Harry James And His Orchestra 1948-49

Artists

Album Info

Release Date: 1969

Label: Big Band Landmarks

CBS “Call For Music Show” – recorded February 20, 1948 in Hollywood, CA:
A4: Snooty Fruity

CBS “Call For Music Show” – recorded May 18, 1948 in Hollywood, CA:
A6: Lover

CBS “Call For Music Show” – recorded June 15, 1948 in Hollywood, CA:
A3: You Turned The Tables On Me

"U.S. Navy Presents", recorded June 1949 in Hollywood, CA:
A1: There They Go (USN 106) / B4: Raffles (USN 105) / B5: Six, Two And Even (USN 105)
B6: Bells (USN 105) / C1: Shine (USN 107) / C2: Block Party (USN 108) / C3: Forgotten (USN 108)
C4: Cottontail (USN 113) / D1: Proclamation (USN 110) / D2: Slap Happy (USN 111)

"U.S. Navy Presents", recorded July 1949 in Hollywood, CA:
A2: 'Cept February, Which Has 28 (USN 101) / A5: Things Ain't What They Used To Be (USN 114)
B1: Or Words To That Effect (USN 101) / B2: Big Boy (USN 102) / B3: The Arrival (USN 102)
D3: Kerina (USN 114)

“U.S. Navy Presents The Land's Best Bands” – recorded November, 1950 in Hollywood, CA:
C5: I May Be Wrong (USN 4A) / D4: Bluebeard's Blues (USN 4A) / D5: Rank Frank (USN 12A)

The "Navy Show" numbers in parenthesis above refer to the original 16" transcription numbers circulated only to radio stations for recruiting advertising.
Recording dates/locations are from The Jazz Discography Ver 14.0
Performance credits are from both the back cover and The Jazz Discography Ver 14.0.
The back cover credits drums to Louis Bellson on tracks D4 and D5, while the Jazz Discography does not, and the Jazz Discography adds additional credits missing on the back cover.

Promotional note from Fresh Sound Records' CD re-issue (There They Go): [These tracks] come from airslots, complete with typical announcements by radio MCs of the era, and Harry James himself also says a few words here and there. The album gets off to a storming start with trumpeter Neal Hefti's "There They Go" and apart from one slow number, it's swinging big band music all the way, with a roaring brass section, a swinging sax section and a four-man rhythm section that drives the band along in fine style. Twelve of the twenty numbers come from the pen of Hefti, and they evince a definite Basie influence. The tireless Harry James is the principal soloist and plays everywhere with a lip-busting ferocity, and the biting well-drilled trumpet section provides him with a brilliant backing, especially on "Snooty Fruity" and "Rank Frank". "Forgotten", a very attractive romantic theme by Frank Davenport, is the longest track and the only slow ballad on the entire album, and features some very pretty playing from Willie Smith and Corky Corcoran, both of whom are in top form throughout the album. "Cotton Tail" is played by a small unit from within the band while "Kerina" has a Latin-American feel to it with some mariachi-type trumpet from Harry James, but space does not permit an appraisal of every track. It is enough to say that this is a big band album for pure enjoyment in which the spirited playing and contagious enthusiasm from the entire band is almost overwhelming. Exhilarating stuff.

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