Drummer Michael Berkowitz brings back the sound of Gene Krupa and his orchestra on this intriguing set. Unlike too many of the swing big-band recordings of the past 40 years, this program does not have solos that are mere re-creations of the original recordings (although Steve Hawk does play tribute to Roy Eldridge on "Rockin' Chair"). The arrangements are mostly transcriptions from the recordings but occasionally they are opened up a little. One could certainly imagine this band stretching out much more on some of the ...
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Drummer Michael Berkowitz brings back the sound of Gene Krupa and his orchestra on this intriguing set. Unlike too many of the swing big-band recordings of the past 40 years, this program does not have solos that are mere re-creations of the original recordings (although Steve Hawk does play tribute to Roy Eldridge on "Rockin' Chair"). The arrangements are mostly transcriptions from the recordings but occasionally they are opened up a little. One could certainly imagine this band stretching out much more on some of the songs. Quite interestingly, the orchestra sounds as much like Krupa's 1946-1947 slightly boppish big band than it does his famous 1941-1942 version with Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge. Annette Sanders shows plenty of spirit in her five vocals (which include a rousing "Boogie Blues") and Mike Tomaro on tenor fills in for Charlie Ventura on "Stompin' at the Savoy." Otherwise the soloists are unfortunately not identified. Mike Berkowitz does a fine job of sounding like Krupa on the famous charts. This enthusiastic set is much more rewarding than most of the more predictable swing re-creation projects and is quite fun. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi
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