Dancing in the Land of Hi Fi

Georgie Auld's sequel to In the Land of Hi Fi serves up more of a good thing, assembling another all-star West Coast lineup including guitarist Barney Kessel, trumpeter Maynard Ferguson and trombonist Frank Rosolino for a refreshingly old-fashioned collection of swing-era standards arranged by the great Billy May. The session is free of modernist idioms and impulses, adhering affectionately to the warm, energetic swing tradition. Auld's rough-but-right tenor contrasts beautifully with Ferguson's high, soaring trumpet, and May's arrangements are admirably inventive but dutifully respectful. [Reissued in 2007 as part of the Fresh Sound two-fer Georgie Auld & His Hollywood All Stars Play the Swinging Arrangements of Billy May.]