Album Review: Ain’t It Grand from the Glenn Crytzer Orchestra
Album: Ain’t It Grand
Artist: Glenn Crytzer Orchestra
Label: Blue Rhythm Records
Website: www.glenncrytzer.com
Ain’t It Grand, the latest project from the Glenn Crytzer Orchestra, makes audiences feel like they are attending a Jazz Age Lawn Party circa 1930’s. The sizzle of the horns, the rattle of the drums, the pearlescent texture of the piano keys, and the caressing tone of the vocals are hallmarks of America’s Jazz Age, spanning from the Roaring ‘20s to the post-Prohibition period of the 1930s. The music is reminiscent of the days of Cab Calloway, Paul Whiteman, and Artie Shaw, when 53rd Street in Manhattan, renamed swing street, was the hub of cabarets and dancehalls featuring boogie woogie, hot jazz, lively blues, ragtime, Dixieland, and swing.
A collection of old-time favorites, forgotten treasures, and originals, the 2-disc compilation is a chock full of merriment from start to finish. “Who’s Yehoodi” is a prime example of a forgotten treasure written by Bill Seckler and Matt Dennis. The party vibe of the hot jazz ditty consumes the listener, celebrating a time when slang made it’s way into the mainstream lexicon. The chorus line kicks in the rhythmic timing is contagious, enticing the listener to be swept away by the jovial mood. The focus shifts to the delightful blare of the clarinet in “A Woman Needs a Man” then moves into the impetuous whirlwinds generated by the saxophones in “I’m Nuts About Screwy Music,” an old-time favorite from 1936 by bandleader Jimmie Lanceford and this Orchestra.
The slow lather of the trombone coasting along “Thank You for the Moments” recedes as the phonograph-sounding vocals are drawn to the forefront, radiating a gorgeous bell-like peal. The Orchestra's treatment of Tommy Dorsey's classic work “Well, Git It” is a jubilee of horns clasped in Rob Reich;s jaunty keys and a lively blues throb pumping in the drumbeats. The rhythmic pattern for social dances like the jumping Lindy Hop can be heard on “Rhythm Is Our Business,” the foxtrot on “The Glory of Love” and “Black Beauty,” the Quick Step on “Jubilee Stomp,” the ragtime-inspired cakewalk on “Marche Slav” and “When I Get Low I Get High,” and the Charleston on the title track. Crystzer’s guitar chimes brightly across “Solo Flight," brandishing a western swing glimmer that turns into a starry-eyed troubadour on the Orchestra’s remake of “I Get Ideas," a sweet serenade elevated by Crytzer's vocals. Audiences may recall "I Get Ideas" performed by Cuban-American actor-singer-bandleader Desi Arnaz on the I Love Lucy show in the episode entitled "The Publicity Agent."
The Glenn Crystzer Orchestra’s presentation is immaculate, recapturing the music of the Jazz Age from the Roaring ‘20s and post-Prohibition ‘30s. They imprint a contemporary glint in the tracks that make their music viable for a present age. Light-hearted and fun, the Orchestra persuades audiences to bask in the choruses of brass and percussive instruments, finding joy in their hot jazz cacophonies.
Musicians:
Glenn Crytzer - bandleader, guitar, vocals
Sam Hoyt - flugelhorn
Mike Davis - flugelhorn
Jason Prover - flugelhorn
Rob Edwards - trombone
Joe McDonough - tromobone
Jim Fryer - trombone
Jay Rattman - saxophones and clarinet
Mark Loperman - tenor sax and clarinet
Marc Schwartz - tenor sax and clarinet
Henry Alexander - saxophones and clarinet
Ian Hutchison - upright basss
Andrew Miller - drums
Rob Reich - piano
Hannah Gill - vocals
Dandy Wellington - vocals
Artist: Glenn Crytzer Orchestra
Label: Blue Rhythm Records
Website: www.glenncrytzer.com
Ain’t It Grand, the latest project from the Glenn Crytzer Orchestra, makes audiences feel like they are attending a Jazz Age Lawn Party circa 1930’s. The sizzle of the horns, the rattle of the drums, the pearlescent texture of the piano keys, and the caressing tone of the vocals are hallmarks of America’s Jazz Age, spanning from the Roaring ‘20s to the post-Prohibition period of the 1930s. The music is reminiscent of the days of Cab Calloway, Paul Whiteman, and Artie Shaw, when 53rd Street in Manhattan, renamed swing street, was the hub of cabarets and dancehalls featuring boogie woogie, hot jazz, lively blues, ragtime, Dixieland, and swing.
A collection of old-time favorites, forgotten treasures, and originals, the 2-disc compilation is a chock full of merriment from start to finish. “Who’s Yehoodi” is a prime example of a forgotten treasure written by Bill Seckler and Matt Dennis. The party vibe of the hot jazz ditty consumes the listener, celebrating a time when slang made it’s way into the mainstream lexicon. The chorus line kicks in the rhythmic timing is contagious, enticing the listener to be swept away by the jovial mood. The focus shifts to the delightful blare of the clarinet in “A Woman Needs a Man” then moves into the impetuous whirlwinds generated by the saxophones in “I’m Nuts About Screwy Music,” an old-time favorite from 1936 by bandleader Jimmie Lanceford and this Orchestra.
The slow lather of the trombone coasting along “Thank You for the Moments” recedes as the phonograph-sounding vocals are drawn to the forefront, radiating a gorgeous bell-like peal. The Orchestra's treatment of Tommy Dorsey's classic work “Well, Git It” is a jubilee of horns clasped in Rob Reich;s jaunty keys and a lively blues throb pumping in the drumbeats. The rhythmic pattern for social dances like the jumping Lindy Hop can be heard on “Rhythm Is Our Business,” the foxtrot on “The Glory of Love” and “Black Beauty,” the Quick Step on “Jubilee Stomp,” the ragtime-inspired cakewalk on “Marche Slav” and “When I Get Low I Get High,” and the Charleston on the title track. Crystzer’s guitar chimes brightly across “Solo Flight," brandishing a western swing glimmer that turns into a starry-eyed troubadour on the Orchestra’s remake of “I Get Ideas," a sweet serenade elevated by Crytzer's vocals. Audiences may recall "I Get Ideas" performed by Cuban-American actor-singer-bandleader Desi Arnaz on the I Love Lucy show in the episode entitled "The Publicity Agent."
The Glenn Crystzer Orchestra’s presentation is immaculate, recapturing the music of the Jazz Age from the Roaring ‘20s and post-Prohibition ‘30s. They imprint a contemporary glint in the tracks that make their music viable for a present age. Light-hearted and fun, the Orchestra persuades audiences to bask in the choruses of brass and percussive instruments, finding joy in their hot jazz cacophonies.
Musicians:
Glenn Crytzer - bandleader, guitar, vocals
Sam Hoyt - flugelhorn
Mike Davis - flugelhorn
Jason Prover - flugelhorn
Rob Edwards - trombone
Joe McDonough - tromobone
Jim Fryer - trombone
Jay Rattman - saxophones and clarinet
Mark Loperman - tenor sax and clarinet
Marc Schwartz - tenor sax and clarinet
Henry Alexander - saxophones and clarinet
Ian Hutchison - upright basss
Andrew Miller - drums
Rob Reich - piano
Hannah Gill - vocals
Dandy Wellington - vocals
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