Studies in Swing
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The Studies in Swing are a series of four 78 rpm records released individually in 1927, on Parlophone.
The titles are:
- Studies in Swing No.1: Tiger Rag.
- Studies in Swing No.2: The Japanese Sandman.
- Studies in Swing No.3: When You're Smiling.
- Studies in Swing No.4: Baby Won't You Please Come Home.
On each of the records, the A side is the same four-piece rhythm section, backing a soloist, and the B side is the rhythm section without the soloist. The rhythm section is:
On the A sides of numbers 1 and 3, the soloist is Nat Gonella on trumpet.
On numbers 2 and 4 the A side soloist is Freddy Gardner. On both of these recordings, Garder plays first alto and then tenor sax, swapping during Norman's piano solo.
On all four recordings, Norman plays a piano solo on both sides, in fact other than the absence of the solo instrument the two sides are identical. They are of course different performances however. In 1927, the state of the art of sound recording was such that the artists could not even hear their performance played back until production of the first pressing of the record, by which time release of the record as pressed was almost inevitable on economic grounds. The option of different mixes from the same session just did not exist.
Except for the one-bar introduction to Tiger Rag, there are no drum solo passages, and no solos at all by guitar or bass.
