Clark Murray - Swing Out America

The combination of Big Bands and American traditional music is as much a part of our heritage as Motherhood and Apple Pie. The great bandleaders of the Swing Era routinely turned to their roots for inspiration. Benny Goodman serenaded audiences with Sweet Georgia Brown, couples swayed to Tommy Dorsey's Deep River, and Glenn Miller gave us his rendition of Little Brown Jug. In Swing Out America, Clark Murray carries on that tradition with Swing arrangements of sixteen melodies that are part of the fabric of Americana. This collection draws from the patriotic, religious, Broadway, folk and Western tunes that chronicle America's history. The orchestration of these melodies features two distinct Big Band ensembles - a Hot Band consisting of the classic complement of trumpets, trombones and saxophones and a Cool Band which showcases clarinet and trombone sections accompanied by vibes. Murray finds the inspiration for his Swing arrangements in the popular West Coast Big Band venues leading the revival of Swing - notably San Francisco's Top of the Mark and the Beverly Hilton's Coconut Club. This album represents a new direction for Murray, whose first two critically-acclaimed releases, Coeur du Soleil and Yosemite Journey, followed New Age stylings.

1) America the Beautiful
2) Swing Low Sweet Chariot
3) There Is a Tavern in Town
4) I've Been Working on the Railroad
5) You're a Grand Old Flag
6) In My Merry Oldsmobile
7) This Train Is Bound for Glory
8) Red River Valley
9) Take Me Out to the Ballgame
10) Shenandoah
11) Dixie
12) The Band Played on
13) The Battle Hymn of the Republic
14) Give My Regards to Broadway
15) Turkey in the Straw
16) Home on the Range