Customer Reviews

Volume 1: Tram! Frank Trumbauer's Legacy To American Jazz 1923-1929

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Most young sax players don't know anything about Frank Trumbauer. His C-melody saxophone, an almost unheard-of instrument these days, plus his dry tone, seem part of another era. And indeed they were. Actually, Trumbauer (or "Tram" as he was called by his close friends) was one of the most influential saxophonists of the 1920's, and along with Jimmy Dorsey and Rudy Weidoeft, his playing influenced nearly all of the major jazz sax players who came into prominence in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Just listen to a few of these tunes and you'll immediately see who influenced Lester Young's light, airy sound.

Trumbauer will always be known as the musical sidekick and soulmate of the legendary jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke. To that end, everything that Bix and Tram recorded together has been reissued many times over the years in virtually every audio format.

This volume fills a much-needed niche in Trumbauer's CD discography by compiling all of the major recordings that Tram made with various groups from 1924 - 1929 that do not include Bix Beiderbecke. Tram's work with The Benson Orchestra of Chicago, Red Nichols, Paul Whiteman, as well as others, is chronicled here. There are two more volumes in the Tram series, and they include all of the small-group recordings made under Tram's name from 1930 to 1934. As previously stated, none of these recordings include Bix.

As with all of The Old Masters CD's that I have had the pleasure of hearing, the sound quality is absolutely stunning. Greater than usual care seems to go into selecting the best possible source material for their releases, and the recordings are digitally remastered. The recordings are de-clicked thoroughly but have only a minimum of other noise reduction applied, thereby reproducing a sound that is as close to the actual dynamic range and fullness of original 78 rpm recordings as I have heard.

I would highly recommend this CD to anyone interested in exploring the musical career of Frank Trumbauer, or who enjoys 1920's jazz and hot dance music. If you want to hear Tram's great recordings with groups that also included Bix Beiderbecke, I would recommend the 2-CD set "The Indispensable Bix Beiderbecke" on BMG/RCA and two CD's under Bix Beiderbecke's name on Columbia/Sony Legacy, "Singin' The Blues" and "At The Jazz Band Ball."

This is a fantastic collection for jazz efficianados! The collaboration between Tram and Beiderbecke are top-shelf. Most memorable are "Red Hot," "Sugar," "Don't Leave Me Daddy," and "San." Host a 1920s-themed party using this collection for background and dance music, and you will have a party cherised and never to be forgotten!