The Sounds Of Jamaica - Byron Lee

 

The Sounds Of Jamaica

The Sounds Of Jamaica

Byron Lee and The Dragonaries

At The Towers Hall - Lake George Inn

Recording Engineer: Tom Dowd - Atlantic Studios

Photos: Brian Motta & Richard K. Dean

Technical Directors: Phil Iehle & Arif Maroin

Supervisor and Musical Director: Byron Lee

Album Design: Ronnie Natalia

Recorded in Jamaica and The United States

A Towers Hall Production B/LP-006

1966

From the back cover: With an open invitation "DANCING TO BYRON LEE and the DRAGONAIRES" spelled out on the marquees, dancers are flocking into the huge Towers Hall at Lake George, that golden summer resort hidden in the Adirondacks off Highway 87. Audiences travel for hundreds of miles all over the country to see and hear this phenomenal band with its self contained show.

This exciting band, led by BYRON LEE, are all Jamaicans and not only have they become a legend in their own sunny isle, but are now capturing the hearts of everyone wherever and whenever they go on tour. Before the band became popular in the United States, BYRON LEE had already established an individual style and driving tempo that were custom designed for dancing and he has soared to fame while maintaining that same styling.

His music is essentially a synthesis of calypso, mento, ska, ballads and the pulsating jump up which, apart from the melodic line, is rhythmic syncopation. But the way in which BYRON LEE and his Dragonaires present it is just more than that. For one thing his music doesn't sound "played" – it's unleashed. It explodes like the hot tropical sun in Jamaica in abrupt, brassy colored sounds accentuated by sizzling percussion.

It is no wonder then, that people hunting for a different sound have come from all over the United States and Canada to hear this refreshing music and to partake in dancing to the varying rhythms. And so it is at the Towers Hall in Lake George where BYRON and his boys perform for their many fans who have become accustomed to dynamic performances from him and who are never disappointed with THE SOUNDS OF JAMAICA.

Leave My Man Alone - Traditional

Island In The Sun - Belafonte / Burgess

Empty Chair - Trevis / Stryker

Linstead Market - Traditional

Gold Finger - Barry

Guns Of Navarone - D. Tiomkin

Al-Di-Da - Donida / Mogol / Drane

Carmille - Lee / Ismay

Yellow Bird - Luboff / Keith / Bergman

And I Love Her - Lennon / McCartney

The Captain Say

Archie

Dixieland Goes West - The Lawson - Haggart Band

 

Ghost Riders In The Sky

Dixieland Goes West

The Lawson-Haggart Band

Everest LPBR 1084 (with "Stereophonic" sticker applied to cover, a repurposed LPBR 5084 jacket)

1960

Trumpet - Yank Lawson

Bass - Bob Haggart

Tenor Saxophone - Bud Freeman

Clarinet - Bill Stegmeyer

Piano - Lou Stein

Drums - Cliff Leeman

From the back cover: As is characteristic of previous Lawson-Haggart sessions (for example, Junior Prom, Everest SDBR-1040, LPBR-5040), Dixieland Goes West is a thoroughly relaxed date that clearly conveys the enjoyment the musicians had in the playing. "There was a good feeling," says Yank Lawson, "all through the three sessions that made up this album. We've all played together often and enjoy working with each other." In addition, the crisp, warm rapport between these musicians is faithfully and excitingly projected through Everest's superior sound.

In choosing a western theme for this collection Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart were looking for a relatively new album idea for their kind of free-wheeling music. "So far as I know," says Lawson, "a whole set of western tunes has never been done in this style, and the melodies lent themselves easily to the way we like to play."

So far as it can be categorized, the Lawson-Haggart approach can be called swing-based Dixieland. All of the musicians have had extensive experience in both Dixieland and swing groups, and all have appeared on scores of jazz record sessions. Co-leader Yank Law- son (John R. Lausen) was born in Trenton, Missouri, May 3, 1911. He studied piano and saxophone before he decided to concentrate on trumpet. Beginning with the college dance band at the University of Missouri, Yank went on to work with several big bands, includ- ing Ben Pollack's from 1932-34 and Bob Crosby's from 1935-38. It was while with Crosby that Yank first es- tablished a national reputation as one of the hottest of the jazz trumpeters through such specialties as Five Point Blues and I'm Prayin' Humble.

After Crosby, Lawson was featured with the bands of Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, eventually settling down in New York where he has been active in studio and recording work.

Bob (Robert Sherwood) Haggart was born in New York March 13, 1914. His early instruments included piano, banjo, guitar, and trumpet. For almost ten years, Haggart was a poll-winning bassist in the Bob Crosby band and also did some notable arrangements for that unit. Like Lawson in recent years, Haggart has become a busy freelancer in New York, and also is part-owner of a highly successful firm that specializes in commercial jingles.

Tenor saxophonist Lawrence "Bud" Freeman is one of the major figures in jazz history. Born in Chi- cago March 13, 1906, Freeman was a member of the "Austin High Gang," an informal fraternity of early Chicago jazzmen. His big band experience included engagements with Art Kassel, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Ben Pollack, Red Nichols, Ray Noble, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman. He has led several combos of his own and has 'been featured with all-star units on records and in clubs. His unvarying enthusiasm and consistent imaginativeness continue to mark his playing.

Clarinetist Bill Stegmeyer, who is also an arranger, was born in Detroit, Michigan, October 8, 1916. His band credits include Glenn Miller and Bob Crosby. He has done extensive writing for radio and television as well as for several record dates, including a number of previous Lawson-Haggart albums.

Pianist Lou Stein, who can be heard in a new Everest album, 101 Hit Songs (SDBR-1082/LPBR- 5082) was born in Philadelphia, April 22, 1922. He has been with Ray McKinley, the Glenn Miller Army Band, and Charlie Ventura, and currently is engaged in an unusually active recording and writing career in New York. Drummer Cliff Leeman, born in Port- land, Maine, September 10, 1913 has been with several of the major big bands, including those of Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey, and Glen Gray. Freelancing in New York, Cliff has been busy with network radio and TV shows and a full schedule of recordings, both jazz and commercial.

On this western-flavored date, the Lawson-Haggart band used no elaborate arrangements. They were all "head" routines, worked out at the session. "We hope," says Yank Lawson, "to appeal to the wide general audience that's fond of these western themes but who may appreciate hearing them in a new way. We had some "tongue in cheek" fun with a few of them, and the album as a whole is meant to be a good-humored, light hearted, swinging session."

Although not all of these songs were exactly collected on the trail, they do contain the spirit and humor of those early cowpunchers whom collector John Lomax has described as the "bold, youthful vikings of the seas of sage grass through which they pushed their way." – NAT HENTOFF

South Of The Border

Buttermilk Sky

Eyes Of Texas

Soft Hands

Wagon Wheels

Empty Saddles

I'm An Old Cowhand

Home Of The Range

Yellow Rose Of Texas

High Noon

Rose Of The Rio Grande

Ghost Riders In The Sky

Guitar Interludes - Joe Pass

 

Peter Pan

Guitar Interludes

Joe Pass

Arranged and Conducted by Robert C. Smale

Consulting Engineer: Rod Nicas

Graphics: Jeremy Kay

Album Design: Dilleen Marsh

Executive Producer: Dennis Smith

An Albert Marx Production

Discovery Records DS-776

1977

Joe Pass - Guitar

Mike Melvoin - Keyboards

Monte Budwig - Bass

Colin Bailey - Drums

Victor Feldman - Percussion

Vincent Terri - Rhythm Guitar

Jess Ehrlich - Cello

Voices - Gwen Johnson, Jim Bryant, John Bahler, Nancy Adams, Vangle Carmichael, Bob Tebow, Gene Merlino

From the back cover: Discovery Records is pleased to present virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass in several different settings. First as composer and performer of five beautiful interludes for solo guitar; second as composer and performer of "Joey's Blues," also for solo guitar; third as soloist with cello and voices in an adaptation of the Debussy classic, "The Maid With the Flaxen Hair"; fourth as soloist with voices and rhythm accompaniment in a performance of "A Time For Us" from Romeo and Juliet; and finally as principal soloist with voices and rhythm accompaniment in five new songs by Irwin Rosman.

Interlude #1 (Song For Allison)

Interlude #2 (For Bobbye)

Interlude #3 (Levanto Sevenly)

Interlude #4 (Vesper Dream)

Interlude $5 (Shasti)

Joey's Blues

The Maid With The Flaxen Hair

A Time For Us

Peter Pan

Go Back To Her

Don't Walk Away

Long Ago Yesterday

Blue Carousel