Trio, Quartet and Quintet 1936-1947

Adrian Rollini was the king of the bass saxophone in the 1920s, recording with the California Ramblers and Bix Beiderbecke, among others. While the bass sax became extinct after 1930, Rollini continued on the instrument until the beginnings of the swing era. At that point, he changed his focus completely to the vibes, where he was second only to Lionel Hampton; Red Norvo did not switch from xylophone to the vibraharp until 1943. Rollini was not as exciting a player as Hampton, but he made a steady living into the mid-'40s, usually leading a trio featuring guitarist Frank Victor and either Haig Stephens or Harry Clark on bass. His Vintage Music Productions CD has studio recordings from 1936, 1937, 1939, and very rare ones from 1944 and 1947 along with radio transcriptions from 1938. While most of the performances feature Rollini in his trio, the 1938 performances add violinist Al Duffy and sometimes Paul Ricci or possibly Arthur Rollini (Adrian's younger brother) on reeds with Carl Kress playing an important role on guitar. The selections include several originals that are ragtime-oriented along with tightly arranged versions of swing and Dixieland standards. While one might prefer Rollini's earlier rollicking work on bass sax, his vibes playing has long been underrated and his swing era performances are worthy of a reassessment.