Search - Nat Gonella :: Very Best of

ONE OF BRITAIN'S GREATEST TRUMPETERS

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 03/26/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

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Gonella was one of Britain's greatest trumpeters, an extrovert who endeared himself to all who heard his exuberant trumpet playing and inimitable way with a lyric. In 1935 he left Lew Stone to lead his own group, the Georgians, which reformed as the New Georgians after the outbreak of war, when conscription made personnel changes necessary, before he himself was drafted in mid-1941. This compilation is split neatly between those two groups, with the exception of the final four numbers, as shown below:



Disc 1: Chicago; E Flat Blues; Junk Man's Blues*; Always; The Mayor Of Alabam'*; Blow, Gabriel, Blow*; Boo-Hoo*; Blue, Turning Grey Over You; Mood Indigo; Ain't Misbehavin'*; Twilight In Turkey*; Bessie Couldn't Help It*; One O'Clock Jump; Swing And Sway*; Delta Serenade; Swingin' In The Corn*; Wacky Dust; It's The Rhythm In Me; When You're Smiling; Tea For Two; Your Feet's Too Big; The Man From The South; Pennies From Heaven; Crazy Valves; I Can't Dance 75:00

All Nat Gonella & His Georgians



Disc 2: Georgia On My Mind; I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles; Vox Poppin'; It's A Pair Of Wings For Me; At The Woodchopper's Ball; That's My Home*; Mean To Me*; Hey Little Hen; We Three; He Stole My Heart Away*; Stardust; Aurora; The Man Who Comes Around; Time On My Hands; Oh Monah; No, Mama, No; Seven Days' Leave; Juanita; The Booglie Wooglie Piggy; Oh, Susannah; If You Were The Only Girl In The World; Stompin' At The Savoy#; How Am I To Know*#; Yip I Addy I Ay$; Confessin'*$ 77:55

All Nat Gonella & his New Georgians except:

#Johnny Claes & his Clae Pigeons $Doug Richford's London Jazzmen

*denotes alternate take.



Given that their output numbered almost 300 sides it is a pity that more trouble was not taken to avoid tracks that have been reissued already on CD. By my count, eighteen fall into that category, excluding those cases where an alternate take (of which there are fourteen) has been provided.



That aside, these recordings are a delight, and confirm what a consistently excellent group Nat led. He could generate a tremendous swing with his punchy attacking style - just listen to his treatment of "Always" which deserves special mention for Bob Dryden's drumming. Like his idol Louis he could also bring out the essence of a ballad, and his humorous approach on several of the tracks is quite delightful. In contrast to Nat's gruff tones, Stella Moya's gentle vocals feature on a handful. Remastering is first-rate, and Hugh Palmer's liner note, with an intro by Nat's daughter, completes the package, but the track listing lacks detail. However, it is a first-rate example of British small-group swing, and at a budget price.

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