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Vocalion once again raids the Decca archives to bring you another pair of fantastic albums by the famous Ted Heath Orchestra. Both originally issued in the early 1970s, the albums compiled herein show that after a quarter-century of existence the Heath orchestra had lost none of its legendary ensemble cohesion, swing and sheer fire-power. Long-time Heath associate John Keating provides the arrangements on Those Were the Days, in which the Heath orchestra swings its way through well-known numbers such as Tuxedo Junction, The Stripper, Girl Talk and Canadian Sunset. Roland Shaw, another long-time Heath associate, contributes the arrangements for Big Band Themes Remembered Vol.2. As the title suggests, the Heath band performs some of the tunes associated with several famous bandleaders. On offer are Count Basie’s One O’ Clock Jump, Charlie Barnet’s Skyliner, Claude Thornhill’s Snowfall, Benny Goodman’s Flying Home and Jimmy Lunceford’s Uptown Blues, among many others – all, of course, impeccably executed by the Ted Heath Orchestra.

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Trumpet maestros, German Horst Fischer and Belgian Bob Powels are accompanied by the Werner Müller Orchestra on the two albums compiled on this release. Originally issued in 1969, Goldene Trompete in Stereo features the virtuoso trumpet style of Horst Fischer as he interprets beautiful melodies including film themes such as Rififi, A Man and a Woman and a medley from the film Dr Zhivago alongside other contemporary material such as Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In from the ‘Hair’ musical, and Jim Webb’s Up, Up and Away. Bob Powel’s exhilarating trumpet playing is heard on Golden Trumpet Highlights from 1971. More films themes are on offer in his readings of, among others, The Windmills of Your Mind from ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’, Deguello from ‘ Rio Bravo ’ and Once Upon a Time in the West as well as popular numbers such as I Dream of Naomi and Butterfly. Werner Müller’s fabulous arrangements provide the perfect accompaniment for these two superb soloists.

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Werner Müller makes his second appearance in Vocalion’s February 2008 releases, with two albums that prove that this orchestral maestro could also swing with the best of ’em! The first album compiled on this release is A Salute to the Kings of Swing, in which Müller and his big band inject new life into numbers such as Duke Ellington’s C-Jam Blues and Erskine Hawkins’s Tuxedo Junction. More of the same is on offer in Original Glenn Miller Sound, which focuses on the music of the swing era icon, with Müller and his men making classic numbers such as Pennsylvania 6-5000, A String of Pearls, Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug and many others swing like the clappers. Essential listening for all who appreciate the finest in big band sounds.

CDLK 4363Muller Mueller Müller

The big band sound (with strings) of the Frank Chacksfield Orchestra is featured on this release, which compiles two of his mid-1960s Decca ‘Phase 4’ albums. The common factor here is music drawn from the worlds of television and film. In All Time Top T.V. Themes, Frank applies his usual stylish approach to classic TV signature tunes such as Nelson Riddle’s Route 66, Jerry Goldmsith’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E and Doctor Kildare, Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn and Earle Hagen’s theme from The Dick Van Dyke Show. Music from Doctor Doolittle sees the Frank Chacksfield Orchestra performing songs from Leslie Bricusse’s charming score for the film of the same name. Frank and his musicians create spellbinding instrumental renditions of songs including Talk to the Animals, Beautiful Things, Fabulous Places and Where are the Words, and on I Think I Like You are joined by vocalist Jackie Lee.

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The big band of Cyril Stapleton is heard to superb effect in this Volcalion release, which compiles two of his Decca albums from the late 1950s and early ’60s. Both originally recorded for the American market and issued in the UK on Decca’s Ace of Clubs subsidiary, The All-Time Big Band Hits features solos by tenor saxophonist Don Rendell and trumpeter Bert Courtley on many of the tracks. Cyril leads his band through exciting treatments of several staples of the swing era including Erskine Hawkins’s Tuxedo Junction, Charlie Barnet’s Skyliner, Sy Oliver’s Opus 1, Basie’s One O’Clock Jump and the Goodman classic Stompin’ at the Savoy. From two years later is Top Pop Instrumental Hits, featuring arrangements by Ralph Dollimore and Reg Owen, the latter a founder member of the Ted Heath Orchestra. Indeed, Stapleton’s band covers Manhattan Spiritual, which provided Reg’s own orchestra with a big hit in 1959. The remaining tracks, with the exception of the Theme from ‘A Summer Place’, are a varied selection of British and American chart hits from the 1950s, all arranged and performed in the inimitable Stapleton manner. They include Swingin’ Shepherd Blues, Mack the Knife, Moonglow and Theme from ‘Picnic’, Canadian Sunset and more.

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Ted Heath is back again on Vocalion, and this time we present two of his best, not to mention most popular, albums from his Decca ‘Phase 4’ discography. Ted’s legendary band is on top form in both volumes of Swing is King, and they indeed swing with all the precision, firepower and grace that made the Ted Heath sound world-famous. This is apparent in all of the twenty-four tracks on this release, but particularly so in numbers such as Flying Home, Cherokee, Take the ‘A’ Train, Intermission Riff, Jersey Bounce, Opus 1, South Rampart Street Parade and Skyliner. If these albums are anything to go by, Ted Heath and His Music really were the Kings of the Swingers!

N.B. This is the first time both of these albums have been reissued together in complete form.

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