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SAUTER-FINEGAN ORCHESTRA OUR CLASSIC ALBUMS PLUS
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AMSC1246 (5 albums)
CD 1
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
New Directions In Music
Doodletown Fifers (3:16)
April In Paris (3:00)
Midnight Sleighride (3:00)
Rain (2:45)
Azure-Te (Paris Blues) (3:34)
Stop! Sit Down! Relax! Think! (2:44)
Moonlight On The Ganges (2:49)
When Hearts Are Young (3:10)
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
The Sons Of Sauter Finegan
Back In Your Own Backyard (3:15)
I Surrender Dear (2:58)
Street Of Dreams (3:33)
Lip Service (2:52)
Two Bats in A Cave (2:16)
Mad About The Boy (4:11)
Over The Rainbow (4:02)
Non-Identical Twins (2:27)
Easy To Remember (3:59)
Nip And Tuck (3:06)
Fascinatin’ Rhythm (3:25)
Procrasination (3:16)
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra/ Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Concerto For Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra
Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra (17:11)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: [81:20]
CD 2
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
Adventures In Time
The Jukes Family Takes A Holiday (2:24)
E=MC2 (3:03)
Time Machine (3:22)
World Without Time (4:39)
The Minute (3:17)
The Stone Age (3:40)
Whoo Doo Voodoo (4:59)
A Chinese Painting (6:13)
Abstraction (2:50)
Kinetic Energy (2:49)
Swingcussion (2:46)
Roulette-P.S. He Lost (0:36)
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
Memories of Goodman & Miller
Little Brown Jug (3:12)
Sunrise Serneade (3:12)
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto (3:14)
Swing Low Swing Chariot (3:24)
Moonlight Sonata (4:07)
Song Of the Volga Boatman (3:31)
Benny Rides Again (4:45)
Soft As Spring (3:12)
Clarinet A La King (3:19)
Ramona (2:52)
Superman (4:32)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: [80:53]
Many fabulous big-bands came out of the swing era, and one of the most innovative was the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, a talented group that came along rather late and stayed for five years. Eddie Sauter (1914-1981) was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career playing trumpet and writing arrangements for Red Norvo’s band. He continued as an arranger for Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and Ray McKinley. Bill Finegan (1917-2008) was born in Newark, New Jersey and played piano with his own trio before arranging music for Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. In 1952, Eddie and Bill combined their talents and created the 21 piece Sauter-Finegan Orchestra. Due to the creative skills of the two arrangers, the band became known as one of the most unusual and inventive big bands of their time. The arrangers added different instruments to the traditional big-band roster, including the celeste, timpani, marimba, harp, recorder, glockenspiel, oboe, English horn, tuba, piccolo, kazoo, and toy xylophones, to create a rich, varied and intriguing sound. This 2-disc set features 43 numbers from four of their albums. Their first album, New Directions In Music, was recorded between May and September, 1952 and featured a swinging brass march called Doodletown Fifers, their version of a Civil War tune called Kingdom Coming and the Year of Jubilo. It featured trumpeters Joe Ferrante, Nick Travis and Bobby Nichols, with Bill Harris and Vern Friley on trombones, and Al Kink on flute. The tune went on to become the band’s theme song and one of their biggest hits. Another popular number from that album wasMidnight Sleighride, a lively arrangement of Prokofiev’s Troika, from the 1934 film Lieutenant Kije, and featured Bill Finegan imitating the sound of horse’s hooves by pounding on his chest. In January 1955 the band recorded an album called The Sons of Sauter Finegan, a tightly-arranged mix of tunes led by Back In Your Own Backyard, first recorded by Ruth Etting in 1928. The song features the marvelous baritone voice of trombonist Sonny Russo as lead singer, accompanied by the Eddie Sauter Choir. The song I Surrender Dear was first recorded by Bing Crosby in 1931. The band’s lovely instrumental version here features the amazing Joe Venuto performing on the marimba and vibraphone. The October 1955 album Adventures In Time featured a smaller 10 piece group, and the songs were primarily arranged around the percussion section, featuring Joe Venuto, Warren Hard and drummer Pete Dadderio. Al Block performs a delicate flute solo on the abstract numberWorld Without Time, and Ruth Yorke reads The Minute over a background of odd percussive rhythms and effects. The album Memories of Goodman & Miller was recorded between March and May of 1958 and provides new arrangements of hit songs by Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. Sunrise Serenade, written by Frankie Carle and Jack Lawrence, was first recorded by Glen Gray in 1939. Glenn Miller recorded it soon after, and added Moonlight Serenade on the flip side. The song features a nice solo by Chuck Russo on tenor sax and Phil Kraus playing bells.
An 8-page booklet is included with the two discs, and it has the notes from the original albums.
This is an outstanding collection of jazz tunes from one of the most creative big bands of their day. The sound quality is excellent.
Bruce McCollum