Mr. Easy - Jesse Belvin

 

What's New

Mr. Easy

Jesse Belvin

Arranged and Conducted by Marty Paich

Produced by Dick Pierce

Recording Engineer: Al Schmitt

Recorded at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 16, 1959

RCA Victor LPM 2105

1960

From the back cover: Early on the morning of February 6, 1960, a great talent was lost to the world. It was on this day that a grinding highway collision snuffed out the life of Jesse Belvin.

Anyone who was ever associated with Jesse insists that he was on the very threshold of his greatest success as an artist. His producer at RCA Victor, Dick Pierce, firmly believes that Jesse, at the time of his death, was the greatest potential talent in the field of popular music.

Recorded just a few weeks prior to his tragic accident, this album should have been a significant turning point in Jesse's singing career. Although not his first album, there is a vast difference between this and his earlier recordings. During the production it became apparent that Jesse was in the process of fulfilling his previous artistic promise. Seemingly without effort or conscious awareness of what was taking place, he began drawing more and more from his obviously huge reservoir of creative talent. With growing confidence and assurance he gave a highly individual and sensitive interpretation of each song, displaying excellent taste and inventiveness. In all this he was aided by the remarkable backgrounds of arranger-conductor Marty Paich. Their combined talents provided a wonderful example of true musical creativity.

On listening to this album, one can only speculate as to what heights Jesse might have attained if his career had not come to such an untimely end. Already he had accomplished a great deal in his twenty-seven short years. He had made several successful recordings and was author of many hit songs, including Earth Angel. He had also acquired a reputation as a fine nightclub performer.

So this album presents some ironic aspects. What should have been an exciting turning point becomes the final chapter in a brilliantly promising career. It is a fine artistic effort which will be played and remembered for years to come, yet Jesse never heard the entire album assembled, nor did he see the cover.

Just after the album was recorded, this writer was assigned the then pleasant task of preparing the liner notes. They were already completed and had been set in type when the tragic news was announced. I was asked to write a new set of notes. The first assignment was far easier and infinitely more enjoyable. It was with deepest regret that I accepted the second. – Bill Olofson

It's All Right With Me

Something Happens To Me

What's New

It The Still Of The Night

Blues In The Night 

Let There Be Love

Imagination

The Best Is Yet To Come

Makin' Whoopee!

Angel Eyes

I'll Buy You A Star

The Very Thought Of You

Men In War - Elmer Bernstein

 

Men In War

Men In War

Robert Ryan - Aldo Ray - Robert Keith

Composed & Conducted by Elmer Bernstein

A Security Picture released thru United Artists

Produced by Sidney Harmon

Directed by Anthony Mann

Screenplay by Philip Jordan

Music Coordinator: Robert Helfer

Music Editor: Lloyd Young

Orchestrations: Gil Grau

Lyrics by Alan Alch

Cover Art: Norman Gollin

Imperial LP9032-W

1957

From the back cover: About The Composers

Music, as we all know, is a living, breathing thing. Through the composer, it transmits all the emotions man is capable of. So it is with the music of "Men In War" by young, energetic Elmer Bernstein. Although still in his thirties, Elmer Bernstein is today recognized  as one of the foremost screen composers of our day, numbering among his credits such outstanding scores for films as "Sudden Fear", "The View From Pompey's Head", "The Ten Commandments", and "The Man With The Golden Arm", receiving an Academy Award nomination for the latter film. A versatile musician, Bernstein is an accomplished concert pianist having performed for a number of years in concert halls in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Chicago. He studied music under such noted tutors as Henriette Michelson at New York's famed Juilliard and with the world renown Roger Sessions and Stefan Wolpe. His prowess as a screen composer currently find him one of the busiest men of his profession in Hollywood with assignments for such films as "Fear Strikes Out", "Tin Star" and "Desire Under The Elms" on his schedule in the near future.

The music of "Men In War" is the language of the sounds, the thoughts, the sights of men in battle. The stillness of the forest is ever-present, the rustle of a leaf is ear splitting, the pathos and suspense of imminent death pervades the very air, all brought to life through the magic of Mr. Bernstein's skillful music. You'll relive that day in 1951 amid the rugged mountains of Korea, during the tragic and heroic hours of a platoon in "Men In War".

Press Quotes on Score of "Men In War":

Daily Variety – "Where 'Men In War' does stand out over the usual war picture is in its intelligent use of music. Elmer Bernstein composed and conducted the fine score, never trying to compete with the sounds of battle and thereby heightening the effect of many scenes". - Borg

L. A. Examiner – "And a bow of praise too, to Elmer Bernstein, who composed and  conducted the startling original music score." - Ruth Waterbury

L. A. Times – "The music composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein with great restraint has much to contribute..." - Edwin Schallert

The Hollywood Reporter – "Elmer Bernstein contributes another notable score, now dissonant, now lyric, filling in the gaps where conversation would be impossible or unlikely". - James Powers

L. A. Mirror – "A unique musica score" - Dick Williams

Sounds Of War

(a) Battel

(b) First March

Men In War Theme

(a) Men In War

(b) Flowers For Kilian

Run For Cover

(a) Waiting

(b) Running

Forest Of Mines

Morning After Battle

End Of The Road

Impassioned Argument

Montana & The Colonel

(a) Theme

(b) Up The Hill

Quiet Before The Attack

Salute To Heroes

Robert Clary Lives It Up At The Playboy Club

 

Lullaby Of Birdland

Robert Clary Lives It Up At The Playboy Club

Robert Clary is accompanied by Stuart Kirk, piano; Truck Parham, bass & Charles Walton, drums

Cover Photo: Pompeo Posar

Cover Design: Boring Eutemey

Atlantic Records SD 8053

1961

This recording was recorded at The Playboy Club in Chicago. Atlantic Records gratefully acknowledges the kind cooperation of the management and staff of The Playboy Club. 

From the back cover: There surely is no doubt about it – Americas have always enjoyed listening to French singers. From the apparently indestructible Maurice Chevalier, though Charles Trent and Jean Sablon, and right up to Yves Montand (to mention only the men), there have always been large and responsive audiences in this country for the gay and romantic singers from Paris. Most certainly Robert Clary fits very comfortably in such illustrious company, but this demi-pinte of exuberance and charm does have a very special distinction: he is the only leading singer of French origin to have scored his greatest successes in the United States. Neither Left Bank bistro nor Right Bank music hall claims him; his plucks grace had to wait until it was exposed in American supper club and on Broadway before it was a truly appreciated.

Thus M. Clary finds himself in the unique position of being more closely identified with songs sung in English than in French. To be sure, his ingratiating trombone of a voice can entertain us admirably in both French and English when he goes after such popular fare as Autumn Leaves or When The World Was Young or C'est Si Bon. Yet it is quiet obvious that what the customers at the Playboy Club relish the most are to hear him do the songs from Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952 which won him his first real acclaim – the brash account of the caddish lady-killer, Lucky Pierre; the catalogue classic, Love Is A Simple Thing' and, of course, the plaintive confession of puppy love, I'm In Love With Miss Logan. (Incidentally, the first and third songs, both written by Ronny Graham, have become so closely identified with the diminutive singer that they have become hie exclusive property.)

Happily, M. Clary is also able to do right by other Broadway and east-of-Broadway pieces. Rodgers and Hart's too-seldom heard He And She (from The Boys From Syracuse) shows his special gift as an interpreter of a cleverly wicked lyric, while his rendition of Bart Howard's supper club standard, Let Me Love You, proves that he is equally adept at revealing glossier emotions. Nor is he afraid of dreaming up new twists to old favorites. Lullaby Of Birdland becomes a caressing serenade as he sings it in French; the traditional swinging treatment as the whole audiences chimes in; and even Cole Porter's throbbing paean, I Love Paris, becames Clary-fied in a way the really starts to the sparks flying in the City Of Lights.

But this should really not be too surprising. Robert Clary could probably start sparks flying anywhere. – Stanley Green - Author of "The World Of Musical Comedy" (Ziff Davis).

Luck Pierre

Love Is A Simple Thing

He And She

Let Me Love You

Autumn Leaves

Lullaby Of Birdland

Aloutte

I Love Paris

Gigi

I'm In Love With Miss Logan

When The World Was Young

C'est Si Bon

George Russell Sextet At Beethoven Hall - Guest Artist: Don Cheery

 

Lydia And Her Friends

George Russell Sextet At Beethoven Hall 

Guest Artist Don Cheery

Produced by Joachim E. Brenda

Recording Director: H. G. Brunner-Schwer – Willi Fruth

Recording Engineer and Special Cut: Rolf Donner

Recorded Live at Beethoven Hall Stuttgart

Microphones: 6 x U67; 2 x KM54; 1 x SM2

Photos: Ove Alstrom (cover) - Manfred Schaeffer (inside)

Graphic Work: Gigi Berendt / Phil Reilly

2 Record Set

BASF STEREO MC 25125

1973

From the inside cover: George Russell's father was a music teacher at the famous Oberlin University. But George's first musical impression that remained, came from a riverboat which went downstream the Ohio past his home city Cincinnati. It was the "Fate Marable Band" who played on it.

That is the tension in Russell's musical life: The music-teacher and the riverboat. George has never learnt to know his father, but he says: "It must be heritage. From him I inherited my sense of the systematic, which led to the "Lydian Concept". From the neighborhood I grew up in I got jazz. Jimmy Mundy (in those days star-arranger for Benny Goodman and many others, author of "Airmail Special") was my neighbor.

In 1942, when Russell was 20 years of age, he "sold" his first composition to Benny Carter – and a little later just that same piece of music to the Earl Hines Big Band. It bore the symbolic title "New World".

In the middle of the 1940's Charlie Parker wanted Russell as drummer for his quintet. At the end of the the '40's Russell wrote "Cuban Be – Cuban Bop". Leonard Feather called it the "first successful large band work combining American jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms". So much about the background of George Russell. (More about him may be read in jazz books and in the liner notes of his numerous records).

George says: "I'm always trying to bind the old to the new." In "Lydia And Her Friends" just this connection is achieved. "Lydia" symbolizes the Lydian Concept of tonality, which George Russell created at the beginning of the 1950's.

John Lewis called it "the first profound theoretical contribution to come from jazz". And the "friends" are the ideas and persons who came from the old background of George Russell, to be now confronted with "Lydia".

George says: "The first part of the piece is me. But I'm influenced by everything I've heard. So I'm informing everyone: Music is big!" There is not only one style and not only one way of playing – there are many.

Now that is why Lydia all of the sudden finds herself in "Baggs Groove", is flirting with Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" and has a date with Thelonious Monk "Around Midnight". But to prevent all doubts: The last part of the piece (which belongs to one single and large complex) is called "Takin' Lydia Home". So it is George Russell who brings Lydia home, after all.

The way in which George Russell gets down to the ground with jazz-tradition in "Lydia And Her Friends" is exactly equivalent to Stravinsky's manner of resuming and reflecting the tradition of European music – from Pergolesi to Tschikowski – and of melting it into his own. Only he can create the new,  who builds up on the old.

That is exactly what "Freein'Up" is expressing. There you have a simple, almost conventional jazz motive, that swings – with Al Heath on drums – as good jazz always should swing. And yet, even to the untutored listener, all the freedom becomes evident, which Russell has brought into jazz. That is the importance of Russell's "Lydian Concept": It makes possible the freedom the jazz musician of the 1960's asks for, yet avoids arbitrariness. Russell: "The only thing which makes it free, is the logic of it. That logic expresses freedom. Unlogical freedom is chaos." Not without good reason the complete title of Russell's theoretical book is: "The Lydian Concept of Tonal Organization". This is tonal music – even if it may sound "a-tonal" to the uninitiated listener.

The reason for this "a-tonality" can be found, in the first place in, what George Russell calls, "the superimposition of different feelings". "Nobody in our complex world of computers and hydrogen bombs has only one single sort of feeling. You do have simply different feelings at the same time – or you do not fit into this world of ours."

George Russell is shocked by the incongruity between our highly developed, technicized, and specialized modern work and, on the other hand, the stone-age level of that music, the world pays homage to day by day in its hit parades. This incongruity, expressing lack of maturity, a certain un-readiness, suggests the fear that someday someone will press that button which will release the general catastrophe.

In September 1964 George Russell had come to Europe due to the initiative of the directors of the Berlin Jazz Festival. At this time, the "New York Times" wrote in its review of one of the concerts: "It was Miles Davis, who packed them in, it was the George Russell Sextex who turned them on..."

Russell's success was so great, that he decided to settle down in Europe. In Stockholm he founded a sextet consisting at first of Swedish musicians. But soon the fame of Russell's work in Stockholm ran to America. A number of American musicians came to Sweden, to be able to work along with George Russell. It has to be recalled what that meant, for jobs for jazz musicians are few, nowadays. It was not the hope to find numerous "gigs" to play, but the fascination of George Russell and his music which drew these Americans to Stockholm.

Seven or eight months later, already, George Russell had an "All American Sextet" except for the fine Swedish trumpet-player Bertie Loewgren. This sextet we present on our MPS-disc. It was recorded at a concert which took place in the Beethoven Hall in Stuttgart, on the occasion of the Radio and TV Exhibition 1965.

I shall never forget the enthusiasm the musicians played with that evening. When the concert was over and the audience had gone home after a long applause and even more encores, they kept on playing. One part of our recording was done during the concert, the other one after. We got so much of excellent material, that there soon will be another record. "George Russell At Beethoven Hall", Vol. 2.

Here are a few more words about the musicians:

Brian Trentham, born in Denver, Colorado, in 1944 has studied with Dave Baker, the former trombone-player and an important figure in the George Russell-sphere. Brian calls him his "musical father". Trentham had played already in America, together with Russell – for instance at the Newport Jazz Festival 1964. Repeatedly the Trentham Quartet was chosen as the Best College and University Jazz Group of the U. S. – as it was at the Villanova and the Penn State University Festivals.

Also to this quartet belongs the 19 year old bass player Cameron Brown – born in Detroit in 1945. He named Reggie Workman and Steve Swallow as main influences. The trip to Stockholm was easy for Brown, as he had lived in Sweden before 1963/64.

Ray Pitts, tenor sax – born in Boston in 1932 – has played a lot in Copenhagen together with Danish jazz musicians. He was especially successful in Poland at the Warsaw Jazz Festival.

Albert Heath of the Philadelphia jazz family (his brothers are Jimmy and Percy!) stayed loyal with Russell since he came over to Europe in autumn '64. From scores of jazz recordings Al is known as a sensitive, yet powerful drummer, so that he needs not to be specially introduced here.

Bertil Loewgren, born in Stockholm in 1939, has played its Arne Domneru and other Swedish jazz musicians. He says: "I'm always coming back to Brownie (Clifford Brown). I don't listen so much to trumpet-players, I want my own style". It is remarkable how perfectly Bertil, being the only European musician of this group, fits into the music and the concept of George Russell! Here, everyone can feel: This is the music of a new generation of jazzmen who span countries and continents with a new musical language which is understood by all of them.

Don Cherry –  with his old cornet or 1880 – was guest-star of the Russell concert at Beethoven Hall. Russell says: "He lights my music."

Don is a "poet of fee jazz". He has grown far beyond of what he used to play with Ornette Coleman. Even such a tough critic as Miles Davis admires his technique enabling him to disintegrate the musical thoughts and to spread them fanlike with trifling ease, permanently saying the new and personal in a powerful and, at the same time, lyrical way. Fascinating is the nonchalance with which Don takes up phrases and lets them drop again – phrases with evident continuity once they are begun. "You need not play what everyone knows already, beforehand," says Don Cherry, "look at the children. Not even they sing their songs unto the end, once they have sung them often enough before. They only hum them and think the rest. Why not should grown-ups do the same? You not just play the music. You have to live it, too, to be able to play it. and why should someone live just the same all over again? That's not for me." And that is not for George Russell, either. – Joachim E. Berendt (translated by Chris Dreyer)

Freein' Up

Lydia And Her Friends

Lydia In Bags Groove

Lydia's Confirmation

Lydia Round Midnight

Takin' Lydian Home

You Are My Sunshine

Oh Jazz, Po Jazz

Oh Jazz, Po Jazz (continued)

Volupte

Walter Wanderley Set: When It Was Done

 

Just My Love And I

Walter Wanderley Set: When It Was Done
Rhythm Arrangements by Walter Wanderley and Emir Deodato
String Arrangement by Don Sebesky
Produced by Creed Taylor - CTI
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios - December 10, 11, 12, 1968
Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder
Cover Photography by Pete Turner
Album Design by Sam Antupit
A&M Records SP 3018
1969

Violin:
Lewis Eley
Harry Glickman
Gene Orloff
Raoul Poliakin
Max Pollikoff
Matthew Raimondi
Tosha Samaroff
Sylvan Shulman
Avram Weiss

Viola:
Harold Coletta
Harold Furmansky

Cello:
Charles McCracken
George Ricci

Oboe, English Horn, Flute, Piccolo:
Donald Ashworth
Hubert Laws

Flute and Piccolo:
George Marge
Stan Webb

Harp:
Gloria Agostini

Flugelhorn:
John Glasel

The Players:

Walter Wanderley - Organ and Harpsichord: Walter's first album recorded in the United States contained the hit "Summer Samba." His touch is crisp, vibrant, sans histrionics. Walter was born in Recife, Brazil.

Joâo Palma - Drums: His birthplace is Rio, where he studied architectural engineering before he decided to pursue a musical career. Joao's talents are heard on "Mais Que Nada," Sergio Mandes' first hit.

Jose Marina - Bass: A native of Sao Paulo, he has been a basic part of Wanderley's group since its inception. Jose can be heard on "Summer Samba." This is the first time he has recorded with electric fender bass.

Lu Lu Ferreira - Percussion: Lu Lu is from the State of Ciara, in the North of Brazil. He now lives in Los Angeles where he works with Walter, and Ze Carioca, who inspired Walt Disney's famed Mexican parrot.

Marvin Stamm - Flugelhorn: Marvin is from Memphis, but he lived in New York and is one of the top-call brass men. He has recorded with Gary McFarland, Oliver Nelson, Duke Pearson, and has an album on Verve, "Machination."

Emir Deodato - Arranger/Composer: Emir, who wrote three songs in this album, is from Brazil. He won awards for scoring "Sabia" and "Travessia" at the International Song Festivals in Rio.

Don Sebesky - Arranger/Composer: Sebesky, who wrote the string arrangements for this album, is well known, among other credits, for his work with the late Wes Montgomery.

The Singers:

Anamaria Valle - Anamaria is from Rio. Her father is a well-known disc jockey there. Her husband is Marcos Valle, the gifted guitarist-composer-singer. Anamaria has recorded with Marcos here in the States.

Marilyn Jackson - Marilyn is a native New Yorker, educated at the High School of Music and Art and the Manhattan School of Music. She has recorded with Don Sebesky, Burt Bacharach, Gary McFarland, Quincy Jones and other jazz personalities.

Linda November - Linda has appeared on stage in summer stock with Ginger Rogers, Carol Burnett, and Robert Goulet. She has recorded with Burt Bacharach, Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick.

Milton Nascimento - Milton is the avant garden of the new Brazilian composers. His composition "Travessia" recently won first place for composer in the International Song Festival in Rio, and he won the first place award as Best Male Singer. Eumir Deodato relates the story of his appearance on Open Your Arms. "Milton arrived from Brazil, sleepy and travel-worn. He got off the place and I invited him to our recording session. He came along but had trouble keeping his eyes open. When the session began, he gave in and napped. We were having some troubles with the voicing of the counter-melody in the middle of the song when Milton woke up and just began singing. His is the phonetic counter-melody added here."

Open Your Arms (Let Me Walk Right In)
Surfboard
Baiao De Garôa
Reach Out For Me
Ole, Ole, Olá
Ponteio
When It Was Done
On My Mind
Just My Love And I
Capoeira
Truth In Peace (Verdade Em Paz)

Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter

 

Love For Sale & Love For Sale (Alternate Take)

Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter

The Genius Of Charlie Parker #5

Supervised by Norman Granz

Art Director: Sheldon Marks

Clef Series Verve MGV-8007

1957

From the back cover: In an age where conformity is too often the norm, and entertainment of almost any sort is dispensed with much the same manner and regularity as that of the prescription pharmacist, it's somewhat refreshing to note that Charlie Parker's music stands out for its invigorating nature, it's ever-fresh appeal, and is particularly stamped with the mark of originality. For Parker, unlike many of his contemporaries, was never satisfying with the simple mechanical procedure of playing methodically.

Music to be sure is a form of mathematics, but quite unlike the automated mechanical brain into which facts and figures are fed and a specific answer arrived at, we inject heart, warmth and our own personality in the performance of music before arriving at a conclusion. Fortunately for us, Mr. Parker was abundantly endowed in all these, and suffice to say, his passing left a chair that will be difficult to fill.

To say that Charlie "Yardbird" Parker was inventive is not enough. Parker was the progenitor of a style from whence came much of the modern sounds heard and played today. Any musician who has worked in jazz in the last decade and achieved even the slightest measure of success has been influenced  by Parker, in rhythm, tone, harmony – from every viewpoint. His work set a hitherto unreached climax, a pinnacle, a new standard not only for the saxophone, his chosen instrument, but for all musicians in jazz.

You can run the gamut of the big names in jazz today, and without exception all will attest to having been influence by Parker. His devotees can be found among the newcomers and neophytes of jazz who have only heard his recordings and never had occasion to hear his work in person.

Beyond the one basic requisite of jazz – that it must swing – Parker's legacy in music is the new height attained by the art of improvisation as a result of his prowess. Fidelity in music, especially in jazz, can only be reached if and when the musician is allowed to inject attitudes of his own in the basic writings. His feel for a give song, the musical method used in interpreting what the author has written are all important is still the hallmark to which all jazz musicians aspire.

It's fitting somehow that Parker should have chosen to record the music of Cole Porter in this his last recording session. Parker died on March 12, 1955 – these songs were recorded in New York only three months prior to his death. Few will challenge the relevancy of Parker playing Porter, for in such a marring, we're privileged to hear two unquestionable champions in their field.

There's another somewhat unorthodox surprise in store for listeners to this collection of Porter, for seldom do we hear, on records at least, more than one interpretation of a selection. This absence is corrected here via the additional performances of "I Get A Kick Out Of You," "Love For Sale," and different shades of phrasing in "I Get A Kick" are all delightful interludes.

No musician can ever play the same solo the same way twice. If ever this was true, it's true of Charlie Parker for the very essence of improvisation lies in lending new meaning, fresh implication to any given song or passage. This too, is true of Cole Porter's music.

Porter's music has stood the test of time, has met and mastered every known device which either rewards or rejects creative ability. His melodies are sincere, his lyrics smart, sophisticated and at times brutally frank. Above all though, he capably transmits emotion and even the most cynical has been touched by a Porter melody.

"Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter" appears to be a just fulfillment of an exceptional career for the "Bird." This artistry of each is unique and has seldom been so well exemplified as it is in this collection.

Instrumentalists appearing with Parker on the "A" side are Roy Haynes, drums; Jerome Darr, guitar; Teddy Kotick, bass; and Walter Bishop Jr., piano. On the "B" side Arthur Taylor replaces Roy Haynes on drums and Billy Bauer replaces Jerome Darr on guitar.

From Billboard - June 10, 1957: Save for an upcoming Parker memorial album, these LP's represent the last of what has been termed the definitive library of jazz pioneer Charlie Parker. Never limited as to style of choice of repertoire, aficionados of Bird will find an unusual variety of his works here, ranging from his interpretive cutting or "Charlie Plays Cole Porter," to the unique blend in "Bird & Die." Each package stands well enough on its own for drive, inventiveness and bottomless well of imagination. "Flesta" is a highly unorthodox view of Parker, while "Now's The Time" and "Jazz Perennial" are more the quicksilver style Parker fans know well. Of the lot, "Swedish Schnapps" rates the nod.

I Get A Kick Out Of You

I Get A Kick Out Of You (Alternate Take)

Just One Of Those Things

My Heart Belongs To Daddy

I've Got You Under My Skin

Love For Sale

Love For Sale (Alternate Take)

I Love Paris

I Love Paris (Alternate Take)

Sermonette - Billie Poole

 

Young Woman's Blues

Sermonette

The Voice Of Billie Poole

Orchestra Conducted by Jimmy Jones

Arrangements by Budd Johnson

Associate Arranger: Jimmy Jones

Produced by Bill Grauer

Riverside Records RLP 425

1962

From the back cover: Sometimes there is no point in being cautious or overly subtle about a situation, so let's come right out with it: Billie Poole is a young singer very much worth listening to. And she is a singer you surely will be listening to a great deal, starting right now. Because Billie Poole has got what it takes, and lots of it.

This is a singer of rare strength – in at least two senses of that word. Strong because her voice is usually and compellingly rich, full and powerful. And strong because her appeal is not derived from any vocal trickery or passing fads. It is deeply and firmly based, above all, on that rock-solid foundation known as the blues.

There's a well-established musical saying to the effect that it's how well they deal with the blues that is the best way of telling the men from the boys. The reference, of course is to instrumentalists, and I'm a bit unsure as to the most grammatical and politest way of applying this yardstick to girl singers, but the fact remains a vitally accurate one. And in neither case is the use of the word "blues" intended to limit matters to the strict 12-bar form. The overall idea is: if you can feel the essence of the blues, and can project that particular kind of earth and emotional message to your audience – if you can, you've got what counts. If you can't; forget it. Billie Poole can.

Since this is essentially a matter of feeling and soul and communication through music, there is little reason to get into technicalities and details about it. Certainly not when this album is filled with all the necessary living evidence. Start with Billie's warm, vibrant and thoroughly earthy version of Drown In My Own Tears. Continue with her straightforward and almost savagely sensuous treatment of Lazy Afternoon, a tune most other vocalists think of as just a pretty ballad. These two alone should  be enough to make a believer out of almost everyone. But of course they are not alone. They are followed by ten others, in a wide variety of moods and tempos. And whether the number is naturally blues-imbued – like Sermonette, or Rocks In My Bed – or not, Billie's interpretation usually manages to give it a deep down feeling. More importantly, it manages to make that kind of approach to the song seem not only proper but inevitable. As examples, note what she does with swingers like Sometimes I'm Happy and This Can't Be Love, and with a ballad like Time After Time. (It should also be noted that in several cases this felling is greatly enhanced by the distinctive trumpet work of Clark Terry).

Although this recording offers the first opportunity for most stay-at-home Americans to hear Billie, the early career of this California-raised singer is actually another of those stories of the artist who had a journey  far from home to gain recognition. For Billie Poole is not at all an unfamiliar name in Europe; during the late 1950s she appeared in a good many countries from Turkey to Scandinavia, with much time spent in Paris clubs and on French television, leading to her being "discovered" Paris by Riverside's Bill Grauer and her return to this country.

As with almost and young singer, Billie has listened to and absorbed from the best of those who came before. She herself notes that "I admire Ella Fitzgerald, but I think it's Dinah Washginton I'm closest to."  There is also indication of having listened well to Billie Holiday. It should be no surprise to learn that gospel singing was an important part of her background: before venturing to Europe, Billie had been part of a family gospel group known as The Poole Sisters. And, ever since first listening to some old recordings, blues-singer Bessie Smith has been an acknowledged influence. Billie's powerful voice can at times strongly suggest that of the 1930s "Empress Of The Blue," and she had much success in Europe with material linked with Bessie. But Young Woman's Blues, one such number included here, serves to indicate the limitations of "influence." If you don't known the original recording, you can easily accept this as a strong, possibly somewhat older-sounding, blues vocal. If you are familiar with Bessie's version, you'll hear the connection, but you'll also be aware that this is no mere copy or re-creation. It is clearly Billie Poole singing, in her own very personal and very rewarding way – and that is exactly what you can hear throughout this album, and what you will be hearing a lot from now on. – Orrin Keepnews

From Billboard - September 1, 1962: This young lady is making her recording debut with this LP. Miss Poole possessed a large voice that has power and impact. She still has some things to learn about phrasing and lyrics, however, especially on standards. The lass does her best work on the blues and gospel-touched tunes. "Drown In My Own Tears" and "Young Woman's Blues are two of the better tracks of this type.

Drown In My Own Tears

Lazy Afternoon

Sometimes I'm Happy

Rocks In My Bed

A Sunday Kind Of Love

When You're Smiling

This Can't Be Love

Sermonette

Time After Time

Young Woman's Blues

I Could Have Danced All Night

He's My Guy

African Music - Laura C. Boulton

 

Orphan's Wail

African Music

Recorded by Laura C. Boulton on the Straus West African Expedition of Field Museum of Natural History

Folkways Records & Service Corporation FW 8852

1957

Comments By Laura C. Boulton (from "descriptive comment" insert)

Prefatory Note

Music is by far the most vital and the most demonstrative expression in the life of the Negro. From morning till night, from the cradle to the grave, everything is done to the rhythm of his music. It is a living art-form passed on by word of mouth from one generation to the next. It is a means of preserving for posterity the tradition, ambitions and lore of the tribe. Music perform a vitally important role in maintaining the unity of the social group. Singing the same songs in the same way at the same time binds the individuals together, and a strong group feeling is established. The ceremonial music functions most vitally in this respect. Whether religious or secular, improvised or traditional, the songs have a powerful influence on the social group and bring about a feeling of harmony.

Among the songs which make up the group repertoire, there is a wide range of subjects, some old, some new. Every occasion and every activity has its song or group of songs. There are songs of love and work and war, historical songs, fervent religious chants and frenzied dance tunes. Whether the African sings a gay, rollicking play song, a boisterous boat song, a gentle lullaby, or a dignified noble lament, always he pours out his emotions in an appealing form of music. The text of the songs make up the poetry of the people. The verses show the same feeling for form, balance and symmetry which is apparent in all artistic expression of the Africans.

African musical instruments are of many kinds and vary from tribe to tribe. Their usual tone color, their uses and role in the society, their religious importance in the life of the people – all are subjects of study of the utmost significance, from the point of view of both cultural and musical research.

Music in Africa is for the whole community and everyone from the youngest to the oldest participates. It is so interwoven with the work, the play, the social and religious activities of the natives, that it is difficult to isolate it and study it apart from its role in the life of the people. African music, while more complex in certain aspects than the music of other preliterate people, has certain things in common with all primitive music. There is a definite tendency of the melodies to progress downward as from tension to rest. Usually the phrases are short and repeated over and over again. Fractional intervals (smaller than semi-tones) seem to be regularly employed. The scales are many and varied. While the music of most other primitive people of the world consists of melody and rhythm only, the Africans have evolved an interesting form of part music. Antiphonal singing, with soloist and responding chorus, is prevalent all over Africa. There is a definite singing technique characteristic of the Negroes, a frequent vagueness of pitch, a short glissando preceding the actual attack, a raucous vocal quality cultivated by the women, various Sprechstimme devices, occasional humming instead of singing, etc. This mode of singing is so typical that it goes with the Negro wherever he goes and gives his music even in The New World and African flavor.

It is perhaps in the field of rhythm that African music has the most to contribute to the Western World. Rhythm is the governing impulse in the life of the native, and its most appealing expression is through his music. Our modern musicians are stimulated by the complex rhythmic organizations of African music and by the forceful, free outlines of the melodies with their strange intervals and exotic tonal combinations.

Studies in primitive music have been in progress for years, but the opportunities for work in Africa music have been limited and the technical difficulties great. With the development of recording equipment, this study has become an accurate science. Thanks to the financial support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, excellent electric recording apparatus was built for my work in Africa. With this equipment it was possible to record instruments whose tone and melodies had never before been preserved.

The records included in this album were made on my fourth African expedition, in French and British West Africa. Most of the native tribes of this region are very highly developed culturally. Their social organization, their religious and economic life are much more complex than among the less highly organized groups of East, Central and South Africa. The artistic expressions of West Africans have aroused great interest. They are known primarily for their fine sculpture, but their dance forms and particularly their music, although less known, are also remarkable.

War Song - Malinke Tribe-French Sudan, Harp with drums - instrumental

Song Of Praise - Malinke-French Sudan, Vocal with xylophones

Song For Chief - Bambara-French Sudan, Vocal with Kora

Dance Song - Bambara-French Sudan, Flutes Bells, Drums - instrumental

War Song - Taureg-French Sudan, Vocal with Lute

Herding Song, Marriage Song, Lullaby Taureg-French Sudan, Vocal with water drum

Wrestling Match Song - Bakwiri-British Comeroons, Vocal with Horn

Orphan's Wail - Bakwiri-British Cameroons, Vocal with musical bow

Battle Signals - Kru-Nigeria, War horn with explanations

Ceremonial Songs For Oba's Wives & Oba - Bini-Southern Nigeria, Vocal with rattles and drums

Secret Society Dance Song - Bini-Southern Nigeria, Vocal with 5 drums

Secret Society Drums - Bini-Southern Nigeria, instrumental with 5 drums