Concerto For Jazz Band And Symphony Orchestra

Side One

Liebermann
Concerto For Jazz Band And Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
Richard Strauss
Don Juan
RCA Victor LM-1888
Red Seal
1955

From the back cover: Chicago, Nov. 19 (UPI) – Orchestra Hall rocked last night when long hairs and short hairs harmoniously "blew their brains out" before a flabbergasted but appreciative public.

The occasion was the musical union, possibly for the first time in this country, of a jazz band and a symphony orchestra.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner, and the Sauter-Finegan Band, a modern jazz group, combined to give a rendition of Rolf Liebermann's Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra."

A mixed crowd of "hepcats" and classicists heard the cacophonous exposition and voiced their approval by giving conductor Reiner and his orchestra one of the longest ovations ever to be heard on "Symphony Night" in Orchestra Hall.

The Sauter-Finegan group was easily distinguishable from the rest of the orchestra by the bright red band jackets they sported.

Throughout the piece Reiner swayed to and fro on the podium and gave the impression of enjoying himself tremendously. After the performance, he said he saw a great future for this new type of music.

"For the last 150 years," he said, "dance music and classical music have gone their own ways. Tonight I have tried to explain that both kinds of music have a close connection."

Reiner added he felt this amalgamation would do a great deal to unite both "long hairs and short hairs" and would in the long run do much to raise the public level of musical appreciation.
Also from the back cover: The Suatre-Finegan Orchestra is the standard-bearer of an avant-grade and intellectual form of jazz which has gone far beyond the jazz forms known as "New Orleans," "Kansas City," "Chicago" and "bebop".

Sauter and Finegan formed their band in 1952 and signed to record for RCA Victor. Brooklyn-born Ed Sautre, who began working as a bandana at the age of 17, had written arrangements for the legendary songstress Mildred Bailey and bandleaders Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw and Woody Herman. Bill Finegan, a New Jersey native, had arranged for Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.
From Billboard - February 19, 1955: It is seldom that a contemporary work stirs up a hornet's nest of critical controversy – or inspires the public interest – that Lieberman's concerto has. The introduction of the 'jump.' the 'blues' and the 'boogie boogie' into a serious symphonic creation was a radical innovation for which few longhairs were prepared. However, both at the premiere in Germany and at the first American performance of the concerto last November, this work was unquestionably a popular success, and public curiosity should induce healthy sales of this unusual disk. An added sales spur is the superb reading of "Don Jaun" on the reverse side. Sound in both cases is magnificent.

Introduction: Adagio
Jump: Allegro Vivace
Scherzo I: Allegro Molto
Blues: Lento
Scherzo II: Allegro Vivace
Boogie-Woogie: Allegro
Interludium: Andante - Presto
Mambo: Allegro Molto
Don Juan, Op. 20
Don Juan, Op. 20

Bells Are Ringing - Manne - Previn - Mitchell

Mu-Cha-Cha

Bells Are Ringing
Shelly Manne & His Friends
Andre Previn & Red Mitchell
Modern Jazz Performances Of Song From Bells Are Ringing
Produced by Lester Koenig
Recorded April 15 and July 22, 1958 at Contemporary's studios in Los Angeles by Roy DuNann & Howard Holzer.
Contemporary S 7559
1959

Shelly Manne: Drums
Andre Previn: Piano
Red Mitchell: Bass

From the back cover: Shelly Manne, in recent years, has been hailed as the outstanding jazz drummer of the modern era. Although he has been winning or placing high in the various popularity polls conducted by the jazz magazines since the late 1940s, his current popularity is reflected in the fact that he made a clean sweep of all the major polls – Down Beat, Metronome and Playboy – for three successive years: 1956, 1957 & 1958.

In many ways Shelly is representative of the "new jazzman." An inheritor of the tradition (he got his musical start in New York in the late 1930s when 52nd Street was the crossroads of the jazz world and he was able to meet and jam with the top players of the time), Shelly is constantly searching for new ways in which to make his drums more expressive and musically meaningful. He encourages experimental writing, and has commissioned a number of extended jazz works for the group he organized in 1955, Shelly Manne & His Men. His expert technique is in great demand for motion picture and TV background scores. He has appeared in front of the cameras as well, both as musician and actor. His schedule is a busy one, with personal appearances, recording sessions, concerts, night club engagements, and coast-to-coast TV shows.

Yet he has never lost any of the enthusiasm and joy in playing he had as a teen-ager when he haunted 52nd Street for a chance to hear his idols. This delight is clearly apparent in the light-hearted, swinging collaboration with Andre Previn which began with their first Friends album, recorded in February 1956. They plan to continue doing Broadway shows and movies in jazz, alternating as leaders: Shelly's albums will be with "Friends," Andre with the "Pals."

Red Mitchell, who has become a fixture in the series (he appears on Pal Joey & Gigi), was a member of Andre's Trio on the road during the latter part of 1958. He is one of the most prominent of today's jazz bassists, has played with leading groups (Gerry Mulligan, Red Norvo, Hampton Hates, etc.) as well as his own Quartet. In recent years he has settled in Los Angeles where in addition to his jazz appearances he is in great demand in the motion picture, TV and recording studios.

Andre Previn's interest in jazz led him to take a trio in the road (Chicago, Washington, New York, etc.) for three months in 1958; he placed high in all the recent jazz popularity polls; his records are best-sellers at home and abroad; he makes numerous TV and concert appearances. All this in addition to his work as a motion picture composer, and director of Gigi (for which he won an Academy Award) and of the forthcoming Porgy and Bess. He also finds time, somehow, for concertizing. Of his performance of Beethoven's Archduke Trio, the Los Angeles Examiner said (February 26, 1959): "We hear young Previn on such conspicuous occasions as the exponent of modern music in the popular view that sometimes we forget the intuition and the dignity that he can bring to the standard literature of the piano... Throughout the work... Previn coupled technical mastery with beautifully graduated dynamics, appropriate color and an unerring sense of adjustment with the other instruments." It is not a coincidence that jazz critics have been able to say the same sort of thing about Previn's performances in the Friends/Pals series – for Andre is a consistent musician who brings the wealth of his talent to whatever he does in music, whether it be film scoring, jazz or Beethoven. – Lester Koenig - April 7, 1959

I Met A Girl
Just In Time
Independant
The Party's Over
It's A Prefect Relationship
Is It A Crime?
Better Than A Dream
Mu-Cha-Cha
Long Before I Knew You
The Party's Over (Up Tempo Version)

What Aloha - Eddie Spencer And The Kings Of Hawaii

Moonlight And Shadows

Wahi Aloha
Eddie Spencer And The Kings Of Hawaii
Producer: George Alama, Jr.
Arranger: Danny Spencer
Engineer: Frank Rodon & Ken Hiller
Designer & Scribe: Lori Ryan Kamae
Photos: Walt Pollack
Recorded in Hawaii
Lei Records, Inc. - Honolulu, Hawaii
Processed in Japan

Wahikaahuula
My Hawaiian Song Of Love
Lei Aloha Lei Makamae
Moonlight And Shadows
Hawaiian Hula Eyes
The One Rose
My Little Grass Shack
Jungle Rain
Two Shadows On The Sand
Lei Mana
Hula Blues
Caravan

Mambo On Broadway - Tito Puente

Swinging The Mambo

Mambo On Broadway
Tito Puente And His Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1354
1957

From the back cover: These are driving, moving arrangements played the way Tito and his exciting orchestra have been playing them for the past several years at the famed Palladium Ballroom in New York City. Tito and his band have become synonymous with the Palladium where dancers both young and old have flocked to see him and his boys in action.

This is a versatile young man, this Tito Puente. Amazing might be a better word because he plays all kinds of music and just about every instrument in the orchestra. Considered by many in the music business as one of the finest drummers around, Tito also plays the piano, saxophone, vibraphone and bongos equally well. And anyone who has heard his great Puente Goes Jazz (LPM-1312) album can vouch for his exceptional ability to interpret music other than that strictly in the Latin-American vein.

Although he is one of the youngest bandleaders in the business, Tito Puente has been around for quite awhile, starting in the music field back in his teens. His career was interrupted by a Navy hitch during World War II, Tito gained experience working with leading Latin-American bands in and around New York. Forming his own band several years later, his star has been in ascendancy every since.

Ran-Kan-Kan
Tuxedo Junction
Donde Estabas Tu? (Where Were You?)
El Baile Del Pinguino (Dance Of The Penguin)
Swinging The Mambo
Lare Lare
Cao-Cao Mani Picao
Tito Timbero (Tito The Drummer)
Picadillo (Hash)
Mi Chiquita Quiere Guarachar (My Girl Wants To Go Dancing)
Por Ty Amor (Everlasting Love)
Vibe Cha-Cha

Guitar a la Carte - Ladi Geisler

Malaguena

Guitar a la Carte
Lady Geisler
Polydor 249 202
1968

Excerpt from Geisler's Wiki page: As a child, Geisler received violin lessons and soon learned the trumpet, he first worked as an engineer in the electric company where his father was as a director. In the last phase of World War II, Geisler was drafted into the German Air Force, where he worked on the combat aircraft Heinkel He 162. While on a mission, he was captured by the British and was interned in a Danish POW camp, with the help of a fellow prisoner, Geisler built an electric guitar and learned as a self-taught player. His role model was Oscar Moore, guitarist of singer Nat King Cole; in the camp he also made the acquaintance of the German musician Horst Wende, who brought him after discharge to Germany and made him a guitarist of his "Horst Wende Trio.

Malaguena
Ve Se Gostas
Amorada
Spanish Flea
Latin Lady
Recado
Maria Elena
Cumana
Guantanamera
Baiao Cacula
Delicado

Morton Gould Makes The Scene

Eleanor Rigby

Morton Gould Makes The Scene
Recorded in Webster Hall, New York City
Produced by Howard Scott
Recording Engineer: Mickey Crofford
RCA Victor LSP-3771 & LPM-3771
1967

From Billboard - May 6, 1967: Classical composer-conductor is in a complete change of pace here that shows he's with the "Now" generation. His arrangements of "Georgy Girl," "Darling Be Home Soon" and "I'm A Believer" are groovy and bouncy. Should go on the charts quickly.

Strangers In The Night
Georgy Girl
My Cup Runneth Over
Winchester Cathedral
Guantanamera
Eleanor Rigby
Darling Be Home Soon
I'm A Believer
Tell It Like It Is
No Milk Today
Daydream

I Gave My Love A Flower - Norman Newell

Amanda

I Gave My Love A Flower
The Norman Newell Orchestra
Produced by Norma Newell
Cover Photo: Frank Lerner
Cover Design: Dick Smith
Epic LN 24323
1967

More (Theme From Mondo Cane)
Theme From "Peyton Place" (The Wonderful Season Of Love)

Portrait Of My Love
Who Can Say (From the Motion Picture "Africa Addio")
The Shadow Of Your Smile (Love Theme from "The Sandpiper)
Somewhere (From the Musical Production "West Side Story")
Somewhere My Love (Lara's Theme from "Dr. Zhivago")
Amanda (From the Motion Picture "The Alphabet Murders")
Tara's Theme (My Own True Love)
Strangers In The Night
If Ever I Would Leave You (From the Musical Production "Camelot")
The Sound Of Music (From the Musical Production "The Sound of Music")

1001 Nighters - Ralph Flanagan

1001 Nighters

1001 Nighters
Ralph Flanagan And His Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1274
1956

From the back cover: The talented pianist-arranger is a road-man himself from way back. He broke into the big-time band business at twenty-one, when he joined Sammy Kaye. Seven years later he left Kaye and subsequently worked as a side man for a succession of well-known orchestra leaders, including Horace Heidi and Blue Barron. Although he served in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II, Ralph managed to do some band arrangements on the side. After he was discharged he quit the road entirely and concentrated on building a career as an arranger, working for topflight RCA Victor artist as Perry Como and Tony Martin.

In 1949, Ralph gathered together a group of the finest studio musicians in town and recorded under his own name for RCA's Bluebird label. The records – swingy, tasteful instrumentals with a solid, danceable beat – were an instant success, and colleges and ballrooms across the country began clamoring to book the then non-existent Flanagan band "in person."

Ralph reacted to his sudden popularity with mixed emotions. Naturally he was delighted that his first records were hits, but at the same time he was frankly dismayed at the thought of leaving his family and going out on the road again. In 1950, though, he acceded to public demand and returned to the one-nighter arena, playing his first date at the King Phillips Ballroom in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

The results were phenomenal. Flanagan broke all attendance records wherever he played, and disk jockeys and ballroom operators alike acclaimed him for single-handedly restoring the old big-time bloom to the band business, which was in a downright colorless state at the time.

Somewhat to his own surprise, Ralph discovered he loved the road and meeting his fans in person. He also found that keeping in constant personal touch with the public enabled him to gauge the country's musical tastes more accurately in the record field. His views are still the same today, after having been on the road almost continuously for the last six years and playing more one-nighters than any other band leader. – June Bundy

Talk Talk From Texas
Moon Over Miami
Speed Trap
Stars Fell On Alabama
Beautiful Ohio
Mississippi Mud
Indiana (Back Home In Indiana)
I'm Goin' Home
The Little Big Horn Blues
Missouri Waltz
California Here I Come
1001 Nighters

Dancing On Park Avenue - Tony Cabot

Park Avenue Samba

Dancing On Park Avenue
Tony Cabot And His Orchestra
Production: Fred Reynolds
RCA Victor LSP-1732
1958

Love Is The Reason
This Can't Be Love; C'est magnifque
September Song
I Concentrate On You; Siren's Song; You're Blasé; It's Delovely
Park Avenue Samba
String Of Pearls; Button Up Your Overcoat
Varsity Drag
A Foggy Day; My Funny Valentine; A Fine Romance; I Could Write A Book; Falling In Love With Love
Around The World In 80 Days
Sunny Side Up
There's A Small Hotel
Easy To Love; The Best Things In Life Are Free; Carioca; Ridin' High
Slap That Bass

The Big Voice Of Barnum H. B. That Is!

The Big Voice Of Barnum
H. B. That Is!
The Most Powerful new "soul" singer to come along in years...
Produced by Dick Peirce
Recorded at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California
Recording Engineer: Al Schmitt and Dave Hassinger
RCA Victor LSP-2462
1962

Available from online vendor so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover and jacket notes excerpt.

From the back cover: At the ripe old age of two years, H. B. Barnum was traveling with his father, a revivalist minister, and singing at the meetings. The congregations to put in mildly, demonstrated their appreciation by swelling the contents of the collection plate. During the next few years, H. B. became known as a child prodigy and was frequently referred to as "The Barnum Wonder Boy." He sang and acted in radio and motion pictures, his first movie appearance coming at the age of three in M-G-M's Valley Of The Sun Marches On." He also demonstrated other aptitudes and was awarded college scholarships for journalism and athletics in addition to music. Besides being a fine and versatile singer, H. B. is an excellent arranger (he did all the orchestrations for this album), plays nine different musical instruments and composes songs. He is 25 years old. In short, here is an uncommon talent, musical and otherwise, that literally explodes onto the performing scene in this album.

What else has he done for himself lately?

Most recently H. B. has been functioning as a songwriter and arranger, writing such hit tunes as Lost Love, Peanut Butter and others. – Bill Olofson

In A Little Spanish Town
Home
Strange Are The Ways Of Love
You Asked (One Little Answer)
I Know (Don't Have To Tell Me)
If I Give My Heart To You
It It's The Last Thing I Do
As Long As You Love Me
How Many More Times
After The Lights Go Down
Sweet Sue - Just You