Harry James - Trumpet Blues: Best of

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Music reviews of Trumpet Blues: Best of

Music Review: THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST !
Rating: 5 Stars

Harry James was, without question, the undisputed king of the trumpet and the most commercially successful big band leader of the '40's, '50's, '60's, "70's and early "80's. As a trumpeter, he was without peer. Long an admirer of, but unlike, Louis Armstrong and Mugsy Spanier, James had an unmatchable mastery of his instrument, having studied long and diligently with his trumpet playing dad, Everette. Tutored in all the repertoire of the world's great trumpet players, James was a virtuoso at the age of 14. At 16 he was on the road with territory bands playing the lead book. At 20 he was hired as the lead and jazz chair with the Benny Goodman band. At 23 he was leading his own big band. In his brilliant jazz soloing, James incorporated the basic early blues style of Armstrong, Spanier and Bix Beiderbecke with a dazzling technique. He went on to win the "Jazz Trumpet" and "Band" category in the DOWNBEAT and the METRONOME magazine artist's polls for a number of years. He was the idol of such later diverse talents as Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Miles Davis, Arturo Sandoval and Clifford Brown. He was the star of his band with all his arrangements built around his incomparable trumpet style. Starting out as principally a hot jazz band he could not get bookings at top hotels and supper clubs that favored quieter "sweet" bands. He then developed the philosophy to always keep his music "danceable". James selected a favorite Judy Garland ballad, "You Made Me Love You", and it became a mega hit in 1941. From there on the James star rose to unprecedented heights in record sales and films becoming a bigger and longer lasting big band attraction than his other top peers: Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Woody Herman and Artie Shaw. In the mid fifties James went back to a more Basie styled jazz band, hiring many of the Basie arrangers, to build a blues oriented big band that played concerts, television specials, colleges, jazz festivals and many world tours.

This album gives the uninitiated listener a cross section of James' versatility as a leader, stylist and writer-arranger. His own composition, "Trumpet Blues" is extrordinary in it's power, musicality and variations,a true classic. "James Session", another James original, hearkens back to Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing". A real barnburner! All of these are 1955 recreations of the note for note originals first cut in the '40's. Several others, "Blues On A Count" and "Barn 12" are from the late '50's. "Ciribirbin" is the ballad version of his famous theme song. Many of his later recordings featured the jazz version of the theme. All in all, this is a great "teaser" album for the neophyte James fan. The sound is great!

For the James devotee or "new fan" I would recommend Harry James & His Orchestra, STRICTLY INSTRUMENTAL (Memoir 534), Harry James THE SILVER COLLECTION (Verve 823229-2), Harry James JAZZ MASTERS 55 (Verve) and Harry James ONE NIGHT STAND (Collectors Choice). These four albums will give the listener some of the best of Harry's great trumpet and big band recordings.

Description of Trumpet Blues: Best of

Broadway & Vocalists CDs

• Music > Styles
• Jazz
• Pop