To say that Tommy Dorsey's life was turbulent, would be an understatement. For all of his celebrated and unpredictable fits of temper, he was the most soundly based and perceptive of the swing band leaders. He alone, of all the big band names from the Swing era survived as a solidly successful leader ... well into the 40's and 50's; and was still swinging strong long after the likes of Benny Goodman had slipped into retirement ... long after the amazing Artie Shaw had had given up music for the written word, and long after the legendary Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel during the closing days of World War II. Whatever your taste, Swing, Dixie, Bop, Cool Jazz, or Striped Jazz, Tommy did it all, and went right on playing his own brand of music [Sweet, Hot, and Romantic], with those liquid notes pouring out of his golden trombone 'til the very end.Certainly the most fruitful years for Tommy were the middle 40's, when he had reached a position in which he could call on almost any musician to stand at his side ... and he did, creating some of the most stunning and memorable collaborations of all time. But let's not forget, it was his assemblage of Gene Krupa on drums, Dodo Marmarosa on piano, Buddy DeFranco on clarinet, along with Nelson Riddle, Charlie Shavers and Boomie Richman on tenor saxophone, that manifested one of the greatest bands to ever take the stage. And in that spirit, we're treated to some of the classic Dorsey arrangements, honed and developed by the greatest Dorsey band, and through it all runs the glistening Dorsey trombone, played with that velvety smoothness that has never been matched by any other trombonist ... at other times he digs deep, reveling a huskiness that lays bare the deep jazz roots of this great American artist.An album that's not to be missed ...Review by Jenell Kesler