The S'Wonderful Ray Conniff - The Big Band Years 1939-1947 ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED

When I hear Ray Conniff vocal music, all I can think of is vocal muzak. For me, it is terrible stuff. That's why I was stunned to hear this superb big band cd containing music arranged by Ray Conniff back in the 1940s. I thought anything with his name attached to it would be as uninspired as his vocal music from the 50s, 60s, etc. This cd however is one of the best big band compact discs I have ever heard. As a bonus, the songs, on this cd, are not the same old titles (good as they may be) that turn up, in different order, in various compact discs. If you like original 1940s big band music, this is a must for your collection.

very good, know Conniff as arranger is entusiam, in the music is detect his style in the beging

Everything and anything by Ray Conniff or Ray Conniff and his Singers is a great listen. I am trying to own all his recordings.

Usual great Conniff songs presented in the big band style

Ray Conniff was a very imaginative arranger who got his first break as an arranger/ trombonist in Bunny Berigan's band. His arranging contributions for Berigan do not yet betray the originality he was to become famous for later on. He was a better arranger than a soloist though. His trombone solos for Berigan, which can be sampled on the Hep and Classics Cds dedicated to that band, are perhaps best compared to Ben Webster's tenorsax contributions for Benny Moten. Perhaps this is why in his next band, Bob Crosby's, he was just a sideman. It might also be that the set style of Crosby's band didn't really chime in with Conniff's emerging arranging style. His next job however, for Artie Shaw in 1941-1942, reveals an arranger/composer of great skill and imagination (and with Vernon Brown and Jack Jenney as fellow trombonists he would have been hard put to better their solistic contributions). After a stint in the army, he again joined Artie Shaw in 1944, which brought the hard hitting Lucky Number and the classic 's Wonderful, which vies with his later September Song for Harry James as one of the most memorable contributions to swing music. All these tunes have been available on Hep in better sound quality (for at least one Artie Shaw tune on this collection has been processed beyond recognition). So for me the main reason to buy this collection is the fourth band Conniff made a significant contribution to, Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra. Contrary to popular belief (?), this band band was at the peak of its abilities in the swing department. Okay, it may no longer have been the trailblazer it had been in the early thirties, but it was still a band that could hold its own with the best of them. How could it not, with a rhythm section that had Lou Fromm on drums, Lou Carter on piano and Herb Ellis on guitar? It could also boast the services of Red Nichols and Bobby Hackett among the brass. Lesser-known names, such as Ray Grien, a fat-toned trumpeter, Fats Daniels, a great clarinettist in the Artie Shaw mould, Gus Jean, a silver toned high-note trombonist, and the booting Lon Doty on tenorsax, complete the roster of talent who shine on (just) four selections. As these selections were drawn from radio transcriptions, their soundscape is excellent (as far as I know these selections have not appeared before on CD; their appaerance is long overdue). A couple of other Casa Loma-Ray Conniff selections can be found on  Swing Tonic: 1939-1946 [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] 2CD SET Discographical info is good, although the background info on Conniff is a bit skimpy.

If you love big band swing, and you want to hear the very best examples of it, buy this CD. Featured are wonderful Conniff charts for Bunny Berigan, Harry James, Glen Gray, and Artie Shaw. Especially interesting tracks: The proto-r&b "Little Gate's Special" (a 1939 Conniff composition) in twelve-bar blues form, no less, and featuring Basie-style riffs. "Prelude in C Major"--a take, in part, on Rachmaninoff's C-sharp Minor Prelude (listen for the opening three-note motive thereof). And, most of all, the Harry James/Conniff composition "Easy," the best 32-bar, AABA jam-tune this reviewer has ever had the pleasure to sonically behold. And note, please, that the simplicity of this piece (to say nothing of its flawless, streamlined swing) is simple in effect only. In fact, a rather complex scheme reveals itself upon careful listening: a riff theme for piano and, afterwards, orchestra; a compelling and memorably melodic theme atop the same minimalist ii-I/bridge structure; a slight elaboration of the chord pattern for soloing purposes; and, finally, a return to the melodic (second) theme. What sounds like simple repetition isn't quite repetition. And it isn't quite simple. In a word, it's Conniff.Almost on the level of "Easy" is the Kenton-esque Conniff original, "Hold The Phone" (1944), superbly played by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra (with jazz great Red Nichols in the trumpet section). This is how Stan Kenton might have sounded had he instructed his trumpet section not to scream and his arrangers to hold the bombast.Pop brilliance on this level is hard to come by. Get this CD.

Ray Conniff was a very imaginative arranger who got his first break as an arranger/ trombonist in Bunny Berigan's band. His arranging contributions for Berigan do not yet betray the originality he was to become famous for later on. He was a better arranger than a soloist though. His trombone solos for Berigan, which can be sampled on the Hep and Classics Cds dedicated to that band, are perhaps best compared to Ben Webster's tenorsax contributions for Benny Moten. Perhaps this is why in his next band, Bob Crosby's, he was just a sideman. It might also be that the set style of Crosby's band didn't really chime in with Conniff's emerging arranging style. His next job however, for Artie Shaw in 1941-1942, reveals an arranger/composer of great skill and imagination (and with Vernon Brown and Jack Jenney as fellow trombonists he would have been hard put to better their solistic contributions). After a stint in the army, he again joined Artie Shaw in 1944, which brought the hard hitting Lucky Number and the classic 's Wonderful, which vies with his later September Song for Harry James as one of the most memorable contributions to swing music. All these tunes have been available on Hep in better sound quality (for at least one Artie Shaw tune on this collection has been processed beyond recognition). So for me the main reason to buy this collection is the fourth band Conniff made a significant contribution to, Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra. Contrary to popular belief (?), this band band was at the peak of its abilities in the swing department. Okay, it may no longer have been the trailblazer it had been in the early thirties, but it was still a band that could hold its own with the best of them. How could it not, with a rhythm section that had Lou Fromm on drums, Lou Carter on piano and Herb Ellis on guitar? It could also boast the services of Red Nichols and Bobby Hackett among the brass. Lesser-known names, such as Ray Grien, a fat-toned trumpeter, Fats Daniels, a great clarinettist in the Artie Shaw mould, Gus Jean, a silver toned high-note trombonist, and the booting Lon Doty on tenorsax, complete the roster of talent who shine on (just) four selections. As these selections were drawn from radio transcriptions, their soundscape is excellent (as far as I know these selections have not appeared before on CD; their appaerance is long overdue). A couple of other Casa Loma-Ray Conniff selections can be found on  Swing Tonic: 1939-1946 Discographical info is good, although the background info on Conniff is a bit skimpy. Swing Tonic: 1939-1946

BRILLIANT

Super musique de cette époque, mais les airs du CD ne sont pas joués par l'orchestre de Ray Conniff même, mais bien par des interprêtes connus de ces années là.