.