Moonlight In Vermont
Tommy Dorsey
© 19__ - Tring International PLC / mcps
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Moonlight In VermontTommy Dorsey© 19__ - Tring International PLC / mcps |
Tracks • Artist Info • Discography
Born November 19, 1905, in Shenandoah, PA. Died November 26, 1956, in Greenwich, CT.
Whether teamed with brother Jimmy as part of the Dorsey Brothers, or leading his own band, Tommy Dorsey was one of the most successful and important figures of the big-band era. (His orchestra was also the first to truly develop the young Frank Sinatra as a vocalist.) A trombone player possessing an amazing command of tone, Dorsey could let out all the stops on hot swing or play sweet and cozy on sentimental ballads. During the early '20s, Dorsey and older brother Jimmy co-led such groups as Dorsey's Novelty Six and Dorsey's Wild Canaries before hiring on with Jean Goldkette's orchestra and then with Paul Whiteman. Billed as featured soloists with Whiteman, the brothers began cutting popular swing records as the Dorsey Brothers in 1928, but didn't form their own outfit until 1934. Packed with talent (Bunny Berigan played trumpet, Glenn Miller wrote arrangements and played in the horn section), the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra was wildly popular with swing fans and musicians alike. However, the intense sibling rivalry between the Dorseys (hot-headed Tommy and perfectionist Jimmy) resulted in creative disputes, constant quarrels, and even fistfights. Their 1935 split was inevitable. Jimmy kept their established band, and Tommy took over an excellent orchestra from retiring bandleader Joe Haymes. (He also appropriated their joint hit "In a Sentimental Mood" as his theme song.) The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra employed several top jazz musicians through the years (Alex Stordahl, Buddy Rich, Yank Lawson, Charlie Shavers, and Bud Freeman among them), but it's best known for its famous vocalists. Sy Oliver, Jack Leonard, Jo Stafford, and Connie Haines all cut hits with Dorsey, but with young Frank Sinatra at the mike, his orchestra truly hit the big time. Sinatra had already hit with the Harry James Orchestra, but it was with Dorsey's outfit that he developed his unique breathing technique--which led to the sensual interpretive style that drove bobbysoxers wild. With a string of monster hits, Sinatra and Dorsey established each other as major stars. When Sinatra left in 1942, Dorsey replaced him with Dick Haymes, causing fans to argue over which was the greater vocalist. (It's a moot point today.) During the war years, Dorsey expanded his orchestra to include string sections and vocal choirs for his increasingly ballad-heavy style. In his spare time, he cut solid jazz with a changing core of musicians called Tommy Dorsey and the Clambake Seven. Dorsey's popularity continued into the post-war years, but during the early '50s, the big-band decline began affecting him, too. In a stroke of publicity genius, he reunited with brother Jimmy (whose own band had folded in 1953) to play nostalgic dance-band music. Their reunion earned much publicity and resulted in their hosting Jackie Gleason's Stage Show, where they introduced the nation to yet another singer destined to become a pop icon, Elvis Presley. After Tommy Dorsey died in 1956, brother Jimmy followed seven months later. Subsequent editions of the band, billed as The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the Direction of Sam Donahue, toured with another familiar name, Frank Sinatra Jr. You [Rating: 2.0] (Pro Arte, 1990); Harlem Lullaby [Rating: 3.0] (Hep, 1994); Live in the Big Apple [Rating: 2.5] (Magic, 1994); NBC Bandstand 8/2/56 [Rating: 2.5] (Canby, 1995); Live in the Meadowbrook [Rating: 2.0] (Jazz Hour, 1995); Mood Hollywood [Rating: 3.0] (Hep, 1996); Opus No. 1 [Rating: 2.5] (K-Tel, 1996); Dorsey-itis [Rating: 3.5] (Drive Archive, 1996); Stage Show [Rating: 3.0] (Jazz Band, 1996); Dorsey Brothers, Vol. 1--New York 1928 [Rating: 3.5] (Jazz Oracle, 1997); Dorsey Brothers, Vol. 2--New York 1929-1930 [Rating: 3.0] (Jazz Oracle, 1997); 1954-1956 [Rating: 2.5] (Pmf Music Factory, 1997)
Source: MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening
For decades Tommy Dorsey's name stood for supreme excellence of trombone playing. His superbly polished and lyrical style could present a melody as movingly as any singer, and in fact was a model for many singers (most notably Frank Sinatra) as well as for other trombonists. He was more than competent in the jazz style current during the 1920s (he was an admirer of Miff Mole) and recorded with some of the best-known artists of the time but, in the swing era, the ballad was his personal medium. As leader of one of the best-known big-bands of the 1930s and 1940s, Dorsey was known as "the sentimental gentleman of swing." His father, originally a coal-miner, was a self-taught musician who eventually taught music in Lansford, Pennsylvania and became a band-master. He taught Tommy both trumpet and trombone. In Lansford, Tommy, his brother Jimmy (destined to be another of the big-band era greats), and their father formed several bands in which Tommy apprenticed (starting with the Way Back When band, which evolved into Dorsey's Novelty Six and then Dorsey's Wild Canaries). By 1925 Tommy was in much demand for freelance radio and recording work with Paul Whiteman, Vincent Lopez, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Nathaniel Shilkret, Rudy Vallee, Victor Young, and others. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he also co-led several bands with his brother Jimmy. In 1935 he split with Jimmy and formed his own band, which eventually became one of the groups defining the big-band era. The critic George T. Simon thought that "Dorsey's must be recognized as the greatest all-round dance band of them all." Although he was known for his ballad style, Dorsey and his band also created their share of classic big-band swing arrangements (with those of Sy Oliver being the most outstanding). His recording of Pine Top Smith's "Boogie Woogie" was a huge success, as were later recordings of "Well, Git It!" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street." Dorsey's band always included at least a few top jazz performers, such as Buddy Rich, Dave Tough, and Louis Bellson (drums); Peanuts Hucko, Johnny Mince, and Buddy DeFranco (clarinet); Ziggy Elman, Bunny Berigan, and Yank Lawson (trumpet); and Joe Bushkin (piano). He nurtured a number of vocalists who went on to outstanding careers on their own: Sinatra, of course, but also Dick Haymes, Bob Eberly, Connie Haines, Jo Stafford, and the Pied Pipers. Because of its prominence among the big bands, the Dorsey band was showcased in at least nine feature films including A Song Is Born and The Fabulous Dorseys. His accidental death in 1956, at age 51 (he choked in his sleep), took Dorsey off in his prime, and he was much mourned by trombonists of all stripes (Count Basie's jazz trombonist said, "I've never heard enough praise for him. It's really been disgusting since he died.") and by big-band fans. A Dorsey "ghost band"--first led by trombonist Buddy Morrow, later by Warren Covington, and now by Larry O'Brien--has continued to present the Tommy Dorsey sound. Orchestra, many of them on import labels. Having a Wonderful Time [Rating: 4.5] (RCA, 1940/1994, prod. Rolf Enoch) features a small group called the Clambake Seven from within the Dorsey band, on recordings made between 1935 and 1940. The 16 tracks comprise mainly jazzy versions of pop tunes, with many fine solos by the likes of Max Kaminsky, Bud Freeman, and Johnny Mince, and showing Dorsey in his best jazz style which was closely tied to Dixieland. "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'" and "Chinatown, My Chinatown" rollick nicely, and a gentler mood pervades "Head on My Pillow" (with Bunny Berigan, Buddy Rich, and Joe Bushkin and a smooth vocal by a very young Frank Sinatra) and "Don't Be a Baby, Baby," which offers a very rare vocal by arranger Sy Oliver and a backing that includes Charlie Shavers, Ziggy Elman, and Buddy DeFranco. The Best of Tommy Dorsey [Rating: 5.0] (Bluebird, 1992, prod. Steve Backer) provides an agreeable sampling of the full band's developing styles between 1936 (Royal Garden Blues) and 1944 (Opus One), with Dorsey featured mainly in his ballad mode. The 15 tracks include some of the numbers that established the band's reputation ("Marie," "Song of India," "Boogie Woogie," "Who?") and also some of his later hits ("Opus One," "Yes Indeed," "Star Dust," and "I'll Never Smile Again").
Source: MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide
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