#ArtieShaw – Swing & Beyond

“Blues in the Night” (1941) Artie Shaw and Hot Lips Page

May 5, 2018

“Blues in the Night” Composed by Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyric); arranged by Lennie Hayton. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra for Victor on September 2, 1941 in New York. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: Steve Lipkins, first trumpet; Aniello “Lee” Castaldo (later Castle), Max Kaminsky, Oran “Hot Lips” Page, trumpets; Jack Jenney, […]

Swing Redux – The Unheard Artie Shaw – “Stairway to the Stars” (2016) – the New York All-Star Big Band

March 30, 2018

“Stairway to the Stars” Composed by Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli (music), and Mitchell Parish (lyric). Arranged by Jerry Gray. Recorded by the New York All-Star Big Band on August 8-9, 2016 in New York. James Langton, tenor saxophone, directing: Dan Levinson, solo clarinet; Brian Pareschi, first trumpet; Joe Boga and Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpets; Jim […]

“These Foolish Things” (1945) Artie Shaw

February 24, 2018

“These Foolish Things” Composed by Eric Maschwitz (Holt Marvel), lyric; Jack Strachey and Harry Link, music. Arranged by Ray Conniff. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra on June 8, 1945 for RCA Victor in Hollywood. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: Bernie Glow, first trumpet; Stan Fishelson, George Schwartz, Roy Eldridge, trumpets; Ollie Wilson, first trombone; […]

“Don’t Take Your Love From Me” – Artie Shaw and Lena Horne (1941)

January 20, 2018

“Don’t Take Your Love From Me” Composed by Henry Nemo; arranged by Artie Shaw. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra on June 26, 1941 in New York. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: Henry “Red” Allen, trumpet; J.C.Higginbotham, trombone; Benny Carter, alto saxophone; Leo Kruczak, Kurt Dieterle, Max Silverman, Sergei Kotlarsky, Louis Edlin, Lee Kahn, Harry […]

“Star Dust” (1940) Artie Shaw

October 21, 2017

The story: It is always challenging to write objectively and accurately about Artie Shaw’s music and personality. On the one hand, much of the music Shaw made during the swing era was wonderful, indeed great. On the other, when exploring Shaw’s music, one usually encounters a good many myths and distortions surrounding the man, and […]

Buddy Rich at 100: 1939 with Artie Shaw – “Traffic Jam,” “Shoot the Rhythm to Me, John Boy” and “Carioca”

September 4, 2017

Very recently, swingandbeyond.com has hosted its 10,000th viewer! That is very good news for me and for everyone who likes this thing called swing. This blog has been up and running since March of 2016. The first couple of months were challenging from the technical standpoint. I had to learn how to use the tools […]

“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (1956) Ella Fitzgerald and (1954) Artie Shaw

March 24, 2017

NOTE: With this post, swingandbeyond.com inaugurates a small celebration of the music of Rodgers and Hart. Subsequent posts will continue this joyous presentation of the music of one of the greatest song writing teams in the history of American popular music. The story: The hits of the songwriting team of Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and Lorenz […]

“Vilia” (1939) Artie Shaw

March 3, 2017

“Vilia” Composed by Franz Lehar; arranged by Artie Shaw. Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra on January 17, 1939 for RCA-Bluebird in New York City. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: John Best, first trumpet; Chuck Peterson and Bernie Privin, trumpets; George Arus, first trombone; Les Jenkins and Harry Rodgers, trombones; Les Robinson, first alto saxophone […]

“Let’s Walk” (1945) Artie Shaw

January 10, 2017

The story: The summer and fall of 1945 were challenging times for Artie Shaw, the bandleader. After an extensive cross-country tour with his band that lasted from late 1944 until March 15, 1945, he and his band returned to Hollywood, their base of operations. Shaw noticed that there was a marked decrease in demand for […]

“Begin the Beguine” (1938) Artie Shaw

September 5, 2016

“Begin the Beguine” composed by Cole Porter; arranged by Jerry Gray Recorded by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra for RCA Bluebird on July 24, 1938 in New York. Artie Shaw, clarinet, directing: John Best, first trumpet; Chuck Peterson and Claude Bowen, trumpets; George Arus, first trombone; Harry Rodgers and Russell Brown, trombones; Les Robinson, […]