Customer Reviews

Volume 2

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This is great late 20's early 30's hot jazz, and early danceband stuff, and even early swing by the Dorsey Brothers!!! Exellent. A Version of Spell Of the Blues, almost as good as Sam Coslow's version! An exellently done CD, for collectors of hot dance music, and Dorsey historians(Both Tommy & Jimmy)!!!

Despite having been playing professionally since the early twenties, the Doirsey Brothers only began recording under their own name in February 1928, and then with a studio group of hand-picked musicians. This second volume begins just under a year later, when Bing Crosby (ostensibly one of Paul Whiteman's vocalists, but with the OK to freelance for studio work) cut three songs with the group. As Jeff Healey points out in the liner note, the date is memorable as being the first recording session on which Bing was accompanied on record by guitarist Eddie Lang, who later became his full-time accompanist. The next session took place just just under two months later, and similarly featured excellent arrangements by Glenn Miller of three more popular songs of the day, with vocals by Smith Ballew. The scores both put the band through its paces and allowed space for individual contributions, with both Jimmy and Tommy taking solo spots.

The following month an enlarged concert orchestra met under the direction of Justin Ring to cut a double-sided version of the hit song "Lover, Come to Me" from "The New Moon". The result was rather tepid, but the mercury was soon sent soaring again, first by two outright jazz numbers Tommy recorded as trumpet solos with a backing trio, then two virtuoso compositions written and performed by Jimmy against a band background. A week later a slightly different group recorded three numbers under the pseudonym of The Travellers. The third was "Breakaway" (from "Fox Movietone Follies of 1929") which contains some superb hot solos by both brothers, on trumpet, alto, trombone and clarinet. The following month another three songs were recorded, and both takes of "Singing in the Rain" are included.

The Wall Street Crash took place in October 1929, one effect of which was to restrict demand for gramophone records. Perhaps as a result the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra did not form up for another studio session until January 1930, when they switched from Okeh to the American Record Corporation, for which they recorded three commercial songs. The compilation concludes with an unissued test pressing of their July 1928 recording of "Was it a Dream", of which Parts 1 & 2, and the issued 12" version, were included in the first volume.

Summing up, this is a superb reissue, which presents more facets of the brothers' talents, and in which the occasional dross is far outweighed by many exceptional sides.