Bug Music: Music Of The Raymond Scott Quintette, John Kirby & His Orchestra, And The Duke Ellington Orchestra
When Duke Ellington began to slip classical motifs and structures into his jazz compositions in the '30s, two fellow composers took his example as a challenge to do the same. Raymond Scott played movie music, led the house band on the popular radio show, "Your Hit Parade," and supplied much of the music for Carl Stalling's famous cartoon scores; John Kirby led a jazz combo that included Ben Webster, Russell Procope and Charlie Shavers. All three bandleaders are saluted onBug Music. The music inside is playful and joyful, with Byron's clarinet skipping and jumping through the catchy melodies and quirky rhythms. In fact, what's most striking about the recording is not the mix of jazz and classical music, but the mix of jazz and humor, an all too rare combination these days.--Geoffrey Himes