A few years before Artie Shaw returned from a hiatus in Mexico to launch his Frenesi big band in 1940, he fronted a group in 1937 and '38 called the Rhythm-Makers. The band was sub-billed as Art Shaw and His New Music. This is the band that Shaw fronted to record Any Old Time with Billie Holiday.
The early Shaw-led band was a mixed bag, but one of the be…
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