Title: AMERICA'S MOST PROLIFIC BANDLEADER
Product review: Ben Selvin was one of the major figures in the US music industry, who began recording in 1919. He made more records than any other American bandleader, for every recording company, often using one of a bewildering assortment of pseudonyms. This compilation is a selection of the hot dance titles he made over a 2-year period, from mid-1924 to mid-1926. They are mainly from Vocalion sides, plus The Moulin Rouge Orchestra for Apex, The Knickerbockers and the Radiolites for Columbia, and The Harmony Dance Orchestra for Harmony (what else?).Included amongst the line-up are trumpeters Earl Oliver and Hymie Faberman, but the arrangements are scored in the main for the ensemble, with short hot breaks. The original recordings, the earliest of which are of course acoustic, have been remastered expertly, and as is usual with Timeless the accompanying illustrated booklet contains a mass of detail about Ben Selvin's career, his musicians, and the recordings.
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