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Saturday, April 10, 2021

Dance Into Your Sultan's Heart - Ozel

 

Ali Baba

Dance Into Your Sultan's Heart
Belly Dance With Ozel
Orchestra Conducted by Tank Bulut
Executive Producer: Ayhan Turkbas
Associate Producer: Jesse Kornbluth
Design Consultant: Sait Sarsan
Photography: Paul Frankian
Hair Dresser: Marcello of Italy
Costumes: Miss Yurdaul Yuksel
Recoding Engineers: Mike Moran & Pay Martin
Record Cover Design: N. B. Ward, Assoc.
Recorded at the RCA Recording Studios, New York, N. Y.
El-Ay STEREO 2877

Personnel: 

Violin: Yavuz Ozustun
Bouzokia: John Tatasopoulos
Kanun: Orhan Yeginsoy
Organ: Jimmy Linardos
Bass: George Manikas
Battery/Drums: Dinitrios Dais
Electric Guitar: Errol Bulut
Finger Cymbals: Ozel Turkbas
Vib - Tympany - Piano - Darbuka: Tank Bulut

From the back cover: Ozel has repaid her American fans with an outpouring of creativity – in two years, she has released two records and the definitive lesson book, The Art Of Belly Dancing. The success of these efforts is the direct result of Ozel's authenticity as performer and teacher – she does not offer watered-down, commercialized versions of dances and music (too complicated) for Americans. The final stamp of authenticity came early this year when her first album, How To Belly Dance For Your Sultan, sold its millionth copy in Turkey.

This is the third of a series of records Ozel is releasing to help American women learn a new way of exercise while they are (simultaneously) learning to please and excite their male audience. Once again Ozel has assembled the finest musicians from the middle east made them comfortable in the most sophisticated New York Recording Studios, and turned the tape recorders on.

Ozel's Belly Dance Routine
Ali Baba - Karsilama (Vocal by Ozel Turkbas)
The Dance In The  Garden (Vocal by Ozel Turkbas)
A Wedding Song - Karam (Vocal by Ozel Turkbas)
Organ Improvisation by Jimmy Linardos
Halime Is A Coquette (Vocal by Ozel Turkbas)
Azeri Dance Number
Popular Circle Dance - Kasap Havasi
Violin Kanun - Bouzoukia Solo (Yavuz Ozustun/Orhan Yeginsoy/John Tatasopoulos)

Bali Ha'i - Earl Grant

 

Green Dolphin Street

Bali Ha'i
Earl Grant
Produced by Charles Bud Dant
Cover Photo: Marc Brady
Decca Records DL 4806
1966

From Billboard - October 1, 1966: "Yesterday," "A Hard Day's Night" and "What Now My Love," give this album an added attraction for sales. Grant provides some smooth versions, great for relaxed listening.

What Now My Love
Summertime
Yesterday
Green Dolphin Street
Laura
A Hard Day's Night
Bali Ha'i
September In The Rain
Love Is A Many Splendid Thing
I'll Close My Eyes
Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
Love Walked In

The Best Of Ramsey Lewis

 

Les Fleur

The Best Of Ramsey Lewis
Cover Photo: Robert Boldt
Art Direction: Dick Fowler
Mr. Lewis clothes by Fox Bros., Chicago, Illinois
Cadet Records - A Division of GRT Corporation
Cadet STEREO LPS-839
1970

Julia - from LPS-821 Mother Nature's Son
Hang On Sloopy - from LPS-761 Hang On Ramsey
Les Fleur - from LPS-811 Maiden Voyage
Wade In The Water - from LPS-774 Wade In The Water
Return To Paradise - from LPS-782 The Movie Album
Jade East - from LPS-799 Up Pops Ramsey
Dancing In The Streets - from LPS-794 Dancing In The Streets
The In Crowd - from LPS-757 The In Crowd
Theme From The Pawnbroker - from LPS-782 The Movie Album
Up Tight - from LPS-744 Wade In The Water
Maiden Voyage - from LPS-811 Maiden Voyage
Function At The Junction - from LPS-790 Goin' Latin
Soul Man - from LPS-799 Up Pops Ramsey

Friday, April 9, 2021

Stay As Sweet As You Are - Nat King Cole

Angel Eyes

Stay As Sweet As You Are
Nat King Cole
Pickwick/33 SPC-3105
By Arrangement with Capitol Records

Stay As Sweet As You Are
You Stepped Out Of A Dream
Angel Eyes
If I Give My Heart To You
On The Street Where You Live
Get Me To The Church On Time
What Is There To Say
Don't Get Around Much Any More
Paradise
When Your Lover Has Gone

Dick Campbell Sings Where It's At

 

You've Got To Be Kidding

Dick Campbell
Sings Where It's At
All selections written by Dick Campbell
Produced by Lou Reizner
Mercury Records MG 21060
1965

Personnel:

Dick Campbell - Rhythm Guitar
Mike Bloomfield - 12 String Guitar (courtesy of Columbia Records)
Jimmy Vincent - 12 String Framus Guitar
Pete Cetera - Electric Bass
Mark Naftalin - Organ
Marty Grebb - Tambourine, Piano, Finger Cymbals and various other instruments
Artie Sullivan - Tambourine and Vocals
Paul Butterfield - Harp (courtesy of Electra Records)
Billy Herman, Sam Lay, Larry Wrice - Drums

The Blues Peddlers
You've Got To  Be Kidding
Sandi
The People Planners
Aphrodite's Child
Despairs Cafeteria 
Approximately Four Minutes Of Feeling Sorry For D. C.
Object Of Derision
Where Were You
Girls Named Misery
Ask Me If I Care
Don Juan Of The Western World

The Most Beautiful Girl - Bert Kaempfert

 

In The Everglades

The Most Beautiful Girl
Bert Kaempfert
Produced by Milt Gabler
Cover Photo: Robert Blakeman
Engineer: Peter Klemt
Recorded in Hamburg, Germany
MCA Records MCA-402
1974

From the back cover: At this point in time it does not take a musical prophet to discern that The Most Beautiful Girl will most likely be the number one song of the year and rightfully so. This album by Bert Kaempfert which is dedicated to all beautiful girls is a fitting tribute to the song as well. Here you have the latest creations of the man who gave you "Strangers In The Night," "Spanish Eyes," "Danke Schoen,"  "LOVE," "Afrikaan Beat," "Red Roses For A Blue Lady" and dozens of other impeccable arrangements and hauntingly beautiful melodies. Every Kaempfert styling is distinctive and immediately recognizable. That is why his recordings are the most played big band sounds heard on radio broadcasts throughout this land as well as the rest of the world. So much so that his fans and promoters in England have induced him to give his first concert in London, at the Royal Albert Hall, on February 28, 1974. Just as every new Bert Kaempfert album is an event the appearance should be the highpoint of his illustrious career.

The Most Beautiful Girl
Why Can't You And I Add To Love
Touch The Wind (Eres Tu)
Jumpin' Blue
Opus One
I Found My Love
Let Me Be There
Easy Glider 
Tuxedo Junction
Moon Over Baja
I Cover The Waterfront
In The Everglades

Thursday, April 8, 2021

The Latin Album - Trini Lopez

 

Besame Mucho

Trini Lopez
The Latin Album
Produced by Don Costa Productions, Inc.
Cover Photo by John Engstead
Reprise STEREO RS-6125
1964

From the back cover: Back before his guitar turned golden, Trini Lopez was a fifteen year on singing star at a club called Ci Pango in Trini's home town, Dallas. Trini, from Spanish and Mexican parents, was a thin but infectious performer who had a way with the songs of the Spanish language. And that "way" communicated to Texans whose Spanish vocabulary consisted of "Ole," "Arriba," and "Whatcha Put In This Taco, Amigo."

Now, Trini's guitar is a golden one. He's an international celeb. His recording of "If I Had A Hammer" started it, selling 1,400,000 copies at a time when so-called gold-record-singles were lucky to sell 400,000. He quickly became the hottest international artist on earth, and America's newest Ambassador-at-large.

With this album, Trini returns to the latin lingo that gave him his start. With an armada of latin percussion – strictly genuine, played on hand-hewn instruments – backing him up, Trini swings through some of the most exciting latin singing in decades.

Don Costa, who produces Trini's albums and is understandably enthusiastic about this project, details the background of this album this way:

"This set of choice Latin favorites may present a new Trini Lopez to most of his fans, but the tunes are certainly not new to Our Hero, for he was weened on most of them. Trini's father, Trinidad Sr., could be heard at any hour of the day or night singing and playing them on his guitar. Trini was probably humming "Cu Cu Rru Cu Cu, Paloma" before he could say 'tobacco,' which is positively the first word he ever spoke.

From Billboard - August 15, 1964: Trini Lopez has had several top-selling singles. His appeal is to both adult and teen-ager. His recent appearances in N.Y.C.'s Basin Street was a SRO success. Lopez is certainly within his niche signing Latin songs. In fact, he's expert. His growing number of fans will be pleased with his renditions of "Granada," "Perfidia," "Cu Cu Rru Cu Cu, Paloma," "La Malaguena" and others.

Adalita
Perfidia
Besame Mucho
Angelito
La Malaguena
Piel Canela
Granada
Chamaka
Cu Cu Rru Cu Cu, Paloma
Quizas, Quizás, Quizás
El Reloj
Cuando Calienta el Sol

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Belly Dancing At The Cafe Feenjon - The Feenjon Group

 

Erev Shel Shoshanim

Belly Dancing At The Cafe Feenjon
The Feenjon Group
Produced and Directed by Menachem Dworman
Monitor STEREO MFS 497

From the back cover: The Feenjon Group can be heard nightly at the Cafe Feenjon, located on Macdougal Street in New York's Greenwich Village. From the very beginning, the Feenjon has been a mecca for lvoers of Israeli, Greek, Arabic, Turkish and Armenian song and dance. Many notables of the entertainment world, too, attracted by the informal atmosphere and musical excitement of the Cafe, have become late-late habitués and frequently participate in the performances. Such celebrities include Herschel Bernardi, Theodore Bikel, Eartha Kit, Yaffa Yarkoni, Shoshana Damari, Jose Feliciano, Allan Sherman and others.

Erwin Frankel, host of WFRM's Music From Around The World, has described the unique Feenjon sound as "at time sensuous, often lilting, always passionate... seduces the listener into hand-clapping, shoulder-weaving, foot-hopping participation."

Menachem Dworman is the founder of the Cafe and leader of the Group. His self-taught guitar and out are the sparks that give Feenjon performances their warmth and excitement. He has take the Group to countless concerts which include Carnegie and Town Halls and the New York World's Fair. Manny has recorded Near Eastern and Greek as well as Israeli music.

Margalit Ankory is a fifth-generation Sabrah. Her professional background includes theater, musical comedy and two movie appearances. She was selected by Harold Prince to play one of the leads in the forthcoming musical based on "Zorba the Greek." Her recorded version of Jerusalem Of Gold has been widely acclaimed as one of the most sensitive renditions of this beautiful song.

Jerry Sappir dates back to "the old Feenjon." His musical warmth and sensitivity as well as his wit and charm add greatly to the Group's personality. A graduate of the School of Performing Arts and Brooklyn College, singer-guitarist Jerry has toured with a contorial choir, made many TV appearances and displayed his versatility on several records albums.

Angelo Saridis, the newest member of the Feenjon Group, was born in Athens, where he perfected his guitar virtuosity. He has played in many clubs in Greece and toured in Israel where he was noted for his Italian as well as his Greek Music. Angelo Came to the United States in 1961 and performed in many parts of the country until he joined the Feenjon Group.

Ali Hafid, the only Arab member of the Feenjon Group, was brought to the United States to perform at the Moroccan Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. Ali is considered to be the outstanding drummer in the field of Near Eastern music.

Jimmy Linardos received his musical training in conservatories in Corfu (where he was born) and Athens. He has recorded for Monitor an album of his own original compositions entitled "Ballads Of A Greek Cafe." His magnificent accordion playing on the present recordings as well as the previous Feenjon Goes Greek rounds out the Feenjon sound.

Includes Steve Knight: Guitar & Lou Mavrogian, Bass

Bei Mein Rebbe Is Gavaizin A Ganaya
Beryuzovye Kalyuchki
Erev Shel Shoshanim
Aina Zorga
Lomer Alleh Singen
Biklibidia
Marinella
Donna, Donna
Shishelai
Efiges
Mach Mach
Doce Cascabeles

Waltzes For Dancing - Enoch Light

 

Always

Waltzes For Dancing
Enoch Light and His Orchestra
Colorful and Romantic arrangements of America's most popular waltzes
Brigade Records P1372S

Always
The Waltz You Saved For Me
Alice Blue Gown
Missouri Waltz
Beautiful Ohio
I Love You Truly
Three O'Clock In The Morning
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
All Alone
Remember
Wonderful One
Sleep
When It's Springtime In The Rockies
In A Little Spanish Town

Harbor Lights - John Gart

 

I Cover The Waterfront

Harbor Lights
Dynamic Hi-Fi Organ
John Gart
KAPP Records KL-1038

Harbor Lights
Far Away Places
Over The Sea To Skye
I Cover The Waterfront
A House Upon A Rock
When My Dream Boat Comes Home
Bali Ha'i
Red Sails In The Sunset
Whispering Winds
Kon Tiki
I'm Waiting For Ships That Never Come In
Going Home

Hit Songs To Remember - Ray Anthony

 

Yesterday

Hit Songs to Remember
Ray Anthony
His Trumpet and Orchestra with new favorites for dream dancing
Capitol Records SY-4643
A Special Re-Issue

The Shadow Of Your Smile
Samba De Orfeu
What The World Needs Now Is Love
What Now, My Love
Spanish Eyes
Merci, Cheri
Michelle
Call Me
Yesterday
The Ballad Of The Green Berets
Goodbye, My Love (Ill Silenzio)

Put On A Happy Face - Oscar Peterson

 

Woodyn' You

Put On A Happy Face
Oscar Peterson Trio
Produced by Jim Davis
Director of Engineering: Val Valentine
Cover Design: Any Lehman
Recorded live at The London House, Chicago
Verve  V-8660
1966

Oscar Peterson: Piano
Ray Brown: Bass
Ed Thigpen: Drums

From the back cover: There are several very clear differences between studio and club recordings, and most of hem work in favor of the club – if, as in this case, you have truly cohesive unit. Take, for example, the matter of length. There have of course been many studio-made tracks as long or longer than 8 1/2 minutes duration of the title tune here. But in the studio that is noticeable as a real long one, with an "extended" solo; it takes on some feeling of a special event. But in the more stretched-out atmosphere of a club, where on the average tunes are played for several more choruses, this Put On A Happy Face is of normal and quite unselfconscious length.

In the studio, there are engineers and producers and friends and such, all in plain view. On the bandstand, while you certainly know that the audience is out there, the darkness and at least partial isolation makes for a closer rapport. After all, Oscar and Ray have been playing at each other almost every night for all those years in this kind of setting. Something as difficult-sounding as Brown's bowed-bass work near the start of Peterson's ballad The Lonesome One can 'happen' with comparative ease on the stand; one shudders to think how complex it could get in the studio. The tender, edged-with-soulfulness performance of Jerome Kern's lovely Yesterdays might have come off just as well in another place. It might have, but I prefer to doubt that it would; to me, this is something that has to come off best on a dim-lit bandstand. At another extreme, there is the surging treatment of another fine old standard, George Gershwin's Soon. Without stooping to measure, I am forced to at least suspect that the tempo here climbs noticeably between start and finish. If so, someone would have called for another crack at it in a studio, and this romping version would have been lost forever. Fortunately, in a club the fact that a person like this "feels" good tends to be considered more important, and all of us listeners gain thereby - Orrin Keepnews

Put On A Happy Face
Old Folks
Woodyn' You
Yesterdays
Diablo
Soon
The Lonesome One

This Time I'm Swingin'! - Dean Martin

 

Until The Real Thing Comes Along

This Time I'm Swingin'!
Dean Martin
Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle
Produced by Lee Gillette
Capitol Records  ST1442
1960

From Billboard - October 3, 1960: Martin swings out on this new package to the solid, driving, band backings of Nelson Riddle. The artist is in fine form on a collection of familiar tunes, many of them from well-known shoes. Included are such things as "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me," "On The Street Where You Live" and "Just In Time." This can be strong contender.

I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
True Love
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You
On The Street Where You Live
Imagination
Until The Real Thing Comes Along
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Someday
Mean To Me
Heaven Can Wait
Just In Time

Monday, April 5, 2021

Hawaii - The Honolulu Guitars

Dancing Surf

Hawaii
The Honolulu Guitars
Power Apply Honey Series STEREO DS 398
1965

Red Sails In The Sunset
Hawaiian Serenade
Paradise
Red Dawn
Hawaiian Skies
Dancing Surf
Skirts Of Grass
Love Of Hawaii
Moonlight
Isle Of Dreams

The Melody Lingers On - Living Strings Plus Harp

 

Shangri-La

The Melody Lingers On
Living Strings Plus Harp
Harp: Marie Goosens
A&R Coordinator: Ethel Gabriel
Arranged and Conducted y Johnny Douglas
RCA Camden CAL-847
1964

The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On)
It Only Take A Moment
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
Medley: Song Of India & Estrellita
Time On My Hands
Shangri-La
With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair
Roxanne
Blue Moon
Climb Ev'ry Mountain