Glen Gray Vol. 2

The music on this CD is a more polished (and polite) version of hot Kansas City big band swing jazz. The 25 tunes (74 minutes!) are from CBS radio broadcasts between Feb. 1935 and Feb. 1936, and were aimed at the young music market. The music features intricate phrasing and complex arrangements, yet sounds very relaxed and smooth. The repertoire consists mainly of popular tunes of the period. Glen Grays Casa Loma Band was the key white precursor to the swing era and Benny Goodman. The band was at the height of its popularity at the time of these recordings, just before Benny Goodman became “the king of swing”. In 1936, Downbeat wrote that the band was “nothing short of sensational…a solid brand of swing”.