Tidal Wave

While Fletcher Henderson made the bulk of his important recordings for Columbia, gathered on A Study in Frustration, he also recorded some significant music for the Decca label, recording as both the Connie's Inn Orchestra and under his own name. There are two sessions from 1931 and three from 1934,and they all show Henderson's group as the prototype of the big swing bands. The eight tracks from 1931 are particularly interesting for their demonstration of the Henderson band's increasing ability to actually "swing," largely through the playing of drummer Walter Johnson and John Kirby's remarkably fluid tuba work. The band includes trumpeter Rex Stewart and tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, whose dominant presence is apparent in the solo on "House of David Blues." There are 12 tracks from 1934 and there's increasing sophistication in the arrangements by Benny Carter, Henderson, and his brother Horace. Horace's aggressive arrangement of Fletcher's "Hotter than Hell" is the highlight, but there's always plenty of spirit from the band, which includes trumpeter Red Allen, clarinetist Buster Bailey, and a young Ben Webster striving to fill Hawkins's absence. --Stuart Broomer