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Friday, August 7, 2020

An Evening With Lerner & Loewe - Stradivari Strings

I Could Have Danced All Night 
An Evening With Lerner & Loewe
Stradivari Strings
Parade Records SP 263

They Call The Wind Maria
Thank Heaven For Little Girls
I Could Have Danced All Night
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Waltz At Maxim's
I Talk To The Trees
Wouldn't It Be Loverly
On the Street Where You Live
GIGI
The Night They Invented Champagne

Songs I Love To Sing - Brook Benton

Moonlight In Vermont
Songs I Love To Sing
Brook Benton
Custom High Fidelity
Mercury Records MG 20602
1960

From Billboard - September 26, 1960: This is one of the classist albums ever released with Brook Benton. It features the singer in lovely performances of famous standards, from "It's Been A Long Long Time," to "Why Try To Change Me Now." The backings are lush and tasteful, and Benton handles them all in style. This could be a strong seller.

Moonlight In Vermont
It's Been A Long Long Time
Lover Come Back To Me
If You Are But A Dream
Why Try To Change Me
September Song
Oh! What It Seemed To Be
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
They Can't Take That A Way From Me
I'll Be Around
I Don't Know Enough About You
Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)

Politely! - Keely Smith

Lullaby Of The Leaves
Politely!
Keely Smith
With Billy May and His Orchestra
Arranged and Conducted by Billy May
Producer: Voyle Gilmore
Capitol Records T1073
1958

From Billboard - October 20, 1958: Miss Smith really has a way with a song. Accompanied by excellent ork settings from Billy May, she runs thru a fine program of standards in most appealing style. Her ballads are lush and lovely, and she swings on the up-tempo tunes. Selections include "I'll Get By," "All The Way" and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." Attractive cover drawing of the chick will attract.

Sweet And Lovely
Cocktails For Two
The Song Is You
I'll Get By
Lullaby Of The Leaves
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
I Can't Get Started
I'll Never Smile Again
S'Posin'
East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
All The Way
I Never Knew (I Could Love Anybody)

The Music Of Irving Berlin - Stanley Black

Cheek To Cheek
The Music Of Irving Berlin
Stanley Black Conducting The Kingsway Promenade Orchestra
London Records LL 811
1954

From the back cover: Slightly built, dark haired, unassuming – Stanley Black scarcely gives the impression of being one of Britain's most active men of popular music. Yet this diffidence – or seeming diffidence, allied to keen understanding of his fellow musicians, is probably what makes this soft-spoken authoritarian so effective a figure on the podium. And were he not endowed with these unique characteristics, it is unlikely that he could keep pace with the many demands on his services.

Since 1945 he has held down the exacting post of Musical Director to the BBC Dance Orchestra, which, under the Black baton, has become one of the most brilliant all-round outfits to be heard on the British air-waves. So frequently does this orchestra broadcast that the knowledgeable listener must often wonder how Stanley manages to fit his active career as a writer and conductor of film music – a sphere in which he is gaining prestige every day. And all this aside from his recording work – both as an accompanist of vocalists (a field wherein he is almost without equal) and as a band-leader in his own right, as on the present records.

As an arranger Stanley Black is one of the most sought-after in British music business. Indeed, a Black arrangement is practically a warranty of success.

Born in London in 1914, Stanley Black commenced music studies at the tender age of 7, taking lessons on a pianoforte from the eminent concert pianist, Rae Robertson. His first professional engagement came when he was scarcely in his teens – the piano stool in the pit band of the local vaudeville house. At 17, he entered and won, a nationally organized arranging contest. From then on he threw all his energies into dance music, and in the star-spangled years which followed; played piano and arranged for such famous British orchestras as Ambrose's Lew Stone's and Ray Noble's. At one period he was the virtuoso half of Harry Roy's famed two-piano team of "Black & Whit," and when Colema
n Hawkins visited England in 1934 the great saxophonist selected Stanley Black as his accompanist.

Say It With Music
A Couple Of Swells
Cheek To Cheek
They Say It's Wonderful
No Strings
Say It Isn't So
The Piccolino
Marie
Heat Wave
How Deep Is The Ocean
Play A Simple Melody
The Song Is Ended
A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
There's No Business Like Show Business

My Last Night In Rome - Buddy Greco

It Had Better Be Tonight
My Last Night In Rome
Buddy Greco
Arranged and Conducted by Marty Manning
Produced by Bobby Gregg
Cover Photo: Henry Parker
Epic LN 24088
1964

From Billboard - April 18, 1964: Here the brash, bouncing Buddy is evenly balanced by the sentimental, romantic Greco in an album that already is associated with three hits: "More" from "Mondo Can"; "I Had Better Be Tonight" from "Pink Panther," and "Ciumachella," from "Rugatino." Wide gamut of songs makes this available to most programming.

It Had Better Be Tonight
Anema E Core
More
Mala Femmina
Guaglione
Ciao, Ciao, Bambina
My Last Night In Rome
Ciumachella
Mama
Sempre Amore
Autumn In Rome

The Young Frankie Avalon

Fever
The Young Frankie Avalon
Produced by Peter DeAngelis
Cover Photo: Globe Photos, New York
Liner Photos: Arsene Studios, New York
Chancellor CHL-5002
Distributed by Am-Par Record Corp.
1959

From the back cover: Here's your favorite "Shy Guy" making his second appearance in packaged form, all wrapped up in charm and personality.

Following the phenomenal success of his first album ("Frankie Avalon" – CHL-5001), so many fans of the fast-rising singing star took the time and trouble to suggest certain standard songs which you would like to hear him sing. Such great selections as I Can't Begin To Tell You, Hold Me, Undecided, Pretty Eyed Baby, etc. were recommended to the handsome young pro, and his mentors, Bob Marcucci and Peter DeAngelis, agreed that these would make perfect backdrops for the Avalon talents.

In addition, after his appearance on The Perry Como Show (where he astounded televiewers with his trumpet virtuosity), so many of you expressed interest in having him record a horn number that Frankie has included a "bonus" selection in this set. – Natt Hale


Pretty Eyed Baby
Too Young To Love
Fever
I Can't Begin To Tell You
Trumpet Instrumental (Bella Del Mondo)
Hallelujah I Love Her So
Undecided
The One I Love
Teach Me Tonight
Shy Guy
Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
Hold Me

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Salute To The Smooth Bands - Freddy Martin

Blue Serenade
Salute To The Smooth Bands
A Tribute in Hi-Fi by Freddy Martin and His Orchestra
Produced by Dave Cavanaugh
Capitol Records T1116
1959

Personnel:

Leader: Freddy Martin
Saxophones: Bill Ainsworth, Roger DeWitt, Roger Andrews, Bill Hitz, Michael Paige, John Sebar
Trombones: George Faye, John Cochran, Joe Howard
Trumpets: Sam Heydenfeldt, Woody Falser, Ralph Tancredi, Shorty Sherock
Tuba: Clarence Karella
Piano: Dave Leonard, Bob Hunter
Bass: Aba Siegel
Guitar: Joe Gibbons
Drums: Sam Goldstein
Violins: Wilbure Nuttycombe, Sebastian Mercurio, Lewis Sherman, Erno Neufeld, Lou Raderman, Jacques Gasselin

From the back cover: Remember the old Lucky Strike Magic Carpet radio show, with Walter Winchell emceeing... how it used to bounce all over the country on Saturday nights, brining in the most popular dance orchestras right from their native haunts... the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, the Palace in San Francisco, the Muehlebach in Kansas City, the St. Regis in New York, and so on? Well, I'd like to bring you one of those sparkling Saturday nights in this album. And to best satisfy your memory, we've taken the original recordings of a dozen of the finest dance orchestras and re-created them in today's finest high fidelity.

A special word about the men in my band. They worked hard trying to duplicate the individual sounds of each band and I think they really pulled it off. A special mention to Dave Leonard and Bob Hunter, who did all the piano work, to Johnny Cochran, Ralph Anthony, and the Martin Men for their versatility in the vocalizing, and Michael Paige, who used to play first sax with Orville Knapp an came back to give us the authentic Knapp sax sound for Accent On Youth.


From Billboard - February 16, 1959: In the most attractive new album orkster Freddie Martin and his crew salute the great dance bands of yesterday and today with duplication of the themes or the big hits of these smooth orks. Bands saluted include Hal Kemp, Clyde McCoy, Ambrose, Russ Morgan, Wayne King, Glenn Miller, Ray Noble and others. The sound is excellent, and the performances are first rate. More than that every tune is danceable. A set that could be a strong seller if exposed.

Lawrence Welk - Bubbles In The Wine
Russ Morgan - Does Your Heart Beat For Me?
Ambrose - Hors d'Ouevre
Henry King - A Blues Serenade
Hal Kemp - Got A Date With An Angel
Clyde McCoy - Sugar Blues
Dick Jurgens - Daydreams Come True At Night
Guy Lombardo - Boo Hoo
Orville Knapp - Accent On Youth
Wayne King - Josephine
Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade
Ray Noble - Blue Danube Waltz

Somethin' Smith And The Redheads

My Baby Just Cares For Me
Somethin' Smith & The Redheads
And Their Banjos
Photo: Dirone
Epic Records LN 3138

From the back cover: The stars of the program are Somethin' Smith himself, and the Redheads, the latter being Saul Striks and Major Short. The uniquely-named leader, with his highly personal singing style, studied banjo in Norfolk, Virginia, where he earnestly pursued musical training when he was not hunting out parts in local plays and musicals. Four years with the Navy helped him sharpen up his talents on the guitar as well, and in 1946 he won an award on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts program, before joining up with his present cohorts. Saul Striks is also a veteran of four years with the Navy, and of intensive piano studies also.

When he was only nine, he made three guest appearances with the Detroit Symphony. Major Short studied all band instruments, with particular emphasis on the violin. His service time was spent in the Air Force, and he has played with numerous symphonies in addition to his experience with jazz combos. The three first got together at the University of California at Los Angeles, and within a remarkably short period of time they have become one of the most popular trios in the entertainment world. Their uniformly fine reviews have stressed not only their musical accomplishments, but the high degree of humor they inject in their work, an aspect that is happily present in this program.


Alabamy Bound
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Sweet Georgia Brown
The Ace In The Hole
Charley, My Boy
At The Darktown Strutters' Ball
California, Here I Come
It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Pretty Baby
Jealous
Back In Your Own Back Yard

Bob Brookmeyer And Friends

The Wrinkle
Bob Brookmeyer And Friends
Stan Geta, Herbie Hancock, Ton Carter, Gary Burton & Elvin Jones
Relaxed and Unified and Warm
Produced by Two Macero
Cover Art: Bob Cato
Columbia STEREO CS 9037
1965

From the back cover: Bob Brookmeyer And Friends is a wholly appropriate title for this record. The album features musicians to whom the much-abused term "all-stars" could be applied without fear of contradiction, and yet – because of the performers' mutual respect and sympathy – the prevailing atmosphere is remarkably relaxed and unified and warm.

Of course, Bob Brookmeyer and Stan Getz have made music together before. The valve-trombonist (who is also a gifted composer, arranger and pianist) was a member of The Stan Getz Quintet, vintage 1953, a group fondly remembered by all who had the pleasure of hearing it – on records or in person. This recording marks one of their infrequent reunions since then, but through their individual conceptions have matured and developed, the old empathy remains.

One reason of this is that both men are essentially melodic improvisers. They don't just play around with chord changes; they give the melodic lines a chance it sing. And both Brookmeyer and Getz have ideas in which the production of a warm and appealing sound plays a considerable role.

The supporting cast assembled by Brookmeyer for himself and his erstwhile boss is much more than just that, and all its members get a chance to step out on their own. Miles Davis' pianist and bassist, John Coltrane's drummer, and Stan Getz's vibraharpist is not a bad lineup, to say the least.

It is interesting to hear these men out of their usual context, and they all prove their adaptability to new surroundings with flying colors. Fanciers of Elvin Jones' work with Coltrane, for example, will be intrigued by his playing on this session, which is quite different from his norm and yet bears the unmistakable stamp of his highly individual musical personality. Carter's bass is solid as a rock, and his ear is exceptional. Herbie Hancock and Gary Burton, the youngsters of he assembly, both have a strongly lyrical vein to their playing, making their background and solo work a perfect foil for the horns. – Dan Mogenstern


From Billboard - March 27, 1965: Two great names on a great album! Bob Brookmeyer and Stan Getz. A winning combination if there ever was one and they win all the way. Wonderfully lyric jazz that draws you in and makes you part of it. The sound of tenor sax and valve trombone are innately complimentary but in the hands of these two they really sing.

Jive Hoot
Misty
The Wrinkle
Braclet
Skylark
Sometime Ago
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Who Cares

Broadway Show Stoppers - Paul Lavalle

Gee, Officer Krupke
Paul Lavalle And The Band Of America
Play Broadway Show Stoppers
Produced by Danny Davis
Director Of Engineering: Val Valentin
Recording Engineer: Phil Ramone
Broadway collage on cover by Chermayeff/ Geismar
MGM Records E-4148
1963

From Billboard - August 17, 1963: Lovers of music provided by brass band will be drawn to this release, which combines one of the best-known groups of our ear with a crop of top Broadway show tunes. The band romps through its fresh-sounding arrangements with verve. The result also should grab fans of Broadway show music. Among the top items are "Consider Yourself," "Great Day," "Hey Look Me Over" and "Get Me To The Church On Time."

Get Me To The Church On Time (from "My Fair Lady")
Consider Yourself (From "Oliver!")
Hey, Look Me Over (from "Wildcat")
I Ain't Down Yet (from "The Unsinkable Molly Brown")
Blow, Gabriel, Blow (from "Anything Goes")
There Is Nothing Like A Dame (from "South Pacific")
Great Day (from "Great Day")
Gee, Officer Krupke (from "West Side Story")
Strike Up The Band (from "Strike Up The Band")
That Great Come And Get It Day (from Finian's Rainbow")
They Love Me (from "Mr. President")
The New Ashmolean Marching Society And Students Conservatory Band (From "Where's Charley")

European Hits In America - Richard Wolfe

Ciao, Ciao, Bambina
European Hits In America
The Dancing Sound Of Richard Wolfe
Photo: Irving Werbin
Kapp High Fidelity KL-1183
1960

From the back cover: Moonlight Serenades (Kapp-1171) introduced you to the exciting new dancing sound of Richard Wolfe – a sound developed from many years' experience of song-writing for such greats as Nat 'King' Cole and Red Foley, arranging for bandleader Sammy Kaye, and producing radio programs, variety shows and best-selling records. Strict tempo but with a solid, driving beat, its freshness and vitality appeals to every age group. In fact, whether you're a teenager at your first dance or a grandparent celebrating a fiftieth wedding anniversary, you'll be out there on the floor, dancing to music played in the irresistible, toe-tapping Richard Wolfe style.

Ciao, Ciao, Bambina
Voila
Fascination
Morgen (One More Sunrise)
Come Prima (Fro The First Time)
Guaglione
Marina
Baciare, Baciare
Petite Fleur (Little Flower)
In Surabaya
Enchante, Enchante Encore
The Day The Rains Came

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Great Hawaiian Hits - The Mills Brothers

Hawaiian Hospitality
Great Hawaiian Hits
The Mills Brothers
Now Celebrating Their 25th Anniversary In Show Business
Arranged and Conducted by Milt Rogers
Dot Records DLP 3368
1961

Blue Hawaii
On A Little Bamboo Bridge
Sweet Leilani
Hawaiian Hospitality
Song Of The Islands
Beyond The Reef
Hawaiian Nights
Keep Your Eyes On The Hands
Hawaiian Paradise
Hawaiian Sunset
Trade Winds

The Waltzes Of Irving Berlin - The Melachrino Strings

Russian Lullaby
The Waltzes Of Irving Berlin
The Melachrino Strings And Orchestra
A&R Coordinator: Ethel Gabriel
Recorded in England
RCA Victor LSP-2561
1962

All Alone
Always
Because I Love You
Russian Lullaby
The Girl That I Marry
Let's Take An Old Fashioned Walk
Remember
The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers-On)
What'll I Do
When I Lost You
(Just One Way To Say) I Love You
Reaching For The Moon

South Of The Border - John Gart

Jungle Drums
South Of The Border
John Gart
At The Conn Electronic Organ
Dynamic Hi-Fi Organ
Kapp High Fidelity KL-1074
1958

From the back cover: John Gart... A student of piano and composition with Gliere and Boris Levenson (pupil of Rimsky-Korsakoff), John Gart toured Europe at the age of twelve, accompanying a concert violinist and operatic singer.

He came to America and studied the organ with Herbert Sisson (pupil of Alexander Guilmant) and Dr. Clarence Dickinson, and soon became organist and conductor for The Loew's Theatres. Later, Mr. Gart formed a dance band and played at the Edision and Shelton Hotels in New York, and Ciro's of London. He has been musical director of such radio shows as "Big Town," "C.B.S. Work Shop," "The Lanny Ross" and "Kay Armen" shows – and in television – such shows as "The Robert Montgomery Show," "Chance Of A Lifetime," "All Star Revue," and "The Paul Winchell Show." John Gart is also a composer with over 100 compositions to his credit.


The Peanut Vendor
Quiereme Mucho
A Gay Ranchero
La Golondrina – Cielito Lindo
Chiapanecas
Always In My Heart
The Breeze And I
South Of Border
Jungle Drums
Green Eyes
Amapola
Mexican Hat Dance
Maria Maria
El Relicario

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Booker 'n' Brass - Booker Ervin

L. A. After Dark
Booker 'n' Brass
Booker Ervin
Producer: Richard Bock
Arranged and Conducted by Terry Edwards
(Terry Edwards appears through the courtesy of Prestige Records)
Engineer: Ray Hall
Art Direction: Woody Woodward
Photography: Raymond Ross
Liner Photography: Fred Seligo
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City
Pacific Jazz Records STEREO ST-20127
Liberty Records, Inc.
1967

Contributing musicians for:
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Harlem Nocturne

Martin Banks - Trumpet
Garnett Brown - Trombone
Leonard McBrowne - Drums
Reginald Johnson - Bass
Brooker Ervin - Saxophone
Kenneth Barron - Piano
Bennie Green - Trombone
Ray Copeland - Trumpet
Richard Williams - Trumpet

Contributing musicians for:
Kansas City
I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City
East Dallas Special

Booker Ervin - Tenor Saxophone
Leonard McBrowne - Drums
Bennie Green - Trombone
John Coles - Trumpet
Richard Williams - Trumpet
Ray Copeland - Trumpet and Fluegel Horn
Marlin Banks - Trumpet and Fluegel Horn
Britt B. Woodman - Trombone
Benjamin Powell - Bass Trombone
Reinald Johnson - Bass

Contributing musicians for:

St. Louis Blues
Baltimore Oriole
L. A. After Dark

Reginald Johnson - String Bass
Benjamin Powell - Bass Trombone
Charles Tolliver - Trumpet
Leonard McBrowne - Drums
Ray Copeland - Trumpet and Fluegel Horn
Booker Ervin - Tenor Saxophone
Bennie Green - Trombone
Frederick Hubbard - Trumpet
Garnett Brown - Trombone
Richard Williams - Trumpet
Kenneth Barron - Piano

East Dallas Special
I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
L. A. After Dark
Kansas City
Baltimore Oriole
Harlem Nocturne
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
St. Louis Blues

Enchanting! - Kay Starr

Sweet Lorraine
Enchanting!
Kay Starr
Coronet Records CXS-233
A Division Of Premier Albums, Inc.

From the back cover: Born Katherine Starks in Dougherty, Oklahoma, July 21, 1922... Kay Starr is today one of the great female Jazz singers. Raised in Dallas, her first singing debut was on a local radio station. At seventeen, she made her first move into the "big-time", as a temporary substitute for Marion Hutton in Glenn Millers' 1939 band.

Through the war years she made progress with the big bands of the period; Bob Crosby, Joe Venuti and Charlie Barnet orchestras. In 1945 she left Barnet and signed up with Capitol Records, where such famous hits as "Wheel Of Fortune", etc., she rapidly rose to national fame as a solo artist.


I'm Confessin'
Who's Fooling' Who
Sunday
Sweet Lorraine
Stormy Weather
All Of Me
Dixieland Band
Frying Pan

Mumblers - Clark Terry

The Cat From Cadiz
Mumblers
Clark Terry
Arrangements: Joe Cain
Artist & Repertoire: Bob Shad
Original Recording Engineer: Frank Abby
Mastering: Hal Diepold
Cover Design: Jack Lonshein
Production Coordinator: Mavis Barton
Album Coordinator: Elena Picone
Typography: The Composing Room, Inc.
Printing and Fabrication: Globe Albums, Inc.
Cover Photograph: Three Lions, Inc.
Mainstream
STEREO S/6066
1966

Personnel:

Clark Terry - Trumpet and Flugelhorn
Jerome Richardson - Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Soprano Sax, Alto Flute and Piccolo
Vinnie Bell, Eric Gale - Guitars
Frank Anderson - Piano and Organ
George Duvivier - String Bass
Richard Davis - Bass
Phil Kraus - Percussion
Jose Mangual - Bongos
Willie Bobo - Conga
Grady Tate - Drums

The Mumbler Strikes Again
Big Spender
Rum And Mumbles
The Shadow Of Your Smile
Mumbles
Grand Dad's Blues
The Cat From Cadiz
Never
I'm Beginning To See The Light
Night Song
El Blues Latino

Monday, August 3, 2020

The Riddle - Dave Brubeck

Blue Ground
The Riddle
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Featuring: Bill Smith, Clarinet
Compositions by Bill Smith
Cover Photo: Scott Hyde
Columbia CL 1454
1960

From the back cover: Bill Smith

Born in Sacramento, Calif. in 1926. Started clarinet at ten years old and studied at Juilliard for a year while working at "Kelly's Stable" on 52nd Street. Learned that Darious Milhaud was at Mills College in Oakland, California and went there to study with him. Met Brubeck at Mills. In the spring of 1947, formed the Octet and worked in a small place near Oakland (the group consisted of those people who were studying under Milhaud). The following year Milhaud and half of the Octet went to Paris and Smith went to U.C. and studied with Roger Sessions.

Received his M.A. from California and spent two years in Paris as the recipient of the Prix de Paris and has also taught at U.C. and the San Francisco Conservatory. In 1956 he was awarded the Prix de Roma and, as a result of this, spent the following year (1957) in Rome. While in Rome, Dave Brubeck invited him to write a group of compositions for him. This album is the result. Brubeck and Smith found that the ideal time to record the album was in the summer of 1959 when they are both in Lenox, Mass., Smith at Tanglewood with the Fromm Players and Brubeck on vacation at the Music Inn.

About "The Riddle," he says "My main interest in this album was to make 3/4s of an hour of well integrated jazz, unified by relating each tune to the English folk song. "Heigh, Ho, Anybody Home." In some of the tunes, the relationship is quite apparent as in "Hey, Ho, Anybody Home" of "Blue Ground, Swingin' Round" where it is used in the bass or where it is treated as a round. The relationship to the original in the others is more subtle (like a cousin whose only family resemblance is the eyes or a dimple or some other detail). "The Twig" is an outgrowth of the last two measures of the original. "Offshoot" use the tune in major considerably altered and expanded. "Quiet Mood" takes the second two-measure segment of the original and uses it as a point of departure. "The Riddle" contains the original melodic shape but is played in shorter note values, while in "Yet We Shall Be Merry," the main tones of the original are lengthened and combined with a new thematic idea."


From Billboard - June 27, 1960: Very original material here. Each tune is related to the English folk song, "Hey, Ho, Anybody Home?" Parts are written and parts are improvised. All in all, it makes an original, modern package which will intrigue jazz students. Brubeck and Smith worked out the basic ideas of this album at Tanglewood during a festival.

Hey, Ho, Anybody Home?
The Twig
Blue Ground
Offshoot
Swingin' Round
Quiet Mood
The Riddle
Yet We Shall Be Merry

Memphis Two-Step - Herbie Mann

Guinnevere
Herbie Mann
Memphis Two-Step
Produced by Herbie Mann
Re-Mix Engineer: Dave Green
Photography: Katsuji Abe
Album Design: Haig Adishian
Embryo Records STEREO / SD 531
Distributed by Cotillion Records
Division of Atlantic Recording Corporation
1971

Soul Man & The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was recorded at United Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California. Memphis Two-Step was recorded at American Sound Studios, Memphis, Tennessee / Recording Engineer: Tom Dowd. All other selections were recorded at A & R Studios, New York, N. Y. / Recording Engineer: Dave Green

The personnel on Soul Man & The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is:
Herbie Mann, flute
Melvin Last & Ike Williams, flugelhorns & trumpets
George Bohanan, trombone & baritone horn
Al Vescovo, guitar
John Barnes, electric piano
Darrel Clayborn, bass
Richard Waters, drums
Victor Pantoja, percussion

The personnel on Down On The Corner, Guinnevere, Acapulco Rain & Kabuki Rock is:
Herbie Mann, flute
Eric Weissberg, Sonny Sharrock & Charlie Brown, guitars
Miroslav Vitous, bass
Bruno Carr, drums
On Down On The Corner, Patato Valdez is added on conga
On Acapulco Rain & Kabuki Rock, Richie Resnicoff replaces Charlie Brown on guitar and Ron Carter is added on Fender bass.
The rainmaker on Acapulco Rain is Eddie Simon

From Billboard - March 20, 1971: Mann back with his version of the Memphis sound - in this case with large dollops of avant jazz. Actually only the title tune is Memphis recorded, the rest being done in Los Angeles and New York. Backing Mann's flute are Roy Ayers, Larry Coryell, Sonny Sharrock and there is enough electricity in the cuts to give the album wide appeal in the rock market too.

Soul Man
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Memphis Two-Step
Down On The Corner
Guinnevere
Acapulco Rain
Kabuki Rock

Stone Flute - Herbie Mann

Miss Free Spirit
Herbie Mann
Stone Flute
All arrangements by William Fischer
String Quartet arrangement on In Tangier by Selwart Clarke
Produced by Herbie Mann
Recording Engineer: Dave Green
Cover Photo: Joel Brodsky
Backliner Photo: Herbie Mann
Album Design: Haig Adishian |
Embryo Records STEREO/SD 520
1970

In Tangier, Paradise Beach, Flying & Pendulum were recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York

On In Tangier, Paradise Beach, Flying & Pendulum the personnel is:
Herbie Mann, flutes
Sonny Sharrock, guitar
Roy Ayers, vibes
Ron Carter, bass
Bruno Carr, drums
Gene Orloff & Manny Green, violins
Selwart Clarke, viola
George Ricci, cello

On Don't You Know The Way (How I Feel About You), Miss Free Spirit & Waltz For My Son the personnel is:
Herbie Mann, flutes
Sonny Sharrock, guitar
Roy Ayers, vibes
Miroslav Vitous, bass
Mickey Rocca, drums
Peter Dimitriades & Selwart Clarke, violins
Al Brown, viola
Kermit Moore, cello

In Tangier
Paradise Beach
Flying
Don't You Know The Way (How I Feel About You)
Miss Free Spirit
Waltz For My Son
Pendulum

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Krupa And Rich

Bernie's Tune
Krupa And Rich
Cover Photo: Herman Leonard
Supervised by Norman Granz
A Panoramic True HI-FI Recording
Clef Records MG C-684
1956

From the back cover: The question was once put squarely to Gene Krupa: What do you think of Buddy Rich? With no hesitation, Krupa replied "Buddy Rick? I think Buddy Rich is the greatest drummer in the world today, bar none. Can I make it any more emphatic than that?"

Reverse the scene. Turn the tables. Put Buddy Rich on the spot with the same question. "You want to know what I think of Gene Krupa?" said Buddy Rich. "Well, where do you begin? Gene Krupa was the beginning and the 'end of all jazz drummers. He's a great genius – a truly great genius of the drums. Gene discovered things that could be done with the drums that hadn't been done before, ever. He discovered these things and made the most of them... I'll tell you about Gene. Before Gene, the drums were in the background, just a part of the band. To put it in plainer terms, the drums didn't have much – meaning. Along comes Gene and the drums take on meaning and they're out of the background. The drummer becomes somebody, you know? Gene gets credit for making people aware of the drummer – of what he's doing and why he's doing it and he deserves every bit of that credit. Can you imagine jazz without Gene?"

Jazz without Gene Krupa. Hardly. For of all the musicians in jazz, Krupa is one of a handful whose name has a stature, a unique luster – his standing is, in a word, assured, of a piece with the Louis Armstrongs, the Benny Goodmans. Krupa has pierced the public consciousness and this recognition, international in scope, extends beyond jazz fans to any hypothetical man on any street, anywhere.

The son of an alderman on Chicago's South Side, Krupa started playing drums in school. (Years ago, all high school bands in Chicago would compete for citywide honors in a concert at Riverview, the amusement park. At one such contest, in the early 1920's, this trio was in competition on the drums: Dave Tough, playing for Austin High, George Wettling for Calumet and a black-haired kid named Gene Krupa playing for the honor of Fenger High.) Krupa, as an eager kid, would listen for hours to the illustrious Bobby Dodds at such Chicago jazz clubs as the Lincoln Gardens and Dreamland. For a time Krupa went out to St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, Ind., with notions of studying for the priesthood. However, the lure of jazz was too strong. Later, as everyone knows, Krupa was one of the most vital performers with the Benny Goodman band in the Swing Era – a colorful, gum-chewing, face-distorting drummer whose steady beat and spectacular flourishes were as much a part of that band and that era as Goodman's own soaring clarinet. By 1940, Krupa had his own band and has since led his own unit and toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic. One more item: For all his fame and 40-some years – be was born in 1908 – Krupa, one hastens to state, is no doddering historical figure. Today, he is still rated at the top.

Actually – and in a sense, curiously – Buddy Rich is one of the very few modern drummers who couldn't honestly list Gene Krupa as an "influence." When Rich was a youngster, he listened intently to Krupa and to Chick Webb and to Jo Jones. What he heard impressed him greatly. But the mold, as it were, had already been cast. Buddy Rich, after all, had been drumming professionally since he was barely out of his cradle. Born in 1917 to a show business family, Buddy was "Traps, the Drum Wonder" before he was 5 and by the time he was 8 he was an all-around performer. Band drumming came much later, in 1928, when Rich joined Joe Marsala's outfit. Since then, Rich has played with innumerable big bands and has led his own band and small groups.

For the last two years, the Krupa-Rich "drum battles" have been an integral part of "Jazz at the Philharmonic" although this is the first time the two have ever recorded together in a studio, although they have recorded on Jazz at the Philharmonic concert albums. On appropriately named tunes, Rich's major solo is heard on "Buddy's Blues" while Krupa demonstrates his stick work on "Gene's Blues." Each gets superb backing from a group comprising Flip Phillips, Illinois Jacquet, tenor saxophones; Dizzy Gilliespie and Roy Eldridge, trumpets; Ray Brown, bass; Herb Ellis, guitar, and Oscar Peterson, piano.


Buddy's Blues
Bernies' Tune
Gene's Blues
Sweetheart On Parade
I Never Know