Search - Nat Pierce :: Big Band at the Savoy

IS IT LIVE, OR IS IT...?

Mike DiMartino | Rochester, NY | 05/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hello, I'm Mike DiMartino, and back in 1963 I bought the original 1957 LP. I just wanted to tell everyone, this album was recorded in RCA's studios--not LIVE! at the Savoy Ballroom (though the band did play the Savoy regularly at the time). But let me also tell you: this is a great session! Lots of Buck Clayton (trumpet) and The Vice Prez, Paul Quinichette (tenor sax), whose exchanges with little-known tenor saxophonist Dick Hafner, on "Stompin' at the Savoy," are the cream of the album. "Stompin'..." is a 12-minute jam where everybody in the band gets to stretch out--everybody! Several tracks also feature some far-out-there soloing from seldom recorded alto saxophonist Tony Ortega. Though not of the screamin', wailin' big band variety, this is a really swingin' date that's been unavailable for many years. Go for it, I say."