Latin, Lush And Lovely - Morton Gould

 

Vamos

Latin, Lush And Lovely

Morton Gould and His Orchestra

Arrangements by Morton Gould

Produced by Joseph Habig

Recording Engineer: Lewis Layton

STEREO LSC-2752

1964

From the back cover: Music is a constant adventure for both performer and listener. At least, it should be. This album was very deliberately undertaken by Morton Gould as an adventure. It is, for him, a jwliay from the concert repertory on which he usually concentrates.

"I wanted to play things that I had never done before," he explained. "I was curious to see what would happen when I interpreted these Latin pieces in my own personal way."

He chose a program based on relatively new but familiar tunes – tunes from films, Caribbean folk material, a couple of older selections – a pari of tuens that would be new to almost every listener (Vamos and Encantado) and, as a signature, one Morton Gould composition, Tropical.

With a full orchestra of strings, winds, brass and percussion, Gould has approached these compositions in a manner that is both typical (that is, natural) for him and, at the same time, a distinct departure.

The departure is in the style of his arrangements.

"My intent was to give color and character to music that is basically simple," he declared. "So I've tried to keep the approach simple. The arrangements are lineal. They're very open and transparent instead of being in the saturation style, with masses of chords and sounds, that used to be the common way of doing material of this sort. This enables a big orchestra to play popular material and to give it a contemporary approach through a feeling of clarity and sparseness."

The one selection on which Gould has used the more traditional blocking style of arranging instead of a lineal approach is hi sown Tropical, which he wrote several years ago and which was originally orchestrated in the blocking style. He has adapted that original arrangement for this recording, but he has kept remnants of the big block effects because the movement of the piece is strong enough to carry them.

The aspect of Gould that is thoroughly typical of him in his treatment of these selection is that he approaches them completely on his own terms as a musician.

"Many of these pieces are basically jazz material," he pointed out, "and they're associated with small groups and in improvisational approach that a large group can't duplicate. Personally, I don't hear these pieces in terms of jazz sounds, although I'm aware of this sound and I appreciate it. I simply use them as a jumping-off-place for orchestral settings. I work in terms of a large array of orchestral forces – a large group of strings and a large group of winds."

Some of these tunes – Never On Sunday and Adiós – Gould has visualized as serenades. To stimulate this idea, he has used pizzicato strings in the way that a guitar might be used as accompaniment. 

Jamaica Farewell, Yellow Bird and Anna he has treated in a kind of classical way yet with rhythmic subtlety and flexibility that are typically popular in feeling ("It's a new-classical jazz treatment that I've been doing for  years." Gould added, "starting with some of my early compositions").

On Adiós, Anna, Vamos and Encantado, he used two complete string orchestras place in the studio so as to achieve a simple antiphonal effect.

"The purpose of this," he explained, "is to get an additional sense of color. We get different colors by using different instruments, but in this case I am getting what amounts to subtle variation in shade from the same color,"

Even the rhythm, which is one of the most distinctive features of these Latin-based tunes, carries a typically Gouldian touch.

"A rhythmic percussion section is the least important of my concerns," he asserted. "I use my rhythm more in terms of ornamentation than as a steady pulsating beat."

As a result, the rhythmic load is frequently carried by pizzicato strings which establish a kind of rhythm that is autonomous to itself and does not depend on the relentless beat of a drummer.

So, while these tunes are Latin and they are lush and they are lovely, they are also distinctively Gould – pure Gould.

One Note Samba

More (Theme from "Mondo Cane")

Yellow Bird

Anna (El Negro Zumbon)

Adiós (Madriguera)

Tropical

Jamaica Farewell

Vamos (Daexar de Conversa)

Encantado

Never On Sunday

Amor

Desafinado

A Session With Chet Atkins

 

Caravan

A Session With Chet Atkins

RCA Victor LPM-1090 RE

1961

From the back cover: Chet Atkins has built a bridge. With six steel guitar strings for material and the songs in this album for blueprints, he has brilliantly spanned the gulf between country and popular music. His co-worker in this enterprise are some of the top names in country music: Bud Isaacs, steel guitar; Dale Potter, fiddle; Ray Eddington, Rhythm guitar; John Gordy, piano and cellist; Bob Moore, bass; and Buddy Harman, drums. On the charts are as choice a collection of standard tunes as you will find in the annals of Tin Pan Alley.

The World's Most Popular Guitar got his first professional licks in at an age when most boys are coping with nothing more challenging than high school proms and algebra exams. Chet quit school in the miiddle of his Junior year for a job with Radio Station WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the long, lean years that followed hie wandered through the South and Midwest, hiring on at some ratio station as staff guitarist and inevitably getting fired. ("I couldn't wiggle or sing, all I could do was play the guitar..."). In 1950 he returned to Tennessee, this time as a featured performer in Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry. Trher, without wiggling or singing, he has built a massive reputation as a great guitarist, a reputation already so enduring that it is hard to believe that Atkins is only in his mid-thirties. Today his style, like his reputation, is wide and varied. Chet is equally at home with Spanish, popular and classic guitar as he is with the country music that first launched him.

In this session, however, Chet returns to Nashville's strong musical tradition – but with some big differences. For one thing, there's the deliciously sophisticated sound of John Gordy's celeste adding non-local color to Caravan. Then, there's the impish Atkins humor that sneaks the ominous strain of Dragnet into a light-hearted rendition of Corrine, Corrine. And a pulsating change-of-pace Latin beat surges through A Gay Ranchero.

Throughout this entire album, you'll be conscious of the excellent musicians who surround Chet. But above all, you'll be constantly aware of Chet's mastery of his guitar. There's always a feeling of suspense... a waiting to see what surprise Chet will have ready on his next trip to the mike. And that feeling of suspense, of excitement is all the definition you need of the word, "artist."

South

Indiana (Back Home Again In Indiana)

Alabama Jubilee

Have You Ever Been Lonely? (Have You Ever Been Blue?)

Red Wing

Old Man River

Caravan

Corrine, Corrina

The Birth Of The Blues

A Gay Ranchero

Frankie And Johnnie

Honeysuckle Rose

Single Girl - Sandy Posey

 

Patterns

Single Girl

Sandy Pose

Produced by Chips Moman

Director of Engineering: Val Valentin

Engineers: Tommy Strong & Brent Maher

Cover Design: Jack Anesh

Cover Photo: Lee Friedlander

MGM Records E-4455

1966

From Billboard - March 11, 1967: Posey has enjoyed much success on the singles and LP charts, and this album follow-up to her recent hit should keep her very active. Her distinctive style is especially effective on "Don't Touch Me," "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" and a beautiful "A Place In The Sun." Top production work by Chips Moman.

Hey Mister

Patterns - Arranged my Bill McElhiney

A Place In The Sun - Arranged by Bill McElhiney

The Last Day Of Love

I'm Your Puppet - Arranged by Bill McElhiney

Here Comes My Baby Back Again - Arranged by Jim Hall

Single Girl

Shattered

See Ya' Round On The Rebound

Don't Touch Me - Arranged by Bill McElhiney

I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) - Arranged by Bill McElhiney

The Twelfth Of Never - Arranged by Jim Hall

Aloha Hawaii - Johnny Poi

 

Makalapua

Aloha Hawaii

Johnny Poi and The Oahu Islanders

Stereo Supervision: Dr. George Poisse-homme

Consultant: Dr. Harlow White, B.S.S.R.E.

Photo: Studio East

Design Records SS-68

1958

Aloha Oe

Hawaiian Wedding Song

Ua Like Not Like

Makalapua

Tahiti

Kila Kila Haleakala

Song Of The Islands

Tahu Tahu Wahi

One, Two, Three, Four

Hala Hiu Tree

Wiki Wiki Mai

Swingin' On A Star - The Three Suns

 

Blue Twilight

Swingin' On A Star

The Three Suns

Featuring King Curtis - Tenor Sax

Arranged by Charles Albertine

Produced by Al Nevins

Recorded in RCA Victor's Studio A, New York City, September 27, and October 4 and 20, 1958

Recording Engineer: Ernest Oclrich

RCA Victor LSP-1964

1959

From the back cover: The constant shortening of work hours and the consequent lengthening of "time for fun" are a stimulating force to the entertainment world. The music world is in turn stimulated by the development of new recording techniques and, with hi-fi and stereo, today's "world of sound" is better than ever.

In their latest RCA Victor album The Three Suns (Al and Morty Nevins and Artie Dunn) jumped on an imaginary space ship and are Swingin' On A Star. Their passenger on this jaunt is the driving insinuating saxophone of King Curtis.

The "rocking' in swing" experience makes use of all the familiar Three Suns' styling, the wonderful talents of King Curtis plus a sparkling rhythm section which adds a solid force to the accordion, guitar, organ and saxophone. The tunes are all "out of this world" in the most literal sense and so are the performances. Take particular note of Morty Nevin's glowing fresh way with an accordion on Moonglow. The exciting composer-arranger Charles Albertine has contributed three of his best compositions to the album: Moonlight Shuffle, Starlight Lullaby and Blue Twilight. Listening to his relaxed arrangements makes one suspect that he must have written them while suspended in orbit with a martini in one hand, a star-tipped pencil in the other, and a feeling that all is right in our swinging' world.

Swingin' On A Star

Moonglow

Moonlight Shuffle

Over The Rainbow

I'm Shootin' High

Blue Twilight

I'm Sitting On Top Of The World

Starlight Lullaby

By The Light Of The Silvery Moon

When You Wish Upon A Star

Out Of Nowhere

Breezin' Along With The Breeze

Bongo Rock - Incredible Bongo Band - Michael Viner

 

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Michael Viner's

Incredible Bongo Band

Bongo Rock

Produced by Michael Viner and Perry Boykin, Jr.

Special thanks to Can Base Studios, Vancouver

MGM Records PRIDE PRD-0028

1973

Let There Be Drums

Apache

Bongolia

Last Bongo In Belgium

Dueling Bongos

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Bongo Rock '73

The Eddy Arnold Songbook - Guitars Unlimited

 

Any Time

The Eddy Arnold Songbook

Guitars Unlimited

Nouveau - A Now Record by Design DLP-271

A Product of Pickwick International, Inc.

Bouquet Of Roses

A Heart Full Of Love

Any Time

Just A Little Lovin'

Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me

Candy Kisses

Chained to A Memory

Don't Rob Another Man's Castle

I Really Don't Want To Know

You Don't Know Me

Country Style - Sandy Nelson

 

Geisha Girl

Country Style

Sandy Nelson

IR Imperial LP-9203

1962

From Billboard - August 25, 1962: Sandy Nelson's third album of the week features the lad playing country specialties. The group goes through the repertoire of country hits and comes up with some real winners. The tempo varies from track to track and throughout Nelson's ability with the sticks is evident. "Wolverton Mountain," "Geisha Girl," "Wild Side Of Life" and "Four Wall" are some of the better tracks.

North Wind

Wolverton Mountain

The Battle Of New Orleans

Geisha Girl

On A Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor

Bimbo

Waterloo

The Wild Side Of Life

The Tijuana Jail

Fraulein

Four Walls

Chew Tobacco Rag

Patti Page's Greatest Hits

Detour

Patti Page's Greatest Hits

(Newly recorded especially for this album)

Produced by Bob Johnston

Cover Photo: Frank Bez

Hair Styled by Lee Trent

Stereo - CS 9326

1966

Mockin' Bird Hill

(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window

Detour

Mister And Mississippi

Old Cape Cod

I Went To Your Wedding

Tennessee Waltz

With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming

Changing Partners

Allegheny Moon

Aventures In Time - Dave Brubeck

 

Blue Shadows In The Street

Bluette

Dave Brubeck

Adventures In Time

Produced by Ted Macero

Editing Engineer: Russ Payne

Cover Art and Design: Teresa Alfieri

Cover Photos: Lee Freidlander

Manufactured by Columbia Records

Columbia STEREO G 30625

1971

From the inside cover: History has justified Br. Brubeck. But when Dave started fooling with odd time figures the predominant, almost exclusive, rhythm of American music was in 4/4.

Things in 5/4 or 7/4 or even more complex meters do not startle the people of many foreign countries. An Armenian drummer wouldn't bat an eyelash at 7/4 and tabla players in India approach much more complex rhythms with confidence, aplomb, and maybe even a little of that polite amusement with which many Western musicians look on the lay listener. In the first decade of this century Stravinsky wrote rhythmic configurations that boggled the minds, to say nothing of the fingers, of musicians required to play them. For a long time, however, American musicians, in popular music and jazz, were rendered acutely uncomfortable by anything other than good old 1-2-3-4.

When Fats Waller recorded The Jitterbug Waltz, it was considered peculiar, if not downright disloyal. Nobody played jazz in three. Three, in fact, was looked on as a little old fashioned, square, the kind of rhythm Mother used to make. Also, it was said, it didn't swing. Not so: three swings harder than four once you get the hang of it. The problem was that jazz an popular musicians didn't have the hang of it.

It always came out sounding as if they were wearing straight jackets while performing The Band Played On for a society wedding.

Dave Brubeck probably had more to do with changing that than any single bandleader.

Brubeck claims he was not alone. Drummer Max Roach and others were also making early experiments in the use of unconventional rhythms. But Dave, too, was a pioneer, and many authorities feel that he did more to popularize these ventures in time that anyone else in jazz.

There are two basic metric figures in music: two and three,. That's it. Everything else is compounded of them. A bar of 5/4 is a compound of three and two. You count it: one-two-three-one-two, one-two-three-one-two. (Sometimes however, just to make things harder on everybody, it's one-two-one-two-three.) Seen-four is simply four and three: four beats, three beats, four beats, three beats. In Indian music things can get much wilder, but let's leave that to someone else's liner notes about Ravi Shankar, and good luck to him.

Dave has long believed that the next direction in music is the assimilation of the various musical vocabularies of our many world cultures into one huge, enriched, musical language. African polyrhythms, European harmonic connections, Indian for even Japanese or Balinese or whatever) melodic ideas. This conviction lies at the foundation of much that Dave has done.

This album is a compendium of tracks of sundry Brubeckian adventures in time, most of them dating from the early 1960's. There is only one tune in the album that wasn't written by Dave or members of the quartet. He Done Her Wrong, and that's a variant on Frankie And Jonnie. Take Five and Eleven Four are Paul Desmond's handiwork, and Shim Wha was written by Joe Morello. Everything else came from Dave's pen for pencil, as the case may be). But most significantly only one tune in the album is in the traditional 4/4 of jazz.

Looking back on all these experiments, Dave provided the following breakdowns of the time figures of the tunes:

Unsquare Dance 7/4

Blue Rondo A La Turk: 9/8, the figure being divided into one-two/one-two/one-two/one-two-three.

Take Five: as noted, in 5/4

Castilian Drums: 5/4

It's A Rage Waltz: in three, sort of.

Blue Shadows In The Street: 9/8

Unisphere: 10/4

World's Fair: to quote Dave, "It's in 13 or 15. 1 forget." Don't worry about it, just enjoy. I make it fifteen.

Waltz Limp: in 3/4, basically. This was written for a ballet. At this point, the ballerina has lost her shoe – and her accent.

Countdown: 10/4

Maori Blues: 6/4

Three To Get Ready obviously implies the phrase "and four to go." And that's how it is – 2 bars of three, followed by 2 bars of four, making a basic rhythmic structure of 14 beats.

Cassandra: 4/4 until the release, then 3/4 is superimposed over the 4.

Cable Car: 3/4.

Charles Matthew Hallelujah, written for one of Dave's children on the day he was born, is the one selection in straight-ahead 4/4.

Kathy's Waltz, written for another little Brubeck, is in 3/4.

For More Drums: 5/4.

Shim Wah And Bluette: 3/4.

The interesting thing about these Brubeck tunes is that they feel and sound so natural, even more so today than at the time they were originally recorded. The success of this adventure can be seen in a personal anecdote. One day, in the spring of 1962. I was in a little night club in Georgetown, British Guiana. The strains of Take Five were coming from the juke box. The local people were dancing to it. I don't suppose they knew or cared that the music was in 5/4. It felt good, it felt natural, and that was all that mattered. The song was, of course, by then a huge international success.

Since then many musicians have plunged into experiments in rhythmic complexity. It should not be forgotten that Dave Brubeck and his cohorts pointed the way. This album is the proof of that. – Gene Lees

Unsquare Dance

Blue Rondo A La Turk

Take Five

Eleven Four

Castilian Drums

It's A Raggy Waltz

Blue Shadow In The Street

Unisphere

World's Fair

Waltz Limp

Iberia

Countdown

Maori Blues

Three To Get Ready

Cassandra

He Done Her Wrong

Cable Car

Charles Matthew Hallelujah

Kathy's Waltz

Far More Drums

Shim Wha

Bluette