Dick Johnson and his Orchestra

A Tribute To Artie Shaw

Crazy Scot Records  CSR20061

         Some things are worth waiting for. Take clarinetist Dick Johnson, for instance. He's been affiliated with big bands for over 50 years, and for almost half those years he's been at the helm of the Artie Shaw Orchestra, hand-picked to do so by the late "King of the Clarinet" himself. It has just been recently that Johnson has managed to make a full big band recording under his own name. The result is Johnson's latest CD release, Star Dust & Beyond: A Tribute To Artie Shaw (Crazy Scot Records). Don't be surprised if Johnson and his 17-piece band take "Big Band Recording of the Year" honors and next year's Grammy Awards.

The fourteen-track disc is a heartfelt tribute to Shaw, Johnson's lifelong musical inspiration. However, the album is not a collection of reprised Shaw material. In fact, the listener will be pleasantly surprised to hear fresh arrangements by Jay Brandford and Grammy winner Robert Freedman on familiar Shaw-based tunes (My Funny Valentine, I Concentrate On You, and the most-requested song of all-time, Hoagy Carmichael's Star Dust. Johnson's close pal and trumpeter, Lou Colombo, shines with a trumpet solo on the tune, while Johnson and the saxophone section play Shaw's famous and what some claim, his divinely inspired solo on the piece.) Shaw's 1945 chestnut, The Grabtown Grapple, originally recorded with his small group, The Gramercy Five, is dusted off by Brandford and made into an exciting big band showpiece.

Johnson also squeezes his compositional prowess to the proceedings with his Bossa For Pam and Pray Tell, Sarah, Where's Dan?, while the album embraces some lesser known tunes: Blue Mitchell's Fungii Mama, and Gene Lees' Waltz For Debby.

Through it all, Johnson remains a master of the "licorice stick," soaring high when needed above the the rest of band, and displaying his rich, warm and vibrant tone on his instrument's the lower register. Helping Johnson to make this album a treasure are Dave Chapman, Sil D'Urbano, Matt Koza, Ed Harlow, and Wendy MacDonald, saxophones; Jay Daly, Trent Austin, Phil Person,, and Kerry MacKillop, trumpets; Doug Elliot, Chris Oberholtzer, Chris Dempsey, and Leslie Havens, trombones; Paul Odeh, piano; John Wheatley, guitar; Bronek Suchanek, bass; and Mark Holovina, drums.

Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 50 years before Johnson and his crew will return into the studios to wax another magnificent aural offering.

Track selections:  In The Still Of The Night, Fungii Mama, Gone With The Wind, The Grabtown Grapple, Star Dust, Moody Street, My Funny Valentine, Waltz For Debby, I Concentrate On You, Anniversary Song, Bossa For Pam, When The Sun Comes Out, My Romance, Pray Tell, Sarah, Where's Dan?.

Recorded at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ, on February 20 -21, 2006.

- Stephen Fratallone/Jazz Connection Magazine

Rating:  *****

Dick Johnson's Star Dust & Beyond: A Tribute To Artie Shaw can be purchased online through Somerled Charitable Foundation at www.somerledcharitablefoundation.org  

*****