Search - Bert Kaempfert :: Swing

Bert Kaempfert's labor of love...

09/18/1998

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in October,1977, this was an album that Bert had looked forward to for years. It's to bad that it suffers from such a cloudy and crowded recording. I've listened to two CD's and one LP of this record and they're all the same. More soloist on this one than most, with Jiggs Whigam and Herb Geller contributing excellent solo work, unfortunately showing what a lightweight Ack Van Rooyen really is. It's not that Van Rooyen can't play, but a trumpet would have suited this classic material so much better than a his fluglehorn. This was Bert's next to last record and it features some of the most demanding arranging of his entire recorded career. A must-have for the hard-core and a good listen for the casual BK fan. If anybody still thinks that Bert Kaempfert's career ended with "Afrikkan Beat", this CD is only one of many pleasant suprises."

"Fips" takes on the big-band classics

Dave Mock | Rockville Centre, New York United States | 08/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Swing music would seem to be a natural medium for German orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert, whose early inspirations included the American big bands. And this set finds "Fips" and his combo doing a good job covering some of big band music's classics.



This Taragon edition of "Swing" is really two separate albums. The first twelve cuts of Side One are the original "Swing" album that Polydor released in '78. The other three cuts on Disc One, and all of Disc Two, are either covers or Kaempfert originals culled from the bandleader's regular Polydor/Decca/MCA output between 1966 and 1975.



Kaempfert's musicians shine on the energetic "One O'Clock Jump" (great solos by tenor saxes Ferdinand Powell, trumpet/cornet player Ack van Rooyen and trombonist Jiggs Whigham) and brilliant, bracing performances like Benny Goodman's "Air Mail Special" (wonderful solo by Whigham) and Woody Herman's "Apple Honey." Anyone who associates Fips and company with dentists'-office music is in for a shock.



While the Kaempfert orchestra is the equal of the legendary bands on some tracks, on others Kaempfert is surprisingly too mannered. On Ray Wetzel's "Intermission Riff" (the Stan Kenton standby), Count Basie's "Jumpin' At the Woodside" and Goodman's "Stompin' at the Savoy" from Disc Two, Kaempfert's arrangements never manage to convey the energy inherent in the music.



But on Disc Two, Kaempfert's arrangements add sparkle to the Duke Ellington chestnut "Caravan," and a modern sheen to "Opus One" and "Tuxedo Junction." And fans of the Bert Kaempfert/Herbert Rehbein originals will be happy to hear the return of "Easy Glider," the gorgeous instrumental from '74 that closes this interesting and mostly good collection."

A good collection

dharmalady | St. Anthony, MN USA | 05/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Growing up with Bert K., Billy Vaughn, etc. I'm impressed with this. His touch is amazing."