Search - Freddy Martin & His Orchestra :: Freddy Martin & His Orchestra - Greatest Hits

Believe it or not, an important CD

01/12/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Freddy Martin is, alas, largely forgotten today. He mostly did "sweet" recordings, many of them based on classical themes (and the best of which are included in this album). He is today best remebered for the song "Bumble Boogie" (included on this CD) which Walt Disney has kept alive. Few songs, though, have the impact in their heyday that "The Hut-Sut" song did. The "Hut-Sut" song was a nonesense song, but many of the people who heard GIs sing it all over the world didn't know that! "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," and "Managua, Nicaragua" were also big hits (I spent much of the mid-eighties whistling "Managua Nicaragua" and wondering if the song would have a comeback if the U. S. directly intervened in the war against the Sandinistas). It would have been nice to have had his version of Chopin's "Heroic" Polonaise, which was the theme song of the Polish resistance during WWII, and for that reason brings tears to the eyes. Martin's was not a great jazz organization, but the individual performances of members of his orchestra are at times awe-inspiring. If you like big band music, you won't go wrong. And someday, somewhere, you'll catch yourself humming, "Hut-sut bralsen on the ritta-rah...""

Just one cut is worth the price

Jorge Yuri | Perugia, Italy | 12/16/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD (along with "Classics and Boogie: the Original..."), just for the unbelievable rendition of the piano soloist Jack Fina, in dialogue with F.M.'s orchestra, of the "Bumble Boogie", based on Rimsky-Korsakoff's well-known piece: it was part of the Walt Disney's full-length cartoon movie "Melody Time" of 1948, and I had been looking for it since 1950! Except for the few introductory orchestral bars, it's all here with all its piano wizardry. Just this piece makes the purchase of this CD worthwhile."