Richard Himber - The Himber Magic: Selected Recordings 1933-41 (CD)

It's a thoroughly entertaining collection which admirably captures the spirit of the times.This is another in Acrobat's strand of collections featuring the 'sweet' US orchestras of the 1930s, who entertained in ritzy hotel venues and on radio, and kept people's spirits up during the Depression era. Richard Himber was a violinist who got a grounding in vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley, working with Rudy Vallee before forming his own orchestra in 1933 and getting a long-term engagement at New York's Essex House Hotel. He was a versatile entertainer with sense of humour who had hits parodying other orchestras and was also a noted magician and illusionist. This great-value 76-track 3-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides from his releases on the Vocalion, Bluebird, Victor, Royale and Decca labels during this era, featuring his various orchestras - the Essex House Orchestra, his Ritz-Carlton Orchestra, the Studebaker Camion Orchestra, his Rhythmic Pyramids Orchestra, The Seven Stylist