Sergio Mendes' Favorite Things

 

Boa Palavra

Serdio Mendes' 

Favorite Things

Arranged & Conducted by Dave Grusin

Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun

Cover Photo: George Jerman

Cover Design: Stanislaw Zagorski

Recording Engineer: Phil Kaye

Atlantic SD 8177

1968

Sergio Mendes - Piano, Harpsichord & Electric Piano

Tom Scott - Fute, Soprano Sax & Piccolo (appears through the courtesy of ABC Records)

John Pisano - Guitar

Dave Grusin - Organ

Joe Mondragon - Bass

Larry Nechtel - Fender Bass

Dom Um Romao - Drums

Joao Donato & Moacir Santos - Percussion

My Favorite Things

Tempo Feliz (Happy Times)

Ponteio

Veleiro (The Sailboat)

A Banda (Parade)

I Say A Little Prayer

Comin' Home Baby

Boa Palavra (The Good Word)

O Mar É Mey Chao (The Sea Is My Soil)

So What's New

Singin' And Swingin' - The Mills Brothers

 

Smack Dab In The Middle

Singin' And Swingin'

The Mills Brothers

Decca Records DL 8209

1956

From the back cover: Although they are perhaps most famous for their particular style of singing, the Mills Brothers are also famous for the wide variety of their numbers. They excel in music which is hot, and they are unsurpassable in songs that are sweet. Whether the rhythms have a jumping pulse or a quiet beat, whether they soothe or excite, they are as captivating as they are unique. All these moods are displayed in this album, a collection which covers an unusual scope of songs and singing.

The Mills Brothers – John, Herbert, Harry and Donald – came from Piqua, Ohio. Their father, John Mills, Sr., was a barber who had been a concert singer, the boys naturally became a quartet. They were originally known as "Four Boys and a Kazoo," and it was the kazoo – or rather the lack of it on the eve of their stage debut – that was responsible for the development of of the unique "orchestral" style for which they were to become world-famous. Nervous enough when they marched out on the stage for the first audience conquest, they immediately became paralyzed with fear when they discovered that John had forgotten the all-important kazoo! The critical seat-holders began to get restless. Three of the boys looked anxiously at the forgetful and equally nervous fourth, John. Something had to be done – and fast – to save the situation. Desperate, John cupped his hands over his mouth and, to the surprise of himself, his brothers and the audience, produced sounds amazingly similar to that of the absent instrument. The kazoo imitation went over solidly, and soon all the brothers were imitating musical instruments to perfection, until their repertoire included trumpet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, clarinet, bassoon and oboe. With a guitar for rhythm, the quartet was able to sound like a whole orchestra.

At the peak of their career, the Mills Brothers suffered a tragic loss in the death of John Mills, Sr. in 1935, rather than see the quartet broken up, he stepped in to fill the place of his late son. Although the quartet then actually became the Mills family (father and sons) they elected not to change the name which had won international acclaim, and continued to be known today as the Mills Brothers.

Opus One with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

You Didn't Want Me When You Had Me (So Why Do You Want Me Now) with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

The Jones Boy with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone with Tommy Dorsey and His Sentimentalists

You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

Smack Dab In The Middle with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

She Was Five And He Was Ten with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

(Why Have A Falling Out) Just When We're Falling In Love with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

Paper Valentine with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

You Know You Belong To Somebody Else with Tommy Dorsey and His Sentimentalists

Yes You Are with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

The Urge with Sy Oliver and His Orchestra

Cybernetic Warfare - Herbert Philbrick

 

Cybernetic Warfare

Cybernetic Warfare

Are You Sure Communism Hasn't Brain-washed You?

By Herbert Philbrick

Key Records  KEY LP/780

From the back cover: When Herb Philbrick was an F.B.I. counterspy in the Communist Party, he observed a curious and enigmatic situation prevailing in every cell library and research facility: the book shelves were not dominated by the works of Marx and Lenin but by a Russian who was not even a member of the Soviet party – a man named Pavlov.

One day Herb was to realize why – and, in so learning – was to become aware that something Pavlov discovered would turn out to be the major device employed by the Communists in their revolution to overthrow the United States government.

In this brilliant address, delivered at a Disneyland Hotel session of the Dr. Fred C. Schwarz Anti-Communist School, Herb Philbrick spectacularly dissects the diabolical propaganda machine of the Soviets, vividly shows how it operates, clearly acquaints you with how to guard against its destructive designs.

If the North American continent staves off the Communist threat – and there are men of sober judgement who believe our chances are now no better than fifty-fifty – historians yet unborn may well look back and credit our survival in considerable degree to this penetrating and strategic analysis by Herbert Philbrick, the man who sagely observed that the real enemy within our boundaries has not been essentially the card-carrying Communist, but rather the brain-washed fellow travelers. – Vickie Knight, Owner, Key Records

Coldwater Flat - The Three Sound & Oliver Nelson

 

Star Trek

Coldwater Flat

The Three Sounds and The Oliver Nelson Orchestra

Produced by Jack Tracy

Arranger: Oliver Nelson

Art Direction: Woody Woodward

Design: Gabor Halmos

Cover Photography: Ken Kim

Blue Note BST-84285

A Product of Liberty Records

1968

The Three Sounds:

Gene Harris - Piano

Andrew Simpkins - Bass

Donald Bailey - Drums

From the inside cover: No matter what jazz persuasion you may prevailingly subscribe to, you should be warmly snug to be in the jazz aura of the meld of The Three Sounds and the big band conducted by Oliver Nelson. This value judgement is made in response to the current examination of the gross lack of communication between what composer-musicologist George Rochberg terms the performance culture – which continues to dominate the classical music world of our society – and the creative culture which is trying to modify and extend the range of musical consciousness. Rochberg is disenchanted with the unhealthy way in which the curators of the performance culture and Musical Establishment invest only in a repertoire marked with past success. This condition is relevant to one of the several directions jazz has been moving in. Specifically, the vital experience of contemporary culture representing what occurs on the screen, on the stage, in art galleries, in books, and the music of the younger generation does, indeed, contribute to the jazz repertoire. But the repertoire is just one of many components of concern in the world of jazz. Another basic difference is that jazzmanship in its natural set of behavioral relationships fuses both performance and creativeness into a single system. And it is this blending process which the team of The Three Sounds and Oliver Nelson achieve so beautifully on this album.

By reputation and in fact, The Three Sounds is a tight swinging trio. Have you ever shared the music of The Three Sounds in person? Unless one is anesthetized or completely out of it in some other way(s) it is literally inconceivable that the driving, buoyant swing and tenacity does not imprison your attention. Overt enjoyment in performing for its audiences reflect the trio's desire to share the music: this expectancy is a consistent and happy one wherein there holds high respect for his bassist of twelve years, Andy Simpkins and drummer Donald Bailey whose attributes triggers Gene into praise. Gene has said, "This is the trio I've been waiting for." This inspired, open attitude prompts this remark, "I never hold the trio back. I let the guys go wherever the feelings direct them. I believe that music should be shared."

On this LP the performing and creating act is shared by Oliver Nelson whose ace-high services for big band scoring assignments is sought by more people than he can probably accommodate. This gifted craftsman is highly regarded for his unconventional, challenging and fresh approaches to arranging and composing. He is a natural complement to the philosophy of the trio because Oliver's music swings up front and swings big. The symbiotic process on this album began with the trio recording precisely what they wanted to sound like as a unit without orchestral embellishment. – for he decided to arrange the big band score on the rationale of remaining unobtrusive and providing a supportive backdrop. Therefore, working around the trio's original arrangements meant that the integrity of its concepts was judiciously preserved. Following these phases, the recording was ultimately produced together in the studio.

Regarding Oliver's ability to capture the feeling, essence, and flavor of the trio, Gene Harris was enthusiastic, "Oliver felt everything I was doing, utilizing the trio's chord progressions. His basic approach was fitting the reeds and trombones to my left hand and the trumpets to my right. Oliver was stimulated by the fullness of our sound and he was elated with the session. And it's a rare thing today in the studios when musicians in the whole band hang around to dig the replays!" And about big bands, Gene commented, "I dig big bands! You know I play with all ten fingers, but I wish I had fifteen." – Herb Wong - KJAZ, San Francisco and Jazz Editor, Urban West and FM & the Fine Arts

Lonely Bottles

The Look Of Love (from the Columbia Pictures release "Casino Royale")

Georgia

Grass Is Greener

Coldwater Flat

Last Train To Clarksville

My Romance

Do Do Do (What Now Is Next)

Star Trek

Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus

 

Christmas Is For The Birds

Ira Ironstrings Plays Santa Claus

Christmas Music For Those Who Have Heard Everything

Produced by Lou Busch

Warner Bros. B 1339

1959

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Jingle Bells Stomp

Skater's Nightmare

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Christmas Is For The Birds

My Two Front Teeth

Deck Them Halls

Over The River And Through The Woods

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Frosty The Snow Man

Sleigh Ride 

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town

The Modern Jazz Sextet

 

Dizzy Meets Sonny

The Modern Jazz Sextet

Supervised by Norman Granz

Cover Design by David Stone Martin

Norgran Records MG N-1076

1956

From the back cover: Here is a jazz unit that includes the basic ingredients of the Down Beat award – winning Modern Jazz Quartet – and more besides. What is added, essentially, is a strong sense of vitality contributed by the trumpet of Dizzy Gillespie and the alto saxophone of Sonny Stitt. You might call this a super-imposition as well as a blend since the addition of Gillespie and Stitt in no way alters what has already been set down by the quartet, namely an inventive, tasteful approach to jazz as well as an unfailing swinging approach. With Dizzy and Sonny on hand there's no loss in any of these vital departments and much to be gained besides.

What piano-and-rhythm section quartet wouldn't be bolstered, after all, by Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt? Unity clearly was no problem since pianist John Lewis and Dizzy Gillespie are associates of many years standing. In fact, it was Lewis who helped Dizzy's big band in the last 1940s as arranger and pianist. Although he is ranked high as a pianist, Lewis' forte is arranging and he has arranged considerable in the past for Dizzy – and one of Lewis' important works, "Tocata for Trumpet and Orchestra" was introduced to a Carnegie Hall audience in 1947 by none other than John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. Stitt has also worked previously with John Lewis, mainly in the same Gillespie big band.

In this album the group devotes the A side to two Dizzy Gillespie originals, "Tour de Force," which is aptly named for it is precisely that, and "Dizzy Meets Sonny," a musical introduction, as it were, with appropriate byplay between the two artists. The B side Ballad Medley finds the three soloists in expressive form, each in a separate ballad – Stitt takes "Old Folks" while Lewis is heard on "What's New" and Gillespie on another standard, "How Deep Is The Ocean?" In addition to a sprightly version of the standard "Mean To Me," there's also a tribute to Charlie "Yardbird" Parker entitled "Blues For Bird," co-authored by Gillespie and Stitt. Through it all, of course, there is the rhythmic anchor of Percy Heath's bass as well as Skeeter Best's guitar and the drums of Charlie Persip.

Tour De France

Dizzy Meets Sonny

Ballad Medley

   Old Folks

   What's New

   How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)

Mean To Me

Blues For Bird