During 1937-1942, a small group from the Bob Crosby Orchestra, called Bob Crosby's Bob Cats, recorded 60 Dixieland-oriented selections. These generally exciting performances helped lead to the New Orleans jazz and Dixieland renaissance of the 1940s. This European import includes 21 of the hottest selections, and features such jazz greats as trumpeters Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield, trombonist Warren Smith, clarinetists Matty Matlock and Irving Fazola, and tenor saxophonist Eddie Miller. There are occasional vocals by Marion Mann and Nappy Lamare and two by Crosby, but the emphasis is on the heated solos. Among the many highlights are "March of the Bob Cats" (which is really "Maryland, My Maryland"), "Who's Sorry Now," Eddie Miller's "Slow Mood," "Five Point Blues," a couple selections featuring Miller's tenor with a rhythm section, and "Do You Ever Think of Me." This CD gives listeners an excellent sampling of the Bobcats' legacy.
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