Search - Boyd Raeburn :: Boyd Meets Stravinsky

Fine introduction to the Raeburn Band

comtad | 10/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For the uninitiated, Boyd Raeburn's 1940's big bands were among the most advanced and interesting of the period. With its dissonances, humor, great musicianship and often freewheeling style, the music is still interesting, even by today's standards.All arrangements are by George Handy. The musicians in this band included an all-star lineup of Dizzy Gillepsie, Lucky Thompson, Oscar Pettiford, Hal Mckusick and Shelly Manne, among others.This cd serves as a very good introduction to the Raeburn band. The only uninteresting tune in the lot (at least to my ears) is a rather desultory vocal rendition of "I Only Have Eyes For You" by Dave Allyn. Other than that, this cd comes highly recommended."

A Musician's Spike Jones

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 05/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a listener who previously thought that "progressive jazz" applied only to the experimental sound of the Stan Kenton band of the 1940's, this album came as startling revelation. Compared to Boyd Raeburn's sometimes "outrageous" harmonic/orchestral innovations, the Kenton band sounds closer to Lawrence Welk. At the same time, the arrangements, however singular or surprising they might be, are accessible and attention-holding, at least to a musician's ears.From the dyslexically-titled "Davatore Sally," a 1946 recording employing french horn, English horn, flute and harp, to the tunes once assumed to be "standards" ("I Only Have Eyes," "Over the Rainbow," "Body and Soul"), Boyd serves up surprises at a head-spinning rate (credit the compression required of the 78 rpm format for much of the rapid-fire inventiveness). Perhaps most fun of all are the vocals, since the primary challenge to the vocalist is maintaining his or her sanity, let alone any sense of melodic line, above the violent orchestral upheavals in the accompaniment. And finally, this is the first recording that has enabled me to understand why Dodo Marmarosa, one of jazz' most enigmatic and elusive figures, was once regarded as among the best pianists in the history of jazz.Certainly not a "commercial" recording, neither is the music on this disc necessarily "far out." If anything, it's "inside" music for those sufficiently serious about the "play" of musical language to have fun with it."