Another great big band album hit my desk a week or so ago: The Dave Robbins Big Band: Happy Faces (Reel to Real). At first I thought it was a new recording, since the cover design looked so contemporary. But the band and sound were so good, I figured it had to have been waxed decades ago. So I grabbed the CD cover and checked the back. I was right. The tracks were recorded in 1963 and 1965.
Who was Dave Robbins? Born in Greensburg, Ind., in 1923, Robbins studied music education at Sam Houston State University in Texas and at USC in Los Angeles. A trombonist, he joined the Marines in the mid-1940s and was stationed in San Diego. After his discharge in 1948, he played and recorded extensively with Harry James's band from 1948 to 1955. [Photo above of Dave Robbins]
Robbins (above) is on several remarkable James sessions, including the original Columbia Ultra recording in 1949 and the live broadcast of the U.S. Navy Presents show in Hollywood that same year, featuring spectacular arrangements by Neal Hefti and others. Robbins also recorded on James's soundtrack for Young Man With a Horn movie in 1949, and appears in a short film with James, Leave It to Harry (1954).
Leadership albums followed, including The Dave Robbins Group (1959), Dave Robbins Jazz Ensemble (1961) and others. Robbins moved to Vancouver in 1951, and became a Canadian citizen in 1965, working as a major force in jazz and classical symphonic groups. He also was an esteemed educator in western Canada.
Here are the album's 1963 tracks and band personnel:
- March Winds Blow
- Spring Is Here
- Sixes & Sevens
- Africa Lights
- Jazz Workshop Theme (March Winds Blow)
Stew Barnett, Bobby Hales and Dick Forrest (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Paul Ruhland (b) and Al Johnson (d)
- Atlantic Raes
- Reflections
- Canto de Oriole
Stew Barnett, Arnie Chycoski, Carse Sneddon and Don Clark (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Paul Ruhland (b) and Al Johnson (d)
Here are the 1965 tracks and band personnel:
- Jazz Workshop Theme (March Winds Blow)
- Happy Faces
- Playa del Ray
- Minority
- Have Vine Will Swing
- Westcoasting
Stew Barnett, Arnie Chycoski, Carse Sneddon and Don Clark (tp); Dave Robbins (tb); Doug Kent (fhr); Dave Quarin (as); Fraser MacPherson (ts,fl); Wally Snider (bar,cl); Chris Gage (p); Don Thompson (b) and Al Johnson (d)
Dave Robbins died in 2005, at age 82.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find The Dave Robbins Big Band: Happy Faces (Reel to Real) here or on streaming platforms.
JazzWax clips: Here's Spring Is Here...
Here's March Winds Blow...
And here's Westcoasting...
Bonus: Here's the Harry James band in 1949 playing Neal Hefti's composition and arrangement of Except February Which Has 28 with Dave Robbins. The band: Harry James (tp); Nick Buono, Pinky Savitt, Ralph Osborn and Everett McDonald (tp); Ziggy Elmer, Dave Robbins and Lee O'Connor (tb); Juan Tizol (v-tb); Eddie Rosa (cl,as); Willie Smith (as); Corky Corcoran and Jimmy Cook (ts); Bob Poland (bar); Bruce MacDonald (p); Tony Rizzi (g); Joe Mondragon (b) / Artie Bernstein (b) and Don Lamond (d)...
And here's the nifty short film, Leave It to Harry (1954). The hip band number in the studio scene is Ultra. Looks like Dave Robbins is playing trombone with James in the last ensemble scene. A note from Bill Kirchner: “Ultra and Don’t Be That Way in the studio include trombonist Juan Tizol, alto saxophonist Willie Smith, drummer Louie Bellson and Dave Robbins on trombone. The Dixieland number is Jazz Me Blues”...
