Jasmine Records Ralph FLANAGAN & His Orch. - A Tribute To Glenn Miller CD Ralph Flanagan & His Orch.

The first eight sides are two medleys. They provide solos by Bobby Hackett on "Make Believe", "St. Louis Blues" and "Basin Street Blues", while the other trumpet solos are shared between Dale McMickle and Bernie Previn. The trombone soloist is Buddy Morrow especially on the Dorsey feature, "I’m Getting Sentimental Over You". Al Klink can be heard soloing on tenor-sax while it is to Art Baker that falls the task of recreating the sound of Benny Goodman on "Goodbye". "Low Gear" and "Come On In" are Flanagan originals. Tracks 9 to 17 are from Flanagan’s commercial recording contract and feature a band of studio musicians with the exception of "Smoke Dreams" which is by the touring band and has a vocal by Harry Prime. These recordings all come from sessions in 1949 and the first part of 1950. The big hit for Flanagan was "My Hero" which came from the second session and was the third record issued as part of the contract: Tracks 18 to 20 are from June 1952 and are by the touring band and demonstrate the ability to play both a ballad and, in "Stars and Stripes", at break-neck speed while still swinging forcefully. "Penthouse Serenade" was another hit for Flanagan and remained in the band book to the end.