21 Swing Band All Time Greats

Glenn Miller (Orchestra), Duke Ellington (Orchestra), Bunny Berigan (Orchestra), Benny Goodman (Orchestra), Harry James (Orchestra), Tommy Dorsey (Orchestra), Count Basie (Orchestra), Woody Herman (Orchestra), Lionel Hampton (Orchestra), Artie Shaw (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 23, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ASV Living Era
• ASIN: B000001HI3
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,173 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. At The Woodchoppers Ball - Woody Herman

2. Boogie Woogie - Tommy Dorsey

3. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You - Tommy Dorsey

4. Amapola - Jimmy Dorsey

5. Besame Mucho - Jimmy Dorsey

6. I Can't Get Started - Bunny Berigan

7. Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman

8. Why Don't You Do Right? - Benny Goodman

9. Begin The Beguine - Artie Shaw

10. Back Bay Shuffle - Artie Shaw

11. Cherokee - Charlie Barnet

12. In The Mood - Glenn Miller

13. Chattanooga Choo Choo - Glenn Miller

14. Honky Tonk Train Blues - Bob Crosby

15. Take The 'A' Train - Duke Ellington

16. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Never No Lament) - Duke Ellington

17. One O'Clock Jump - Count Basie

18. All Or Nothing At All - Harry James

19. Ciribiribin - Harry James

20. Body And Soul - Coleman Hawkins

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Performers include: Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Bunny Berigan, Bob Crosby, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Woody Herman, Harry James, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw. Muze PNote ASV/Living Era's 21 All Time Swing Greats delivers just what the title promises, collecting classic big band hits like Tommy Dorsey's "Boogie Woogie," "I'm Getting Sentimental over You" and Jimmy Dorsey's "Amapola" and "B?same Mucho." Songs like Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" and performances from Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and Charlie Barnet round out this compilation of swing favorites. ~ Heather Phares

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swing band heaven, July 21, 2009

By 

Annie Van Auken (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 21 Swing Band All Time Greats (Audio CD)

Fans of the British label ASV Living Era well know that their CDs of vintage 78s have the finest sound of any on the market. Every track is absolutely tick, pop and distortion-free, with high frequencies unmuffled by oppressive filtering. If this is your first experience with ASV's albums, you're in for an absolute treat.

As this is being typed, I'm listening to Tommy Dorsey's famous theme song, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" on a set of SONY MDR-7506 STUDIO MONITOR headphones. The presence, clarity and condition of the record itself are nothing less than astounding. It's like he's in the room tromboning just for yours truly. Of the countless dozens of times I've heard this track from any number of sources, none have ever sounded so fine! Certainly a personal favorite, Bunny Berigan's "I Can't Get Started" will be even better.
Oh... he's on now.. I gotta go!

Buy this CD. Just wait, you'll thank me for the recommendation!

TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 75:27


Also from ASV:
SING ME A SWING SONG is another high-quality offering that features the vocal talents of the Boswell Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Fats Waller, Annette Hanshaw, Biilie Holiday, Jack Teagarden, Cab Calloway, Mildred Bailey, Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Ruth Etting and more!

5.0 out of 5 stars Mainly instrumental collection, May 27, 2011

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 21 Swing Band All Time Greats (Audio CD)

With seven vocal tracks and fourteen instrumentals, this collection picks a mixture of signature tunes and big hits. Signature tunes in those days were generally instrumental, so that may explain the comparative lack of vocal tracks.

The vocal tracks include two early recordings by Frank Sinatra with the Harry James band. Ciribirin was one of his earliest recordings, when he was officially a member of Harry's band. After he went solo (having found his style with Tommy Dorsey), Frank had a huge hit with All or nothing at all, in which he was again supported by Harry James. One of the Benny Goodman tracks, Why don't you do right, features Peggy Lee. The two selected Jimmy Dorsey tracks are both vocal, featuring Bob Eberle singing the first half of the song and a female singer on the second half, these being Helen O'Connell (Amapola) and Kitty Kallen (Besame Mucho). Both those songs were huge hits in their time. I can't get started (Bunny Berigan) is a fine vocal track that I don`t think I`d heard befor I acquired this CD. The remaining vocal track is Chattanooga choo-choo with Tex Beneke and the Modernaires singing on Glenn Miller's classic.

Among the instrumentals, it is surprising that the compiler opted for In the mood to represent Glenn Miller rather than Moonlight serenade, given the emphasis on signature tunes, not that it matters. If you're into this kind of music, you've probably got both tracks elsewhere. Benny Goodman is represented by Sing sing sing, which is impressive in its way although it is a very long track lasting about eight minutes. Elsewhere, there are some impressive instrumentals including two tracks each by Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington.

Personally, I would have preferred more vocal tracks and fewer instrumentals, but there's no denying the quality of the music here. It captures some of the best sounds of the late thirties and early forties. The problem if you want it is that the album, along with other ASV albums, is long out of print and you may have to settle for a used copy.