Billy May and his Orchestra - Sorta-May / Sorta-Dixie (1996)

Two of Billy's Capitol big band albums on one compact disc. Sorta-May, recorded in 1954, captures the usual brassy, strident kind of scoring that became his trademark on tracks like "Thou Swell," "You're the Top," "Just One of Those Things" and nice ballad takes of "You Go to My Head," and "Deep Purple." Sorta-Dixie employs a Dixieland front line -- Dick Cathcart on trumpet, Matty Matlock on clarinet, Moe Schneider on trombone, and Eddie Miller on tenor sax -- working in tandem with the big band to create some marvelous combinations between the two quite divergent styles on old warhorses like "Sheik of Araby," "Riverboat Shuffle," and "South Rampart Street Parade." May's explosive style comes through loud and clear on these crystal-clear transfers.