Sullivan once said of Harry James that he was the "Babe Ruth of the Big Bands." I think the late 50s and earlu 60s James bands are awesome. You can almost hear Harry telling the critics who panned him for being overly commercial in the 40's ",Take That." It is obvious he was still in top form and had a modern, contemporary band that was still vital, pushing and had not fallen into the nostalgia mode. Thanks for a great video of a great band!.
This, of course, is from the Sullivan show. Thank you so much for posting this. Have a CD of Big Bands on the Sullivan show and Ed calls Harry James the Babe Ruth of the Big Bands! I agree with him.
Sonny is, was, a driving force and it was sad when he was no longer with Basie cuz wholy shit they fit together soo well! Thaats one drummer Id bring back to life!
Great video. I dearly love Sonny, and to compare Sonny to Louie or to Buddy is unfair. I prefer Buddy with Harry's band though (and have virtually every recording available that Buddy did with Harry). Having said that, Sonny was a powerhouse in his own right, and I love his playing.
Sonny took a lot of knocks for being too flashy. That was unfair because the flashiness was part of his timing mechanism and intensity. Sonny learned to play drums from Chris Columbus and Lionel Hampton. He came by his showmanship naturally. Many of us who were close to Harry's band feel that Sonny was the best drummer for Harry's band he ever had, including Buddy Rich.
@olbrneyes Thanks for your comment and info. Hopefully I did not come across as knocking Payne. Calling a drummer a "showman" is way over done in jazz. Practically every great drummer that I have seen (on clips sadly because I am too young) had elements of showmanship.
YEA THEY WERE ALL PLAYING HARD. HARRY AS ALWAYS HARRY. SWINGING WITH A GREAT CORE TO HIS SOUND.
theaed02 4 days ago
Sullivan once said of Harry James that he was the "Babe Ruth of the Big Bands." I think the late 50s and earlu 60s James bands are awesome. You can almost hear Harry telling the critics who panned him for being overly commercial in the 40's ",Take That." It is obvious he was still in top form and had a modern, contemporary band that was still vital, pushing and had not fallen into the nostalgia mode. Thanks for a great video of a great band!.
frankfan42 2 months ago
Kickin' band too...
VocalAdvocate 4 months ago
Dang, Harry was feeling his oats that day. Excellent.
VocalAdvocate 4 months ago
This, of course, is from the Sullivan show. Thank you so much for posting this. Have a CD of Big Bands on the Sullivan show and Ed calls Harry James the Babe Ruth of the Big Bands! I agree with him.
frankfan42 4 months ago
Sonny is, was, a driving force and it was sad when he was no longer with Basie cuz wholy shit they fit together soo well! Thaats one drummer Id bring back to life!
millsbrothers 4 months ago
Great video. I dearly love Sonny, and to compare Sonny to Louie or to Buddy is unfair. I prefer Buddy with Harry's band though (and have virtually every recording available that Buddy did with Harry). Having said that, Sonny was a powerhouse in his own right, and I love his playing.
rfvee 5 months ago
Sonny took a lot of knocks for being too flashy. That was unfair because the flashiness was part of his timing mechanism and intensity. Sonny learned to play drums from Chris Columbus and Lionel Hampton. He came by his showmanship naturally. Many of us who were close to Harry's band feel that Sonny was the best drummer for Harry's band he ever had, including Buddy Rich.
olbrneyes 6 months ago 3
@olbrneyes Thanks for your comment and info. Hopefully I did not come across as knocking Payne. Calling a drummer a "showman" is way over done in jazz. Practically every great drummer that I have seen (on clips sadly because I am too young) had elements of showmanship.
ParadiddleMcFlam 6 months ago
@olbrneyes right - Rich was a kind of his own - but sonny was best matching to this musik...genious
pegrueneis 2 months ago
Great! I never realized that Sonny Payne was such a showman!
ParadiddleMcFlam 6 months ago