Two More Jerry Gray LPs

My earlier post of three of Jerry Gray's Decca LPs met with some favor from the big band aficionados in the audience, so here's a follow-up.

Today we have Jerry's other two Decca albums - his first, from 1950, and his last, from 1955.

As with the first set, these albums display the same intricate charts, superior ensemble work and pleasing solos - much of it couched in the Glenn Miller style that Gray did so much to establish. For me, these records are pure listening pleasure.

Dance to the Music of Jerry Gray

Perhaps unexpectedly, the first side of this 10-inch LP consists of standards - Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies," Rodgers and Hart's "This Can't Be Love," Hoagy Carmichael's "Star Dust" and Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are."

Side 2 is more diverse - starting with Vincent Youmans' "Carioca" (from Flying Down to Rio, which introduced Astaire and Rogers).

Next, Gray indulges in the Miller trope of turning innocent songs into marches - here the unlikely source is Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather."

"By the Waters of Minnetonka," by James Mulloy Cavanass and Thurlow Lieurance, dates from 1915. It will be familiar to anyone who has been around as long as me.

Finally we have an excellent Gray original, "Crew Cut."

Billboard ad - click to enlarge

LINK to Dance to the Music of Jerry Gray

Big Dance Tonite

Decca liked to work the word "dance" into the title of most Gray albums, so that no one would mistake his ensemble for the blast-and-blare approach of Stan Kenton. And so it did for this 12-inch LP.

Big Dance Tonite collects songs from throughout Jerry's tenure at the label. It contains five Gray originals, a few Latin songs, some novelties and just two standards.

Rodgers and Hart's "Thou Swell" leads off - it's a tune suited to a dance tempo, and this one is just right. 

Following is the Mexican composer Maria Grever's attractive "Júrame" from 1926. This, and three of the other songs in this set can be found in their original versions on my other blog.

Gray's "Champagne Boogie" highlights (if you can call it that) an enthusiastic band vocal. It is followed by Jerry's "Off Limits." One of the greatest of all standards is next - Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight."

Much different is "Off the Wall," which Little Walter made an R&B hit in 1953. This shows Gray's interest in changing his approach with the times. No wailing blues harp here, but Jerry does adopt the chugga-chugga beat of the original - which can be found on my other blog.

The second side begins with another change of direction: Enric Madriguera's song "Adiós." It comes from 1931, when the Barcelona-born composer was a New York bandleader. My other blog has two Madriguera recordings of the song - from 1931 as "Adíos Linda Morena" and from 1947 as plain "Adiós."

Harry Babasin, Don Lamond

The "Darktown Strutters' Ball" was a huge success for composer Shelton Brooks in 1917. The first recording was by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (found here). For the Gray version, Jerry's brother Tony provides a vocal in the Louis Prima mold. Bassist Harry Babasin received a label credit for his solo. 

Next is a novelty, Joe Hornsby's "Kettle Drum Hop," a specialty for the powerful drummer Don Lamond.

The album concludes with three Gray compositions - "Oomp-Chuck," "Coronado Cruise" and "Baby's Lullaby." The latter is in the nature of a slow "last dance," customary in dance dates of the time.

Finally, let me add a bonus cut. Perhaps Gray's most famous composition was "A String of Pearls," a big hit for Glenn Miller. Jerry's own version is on his In the Mood LP, posted here. Gray also prepared an alternate version of the tune, called "Re-stringing the Pearls (A Ball of Twine)," which was issued on a single in 1950, and then on EP and a Vocalion reissue LP. That's our bonus for this post - and thanks to musicman1979 for the suggestion!

LINK to Big Dance Tonite

Three from Jerry Gray and Band

Jerry Gray (1915-76) was one of the most significant arrangers of the swing period, working with the bands of Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller - for the latter both his civilian and Army Air Force ensembles.

Gray has not been featured here for many years, so I wanted to make amends by presenting three of his 10-inch Decca LPs from the early 1950s - two new transfers and one remaster from long ago.

A few words about Gray's career from a earlier post: "Gray first came to notice for Artie Shaw arrangements, including Shaw's biggest hit, 'Begin the Beguine.' Shaw, always ambivalent about fame, disbanded that particular group in 1939, and Gray went to Glenn Miller. He proceeded to write many of that band's iconic numbers - 'Pennsylvania 6-5000,' 'Sun Valley Jump' and 'A String of Pearls' - and arranged others - 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo,' 'Elmer's Tune' and 'Moonlight Cocktail.' Many people think he invented the clarinet-lead Miller sound ... Gray wasn't limited to that sound. His own identity was much more tied up with his compositions. His pattern was to start with a short melodic cell, repeat it, vary it, and then elaborate. If you are familiar with the Miller library, 'Pennsylvania 6-5000' is a good example of this pattern."

Jerry's band existed as a studio ensemble, radio orchestra and a road outfit, although the personnel could vary. The band was heard three time a week on the radio show Club 15 until early 1953.

These recordings show a tight ensemble with talented soloists and excellent arrangements, many of them Milleresque. 

In the Mood

Jerry was in effect Decca's entry in the great Glenn Miller revival sweepstakes, contending with such Miller influenced bands as Ralph Flanagan, Ray Anthony and Tex Beneke. For his first LP, Decca chose to lead off with one of the most famous Miller hits, "In the Mood." Ironically, Gray didn't arrange the song for the Miller band, but he had done so earlier for Shaw.

The LP also includes several standards along with two of Jerry's compositions. One is "A String of Pearls," among the greatest tunes of the swing era. Here, he even includes Bobby Hackett's famous trumpet chorus from the Miller record, transcribing it for reeds. The second Gray original is "Desert Serenade," his band's theme song. Also in the album is "Minuet in G," based on a Paderewski piece.

These recordings all come from 1950, soon after Gray started recording for Decca.

LINK to In the Mood

Dance Time with Jerry Gray

Many big bands in the early 50s were at pains to distance themselves from the progressive jazz bands such as that of Stan Kenton by calling themselves dance bands. There were dancers on the cover of the LP above, and for this 1953 offering the title (and murky cover) made the link explicit. 

The songs include three Gray originals - "Oh! So Good," "Solid as a Stone Wall, Jackson," which I believe he wrote for Miller, and "A Pair of Trumpets," which features Pete Candoli and Mickey Mangano. There are two numbers by Jimmy Valentine - "One Stop Boogie" and "Tompkins Cove," Jerry's famed arrangement of "Begin the Beguine," his gloss on Sibelius' "Valse Triste" and his chart for David Rose's  "Holiday for Strings," first heard with the Miller AAF band.

The recordings date from 1950-53.

LINK to Dance Time

A Tribute to Glenn Miller

In August 1951, Decca had Gray in the studio to record eight numbers that he had arranged for Glenn Miller. Unlike the LPs above - which are composed of items also released on singles or EPs - this album was first issued as a 10-inch LP (along with the usual variants of a 45-rpm box and 78-rpm album).

Four of the eight songs are Gray compositions - "Jeep Jockey Jump," "Flag Waver," "Introduction to a Waltz" and "V Hop." Drummer Don Lamond is the emphatic soloist on "Flag Waver."

The other selections are Handy's "St. Louis Blues," Kalmar and Ruby's "Who's Sorry Now?", Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth's "Shine On Harvest Moon" and Larry Clinton's "The Dipsy Doodle."

I transferred this material from my set of the 45s many years ago and have revisited the sound for this post.

LINK to A Tribute to Glenn Miller

Jerry Gray in the studio in the 1940s, with tenor sax Al Klink and
clarinetist Hymie Schertzer. The pianist may be Bob Curtis. 

Christmas with Glenn Miller's AAF Band, 1943

The AAF Band led by Miller; Bobby Nichols on trumpet

Here from a long-ago bootleg is the 1943 Christmas Show presented by Capt. Glenn Miller and his Band of the Army Air Force Training Command. It's from the band's I Sustain the Wings radio program broadcast on NBC December 18, 82 years ago today.

Surprisingly, the show was not given over to Christmas material - although some did appear later in the program. Instead, the first song was Miller's instrumental "I Hear You Screaming," which won't make many Christmas playlists. Still, it's a vigorous start to the proceedings in an impressive performance by Miller's powerhouse crew.

Glenn Miller

Miller used a "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" gimmick for constructing medleys. For this program, the old number is "In the Gloaming" [not the later song "By the Fireside (In the Gloaming)" but the 19th century tune by Annie Fortescue Harrison]. 

Johnny Desmond

The new song is "For the First Time," sung by PFC Johnny Desmond, at the beginning of his career.

The "borrowed" item is "Stompin' at the Savoy," which was courtesy of Benny Goodman, who himself had borrowed it from Edgar Sampson. And the "blue" item is Peter De Rose's "Deep Purple."

Next, the band takes a break and there is a short playlet called "Johnny the Kid Next Door." It concerns the anxiety that Johnny, an Air Force mechanic, feels when the bombers he attends to take off on a run over continental Europe.

Desmond returns for "Along the Santa Fe Trail," written by Hugh Williams, Al Dubin and Edwina Coolidge for the 1941 film Santa Fe Trail. Miller's civilian band had recorded it with a Ray Eberle vocal.

Oklahoma! was a giant hit on Broadway in 1943, and Miller pays homage via Sgt. Jerry Gray's rocking version of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'," with a Crew Chiefs vocal - the lead, I believe, is Artie Malvin.

Glenn Miller and Jerry Gray

We now move into the holiday portion of the show, with the band playing "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells," "White Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas." The latter is not the song familiar to us, but a different, touching wartime ballad with a Desmond vocal.

The program closes with one of Miller's great hits - F.W. Meacham's 1885 march "American Patrol" in Jerry Gray's famous arrangement.

All in all, a fine program in very good sound, sourced from a long-ago bootleg.

FYI - there's more Christmas radio from World War II new on the singles blog: a set of the 1944 Christmas Seal radio spots.

LINK to Glenn Miller's AAF Band Christmas Show

The Almost Complete 'Orchestra Wives'

About eight years ago I prepared what I described as the "almost complete Sun Valley Serenade," which involved wrangling the soundtrack recordings to the Glenn Miller band's first movie. They had appeared piecemeal across a few different releases over the years.

Today I am doing the same for Miller's second and final film, Orchestra Wives, an uneasy amalgam of musical and melodrama, with a score just as glorious as the first Miller film. And again, the recordings have been cobbled together from several sources.

Meanwhile I've revamped and added to the Sun Valley Serenade post, which you can find here. The music from both films is available in sterling ambient stereo.

The primary sources for both films are the RCA Victor albums that came out in 1954, timed to the release of Hollywood's Glenn Miller Story, and the 20th Century Fox LPs that were issued about five years later. Each set contains materials that can't be found on the other. For this go-round, I've added an alternate take for each film, derived from a long-ago bootleg.

Here are the details of the Orchestra Wives recordings. This second Miller film comes from 1942, just a year after Sun Valley Serenade. The bandleader was to enter the Army soon after its completion. Two years later his plane disappeared over the English Channel.

The Orchestra Wives score opens with a brief version of Miller's theme, his own composition "Moonlight Serenade," heard over the titles. This is an alternate version that adds a swirling harp opening.

Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle and the Modernaires tighten their belts

Respecting its wartime setting, the next song, "People Like You and Me," is half sentiment and half patriotism, concluding with a "let's pitch in" stanza:

We'll have to roll up our sleeves, 

Tighten our belts,

But through the dark we'll see
The lady with the liberty light for
People like you and you and you,
And people like me,
People like you and me!

As with many Miller performances, what makes the song work so well is the brilliant arrangement (by Jerry Gray or George Williams) and the meticulous execution by the band and the vocalists - Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle, Tex Beneke and the Modernaires. The song itself is a highly professional effort by the stellar Hollywood team of composer Harry Warren and lyricist Mack Gordon. They also wrote most of the Sun Valley Serenade songs.

The next number is an instrumental, "Boom Shot," which the band plays at a dance in Iowa and which kicks off the plot. (Per a blog post by Miller expert Dave Weiner, the title relates to the overhead camera technique used during the sequence.) This is a Billy May original with a George Williams arrangement.

Pat Friday

"At Last" is one of the most enduringly popular songs in the Miller canon, not least because of Etta James' 1960 cover version. But the performance in the film is perfect in its own right. The song is one of Harry Warren's best, with a fine Mack Gordon lyric, and a powerful vocal by Pat Friday dubbing for Lynn Bari's viperish band singer. Friday's excellence is matched by Ray Eberle, in fine voice, the Modernaires, and a crack chart by Jerry Gray and Bill Finegan. (Miller at the time employed several famous arrangers - Gray, Finegan, George Williams and Billy May).

"At Last" was actually written for (and cut from) Sun Valley Serenade (available here), where Friday also dubbed for Lynn Bari. Her partner that time was male lead John Payne, who sang for himself but was no match for Eberle. The Orchestra Wives version is more romantic; it also has a slightly revised melody line.

"American Patrol" is a joyous swing march, an arrangement by Jerry Gray of F.W. Meacham's "American Patrol March" of 1885. As with all these songs, the playing is flawless.

Moe Purtill

"Bugle Call Rag," which dates from 1922, is from the New Orleans Rhythm Kings band book. This spirited version, arranged by Miller himself, has a feature for the band's flashy drummer, Moe Purtill.

"Serenade in Blue" is one of the Miller band's best known songs. Written for the film by Warren and Gordon, it receives an almost impossibly romantic treatment by Billy May and Bill Finegan, vocalists Pat Friday and Ray Eberle, the Modernaires, cornetist Bobby Hackett and tenor saxophonist Tex Beneke. This version from the RCA release is much longer than what is heard in the film; notably it has a moody instrumental opening that is a marked contrast with the balance of the song.

Following this swooning number is the jaunty specialty (also by Warren and Gordon) "(I've Got a Gal in) Kalamazoo." It was an entirely successful attempt to replicate the popularity of Sun Valley Serenade's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." Once again, Beneke is on the move to see a girl in another town, and again he is interrogated by the Modernaires in the process. Instead of "Hi there, Tex, what you say?" we get "Hi there, Tex, how's your new romance?" The performance is polished and the Jerry Gray arrangement is most effective.

The amazing Nicholas Brothers

As with "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," "Kalamazoo" was the basis of an extended dance sequence featuring the astonishing Nicholas Brothers. The extended version of the song, with the brothers' contribution, only appeared on the RCA Victor release.

Marion Hutton

Now for three songs that were cut from the film, but appeared on the later 20th Century Fox LPs. The first is a feature for Marion Hutton, a personable singer who was not quite as explosive as her sister Betty. "That's Sabotage" makes use of a wartime concern to admonish a wayward suitor - "If you've been untrue, that sabotage!" Hutton insists.

Glenn Miller and Chummy MacGregor

"Moonlight Sonata" is a Bill Finegan arrangement of Beethoven featuring pianist Chummy MacGregor and Beneke on tenor sax. It is better than the usual run of such things. Miller expert Dave Weiner says that it probably was meant as a feature for Cesar Romero, who played a pianist in the film. Miller had recorded a commercial version of the song in 1941.

George Montgomery, Cesar Romero, Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Lynn Bari

The final unused song was "You Say the Sweetest Things, Baby," a song that Warren wrote for the Alice Faye film Tin Pan Alley. Here, a subset of the Miller troupe parodies the overripe sound of a society band until it is interrupted by a raucous trumpet solo. Dave Weiner says this was apparently supposed to be the soundtrack of a scene in which trumpeter George Montgomery, the film's lead, interrupts a square ensemble with his hip playing. The trumpet you hear is Billy May.

To close the set we have an alternate take of "Serenade in Blue." This one has a different moody intro to the main melody, a modified arrangement and no vocals. Please excuse the noise and pitch wobble on this decades-old bootleg.

Why do I call this the "almost complete" Orchestra Wives? I believe there may be a snippet or two I don't have that can be found on a limited edition of the soundtrack.

Several of the musicians mentioned above have appeared elsewhere on this blog: arrangers Jerry Gray, Bill Finegan and George Williams, vocalists Pat Friday (here and here) and the Modernaires, cornetist Bobby Hackett and tenor saxophonist/vocalist Tex Beneke.

The photo below of the band on set shows three actors in place of the real musicians: Cesar Romero is at the piano for Chummy MacGregor, Jackie Gleason is on bass instead of Doc Goldberg, and George Montgomery is at the left in the trumpet section, replacing Johnny Best - who is in the photo as well.

The Marvelous Jo Ann Greer

Jo Ann Greer (1927-2001) was a talented artist whose work took place mostly behind the scenes - as a band singer and ghost vocalist for Hollywood stars. As such, she has never received the acclaim her skills should have ensured.

Today we have a good portion of the songs she recorded with several bandleaders, what may be her only single as featured artist, and several examples of her dubbing assignments for the movies. The single sides (and a few album cuts) number 19 in all, spanning 1952-55. These are supplemented by eight soundtrack vocals dating from 1953, 1957 and 1959.

I might as well state at the outset - as I sometimes do with these compilations - that Greer was not often given the best material. But even in the most ephemeral items, she shows remarkable presence, infallible rhythm and diction, excellent intonation, and a vibrato that she uses very effectively. Given good songs, she is extraordinarily impressive.

1952-55 Recordings

Jo Ann's recordings are almost all in a band context, where extroversion and projection were almost a necessity.

Her earliest records come from 1952 and the Sonny Burke band. The first item is "I Wanna Love You," a relentlessly repetitive riff that she shares with a pair named Hub and Hubbie, about whom I know nothing. (Update: reader lafong has discovered that the two were probably songwriters Don Raye and Gene De Paul.) 

The flip is "I'll Always Be Following You," an OK Bernie Wayne tune done in duet with Don Burke, an experienced band singer. Greer is confident and forthright even on her earliest records.

Sonny Burke and band

Burke was a mambo popularizer; his Mambo Jambo album has appeared here. Greer was the soloist on his "(Me with) Mambo on My Mind," built on a familiar riff. Hub and Hubbie assist.

The above records were for Decca, which soon had Greer record her first and (I believe) only solo single. For the plug side, she turned Kay Swift's rhythm number "Fine and Dandy" into an overwrought torch song, before increasing the tempo. "I Love to Hear a Choo Choo Train" is a novelty built on another familiar riff. It begins with the usual train effects. Peggy Lee's ex-husband, Dave Barbour, is the bandleader.

Jerry Gray

Jo Ann came into her own in two early 1953 songs with Jerry Gray, who didn't ask her to tackle novelties or mambos, or turn fast songs into slow ones. "My Heart Belongs to Only You" is a superb reading of a song that was making the rounds that year. "No Moon at All" is a great David Mann-Redd Evans song from 1947 that she does wonderfully.

At about the same time, Greer joined the Ray Anthony band for a short but productive spell. With her first number, "Wild Horses," she is back in novelty territory. The problem is not that she did this material poorly; rather, it's that it is poor material. The horse number is backed by "You're a Heartbreaker," a cover of a country ballad that's handled well.

Dick Stabile

Anthony recorded for Capitol, and while Jo Ann was on the rolls there, bandleader Dick Stabile borrowed her for his recording of "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street," which was Gene Austin's first hit, back in 1925. This is a beautiful reading, if you can tolerate Stabile's piercing alto. Coincidentally, Greer had dubbed the songs for Gene Austin's daughter, Charlotte, in the film Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder in 1952.

Stabile's recording credits go back to the 1930s, but most of his studio work was as the bandleader for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. You may know him at sight; he plays the bandleader for Rosemary Clooney's number "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me" in White Christmas.

Greer's final two recordings with Ray Anthony were her most successful on the charts. First was one side of a two-sided novelty smash. "The Hokey Pokey" and its discmate "The Bunny Hop," enlivened dances and wedding receptions for many years.  

Jo Ann's vocal charisma mightily contributes to the success of "The Hokey Pokey's" repetitive silliness. That's the bandleader calling out the bodily parts; his lack of presence sets off Greer's confident singing.

We're back in the 1920s for "That's My Weakness Now," which had been introduced by Betty Boop herself, Helen Kane. Greer could hardly be more of a contrast as she duets beautifully with Marcie Miller. This propulsive reading has a nice arrangement, too.

The Les Brown band with Jo Ann Greer, c1957

Later in 1953, Greer moved on to the Les Brown band, where she was to work for three decades. It's said that Sonny Burke recommended Greer to Brown. I believe that Jo Ann replaced the excellent Lucy Ann Polk, who has been heard on this blog with her family group the Town Criers and Kay Kyser.

Greer's first recording with Brown was Irving Berlin's "Sittin' In The Sun," which was written for White Christmas but not used. The song also was recorded by Frankie Laine at about the same time.

In September 1953, soon after Jo Ann joined Les' crew, the band recorded a live date at the Hollywood Palladium that Coral issued on two LPs, with one of her vocals on each disc. For the first, Brown programmed the oldie, "Back in Your Old Back Yard," scored by the talented Skip Martin. Les himself, along with his arranger Ben Homer, wrote the other song, "Sentimental Journey," his longtime theme that is also closely associated with his mid-40s vocalist Doris Day. Greer does it beautifully; she's a bit more extroverted than Day, as was her manner.

Let's move on the Les Brown singles from 1954. First is another train song, "Susquehanna Transfer," a very good swinger that Jo Ann does with a great deal of personality. Yet another is "Sentimental Train," a lovely tune once you get past the freight-train open, which arrangers seemed helpless to resist. The writer was Carroll Lucas, a former Sammy Kaye arranger.

"The Man That Got Away" is a Harold Arlen-Ira Gershwin song written for the latest iteration of A Star Is Born and made famous by Judy Garland, a star if there ever was one. Greer is not intimidated; she makes use of her vibrato here to give the song a great deal of passion. Band vocals don't get much better than this.

"Lullaby of Birdland" is a George Shearing standard from 1952 that the pianist wrote for the famous New York club. Shearing used the harmonies of Walter Donaldson's "Love Me or Leave Me." Brown's 1955 recording opens with an attractive sax chorus. Greer's vocals swing strongly. She could do it all.

Work for Films and Television

Jo Ann worked closely with Rita Hayworth on three films in the 1950s. In this set, we have recordings from two of them, Miss Sadie Thompson from 1953 and Pal Joey from 1957.

Jo Ann scaled her voice back when she did vocal doubling for the breathy Hayworth. Her projection is much less than she typically used in a band context, making her manner more confidential. "The Heat is On" in Miss Sadie Thompson and both of the Pal Joey tracks have voice introductions from Hayworth; you will notice how closely Jo Ann matches her voice to Rita.

The Sadie Thompson songs are good ones, written by Lester Lee and Ned Washington. The second is "Sadie Thompson's Song," sometimes called "The Heat Is On."

Pal Joey was a 1940 Rodgers and Hart show, recast as a Sinatra vehicle. Hayworth plays his foil Vera Prentice-Simpson, a former burlesque dancer, at least in the film adaptation. Hayworth's "Zip" number was inspired by the act of the "intellectual stripper," Gypsy Rose Lee. ("Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer last night. And I think that Schopenhauer was right.") "Zip" is mainly notable for its witty lyrics. The character's more enduring song is "Bewitched," which Greer sings wonderfully well.

In 1959, Jo Ann was enlisted for the vocals on an episode of a new televised crime drama, The Naked City. Her character is a young singer in New York; Greer dubs four George Duning songs with words by Ned Washington (again). The first two are good. "Somewhere, Wisconsin" provides the character's back story, and "Five Minutes After Forever" tells of her love for a young cowboy. The title of "Live Dangerously" provides all you need to know about it. And in the contrived "Solid Food, Solitude and You" she pledges to go off with the Westerner. All are nicely done, and Jo Ann, as always, is in great voice.

Jo Ann Greer

Elsewhere on this blog you can find the complete soundtrack LPs for Miss Sadie Thompson and The Naked City.

A few more Greer dubbing assignments, for Hayworth, June Allyson and Esther Williams, can be heard on YouTube, followed by a 1991 club appearance.

These recordings come from my collection and the Internet Archive. The sound is excellent in all cases. The download includes brief Cash Box or Billboard reviews of most if not all of the singles.

Jerry Gray - A Tribute to Glenn Miller

Of all the bandleaders who tried to assume the Glenn Miller mantle following Miller's death, Jerry Gray probably had the closest ties to Miller's music, having been one of his principal arrangers.

And so when Gray produced this "tribute to Glenn Miller" in 1951, it really was as much a tribute to his musicianship, for these are all his own arrangements, and four are his compositions.

While I believe that Gray had a touring band at one time, these recordings seem to have been made by studio musicians. The sides were made in three sessions a few days apart, and there was an almost complete turnover in personnel during that period. Not that you will be able to tell the difference between the groups - at least I can't - and to be sure the musicians are steeped in the style. The second group of personnel in particular is stocked with ex-Miller sidemen. (A roster is in the download.)

This is a notably well played and fairly well recorded collection that displays Gray's main stylistic trait - riff and variations. It's a formula that worked for Miller, and it sure works well here.

This transfer is from a unplayed store stock set of four 45s. Decca also issued the album as a 78 set and 10-inch LP.

Jerry Gray

Returning to my series of postwar big bands, here is a 1956 band led by one of the most famous of the swing band arrangers, Jerry Gray.

Gray first came to notice for Artie Shaw arrangements, including Shaw's biggest hit, Begin the Beguine. Shaw, always ambivalent about fame, disbanded that particular group in 1939, and Gray went to Glenn Miller. He proceeded to write many of that band's iconic numbers - Pennsylvania 6-5000, Sun Valley Jump and A String of Pearls - and arranged others - Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Elmer's Tune and Moonlight Cocktail. Many people think he invented the clarinet-lead Miller sound.

Miller of course died during the war, and later his estate set up an excellent Miller-themed band led by saxophonist Tex Beneke. Other bands also adopted the Miller sound, notably Ray Anthony and Ralph Flanagan (previously heard here). Gray himself used the "sound" at times; it can be heard on this LP on You Leave Me Breathless.

But Gray wasn't limited to that sound. His own identity was much more tied up with his compositions. His pattern was to start with a short melodic cell, repeat it, vary it, and then elaborate. If you are familiar with the Miller library, Pennsylvania 6-5000 is a good example of this pattern. Here, his band theme, Shades of Gray displays the same approach, as does What's Your Hurry? (which begins with a reprise of Shades of Gray).

These sides were recorded in Hollywood in December 1956, with the following personnel:

Al Porcino, Carlton McBeath, Gene Duermeyer, Bill Mattison (tp) Jimmy Priddy, Bob Robinson, Dave Wells (tb) Med Flory (cl,as) Bob Thomas (as) Dave Madden, Bill Massingill (ts) Jack Dulong (bar,as) Ernie Hughes (p) Irv Edelman (b) Mel Lewis or Chiz Harris (d)

The recording was one of the first that Liberty made in stereo, and was assigned its second stereo number (the first was for Martin Denny's Primativa). It's an interesting example of early stereo. Despite the cover claims of multi-channel recording, it actually sounds quite simply miked and is not particularly well balanced. The stereo effect is not marked; tastes would soon change to favor directional stereo, with the stereo effect created in the mixing board using multiple mikes rather than through a realistic in-studio balance.

I'll probably be back later with the recordings that Gray issued in an attempt to capitalize on 1953's Glenn Miller Story.