Radio Days, Vol. 17: Mustermesse Basel 1953, Pt. 1 in Bloomington, MN

Vibraphonist
Lionel Hampton
came to Europe in 1953 with a cast of future bandleaders and star soloists, including trumpeters
Art Farmer
,
Clifford Brown
, and
Quincy Jones
(who doubles on piano, as
Dodo Marmarosa
failed to make the trip); trombonists
Jimmy Cleveland
and
Buster Cooper
; alto saxophonist
Gigi Gryce
; and drummer
Alan Dawson
. This 1953 concert is the first of two CDs issued by
TCB
decades after it was recorded for broadcast by
Swiss Radio
. Unfortunately, the liner notes don't identify any of the soloists, though
Hampton
takes the lion's share of the spotlight in this extroverted set, including favorites from his days with
Benny Goodman
(
"How High the Moon,"
"Honeysuckle Rose,"
"Summertime"
) and the inevitable crowd-pleaser
"Flying Home."
This volume documents one of
's most promising big bands of the latter part of his career, one that wasn't well documented on record. ~ Ken Dryden