Trumpeter and bandleader Harry James was one of the most important, successful and influential personalities of the swing and big band era, his unmistakable bravura trumpet style providing an inspiration and benchmark for trumpeters across the jazz and orchestral genres. He was hugely popular on radio, as a live attraction and on record with his music not only appealing to cutting edge jazz and big band enthusiasts, but also, through his recordings of sweeter orchestral material, featuring the many male and female vocalists who launched their careers with his bands, capturing a wider audience to achieve a remarkable string of big-selling hits from his debut as a bandleader in the late 30s right through into the 1950s just before the dawn of the rock n roll era.

This great-value 71-track 3-CD set comprises just about all his records which featured in one form or another of the charts during his career, including the few that were listed as being Top 10 hits before the launch of the record sales charts in Billboard in 1940, and those which featured thereafter in one or other of the published Billboard charts or related listings. It naturally includes his No. 1 hits Sleepy Lagoon, I Had The Craziest Dream, I've Heard That Song Before, Ill Get By, I'm Beginning to See the Light and It's Been a Long, Long Time. Among the featured vocalists are Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Helen Forrest, Kitty Kallen, Johnny McAfee, Buddy DeVito, Betty Grable, Willie Smith, Ginnie Powell, Marion Morgan, Art Lund and Dick Williams, and it also includes Harrys 1950s hits with Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney. Its a hugely entertaining overview of the commercially successful output of one of the great stylists and innovators of the big band era.

REVIEWS

"71 tracks comprise just about all of the band's chart entries and the usual high production standards of Acrobat are very much in evidence here, with the personnel listing as part of the discography and a lengthy essay by Paul Watts" Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 323)

“Acrobat has assembled a first-rate 3CD package of almost all the trumpeter’s major hits from 1938-1953. **** - Alyn Shipton (Jazzwise Issue 238)

“This is not the ‘hot’ James. It is the James of the starry hits and the big band vocalist but, if you like quality singing and superb musicianship, then this is for you. A nostalgic walk down Memory Lane…” – John Martin (The Jazz Rag Issue 155)

“The impeccable sources of Tom Lord’s Jazz Discography and Joel Whitburn’s research into Billboard listings of best-selling records form the backbone of the impressive 34-page booklet which accompanies the package. The excellent notes compiled by Paul Watts appraise each recording and set them in context within the broad sweep of the eventful years under review. I would heartily recommend this album to all lovers of Big Band Swing, and those, who, like me, were once persuaded that Harry James’ musical roots were more firmly planted in circus exhibitionism than jazz. Nothing could be further than the truth.” – Trevor Bannister (Just Jazz Issue 251)

“There are lots of James compilations out there but I found nothing to complain about here.” – Brian Morton (Jazz Journal March 2019)