You be the judge, is it better to watch the sausage being made? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2UEB3prvk8 here's Kenton's early-LP version (not the 1947 original): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM_Eyu_t-eM wonder why 1999 Rugolo sped it up and made it more complex? I like the cleaner lines and the buildup of the Kenton version. The in-session camera work is interesting, though. I didn't realize Pete Rugolo was still active in 1999. This is a really cool Rugolo tune from his prime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZuWviXQLSA I have the stereo 2-track tape, which is cooler sounding than the mono LP. I love the rhythm change for the alto sax solo. I also love the bottom end on this entire tune, the bassline, the drum stuff and the lower-register piano lines. And a bass sax doing those boooom drones. Also a tuba in there. And of course the album cover! Rugolo is a flashpoint with most of my present-day jazz friends, so is Kenton for that matter. Both men's music is either loved or hated. I come down in the middle, I'm not really a fan of the over-ponderous stuff, but I like the zippy stuff with neat rhythm changes and instrumentations. In examples like HiFi Bugs, you can feel the tension because it's hard to play even by crack Hollywood studio players. -- Tom Fine