Illinois Jacquet – Swing’s The Thing (Mono Version)

Beyond the famous solo

Illinois Jacquet was nineteen when his tenor solo on Lionel Hampton’s “Flying Home” became a signature performance in 1942. Fourteen years later, Swing’s the Thing places him in a different setting: six musicians, six selections and enough room to follow the accompanists as well as the leader. Jacquet is in charge, but he is far from the only player with a story of his own.

Norman Granz assembled this sextet at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on October 16, 1956. Roy Eldridge plays trumpet, Jimmy Jones piano, Herb Ellis guitar, Ray Brown bass and Jo Jones drums. Jacquet’s association with Granz reached back to the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in 1944. That connection between the concert platform and the recording studio is part of the background to an album that originally appeared in the Clef catalogue.

A tune called “Achtung”

The opening composition belongs to the trumpeter: Eldridge wrote “Las Vegas Blues.” Turn the record over and you encounter Jacquet’s own “Achtung,” its German title an unexpected detail in this American session. Standards including “Harlem Nocturne” and “Can’t We Be Friends?” provide other starting points. Familiar songs and original compositions sit beside each other without being forced into a single narrative programme.

That variety makes it rewarding to follow the horns as partners rather than simply waiting for their solos. Notice when Eldridge responds to a tenor phrase, when either musician leaves an opening and how the accompaniment prepares the next entrance. With only six players, these changes of responsibility are easier to trace than inside a full orchestral section. The melody remains a useful point of reference even if this is your first encounter with the songs.

Six players sharing the pulse

Eldridge helped connect the trumpet language of swing with the modern jazz that followed. Here he works in an ensemble where both piano and guitar can contribute to the accompaniment. Jimmy Jones and Herb Ellis occupy different registers and musical roles, while Ray Brown and Jo Jones provide the rhythmic foundation. The drummer is Jo Jones, associated with Count Basie’s orchestra.

“Have You Met Miss Jones?” and “Lullaby of the Leaves” offer useful places to return on a second listen. Follow the guitar rather than automatically tracking the tenor, then revisit the same passage with the bass as your guide. An impressive personnel list becomes a set of individual decisions: who supports a phrase, who leaves space, who carries it forward. Knowledge of Jacquet’s famous early solo adds context, but these six performances provide plenty of ways into his music on their own.

The Acoustic Sounds Series mono edition

AVER 78843 is a single 180-gram LP playing at 33⅓ RPM in mono, pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Matthew Lutthans handled the mastering at The Mastering Lab, with Acoustic Sounds identifying the original analogue master tape as the source. Packaging is a Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket. These specifications belong to the single-LP Acoustic Sounds Series edition; the earlier two-record 45 RPM release carries different mastering credits.

Michael 45 keeps the goods in Germany and ships from Hilden, so German and EU customers can order without organising a personal US import or waiting for customs clearance.

More from the series: Verve (Acoustic Sounds Series)

Also on SACD: Swing’s The Thing

Series: Verve – all 34 records: voices, organ and bossa nova

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.