Artie Shaw: Sweet Lorraine

This Lorraine is too sweet for my taste. The string arrangement creates a genteel, afternoon-tea type of mood. Listening to this tepid chart, one could easily forget that the Swing Era had kicked the previous year. There is not much swing on this track. Shaw offers a melodic solo, and when he gets a two-bar break with 25 seconds left in the performance, he tiptoes across it like he is carrying grandma's precious china. Shaw could be a compelling soloist when he was so inclined. But on this date, he never worked up a sweat.