Harry James was, along with many other more well known artists of the WWII era, (i.e. Glenn Miller,Tommy Dorsey) a pioneer of swing in its rawest form. The basic foundations of his blues inspired compositions have been the baseboard of jump jivin' dance hall swing that is heard all over the radio today and emulated by modern artists such as the Stray Cats and a myriad of Rockabilly groups heretofore and everything in between.
James took this genre to the nth degree, and went all over the map with it, but never becoming blase or redundant. He had an inimitable knack for composing low-slung bluesy trumpet laden instrumentals right alongside jazz infused swinging jump jive. James' music inspired more than this wonderful musician was ever given credit for, and any lover of the swing era would be amiss to not listen to, and discover what this amazing musician gave to us.
This 22 track collection features some of his live radio big band recordings with guest vocalists.
