JIMMIE LUNCEFORD — Lunceford Special (review)

JIMMIE LUNCEFORD — Lunceford Special album cover Boxset / Compilation · 1967 · Big Band Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
js
About half of the Jimmie Lunceford compilations out there are titled “Lunceford Special”, named after his most popular song, so to specify which “Lunceford Special” this review is covering, it should be pointed out that this is from the Columbia Hall of Fame series released in the late 60s. Even non-jazz fans will recognize the names of Count Basie and Duke Ellington as being two of the greatest big band leaders of all time, but only the hardcore jazz fans know that in his heyday, Lunceford’s band was often more popular and more musically formidable than either of those two giants. Why Lunceford’s popularity has waned over time is easily explained by the fact that he passed away a couple decades before the other two, and did not get a chance to further improve his legacy and fame in the more promotion savvy 1950s-70s. More than likely, more passing of time will work to Lunceford’s advantage and hopefully he will eventually return to his place as big band leader supreme. To understand why Lunceford was so popular, you only have to give this record a spin and you will hear how hot and dynamic his band was.

While Ellington’s band was known for their smooth sound and classical ambitions, and Basie’s band was known for its hard rockin dance beat, Lunceford’s band fell in between the two. Lunceford’s band had a driving rhythm section which made them a favorite amongst the dancers, but their arrangements are deceptively complex, full of interesting change-ups, counter melodies and rhythmic juxtapositions. Their set material often featured popular sing along melodies for the dancers, cloaked in crazy jazz arrangements for the more serious listener.

Of the two sides of this LP, side two is the better. On this side we get less of the ‘jokey’ double entendre dirty lyrics of side one, and more arrangements that feature hot solos and complex ensemble work, and no vocals. Most of the tunes on here are from 1939, when the band was at a peak, but “Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass” from 1933 is a real eye-opener with its fierce energy and bizarre arrangement that foreshadows Charles Mingus. Another top cut is title tune “Lunceford Special”, with its simple but effective repeating riff that conjures up instant images of dance floor mayhem. The sound on this album is not too bad, it sounds like a lot of high end was cut off of the eq to get rid of surface noise, there is always a trade off in dynamics when you do that. Also, the copy I have was ‘re-channeled’ for stereo, always a bad idea and an unfortunate practice that faded with the end of the 70s.
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