DJ Chrisbe's Song of the Week #96: Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass

This is a song I have in my library since a long time but interestingly I didn't play it until last Saturday at The Snowball in Stockholm.

It's an uptempo song with unexpected breaks and sound patterns. First, you wait until the song really starts when you realize, that you are already in the midst of it.

Interestingly, “Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass” was a test recording by the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra from 1933 for Columbia and not released before the late 1960s on LP!

James Melvin “Jimmie” Lunceford (6.6.1902 – 12.07.1947) was a multiinstrumentalist but mostly famous as bandleader. He led one of the most popular big bands of the swing era. The orchestra evolved from the Chickasaw Syncopators, a student band he organized in 1927.

In 1934, the band got booked by The Cotton Club in Harlem/New York and Lunceford's reputation began to steadily grow. The band was most known for their tight musicianship, visual show and humor in music and lyrics.

Our song of the week is a perfect example of the Lunceford sound.

Title: Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass
Artist: Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra
Recorded: May 15, 1933, New York
Album: Complete Jazz Series 1930 – 1934
Tempo: 246 bpm
Dance: Balboa

Click the link to prelisten and/or download the song at
iTunes CH/EU — iTunes US — Amazon.de — Amazon.com

What do you think about this song, do you like it? Let us know in the comment section below!

Every Monday, I post a new “Song of the Week“.
You can find the songs also on my Spotify playlist or on 8tracks.

Song of the Week #95: “Four Or Five Times” by Jimmie Noone
Song of the Week #94: “Petite Fleur” by Sidney Bechet
Song of the Week #93: “Moonglow (Take 2)” by Benny Goodman Quartet
Song of the Week #92: “Little Sir Echo” by Rex Stewart & Dickie Wells
Song of the Week #91: “‘Tain’t What You Do” by Jimmie Lunceford

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DJ Chrisbe’s Song of the Week #96: Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass

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