Happy: The 1920 Rainbo Orchestra Sides

Happy: The 1920 Rainbo Orchestra Sides

December 2014: <i>Happy</i> is nominated for two GRAMMY AWARDS: Best Historical Album (Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer) and Best Album Notes (David Sager, notes writer). Sound samples available at the Archeophone website and Soundcloud. <BR> <BR> Years before writing "It Had to Be You," Isham Jones honed his craft at Mann's Rainbo Gardens in Chicago--composing, arranging, and perfecting songs that he and his band performed nightly before the dinner-and-dance patrons. Jones' style, capturing elements of the social dance craze of the 1910s and anticipating the jazz revolution of the 1920s, offers a rare glimpse into the beginnings of the era of great American dance bands. This two-CD set presents remarkable restorations of all 37 sides Jones' Rainbo Orchestra recorded in 1920 and includes a 32-page booklet, with notes by Grammy-nominated author and trombonist David Sager, exploring Isham's earliest years, his gift for tuneful arrangements, and his importance as an architect of the American dance band.