This compilation of swing/big-band legends gives you three tracks apiece from the
Count Basie,
Jimmie Lunceford, and
Lionel Hampton orchestras; three more from
Ella Fitzgerald; and curiously, only one apiece from
Benny Goodman,
Glenn Miller,
Tommy Dorsey, and
Artie Shaw (as bonus tracks). It's far from a package of greatest hits of early jazz, but you do get
Basie's famed "Jumpin' at the Woodside,"
Lunceford's evergreen "For Dancers Only,"
Hamp's immortal "Flyin' Home,"
Ella's quizzical "Undecided," and
Dorsey's very fine "Blue Room." The rest are mostly second-tier to minor hits, a good grouping of songs, but overall not essential or sensational. ~ Michael G. Nastos