The Rhythmic Eight play Arthur Lally's excellent hot arrangement of \"Don't Be Like That\", with solos by Sylvester \"Hooley\" Ahola on trumpet, Arthur Lally on alto and baritone sax and Johnny Helfer on clarinet.
In addition to the solos, there are some excellent arranged hot passages, such as that for the sax section after the vocals. Hooley told me that Firman could only afford to use a few Lally arrangements as Zonophone (i.e. The Gramophone Co) wouldn't pay for more. A shame, as Arthur Lally's scores are invariably superb…the flip side, \"Shout Hallelujah, 'Cause I'm Home\", is another one of Lally's charts.
The vocalist is Maurice Elwin, whose presence in the London recording studios was ubiquitous at this time. He blends in well with this hot outfit and I rather like his style.
THE RHYTHMIC EIGHT
John Firman directing: Sylvester \"Hooley\" Ahola - trumpet / Arthur Lally - alto sax, baritone sax / ?Jack Miranda - alto sax / Johnny Helfer - tenor sax, clarinet / Bert Read - piano / Joe Brannelly - banjo / Billy Bell - brass bass / Rudy Starita - drums / Maurice Elwin - vocals
