Tony Pastor & His Orchestra - Two-Fer (track)

I don't know why I always thought of Tony Pastor as a leader whose orchestra was akin to that of Guy Lombardo. That's certainly not the case. He played swing tenor and sang with a number of bands, including that of Artie Shaw, before forming his own outfit in 1939. It lasted for 20 years so he must have been doing something right.

It's true the Pastor band had a number of pop confections in its repertoire, including the first recordings by the Clooney Sisters, Rosemary and Betty, in the late 1940s. But the band could really swing too, as evidenced by something called Two-Fer. I took this selection from a five-LP set issued by the budget label Parliament sometime in the 1960s. Of course there's the usual hissy sound from the cheap vinyl used by these labels, but the quality of the recording itself is pretty decent.

This track apparently comes from the vaults of Roulette Records, which issued it on this 1958 LP.

Two-Fer



Two-Fer is among a plethora of selections by the Pastor Orchestra available on CD and as downloads. On CD Two-Fer is on the 2011 release Let's Do It, along with 23 other selections by a late 1950s edition of Pastor's band.

As a download Two-Fer is on the album The Best of Tony Pastor & His Orchestra, obtainable from most of the major sources.

Here's a rare look at a later version of the Pastor orchestra, in colour yet. Sound and video quality is above average for this vintage.