1. Last Night in Town
2. To the River
3. Ballad 'n' Bounce
4. Dreamy Melody
6. Desert Dance
6. Chevy's Chase
7. Christmas in the Valley
8. Donnybrook
9. Ain't Gonna Get Fooled Again
10. Voodoo
11. Peetni Petite
12. Waiting on the Corner
13. My Dream Of Yesterday
14. Fall Leaves
15. At The Swing Cats' Ball
16. Free and Easy
17. Echoing
18. Coffee Light
19. The Black Cat
20. I Dream of Summer
Don Redman - Alto sax, vibes, whistle
Joe Wilder, Charlie Shavers, Al Mattaliano - Trumpets
Sonny Russo, Jimmy Cleveland, Bobby Byrne - Trombones
George Dorsey, Milt Yaner - Alto saxes
Coleman Hawkins, Al Cohn, Seldon Powell - Tenor saxes
Danny Bank - Baritone sax
Hank Jones - Piano
George Barnes - Guitar
Al Hall - Bass
Osie Johnson - Drums
Don Redman was a man of many talents: arranger, composer, bandleader, alto-saxophonist, clarinettist and vocalist. But he is most famous for his work with two bands: Fletcher Henderson's and then McKinney's Cotton Pickers. His imaginative arrangements introduced new sounds and styles to big bands. Although his career as a bandleader seemed to wane in later years, he continued to write arrangements until his death in 1964.
No date is given for the recordings on this CD but it seems to have been recorded in 1957 by a big band which featured tenorist Coleman Hawkins. The same material was apparently released five years ago on the Fresh Sounds label under the title At the Swing Cats' Ball. The arrangements still display Redman's initiative but the occasional hints of "modernity" reinforce the belief that they were recorded after Don's heyday in the twenties and thirties. The opening track, Last Night in Town, even has the feel of a rhythm-and-blues riff, with Coleman Hawkins topping it off with a fluent solo.
As well as Coleman Hawkins, Redman assembled a big band containing many famous names. The soloists are not listed for individual tracks, but one can identify the contributions from such players as Charlie Shavers, Joe Wilder, Jimmy Cleveland, Hank Jones and Osie Johnson (who plays what sounds like tymps on Voodoo). Redman himself whistles in Waiting on the Corner, and he plays vibes for At the Swing Cats' Ball.
The arrangements don't sound particularly novel, mainly because Redman's innovations in the twenties and thirties established many of the ground rules for a certain type of big band, with section work often backing up the soloists .In fact this band often reminds me of Gene Krupa's big band of the 1940s.
Like the album by Joe Venuti from the same label which I recently reviewed, none of the tunes is a jazz standard and no composers are listed, so one guesses that at least some of the pieces were compositions by Don Redman. But it is a pity that the documentation on this album is so flimsy, as the music is worth hearing.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Sounds of Yester Year DSOY 816 (distributed by The Woods)
