When
Tommy Dorsey
temporarily broke up his big band at the end of 1946, his star trumpeter
Ziggy Elman
decided to take the plunge and start his own orchestra; the only problem was that the big band era was over.
Elman
struggled on and off for five years but his swing band never did catch on. In 1947 his orchestra recorded radio transcriptions and this release (a CD reissue) has all of the titles, around 38 minutes of music. There are only four instrumentals among the 11 full-length numbers with many vocals by the somewhat forgettable
Virginia Maxey
and
Bob Manning
. The complete personnel is not given although there are short spots for tenor saxophonist
Johnny Hayes
and clarinetist
Clint Garvin
on
"Hub-Je-De-Bee."
However, other than the leader's trumpet (best heard on "Zaggin' with Zig"), this is a rather routine set of dance music that was already quickly going out of style in 1947. ~ Scott Yanow