Cha Cha - Fernando Juarez

Guaglione

Cha Cha
Fernando Juarez and His Orchestra
Waldorf King Size
MHK S.D. 1401

Surprisingly good space age Cha Cha from budget label Waldorf.

Tea For Two Cha Cha
Cara Mia Cha Cha
Cheek To Cheek Cha Cha
My Blue Heaven Cha Cha
Rico Rica Cha Cha
Jealous Cha Cha
Guaglione
S' Wonderfull Cha Cha
Patricia
Pan Amore Y Cha Cha
Sweet And Gentle
Humoresque

Piano Patterns - Cecil Lloyd

Invitation

Piano Patterns
Cecil Lloyd
20th Fox - FOX 2010
1958

Lloyd's group, for this set: Lloyd Trottman - bass, Panama Francis and Soloman Hall - Drums.

This is a tight and mellow small combo set, but the arrangements do not reflect the hip or conceptual vibe of the cover art.

From the back cover: It must be the despair of every experienced musician who has worked long and hard polishing and developing his talent to come upon someone like Ceil Lloyd.

For here is a young pianist (22 when these recordings were made) whose total professional experience has consisted almost entirely of leading a hotel band in the British West Indies. Yet he has the style, the polish, the assurance and the individuality of a musician who has spent years absorbing and digesting the best examples of popular rhythm, harmony and phrasing. He has justifiably, been called "the genius of the island of Jamaica.

The first people who had an opportunity to become aware of the unusual abilities of Ceil Lloyd were the tourist who stopped at the fashionable Tower Isle Hotel in Jamaica. Ceil has been leading his own ten-piece band there since he was seventeen years old. The length of his stay there suggests that his appeal to tourists, who are not always the most musically perceptive people, was strong, Certainly it was evident that his own countrymen caught his message for they came from as far as Kingston, two and a half hours away, just to hear him.

One visitor to the island was so impressed with Ceil that he decided to do something about him. He was Frank Gaylord, an American who was serving as entertainment director at the Tower Isle Hotel. Gaylord brought Ceil to the attention of 20th Century-Fox Records and these revealing recordings, showcasing a fascinating new talent, are the result.

It was probably natural that Ceil should come by an interest in music at an early age for his mother had been a student at Juilliard before she married the Rev. A. W. Knott (Ceil's full name is Cecil Lloyd Knott – he dropped the family name for professional purposes). Ceil was born on March 4, 1936, in Spanish Town, Jamaica, but when he was two the family moved to Port Maria, a small town where his father had been put in charge of a church.

As a minister's son, Ceil has easy access to the church organ and when he was four he began to try and pick out tunes on it.

"It was one of those organs that you pump with your feet," he recalled, "and my feet could just barely get enough wind in the instrument to hold a note for more than five seconds."

When the family got a piano, Cecil really began to enjoy life. He received his instruction from both his parents (his father, like his mother, played piano and violin). They wanted him to play the violin but Ceil's leaning to the piano was so obvious that they soon gave in.

"My urge to play the piano was so strong," Cecil declared recently, "that right now I don't even know the right way to hold a violin."

He also had to overcome his mother's ideas that he should study medicine. Cecil did this by the simple process of going to work (without her permission) at the Tower Isle Hotel as soon as he had passed his high school examinations.

If there is any secret to Cecil Lloyd's special talents it may be that he has consistently started doing what he wanted to do to by instinct and later, undeterred by the fat that instinct had apparently led him directly to his goal, he has gone back to shore up his raw skill with special instruction. That was what he did after four months of playing at the hotel. He had found his metier but he still wanted to learn more about what he was doing. So he began taking lessons, this time away from his own home with a versatile Jamaican musician, Miss Brenda Smythe. As a result, he acquired an L.R.S.M., a London degree in music.

And now after five years as band leader, after making this auspicious set of solo recordings for 20th Century Fox Records, Cecil is continuing the pattern of driving ahead on his own and then going back to study and fill in the gaps in his knowledge and skill. Wherever he may pursue his studies he may leave more knowledge than he brings away. Meanwhile, however, we have this recorded evidence of the technique of a fascinating new piano stylist.

Cumana
Reserve
There Will Never Be Another You
Tammy
Manhattan
You'll Never Walk Alone
Foggy Day
Invitation
Lullaby Of Birdland
Love Letters
Volare
It Might As Well Be Spring

Bud Shank Plays Music From Today's Movies

Bud Shank Plays Music From Today's Movies

Bud Shank Plays Music From Today's Movies
Arranged and Conducted by Bob Florence

Producer: Richard Bock

Engineer: Lanky Linstrot

Art Direction: Woody Woodward

Cover Design & Photography: Ken Kim
World Pacific/Liberty Records WP-18864
1967

From the back cover: Bud Shank is a movie fan. And movie-makers are equally-enthusiastic followers of musician Bud Shank. This professional romance was destined to lead to this great, first album of movie tunes. Composers of Hollywood's film scores have chosen Shank regularly to enrich their music by playing with the sound track film groups. Now, he returns the honors. He is probably closer to this music than almost anyone – except the composer himself. Some of the films chosen in which he played on the movie sound track include "Luv" a first film score for Gerry Mulligan, which Bud claims "is a masterpiece." Others are "Hotel," composed by John Keating, and Lalo Schifrin's "Venetian Affair" and "Murderers' Row." "I'm happy movie producers have started to use younger composers," Bud readily admits, "men like Gerry, Lalo, and Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Burt Bacharach and Jerry Goldsmith. They create fresh music with the fresh movies. They give us new sounds and new textures." Bud adds his sounds and textures to their music in this completely fresh album. Shank, by the way, has also written a few film scores, two for surfing documentaries, and a feature, "War Hunt." Recently he wrote the music for a United States Information Agency film, "Pursuit Of Peace." However, for the present, Shank says he'll stick to playing. He modestly claims, "There are too many good writers."

The choice of numbers for this album was not easy, Bud admits. "For the most part they are recent pictures. But I insisted on Michel LeGrand's 'Watch What Happens" from 'Umbrellas Of Cherbourg.' When I saw that film I fell in love with that music, I once wanted to make an entire album of it." (In his Michelle" album, World Pacific WPS-21840/WP-1840, Shank includes the "Love Theme" from the film.) He also points out that music in this album is not confined to Hollywood movies alone. "We tried to pick the 'in' pictures. We chose the music as good tunes from good films – and it wasn't easy. We started with a stack of about 50 numbers." Does music help a movie or does a movie help the music? This question is almost as difficult to answer as, "What is more important – the lyrics or the music?" Some film composers claim music shouldn't be noticed in the movie-saying it might detract. We disagree. One fact no one will argue is that Bud Shank's interpretation of these film tunes adds lustre to both the music and the movies. This is an album of music for seeing.

For this musical movie, Bud Shank has surrounded himself with musicians who are also no strangers to the studios' sound recording stages. They are also no strangers to recording sessions with Bud, for they have starred in many of his previous record productions. For this album, Shank has limited himself to playing alto sax; Bob Florence, who arranged and conducted the earlier "Michelle" and "California Dreamin'" albums, returns for similar duty here, plus fancy pianistics. Other members are: Victor Feldman on vibraphone and percussion, Mike Melvoin on organ and harpsichord (electric and otherwise), Frank Capp, drums, Dennis Budimir and Herb Ellis on guitars, Ray Brown on bass and Jimmy Zito on flugelhorn.

No matter what your tastes in music or movies, Bud runs thru all the moods and emotions. For an exciting start, there's the rhythms of a chase from "Warning Shot." Then, a switch to the richness of "Georgy Girl" which features Jimmy Zito on the flugelhorn. A mellow mood for any day is "Any Wednesday" as played by this Shank group. And a haunting "Two Weeks In September" is created by Mike Melvoin on the harpsichord and again Zito's flugelhorn. In "Venice After Dark," the exotic guitars of Herb Ellis and Dennis Budimir plus the subtlety of Frank Capp on drums add to Bud's lilting sax. His love for sounds of the Orient, heard in earlier albums, also makes a welcome return in "Venice." For the real swingin' set are "Murderers' Row" and "Hurry Sundown." Shank and Zito team up for a wild run in "Row," one of the few ad lib doings in this album, while "Sundown" features Frank Capp on drums. Shank's pure love for the music is evident throughout the album, but perhaps most eloquently, and appropriately, in "Love Is Stronger Than We" from "A Man And A Woman." And Bud's admiration for Gerry Mulligan's genius, in his first film score, is reflected in "Luv." Sounds of the lush "big band" era are captured by this comparatively small group in "This Year" (from "Hotel"). And the mystery of China, via "Sand Pebbles" is translated by Shank's sax in "And We Were Lovers," with Mike Melvoin adding a hypnotic electric harpsichord and organ.

Here indeed is an international tour of movie and music tastes and moods. Bud Shank molded them into an album which will be, hopefully, the beginning of an annual contribution-from him, back to the movie composers and to us moviegoers. Meanwhile, there is more movie music from Shank available in his "Girl In Love" album (WPS-21853/WP-1853), via "Lara's Theme" from "Dr. Zhivago," and "The Shining Sea," from "The Russians Are Coming." And, as previously mentioned, the "Love Theme" from "Umbrellas Of Cherbourg" in his "Michelle" album. "I'm a movie fan," Shank smiled. His love for movies-and their music is obvious by this album. We hope the next one will include movie music composed by – Bud Shank.  Notes by Army Archerd

Theme From "Warning Shot"
Georgy Girl
Any Wednesday
Watch What Happens
Two Weeks In September
Venice After Dark
The Pin
Love Is Stronger Than We
Luv
Theme From "The Sand Pebbles"
This Year
Hurry Sundown

Greatest Latin Hits! - Rene Touzet

Greatest Latin Hits
Rene Touzet
GNP Crescendo Records
GNP 74

These tracks may be found online as part of the GNP catalog. So I won't be posting a sample.

From the back cover: Rene Touzet was born in Havana and was a child prodigy. He studied with the outstanding music teachers; won first prize in piano at the Falcon Conservatory; and in 1953, the Gold Medal as Cuba's outstanding composer.

Touzet first led his own 16 piece band at the Hotel National in Havana. In 1946, he came to the States to join Enric Madriguera. Shortly thereafter, he formed his own ban and has since been featured at the Crescendo and Ciro's in Hollywood and many of the elite supper clubs in New York and Miami.

Super jazzy space age Latin!

Tea For Two
Cherry Pink
Poinciana
Siboney
La Pachanga
Mambo Inn
Besame Mucho
The Breeze And I
Perfidia
Malaguena
Peanut Vendor
The Bullfighter's Song

TV Western Themes

Cheyenne

TV Western Themes
Coronet Records CX 175

Tracks cobbled together and sold as if the set was recorded by "Slim Boyd and His Ranger Riders".

Jungle Mating Rhythms - Chaino

Jungle Crazy Maze Bongo

Jungle Mating Rhythms
Chaino
Verve MGV-2104
1958

Verve, who pressed some inventive space age material, wasn't sure how to market this first Chaino album suggesting, from the back cover, that "...this music can be utilized as a home session for you own bongo playing." to "...Chaino... has been invited by several psychiatrists to play for disturbed institutionalized patients, and the patients in turn have been encouraged to take up rhythm instruments to further the releasing process."

Also from the back cover, perhaps a better descriptive paragraph: As for Chaino himself, it's relevant to add that he is capable here of drawing a wider range of emotions that you'd expect (given, I think, from the simplicity of presentation) from his material. There is a tenderness, a lyricism one might say, in much of his work that can also turn into a fervent Bacchic ball.

Basically, this is a one-man show, Chaino and his "drums" produced by Kirby Allen. Chaino and Allen produce a range of engaging percussion arrangements occasionally backed by Chaino vocal chants. Nice late 50s package from the cover art to the creative song titles.

Chiano bio on AllMusic

Jungle Mating Call
Voodoo Love
Voodoo Trinidad
Lost Canyon
Love Chant Of The Mau Mau
Seduction Of The Virgin
Watussi
Rico Tico De Dongo
Mad Bongos
Voodoo Chant
Ora Ora
Jungle Crazy Maze Bongo

Mambo Mambo - Perez Prado

Mambo Mambo
Perez Prado And His Orchestra
RCA Victor 45EP EPA-602
1955

Presented here for the cover art. All tracks can be found for purchase online. Nice energetic Prado set.

April In Portugal
A La Billy May
Mambo A La Kenton
Mambo De Chatanooga

Country And Western Bonanza - The Deputies

Bonanza

Country And Western Bonanza
By The Deputies
Wyncote SW-9144

Here we have a collection of throughly budget "more-or-less" country/western sounding off-the-shelf tracks.

Bonanza
Big Bad John
Sixteen Tons
Red River Valley
Careless Love
Carry Me Back To Old Virginia
If I Had A Hammer
Cotton Fields
This Land Is Your Land
Bury Me Beneath The Willow

Pal Joey - Lew Raymond

Pal Joey

Pal Joey
Arranged And Conducted By Lew Raymond

Cover Model: Kim Novak (Columbia Picture Star)
Tops L-1607

From the back cover: Pal Joey is a colossal heel – indubitably. In the musical theatre, however, it is sometimes meant to make a hero of a heel – a sort of Blight in Shining Armor. Just how does one accomplish this bit of wizardry?

The stunt is no snap. After all, it takes consummate skill to make a congenital louse likable. But on the inspired typewriter of John O'Hara the abracadabra was at least halfway complete when he finished the book for the Broadway show nearly 17 years ago.

Yea, only half complete – because a story line is a story line, and when a writer calls a spade a spade or a rake a spade, he's stuck with it-unless the magic of music is working for him full force. An audience can be expected to beg for a surfeit of hocus-pocus only if you spellbind them with the rare potion of melodies and lyrics beautiful, brilliant, beguiling.

When the songs in Pal Joey emanate from such senior sorcerers of musical comedy as Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart . . . with the baton their wand, lo, the heel is transformed into an ingratiating, charming scamp, more a roue than a rat-at any rate, a tolerably tainted saint.

Very briefly, this is the substance of Pal Joey, long-run Broadway hit musical comedy now transposed into a highly successful Columbia motion picture starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.

Careful handling of the musical stardust is, of course, essential. To this end TOPS artists and repertoire executives came up with a gloriously extravagant combination: orchestra under the direction of gifted conductor-arranger Lew Raymond and a glittering cast of singers established in their profession and prime favorites of audiences the world over.

THE LADY IS A TRAMP is traditionally a breezy, no-illusions type number, manifestly created expressly for Martha Tilton's liltin' style. The famed ex-Benny Goodman vocalist is in her element.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS proves ideal material for tenor Clark Dennis, longtime radio and television favorite with lovers of fine singing.

WHAT IS A MAN finds June Hutton pondering this timeless enigma. From the surefire quality of her rendition, however, one cannot but feel that this lass really knows the answer.

YOU MUSTN'T KICK IT AROUND is an admonition young newcomer Bob McKendrick heeds well. This vocalist is really climbing steadily up the ladder..

I COULD WRITE A BOOK is tenderly conveyed by the romantic singing team of Martha Tilton and Curt Massey, veteran star songsters of their own NBC T.V. show. THAT TERRIFIC RAINBOW is winsomely handled by Betty Baker, the better half of Disneyland Musical Conductor, Buddy Baker.

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED, wistful reflection on the bitter- sweet mysteries of love, is done sweet justice by motion picture, radio and television star Marilyn Maxwell.

THERE'S A SMALL HOTEL conjures an intimate sentimental nostalgia as Curt Massey gives it a thorough going over with baritone masculinity.

ZIP is the kind of novelty number zippy Marilyn Maxwell performs with the conviction of a topflight trouper.

PLANT YOU NOW, DIG YOU LATER is Clark Dennis' way of saying, "If it's a good song, then let me at it." His experience and versatility are powerfully showcased here. 

MY FUNNY VALENTINE is surely one of the best known standards of Rodgers and Hart. Here it is in caressing rendition by June Hutton, glamorous cornerstone for many years of the famous Modernaires vocal group with Glenn Miller's orchestra.

Overture

The Lady Is A Tramp - Martha Tilton

I Didn't Know What Time It Is - Clark Dennis

What Is A Man - June Hutton

You Mustn't Kick - Bob McKendrick

I Could Write A Book - Curt Massey / Martha Tilton

The Terrific Rainbow - Betty Baker

Bewitched - Marilyn Maxwell

There's A Small Hotel - Curt Massey

Zip - Marilyn Maxwell

Plant You Now, Dig You Later - Clark Dennis

Funny Valentine - June Hutton

Truck Driving Songs - Nashville Country Singers

Monday Monday

Dungaree Doll

Truck Driving Songs
Nashville Country Singers
Mountain DewRecords - Newark, New Jersey
MD1

This album defines the truck driving culture by depicting angry cigarette smoking people in knee high boots striking poses, while one "truck stop woman" strikes a pose on the cab, denting the sheet metal with her knee high boots. Oh wait, she's not wearing knee high boots... Never mind all that while we recall the days when we put the hammer down with Monday, Monday... and that other truck famous driving song, Dungaree Doll.