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Saturday, March 22, 2025

A Program Of Song - Leontyne Price

 

Poulenc

A Program Of Song
Leontyne Price
David Gravey at The Piano
Produced by Richard Mohr
Engineer: John Crawford
RCA Victor LM-2278
1958

From the back cover: It was as Mistress Ford in a Juilliard School production of Verdi's Falstaff that Leontyne Price first attracted the attention of the musical world. Among those who recognized her great potential was composer-critic Virgil Thomson, who was preparing a revival of his opera Four Saints in Three Acts. He assigned the Mississippi-born soprano one of the major roles. After a Broadway run the production was sent to Paris to represent this country in the French Inter- national Arts Festival.

Shortly thereafter Miss Price was signed to portray Bess in the now his- toric 1952 production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. The show was so well received in Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington that the Department of State persuaded the producers to postpone the Broadway run and take the production to Europe. It played the capitals of Western Europe with great success and Leontyne Price was acclaimed for both her voice and her acting ability. During the subsequent Broadway run she undertook a few additional engagements, including a recital at the Library of Congress in which she gave the first performance of Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs, with the composer at the piano. One of the happiest outcomes of Miss Price's association with Porgy and Bess was her marriage to the show's star, baritone William Warfield.

In November of 1954 the soprano made her formal New York recital debut at Town Hall. Since that time her schedule of performances has increased with each season. In addition to recital tours she has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Washington, D. C. and Toronto. Simultaneously she has pursued a career in opera. In 1955 she sang Tosca with the NBC Opera Company and later appeared with that company in The Magic Flute and in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites.

In the fall of 1957 Leontyne Price made her operatic stage debut with the San Francisco Opera Company in the American première of the Poulenc opera. In subsequent appearances in San Francisco she has sung Aïda, the lead in Carl Orff's The Wise Maiden, Leonora in Il Trovatore, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. It was as Aïda that she triumphed during the summer of 1958, making her debuts with three major European opera companies-first in Vienna under Herbert von Karajan, then at London's Covent Garden, and finally at Verona under Tullio Serafin. During the 1959 season she made her first appearances with the Chicago Lyric Opera Company singing Thaïs, and Liù in Puccini's Turandot
.

Side 1 

Fauré
CLAIR DE LUNE, Op. 46, No. 2 (Poem by Paul Verlaine)

NOTRE AMOUR, Op. 23, No. 2 (Poem by Armand Silvestre)

AU CIMETIÈRE, Op. 51, No. 2 (Poem by Jean Richepin)

AU BORD DE L'EAU, Op. 8, No. 1 (Poem by Sully Prudhomme)

MANDOLINE, Op. 58, No. 1 (Poem by Paul Verlaine)

Poulenc
MAIN DOMINÉE PAR LE CŒŒUR (Poem by Paul Eluard)

JE NOMMERAI TON FRONT (Miroirs Brûlants No. 2) (Poem by Paul Eluard) 

TU VOIS LE FEU DU SOIR (Miroirs Brûlants No. 1) (Poem by Paul Eluard) 

CE DOUX PETIT VISAGE (Poem by Paul Eluard)

Side 2

Richard Strauss

ALLERSEELEN, Op. 10, No. 8 (Poem by Hermann von Gilm)
SCHLAGENDE HERZEN, Op. 29, No. 2 (Poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum)

FREUNDLICHE VISION, Op. 48, No. 1 (Poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum)

WIE SOLLTEN WIR GEHEIM, Op. 19, No. 4 (Poem by A. F. von Schack)

Wolf
DER GÄRTNER (Mörike-Lieder No. 17)

LEBE WOHL (Mörike-Liede. No. 36)

MORGENTAU (From an Old Song Book)

GEH', GELIEBTER, GEH' JETZT (Spanisches Liederbuch No. 34)

Friday, March 21, 2025

The English Madrigal School - John Wilbye & Thomas Morley

 

Miraculous Love's Wounding!

The English Madrigal School
Madrigals Of John Milbye and Thomas Morley
The Deller Consort / Alfred Deller, Director
Cover Design: Ronald Clyne
Vanguard Everyman Classics STEREOLAB SRV-157 SD

April Cantelo - Soprano
Elileen McLoughlin - Soprano
Alfred Deller - Counter-tenor
Wilfred Brown - Tenor
Gerald English - Tenor
Maurice Bevan - Baritone

From the back cover: THOMAS Morley, who "did shine as the Sun in the Firmament of our Art, and did first give light to our understanding with his Praecepts", was born (probably in London) about 1557, and lived in the city almost exclusively until his death in 1603. Ravenscroft's tribute to him, quoted above, was not an isolated one; Morley's renown as a composer was enhanced in his forties by the publication of A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practical Musicke, while his social status was enhanced by the grant of a royal licence to print music and music-paper. Thus, while the earlier entries in the parish registers of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate describe him as 'musician', the later ones firmly insist on the term 'gentleman'. His first important professional appointment was at St. Paul's Cathedral, where he became organist in, or shortly, before, 1591. in the following year he was made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and it was about this time that he began to compose, edit, and publish the nine volumes of songs and instrumental music that have since placed him in the front rank of the Elizabethan madrigalists.

The compositions chosen for this disc afford a sampling of his principal madrigalian publications, which began with the Canzonets or Little Short Songs to Three Voyces of 1593 and reached a peak in 1597 with the volume of Canzonets or Little Short Aers to Five and Sixe Voyces, a great landmark in Morley's career. Notable in Morley's madrigals are his wit and the freshness and spontaneity of his melodic lines. The elegaic Hark, Alleluia shows Morley in a more serious vein, commemorating the death of a music-loving courtier, Henry Noel.

To Tovey, John Wilbye is the "classic" among madrigal composers. There is no need to question this considered opinion in the face of the 65 madrigals by Wilbye that now survive, for their quality is uni- formly high and their reputation well deserved. If there is a question. it is the slightly baffling one concerning Wilbye's generous life-span of 64 years and his consequently sparse average output of one madrigal per year. He was born in 1574 at Diss in Norfolk, and by his eight- eenth year he had entered the service of Sir Thomas Kytson of Hengrave Hall, a stately Elizabethan manor (still standing today) situated not very far from Bury St. Edmunds. There he lived and worked, apart from occasional visits to his master's town house in London, until 1628, when he removed to Colchester to serve Lady Rivers, the daughter of Sir Thomas Kytson. Wilbye died in 1638, a man of considerable means, with landed property in his birthplace and around Bury St. Edmunds. He is mentioned by Henry Peacham in The Compleat Gentleman along with a select handful of English composers as "in- ferior to none in the world... for depth of skill and richness of conceit."

In his six-part madrigals. Wilbye reaches fabulous heights of tech- nique and inspiration. The sensitive declamation of Ah, cannot sighs is a model of its kind, while the transition in Stay, Corydon from solemn antiphony to rapid imitation not only matches the conceit of the lyric but also makes for a satisfying musical balance. In Draw on, sweet night, Wilbye has penned a masterpiece beyond compare. in which sustained beauty of line is more than matched by harmonic richness and variety of texture. – Notes by Denis Stevens

About the Performance

Critics and public alike have received with joy the Vanguard-Bach Guild discs of Alfred Deller and the Deller Consort, for their his- toric revelation of the beauties of vocal music in the English Golden Age and the Renais- sance. Alfred Deller is the world's foremost exponent of the counter-tenor voice, and in the words of Musical America. "A great musician and a distinguished musical scholar." He formed the Deller Consort in 1948, of solo artists, themselves notable in English musical life, dedicated to the performance of madrigals with perfection of tone. style and ensemble. Of the Deller Consort in Tallis Lamentations of Jeremiah, the Musical Quarterly reported. "The singing is always moving and at times becomes unbearably beautiful. It is artistic creation of the highest order... the magical quality that can come only from a stylistically correct approach brought to life by true musical understanding and fervor."

Now Is The Month Of Maying - The First Booke of Balletts to Fine Voyces, iii (1595)
In Dew Of Roses - Madrigalls to Foure Voyces... the First Booke, vii (1594)
Shot, False Love, I Care Not - The First Booke of Balletts to Fine Voyces, ii (1595)
Miraculous Love's Wounding! - The Frist Booke of Canzone's to Two Voyces vii (1595)
Hark, Alleluia Cheerly - Canzonets or Little Short Aers to Fine and Sixe Voyces, xxi (1597)
Arise, Get Up, My Dear - Canzone's or Little Short Songs to Thee Voyces xx (1593)
Leave This Tormenting - The First Booke of Balletts of Fine Voyces, xix (1595)
I Go Before, My Darling - The First Booke of Canzone's to Two Voyces, v (1595)
Say, Gentle Nymphs - Madrigalls to Foure Voyces... the First Booke, xx (1594)
Good Morrow, Fair Ladies - Canzone's or Little Short Songs to Three Voyces, vi (1595)
The First Set of English Madrigals, xi (1598)
The Second Set of Madrigals, xvi (1609)
The Second Set of Madrigals, xxv (1609)
The Second Set of Madrigals, xxx (1609)
The Second Set of Madrigals, xxxii (1609)
The Second Set of Madrigals, xxxi (1609)
The First Set of English Madrigals, xviii (1598)

The Tomita Planets - Isro Tomita

 

Venus

The Tomita Planets
Holst The Planets
Electronically Performed by Isro Tomita
Produced by Plasma Music, Inc.
Cover by Stanislaw Fernandes
RCA ARL 1-1919
Red Seal
1976

Mars - The Bringer Of War
Venus - The Bringer Of Peace
Mercury - The Winged Messenger
Jupiter - The Bringer Of Jollity
Saturn - The Bringer Of Old Age
Uranus - The Magician
Neptune - The Mystic

Hey There! - Fran Warren

 

I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me

Hey There!
Here's Fran Warren
Arranged and Conducted by Marty Paich
Hi-Fi TOPS L1585
1957

From the back cover: Fran Warren Sings – Tally 17 outstanding records; including 2 LP albums; 4 starring stage productions; 7 top theater bookings; 12 locations confined to the country's most glamorous night clubs and hotels; 10 spots in network television shows; 1 motion picture and you've got just 51 valid items attesting to Fran Warren's exalted show business perch today. But, such statistics constitute only one segment of this sassy lassie's career from The Bronx to Broadway.

Fran had been the mainstay in the vocal departments of three of the nation's great bands during the Forties the popular Art Mooney Orchestra; Charlie Barnet's great swinging musical organization of the period; and the superlative Claude Thornhill band. During that era when the road to success seemed rutted with unending one-night stands, shabby hotel rooms and the ever-waiting Greyhound bus, little did the pert Miss Warren figure that a scant ten years later her name would be emblazoned across the marquee of the Broadway theater wherein she was leading lady of the smash musical, Pajama Game. It seems only fitting that this album begins with a reprise of the hit tune, Hey There, from that show.

Yes, it's a long road back to Hoe and Bryant Avenues in the Bronx and the basement clubhouses where Fran and the other neighborhood kids pooled their nickels to buy the latest jazz records. Friday and Saturday nights they would get together for a little dancing, a little necking and a lot of listening to Goodman, Shaw, Barnet, Ellington, Basie – all the musical greats of the time. Thus, it developed that Fran Warren realized above all else that she wanted to be a singer. After quitting high school in her second year because, as she puts it, "I preferred to concentrate on the works of Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington rather than plane geometry and medieval history", Fran sang with a variety of small bands around the New York area until 1945 when she landed her first big job as vocalist with Art Mooney's band. On joining the group, her voice was basically good but quite raw. She had had no coaching or training of any kind – just plenty of nerve and a natural sense of timing, phasing and good musical taste born of many, many hours of concentrated listening to the finest popular and jazz singers of the day.

Thanks to airshots three nights a week from the Lincoln and Capitol hotels where the Mooney band played, Fran attracted a good deal of attention from both the listening public and influential persons in the music business. Some months later this payed off when she received an offer to sing with the Charlie Barnet band. Never an unsure young woman, she grasped the opportunity. At last Fran was singing with the kind of band she had dreamed of. Moreover, for the first time she was seeing a lot of the country. People liked what she sang and the way she sang. Most important, this job provided her with incalculably sound experience. For despite all the inconvenience of working with a traveling band and the erratic life that inevitably attends it – Fran's musical maturation was steady and discernible. Then, one evening during the Barnet band's engagement at a New York night club, there was a tempestuous flareup onstand between Fran and Barnet. The band had just returned from a grueling road trip and nerves were mucho sensitive. The leader had bawled out the singer over some actually trivial matter and when she sang her chorus Fran retorted with words of her own that weren't included in the original song lyrics. Net result was one of those "You're fired/I quit" situations, and so Fran departed the Barnet band.

Within a week, however, Miss Warren had accepted a new berth with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra. This was a more subdued aggregation with accent on colorful arrangements and the leader's quiet piano. Fran's work with Thornhill was of enormous value in terms of preparing her for the demanding vocal roles she was yet to play in the course of her ascending career. Claude saw in her the makings of a great popular singer. He worked hard with Fran, taught her a great deal in voice control and dynamics. Before long she began to emerge as a fine stylist in her own right. In the two years she sang with the Thornhill band, La Warren was featured on about 19 recordings, starting with Sunday Kind Of Love, that have become recognized as some of the best popular records qualitatively speaking of the past 10 years.

The writing on the wall was clearly defined: The time was ripe for Fran Warren to venture forth as a single. So, bidding an affectionate adios to Claude Thornhill, she began to build a new career for herself. There was much to learn anew. She had to know how to hold an audience for 40 minutes or more and leave 'em begging for an encore how to choose the right songs and how to present them arrangements - pacing poise dress. Most vital was her acquisition of that rather indefinable quality called "stage presence" that comes to a perfectly finished performer, the sum of justifiable self confidence.

All this took some years to accomplish, but the obvious results were worth the hard work. Today Fran is more than just one of the best popular singers of her age, she is an artist of rare eclat. After 16 weeks with the Danny Kaye Show at New York's Palace Theater, the great comedian paid her high praise well earned. "Musical comedy needed Fran", said Kaye, "just as her own career needed musical comedy to reach the height of her own ambitions".

MARTY PAICH – The brilliant orchestrations written for Miss Warren in this Tops Records album were scored by one of the brightest arranging talents of the age. Marty Paich has been active mostly on the West Coast for a number of years. He has written and arranged many compositions played and sung by top performers in the business and is recognized as one of the leaders in the newer experi- mental school of jazz expression.

In addition to the thoroughly rehearsed string section accompanying Miss Warren throughout half this album, Paich chose as members of the smaller group such outstanding Hollywood musicians as multi-instrumentalist, Bob Enevoldsen; trumpeter, Don Fagerquist; bassist, Buddy Clark; and drummer, Mell Lewis. The conductor-arranger is at the piano throughout.

Hey There
Imagination
I Can't Believe That You're In Love With me
I Can't Get Started With You
Don't Blame Me
Exactly Like You
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Come Rain Or Come Shine
I'm In The Mood For Love
You Don't Know What Love Is
Lucky New People In Love
Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered

Music To Relax By - 101 Strings

 

Blue Twilight

After A Hard Day
Music To Relax By
101 Strings
Recording Director: D. L. Miller
S-5073 STEREO
1967

Some Enchanted Evening
Alone Together 
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
I Wonder Where You've Been
Beautiful Dreamer
Stardust
The Nearness Of You
Greensleeves
Enchanto Del Caribe
Blue Twilight

Great Band With Great Voices - Si Zentner & Johnny Mann

Undecided

Great Band With Great Voices 
Swing The Great Voices Of The Great Bands
The Si Zentner Orchestra & The Johnny Mann Singers
Producer: Si Waronker
Engineer: Al Schmidt
Cover Design: Francis & Mohahan, Inc.
Photography: Garrett-Howards, Inc.
Liberty Premier LMM-13017

Mississippi Mud (Rhythm Boys)
Marie (Sentimentalists)
Chattanooga Choo Choo (Modernaires)
At Last (Modernaires)
On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Sentimentalists)
Undecided (Ames Brothers)
Paper Doll ( Mills Brothers)
If I Didn't Care (Ink Spots)
The Hut Sut Song (Merry Macs)
It Happened In Monterey (Mel Tones)
I'll Never Smile Again (Pied Pipers)
Rum And Coca-Cola (Andrew Sisters)
 

Thursday, March 20, 2025

An Andres Segovia Recital

 

Leyenda

An Andrés Segovia Recital
Andrés Segovia, Guitar
Cover: Erik Nitsche
Decca Gold Label Series Records DL 9633
1952

From the back cover: Andrés Segovia, guitaris – The love of plucked instruments has been an inherent part of the musical life of Spain ever since its introduction by the Moorish occupation in the 12th and 13th centuries. The antecedent of the modern instrument upon which Andrés Segovia performs so remarkably, was called a vihuela, an instrument closely resemb ling the lute, with several guitar-like features. Its ablest performers (vihuelistas) were to be found among the aristocracy, where a mastery of this particular skill counted among the prime requisites. for the well-tutored nobleman.

The guitar began to supersede the vihuela about 1600, and established itself as the national instrument of Spain. It soon became quite fashionable throughout Europe, and later captured the English people through the zealous and untiring efforts of the famous guitarist and composer Ferdinand Sor. A number of the Romantic composers, Schubert and Berlioz among others, are known to have been accomplished amateurs. Indeed, Berlioz accorded the guitar most serious treatment in his monumental Treatise on Orchestration.

In our time, as a result of the innumerable recitals of serious music given by Andrés Segovia, the guitar has attained new and prominent stature in the concert world.

Andrés Segovia was born in 1893, in Linares, a mining town in the province of Jáen, in the renowned locale of Andalucia. A short time after his birth, his family took up residence in Granada, where Segovia spent his childhood years. Here, in the fabled land of the Moorish kings, the boy was steeped in a great artistic tradition, and at quite an early age, he began to show promise of what was to mature as the outstanding talent in his field.

Rejecting the blandishments of mediocre "professors" of violin, piano, and cello, Segovia's innate sensitivity led him to choose the guitar, the venerated and beloved instrument of his native land, as his personal mode of expression. The phenomenal technique at his command is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that he was entirely self-taught. Not only did Segovia create his own instrumental technique, but he further extended his pre-occupation with his instrument into a thorough and painstaking musicological exploration of the art, history, and literature of the guitar.

At the age of fourteen, he made his first public appearance as a serious artist in his native Granada, and a year later, repeated his earlier success, this time in Barcelona. Shortly afterwards, Segovia toured throughout Spain, and, at the close of the First World War, concertized extensively in South America. He made his Paris debut in 1924, a concert attended by distinguished luminaries from the spheres of music, art, and literature. Falla, Roussel, and Unamuno heard him from Madame Debussy's box. It was a brilliant perform- ance and both public and critics were entranced. This unanimous accolade resulted in increased demands for further appearances, and during the two years following, Segovia gave recitals through- out Europe. Few years elapsed before his art was heard throughout the world.

From the works of the renowned vihuelistas such as Milan, Alonso de Mudarra, Gaspar Sanz, and others, Segovia has gone on to examine the various periods of English, Italian, French, and German music and has rediscovered many neglected masterpieces. Finally, he has included those immortal works of J. S. Bach written for laud (lute), an instrument which Segovia describes as having so many of the technical and "spiritual" qualities of the guitar.

A number of important contemporary composers have made sig- nificant contributions to the guitar literature. From Spain, Falla, Turina, and Torroba; from France, Roussel and Ibert; from England, Cyril Scott; from Poland, Tansman; from Mexico, Manuel Ponce; and from Italy, Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

Segovia believes that the final step in the guitar's ascension to uncontested prominence in the musical galaxy will be its recogni- tion as one of the integral solo instruments of the orchestra. Two great composers have labored in this cause, composing two concerti to exploit the virtuosity of the instrument. The first, by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, was given its first performance in Uruguay, and the second, Manuel Ponce's Concerto of the South in Montevideo, both with great success. The former composer has also written a Serenade in four movements for guitar and orchestra.

About the Music – 

SIDE ONE

1. ROMANESCA (Alonso de Mudarra)

Alonso de Mudarra was one of the most important vihuelistas of the 16th century known principally by the publication of a collection of pieces for lute in 1546. The Romanesca is based on an old Spanish folk-song, "Guardame las Vacas" (freely translated as "Look after the cows") and is one of many instrumental treatments of this popular melody by 16th century composers.

2. PRELUDE, BALLET, AND GIGUE (Sylvius Leopold Weiss)

These three movements derive from a Suite for Lute by a little-known (undeservedly so) contemporary of J. S. Bach, Sylvius Leopold Weiss. A close personal friend of Bach, Weiss spent many

evenings of pleasant improvisation with the Baroque master. Though the manuscripts of this latenist are rare, those surviving reveal a happy combination of masterful counterpoint and beguil ing melody.

3. PRELUDE AND GAVOTTE (Johann Sebastian Bach)

No Segovia recital is considered complete without several of the guitarist's masterly transcriptions of Bach. The Prelude is from the first Suite for Unaccompanied Cello in G Major, the Gavotte from the sixth and last Suite for Unaccompanied Cello in D Major,

4. ALLEGRO (Ferdinand Sor)

Ferdinand Sor is noted as both guitarist and composer. Born in Barcelona in 1780, Sor was active in Paris and from 1809, in London where he made the guitar fashionable, appearing as soloist with the Philharmonic Society. His compositions include many valuable studies and pieces for the guitar. The Allegro comes from a Sonata for Guitar and has been edited by Segovia.

SIDE TWO

1. SONG WITHOUT WORDS, OP. 19, NO. 6 (Felix Mendelssohn) In its original form, a composition for piano subtitled "Venetian Boat-Song No. 1," in G Minor, it appears here in a transcription for guitar by Segovia, transposed to E Minor for greater facility of performance.

2. MENUETTO (Franz Schubert)

Another guitar transcription of a work originally composed for the piano, from the Fantasie, Andante, Menuetto, and Allegretto, Op. 78. The transcription is by the great Spanish guitarist Tárrega.

3. SONATINA (Frederico Tórroba)

This Sonatina for guitar is in three movements, Allegretto, Andante, and Allegro. Tórroba, a contemporary Spanish composer, is the first non-guitarist to compose for the guitar. The work, brimming with captivating Iberian rhythms, was a special favorite of Maurice Ravel.

4. LEYENDA (Isaac Albéniz)

Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909) is generally regarded as the founder of the modern Spanish "national" school. A pianist and composer, he is best known for the Tango in D and the set of piano pieces. Iberia. The Leyenda is a part of a Suite Espagnole for piano; the transcription is by Andrés Segovia. – Martin Diller

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Art Of The Harpsichord - Landowska

 

Fantasia In C Minor

The Art Of The Harpsichord
Wanda Landowska
Photo: David Zingg
RCA Victor LM-2194
1958

From the back cover: SIDE 1 –  J. S. Bach Partita No. 2, in C Minor (Schmieder 826)

Sinfonia Allemande Courante - Sarabande - Rondeau - Capriccio

The Suites by Bach known as the French Suites were so called because of the supposed finesse of French écriture. And yet, the English Suites are more French than the French ones, and the Partitas which have been claimed as the German Suites, are the most French of them all.

The Partita in C Minor is Bach's most eloquent homage to French music. It is not only a homage to the music, but to the tradition and style of French interpretation. "We write differently from what we play," says Couperin in his Art de toucher le Clavecin. Bach proves and demonstrates this postulate in this Partita.

The Sinfonia opens with an Overture à la Française, condensed into seven measures. A recit follows, gentle and expressive, which evokes an oboe d'amore, and the Sinfonia ends with a powerful fugue in two voices.

The Allemande, the Courante and the Sarabande bring us close to Couperin. In the Rondeau and Capriccio, Bach amuses himself royally with jumps from one hand to the other. One feels he is in high spirit, and the outburst even increases in the Capriccio.

Bach himself published the six Partitas, one by one. The second, in C minor, first appeared in 1727.

SIDE 2

Band 1-J. S. Bach Capriccio on the Depar- ture of His Beloved Brother (Schmieder 992)

Arioso - Andante - Adagissimo - Aria di Postiglione— Fuga all' imitazione della cornetta di Postiglione

This piece, originally called Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello diletissimo, was composed by Bach-then nineteen years old-at Arnstadt, in honor of his older brother, Johann-Jakob, who enlisted in 1704 as oboist in the army band of the Swedish King, Charles XII.

In the Arioso, tender and graceful, his friends try, with cajoleries, to persuade him to abandon the voyage.

The Andante-fugato which follows is a polyphonic de- scription of the various misfortunes which could happen to him en route.

The Adagissimo is a general lament of his friends. The descending chromatic bass, so dear to Bach and his prede- cessors, reminds us of the B Minor Mass.

But Johann-Jakob is adamant and his friends wish him farewell. Then comes the Aria di Postiglione followed by a spirited fugue, on the imitation of the postillion's horn, which overflows with gaiety.

Bach composed the Capriccio which is almost unique in his work-under the influence of Kuhnau whose de- scriptive Biblical Stories, in sonata form, were composed four years before.


Band 2-J. K. F. Fischer Passacaglia in D Minor

Johann Kasper Ferdinand Fischer, also famous as organist and harpsichordist, was one of the first-as well as Georg

Muffat-to introduce into Germany the French ornaments.

The Passacaglia, Fischer's most beautiful piece, belongs to his Musikalisches Blumen Büchlein. It begins in the low register of the harpsichord whose gravity is intensified by the somber tonality of D minor. Restrained at first, the passion grows, rises and blazes out in a theme whose re- semblance to that of Bach's Chaconne for unaccompanied violin-also in D minor-strikes us. Let us not be surprised. Bach not only knew the works of Fischer, but also used his themes in certain fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier.

Band 3-J.

J. S. Bach Fantasia in C Minor (Schmieder 906)

The autograph of this Fantasia is in Dresden. It would be important for every interpreter to know it because it reveals the method of executing certain ornaments which Bach-instead of indicating them by signs-wrote out in notes. This case is rare in Bach's works and an eloquent lesson.

The Fantasia can be played on the modern piano, but the passages for crossed hands obviously call for the two keyboards of the harpsichord.

The character of this Fantasia is stormy. The two voices run, sometimes in contrary motion, sometimes together, sometimes they clash and interweave-magnificent effects intended for the two keyboards.

Segovia And The Guitar

 

Fantasia – Sonata

Segovia And The Guitar
Compositions by Luys de Narvaez, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Espla, Manén
Cover Photo by George Joseph
Decca Records - Gold Label Series
DL 9931
1960

From the back cover: ANDRÉS SEGOVIA was born in 1893, in Linares, in the renowned locale of Andalucia. A short time after his birth, his family took up residence in Granada, where Segovia spent his childhood years. Here, in the fabled land of the Moorish kings, the boy was steeped in a great artistic tradition, and at quite an early age, he began to show promise of what was to mature as the outstanding talent in his field. At the age of fourteen, he made his first public appearance as a serious artist in Granada, and a year later, repeated his earlier success, this time in Barcelona. Shortly afterwards, Segovia toured throughout Spain, and, at the close of the First World War, con- certized extensively in South America. He made his Paris debut in 1924, a concert. attended by distinguished luminaries from the spheres of music, art, and literature. It was a brilliant performance and both public and critics were entranced. This accolade resulted in increased demands for further appearances, and few years elapsed before his art was heard throughout the world.

Segovia believes that the final step in the guitar's ascension to uncontested prominence in the musical galaxy will be its recognition as one of the integral solo instruments of the orchestra. Of the great composers who have labored in this cause, the following can be named: Castelnuovo-Tedesco has written two concerti, a sere- nade and a guitar quintet to exploit the virtuosity of the instrument. Manuel Ponce's Concerto of the South met with great success at its first performance in Montevideo. Villa-Lobos composed Fantasia Concertante for guitar and orchestra, Tansman a work called Homage à Manuel de Falla and Hans Haug, the Swiss composer, has written a work called Concertina, which won first prize at the International Con- test at Siena in 1952.

Side One:

1. Canción del Emperador (sobre "Mille Regretz" de Josquin) Variations on "Guárdame las vacas"

(Luys de Narváez-in modern notation by Pujol)

Josquin's "Mille Regretz" is said to have been the favorite song of the Emperor Charles V. The Canción del Emperador consists of variations on Josquin's song, written for the vihuela (the ancestor of the modern guitar) by Luys de Narváez. This renowned Spanish lutenist of the 16th century introduced the variation form into Spanish music, and published a book of tablature (1538), from which both pieces recorded here are taken. The second piece is a set of delightful variations on an anonymous vocal theme, "Guárdame las vacas"-"Keep watch on the cows." The modern notation of both pieces is by Emilio Pujol.

2. Two Pieces for Lute: Song and Galliard (Dowland)

John Dowland's importance in the history of music is that of a composer of songs. In his lifetime (1563-1626) he was better known as a great lute player, unrivalled in all of Europe, and a highly skilled singer. The Song, recorded here, melancholy in feeling and full of rhythmic interest, was originally written for voice transcription of his song for lute alone, in the form of a galliard. The Song is especially remarkable for the richness of its secondary voices. The fresh, charming Galliard (a Central European court dance) that follows was written for lute, and transcribed by Andrés Segovia.

3. Preambulo and Gavota (Alessandro Scarlatti)

These two piano pieces of Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) were found, to- gether with two others, in the Conservatory of Naples some twenty years ago; they form a part of a suite. In the slow introduction of the Preambulo the bold contrary movement of voices is particularly striking; the middle section is a rapid fugato movement. The Gavota is an especially ingratiating, melodious short piece. The transcriptions are by Andrés Segovia.

4. Sonata (Longo #352) (Domenico Scarlatti)

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), the son of Alessandro, often regarded as the father of modern piano-playing, spent many years in Spain, where he was in royal service. He was, of course, influenced by Spanish rhythm and feeling, and this short Sonata in C minor, in one movement, is filled with Spanish atmosphere. Andrés Segovia, who transcribed the work for guitar, believes the slower tempo, which he favors over that of most pianists, to be more faithful to the Spanish character of the piece.

5. Dos Impresiones Levantinas (Oscar Esplá)

Oscar Esplá (1889- ), a modern Spanish composer belonging to the group of de Falla and Turina, is a native of Alicante, one of the south-eastern provinces of Spain that are known collectively as Levante. Outstanding among his works are the compositions for piano. These two Impresiones Levantinas are short miniatures, that conjure up the atmosphere of the Levante and capture the spirit of Alicante. Andrés Segovia plays his own transcriptions.

Side Two:

Fantasia-Sonata (Joan Manén)

Joan (Catalan version of Juan) Manén (1883- ), the contemporary Spanish violinist and composer, inscribed this Fantasia-Sonata "Por y para Andrés Segovia" ("For and because of Andrés Segovia"). It opens with a Largo of languid atmosphere and distinctly Spanish character. In the first Allegro of the Sonata, Catalonian sentiment predominates, and the Largo motif recurs as the second theme. The middle section is a slow, evocative Andante cantabile, and the third section a lively Allegro assai, with a beautiful, characteristic little melody that again embodies the flavor and essence of Spain that dominates the whole work. The opening Largo theme returns to close the piece.

Peter Pan - Jean Arthur & Boris Karloff

 

Peter Pan

Peter Lawrence and R. L Stevens Presents
Jean Arthur and Boris Karloff in J. M. Barrie's
Peter Pan
Songs and Lyrics by Leonard Bernstein
With Marcia Henderson, Peg Hillias, Joe E. Marks
Production Staged by John Burrell
Associate Director: Wendy Toye
Recording Director: Robert Lewis Shayton
Incidental Music by Alec Wilder
Musical Conductor: Ben Steinberg
Record Adaptation by Henry Walsh
Original Columbia release 1950
Columbia Special Products AOL 4312 reissue
1973 CBS

Cast

Mr. Darling - Boris Karloff 
Mrs. Darling - Peg Hillias
Wendy - Marcia Henderson
John - Jack Dimond
Michael - Charles Taylor
Nana - Norman Shelly
Peter Pan - Jean Arthur
Tootles - Lee Barnett
Slightly - Richard Knox
Curly - Philip Hepburn
The Twins - Charles Brill, Edward Benjamin
Nibs - Buzzy Martin
Captain Hook - Boris Karloff
Smee - Joe E. Marks
Starkey - David Kurlan
Jukes - Will Scholz
Cecco - Nehemiah Persoff
Mullins - Harry Allen
Noodler - John Dennis
Cookson - William Marshall
Whibbles - Vincent Beck

NARRATOR - TORIN THATCHER

From the back cover: The songs WHO AM I?, BUILD MY HOUSE, and PETER, PETER are sung by Miss Henderson; THE PIRATE SONG and THE PLANK by Mr. Karloff and the Pirates.

For more than twenty years, Americans had not had a chance to see J. M. Barrie's enchanting Peter Pan, until it was revived at the Imperial Theater in New York on the evening of April 24th, 1950, with Jean Arthur in the title role and Boris Karloff as Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. In view of its ecstatic reception by both critics and audiences, and in view of the fact that British audiences have been revelling in its charm an- nually (with the exception of 1939 and 1940) for years, it is difficult to understand why Peter Pan has been so long absent from the American scene. There were many who felt that the pro- ducers, Peter Lawrence and R. L. Stevens, were clearly out of their minds in attempting a pro- duction of a complex and expensive fantasy, but the delighted yells of children and the happy sur- render of their adult chaperons have completely vindicated them.

James M. Barrie - he was knighted in 1913- wrote Peter Pan on commission for Charles Frohman in 1904. Barrie himself felt that the play was unsuited to the commercial theater, and offered Frohman an additional script. Both were accepted. The first performance of Peter Pan was given on December 27th, 1904, with Nina Boucicault as Peter, and it ran for 145 perform- ances. Since that time, it has been an annual event in the British theater, being played at Christmas-time with many of the most distin- guished actresses assuming the part of the en- gaging boy who refused to grow up. Barrie died in 1937, leaving all royalties of the play in per- petuity to the Hospital for Sick Children in London.

In America, the role has until now been largely identified with Maude Adams, who starred in the first domestic production on November 6, 1905. She again played it in revivals in New York in 1912 and 1915 and of course across the country.

In the sole film version, a silent production of 1924, Betty Bronson made her debut. Marilyn Miller played Peter in 1924, and Eva Le Gallienne in 1928. Since then, until Jean Arthur flew magic- ally through the windows of the Darling nursery in the current production, the spell of the Never Land and the Pirate Ship had been denied the young in heart of this country.

And when the last flight had been made, when Peter had retired to his home in Wendy's house in the tree-tops, when the children had returned to Nana's supervision, then the critics unleashed some of the most joyous phrases of the season. "Something that is priceless in the workaday theater," "a superlative production," "the happiest play in New York... the jolliest of evenings," these and equally pleasant remarks filled the columns. Miss Arthur's Peter was characterized as triumphant and enchanting, Mr. Karloff's per- formances in two parts as the best of his career. Salutes were in order, too, for Leonard Bernstein's sympathetic and refreshing music, the settings by Ralph Alswang, the costumes by Motley, and, indeed. for everyone connected with the production. That these salutes were not unmerited is attested by the captivating spirit of this performance.

Jean Arthur is one of the best known actresses n the American screen. Her present contract with Paramount Studios permits her to do plays and pictures independently of the studio. Her favorite picture of all time is Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, and she is glad to have been a part of it. She feels the same way about Peter Pan, the play. Long identified with the monster in Frankenstein for his horrifying but curiously sympathetic portrayal, Boris Karloff has appeared in a lengthy succession of similarly frightening films. On the stage, he has been seen in Arsenic And Old Lace, demonstrating a brilliant comic sense, and in On Borrowed Time and The Linden Tree, proving himself an actor of wide range and understand- ing, by no means limited to the frightening roles with which he became famous. Born in Dulwich, England, Mr. Karloff left the diplomatic service to become an actor, and has toured widely in Canada and the United States. In Peter Pan, he combines his talents, being humorously gentle as Mr. Darling, and humorously terrifying as Captain Hook.

Marcia Henderson left Andover, Mass., to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Art, grad- uating last spring. Only twenty, she has appeared in two films, and is featured in her first Broadway appearance. Her warmly lovely performance has already won her honors: the New York critics voted her the most promising young actress in a Variety poll and Theater World chose her as one of the twelve most promising stage personalities of 1950.

Peg Hillias has been seen in A Streetcar Named Desire and an Equity Library Theater production of Lucky Sam McCarver. Between performances as Mrs. Darling, she may be heard on the radio in Kitty Keane and Helen Trent. Joe E. Marks was most recently seen in Bloomer Girl, staying with the company for more than three years. He has also appeared in The Man Who Came To Dinner, High Kickers, and in many motion pic- tures and television productions.

Leonard Bernstein, who composed the songs and lyrics for Peter Pan, basing the words on the play, is famous as one of the most brilliant conductor- composer-pianists to be heard anywhere. In addi- tion to his provocative The Age Of Anxiety, he has composed music for On The Town, the ballets Fancy Free and Facsimile and the prize-winning symphony Jeremiah. Formerly conductor of the New York City Center Symphony, he has appeared with major symphonies all over the world, and was conducting in Israel when Peter Pan opened.

John Burrell was appointed resident director of England's Old Vic Theater Company in 1945, and is a member of the Drama Panel of the British Arts Council. Wendy Toye is one of England's most active theater personalities, as actress, dancer, director, choreographer and producer. Peter Pan is her first American assignment, fol- lowing three revues staged in London. – Notes compiled by GEORGE DALE

Sunday, March 16, 2025

A Child's Introduction To Spanish - Carlos J. Montalban

 

A Child's Introduction To Spanish

A Child's Introduction To Spanish
New Language By Ear Method
Approved by leading language teachers
Spanish Instruction under the direction of Carlos J. Montalban
Voices: Maria Rubini, Manuel Astudillo, Peggy Powers, Eugene Lowell
Musical Director: Jim Timmens
Words and Music by Paul Parnes
Produced by Hudson Productions, Inc.
High Fidelity Golden Records LP-75
Manufactured in U.S.A. by A. A. Records, Inc.
1961

Dance On The Wild Side - George Young / The Cousins / The Playboys

 

Dance On The Wild Side

Dance On The Wild Side
George Young, The Cousins & The Playboys
Produced by Marcucci & Faith
Jacket Design: Chic Laganella
Recorded Live at Wildwood, New Jersey Chancellor Studios, Philadelphia 
Chancellor CHL-5028
1962

Fat Backs And Greens - The Playboys
Duck Walk - The Playboys
Hey Mrs. Jones - The Playboys
Flamingo - The Cousins
Twistin' Marie - George Young
Night Train Twist - The Playboys
Take A Chance On Love - The Playboys
Birdland Hully-Gully Twist
St. Louis Blues Twist
Goody, Goody - The Cousins
Booty Green - The Playboys
Hand Clappin' - The Playboys

The Magnificent Seven - Al Caiola

 

Intermission Riff

The Theme From
The Magnificent Seven
And Other Favorites
Al Caiola
United Artists STEREO UAS 6133
1960

The Magnificent Seven
American Patrol
720 In The Books
A String Of Pearls
King Porter Stomp
Intermission Riff
Lonely Rebel
Begin The Beguine 
Eager Beaver
920 Special 
Jumpin' At The Woodside
Goodbye

Coco Cola Presents The Real Thing Steel Band

 

Sell The Pussy

Coca Cola Presents 
The Real Thing Steel Band
At Clay House Inn Bermuda
Edman Records ELPS 1105

Members of the band: Gordon Barrow (Captain), Neil Gibbs, Henry Jordon, Steve Snaggs, Lai Jagroop, Allan Woods, Carlyle Rose, Carlos Peters, Michael Scanterbury, Verold Matthews, Lester Hutchings

From the back cover: The natural gift, which is relatively common in Trinidad for a young man to be able to produce such pleasing sounds from an old oil drum wavering on the same level as a concert orchestra and which is so remarkable to others, is, we feel, displayed to its best advantage on this second recording of the Camboulays Steel Band. You can appreciate even more pieces such as Tchaikowsky's Waltz of the Flowers or the thunderous hymn Jerusalem when you take into account there is no music written for a steel band and that it depends solely on the ability of the Captain to produce suitable arrangements.

The group have been playing together for approximately three years. They started with Lever Brothers of the West Indies and then, after touring for a while in the United States returned to the Clayhouse Inn, Bermuda where they are presently appearing and where they have now acquired a new sponsor, Coca Cola.

The pans were produced by Mr. Bertram Kellman who is well known in Trinidad for his ability to create and tune this unusual instrument. When one mixes the co-operation of the members, with the skill of Mr. Kellman, the leadership of Gordon Barrow, the backing of Coca Cola, and setting of Clayhouse the final results could only be success as evidenced by this record. – B. Watson

Waltz Of The Flowers
Sell The Pussy
Hallelujah Chorus
Granada
Margie
My Way Of Life
Sounds Of Music Medley
Holy City
Rose Of Tralee
Stand
Lisboa Es Sempre Mulher

Goose Pimples - Jim Cullums & Bobby Hackett

 

Chloe

Goose Pimples
Jim Cullums' Happy Jazz 
With Bobby Hackett
Happy Jazz Records AP-96
The Happy Jazz Band Volume 5
1967

Jim Cullum, Sr. - Clarinet
Gene McKinney - Trombone
Jim Cullum, Jr. - Cornet
Bobby Hackett - Cornet
Willson Davis - Sousaphone
Cleff Gillette - Piano
Curly Williams - Banjo
Harvey Kindervater - Drums

From the back cover: If I came charging in with a mouthful of superlatives, bellowing "Bix lives!" I would make an ass of myself. But it would honestly reflect my feelings about the music packaged herein as "Goose Pimples."

I can't afford insinuations that I'm a sort of musical Manchurian Candidate, a patsy for that notorious Texas syndicate known far and wide as Jim Cullums Happy Jazz. So I played the tape of Goose Pimples for Andy Mitchell. Mitch looks like Brunis, plays like "Papa Mutt" Carey, and has dug small band jazz for 40 of his 56 years. He is the only cornet in Philadelphia who can play all five strains of Panama. And he tells it straight.

Mitch settled himself with a pot of black coffee and a small thermos of Gilbey's. "Okay, let's hear it."

As the first track came through Mitch was frowning (no bad sign; he frowns when he sings "Ugly Chile"), but his feet were tapping.

We sat through the tape without exchanging a word. I started to rewind. Finally, Mitch broke the silence. "Oh, man," he said, softly, almost in disbelief, "These guys are just the greatest. This is out of this world."

He asked for a replay of "Buddy Bolden's Blues." It rolled, and he jammed a finger into my face. "Listen to those voicings!" he commanded. "There's no cats in the country get a sound like that."

I agreed wholeheartedly. But I wanted it to come from someone else. In their fifth record, Jim Cullums Happy Jazz has gone and done it again: Proved that you can doff your hat to the jazz past without falling flat on your face; proved that creative musicians can find plenty of artistic scope within the disciplines of traditional jazz.

Jim Cullums Happy Jazz is what happened when good fellows began getting together five years ago to jam in the San Antonio home of James Cullum, Sr., a clarinetist and one-time Jack Teagarden sideman turned wholesale grocer.

Cullum didn't have to look far for a cornet. Jim Cullum, Jr. supplied that. Other San Antonians joined the fun – Gene McKinney, trombone; Willson Davis, sousaphone; Cliff Gillette, piano; Harvey Kindervater, drums.

All had done stints in dance bands. But only Curly Williams, who replaced the group's original banjo player (the late Ben Valfre), works as a full-time musician today.

On this record the lads get a friendly assist from another full-time "musicianer," a great admirer of the band sound which developed from those living room sessions.

His name is Bobby Hackett, and he needs no further introduction to anyone who owns a record player, let alone a record collection.

Bobby and Jim, Sr. have been friends for years. In July (1967) both played several nights at Peanuts Hucko's Club Navarre in Denver. Bobby happened to mention how much he liked the Happy Jazz Band's relaxed two-beat rock (Jim, Sr. calls it "buggy-trot rhythm").

A few weeks later Bobby turned up in San Antonio. By rare coincidence, so did E. D. Nunn, president of Audio- phile Records. Nunn is to high fidelity what Pablo Cassels is to the cello. He happened to have his gear with him. Hackett was packing his cornet.

Working Bobby into the act was a snap. He and Jim, Jr. unpacked their Getzen cornets, and for a warm-up Jim, Jr. stomped off "You Gotta See Mama." Nunn had the second go 'round on tape.

What you will hear has such rare cohesion for a traditional jazz band that someone is bound to ask about written scores. They were used in two instances only. Bix's lead on the outgoing choruses of "Goose Pimples" was scored for two cornets, working from the 1927 Okeh record. Cliff Gillette worked out harmonic interludes and sousaphone high jinks on "Chloe."

Twice-weekly sessions at The Landing in San Antonio, appearances at jazz concerts, musicianship and a rare flair for ensemble teamwork not scores have developed the Happy Jazz sound.

For Bobby Hackett, Armstrong was, is and always will be the greatest." Jim, Jr. feels Lu Watters should get the palm for the best ensemble lead. But there is a lot of Beiderbecke lurking around this record, and not just in the choice of tunes, either. Or maybe that silver bell-struck-with-a-padded-mallet tone is built into Getzen cornets!

For the record, Jim, Jr. plays ensemble lead on all tunes except "Mama." Bobby plays harmony or counter melodies. So... let's get on with it.

Goose Pimples. Associated with Bix but written by Jo Trent and Fletcher Henderson and recorded by Fletcher with his Dixie Stompers for Harmony October 24, 1927, a scant 24 hours before Bix cut the same tune for Okeh. Both labels were Columbia subsidiaries. Bobby solos first, building on a series of descending phrases. Jim opens his 12 bars with a series of ascending phrases. Bobby's tone is always velvet. Jim lets a little edge creep into his..

Memphis Blues. Jim, Jr. opens W. C. Handy's first published blues with a solo on the infrequently played first strain. After ensemble on the second and third strains, Jim, Sr. solos on the first strain with a tone as round and full as the late Jimmy Noone's capacious belly. Another ensemble leads into what to these ears is Hackett's choicest solo of the date. Louisiana. More Bixiana. Jim, Sr. glides gracefully over loose-limbed, "buggy-trottin'" rhythm; a cornet flurry, a la Chicago, brings on Gene McKinney for some simple but effective trombone ruminations. Then the cornets are off on "The Great Chase," swapping four-bar phrases. Jim gets in first licks and sounds downright aggressive in spots; Bobby never loses his cool.

Sorry is still a third tune from the 1927-28 "Bix and His Gang" recordings for Columbia. The Cullum cornet opens this version. Hackett solos after Jim, Sr. and the gang heads happily for home. Maybe this is how Bix would have sounded if he had ever recorded with jazzmen in his own league?

Buddy Bolden's Blues was cut before Bobby's arrival. As compensation, there is some really gorgeous voicing in the opening ensemble, with McKinney playing a harmony line above the cornet and clarinet. Listen, too, to the eloquent plunger work on his solo. Mr. Jelly Lord gets credits for the tune, but chances are it pre-dates his alleged "invention" of jazz in 1902.

Wang Wang Blues. Not a blues at all but a 1920 "jazzy" tune by New Orleans clarinetist Gussie Mueller, White- man cornetist Henry Busse, Leo Wood and Buster Johnson. Bobby's cornet leaps out of the ensembles like a playful deer, and he solos twice, with McKinney getting in some good 'bone between solos.

Mood Indigo. Some Duke's mixture here. Hackett embellishments are a highlight. Very pretty, restrained blowing by all hands, with Jim, Sr. taking the traditional clarinet chorus against soft noodling by Bobby.

Chloe. The dawn comes up like thunder in the guise of Willson Davis's big bass horn. Then Jim, Jr. plays the pick-ups, and Bobby takes the melody solo. Neil Moret the same fellow who penned the rag. "Hiawatha," fathered "Chloe" in 1927.

You've Got To See Mamma Er'ry Night Or You Can't See Mamma at All shows how four skilled front line men can put their horns together without stumbling over one another. Fine ensemble clarinet by the elder Cullum, Bobby and Jim, Jr. swap leads here, and the score card reads as follows: Jim leads ensemble on first chorus and verse; Bobby leads a second chorus into Gene McKinney's solo; Jim leads on the verse into a lower register chorus by his Pa; two ensemble choruses out, Hackett leading the first, Cullum the second.

A Biento translates as "Until We Meet Again" and is a delightful melody by Peanuts Hucko. It's the clarinet of Jim, Sr. all the way, backed by Curly Williams on guitar and Gene McKinney on string bass. The trio sustains a warm, nostalgic mood throughout, while the rest of the mob cool their horns.

Westmoreland Weare. A sort-of-original romp builds on a riff reminiscent of the "Farewell Blues" train whistle and moves into a theme which sounds like "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" after the captain has taken a couple of slugs of Geritol. Garner Clark, Dallas cornetist and old buddy of Jim, Sr. worked up the riff. In the folly of his youth, Clark liked a glass now and then. He lived on Westmoreland Street in Dallas, and his homeward treks are here immortalized by Jim Cullums' Happy Jazz. – ALAN WEBBER Philadelphia, September 27, 1967

Goose Pimples
Memphis Blues
Louisiana
Sorry
Buddy Bolden's Blues
Wang Wang Blues
Mood Indigo
Chloe
You've Got To See Mamma Ev'ry Night
Westmoreland Weave

Spencer's Washboard Kings

 

Spencer's Washboard Kings

Spencer's Washboard Kings
Featuring Miss Jackie Knight
Recorded for Davjon, Ltd. at General Recording Services, London
Engineer: Sean Davis
Musical Director: Carl Spencer
Produced by John Britten
Davjon Limited, London, W1
Davjon DJ 1012

From the back cover: Spencers Washboard Kings are the finest exponents of genuine 1920's music in the country. Having survived the recent 1920's "Boom" they are now firmly established as broadcasting and performing favourites. On this record they play many of the wonderful songs that typify the "Roaring Twenties" in their own humerous and original style. We feel sure that you would welcome personal details of the men who make up this extraordinary orchestra, and we are pleased to supply them below:

Carl Spencer is tall, fair, handsome and leads the Band on the cornet. He was previously with the Dixie Syncopators.

Charlie Smart brings his incredible banjo technique to the Band via his experience with the Back o' Town Syncopators.

Ray Wordsworth at 22 is the youngest member of the group. His sensational trombone playing began when he was with the Davy Jones Band, before he joined the Washboard Kings. Dave Wright plays the tuba and sometimes doubles on banjo. Previously with the Savannah Jazz Band, his ambition is to tour the world before setting up his own Jazz Club.

Ray Lewitt plays drums with the Washboard Kings and is an expert on antiques. He was previously drummer with the Bonzo Dog doo dah Band.

Brian Hills – known as the Legendary Brian Hills-is the band's clarinetist. Previously with the Downtown Syncopators. He is a particular fan of Coleman Hawkins and Bessie Smith.

Malcolm Everson also plays clarinet and alto sax, but on this record, principally plays the baritone sax. His ambition is to be a fully competent musician on all instruments, and he previously played with Colin Kingwell's Jazz Bandits.

Last, but by no means least, Neville Dickie, can be heard on the "Tea for Two" track. Neville's ambition is to make his name as a solo pianist and by the sound of his playing that day cannot be too far off. He was previously with the Brian Green Jazz Band.

California Here I Come
Miss Annabelle Lee
Deep Henderson
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (Featuring Miss Jackie Knight)
I Miss My Swiss Miss (Featuring the Rev. Barry Dunning, spinster of this parish)
Sweet Emmalina
Button Up Your Overcoat
A Cup Of Coffee (Featuring the Rev. Barry Dunning again)
Pasadena
2nd Hand Rose (Featuring the return of the delectable Miss Jackie Knight)
Tea For Two, a piano piece highlighting the multi-fingered dexterity of Neville Dickie)
Last Night On The Back Porch
Old Comrades March