K presented me with the unenviable task of having to choose between Stan
Kenton, the John Kirby Sextet, Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy or Gene Krupa
and his Orchestra. All front runners and packed with great soloists, singers
and arrangers. A difficult choice and, in the end, I opted for Krupa and Leave
Us Leap (YouTube).
Ed Finkel's composition and arrangement is outstanding and, along with solos from Don Fagerquist (trumpet), Charlie Ventura (tenor sax), Tommy Pederson (trombone), Teddy Napoleon (piano) and, of course, the leader himself, it's just about as swinging as it could get in 1945. That one bar of silence in the out chorus always sends shivers down my spine!
That Drummer's Band, recorded in 1942,
is maybe even better having a blistering solo by Roy Eldridge (heard HERE). This was one of those rare occasions
where you bought a record and each side was a killer. Usually, particularly on
popular (the word had yet to be shortened to'pop') records you had a 'goodun'
paired with a 'badun'.
Does anyone remember the shop where the
record may or may not have been bought? Hughes & Co. Ltd., it would appear,
had shops in Newcastle, Byker and Gateshead.
My goodness! I've just discovered the sleeve alone is being offered for £7 on eBay! Lance
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