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Friday, July 27, 2018

Adventures In Time - Sauter-Finegan Orchestra

Whoo Doo Voodoo
Adventure In Time
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
Photo: Bernard Seeman
RCA Victor LPM-1240
1956

The cut out that is taped to the lower left cover of this "radio station copy" is titled "RCA VICTOR POPULAR ALBUM RELEASE SERVICES".

Personel:

Joe Venutor - Percussion
Al Block - Jute
Dave Hildinger - Piano
Rex Peer - Trombone
Bobby Nichols - Trumpet
Nanette Horton - Harp
Pete Dadderio - Drums
Warrn Hard - Percussion
Tigger Alpert - Bass
Ruth Yorke reading The Minute

From the back cover: This is an album of percussion music – percussion in this case being sound produced by objects of differing weights and timbres being struck by tools of differing weights and timbres. The organization of groups of such struck sounds in time and space (pitch) – this incidentally is our role – gives off an association of thought and feeling that is music, percussion music. So here "time" is more than a matter of hands on a clock.

Normally there are three "percussionists" in the band, including the player of the standard set of drums. Because there are percussive qualities in other instruments as well – for instance, the plucking of harp strings, the piano, the tongued attack of wind instruments, even the human voice – these instruments have their place in this album. When these performers aren't using their chosen instruments they are drafted into the enlarged percussion section, and although they're not drummers, their proficiency as musicians makes them adaptable in this secondary role. In essence it is somewhat like an adult version of the rhythm bands so popular in kindergartens.

The Jukes Family Takes A Holiday – Imagine this not-too-bright family numbering twenty or so packed into a high-bodied, large-wheeled, brass-trimmed touring car, vintage of 1910, off on a spree. Bulb horns and flat tires are incidental. Rex Peer on trombone, Bobby Nichols on trumpet, Al Block on clarinet, and the percussion section made up of the rest of the Jukes family.

E = MC2 – A piece for percussion alone that demonstrates the relativity of time, space, pitch and volume mentioned earlier.

Time Machine – Joe Venuto and Pete Dadderio as libbing on two sets of drums. Variations on a basic beat: the familiar "ding chicka ding, chicka ding" of which the incessant reiteration had partially become a tick in jazz circles.

World Without Time – Al Block, flute; Dave Hildinger, piano, Joe Venuto and Warren Hard, percussion. Simply music for flute, piano and percussion.

The Minute (a poem by Karl Shapiro) – This poem was chosen because it deals with "time" – an element of percussion – as well as for its allusions to percussive sounds and the rhythmic intensity with which it unfolds itself. Originally it had been planned for the group to read it as a sort of Greek chorus, which is percussive in nature. Our friend Ruth Yorke, an actress currently associated with TV, was on hand to coach us through its intricacies. Unforeseen obstacles, such as a thick mixture of Brooklyn, New England, and Mid-Western accents, plus fierce individuality frustrated that attempt. Ruth made a test recording to demonstrate her idea to the group, and performed so beautifully that it became our record. The entire Jukes family supplies the musical background.

The Stone Age – So titled because what happens seems to refer to some ancient civilization. Structurally, it is based on the blues. Joe Venuto, ad lib tympani; Dave Hildinger, first piano; Eddie Sauter, second piano; and the percussion group of assorted ticks, water glasses, cymbals and so on.

Whoo Doo Voodoo – A ritualistic orgy of ad lib percussion led by Joe Venuto, Warren Hard and Pete Dadderio. Screams by Nanette Norton and Bobby Nichols.

A Chinese Painting – Joe Venuto plays the marimba, improvising on a six-bar theme. The Jukes family provides the framework on which he paints.

Abstraction – An angular, percussive solo piece for piano that refers to another manner of painting. Painted by Dave Hildinger on the piano, with Joe Venuto and Warren Hard, percussion. Dave, incidentally, is a man to watch. He plays jazz as well as he plays classical music and composes as well as he does either. We should be hearing more of him.

Kinetic Energy – Minute particles in vigorous motion. All percussion

Swingcussion – When the band is on tour the percussion equipment uses half the space on the bandstand. Lords of this domain are Joe Venuto and his partner. Standard equipment, along with their uniforms, is a pair of twenty-league boots. People are always asking Joe which of his instruments he likes most to play. The question has become so universal, Joe has written a song in answer, and he sings! This is it.

Roulette – P.S. He Lost – A Joe Venuto and Warren Hard interpretation of a disastrous night in Las Vegas. It closes with finality. And so does the album. Hope you enjoy it! – Eddie Sauter and Bill Finegan


From Billboard - May 5, 1956: When the Sauter-Finegan band sets up, half the space on the band-stand is allowed to the percussion equipment. Joe Venuto runs the gamut from tympani and cymbals to marimbas and ticking on plain water glasses. There are occasional interjections of other instruments like trombone, trumpet, and flute, but this show belongs to the percussionists. They succeed in presenting a veritable catalog of struck sounds, all of which must be particularly intriguing to hi-fi addicts. To anyone else, it is likely to prove a colossal bore.

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