Jimmie Lunceford

Jimmie Lunceford's orchestra was one of the definitive swinging big bands of the '30s, in the same league as the bands led by Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Claude Hopkins, Earl Hines, Count Basie and Chick Webb. The Jimmie Lunceford orchestra served as an incubator for jazz talent like trombonist Trummy Young, saxophonist Willie Smith, and trumpeter and future bandleader Gerald Wilson. It was while working with the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra that trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver got his chops together and prepared himself for his later triumphs in the music industry. Cabu's Jimmie Lunceford Anthology serves up 44 of the best recordings this band ever made, from the exciting early works of 1934 to the wartime swing of 1942. Essentially all of Lunceford's singers were drawn from the ranks of his accomplished instrumentalists. The vocal trio heard throughout this collection was composed of Sy Oliver, Eddie Tompkins and Willie Smith. Saxophonist Joe Thomas and especially trombonist Trummy Young proved to be excellent singers as well. Lunceford's star crooner was saxophonist Dan Grissom (jokingly referred to by some as Dan Gruesome!) Fortunately, the folks at Cabu chose to represent Grissom with one of his most endearing performances, a 1938 recording of "By the River Saint Marie." Cabu's excellent introduction to Lunceford could easily lead to the pursuit of his complete recorded works as reissued by the Classics Chronological Series. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide