Born in New York City in 1910 and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Artie Shaw worked for several years as a saxophonist and clarinetist in name bands, and as a free-lance studio musician in Manhattan radio and recording work, before his career as a bandleader began, almost by accident, in 1935. In the spring of 1937 Artie started a new band with the regular saxes-brass-rhythm instrumentation. This was the band that catapulted him to fame a year later when he recorded Begin the Beguine. Some of the numbers in this album go back to that era; in fact one tune, Comin' On, was recorded on the same day at the same session as the historic Beguine-July 24, 1938. This Shaw panorama should convince you that, in truth, Artie Shaw at all times has had both feet in the groove.