Jazz Articles

The Les Brown All-Stars: Mike's Peak

by Jack Bowers
June 20, 2006

The Les Brown All-Stars are actually three groups--the Dave Pell Octet, Ronny Lang Saxtet and Don Fagerquist Nonet--comprised for the most part of members or alumni of Brown's popular and long-lived Band of Renown and encircling on this anthology from the mid-'50s three numbers by Zoot Sims' older brother, trombonist Ray, with string section. Pell's group, the precursor of the others, is heard on eight tracks, Fagerquist's on four, Lang's on three.

Pell, who joined Brown's band in 1948, formed ...