Mancini '67 - Henry Mancini

 

Stockholm Sweetin'

Mancini '67

The Big Band Sound Of Henry Mancini

Arrangements: Henry Mancini

Recorded in RCA Victor's Music Center Of The World, California, California

Recording Engineer: Dick Bogert

Liner Photo: Herb Carleton

Cover Photo: Jon Henry

RCA Victor LSP-3694 STEREO

Trumpets: Al Porcino, Ray Triscari, Pete Candoli, Bud Brisbois or Jack Sheldon, Frank Beach or Maurice Harris

Trombones: Dick Nash, Jimmy Priddy, John Halliburton, George Roberts or Karl de Karske (Bass Trombone)

French Horns: Vincent de Rosa, Dick Perissi, John Cave, Arthur Maebe

Woodwinds: Ronnie Lang, Ted Nash, Gene Cipriano, Harry Klee, Plas Johnson

Rhythm: Jimmy Rowles (Piano), Bob Bain (Guitar), Ray Brown (Bass), Jack Sperling (Drums)

Percussion: Milt Holland, Larry Bunker or Bic Feldman

Orchestra Manager: Bobby Helfer

From the back cover: That Hank Mancini has an exceptional gift for creating lovely and enduring melodies need hardly be explained to anyone who has been exposed to such examples a Moon River, Charade, Dear Heart and Days Of Wine And Roses. Nor should it be necessary to point out, to anyone who possesses a TV set puts a dollar for a neighborhood movie, that any writer who can swing from "Peter Gunn" to "Breakfast At Tiffany's," "The Pink Panther" and "The Great Race" is not only a songwriter, but also a creator of masterfully variegated background scores. (In talking about  Mancini, the term "background scores" seems lightly inept, since their success a best-selling records has brogue them into the foreground in millions of homes.)

Similar, there is no need to elaborate here on the Mancini propensity for winning awards, But now his combined collection of Grammies, Oscars and other trophies, all won within the past five years, weighs slightly more than Mancini in a topcoat. But the time has come to return to essentials. At the core of his success is the protean talent of the man who achieved it, and among the many facets of this talent none can be considered more important than his roots in the big band music of the swing era. The evidence is abundant, staring with his early experience as a young pianist-arrange in the Tex Beneke orchestra and progressing to such assignments as the scoring of music for two hand-oriented motion pictures, "The Benny Goodman Story" and "The Glenn Miller Story."

Yet, as Mancini points out, "I've done so many other types of albums in the past few years that a lot of people many not realize what a string affinity I still have for the big band sound."

Proof of this point has manifested itself in such albums as Uniquely Mancini and The Blues And The Beat. The latter won a Grammy from NARAS as the bast large-group jazz performance in 1960. (Let's not forget, either, the the Music From Peter Gunn album earned a Downbeat award as Best Jazz Record of the Year in a national poll of disc jockeys)

Since some three years have elapsed since the release off Uniquely Mancini, the present album represent a long and eagerly awaited undertaking for which hank's customary lineup of nonpareil Hollywood musician was assembles.

The foundation of any jazz-oriented big band is its rhythm section. For this album Hand has as dependable a foursome as has ever sound for him. Along with the consistently pulsating work of pianist Jimmy Rowles and guitarist Bob Bain were the drums of Jack Sperling and the bass work of a newcomer to the Mancini family, the perennial award-winning Ray Brown. "Spring and Ray worked perfectly together," says Mancini. "This was really a great fit for everyone."

The overall impression created buy the album is doubly emphatic. First, it illustrated Hank's ability to lend new charter to an unusual set of tunes from a variety of sources (pop, jazz and rock). Second, it emphasizes that the Mancini orchestra is both a superb ensemble and a collection of talented individuals.

No wonder, when he listened to the tapes played back a few days after the session, Mancini remarked, "The wasn't an easy album to work on, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Every couple of years I get an urge to return to where I came from." As the sides prove, Thomas Wolfe was wrong; if you keep your brain cells limber, you can go home again.

Stolen Sweets

The Cat

The Shadow Of Your Smile

Satin Doll

Cherokee 

Stockholm Sweetin'

Conquest

Tijuana Taxi

Autumn Nocturne 

The House Of The Rising Sun

'Round Midnight

Turtles