LAWSON-HAGGART JAZZ BAND Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band 1951 - 1952 (LP)

(Tax) 16 tracks Recorded in New York from June 6, 1951 to March 5, 1952 Although dream bands have always existed in jazz fans' minds, their fantasies rarely materialize. Financial disparities, temperamental differ-ences, and booking and promotion problems have always been formidable deterrents. Top-caliber jazzmen lead extremely busy lives, and they often find it difficult to make long-range commitments. With the notable exception of Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, most star-studded groups have existed only briefly, playing together at benefit concerts, on special recordings, and occasionally on short tours. Seldom has an all-star aggregation worked together regularly. That all changed in 1963, when a group of great players began an association destined to make jazz history. The concept gradually emerged at a series of annual jazz weekends produced by Colorado fan Dick Gibson. Each year, Gibson hired the best talent he could find to entertain friends, business associates, and fellow jazz lovers in Aspen, Vail, Colorado Springs, and other Rocky Mountain locales. Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, colleagues in the famed Bob Crosby Orchestra during the mid-'3os, continued their relationship as co-leaders of a popular recording group, the Lawson-Haggart Jazz Band. Each year, Gibson featured the pair at his party with a variety of fine musicians.