In 1980 MCA released six
Jimmie Lunceford LPs that, taken as a whole, include most of his best Decca recordings. The 14 numbers on this album (all of which have been reissued on CD) are drawn from six different sessions and include such gems as "Four or Five Times,"
Sy Oliver's classic reworking of "Swanee River," "My Blue Heaven," "Organ Grinder's Swing" and "Harlem Shout." The main soloists are as usual altoist
Willie Smith and tenorman
Joe Thomas but it is the charming and hip vocals of
Sy Oliver (as opposed to
Dan Grissom's outing on "Charmaine") and the inventive arrangements that really made this band unique.