Misty - Georgie Auld

 

Summer Time

Misty

Tenor Saxophone Solos by Georgie Auld

Coral CRL 57032

1955

From the back cover: A group of songs in this set are extracts from the sound track of the fine Alfred Hitchcock movie, "To Catch A Thief." These include "Francie's Theme," "Your Kisses," "You'll Love France," and "Unexpected," and they glow with all of romantic suggestion implied by the presence in the cast of the film of such idols as Grace Kelly an Cary Grant. Never before released in long-play form, these selections are the lushest in the album, since they benefit from the accompaniment of Lyn Murray and a string-heavy orchestra performing Murray's own arrangements of his own melodies.

Another standout in this collection is a never-before-released recording of "Summertime," which features Auld with rhythm  and a chorus led and arranged by Dave Lambert, a modernist with extremely good taste. Soprano voices are employed almost like strings to offset the rich, husky, heartfelt saxophone tones projected by Auld in an altogether haunting rendition of the great Gershwin standard from the score of "Porgy And Bess."

Actually, the warm, romantic mood recordings gave brought to Georgie Auld more commercial acceptance and widespread fame than all he had done to make of himself a leading instrumentalist in the later thirties and through the forties. When Auld decided to apply his skills to romantic music with a jazz flavor, he had tucked away many awards and walked off with innumerable polls in tribute to his years of blowing some of the most provocative jazz ever executed by a tenor saxophonist.

Georgie, as a teenager, actually started his career as a star, his first job of record being with the late Bunny Berigan's band in the hot tenor chair. From Berigan, Auld moved into the fast-rising Artie Shaw's crew, where he shared tenor sax honors with Tony Pastor. With Shaw, Georgie started to earn some reputation for his jazz abilities and began to pick up his first poll awards. When Shaw gave up his band, Auld moved onto the Bunny Goodman bandwagon, and it was with Benny that Georgie built his reputation as a leader among the new saxophone stars, and competed favorably with such historic masters as Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. With B.G., he became particularly well remembered for his work with the Goodman sextet, and especially for a remarkable solo he delivered on the original recording of "Air Mail Special" (or "Good Enough To Keep," as it was called at first).

Toward the end of World War II, Georgie decided to form his own band, and, though it ultimately was an economic failure, this was one of the most invigorating bands born in the mid-forties. It was one of the first bands to exploit modern or progressive jazz, and it in many ways reflected Auld's pioneer spirit as a musician. To put his band together, Georgie found a number of amazing and previously unknown young musicians who today represent some of our most stellar jazz personalities. He featured such embryonic stars as Erroll Garner, Dizzy Gillespie, the late Al Killian, Al Haig, J. J. Johnson an others.

Misty

Spring It Was

Francie's Theme

Summer Time

Your Kiss

Blue And Sentimental 

You'll Love France

The Touch Of Your Lips

Unexpected

You'll Never Know

Take My Word

Tenderly