More Of Les - Les Elgart

 

Night And Day

More Of Les

The Sensational Dance Orchestra of Les Elgart

Philips B 07056 L

Printed in Holland

1955

From the back cover: Of all the many fine orchestras now playing around the U.S.A., none offers a more enticing invitation out on the floor than the orchestra of Les Elgart. This is not music designed for those who want to listen for contrapuntal ideas or inspired tootle in the trumpet section; it is designed for those who are young and those who are young in heart and simply want to have a fine time dancing. Even the titles of the songs Les Elgart has selected for the program add to the invitation!

No new orchestra in recent years has aroused so much enthusiasm and so immediate a response from all segments of the dancing public. There have been all kinds of innovations in dance music, including a flock of neo-Glenn Miller groups, but somehow it was not until the Elgart organization began to move around that a full-fledged response to dancing came to full flower. Not that these arrangements and this orchestra are dedicated to soggy presentation of tempo and melody – far from it! The sharp, clean sound of a fine orchestra is there, the arrangements are full of life and invention, and the idiom is as contemporary as anyone could ask for.  But this orchestra was conceived primarily to answer the need for a dance band, and to that end it has succeed admirably.

In Elgart's own words, the basis of the orchestra is described: "We didn't want a pounding sound. We want it to flow and be good to dance to and play with. Furthermore, this is largely an ensemble band, which is why it's able to work the class spots and appeal to both the college kids and the older groups. We give them the melody, but within a good musical context." And that is what is heard in this collection: melody, but with solid musical ideas about sound and texture surrounding it.

It all began when Les and his brother Larry got discouraged with much of the music they heard and decided to build a group along the lines they felt should envelop a fine dance orchestra.

They collected a group of musicians grounded in the jazz tradition who were capable of fine ensemble playing, and set to work on their arrangements. With a dance orchestra, it takes a while for the word to get around, and while the talk of building, Les and his orchestra were recorded in a collection of standard favorites and Elgart originals that swiftly became the talk of the music business. And from that time on they have continued to zoom up in popularity all across the New World and even on into the Old. With each successive release they have increased their hold on the dancing public, and enlivened any number of phonographs with highly original and listenable arrangements of old classics and sprightly new works. A sampling of almost any number in this collection will provide plenty of musical thought, but it is likely that before the thought begins to get too deep, the feet will begin tapping and the dance will be on.

The Varsity Drag

Wedding Bells

Honky Tonk Train Blues

Ain't She Sweet

Night Train

Night And Day

Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart

Why Don't You Fall In Love With Me

Stardust

Charlie's Dream

The Little White Duck

East Is East