Search - Artie Shaw :: 1944-45

Best band Shaw ever led...

C. Craig | Havant, England, UK | 04/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike his 1930s and 1940/41 outfits, this was a bigger conventional swing band with eight brass and five saxes plus Artie himself. The arrangements were far more modern, and better recorded. The scoring on many tracks highlights the attack of the brass section against the richer, darker sax section which is thrilling - and, the balance is dynamic for the period. Remember this is contemporary to Glenn Miller's AEF Band, but rooted in jazz and more progressive. Also, Shaw's virtuosity is unimpaired, and his solos are great. Buy and enjoy!"

Superb 3 CD set of the jazz clarinet of this great Maestro

J. T. Clough | Ballard Queensland Australia | 08/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I have many CD's and vinyl records of the music of this remarkable genius this would be one of the best value items I have acquired, featuring many numbers not previously available on what I already have. The enclosed booklet with the CD set is very informative giving a story on every tune recorded along with some pictures I have never seen before of Artie with members of his band, even one on the back cover with Count Basie, Buddy Rich and Tommy Dorsey. What a find, can thoroughly recommend this item to any devotee of the great Artie Shaw."

Artie Shaw's greatest band

JJA Kiefte | Tegelen, Nederland | 01/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is not a collection of Artie Shaw's greatest hits, far from it. No Begin the Beguine or Frenesi that seem to turn up on virtually every available Shaw collection. Hats off to Hep for issuing the complete 1944-45 performances in what must surely be the definitive collection.

Shaw, a restless nature, got bored with success and the pressures involved with stardom and gave up his famous 1938-39 band. A succession of other bands followed, laden with and weighed down by sizeable string sections, musically a mixed bag.

After a tough time in the navy, leading a band in the Pacific, Shaw, reluctantly (an obligation to fullfill a recording and touring contract), organised the band we hear on this collection. Instead of a band of completely unknown and inexperienced younsters (his "Begin the Beguine" band) or the bands with strings which consisted of mostly seasoned veterans, in this aggregation Shaw mixed veterans (Harry Rodgers, Ray Conniff, Chuck Gentry) with musical stars (Roy Eldridge) and a number of relative youngsters like Barney Kessel (guitar), Dodo Marmorosa (piano), John Walton and Herbie Steward (tenorsax). This might lead us to expect something along the lines Woody Herman was doing, but the opposite is true. Where Woody's sidemen were afforded ample space to stretch out on almost every record and the (heavily Basie-influenced) arrangements mainly served as a backdrop to them, Shaw constantly hogs the limelight as the main soloist, cutting short again and again even the contributions of musical co-star of the band Roy Eldridge. Only on rare occasions do we get to hear Little Jazz's gorgeous, fat toned trumpet (he proves himself to be a much maturer musician than during his stint with Gene Krupa). The underrated Jon Walton, who died at a sadly early age, and Herbie Steward, who shared solo honours with Stan Getz in Woody's second Herd, are hardly heard and Marmorosa, a spectacular if in later life erratic talent, and Kessel only marginally more. Why then five stars? Because Shaw, for all his shortcomings in his generosity as a leader, led a band that made a batch of such fine music, interpreting the Great American songbook long before it was fashionable to do so with outstanding , inventive arrangements (by Ray Conniff, Eddy Sauter, Buster Harding and George Siravo) and first class musicianship, that this body of music must surely rank among the best American popular music had to offer in the post war era. Modern, not as outrageously as Boyd Raeburn but more so than T. Dorsey or B. Goodman, swinging, though not as uncompromisingly as Woody or Basie but (much) more so than Kenton, the band had a marvelous, beautifully rounded full bodied sound, great dynamics and alsmost flawless intonation and phrasing. And in an era that seemed to pullulate with mediocre singers, Shaw rarely gave in to pressures of commercialism and only used singers if he really couldn't avoid it (on four occasions in this collection). Last but not least: Artie Shaw himself, although he regularly claimed his heart wasn't in this band, is in spectacular form. His tone is so much warmer than it used to be in the 1936-1939 years, his inventiveness is almost limitless and his technique, well, it borders on the unbelievable. It seems there is nothing he cannot do on the instrument, there is no trace of the repetetiveness or redundancy you can sometimes detect in Goodman's work, no stylized licks that are so often a feature of lesser musicians. Whether playing the melody, an improvised chorus or a side ending cadenza, he proves himself to be a truly great musician. Combined with Hep's usual quality remastering, liner notes and discographical information, this is a prime example of vintage big band music."