HARRY JAMES & HIS ORCHESTRA - East Coast Blues
Sounds of Yester Year DSOY2074
Harry James & his Orchestra with varied personnel & a number of vocalists including Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen,, Betty Grable, Buddy De Vito, Marion Morgan & Ginny Powell
The Harry James Orchestra was first and foremost a vehicle to showcase the trumpet of the leader Harry James but it also played many arrangements by some very talented writers and also had a number of very talented soloists in the band.
Although the album cover states there are six vocalists on the album and half the tracks feature vocals they are very much vocal refrains rather than full vocal tracks and the band is very much in evidence at either side of the vocals.
There are a number of tracks which are showcases for the trumpet including the tasteless “Flight of the Bumble Bee” but many of the other tracks are swingers with fine solos by members of the band.
Kitty Kallen has the lions share of the vocal tracks with five numbers of which she turns in a creditable performance on each one.
The best of the instrumental tracks are “Strictly Instrumental”, “Ultra” and “East Coast Blues” which all have a numbers of fine solos but as there is an absence of disco graphical information on the linear notes we can only guess, I would surmise that Corky Corcoron on tenor, Willie Smith on alto and Ray Sims on the Bill Harris sounding trombone solos.
I admit that I quite enjoyed the album but whether I would be tempted to purchase it if I came across it in a stores CD rack is a different matter.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Sounds of Yester Year DSOY2074
Harry James & his Orchestra with varied personnel & a number of vocalists including Dick Haymes, Kitty Kallen,, Betty Grable, Buddy De Vito, Marion Morgan & Ginny Powell
The Harry James Orchestra was first and foremost a vehicle to showcase the trumpet of the leader Harry James but it also played many arrangements by some very talented writers and also had a number of very talented soloists in the band.
Although the album cover states there are six vocalists on the album and half the tracks feature vocals they are very much vocal refrains rather than full vocal tracks and the band is very much in evidence at either side of the vocals.
There are a number of tracks which are showcases for the trumpet including the tasteless “Flight of the Bumble Bee” but many of the other tracks are swingers with fine solos by members of the band.
Kitty Kallen has the lions share of the vocal tracks with five numbers of which she turns in a creditable performance on each one.
The best of the instrumental tracks are “Strictly Instrumental”, “Ultra” and “East Coast Blues” which all have a numbers of fine solos but as there is an absence of disco graphical information on the linear notes we can only guess, I would surmise that Corky Corcoron on tenor, Willie Smith on alto and Ray Sims on the Bill Harris sounding trombone solos.
I admit that I quite enjoyed the album but whether I would be tempted to purchase it if I came across it in a stores CD rack is a different matter.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
