Music of Bob Haggart, The

Bob Haggart was a fine bass player, but his ambitions and talents took him beyond simple sideman status. He began playing with Bob Crosby's Bobcats in the 1930s and continued to work in the swing idiom for the next 60 years. Although Haggart died in 1998, Arbors released All-Stars at Bob Haggart's 80th Birthday in 2002, a concert recording from 1994. Later the same year they released The Music of Bob Haggart, an album featuring a number of top-notch players performing his arrangements. The center of these recordings is ten pieces from Porgy and Bess. Haggart wrote the arrangements in 1958 and believed them to be his best work. The album begins with a fine take of "It Ain't Necessarily So" before tackling several Gershwin favorites, including "Summertime" and "I Loves You, Porgy." There are too many quality musicians on this recording to list them all. The trumpeter work of Byron Stripling and Randy Sandke, along with the trombone work of John Allred and Wycliffe Gordon, is excellent. The last seven numbers come from divergent sources and round the disc out nicely. Haggart himself shows up on "Big Noise From Winnetka," capping off a beautifully realized project. Fans of classic jazz, and anyone with discerning taste, will enjoy The Music of Bob Haggart. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi