German "dance bands" ...

[neveronfriday]

Die grossen Tanz-Orchester: 1930 - 1950

Around August of this year, Germany saw the release of an interesting CD series which will be completed next year, if I understood correctly.

This might not be of interest to those of you who zero in on all the fabulous Blue Note et. al. recordings of a later time, but from the posts of quite some people on this board I deduced that there might be enough interest in these.

So, here we go.

Between 1933 and 1945, Germany saw a virtual explosion of "dance bands" (a term used instead of "big band") that played the music which was, for the earlier part of that phase, illegal and shunned - jazz (or continental jazz, as Americans were apt to call it). The term jazz was avoided at all costs, but the music remained exactly that - jazz, mostly of the swing type.

In cooperation with a German TV magazine, Universal Jazz reissued this much sought-after series entitled "Die grossen Tanz-Orchester 1930 - 1950" which had already left quite in impression when the series was released by Polydor in the late 70s.

If you still happen to be into vinyl, the original double-LPs fetch quite some prices around the collectors' scene and are virtually impossible to find in a decent condition. Polydor was the first company to focus on this fascinating time of German music history, and until the release of the "Swinging Ballroom Berlin" boxes (2 boxes with 4 CDs each), it also happened to be more or less the only series which covered this ground.

The first 10 CDs in the new reissue series focus on some of the best known swing bands and include pretty much the best recordings of the era (I know this can be disputed somewhat in parts, but that is not really the point of this post) and gives the listener an extremely well-researched and expertly compiled overview.

The CDs' liner notes are the original ones written by Horst H. Lange (he died in 2001 and did not live to see the reissue of this wonderful series). He was one of Germany's most knowledgable jazz critics with a huge private collection and an impressive list of internationally acclaimed publications. The liner notes (only printed in German) are illustrated with lots of rare photos.

The reissues were carefully remastered (compared to the original vinyl release - I have those as well - the sound is excellent) and uniformly packaged, sporting an old radio on each front cover.

I might add to this thread later, but suffice it to say that the music included, especially when listened to in sequence (as much as that is possible) offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of big band jazz in Germany right into the 50s.

If you have any questions, ask me.

Cheers!