1937-1938

Adrian Rollini | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 9, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Challenge
• ASIN: B0009V10QI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,286 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

No description available.
Genre: Jazz Music
Rating:
Release Date: 0000-00-00
Media Type: Compact Disk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good chamber jazz, January 28, 2009

By 

JJA Kiefte "Joost Kiefte" (Tegelen, Nederland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1937-1938 (Audio CD)

In the thirties Adrian Rollini was the uncrowned king of two fairly unusual musical instruments: the bass sax (first attracting attention in Britain when he was a member of Fred Elizalde's Savoy Hotel Orchestra in the late twenties; his role then was mostly as a replacement of the brass or double bass) and the vibraphone. The first 13 sides on this second Retrieval cd dedicated to Rollini as a leader (March 1937- June 1938) showcase his aptness on that most unwieldy member of the saxophone family. The music is firmly rooted in a slightly older tradition and may sound a bit old fashioned in comparison to Teddy Wilson's or Lionel Hampton's small band recordings from the same period, but is nonetheless very pleasant and sports very good solo work by trumpeter Jonah Jones, the quirky Art Drelinger on tenorsax (sounding like the early Georgie Auld; he can also be heard to good advantage on a number of air shots with Paul Whiteman's orchestra), Dick McDonough (who died tragically early in 1938) on guitar and wonderfully crisp drumming by Al Sidell (later to go with Muggsy Spanier). The only letdown is Red McKenzie's lugubrious baritone spoiling his feature "I Cried for You". The small band is augmented with a trombone and strings for two theatrepit orchestra-style recordings; the strings are dropped again and this results in two completely different versions of "Slap that Bass". The pleasant unknown singer sounds like a cross between Dick Robertson and Fred Astaire and is a world of improvement on McKenzie.
The next session, introducing a very young Buddy Rich on drums, is somewhat unusual in that it includes violinist Al Duffy, one of very few jazz violinists in the USA in those days. The singer is a bit of a letdown again (I wonder if producers didn't care at all about the quality of the singers they engaged). The music swings along nicely with good solos (Babe Russin's bro Jack on piano deserves special mention) but overall is somewhat sedate.
A more modern lineup fills the remainder of the disc: Bobby Hackett on cornet, Rollini on vibes and Rich again on drums, together with bass and strong guitar (Frank Victor). Sonny Schuyler is a pleasantly voiced singer but not always sure in his intonation (esp. in "Josephine" and "I Hitched My Wagon"). The Tune Twisters vocal trio (including future Glenn Miller singer and guitarist Jack Lathrop; the Tune Twisters incidentally appear on a Glenn Miller 1937 Decca recording as well) provide some very nice harmonizing on the last six items (sometimes imitating a trombone section to good effect). Hackett is very good throughout, his greatest solo being the first take of "Small Fry" (in the knowledgable liner notes Richard M. Sudhalter waxes lyrical about it's harmonic audacity). Rollini's solo work is fine, less outgoing than Hampton's, perhaps harmonically less inventive than Red Norvo (who off and on played vibes as well) but still eminently listenable.
A fine tribute to the art of thirties' small band jazz.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HOW TO MAKE MUSIC (IN 23 EASY LESSONS), January 22, 2011

By 

Barry McCanna (Normandy, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1937-1938 (Audio CD)

This is the follow-up CD to RTR 79042, which covered 1934-7, and at first glance the last four tracks on that CD are duplicated here, but closer inspection reveals that these are alternate takes, all unissued on 78. Two have vocals by Red McKenzie, to whose slightly bucolic tones I'm quite partial. Three days after that session for Variety, much the same personnel recorded two numbers for the short-lived Master label, which were rejected, but the second of each is included here. A week later they tried again with "Slap that Bass" and it passed the test and is included, together with "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", with which it was coupled on release, and "The Love Bug Will Bite You", which was rejected at the time.

Nothing more was recorded until January 1938, when a completely new group, including guitarist Frank Victor, and Buddy Rich on drums, recorded three numbers for Decca, to two of which Pat Hoke contributed vocals. A fortnight, with the same rhythm section plus Bobby Hackett on cornet and vocals by Sonny Schuyler, the Adrian Rollini Quintet recorded five popular songs, which to paraphrase Dick Sudhalter's excellent liner note, fail to impress mainly to shortcomings on Hackett's part. The situation was very different five months later, when the same group, plus vocal group the Tune Twisters, recorded four tunes for Vocalion, which are included here together with unissued alternate takes for two of them.

Remastering of these recordings is excellent and has resulted in a clear and spacious sound. This second CD may fall slightly below the musical quality of the first, but in my opinion it still deserves a full five stars.