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Begin the Beguine
by Artie Shaw
Product Group: Music
Studio: Prism
ISBN: B0000246LB
EAN: 5014293019606
Binding/Media: Audio CD
Release Date: 2001-02-06
SKU: AManPro-0002848
Condition: New
Comments: BRAND NEW! FACTORY SEALED! Ships Today with Free Delivery Confirmation! Satisfaction Always Guaranteed!
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Customer Reviews
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Artie's Last Touring 18 Piece Big-band; His Jazz Legacy
Rating  (4)
Date: 2001-11-12
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Recorded in December 1949-January 1950, this CD showcases what was Shaw's greatest full-time 18-piece band that toured the USA which oddly enough turned out to be his last of this size and dimension. Although this band had an entirely new library written specifically for it, (~70 new arrangements and original compositions), Shaw (somewhat grudgingly) also had to mix-in some of his more memorable arrangements from his past successes to satisfy requests at personal appearances. As a band that was primarily booked for dance engagements, there are also a few vocals included here as well. Therefore, the CD provides a fair representation of what you would have heard during the course of a single night's performance. The best tracks on the CD are of the new material- beginning with the new version of Shaw's theme song ("Nightmare"), "Gue-Le-Le" (aka "Afro-Cubana"), "Cool Daddy", "Innuendo", "Minnesota" (aka "Aesop's Foibles"), the remakes of "...Morning Sunrise" (originally from 1938), "Star Dust" (1940) and the two Gershwin tunes "'S Wonderful (1945) and "They Can't Take That Away From Me" (1945). -Few artists / bands have ever been able to express a Gershwin melody like Shaw and his various bands could. Also included are three new 'Grammercy Five' sextet recordings; "Cross Your Heart" (originally from 1940) and "The Grabtown Grapple" (1945) offer interesting variations to their earlier originals, as does the inevitable "Begin the Beguine" which closes the set. The only unfortunate aspect of the band was that by trying to cater to all musical tastes of the time, it was starting to become obvious that jazz, big-band and pop music were all going their separate ways by the time this band came about, and the band perhaps sub-consciously underscores this fact with its stylistically wide-ranging repertoire. Nevertheless, Shaw's clarinet performances throughout are stunning, particularly on "Innuendo" which shows he was inspired and obviously performing at the top of his form. Although this band was only in existance barely five months, Shaw fans will be grateful that Artie recorded it before it's demise, a most unfortunate casualty of the changing times and tastes of the listening / dancing public. The only negative is that it's just too bad that this band did not record more of what it had to offer.
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