Gus Arnheim - Echoes from the Cocoanut Grove

The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles offered posh, resort type accommodations that attracted dignitaries, socialites and celebrities. It was also the home of the Coconut Grove, a world famous nightclub that catered to this set. From 1928 to 1931 Gus Arnheim's orchestra was in residence as the Grove's popular house band. He was called "the star of entertainers and the entertainer of stars". Indeed if stars were to be seen, it was rarely in Hollywood, but at the Coconut Grove. Not surprisingly, several musicians and vocalists who performed with Arnheim at this time soon became stars themselves, including Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Russ Columbo, Jack Smith and Donald Novis. Selections in this collection are transferred from rare radio transcriptions made in 1931. We are fortunate these transcriptions were saved since Gus Arnheim failed to make commercial releases of a great many songs that have only survived thanks to these shows. Moreover, these numbers are performed in a more relaxed and spontaneous style of a nightclub rather than in the controlled setting of a recording studio. The two vocals by Bing Crosby for Out of Nowhere and What Is It? were actually recorded live from the Grove, making them especially atmospheric.