The Ben Pollack Collection 1923-50

Ben Pollack was a drummer and bandleader who was especially active and prolific during the 1920s and ‘30s, and whose primary contribution to jazz was not so much his own musical prowess or uniqueness, but his eye for new talent, which enabled him to assemble bands, orchestras and small groups which comprised some of the top emerging names of the era, notably the likes of Benny Goodman the Dorsey brothers, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Harry James and Irving Fazola. This great-value budget-priced 49-track 2-CD set selects recordings from across more than a quarter of a century of his career, from his debut with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1923 through to 1950, by which time he was recording sporadically during the Dixieland revival. Inevitably, it encompasses a range of styles, with 1920s small-group hot jazz alongside more middle of the road dance band recordings from the same years and then moving into the swing era during the ‘30s. It even includes examples of his work with the Rhythm Wreckers alongside James and Fazola as they flirt with hillbilly music alongside a steel guitar. It includes examples of work from a significant proportion of his recording sessions across the years, so captures the developing flavour of his work, and is, we hope, a worthy tribute to one of the genre’s personalities who deserves more attention than he has generally been accorded.