An Era Remembered: From Pearl Harbor To VJ Day

They Say...

Review by Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

Not that fans ever need a new movie blockbuster as an excuse to release a collection of jazz and swing classics, but no doubt the film Pearl Harbor inspired Concord to reach into its wondrous vaults and create this exciting historical compilation. For this special release, 15 gems from those vaults have been gathered together, paying tribute to the great songs of World War II. Some of these songs were recorded between the '70s and '90s, but naturally swing is the prevailing style, as it was in the '40s. Those included artists who were running full steam ahead in that decade are Harry "Sweets" Edison (who riffs on the classic Duke Ellington theme song "One O'Clock Jump"), Bing Crosby ("Don't Get Around Much Anymore"), Woody Herman with Flip Phillips ("Perdido"), Mel Tormé and George Shearing ("I Don't Want to Walk Without You, Baby"/"I'll Walk Alone"), Benny Carter ("Idaho"), and Marian McPartland ("Long Ago and Far Away"). These are balanced by a handful of artists born after the War who perfectly capture the era -- saxophonist Scott Hamilton (whose smoky low tones add a melancholy feel to "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"), singer Susannah McCorkle ("You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"), and the Howard Alden/Dan Barrett Quintet. And what WWII collection would be complete without Rosemary Clooney delivering a soulful "Sentimental Journey"? Some may see this as an attempt by Concord to capitalize on the historical interest surrounding a new movie. But it's more fun to just realize that music this classic doesn't need a reason to be played and heard.