Austin Lindy Hop
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Austin Lindy Hop
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Harry James & His Big Band (Still Harry After All These Years (1979)
During the 70s, Harry James reformed a Big Band and recorded some amazing versions of Swing Standards. "Still Harry..." is the best of them. It is rumored to be James' final recording, but you cannot tell from the clarity of his trumpet work. Although this album gets a bad rep from some noteworthy music critics, it is a great album for Lindy Hoppers. It features at least 7 danceable songs, plus a few off-beat songs like a Westie version of the theme from "Sanford and Son." The version of "Undecided" lopes through the melody lazily, but kicks into a great "Groove Swing" rhythm when the solos hit that truly brings this staid standard back from the dead. There are a few throw-away songs--some progressive jazz songs and an awfully dorky attempt at Big Band Disco ("Dance")--but unlike most "retro" bands under the name of Swing Era legends that played music than would fit in on an episode of Lawrence Welk, this album is rather excellent. |
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Harry James was one of the Swing Era headliners, beginning with Benny Goodman's
Orchestra and then striking it out on his own with many Swing Era hits. He
was one of the more popular trumpeters of his day with a characteristically
clear and bright sound. Unfortunately, because his most popular hits were
Sweet ballads, his legacy among modern dancers is that of a Sweet trumpeter:
"Sweet" being a term of art referring to a slow, ballad-like, tepid
style of music where the instrumentation hovers over the rhythm so as to give
the impression of floating.