His Hollywood Allstars

Georgie Auld and His Hollywood All Stars made a series of spiffy recordings during the autumn of 1955 and the spring of 1956 at the Capitol Studios on Vine Street in Hollywood, CA, using swank arrangements by Billy May. "Swank" is an apt descriptor for the sound of this band; the word has been traced back to the Middle Dutch "swanc" which translates as "supple"; there is also a link with the Old High German word "swingan" meaning "to swing." Billy May liked to employ dramatic flourishes and brusque, brassy maneuvers, with dazzling blasts from the trumpets and beefy bursts from the tenor and baritone saxophones over long deep basement tones from the trombones. Auld seemed to revel in this kind of a setting; the '50s were the golden age of showy sax with glitzy accompaniment. One prevailing rhythmic device was the "dip," a favorite formula for Earl Bostic that was soon being utilized by Jimmy Dorsey and dozens of popular saxophonists, including Boots Randolph. Kindred bandleaders who carried on in similar fashion during the '50s were Les Brown, Charlie Barnet, Billy Vaughn, Les Elgart and Henry Mancini. Georgie Auld and His Hollywood All Stars included Maynard Ferguson, Si Zentner, Frank Rosolino, Willie Smith, Babe Russin, Barney Kessel and André Previn. Showy, campy and at times rather explosive, this music is guaranteed to wake everyone up and maybe activate a latent sense of humor. ~ arwulf arwulf|