Flyright's contribution to
Jan Savitt's posthumous discography combines two complete vintage radio broadcasts in order to revisit the authentic pre-WWII listening experience.
Savitt was born in St. Petersburg, Russia but came up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his family had relocated in order to distance themselves from the Bolsheviks. Philly was the reference in the
Savitt band's theme song "Quaker City Jazz," which cropped up as opener and closer on two radio broadcasts which took place exactly 11 months apart in 1938 and 1939. The first program aired over KYW out of Philadelphia, while the National Broadcasting Company's transmission emanated from the Blue Room of the Hotel Lincoln near Times Square in New York City.
Savitt's band was quite popular during this period because its arrangements proved irresistible to those who were fond of dancing. While this "radio nostalgia" approach works well, the best
Savitt retrospective is still the Jasmine label's
Shuffle in Style, with its perfectly balanced blend of vocal and instrumental tracks. Flyright's
1938-1939 Broadcasts is the ideal appendix to Jasmine's examination of
Savitt's primary studio recordings. ~ arwulf arwulf