The terms "
swing
era" and "
big-band
era" are often used interchangeably, which makes sense because
and
big bands
have often gone together -- often, but not always. During
jazz
's pre-
bebop
years, there were plenty of small groups that played
. And after World War II,
bop
had the occasional
big band
. Assembled by
Bluebird
/
RCA
in 2002,
Big Band: Swingin' Through the Night
is primarily a compilation of
. The CD spans 1933-1954, and about 80 percent of these
embrace
. The oldest track is
Cab Calloway
's 1933 smash
"Minnie the Moocher,"
and the most recent is
the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
's 1954 recording
"The Loop."
Although
is dominant,
"The Loop"
Dizzy Gillespie
's 1947 recording of
Tadd Dameron
's
"Good Bait"
are perfect examples of
playing
. Overall, the material is excellent -- gems by
Benny Goodman
(
"King Porter Stomp"
),
Duke Ellington
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
), and
Glenn Miller
"Little Brown Jug"
) are
heaven. But regrettably, a number of other things bring the disc's rating down. First,
doesn't list all the musicians for each track, only select players, arrangers, and soloists. Second, the sound quality isn't up to
's usually high standards. Songs that have sounded great on other
compilations (thanks to digital remastering) sound a lot scratchier and noisier here. And
Bunny Berigan
's sublime 1937 smash
"I Can't Get Started"
is butchered;
only provides about 60 percent of the performance and cuts the song off abruptly, which is ridiculous because
Swingin' Through the Night
only clocks in at about 45 minutes -- it isn't as though
did it because of space limitations. Because so many of
-oriented compilations have been expertly assembled, it is surprising that this CD has as many problems and flaws as it does. ~ Alex Henderson