Pre-Order The Fabulous Dorseys (1947) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases

 

[Robin9]

I've never seen this film even though I've been a fan of Tommy Dorsey since my mid-teens. If the quality of the disc is good, I'll probably buy it. I assume the story is the usual type of fictionalised pseudo-biography Hollywood did so often in the 1940s.

 

[moviepas]

I've never seen this film even though I've been a fan of Tommy Dorsey since my mid-teens. If the quality of the disc is good, I'll probably buy it. I assume the story is the usual type of fictionalised pseudo-biography Hollywood did so often in the 1940s.

But in this case the subjects actually appear as themselves.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I always thought the Tommy Dorsey band was the best swing band ever, with the ability to go really hot when needed and to give wonderful pointed rhythm accents, such as the sly syncopation in songs such as 'Song of India', especially in live recordings. So maybe I'll be tempted, though I have very vague memory of seeing it aeons ago and being relatively bored. Does anyone here remember it well enough to give a quick evaluation?

 

[Bert Greene]

Tommy Dorsey's band always seemed more driving, more powerful. Yet I think individually, Jimmy was more creative as a jazz soloist, almost cutting-edge for a while in the late-20s/early-30s. The movie is indeed pretty much balderdash when it comes to history, and full of some hokey cliches (although not quite as bad as the Red Nichols biopic "The Five Pennies" which is really for the birds). Yet the music is excellent, and it's a great kick seeing Tommy and Jimmy playing themselves. I'm definitely getting the blu-ray, which will happily replace an old off-air VHS recording I have of the film.

I do also like the earlier Dorsey Brothers band, which recorded for Decca in 1934-35, before they had their tiff and broke up. Earlier on, there were also records made under their name, but these were 'studio band' pickups, not a working band. Some of these are often pretty good as well. I'm particularly partial to their 1929 Okeh recording of "Breakaway," which gives them both a lot of room to solo. Tommy used to also play trumpet back at this time, and he switches back and forth between it and trombone, as Jimmy goes between clarinet and alto sax solos. It's a fun, peppy jazz recording. Gosh, I love that sort of stuff.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I have some Dorsey Brothers stuff but mosly Tommy Dorsey, on CDs but also on a couple score 78s. I don't have the Okeh '
Breawaway' so I'll search it out. Sounds fun.
I think the ultimate Dorsey collection is called 'Well Git It!' on the Jass label. If you see it, git it. It's mostly live tracks, a lot of them Wartime era recorded in ballrooms in front of GIs about to venture to Europe or the Pacific. HIghlights include two amazingly hot versions of 'Well, Git It', one with Gene Krupa and one with Buddy Rich, a killer version of 'Heatwave' and a version of 'Song of India' which features the slyest syncopation you could ever hear ... very different than the standard 78 release.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I mentioned the Dorseys on 78s ... so you know the sort of sound I enjoy, here's a great Fats Waller track I recorded onto Youtube about 10 years back. Always great sound, as long as you remember the golden rule .. a new steel needle for every record. This is played on a 1928 Columbia UK portable gramophone, way superior to the main portable player competitors, HMV and Decca. This is way off topic but may be of interest given the vintage nature of the Dorseys!

 

[Bert Greene]

Yes, the big bands (and even smaller groups) always seemed looser and more vibrant in live airshots/remote recordings, playing for a big ballroom of dancers, as opposed to a sterile recording studio. They had more elbow room for jazz solos, and there was also a kind of symbiotic connection between the musicians and the dancers on the floor that seemed to propel the former.

Speaking to this point, I remember some quote by Duke Ellington in which he rather lamented when jazz music in the post-war years began switching to smoky basement venues where audiences just sat and cerebrally listened to the music. He and those old-guard jazzmen appreciated playing for dancing crowds in front of them, as it created a kind of energy bouncing back and forth between each other that they could sense. There was a special pulse to that equation. The post-war trend in the arts (many venues) to turn more psychologically inward undoubtedly allowed for greater aesthetic creativity for jazzmen on one hand, but something integral was also lost. At least, that's the way I've always humbly viewed it.

 

[Mysto]

I remember the Dorsey's TV show - Stage Show. It was a great show and the first national appearance of Elvis on TV. I wish someone would release those but I'm sure music rights will see it never happens.