Leith Stevens

A young trumpeter rises through the jazz world and finds love.

Leith Stevens leads his orchestra in a nice assortment of standards in a variety of musical styles, including Dixieland and swing. Mr. Stevens was a popular orchestra leader of the era who later became a musical director for an assortment of television shows and his facility with more than one style of music, so important for his later career, is much in evidence here.

The setting is a radio broadcast with the bands of Leith Stevens and Bobby Hackett, the vocals by Nan Wynn and a speciality bit by Leslie Lieber playing a toy whistle. Future-and-long-time-voice of the New York Yankees baseball team, Mel Allen (as Melvin Allen), served as the announcer.