Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra — Music Videos

A reed-playing leader and his big band

Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra was an American dance band led by clarinetist and alto saxophonist Jimmy Dorsey. He had worked with his brother, trombonist Tommy Dorsey, before the brothers’ orchestra split into separate organizations in 1935. Jimmy’s ensemble developed its own identity through a mixture of instrumental swing and carefully arranged popular songs. His reed playing and the orchestra’s featured singers were both central to the sound audiences encountered on records and radio.

Vocal records and familiar standards

The band’s recordings include “Amapola,” “Green Eyes,” “Maria Elena,” “Tangerine,” and “Bésame Mucho.” Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell became particularly associated with the orchestra’s contrasting vocal features. Kitty Kallen later joined its roster of singers and appears with Eberly on the 1944 recording of “Bésame Mucho,” the Consuelo Velázquez song represented here. The arrangement connects a Mexican standard with the American big-band popular-song tradition.

An orchestra across changing years

The band’s personnel and repertoire evolved, so the name should not be taken to imply one unchanging lineup. Its history also differs from that of Tommy Dorsey’s separate orchestra. Jimmy’s combination of reed virtuosity, dance-band arrangements, and featured vocalists gave his records an identity that remained recognizable across ballads and more rhythmically assertive numbers.