The Dave Robbins Big Band; Happy Faces

It took well over a half century to get this swinging big band a recording. But here they are in 2025 with fourteen tracks recorded in 1963 and 1965! They were based in Vancouver, B.C. And, true to the album's title, I'm sure that they created throngs of happy faces. After all these years, some background is incomplete but that doesn't matter; what DOES is that this band performed well written original material with tight, creative arrangements and generous solo space. For the record, the one standard on the disk is Rodgers and Hart's classic “Spring Is Here”. When one thinks about it, one might realize that this is exceptional big band music that could have been lost to us forever. How nice indeed it is for us to enjoy it after all these years!

Reel to Real Records; 2025; appx. 70 min.