Harry James And His New Swingin' Band

 

M Squad Theme

Harry James

And His New Swingin' Band

Cover Photo by Garret-Howard

MGM Records SE3778

1959

From the back cover: It's Harry James – And His New Swingin' Band – an instrumental aggression of solid, dunning virtuosity and a sound all its own. This is one of the greatest bands the memorable Mr. James has ever lead – a band with all the flawless perfection one has always associated with the James name, yet a band that has a fabulously new atmosphere and spirit to it. And, the band has a whole flock of new arrangements and "originals" of tempting cut to showcase its versatility.

This album gathers together some oft the best of these new James "Band book" items, selected on the basis of audience reaction in actual performance. For several months, during a series of appearance at The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and in scores of concerts in ballrooms and at colleges through the country, James kept carful tabs on exactly which selection appealed most consistently to a widely-varied spectrum of listeners. The results of this personal poll are the line-up which makes ups this splendid album – a James "first," by the way, on M-G-M Records.

Here, you'll find Shiny Stockings, an "original" which James describes as "a bandstand favorite," one of those nmners which draw crowds from the dance floor up to a listening gathering around the stage. There's Slats, another "Original" that's "a favorite in big city ballrooms," and Walkin', a creation that's "a college prom favorite." From the realm of TV jazz themes comes a great arrangement of Count Basie's M-Squd Theme. S to standards, there are delightfully inventive James stylings of Irving Berlin's How Deep Is The Ocean, Duke Ellington's great, ever green "oldie" Cotton Tail, Peter DeRose's Deep Ourole, and Too Close For Comfort from the Broadway hit, "Mr. Wonderful." And, there's fabulous listening fare on tap in Blue Like, Kingsize Blues and Get Off The Stand – three pulsing "originals" penned by Harry James and Ernie Wilkins.

From Billboard - August 17, 1959: James and crew have a fine big band album that can hit the spot with terp fans or those who like the mildly swingin' sound for listening. In addition to a group of standards and some newer show tunes, the set contains some originals, co-cleffed by the orkster. Stereo enhances the over-all appreciation of the set. Tunes include "M-Squad Theme," "Too Close For Comfort" and "Get Off The Stand." Good prospects.

Shiny Stockings

How Deep Is The Ocean

Slats

Blues Like

Cotton Tail

Too Close For Comfort

Kingsize Blues

M-Squad

Deep Purple

Walkin'

Get Off The Stand