Backgrounder: Urbie Green - Persuasive Trombone

In February 1960, trombonist Urbie Green went into Fine Recording Studios and recorded most of The Persuasive Trombone Vol. 1 for Command. The remaining four tracks were recorded in March 1961. The record label was formed in 1959 by Enoch Light and sold to ABC Paramount late that year. Light was a dance band leader, producer, engineer and founder of several record labels who became associated with jazzy easy-listening and big-band music geared to older listeners. Command, however, was uniformly brassy and swinging, largely to maximize the new stereo format. The album's sound was engineered by Robert Fine.

The band Green assembled featured New York's finest jazz studio musicians: Nick Travis, John Bello, Don Ferrara and Doc Severinsen (tp); Urbie Green and Bobby Byrne (tb); Gil Cohen (b-tb); Hal McKusick (as); Rolf Kuhn (as,cl); Eddie Wasserman (fl,ts); Pepper Adams (bar); Dave McKenna (p); Barry Galbraith (g); Milt Hinton (b) and Don Lamond (d). They played on At Last, Prisoner of Love, Dream and Moonlight Serenade.

On My Silent Love, I've Heard That Song Before, Stairway to the Stars and Let's Fall in Love, the band remained the same, except Gene Allen replaced Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone and Nat Pierce replaced Dave McKenna on piano. On the final four tracks—My Melancholy Baby, I Had the Craziest Dream, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You and I Can't Get Started—trombonist Eddie Bert was added.

The album is fabulous for its punchy arrangements (by Ernie Wilkins and Nat Pierce?) that updated swing-era classics and for the gorgeous, swinging tone of Green's lyrical trombone.

Here's the entire Persuasive Trombone of Urbie Green Vol. 1 without commercial interruption...