Hal Kemp & His Orchestra 1934 & 1936

Hal Kemp & His Orchestra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 1, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Circle
• ASIN: B000003CAV
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,348 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Liza [From "Show Girl"]

2. The Way You Look Tonight [From Swing Time]

3. Jericho [Syncopation]

4. Organ Grinder's Swing

5. Got a Date With an Angel

6. Summertime [From Porgy and Bess]

7. Swamp Fire

8. Medley: It's d'Lovely /Did You Mean It?/When ... [Red, Hot and Blue]

9. The Old Man of the Mountain

10. You're the Top [From Anything Goes]

11. Naturally

12. Panama

13. I Don't Want to Be President [Calling All Stars]

14. Blue Moon

15. Washington and Lee Swing

16. Moon Indigo

17. Between Showers

18. I Don't Care

19. Midnight, The Stars and You

20. Down T'Uncle Bill's

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MID-30s BROADCASTS OF SUPERB ARRANGEMENTS, November 4, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Hal Kemp & His Orchestra 1934 & 1936 (Audio CD)

It is tempting to classify Hal Kemp's as a sweet band, indeed the liner note writer credits him jointly with Guy Lombardo for having created "the basic sweet band style". And yet it's clear, listening to the these transcriptions of two broadcasts that such a description sells the band well short. Because the band played complicated arrangements (by John Scott Trotter) with a precision that makes it sound easy.

The degree of clarity that's been achieved in the transfers and remastering makes it possible to appreciate every musical nuance, and the musical patterns woven by the orchestra are several removes from the homogenised sound of lesser orchestras.

I normally find radio announcements banal and distracting, but those here are also a cut above. As to the vocals, Skinnay Ennis, Bob Allen and Kay Thompson acquit themselves well, and if the last-named's Rhythm Sisters sound reminiscent of The Chipmunks be comforted that they feature only on two tracks. One of which is "The Old Man Of The Mountains" which is enlivened appropriately by the theme from Grieg's "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" from the Peer Gynt Suite.

In short, this is a highly enjoyable reissue and a reminder of the Golden Age when such bands broadcast nightly across the airwaves.

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic revisited..., November 9, 2001

By 

Pedro Mendonca (Queluz Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hal Kemp & His Orchestra 1934 & 1936 (Audio CD)

For those who like Hal Kemp, this record is a must have.
Simply wonderful.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hal Kemp & His Orchestra, November 15, 2007

By 

Mary Antrim - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hal Kemp & His Orchestra 1934 & 1936 (Audio CD)

I was disappointed that I could not see the titles of the musical numbers on the Hal Kemp Album - so I did not place an order.