Count Basie: Sent For You Yesterday << sound clip
Jack Teagarden: Chicks Is Wonderful
Benny Carter: These Foolish Things
Chick Webb: When I Get Low I Get High
Benny Goodman: Christopher Columbus
Louis Armstrong: I Never Knew
Joe Venuti: Flop
Duke Ellington: Take The 'A' Train << sound clip
Harry James: Strictly Instrumental
Jimmy Dorsey: All Of Me << sound clip
Bunny Berigan: The Prisoner's Song
Bob Crosby: Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street
Jimmie Lunceford: My Blue Heaven
Glenn Miller: A String Of Pearls
Cab Calloway: Run Little Rabbit << sound clip
Woody Herman: Twin City Blues
Ted Weems: I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?
Tommy Dorsey: Stop, Look And Listen
Frankie Trumbauer: I Hope Gabriel Likes My
Music
Casa Loma Orchestra: A Study In Brown
Artie Shaw: Deep Purple
Gene Krupa: Drummin' Man
Lionel Hampton: Nola
What is it about big
bands which explains their enduring appeal? American
writer Gene Lees described their characteristic sound
as 'one that will not go away'. Once heard, never
forgotten in other words, and especially true for
those who grew up with the idea that the best kind
of fun came from dancing to the beat of a big band.
The extraordinary popularity of social dancing prompted
the formation of a great many travelling orchestras,
some linked to a lushly romantic style, others committed
to altogether hotter rhythms. There were dance halls
on every corner and minor musical masterpieces were
turned out by the score, all designed to tap into
the upbeat mood of post-Depression America.
While it was entirely possible for these bands to
survive and achieve success without ever entering
the studios, it is unarguable that major reputations
were built (and sustained) through recordings. Twenty-three
of these top-rated groups are represented here. Some
of them stayed around for decades, others were short-lived;
some were led by fine instrumentalists, black and
white, and a few by artists who are active still.
Although the basic format doesn't differ much - big
bands usually include trumpets, trombones, saxes and
a rhythm section - these selections clearly show the
stylistic diversity of the idiom. Each offers unique
variations of ensemble balance and texture; soloists
are recognisably individual. Who said big bands all
sound the same?
Our window on a long gone world opens with a piece
by the legendary Count Basie Orchestra of the
late 1930s. From the simplest of riff patterns, developed
in the heady atmosphere of Kansas City jam sessions,
an arrangement like Sent For You Yesterday would emerge,
complete with fine solos and propulsive section work,
the momentum supplied by one of the most perfect rhythm
teams in all of jazz. Basie's minimalist piano is
noteworthy but so too are the solos by trumpeter Harry
Edison (still playing) and the bustling Texan tenor-saxophonist
Herschel Evans. The playful vocal is by Jimmy Rushing,
whose plump rotundity earned him the nickname 'Mr
Five-by-Five'. Basie, who died in 1984, led fine bands
right to the end.
Jack Teagarden
(1905-64), another Texan, was the most celebrated
jazz trombonist of his day but a reluctant band leader,
with little appetite for business. His playing was
always relaxed, at its best in the company of his
peers. The clarinettist is Danny Polo, who spent several
years in Britain with Ambrose's
Orchestra. Another who enriched the local musical
scene was multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter, whose
career continues apace with no concessions to age
(he was born in 1907). His version of the British
hit song These Foolish Things was made in London while
Carter was resident arranger for the BBC Dance Orchestra.
He is heard on alto saxophone, poised and graceful,
and on muted trumpet and clarinet. Hidden in the trombone
section is Ted Heath who went on to lead the greatest
of British big bands. Baltimore-born Chick Webb (1909-39)
earned appreciation from all manner of jazzmen for
his inspirational drumming- 'every beat like a bell',
said Buddy Rich. Webb was the first band leader to
recognise Ella Fitzgerald's exceptional vocal
quality. Their jaunty collaboration was cut a few
days before Ella's 18th birthday, just two years after
her amateur night debut at the Harlem Opera House.
Benny Goodman's triumph at the Palomar Ballroom
in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935, marked the official
start to the 'swing era'. Sidemen became the focus
of unprecedented attention, much like soccer players
today, and crowds gathered wherever Goodman appeared.
Christopher Columbus, a Goodman favourite, was composed
by Chu Berry, Cab Calloway's fine saxophonist, and
arranged by Fletcher Henderson, himself the leader
of another great orchestra. Goodman (1909-86) is heard
on clarinet.
Louis Armstrong (1901-71), the fabulous 'Satchmo',
was the single most important innovator in early jazz.
By 1942, he had become a popular entertainer and a
familiar presence in musical films. His vocals were
imitated by a host of admirers but it's his majestic
trumpet which scores, supported by Sid Catlett's slick
drumming, as he reshapes Gus Kahn's nice old melody.
Joe Venuti (1903-78) was an insistent prankster, better
known as a soloist than as a band leader. He was among
the very few jazz violinists of genuine worth.
When Billy Strayhorn joined Duke Ellington's Famous
Orchestra as staff arranger- Duke called him 'my right
arm'- he created Take the 'A' Train which soon became
Duke's signature tune and one of the most widely known
of jazz themes. The definitive 1941 version features
the marvellous Ray Nance on muted and open trumpet.
Known as 'Floor Show', Nance could dance, sing and
play jazz violin or hot trumpet on demand. It's a
self-evident truism that Ellington was the greatest
band leader-composer in jazz history. The 'A' Train,
by the way, ran up to Harlem, New York's black district.
The next three tracks spot top soloists who formed
their own groups to cash in on their popularity. Fiery
trumpeter Harry James (1916-83), the son of
a circus bandmaster and a one-time Goodman star, was
married to actress Betty Grable and always led bands
of quality. Jimmy Dorsey (1904-57), the elder
of the battling Dorsey Brothers, was a flawless alto-saxophonist
who earned his spurs with Paul Whiteman. He built
his orchestra into one of America's leading dance
bands. Trumpeter Bunny Berigan (1908-42) was among
the very best of white jazz trumpeters and fronted
his rowdy unit quite successfully until he was laid
low by alcoholism.
The co-operative Bob Crosby band rose from
the ashes of the Ben Pollack orchestra and became
a best-seller on Decca. Crosby, Bing's younger brother,
was no musician but looked good on stage. The band's
stance was influenced by its inner core of New Orleans
musicians including the agreeable tenor-saxophonist
and vocalist Eddie Miller. Jimmie Lunceford (1902-47)
combined music direction and athletics coaching in
Memphis until he formed one of the finest of black
bands, renowned for its musicianship and the arrangements
of Sy Oliver, heard here playing solo trumpet. Joe
Thomas is the saxophonist.
Glenn Miller's music has retained its popularity,
with a series of 'ghost' orchestras re-creating Miller
band classics, including Jerry Gray's String of Pearls,
with its strong attack and immaculate trombone motifs.
Miller's plane disappeared over the English Channel
in December 1944 as he was on his way to join his
Army big band in France. Cab Calloway (born 1907),
the 'king of hi-de-ho' was a manic vocalist but led
a superb band, packed with brilliant soloists. He
remains ebulliently if intermittently active. Clarinettist/saxophonist
Woody Herman (1913-87) started out in Chicago and
formed 'The Band That Plays The Blues' in 1936. His
later Herds created some of the most memorable of
big band recordings. Herman celebrated his 50th year
as a band leader in 1986.
Ted Weemswas always popular with dancers;
his vocalist Perry Como moved on to greater things
as an engaging performer on records and TV. George
Simon asserted that Tommy Dorsey (1905-56) -'The Sentimental
Gentleman Of Swing'- ran 'the greatest all-round dance
band of them all.' Top jazzmen all admired Dorsey's
trombone mastery. Pee Wee Erwin is the trumpet soloist.
Frankie Trumbauer (1901-56), a cool-sounding alto-saxophonist,
played with Bix Beiderbecke and Paul Whiteman. His
recording orchestra included Jack Teagarden on trombone
and vocal; Johnny Mince is the clarinettist. Trumbauer
was a test pilot during World War Two. The Casa Loma
Orchestra - named after a castle in Toronto where
it played - was formed in 1927 and earned a devoted
following in the succeeding decade.
Three prominent band leaders who were also outstanding
soloists complete our review of the great American
big bands. Artie Shaw was Benny Goodman's only
serious rival as an instrumentalist; his immaculate
clarinet is sandwiched between Helen Forrest's attractive
vocal choruses. Gene Krupa (1909-73), always the showman,
achieved prominence as Goodman's original drummer.
The trumpet is by Corky Cornelius. Lionel Hampton
(born 1909) was the man who put the vibraphone on
the jazz map. He plays on, still touring with all-star
groups. His 1940s orchestra was the best he ever led;
its pianist was the diminutive Milt Buckner, celebrated
for his influential 'locked-hands' style.
Bill Ashton, founder of the superb National Youth
Jazz Orchestra, aptly summed up the virtue of these
and all their counterparts when he said that 'there's
nothing more exciting in music than a big band in
full flight.'
PETER VACHER