While still a regular member of Benny Goodman's orchestra, trumpeter
Ziggy Elman had an opportunity to lead five recording sessions during a 12-month period of time (December 1938 to December 1939), resulting in 20 songs. In 1973, 16 of the performances were reissued on this now out of print Sunbeam LP; all have since been collected on a Classics CD.
Elman, who had a similar style to
Harry James (who overshadowed him with
Goodman), is mostly accompanied by
Goodman's reed and rhythm sections, appearing as the only brass instrument on the swing-oriented selections. The first song, "Fralich in Swing," would become
Elman's big hit, "And the Angels Sing" (with a
Martha Tilton vocal), a year later. Other highlights of the fine program include "Sugar," "Zaggin' With Zig," "Deep Night," and "Tootin' My Baby Back Home"; among the other soloists are pianists
Jess Stacy and
Johnny Guarnieri.