Saturday, August 06, 2005

Big Banding, part 2

Here's another in my hunt for good one-disk samplers covering a selection of classic big bands from the '20s, '30s and '40s with decent sound, representative material and a reasonable price.

"Glenn Miller/Pure Gold" by way of RCA and BMG. A 10-track CD with every song that makes you think Glenn Miller, "In the Mood," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," "American Patrol," et al, and fabulous sound. I got it for $11.98 on Amazon.

Funny story. At the back end of my 40s, I don't often feel like the kid in the crowd anymore. There's still a Glenn Miller Orchestra touring and a couple years ago they stopped at the Virginia Theater here, a marvelous old movie palace that's been converted to a classic film and events venue, including Urbana native Roger Ebert's annual Overlooked Film Festival. This is a five-minute stroll from my house so I went. The music was great. The audience was sizable and enthusiastic. And I was the youngest person there pretty much by half. All in all a wonderful evening.

Follow the links to my suggestions for disks featuring the bands of Jay McShann or Claude Thornhill or Chick Webb or Benny Goodman or Fletcher Henderson or Billy Eckstine or Earl Hines or Andy Kirk.

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