Howdy Folks! Check out my Atomic Age Vinyl Finds! If there are copyright issues or a problem with any post, just contact me and I will make corrections. I'm here to have fun and hope you will share in my process of discovery!
20 Golden Moments Of Organ Music
Jay Dodds At The Organ
Diplomat
DS 2421
Here you've got your budget 60s styled light pop cover. The LP features two great lounge tunes as advertised on the jacket followed up by nothing but downer pipe organ church styled music with no backing band.
Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover art.
Tops printed some creative, but unusually dark art on jackets in the late 50s. The arrangements (I'm not a jazz buff) seems advanced for the late 50s. I also found a nice clean pressing and can say the engineering is top shelf.
From the back cover: Ventura is the fourth of thirteen children. As a youngster, when his father was teaching him the hat-making trade, Charlie bought a tenor sax and spent every spare moment practicing his horn and developing the intricate fingering technique that enable him to rip off difficult tunes and passages at terrific tempos with ease and assurance.
After graduating from South Philadelphia High School in 1935, he spent as much spare time as he could jamming with jazz men at various Philadelphia clubs.
At one time or another in his varied and colorful career, Charlie has worked with some of the greatest names in contemporary jazz... men like Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Harris, Buddy DeFranco, Teddy Powell, to mention just a few.
Eventually Ventura formed his own group and their fresh approach to jazz won them first place in Down Beat, Metronome and Orchestra World polls. Charlie's imaginative and swinging tenor playing also won him the Metronome Saxophone Soloist award.
About his music, Charlie Ventura says, "Our music is composed, arranged and performed for both the listening and dancing audience, and, while using original ideas incorporating new sounds into the music, we do not lose the general structure of a melody line, or rhythm. We follow through with this method on all of our number and, in this way, we do not alienate the many, who have not yet come to completely accept the rapid change being made in popular music and jazz these days.
The quintet consists of Dave McKenna at the piano; Mousey Alexander (Benny Goodman, Raymond Scott, Marion McPartland, Sauter Finnegan) drums; Richard Davis (Slim Galliard, Don Shirley Trio) bass; Billy Bean, guitar – four of the most superb rhythm men in jazz – and of course Clarlie Ventura himself.
From Billboard - March 2, 1957: Maybe more meaningful title for this LP would have been "Ventura Plays High Protein Jazz." At any rate, Ventura alternately wields tenor, alto and baritone saxes against a strong rhythm section that consists of Mousey Alexander, Dave McKenna, Richard Davis and Bill Beam. This is dynamic, extrovert music-making that for all its coming on like "Gang Busters" most of the time, is very danceable – and of above average interest musically. For a dull party, this would make a good shot in the arm. Retail tag is $1.49.
Runnin' Wild Honeysuckle Rose When The Saints Go Marching In It's Only A Paper Moon Sweet Sue, Just You Dark Eyes Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home Stardust Sweet Lorraine Harvest Moon Exactly Like You I've Got You Under My Skin
Peter Duchin Discotheque Dance Party
Peter Duchin - His Piano and Orchestra
Produced by Harry Meyerson
Decca DL 4579
From the back cover: In this album, in order to capture the atmosphere and feeling of the Discotheque, Peter and the band depart a little from their customary style.
Hello Dolly from The Broadway Musical Production
Ping Pang Pong The Swinging Ball
The Creed Taylor Orchestra
Arranged By Kenyon Hopkins
Cover Design By Viceroy/Lesser
Recorded in four sessions at Capitol Recording Studios, New York City
Stereophonic Engineer: Johnny Cue
Mastering by Fine Recording, New York City
Engineer: George Piros
February-June, 1960
ABC-Paramount
ABCS-352
Don't be fooled by the budget looking graphic on the jacket. Creed Taylor produce this set which is just one more of his many inventive pop projects.
The cover copy is a bit misleading in that the "ping pong" isn't a pronounced effect engineered into the mix to play with the stereo channels as heard on many LPs marketed this way. Any "ping pong-like percussion sound is more part of the arranging to produce a complete and interesting tune.
Personnel
Daddy, Makin' Whoopee, Argument, Lullaby In Rhythm, Whistle While You Work, I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm:
Voice: Flo Handy. Trumpet: Joe Wilder. Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo: Eddie Caine. Guitar: Mundell Lowe. Bass: Milt Hamilton. Percussion: Don Lamond, Panama Francis, Warren Hard, Joe Venuto, Doug Allan.
Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Willow Weep For Me, Our Love Is Here To Stay, Lovers, Cheek To Cheek, Goodbye:
Voice: Flo Handy. Trumpet: Joe Wilder. Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo: Ray Beckenstein. Guitar: Mundell Lowe. Bass: Milt Hinton. Percussion: Don Lamond, Panama Francis, Joe Venuto, Doug Allen, Brad Spinney, Phil Kraus.
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Daddy
Willow Weep For Me
Makin' Whoopee
Argument
Lullaby In Rhythm
Whistle While You Work
Love Is Here To Stay
Lovers
Cheek To Cheek
Goodbye
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Wichita Lineman
Featuring Morty Lewis On His Clarinet
Design SDLP-305
Here's a curious budget record that features a country or folk flavored cover. On closer inspection I thought possibly that this LP would turn out to be more of a light pop recording... but done up on the clarinet?
The vibe is more of a private press light pop lounge recording. The band sounds like it was thrown together for the session and given little chance to work out the songs.
Latin Favorites
Dick Kesner And His Magic Stradivarius
Vocalion VL 73777
I believe this LP may be the first release of this outstanding space age Kesner LP. Check this post for the Coral release titled Amor Latino. The featured sample for that post is Andalucia.
You might also want to check out The Music Of Hawaii (Coral), another great album with an exotica vibe.
Dick Schory's New Percussion Ensemble
Arranged and Conducted by Dick Schory
Produced by Bob Bollard
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, Chicago
Recording Engineer: Lew Layton
Notes: Bob Bollard
RCA LPM-2125
1960
From the back cover: This record is for people who are: (check one or more) - Too happy. Too sad. Too romantic. Too Platonic. Too Stimulated. Too Tranquilized. Too Much.
You have to love that Schory posed for the cover art. ...and the man in the leopard skin is a fraud. We had to use a much heftier fellow and no one with glasses would dare stand that close
Also from the back cover:
Who Did It
Lew Layton, the engineer who's responsible for some of our most glistening symphonic recordings from Boston, Chicago, Rome and New York, said he felt as if he had a souped-up jet job under his instrument panel. We trust his experience with Walkin' My Baby Back Home will have no untoward effect on his next Beethoven cycle.
Every selection was a completely new production with different microphoning, new scrimmage formations for the players – even new instruments (percussionists double on everything). Modern recording musicians are used to music they've never seen before. In this case they'd never seen some of the instruments before either... a musical steel oil drum from Trinidad, for example. There were, in all, over one hundred instruments, known and unknown, put to hard use during the two days and nights spent in making this album.
We flew in Phil Kraus specially from New York for the sessions. He's the vibe solo on I'll Remember April, the timpani melody on Caravan, the bongos on Safari Anyone? Dave Black was already in Chicago appearing with Bob Scobey's band. He's the dance beat on rhythm drums most of the way, with a special contribution on Fly Now, Pay Later. Frankie Rullo stars of vibes, xylophone, bongos, cow bells, rhythm drums – Hubert Anderson, Earl Backus, Jose Bethancout, Russell Crandell, John Frigo, John Gray, Donald Knapp, Martin Rubenstein, Robert Weissberg and David Poskonka.
From Billboard - January 25, 1960: In spite of the title this is a very attractive new mood set featuring the Dick Schory crew performing a group of standards in many moods. Some of the moods are wild and swinging, others are soft and caressing. Tunes include "Caravan," "Speak Low," " Walkin' My Baby Back Home" and "A Foggy Day." Tunes were waxed in Chicago's Orchestra Hall, and a lot of hi-fi bugs will be interested in hearing some of these occasionally frantic sounds.
Caravan Speak Low South Rampart Street Parade Walkin' My Baby Back Home Fascinating Rhythm Safari Anyone? A Foggy Day Autumn In New York Fly Now, Pay Later I'll Remember April Tortilla Stranger In Paradise
This was a surprise find. I mean... look at this fun cover on the Palace label. All the Palace albums I've stumbled across are total budget and not much thought is given to the cover or the contents on vinyl. Very often the music found on the disc is whatever Palace could beg, barrow or steal. Musically, this is one of the better Limbo albums I've found. It seems that one group actually recorded all of the songs (which is not always the case on budget albums), there is variety in approaches to the songs and the group expresses energy and humor.
More Of Delamore
Bahamian Rhythms LTD. - Nassau, Bahamas
BRH-44
This album surprised me. The small label or private press "island" LPs I find can hold surprises but not many of them are as "professional" or polished as this recording. Delamore can sing, the arrangements are interesting and the band backing him is tight.
From the back cover: Richie's break into showbiz began 11 years ago – first, with the Goombay King, the inimitable George Symonette; next, at Paul Meere's nite club, where he was "discovered" by an agent fro R.C.A. Victor and taken to New York to cut his first disc for them. From there his career zoomed with appearances on the Jack Parr Show, a tour of the United States and Canada, culminating with performances in Hawaii with John Rait and Hermione Gingolde. Richie says that his greatest thrill during these tours was his meeting of Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belefonte, Diane McBain, Johnny Mathis, and Nassau's own Academy Award Winner, Sidney Poiter, all of whom have contributed to the inspiration of this album.
