Firehouse Five Plus Two Goes To Sea

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

Firehouse Five Plus Two

Goes To Sea

Produced by Lester Koenig

Sound Supervision by Roy DuNann

Recorded at the Good Time Jazz studio in Los Angeles by Roy DuNann and Howard Holzer

Good Time Jazz S 10028

Produced by Contemporary Records, Inc.

1957

Firehouse Five Plus Two

Goes To Sea

Good Times Jazz LAG12150

A Division of Vogue (London SW3, England)

Personnel: 

Ward Kimbell - Trombone

Danny Alguire - Trumpet

George Probert - Fish Horn (Soprano Sax)

Frank Thomas - Piano

Dick Robert - Banjo

Ralph Ball or George Bruns - Tuba

Eddie Forrest - Drums

About the cover: Never do men do things by halves, the FH5 put to sea literally for the cover shot. For the nautically minded, their course is due South from the California coast at Malibu. From L to R: Roberts, Forrest, Thomas, Bruns, Probert, Alguire, Kimball. The intrepid photographer is Peter James Samerjan, with art direction by Robert Guidi/Tri-Arts.

From the back cover: An estimated million dollars worth of bookings have been turned down by the FH5 during the past few years because the band is a spare-time activity. Their work at Disney has kept them from picking up on such attractive recent offers as a month at Las Vegas at $12,000 weekly. Instead they reaming close to home, making week-end appearances at concerts, street dances, firemen's balls (Bakersfield, San Diego for 3,800 dancers), charities and benefits (Tennessee Ernie's Pea Pickers' Ball, Junior Philharmonic of Pasadena), parties (Air Research, Occidental Life Insurance, Co.), for jazz organizations (Dixieland Club of Phoenix, Arizona, Laguna Jazz Festival), TV (Lawrence Welk, ABC Stars of Jazz), and even the opening of a supermarket (in Buena Park), when Ward stopped the band in the middle of a tune at precisely 5:30 so the crowd could watch Sputnik go by.

Speaking of Sputnik, Ward's major work at Disney during the past few years has been in the outer space department, where he has played an important role in producing, writing and directing such pioneering productions as Man In Space, which showed in 1955, how a satellite could be put into orbit; Tomorrow The Moon, depicting how a trip to around the moon could be made; and most recently, Mars And Beyond, a speculation about life on other planets. For the Mars film, Ward composed an extraordinary section of the score, using electronic sounds to create a breath-taking background for an animated sequence showing possible forms life might take on Mars.

Pianist Frank Thomas, who's been with Disney since 1934, heading a unit as an Animation Director for most of that time, is completing two-and-a-half years of intensive work on the new cartoon feature, Sleeping Beauty. Danny Alguire, the trumpet-playing ex-fingerprint expert, who has been with the FH5 since 1949, and fish-hornist George Probert, of Kid Ory and Bob Scobey bands joined the Disney organization as assistant directors in 1955, and are both on Sleeping Beauty. Dick Roberts, GTJ's internationally hailed Banjo King, and first banjoist with the FH5 in recent years, is often to be found at Disney, with either his banjo or guitar, recording a sound track. Eddie Forrest, who took over on drums when press of studio work benched Jim MacDonald, has been on call with the Disney studio orchestra since 1940. He also handles sound effects for the Mickey Mouse Club TV shows.

The FH5's original bass man was Disney screenwriter Ed Penner. Ed was so ardent an FH5er, he learned to play tuba for the FH5's second session. (Up to then he played bass sax.) Ed's death, November 10, 1956, was a heavy loss for the band, for he was not only a fellow musician, but a colleague at the studio, and a good friend. Ed's first replacement was ex-Turk Murphyite, Ralph Ball, who plays on three of the 12 sides in this album. Later, the extraordinary George Bruns found time to work with the band. Probably the most dexterous tubaist in jazz, George is a musical natural who also plays first-rate trombone, trumpet, clarinet, piano, drums and string bass. He was the trombonist with the Castle Jazz Band, tubaist with Turk Murphy and since 1955 has been composing film and TV scores for Disney. He made his mark as a composer with The Ballad Of Davy Crockett, and among many other productions, has scored the Andy Burnett TV series, Kimball's new Mars And Beyond, and the forthcoming Sleeping Beauty. – Lester Koenig - December 3, 1957

By The Beautiful Sea

When My Dreamboat Come Home

Minnie The Mermaid

Over The Waves

A Sailboat In The Moonlight

On The Good Ship Lollipop

Peoria

Asleep In The Der

She Was Just A Sailor's Sweetheart

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

Red Sails At Sunset

Anchors Aweigh