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Raul Romero and His Jazz Stars Orchestra: Moon Trip 2000, 2nd Edition
by Jack Bowers
As the late Raul Romero is one of my favorite unsung big–band composer / arrangers, it saddens me to report that the second edition of Moon Trip 2000 by his Jazz Stars Orchestra is notably less pleasing than the first, which was reviewed about a year or so ago. The fault lies not with the music but with the annoying distortions caused by its apparently direct transfer from vinyl album to compact disc. The surface noise, particularly on the first ...
read moreRaul Romero and His Jazz Stars Orchestra: Moon Trip 2000
by Jack Bowers
In spite of its futuristic (and somewhat misleading) title, Moon Trip 2000 wasn’t recorded last year, or anywhere near it. Raul Romero, a splendid saxophonist and even better writer who logged time with big bands led by Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman, among others, before settling in Las Vegas in 1955, succumbed to a heart attack two years ago while vacationing in Mexico. Some time before that (it’s not clear exactly when) he invited a number ...
read moreSam Trippe and His Jazz Orchestra: Explosion!
by Jack Bowers
This reissue on Americatone by Sam Trippe's orchestra was recorded more than forty years ago, shortly before Trippe and his wife, Dorothy, were killed in an auto accident, which accounts for its LP—like 30:40 playing time. Trippe's ensemble was modeled closely on that of Woody Herman—not a bad model at all—and Trippe was convinced he had one of the world's greatest big bands. While that's hard to affirm—as Art Blakey once said, it's impossible to measure talent—he had a very ...
read moreThe Mark Masters Jazz Orchestra: Early Start
by Jack Bowers
I’d heard the Mark Masters Jazz Orchestra before and been disappointed — not by the orchestra itself but by the recording, which sounded dry and sterile, almost as though it had been recorded in someone’s closet or a telephone booth. This reissue on Americatone is much better, both sonically and aesthetically. Masters has fashioned his ensemble in the image of the wonderful Stan Kenton Orchestra, and the eight selections on this album were all composed and / or arranged by ...
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