Larry Gianni

Well, I havn't seen one of these question in a while on the site so to keep things " lite " around the old trumpetmaster terrain - lets do one of those survey questions so everyone can have a say.

Here goes:

Which Album/CD best exemplifies a certain well known Big Band's individual style or what would be considered the quintessential recording that comes to mind if you were asked ' What does the " Joe Blow " big band sound like" or " What make the " Joe Blow " big band, the " Joe Blow " Big Band and different than any other "

Now , mind you, that's a little different than the question " what's your favorite album/cd " of a certain big band , I'm asking, stylistically , which one sums it all up in a neat little package. As if you heard one cut off the track, the name of the band would immediately come to mind, without knowing anything else.

Putting it another way - If you think, for example , " The Buddy Rich Big Band" - what's the first album/CD that comes to mind that says " Yeah, this is Buddy Rich alright - nothing says it better than this recording"

Ok, I'll go first on that question :

Buddy Rich - " Roar of '74 "

If you really think about it , this may be a harder question than first anticipated. Bands that have quite a bit of history, may have to given a little latitude as far as just one album best fitting their individual style ie: Woody' band with the different " thundering herds ", but if possible , try just one.
Also, the topic's about all big bands , Kenton, Basie, Herman , James , Thad and Mel, Maynard, etc.. so list them out. I'm anticipating that generationally and maybe even regionally, the answers may be rather different.

Plus, if you can, let us all know why you choose this one certain album as " the one" That may really interesting for the rest of us, plus sharing opinions of this nature, never seems to have a down-side.

Larry

Mikey

For me, it's the Tonight Show Band, Volume I

Audino playing incredible lead; Snooky on his plunger solos, Conti,.....


And then there's Doc.........


No one will ever equal what he has done


Mike

ChasStarr

I know I might catch some noise for this, but for me it's Kenton's "Cuban Fire".

I know it's not typical Big Band Swing, but that enormous sound just knocks me out!

timcates

ok....getting back to the question at hand.....

here's my signature list - also could be defined as what album I tell someone to check out when asked by a novice jazz fan.

Basie - April in Paris and/or the Atomic album (I know it's all Neal Hefti - but Snooky sounds great) - also the Sinatra at the Sands (with Quincy Jones' arrangements) is a must as is the earlier stuff with Joe Williams

Thad and Mel - Consummation and/or the Definitive Thad Jones Vol 1 and 2

Duke - Newport '56 - the 70th birthday concert - so many editions of this band (but it's always less about the band and more about the soloists with Ellington)

Kenton - Kenton '76 for the modern bands - Cuban Fire (the CD with the bonus tracks) for the 60's mellophonium group - also pick a few (so many - can't recall album titles) when Lennie Niehaus was on the band and writing much of the book in the 50's

Buddy Rich - Roar of 74 or Keep the Customer Satisfied (think that's the title - the one recorded live at 4am in Vegas is Channel One Suite on this one (Shew plays lead IIRC)

Maynard - Message from Newport - Live at Jimmy's - Live in London (no disco!)

CalicchioMan

"My Kind of Broadway" Woody Herman...Great band, Great charts and EXCELLENT lead trumpet playing by Bill Chase...In fact, this album the is one of the best examples of lead trumpet playing I can think of.

trickg

Mine is The Tonight Show Band, Volume 2 and for a couple of reasons.

For one, I think that it has more of the "standard" tunes on it, played with that high-charged style that is "owned" by the Tonight show band. The soloing is incredible by everyone and the band is swinging so hard, laying back, yet staying on top of things and being incredibly tight at the same time.

For two, Doc himself told me that of the two albums, that the second one was the better of the two, and if I was only to get one, then the Volume 2 album would be the one to get. I won't say that Doc's opinion is gold on this, because everyone is going to have a different opinion about it and Doc certainly has a different perspective about it, but his opinion does carry A LOT of weight.

Either of those albums could be argued to be the quintesential album that most accurately captures that band's sound.

Mikey

Patrick, that album was my second choice, but we could only pick one



That band had a sound all it's own. Now, when Doc takes his big band on the road, it is still good and tight, even though a lot of the players have changed. Tom DeLibero, Tony Scodwell, and Snooky are usually in the trumpet section......

The first time I heard Tyzik's arrangement of "In the Mood", I almost sh*t... Incredible!

Mike

Balt58

That's a tough one but for me it's Bert Kaempfert's 1972 album '6 Plus 6'. As good a modern big band/orch album as was made at the time. With Ake Van Rooyen and Herb Geller soloing. Great arranging and great sound.

trickg

Mikey, I know what you mean because in my mind, there isn't much of a difference in how the band sounds between the two albums, so it would really come down to a matter of preference as to which tunes you liked the best. Honestly, the only reason I went with #2 is because of what Doc told me waaaay back in 1987 when I had the opportunity to meet him after a concert he gave with the Denver symphony.

The subject came up because when it came time to do the meet/greet/autograph thing, where everone else was having him sign the playbill, I came prepared with my "Doc Severinsen and Xebron" cassette so that he could sign the inside of the cassette case cover. When he asked me if I had either of the TSB albums and I said no, that's when he told me that the thought #2 was the better of the two and if I was only to get one, that should be the one.

Here are a couple of other choices of mine.

Kenton - 76 (I LOVE this album - I don't know if this is the quintesential "Kenton" sound, but in my mind, it's one of the best Kenton albums I've heard.)
Maynard Ferguson - MF Horn/MF Horn II

londonhusker

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