Hot Tomatoes Dance Orchestra Music

Another mid-sized band, nine pieces, which sounds as if it had about fifteen. Has this band really been around since 1982, and if so where have they been hiding? An outstanding collection of standards, slightly updated but not too much so thay sound as if they could have been recorded during the big band era. Joe Hall has to be one of the smoothest vocalists to appear in recent years, although "I'll Never Smile Again" seems to be pitched right at the upper limit of his range. His other vocals, particularly "Mack the Knife", are excellent. He also blows a great trombone, reminding me of Billy Rausch on "Smoke Rings". I also enjoyed "Contrasts" and "Apple Honey"; they stand up to the inevitable comparisons with the originals. Now I've got to go looking for their earlier albums.