Where Swing is King!
“September Song” Composed by Kurt Weill (music). Arranged by Ray Conniff. Recorded by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra for Victor on April 5, 1945 in Hollywood. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: Paul Cohen, first trumpet, Bernie [..]
“Guess I’ll Go Back Home (This Summer)” Composed by Willard Robison (music) and Ray Mayer (lyric); arranged by Bill Challis. Recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra for RCA Bluebird on June 2, 1939 in [..]
“April” Composed and arranged by Al Cohn. Recorded by Larry Elgart and His Orchestra for RCA Victor Records in April of 1959 in New York. Larry Elgart, alto saxophone; other musicians unknown. (*) The story: [..]
“Autumn Serenade” Composed by Peter De Rose; arranged by Billy May. Recorded by Harry James and His Orchestra for Columbia on July 24,1945 in Hollywood. Harry James, trumpet, directing: Jimmy Campbell, Irwin Berken, Al Ramsey, [..]
“(How I’ll Miss You) When Summer is Gone” Composed by Hal Kemp; arranged by Billy Maxted. Recorded by Billy Maxted and His Manhattan Jazz Band for Liberty in 1967. Billy Maxted, piano, directing: Bob [..]
“Afternoon in August” Composed and arranged by Bill Stegmeyer. Recorded by Billy Butterfield and His Orchestra for Capitol on November 10, 1947 in New York. Billy Butterfield, trumpet, directing: Archie Johnson, Bob Peck and Jack [..]
“Afternoon of a Moax” (“Shake, Rattle and Roll”) Composed and arranged by Charlie Barnet. Recorded by Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra for RCA-Bluebird on April 16, 1940 in New York. Charles D. “Charlie” Barnet, tenor [..]
“My Funny Valentine” Composed by Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyric). Privately recorded by the Artie Shaw Gramercy Five in Hollywood in June of 1954. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: Hank Jones, piano; Joe Puma, [..]
The story: Try to rewind your mind to the summer of 1945, in the San Fernando Valley district of Los Angeles, California. I quote singer Mel Torme’ (shown at left in the 1940s) to fill [..]
“Forty Days” Composed by Dave Brubeck. Head arrangement by Dave Brubeck Quartet. Recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for Columbia Records in New York between September 20 and October 13, 1965. Dave Brubeck, piano; Paul [..]
“Manha de Carnaval” Music composed by Luiz Bonfa’. Recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio in February, 1962 for Fantasy Records in San Francisco. Vince Guaraldi, piano; Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums. The story: As [..]
“Snowfall” Composed and arranged by Claude Thornhill. Recorded for Columbia by Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra on May 21, 1941 in New York. Claude Thornhill, piano, directing: Conrad Gozzo, first trumpet; Lyle F. “Rusty” Dedrick, [..]
“White Christmas” Composed by Irving Berlin. Recorded by Barbra Streisand for Columbia in September 1967 in Los Angeles. The story: Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” was used in the 1942 Paramount film, Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby [..]
“Summer Sequence Part 4” Composed and Arranged by Ralph Burns. Recorded by Woody Herman and His Orchestra for Columbia on December 27, 1947 in Hollywood, California. Woody Herman, alto saxophone, directing: Bernie Glow,Stan Fishelson, Marky [..]
*************** I am taking this opportunity to celebrate the 150,000th visit to swingandbeyond.com. I am selecting one of my previous posts, which I have spruced-up a bit, to celebrate with. The music I included in [..]