Goin' to Kansas City

Although trumpeter Buck Clayton gets top billing, this CD reissue actually features Tommy Gwaltney's Kansas City Nine, an unusual group sporting arrangements by Gwaltney and tenor-saxophonist Tommy Newsom (who decades later became famous for his work on The Tonight Show). The group has an unusual combination of major names (Clayton, trombonist Dickie Wells, guitarist Charlie Byrd, pianist John Bunch, bassist Whitey Mitchell and drummer Buddy Schutz) along with Gwaltney (who doubles on reeds and vibes), Newsom and Bobby Zottola (playing second trumpet and peck horn). Although the nonet performs a variety of songs associated with Kansas City Jazz of the swing era, the arrangements are modern and unpredictable.