Jimmie Lunceford and Band in great 30s Swing

Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra ?– Organ Grinder's Swing / Sleepy Time Gal
Label:
Decca ?– 908

A Organ Grinder's Swing
Written-By – Mills*, Parish*, Hudson*
B Sleepy Time Gal
Written-By – Lorenzo*, Alden*, Egan*, Whiting*

Alto Saxophone [Uncredited] – Laforet Dent*
Bass [Uncredited] – Moses Allen
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone [Uncredited] – Dan Grissom
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone [Uncredited] – Earl Carruthers, Willie Smith (2)
Drums [Uncredited] – Jimmy Crawford
Guitar [Uncredited] – Al Norris
Piano [Uncredited] – Edwin Wilcox
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet [Uncredited] – Joe Thomas (3)
Trombone [Uncredited] – Elmer Crumbley, Russell Bowles
Trombone, Guitar [Uncredited] – Eddie Durham
Trumpet [Uncredited] – Eddie Tompkins, Paul Webster, Sy Oliver
Notes
Side A recorded in New York City, NY August 31, 1936
Side B recorded in New York City, NY May 29, 193510" 78 rpm record

Condition: VERY GOOD PLUS PLUS very scuffed,  Plays E- very quiet, light hiss

A SUPERB COPY

[ Jimmy Lunceford Orch. ]
"Jimmy's band was one of the best swinging, and one of the most visual orchestras. Sax player Willie Smith told Stanley Dance (critic): "If we did seven shows, we wore seven different uniforms. That included shirts, socks, shoes and ties, all made specially for us." *
* Quote from The Big Bands, George T. Simon
While Jimmy started his band in Memphis, TN in 1927, it didn't hit it's stride until the mid-thirties. The band arranger and sometime vocalist was a young Cy Oliver, who went on to arrange for Tommy Dorsey and later to lead his own band. (Cy Oliver and James Trummer Young wrote the song "'Taint What You Do, It's the Way Thatcha You Do It".)

Luncford studied music in Denver under Wilberforce Whiteman (Paul's father). Wilberforce was also Andy Kirk's teacher. (See Andy Kirk listing here.)
Graduated from Fisk University in Nashville, and took grad courses at City College in NY. Then became music teacher and athletic director at Manassas High School in Memphis.
Formed first band at Manassas.
1933 signed on at Cotton Club.
Vocalists Sy Oliver, Willie Smith, Trummy Young, The Lunceford Glee Club.
Many of the 1930s Big Bands were noted for their soloists, but Lunceford's bands were always noted for their terrific ensemble work. Lunceford's performances exhibited a polish and a good humor that other groups often tried to emulate but rarely achieved. The crude, insistent riff patterns in Lunceford/s 1934 "hot" recordings soon gave way to a more distinctive "Lunceford style" , largely due to the highly imaginative arrangements of the band's trumpeter/arranger, Sy Oliver. Some of Oliver's best work, such as "For Dancers Only" (1937) and "Margie" (1938), with the varied interplay between the soloists and brass and reed sections, set very high standards for other dance-band arrangers of that time. Just exactly how high is perhaps best illustrated by their 1936 release of "Organ Grinder's Swing " , in which Oliver molded woodblocks, celesta, and slap-tongued saxophones into a wonderful musical experience. Here's a photo of a poster advertising the Jimmie Lunceford Orch., at The Larchmont Casino, in Larchmont, New York, back in 1938.

Though complex, Oliver's arrangements always left ample scope for the band's soloists, such as Joe Thomas, Trummy Young, Eddie Durham, and Willie Smith, who also trained and led Lunceford's outstanding reed section from the group's inception in 1929.
Note on Willie Smith, Alto Sax with Lunceford's band:
In the 1930s, many considered Willie the third best alto sax player, after Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges. Smith also sang the vocals on Lunceford's big hit, "Rhythm is our Business". In 1942, Smith left Lunceford and joined the Harry James band, where he was also highly appreciated, -and better paid. Seven years later, in 1951, he left James, and replaced Johnny Hodges in Duke Ellington's orchestra. Subsequently, he played with the then new Billy Mays' orchestra, before returning for a ten-year stint to Harry James' orchestra in 1954.