SAM DONAHUE - Collection 1940 - 1948
Acrobat ADDCD 3370
Sam Donahue (ts) leading various big bands and combos from 1940 to 1948
Most jazz enthusiasts over a certain age have heard of Donahue and know his name but seldom else about him. He seems to have just missed becoming famous because he did not keep his orchestras going for any length of time. He chopped and changed regularly, going out as a saxophone player with other leaders in between. Oddly enough though he seems to have retained much the same personnel in all his various line-ups. This two CD collection offers much of his music from 1940 to ’48 although it is by no means comprehensive. Many Donahue records are still hard to find but Acrobat have done well to pull so many together for this double album. CD I covers tracks from 1940 to 1945 beginning with It Counts A Lot where the featured guest on piano is Count Basie. Many of the selections are not unlike the Basie Orchestra of the time; smooth, four part rhythm ticking over on every piece and some disciplined reed and brass section work. Donahue’s own tenor sax solos are certainly in the Lester Young style with a light sound and an easy swing. Lester seems most likely to have been a major influence.
All these tracks are from shellac 78s and the sound quality varies quite a bit. Some are clean and noise free while others have obtrusive hiss and other distortions. I’m Old Fashioned is played very slowly with a pop styled vocal and I’ll Never Tire Of You sounds more like pop than jazz. That might have been Donahue’s problem with many of his releases, not really belonging in one category or the other. Things change dramatically with the 1945 V-Discs which he made in 1945 with The Navy Dance Band which he took on as leader following the medical discharge from the navy of former leader Artie Shaw. Maybe Artie had polished it before leaving but whatever the reason these ’45 tracks are hard swinging, full of jazz solos and the sound is bright and clear. The reeds are smooth, the brass bites and the rhythm section drives hard.
CD 2 has music from late 1945 to ’48 and these selections are all in the swing era big band style. The first 4 tunes are by a small combo but after that it is big bands all the way. Again the mixture is divided into jazz pieces and popular song selections, as in most of the CD I music. Popular songs like My Melancholy Baby and I Never Knew get the full hit parade treatment. Towards the end of this collection though there are some standout swing band songs including a well structured Robins Nest, a composition by Illinois Jacquet and Sir Charles Thompson. Although these pieces vary tremendously from track to track the music is all well played and shines a spotlight on a musician who really deserved to be much better known than he was.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
Acrobat ADDCD 3370
Sam Donahue (ts) leading various big bands and combos from 1940 to 1948
Most jazz enthusiasts over a certain age have heard of Donahue and know his name but seldom else about him. He seems to have just missed becoming famous because he did not keep his orchestras going for any length of time. He chopped and changed regularly, going out as a saxophone player with other leaders in between. Oddly enough though he seems to have retained much the same personnel in all his various line-ups. This two CD collection offers much of his music from 1940 to ’48 although it is by no means comprehensive. Many Donahue records are still hard to find but Acrobat have done well to pull so many together for this double album. CD I covers tracks from 1940 to 1945 beginning with It Counts A Lot where the featured guest on piano is Count Basie. Many of the selections are not unlike the Basie Orchestra of the time; smooth, four part rhythm ticking over on every piece and some disciplined reed and brass section work. Donahue’s own tenor sax solos are certainly in the Lester Young style with a light sound and an easy swing. Lester seems most likely to have been a major influence.
All these tracks are from shellac 78s and the sound quality varies quite a bit. Some are clean and noise free while others have obtrusive hiss and other distortions. I’m Old Fashioned is played very slowly with a pop styled vocal and I’ll Never Tire Of You sounds more like pop than jazz. That might have been Donahue’s problem with many of his releases, not really belonging in one category or the other. Things change dramatically with the 1945 V-Discs which he made in 1945 with The Navy Dance Band which he took on as leader following the medical discharge from the navy of former leader Artie Shaw. Maybe Artie had polished it before leaving but whatever the reason these ’45 tracks are hard swinging, full of jazz solos and the sound is bright and clear. The reeds are smooth, the brass bites and the rhythm section drives hard.
CD 2 has music from late 1945 to ’48 and these selections are all in the swing era big band style. The first 4 tunes are by a small combo but after that it is big bands all the way. Again the mixture is divided into jazz pieces and popular song selections, as in most of the CD I music. Popular songs like My Melancholy Baby and I Never Knew get the full hit parade treatment. Towards the end of this collection though there are some standout swing band songs including a well structured Robins Nest, a composition by Illinois Jacquet and Sir Charles Thompson. Although these pieces vary tremendously from track to track the music is all well played and shines a spotlight on a musician who really deserved to be much better known than he was.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
