Toward the end of his life, veteran drum legend Panama Francis led a “reboot” of the by then extinct “little Big Band” named the Savoy Sultans. Originally led by Al Cooper, the Savoy Sultans were known for kicking butt at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City, even when set against larger musical aggregations. The dancers and listeners alike loved them for their plaintive, hard-driving rhythmic style, so urgently riff-heavy, they might swing you into bad health! Jazz promoter George Wein helped Panama Francis take up the task of recreating the great sound of this classic American band in the 1980s, but Francis kept on keeping the band afloat, even after a long tenure at the Rainbow Room. These recordings from the 1993 are an example of a live performance by the band at a concert in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ, and feature a mixture of young generals and swing legends alike. Featured are Joey “G-Clef” Cavaseno, Irvin Stokes, Zaid Nasser, Lawrence Lucie, Zeke Mullins, Julia Steele, Leonard Gaskin, and others.
1. Song of the Islands
2. Here Comes Panama
3. Blues in Bea’s Flat
4. Take the A Train
5. Norfolk Ferry
6. All Too Soon
7. I’ve Got the World on a String
8. Bill Bailey
9. All God’s Children Got Rhythm
10. Moten Swing
11. I Got it Bad and That Ain’t Good
12. Looney
13. In The Mood
8-27-93
Drums/Leader- Panama Francis
trumpet- Irv Stokes, Dean Pratt
alto sax- Joey “G-Clef” Cavaseno, Zaid Nasser
tenor sax- John Simon
guitar- Lawrence Lucie
piano- Zeke Mullins
bass- Leonard Gaskin
vocals- Julia Steele
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