Stomp It Off

Jimmie Lunceford's band was among the few organizations of the swing era that could challenge the Ellington orchestra for ensemble smoothness, and it's particularly good on the Ellington material here, such as "Mood Indigo" and "Black and Tan Fantasy." The pieces here were all recorded in a nine-month period of remarkable productivity. The arrangements by altoist Willie Smith tend to more straightforward swing, while those by trumpeter-vocalist Sy Oliver give the band its originality, with sudden shifts in rhythm, interpolations of full sections playing complex "solo" lines, and sudden reed wails and brass punctuations cutting through the refined sectional writing. The excellent sound quality makes this an ideal introduction to the Lunceford band. --Stuart Broomer