JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH
Arnvid Meyer (1927-2007) was a trumpeter from Copenhagen, Denmark, who led a swing-oriented sextet during his prime years. He made relatively few commercially released records other than appearing on a 1962 session led by trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, and an album with Ben Webster in 1965. However around 2008 the Stunt label compiled a remarkable box set titled Right Out Of Kansas City that consists of five CDs of mostly previously unreleased performances plus a DVD and a hard cover book. The latter is mostly in Danish but also includes some parts in English along with many colorful and rare photos.
In addition to the fine players in Meyer’s group which usually includes trombonist John Darville, sometimes tenor-saxophonist Jesper Thilo, and a four-piece rhythm section, these recordings (mostly made privately or taken from radio broadcasts) often teams the core group with rather remarkable guests.
The first disc has Meyer in the early 1950s playing as a sideman with a few different trad and swing bands in addition to a few numbers from the beginnings of his own group, a song with trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, and three with a visiting Coleman Hawkins in 1963. The other discs feature Meyer’s Orkester, both as its own infectiously swinging unit and on many performances with American greats who happened to be passing through Denmark. These include tenor-sa
