For A Lazy Afternoon - Neil Wolfe

 

Lazy Afternoon

For A Lazy Afternoon

Neil Wolfe at the Piano

Produced by Herman Diaz, Jr.

Recorded at RCA Victor, Studio No. 3, New York City, February 25 and 26, 1957

Vik LX-1101

From the back cover: This album introduces a new recording artist – Neil Wolfe – one of the most gifted mood-piano entertainers to debut on the disc scene in many years.

For his premiere performance the twenty-eight-year-old pianist has chosen twelve of the most beautiful favorites ever to have come from Tin Pan Alley. Eleven are time tested tunes of yesterday and the twelfth, Cry Me A River, has rapidly developed into what the music trade considers a "standard."

Superbly assisted  by such top instrumentalists as Billy Mure on guitar, Terry Sander on drums and Sandy Block on bass, Neil has fashioned these twelve outstanding songs to relax the listener and create a nostalgic atmosphere. He has written arrangements for these songs that are faithful to the melody – and well they might be with such melodies as these. He has inspected these class tunes under a variety of musical lights and shows off their inner warmth that often passes unsuspected. His delicate touch is easy on the ears and refreshingly different from the run-of-the-mill arrangements one often hears.

His delightful settings of these songs are designed to afford pleasure to those who simply want to sit and listen, and to those who find the invitation to dance irresistible. This is music for a lazy afternoon or a romantic evening. Neil is a stylist we'll be hearing frequently in the coming years.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1928, Neil now mades his home in Detroit. He played in a number of local bands and performed as a soloist in local clubs. In 1951 he graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music. At the age of seventeen, he won a nation-wide talent contest but was unable to perform because of illness. But he had the good fortune to have been able to continue with his study of music.

This VIK recording is Neil's first "big break" and it appears to be the stepping stone to a bright and successful future. – Marty Ostrow, Editor The Cash Box Magazine)

Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe

The Thrill Is Gone

Come Rain Or Come Shine

Cry Me A River

Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo

Makin' Whoopee

My Funny Valentine

Over The Rainbow

Little Girl Blue

Here's To My Lady

The Man That Got Away