Joe, your love of that particular configuration of the Shaw orchestra is well documented and I actually associate you with Artie Shaw, such is your dedication to that band, that era and that artist!  He'll be my next big exploration...

As for me, I'll cast my vote for Duke Ellington's 1940-1942 orchestra, also known as the "Blanton-Webster Band", becaue bass pioneer Jimmie Blanton and Tenor sax legend Ben Webster were among the featured soloists.  Composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn was also in this group, and he would stay with Duke until his death in 1967.  The Ellington-Strayhorn relationship was tremendous.  Never would there be such a gorgeously creative, symbiotic relationship in all of Jazz. What amazes me is the fact that some of these great players stayed with Duke for nearly fifty years (in the cases of Carney and Hodges) Also in that group:  trumpeter/violinist/vocalist(!) Ray Nance, Altoist Johnny Hodges (did anyone have a better tone on sax, ever?!?), A trombone section to die for; it included Lawrence Brown and Juan Tizol (valve Trombone and composer; "Perdido", "Conga Brava", "Moon Over Cuba") and the always- dependable Baritone sax of Harry Carney. While most bands had at best three or four soloists at the most, this band had eight to ten brilliant talents who took wonderful solos!  But it's always Duke's wonderful piano playing that thrills me the most.  This is the group I'm taking to that desert island with me... 

Ellington's notable compositions from this time frame:

Take the "A" Train, Jack The Bear, I Got it Bad (and that ain't good), Ko-Ko, Conga Brava, Concerto For Cootie, Cotton Tail,  Never No Lament (the instrumental version of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"), Harlem Air-Shaft , All Too Soon, Sepia Panorama, In A Mellotone, The Sidewalks Of New York, Flamingo, The Girl In My Dreams Tries To Look Like You,  Jumpin' Punkins, Blue Serge, After All, Bakiff, Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin', Jump For Joy, Rocks In My Bed, Raincheck, Chelsea Bridge, Perdido, The 'C' Jam Blues and My Little Brown Book!

Another thing about Ellington's band is that long after his contemporaries (that is, everyone else) stopped making anything "new", Duke kept on composing new, extended works and re-arranging his old ones.  So it was unlikely that an Ellington composition from 1932 would sound the same as that same composition in 1972.  Duke had the built-in advantage of actually being a composer, whereas the other bandleaders were not.  And if they were, they didn't even come close to what Duke had accomplished.

I know I shouldn't walk to far away from my little ol' pulp fiction corner, but I just gotta weigh in here.

It's gotta be Miller....no doubt about it.  Yeah, my musical depth ain't much, but let the band speak for itself:

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"...The new Miller band immediately attracted large audiences to their concerts and their records. Beginning in June 1938, Miller dominated the top spot on the various popular music charts for more than a year, with "In the Mood" holding the top spot for more than fifteen weeks at the beginning of 1940 and "Tuxedo Junction" taking over and keeping Miller at number one into the summer. From 1939 to 1942, his band was featured on a three times a week broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes. On February 10, 1942, RCA Victor presented Miller with the first ever gold record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo". His other popular hits included "A String Of Pearls", "Moonlight Serenade", and "Pennsylvania 6-5000" (which was, and still is, the real telephone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania) in Manhattan. By RCA accounting, the Glenn Miller Band had 22 recordings reach number one on the charts.

Many jazz critics of that time felt that Miller's rise shifted popular music away from the "hot" bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie. Miller himself emphasized orchestrated arrangements over improvisation, but he did leave a little room for his best musicians to improvise.

"[Glenn Miller’s] arrangements are inventive and refreshing. He never forgets the melodic line. He lets you recognize the tune." — New York Times, January 1940...."

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I'll go back to my corner now................................

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]   [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Ohhh. I can&#39;t. Well, not a definative choice.

But...I love Artie Shaw ("Traffic Jam" or "Nightmare" in particular); Duke Ellington in the 30s; for schmaltz, Jimmy Dorsey (prefer him to Tommy); for the earlier stuff...any of the Hot Five, or maybe one of Jack Teagarden&#39;s crews. It depends on my mood. For some reason, soloists, rather than bands, spring to mind. For sheer chutzpah, Mezz Mezrow, or one of those other crazy cats. Gotta say I&#39;m NOT a big fan of Miller. Urk. (But I&#39;ve got to give him credit--the Madonna of his day--he was a helluva businessman&#33;)

And maybe it&#39;s the classical background ("music is work") but I can&#39;t make myself get scholarly about this, I want it to be gut reaction. Maybe I can just blame that on the dancer in me&#33;

In my book it&#39;s Benny Goodman&#39;s outfit of 1935 to 1939. Other bands had been swinging crazy before Goodman&#39;s, but it was his started the swing era as we know it and how&#33;
The band always managed to blow the roof off with their high-energy music, sheer perfectionism, solid arrangements and legendary players like Harry James, Jess Stacy and Gene Krupa. How could someone stay still when the opening drum solo from Sing Sing Sing is being heard is beyond me. 
The trio and quartet were nothing to sneeze at either for they could swing as hard as the band and could also be sweet and mellow (Lionel Hampton&#39;s solo in "Moonglow" always makes me sigh).   

I&#39;m not much for describing musical thrills, but I tried. So there.

This thread must not fall&#33;  And Joe, I&#39;d like you to weigh in on the choices...wherever you are...

I&#39;d love to get into some Chick Webb, but the disc that I&#39;m interested in, entitled 1929-1934 is out of print and expensive to get used.  I&#39;m passing on the Proper Box set, because I would actually prefer Webb&#39;s instrumental sides, rather than the Ella vocals, so if there&#39;s something on disc anyone can recommend, I&#39;d like to know about it.

I should also mention the importance of Fletcher Henderson, where many BG arrangements started.

Funny thing about this retro stuff, as I am now backing into the early 1930s Swing, which I find to be less..I don&#39;t know... "flowery" and "sentimental" than the WWII-era music, which was flowery and sentimental for obvious reasons (loved ones overseas, etc.), but I&#39;m finding 1930s music to be grittier and "hotter."  I&#39;m just going nuts over the 1930s in general, I guess.

<!--quoteo(post=83047:date=Sep 21 2006, 05&#58;58 PM:name=SusieQT)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SusieQT &#064; Sep 21 2006, 05&#58;58 PM) [snapback]83047[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Funny you should say that, Marlowe- I&#39;m really getting into that stuff as well.  Mora&#39;s Modern Rhythmists just released an all-1920&#39;s album called "Devil&#39;s Serenade" that I can&#39;t wait to get.  I&#39;m sure Joe can enlighten us on some of the best songs of the genre, if he ever shows up...  [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Oh, and to keep us on topic, I&#39;d vote for MMR as the best new swing band of all time.

Agreed that they&#39;re one of the best groups out there, and that Dean and Kayre Morrison are really great people. And Dean will probably being a SF gig before long. Stay tuned.