This is the stuff that dreams are made of...
Mel Powell was the leader of the Uptown Hall Gang small jazz group in Glenn Miller's military band. He was able to set up this session with the Jazz Club Francais//French Jazz Club with the help of Yvonne Blanc. Powell came from the Benny Goodman Orchestra where he was pianist, composer and arranger with both the full band and the small groups. A lot of the tunes sound rather like BG's small groups but there's nothing wrong with that. What really sets this CD apart is the participation of Django Rienhardt on a number of the tracks. I'm sure that Ms. Blanc, secretary of the JCF, had something to do with making that happen.
It's not often that you get to hear two geniuses play together but here the dream comes true with Reinhardt and Powell. Powell is mostly forgotten or overlooked by today's jazz fans (he went on to have a carrer in classical music and was the only person to my knowledge that won both a jazz poll and a Pulitzer Prize for serious music) but he was really amazing back then. Too bad they couldn't have also gotten Michel Warlop on violin for this session to make it beyond amazing... (Joe Richards)
A wonderful addition to any collection of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band recordings. After Major Miller was lost during his flight to Paris, the Allied Expeditionary Force Orchestra went through a difficult time being without his leadership when they arrived in France. This is a recording of a group of the men from the band, getting together to record some tunes on their own time at a club in Paris. Originally, the recordings were released without disclosing who the band members were, and the fees they were paid helped bolster their Army Air Force pay. All cuts are excellent, and you'd never guess that this was music from the key Miller band members. The tunes are not Miller tunes, nor is the style. It reminds me a great deal of the Benny Goodman sextet's recordings of that era. It is a very refreshing find. (Sandy Hintz)
This is one of the best jazz recordings ever. The boys were lifting the morale of the army that had just helped win the war, and they were swinging. Ray McKinley (drums & leader) and his pals, Peanuts Hucko (reeds), Mel Powell (piano), Bernie Priven (horn) and Joe Shulman (bass) joined Django Reinhardt (guitar)at a little hot Paris jazz spot. It was magic. Ray was always considered the jazzman's drummer because he could really keep time. You can hear his solid beat driving the Dorseys, Glenn Miller and his own great bands. In this recording, his beat is subtle and true. Peanuts' clarinet puts Benny Goodman to shame with tone and riffs that are flights of fancy. Bernie's horn is perfection. Joe's imaginative bass helps Mac keep the boys together. And Mel's piano is not to be believed. His homage to Fats and Debussy is music for the ages. Even Django fans will cheer this album. But the true jazz treasure is the gift of Mac and the boys. (Jawn)
Peanuts Hucko
Personnel:Peanuts Hucko (clarinet, saxophone)
Carmen Mastren (guitar)
Ray McKinley (drums)
Mel Powell (piano)
Bernie Privin (trumpet)
Django Reinhardt (guitar)
Mel Powell
Tracklist:
01. How High The Moon (Lewis/Hamilton) 2.29
02. If Dreams Come True (Sampson/Goodman/Mills) 2.43
03. Beatin' The Hallelujah Drum (Youmans/Robin/Grey) 3.02
04. Stompin' At The Savoy (Sampson/Webb/Goodman/Razaf) 2.53
05. I Must Have That Man (McHugh/Fields) 3.00
06. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (Stept/Clare) 2.58
07. S' Wonderful (Gershwin) 2.41
08. Someday Sweetheart (B.Spikes/J.Spikes) 3.08
09. Blue Skies (Berlin) 2.45
10. Red Light (Powell) 2.47
11. You're Driving Me Crazy (Donaldson) 3.00
12. You're Driving Me Crazy 2 (Donaldson) 2.45
13. On the Sunny Side Of the Street (Hugh/Fields) 3.01
14. Hommage a Fats Waller (Powell) 2.37
15. Hommage a Debussy (Powell) 3.11
16. For Miss Black (Poor Miss Black) (Powell) 2.19
17. Don't Blame Me (Hugh/Fields) 2.54
18. Pennies From Heaven (Johnson/Burke) 2.38
19. One, Two, Button Your Shoe (Johnson/Burke) 2.38
20. At Sundown (Donaldson) 2.24
21. At Sundown 2 (Donaldson) 2.28
22. Stealin' Smack's Apples (Waller/Razaf) 2.35
23. Sugar (Pinkard/Mitchell/Alexander) 2.59
24. After You've Gone (Layton/Creamer) 2.45
25. Shoemaker's Apron (Hucko) 2.43
26. China Boy (Winfree/Boutelje) 2.41
ARMU 2196
ARMU 2196 (shareplace)