White Heat - Henri Rene

White Heat

White Heat
Henri Rene´ and his Orchestra
IR Imperial LP 12021
1959

From the back cover: So there's your title (White Heat). It has many diversified meanings as definitions in the dictionary and probably will mean as many things to as many different people. If you get the message, slip your manicured finger or tattooed hand, whichever the case may be, along the protective, germ-free cellophane cover-all. It's as simple as opening a pack of filter tips… and less controversial. Try it. – Henri Rene´

From Billboard - June 15, 1959: Henry Rene has put together a very bright package of instrumentals here. Instrumentation and arrangements are most unusual, being modern, creative; and packed with style.

A bridge between the more "exotic" albums that were hitting the market at the time and big band mood. Like many of Jackie Gleason's excellent albums, this set looks and sounds like a concept project rather than just a collection of tunes.


Isn't It Romantic
Lullaby Of Birdland
Hot Gavotte
White Heat
Runnin' Wild
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
I Know That You Know
Syncopated Clock
Lazy Bones
Limehouse Blues
Ja-Da
Woody Woodpecker

Draggin' And Surfin'

Tiger In My Tank

Draggin' And Surfin'
Modern Sound
MS 525

Drag City
Hey, Little Cobra
Fun, Fun, Fun
Dead Man's Curve
Surfer Girl
Wipe Out
Surf City
Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)
(I've Got A) Tiger In My Tank
The Whole Summer Through

Tropicale - Tommy Morgan

Taboo

Tropicale
Tommy Morgan
With Orchestra Conducted By Warren Barker
Warner Bros. Records 1214
1958

From Billboard - October 20, 1958: An exciting harmonica virtuosos, Tommy Morgan, combines talents with maestro Warren Barker to capture the color and mood of the South Seas. Interesting instrumental wax.

From the back cover: All the harmonica arrangements were personally written by Tommy Morgan, with maestro Warren Barker contributing the exciting orchestral background, which at times blend and at other occasions seem to create a pattern of their own.

As the tile suggests, music with a tropical theme has been selected for this album, and yet there is a remarkable variety to the program. Selections range from hits of the Broadway stage to music from motion pictures, Latin rhythms and an unusual Japanese tune, "The Beach." The song from Nippon was picked up when Morgan was called upon for a Command Performance before the Empress and Royal Family in Tokyo. He sought a popular tune of that region to add to his repertory and to play for the Empress.

While serving a long engagement with Uncle Sam's Air Force Band, Morgan played several other Command Performances, including the King and Queen of Cambodia; the Shah and Empress of Iran, and for Syngman Rhee, President of the Republic of Korea. For his outstanding work as a musical ambassador in these countries, Mr. Morgan's Name has been entered in the Congressional Record.

Dance maestro Freddy Martin claims Tommy Morgan as his discovery back in 1950 and featured the harmonica virtuoso on his weekly television show from the famed Hollywood Palladium. This engagement led to assignments at motion pictures studios where his talent was employed on musical soundtracks. He has employed this experience and his excellent musical background to develop a sound unique in the conception of the harmonica and its presentation. At times he uses the harmonica in block harmony with the other instruments, such as in "Taboo," and at other times as a haunting obligate.

At present, Mr. Morgan has postponed his proposed European tour and has enrolled at his alma mater, University of California at Los Angeles, where he is studying for his Master's Degree in Music.

Baia
Bali Ha'i
Poinciana
Ebb Tide
Moon of Manakoora
Misirlou
Beyond The Reef
Ruby
The Beach
The High And The Mighty
Off Shore
Taboo