Bobby Hackett & His Orchestra - At the Jazz Band Ball 1938-1940

2001 release

The two instrumentals from the first session, "At The Jazz Band Ball" and "That Da Da Strain", are typical Dixieland fare with interesting solos, especially from Pee Wee Russell. The other two sides, "You, You And Especially You" and "If Dreams Come True", are more commercially designed and have vocals by Lola Bard. The live version of "At The Jazz Band Ball" taken from a "Saturday Night Swing Club" broadcast, provides an interesting comparison with the one from the studio recording session and the solos are rather different, as one might expect from a jazz group.

"Blue And Disillusioned", with a nice vocal from Linda Keene, is the attempt for commercial success from the second session with two sides, "Ghost Of A Chance" and "Poor Butterfly", designed to show off Hackett's playing. The final side, "Doin' The New Lowdown", is more of a group jazz vehicle with good solos.Even as early as 1938 he had acquired a reputation for his ability to enhance the performance, not only by his discrete embellishments behind the vocal but his sympathetic solos as well. This dual ability is beautifully illustrated on Maxine Sullivan's "Night And Day".There are two outstanding Hackett performances on the standards, "Ain't Misbehaving" and "Embraceable You".Two sides with Hackett as leader have vocals and were obviously intended to strike a more commercial note but the two instrumentals, "Clarinet Marmalade" and "Singing The Blues", show Hackett at his best especially in his tribute to Bix Beiderbecke on the second of these - not that he recreates either the style or the sound of Bix but the flavour is certainly present.