The Post-War Era

The funny part about this CD is that there is relatively little Dorsey on it. His trombone is mostly heard in a cameo role with the exception of "Trombonology." The real stars of this fine CD are arranger Bill Finegan (who wrote the charts for the majority of these 22 performances) and the fiery trumpeter Charlie Shavers although drummer Louis Bellson also gets featured on "Drumology." After 1946, Tommy Dorsey's music was definitely behind the times (he always had a strong resistance to bebop) and some of these later tracks sound like tired dance music, but this CD does an excellent job of summing up his better recordings of the 1946-50 period, leaving out the real dog tunes and bad vocalists he sometimes utilized.