Freddy Martin - Mr. Silvertone

Sweet bandleader and honeyed saxophonist Freddy Martin combined elements of big-band jazz and dance music with a small string section. He was more consistently successful with this formula than others who tried it heavy-handedly, pouring on too much sugar. Martin mostly managed to maintain a fascinating equilibrium between the violins and the rest of the ensemble. This is dramatically demonstrated during the instrumental chorus halfway through "The Hut Sut Song." He also established a precedent for mood music by tapping into the work of 19th and early-20th century Russian classical composers, represented here by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-korsakov, Aram Khachaturian, and Sergei Prokofiev. Read More