Last week was somewhat of an eventful one as far as this column was concerned. It was the week in which Harvard and Kansas City joined hands in mutual admiration of their respective jazz-playing offspring. First on Monday at Winthrop House, then on Friday at Dunster, our undergraduate virtuosi displayed no signs of nervousness at performing with two of the greatest colored band leaders in the country.

Monday's musicale was assured of becoming a smash hit when Jimmy Rushing opened his jaws to sing "Harvard Blues" while Count Basie tinkled along behind him at the piano. But in the excitement of the occasion don't forget the local boys who made good in front of the home crowd that night. There were, of course, the two winners, Burgstaller and Dunn, who continued their brilliant rivalry on the tenor sax later in the week when Andy Kirk came to town, but there were some others whom I'd like to mention here who played more than one fine chorus that night. The ones I have in mind particularly are George Springer, whose trumpet led the rideout finals with much gusto, and who played some nice obligato during Rushing's blues numbers; Stu Grover, easily the best of the three drummers; and Ed Hunt on guitar and Bud Wentworth on trombone, both of whom suffered from the lack of an amplifier. It might be well to observe that most of the participants were members of "Russ Randolph's" band, which has been playing dates around here all along without exciting much comment. While it's remarkable to find a college band with so many fine soloists in it, I hope that if ever there is another jam session at Harvard some of the fine freelance musicians around here who weren't in evidence Monday will sit in....

The idea of having "Harvard Blues" introduced at Harvard by the singer and leader who first presented it, in the presence of the lyricist, George Frazier, scut Milt Ebbins, Basie's manager, into ecstasies, and before the evening was over he had his publicity man at work spreading the tidings among the trade papers. One of his stunts, of which he has now ample photographic records, was to have the Count presented with on honorary degree of Doctor of Swingology....Sally Scars, the Boston debutante who just loves jazz and everything about it, has been singing at the Cocoanut Grove this past week. No coniment....The newest Dccca Gems of Jazz album, though marred by horrible record surfaces which disintegrate at the touch of a fibre needle, may well be the best so far. It includes several records made by Coleman Hawkins and Benny Carter, some of them in Europe, about nine or ten years ago, and they are all excellent.