Sy Oliver & His Orchestra (1950 & 1957 Decca) _ Billy May & his Orchestra (1957 Capitol) - Jimmie Lunceford in HI-FI (LoneHill 2008)

Sy Oliver's biography by Scott Yanow
Sy Oliver's melodic yet sophisticated arrangements helped define the Jimmy Lunceford sound in the 1930s and modernized Tommy Dorsey's band in the '40s. A fine trumpeter (excellent with a mute) and a likable vocalist, Oliver made his recording debut with Zack Whyte's Chocolate Beau Brummels in the late '20s and also worked with Alphonse Trent. Joining Lunceford in 1933, Oliver was responsible for such memorable charts as "My Blue Heaven," "Ain't She Sweet," "Organ Grinder's Swing," and "'Tain't What You Do," among many others. It was a major blow to Lunceford when Oliver jumped at the chance to make a lot more money arranging and occasionally singing for Tommy Dorsey. The hiring of Sy Oliver was a major help for T.D. in getting Buddy Rich to join his band. Oliver's arrangement of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" was his biggest hit for Dorsey. After a brief attempt at leading his own orchestra in 1946, Oliver became a freelance arranger and producer for the remainder of his long career. As late as 1975-1980, he was regularly leading a band but Sy Oliver will always be best known for his classic Lunceford charts.



Billy May's biography by Richard S. Ginell
The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87.
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Sy Oliver & His Orchestra (1950 & 1957 Decca) _ Billy May & his Orchestra (1957 Capitol) - Jimmie Lunceford in HI-FI

This edition contains Sy Oliver’s complete LP The Original Arrangements of Jimmie Lunceford in Hi-Fi, plus nearly (12 of 15 tracks) all of the songs from Billy May’s LP Jimmie Lunceford in Hi-Fi.
These 1957 albums were made in tribute to Lunceford on the 10th anniversary of his death.

Includes 16-page comprehensive booklet!

01 FOR DANCERS ONLY 3:11
02 MARGIE 3:19
03 FOUR OR FIVE TIMES 3:09
04 DREAM OF YOU 3:40
05 AIN’T SHE SWEET 3:14
06 ORGAN GRINDER’S SWING 3:16
07 ‘TAIN’T WHAT YOU DO 3:08
08 MY BLUE HEAVEN 4:10
09 CHEATIN’ ON ME 2:53
10 BY THE RIVER SAINTE MARIE 2:59
11 I’M WALKING THROUGH HEAVEN WITH YOU 3:14
12 RHYTHM IS OUR BUSINESS 2:50
13 ‘TAIN’T WHAT YOU DO 2:59 (*)
14 UPTOWN BLUES 2:51 (*)
15 MARGIE 3:04 (*)
16 ANNIE LAURIE 3:05 (*)
17 FOR DANCERS ONLY 2:44 (*)
18 CHARMAINE 3:12 (*)
19 COQUETTE 3:10 (*)
20 WELL ALL RIGHT THEN 2:52 (*)
21 BLUES IN THE NIGHT 5:14 (*)
22 FOUR OR FIVE TIMES 3:06 (*)
23 CHEATIN’ ON ME 2:53 (*)
24 RHYTHM IS OUR BUSINESS 3:19 (*)

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Tracks 1-12:
SY OLIVER & HIS ORCHESTRA - The Original Arrangements of Jimmie Lunceford in Hi-Fi (1950 & 1957 Decca)


Featuring: Charlie Shavers, Bernie Glow, Taft Jordan, Paul Webster (tp), Frank Rehak, Henderson Chambers, Dickie Harris (tb), Howard Johnson (cl, as), Sam "The Man" Taylor (ts), Ernie Caceres (bar), Billy Kyle (p), Everett Barksdale (g), George Duvivier (b), Jimmy Crawford (d), Sy Oliver (arr, dir, vcl). New York, May 1950 & August 1957.

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Tracks 13-24:
BILLY MAY & HIS ORCHESTRA - Jimmie Lunceford in Hi-Fi (1957 Capitol) ( except three tracks of original session)

Billy May's Jimmie Lunceford tribute, first issued in 1957 as Great Jimmie Lunceford, is a hi-fidelity salute to the Mississippi-born and Memphis-raised African-American bandleader. May lent authenticity to the project by having ex-Lunceford bandmembers Dan Grissom, Willie Smith, Joe Thomas and Trummy Young stand in as vocalists.



Featuring: Pete Candoli, Mannie Klein, Mickey Mangano, Ollie Mitchell, Conrad Gozzo (tp), Trummy Young (tb, vcl), Si Zentner, Joe Howard, Ed Kusby, Dick Noel (tb), Willie Smith (as, bar, vcl), Wilbur Schwartz (cl, as), Joe Thomas (ts), Ted Nash (ts), Bob Lawson, Chuck Gentry (bar), Jimmy Rowles (p), Al Hendrickson (g), Joe Mondragon (b), Alvin Stoller (d), Dan Grissom (vcl), Sy Oliver (arr: 13-17), Billy May (ldr, arr: 18-24).
Hollywood, CA, May & June 1957.