Bands Music

This CD representing the Hines' years 1942 thru 1945 is crucial.
Why? Because of the recording ban (of 1942 thru 1944) which affected the entire recording industry. Such a time this was which the bands & orchestras had to endure and survive!

To hear the big band sound at its best, let me suggest that you listen to 'Scoops Carry's Merry. Scoops Carry was the lead alto during the Hines' orchestra years of 1941 thru 1947. The cut, 'Scoops Carry's Merry' is a brilliant example of the big band sound and the depth of these musicians (Wardell Gray on tenor, Scoops Carry on clarinet) ... with the Hines orchestra.

Some of the finest musicians (including Budd Johnson, Willie Randall, Truck Parham and other cuts featuring Ray Nance) are recording personnel on this CD.

You'll find yourself sway to the rhythm of 'Scoops Carry's Merry' ... big band at its best -- this Hines orchestra!

This is a fine collection of songs if you like Earl "Fatha" Hines playing with much of Duke Ellington's band. It will become evident to anyone listening that they clearly had a ball recording this, but not as much fun as I had listening to it.

This CD representing the Hines' years 1942 thru 1945 is crucial.
Why? Because of the recording ban (of 1942 thru 1944) which affected the entire recording industry. Such a time this was which the bands & orchestras had to endure and survive!

To hear the big band sound at its best, let me suggest that you listen to 'Scoops Carry's Merry. Scoops Carry was the lead alto during the Hines' orchestra years of 1941 thru 1947. The cut, 'Scoops Carry's Merry' is a brilliant example of the big band sound and the depth of these musicians (Wardell Gray on tenor, Scoops Carry on clarinet) ... with the Hines orchestra.

Some of the finest musicians (including Budd Johnson, Willie Randall, Truck Parham and other cuts featuring Ray Nance) are recording personnel on this CD.

You'll find yourself sway to the rhythm of 'Scoops Carry's Merry' ... big band at its best -- this Hines orchestra!

This is a fine collection of songs if you like Earl "Fatha" Hines playing with much of Duke Ellington's band. It will become evident to anyone listening that they clearly had a ball recording this, but not as much fun as I had listening to it.

You can't beat the Glenn Miller Orchestra live over the airwaves with these discs. It takes you back to a time (1942) when you'd be listening to your entertainment center, a.k.a. the radio. Great atmosphere and fun verbal banter, wondeful sound quality (even better than some studio recordings) and a great selection of rare and classic tunes. This disc also includes a few Skip Nelson vocals. As you may or may not know, he was the guy who replaced Ray Eberle in mid July of 1942, thus the change of singers on the disc. I've never been a fan of Skip, I think Ray was much better. Just listen and compare the two versions of "Moonlight Cocktail" and see which crooner you think was better. A great disc overall. Light up and enjoy!

PS: One day, I hope to see a "radio broadcasts" box set of the great Glenn Miller Orchestra 1938/1942. There is so much to choose from, it would be a shame if the major record company fails to come through. Wouldn't it be lovely to have every song included in the box set, not every performance, but every song performed over the airwaves, it could easily be well over a hundred. Why there must be at least a couple dozen versions of "In The Mood" to choose from. All the classics like you've never heard them, different arrangements, extended solos and many times the radio performances were superior. A lot of the radio broadcasts created better sound quality. Then, there are all those great numbers that were never "officially" recorded, classics like, The Gentleman Needs A Shave, Georgia On My Mind, Hold Tight, The Jumpin Jive, Rockin Chair, When Paw Was Courtin Maw, The Jersey Bounce and list goes on and on. A real treasure is waiting for us Glenn Miller fans. But who has got the map?

By the time these airshots were recorded, the Miller band had moved on from the earlier formulaic arrangements. With Billy May in the trumpet section - and contributing some great arrangements - the band has a fuller, brassier sound with a sax section now boosted by more scoring of the baritone sax giving a richer tone. The Modernaires now a permanent fixture also adds some variety to the repertoire. Ray Eberle's vacant vocals are something you just have to put up with, but Miller wasn't about to fall into the Tommy Dorsey trap with Sinatra and run the risk of ending up as a backing band to a singer. Skip Nelson - Eberle's successor - wasn't much better, but he was competent by the standards of the time. The rhythm section is much improved, Trigger Alpert was a great bassist, and Moe Purtill wasn't a half bad drummer. Miller had a very good radio manner unlike (say) Benny Goodman, and sounds on top of his job. The jazz content is admittedly minimal - Miller's was a dance orchestra after all - but the influence is still there, and the band's overall precision and professionalism shines through. All in all, this CD demonstrates what a slick commercial outfit Miller had developed by the time he left to join the US Army, and his status as the nation's No.1 band seems well-deserved.

For a big band fan there is nothing that even compares to this. The authenticity is beyond belief. There is even a station identification.

Written after Roylance and Galvin recorded their Tall Ships Suite, this suite also tells a story of ships in the Atlantic Ocean; this time of a Royal Navy Warship traveling the North Atlantic in WWII during 1943. Composed of several pieces, each piece has a distinct tone, melody and emotional impact. Each piece represents a different stage of the ship's travel across the sea, which makes it similar to its counterpart; the Tall Ships Suite. The emotional and melodic range from one piece to the next is quite great; and one could listen to all the pieces in a row and think that each was composed by a different person. In this respect, it is quite different from the Tall Ships Suite, in which one could tell that they were all composed by the same person, and should be played together. Overall, this music is okay; not great and not as majestic as the Tall Ships Suite. There is singing though in the last piece, which might broaden the appeal of this work over the prior Suite.