[78-L] Good post from fnarf

simmonssomer simmonssomer at comcast.net
Sun Apr 12 15:31:18 PDT 2009


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julian Vein" <julianvein at blueyonder.co.uk>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2009 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Good post from fnarf


> Taylor Bowie wrote:
>
>>
>> One of my favorite mid-30s "sweet band" records is the Teddy Hill Orch.
>> version of Got Me Doin' Things,  with clipped muted brass,  hotel-band 
>> tenor
>> sax (by Chu Berry!?!?!),  and a wonderful "business man's bounce"  from 
>> the
>> rhythm section.   And a totally wonderful "sweet band" vocal from 
>> trumpeter
>> Bill Dillard...I love his singing.  A great record by any measure,  and 
>> it
>> makes me wish that other black bands had gotten more of a chance to 
>> record
>> this kind of pop commercial arrangement...I'm sure they played them at 
>> live
>> gigs.
>
>>
>> Taylor
> --------------------------
> That performance sounds more like Will Osborne to me. And didn't Berry
> admire Freddy Martin?
>
>      Julian Vein

Hmmm. admittedly these distinctions (sweet or hot) are subjective, and 
although the performance in question is not precisely "hot' ,...it is not, 
in my opinion, anything close to  something played by a "sweet" or "hotel" 
band. Hill had a swinging big band with a full and well articulated brass 
section and good reeds.
Bill Dillard's vocal was no more "sweet" than thousands of run-of-the-mill 
swing era big band vocals, By the mid and late thirties the "sounds' made by 
Guy Lombardo or Blue Baron and Tommy Tucker were those made by sweet bands. 
If you play a Teddy Hill record and compare to those bands I think you'll 
gratefully  hear one hell of a difference.

Al Simmons




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