3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Progressive big band jazz, April 21, 2001
This review is from: Jiminy Crickets (Audio CD)
There was nothing quite like this 1947 Ray McKinley Band. By any standards, it was complex, ambitious and totally swinging and rivalled the bands led by Boyd Raeburn and Stan Kenton.
A great measure of its excellence, in addition to the great musicians, is owed to the brilliant arrangements of Eddie Sauter (of Benny Goodman and Sauter-Finegan fame). His arrangements were stimulating to musicians and listeners alike but required a lot of rehearsal by the musicians. But the end result was well worth it.
Some notable selections from this outstanding disc include "Blue Moon", "Paper Moon" (not arranged by Sauter) "Savannah" and a superb "Cyclops" with its starts and stops and brief solo interjections.
Some of the selections sound as if they were remastered from records and there is evidence of attempts to digitally remove pops and ticks.
But don't let that stop you from enjoying some of the finest big band jazz ever. For those of you "in the know", don't miss this one.
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