HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940-1941 | The Chronogical Classics – 1014 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Harry James cut 29 titles for the Varsity label during his one-year "banishment" from Columbia. The fourth installment in the Classics Harry James chronology documents 16 of these, recorded in May, July, and August of 1940. Here are good pickings for those who enjoy the crooning of Dick Haymes, as it was during this period that the vocalist really established himself. "The Nearness of You" is most certainly one of the best records that Haymes ever sang on, although much of the credit needs to go to the arranger, the band, and its leader. James' virtuosic adaptation of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Flight of the Bumblebee is stunning; the Don Redman-styled ensemble vocal on "Four or Five Times" is good clean fun; "Swanee River" picks up where Erskine Hawkins left off with it; and Jimmy Mundy's arrangement of Count Basie's "Super Chief" enabled James and company to swing like the dickens. "Exactly Like You" is among the best of the Varsity instrumentals; here James achieves the perfect balance between honest jazz and popular dance music. On January 8, 1941, Harry James and his orchestra resumed recording for Columbia, the label with which this trumpeter would work for the following 15 years. In addition to periodic ballads (and a weirdly miscast "Ol' Man River") sung by Haymes, Marge Gibson's arrangements and much of the material used by this band seem to have been designed to encourage dancing in public even by those who had little or no dancing ability. This is how and why at long last Harry James began to succeed as leader of a popular American dance band. arwulf arwulf  
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HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941 | The Chronogical Classics – 1052 (1999) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is the fifth installment in the Classics Harry James chronology. It presents all the studio recordings he made with his orchestra between late January and early May of 1941, beginning with a powerful instrumental jeremiad entitled "Eli Eli." Given the rise of violent anti-Semitism in Europe throughout the 1930s and its subsequent escalation into the Second World War, James was demonstrating admirable solidarity by composing and recording this very Jewish-sounding lament for a major record label. Its title is derived from "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?," a cry of despair from the 22nd Psalm, which Jesus of Nazareth is said to have uttered while being crucified by Italians. The logical segue from this moody piece into The Flight of the Bumblebee, "The Carnival of Venice," "Trumpet Rhapsody," and Chopin Waltz in C sharp minor is a rewarding treat for listeners who enjoy a bit of European classical infusion with their big-band swing. These recordings document an important turning point in the Harry James story; thanks to an idea put forth by producer Morty Palitz, his orchestra was now augmented by a skilled and not-too-sugary string quartet, with results comparable to those achieved by the viol-enhanced ensembles of Freddy Martin and Artie Shaw. The public went for this stuff in a big way, and James was soon enjoying unprecedented commercial success. Crooner Dick Haymes turns in half a dozen sweet vocals, including a cover of Una Mae Carlisle's magnum opus "Walking by the River," but most of these Columbia and V-Disc recordings are tastefully swung instrumentals. arwulf arwulf  
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HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941, Vol. 2 | The Chronogical Classics – 1092 (1999) FLAC (tracks), lossless

After two years of struggling to keep a big band together, on May 20, 1941, Harry James finally recorded the hit that made his orchestra world-famous, "You Made Me Love You." From then on his big band would become more and more popular each month, hitting its peak of popularity during 1942-1946. Also on Classics' sixth Harry James set (which continues the reissuance of all of his early recordings) are Helen Ward singing "Daddy" and such instrumentals as "Jughead," "Dodger's Fan Dance," "Record Session," and "Nothin'." Dick Haymes' nine vocals are of lesser interest but compensating are a trio of previously unreleased but intriguing instrumentals: "Arabesque," "Caprice Viennois," and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen." Scott Yanow
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HARRY JAMES AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1941-1942 | The Chronogical Classics – 1132 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On the seventh Classics CD reissuing all of Harry James' early recordings, the trumpeter and his orchestra are heard just before and two months after Pearl Harbor. James' ensemble was rapidly rising to the top of its field. During this period of time, Helen Forrest became James' female vocalist and on her second session with the band she recorded a big hit in "I Don't Want to Walk Without You." Forrest is also in excellent form on "But Not for Me," "I Remember You," and "Skylark." Dick Haymes also has a few spots; best is "You've Changed" and "You Don't Know What Love Is." But most enjoyable are such James instrumentals as "My Melancholy Baby," "B-19," "Strictly Instrumental," and "The Clipper." Since the Columbia label has never reissued all of James' recordings (just sticking to endlessly repackaging the same hits), this Classics series is quite valuable for swing collectors and Harry James fans. Scott Yanow
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