Tommy Dorsey - 1937 '1997

Tracks list

This fifth installment in the Classics Tommy Dorsey chronology presents
recordings he made with the Dorsey Orchestra and the Clambake Seven during the
spring of 1937. These ensembles benefited greatly from the presence of certain
outstanding players. Bunny Berigan is heard on the first three tracks, but left
the band soon thereafter to form his own orchestra. He would return briefly to
work for Dorsey again in 1940. Speaking of brilliant musicians with tragically
alcoholic temperaments, master percussionist Dave Tough stuck with this band for
what was for him a remarkable stretch of uninterrupted professional involvement.
Tommy Dorsey sold a lot of records during the mid- and late '30s. One thing
hasn't changed very much since then: the public's interest in singers. Dorsey
employed crooner Jack Leonard and a perky, interesting chanteuse named Edythe
Wright, who seems to have had fun with the lyrics to "Jammin'," sounding almost
as hip as Ivie Anderson. Instrumentally, this tune lives up to its name. Wright
also did well with "The Milkman's Matinee," Dorsey's apparent attempt to elbow
in on Charlie Barnet's turf. Bud Freeman, Pee Wee Erwin, and Johnny Mince turn
in perfectly handsome solos on this curious number originally designed as a
theme song for Stan Shaw's late-night radio show on WNEW. Dorsey also wisely
chose to render a number of instrumentals to vary his recorded repertoire.
Continuing to contribute to the popularity of European classical melodies
arranged for jazz orchestra, he served up "Liebestraum" by Franz Liszt, Felix
Mendelssohn's "Spring Song," and "Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss. Other
intriguing performances heard here without vocalists are the popular Gypsy tune
"Dark Eyes," "Twilight in Turkey" by Raymond Scott, "Nola" by Felix Arndt, and
"Satan Takes a Holiday" by Larry Clinton. A delightfully warm and kicky "Stop,
Look and Listen," representing one of the jazziest items in the entire Dorsey
discography, swings for a full five and a half minutes.

Tracks:

01. Thanks for Everything (2:44)
02. Liebestraum (3:31)
03. Mendelssohn's Spring Song (2:37)
04. They All Laughed (2:58)
05. (I've Got) Beginner's Luck (2:28)
06. Wanted (2:40)
07. Blue Danube (2:53)
08. Dark Eyes (3:32)
09. Turn Off the Moon (2:43)
10. Jammin' (2:24)
11. I've Got Rain in My Eyes (2:39)
12. They Can't Take That Away from Me (2:51)
13. Milkman's Matinee (3:22)
14. Twilight in Turkey (3:25)
15. He's a Gypsy from Poughkeepsie (2:54)
16. Alibi Baby (3:06)
17. Wake Up and Live (2:39)
18. Nola (3:00)
19. Satan Takes a Holiday (3:21)
20. Stop, Look and Listen (5:22)
21. Love Is Never Out of Season (3:10)
22. Our Penthouse on Third Avenue (2:54)
23. Can't You Hear That Mountain Music (3:01)
24. Good Mornin' (3:03)








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