Mimi Warren "Pop" The Classics

 

Frenetic Frederic

Mimi Warren "Pops" The Classics

Cover Art: Burt Goldblatt

Jubilee Records LP-1018

1956

From the back cover: Mimi Warren, beautiful and talented pianist, was born in New York City and began studying the piano as a child. She displayed such remarkable ability that she was awarded a scholarship and fellowship to the famed Juilliard School of Music, majoring in the classics. Because of her outstanding talent as a scholar, she was asked to join the faculty after graduation. In addition to her teaching chores at the school, Mimi decided to try her hand at playing professionally and accepted an engagement at the Mermaid Room of New York's Park Sheraton Hotel. It was there that she got the idea of swinging the classics and after a supposed two-week engagement that stretched out to two years, the owners suggested that she form her own trio. Mimi took the suggestion and after resigning from her teaching job at Juilliard, she returned to the Mermaid Room with a truly outstanding trio. 

Mimi kept her original idea of swinging the classics and it went over even bigger than before.

The Mimi Warren Trio have gone on to playing the finest hotels, supper clubs and niteries throughout the country.

On these sides Mimi has more than capable backing with Abie Baker on bass and Bob Livingston on drums. Abie Baker goes back to the early days of Blanche Calloway, Claude Hopkins and Osie Alston at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom. He also arranged extensively for Al Donahue, Ted Lewis and Raymond Scott. Bob Livingston worked with the usual complement of name bands but gets his biggest kicks being the percussion section of the Mimi Warren Trio.

From Billboard - January 28, 1956: Mimi Warren, who has worked extensively in clubs and niteries offering her pop versions of the classics, has put a selection of them on wax. Altho this type of rep doesn't seem to offer the greatest chance to show off piano-wise, the musical parodies will no doubt have an appeal. Grieg, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, Schumann and Rachmaninoff are some of the greats whose work get a modernizing treatment here.

Rhumba Concerto

Frenetic Frederic

Marching Thru Schubert

Falling Star

Rhumbanella

Minuet In Swing

Rhumba Hungarian

Blue Moonlight

Cha Cha Guitar

Turkish Jubilee

Prelude Penseroso

Merengue Anitra

Dixie Doodles

Levelin' With Schumann