Guitars Play The Sound Of Ray Charles - Tom & Jerry

Unchain My Heart

Guitars Play The Sound Of Ray Charles
Tom & Jerry
With The Merry Melody Singers
Mercury Records
MG 20671

From the back cover: Tom Tomlinson has been playing guitar since he was four. Born in Minden, Louisiana in 1928, he began plucking a Sears Roebuck guitar as a toddler and had mastered the instrument, without the benefit of formal training, by the time he was eight. During his high school years, he fronted his own band. After a stint in Korea as a U. S. Marine, he returned to music, to serve as lead guitarist for Johnny Horton, contributing his valuable sound to such Horton hits as Battle of New Orleans, Sink the Bismarck and North to Alaska. Injured in the same auto crash that took Horton's life, Tom spent months recuperating, then teamed with Jerry Kennedy in recording a hit Mercury single, Golden Wildwood Flower, which began the partnership that's still flourishing.

Jerry is from Shreveport, Louisiana. Like Tom, he flashed signs of musical talent at an early age age. He began studying the guitar at at the age of eight; by the time he was turned to the guitar, recording with Horton, Rusty Draper, June Valli Patti Page, George Jones and others. His present work with Tom indicates that he's taken advantage of that experience to become a mature musician.

Unchain My Heart
I Got A Woman
Hit The Road Jack
What'd I Say
Hallelujah I Love Her So
This Little Girl Of Mine
One Mint Julep
I'll Drown In My Own Tears
The Right Time
Swanee River Rock
Lonely Avenue
Leave My Woman Alone

Mod Mod Brass - The Brass Breed

Wade In The Water

Mod Mod Brass
The Brass Breed
Wyncote W9200
A Product of Cameo Parkway Records

There are only a few numbers on this typical Wyncote budget set, that may have been produced by a single studio group (The Brass Breed), that sound "mod."  Otherwise, the majority of the tracks are pretty drab sounding Latin filler material.

Wade In The Water
Sandpebbles
Sugar Town
March Of The Trumpets
Toro
Brass Theme
La Entrado
Opera Flamenco
Vito
Tequilla & The Bull

The Wizard Of Oz And Other Harold Arlen Songs - Shorty Rogers

If I Only Had A Brain

The Wizard Of Oz & Other Harold Arlen Songs
Shorty Rogers And His Orchestra
Featuring The Giants
Arranged and Conducted by Shorty Rogers
Produced by Dick Peirce
Cover Photo: Jerome Kuhl - Garrett Howard
RCA Victor LPM-1997
Recorded in Hollywood, California, February 3, 5 and 10, 1959

From the back cover: Heard throughout in solo spots on trumpet and flugelhorn is the effervescent Shorty constantly chased by the horns of Jimmy Giuffre (clarinet and tenor), Barney Kessel (guitar), Bob Enevoldsen (valve-trombone), Herb Gelder (tenor), Bud Shank (alto and tenor), Larry Bunker (vibes), Don Fagerquist (trumpet in the small group) and Frank Rosolino, whose gymnastic solo trombone is heard only in The Merry Old Land Of Oz. Joe Mondragon is responsible for the occasional bass interludes, and his rhythm mate, Mel "The Tailor" Lewis, sews up the time with relentless imaginative drive. Pete Jolly, whose piano is an unfailing asset both in rhythm section and solo, takes charge on Over The Rainbow which here takes the for of a miniature concerto for Pete's considerable talent. – John Tynan - Associate Editor, West Coast Down Beat

From Billboard - August 24, 1959: A very imaginative set of arrangements, bringing a modern jazz quality to some great material including "We're Off To See The Wizard," "In The Merry Land Of Oz," "Get Happy," and "That Old Black Magic." Performances range from slightly more than one minute, to five and one-half minutes – in brief, these are not cut and dried orchestrations. For smart programming.

We're Off To See The Wizard
Over The Rainbow
The Jitterbug
The Merry Old Land Of Oz
If I Only Had A Brain
Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead
My Shining Hour
Get Happy Blues In The Night
Let's Fall In Love
That Old Black Magic

The Night Was Made For Love - Tony Martin

The Night Was Made For Love
Tony Martin
With Henrie Rene's Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1218
1956

Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the original cover art and jacket note excerpt.

From the back cover: A California both by birth and inclination – Tony was born on a sunny Christmas morning and christened Alvin Morris, Jr. – he discovered music at such an early age that today he literally can't remember when he first came to know and love it. At any rate, by the time he was twelve he had mastered the sax and clarinet, and at sixteen, while still in high school, he was making more than $100 a week playing and singing with a band at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

After graduating from high school, Alvin, Jr. continued his dual role of student-singer. He attended St. Mary's College during the day and worked with local bands at night, making his coast-to-coast radio debut in 1932 on the "Lucky Strike Hour." It was a rough working schedule and conflict between his ultra-conservative daytime environs and the flamboyant entertainment world was inevitable. One day he was caught playing jazz on the college organ, and the next week his school days were over for good.

Leaving college and California behind him, Tony hit the road for a playing and singing date at the World's Fair in Chicago, where he met Frances Langford, then at the height of her fame as a singing star of radio and motion pictures. On her advice, the handsome young six-footer returned to the West Coast to try his luck in pictures. A few months later he signed a contract with 20th Century Fox, and the studio bigwigs promptly changed his name from Al Morris to Tony Martin.

The young troubadour was making a fairly prominent name for himself in Hollywood musicals when World War II cut short his movie career, and in 1942 he entered the Army Air Force. After serving overseas for four years in the China-Burma-India theater, he was honorably discharged as a Technical Sergeant with the Bronze Star and a Presidential Citation.

Upon his return to show business, a startled public soon discovered that something new had been added, and the results were electrifying. Whereas before the war he had been just another personable performer with a fine voice, the "new" Tony Martin fairly radiated confidence and that indefinable presence labeled "star quality" by the trade. The impact of his solid, all-around showmanship was particularly magnetic in person, and Tony quickly became one of the top ten night club attractions in America

Today, a decade later, Tony Martin is still a top night club draw, in addition to being a big name on records, TV and in motion pictures. At the same time his personal life couldn't be happier, and understandably so, since his lovely wife and mother of his two children is M-G-M's breathtaking beautiful dancing star Cyd Charisse. Maybe that's why no other singer today sells a love song with quite as much anticipation and warm conviction as Tony Martin does in this album. – June Bundy

The Night Was Made For Love
Night And Day
Valencia
Marta (Rambling Rose Of Wildwood)
Tenement Symphony
There's No Tomorrow
Comme ci - Comme ca
La Vie en rose
Domino
Deep Night
Goodnight, Sweetheart

The Ahmad Jamal Trio

Love For Sale

The Ahmad Jamal Trio
Epic
LN 3212
1962

From the back cover: Jamal's subtle keyboard structures were first heard with George Hudson's Orchestra insofar as public performance is concerned. A few years later he broke away to form his own group, known as Ahmad Jamal's Three Strings, and with this trio he played throughout the midwest and in New York, attracting considerable attention with his deft articulations. The Three Strings made a number of single records for Epic Records, collection as a best-selling Extended Play disc, and then returned to Chicago. The present group, heard in the first Jamal Long Playing Record, consists of Israel Crosby on bass and Ray Crawford on guitar, in addition to the leader.

Perfidia
Love For Sale
Rico Pulpa
Autumn Leaves
Squeeze Me
Something To Remember You By
Black Beauty
The Donkey Serenade
Don't Blame Me
They Can't Take That Away From Me

O. C. Smith At Home

My Cherie Amour

O. C. Smith At Home
Produced by Jerry Fuller
Arranged by H. B. Barnum
*Arranged by Tom McIntosh
**Arranged by Benny Golson
Cover Photo: Don Peterson
Back Cover Photo: Yoram Kahanna
Engineer: Peter Romano
Columbia Records
CS 9908
1969

Daddy's Little Man
Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife
Color Him Father
Clean Up You Own Back Yard
If I Leave You Now
My Cherie Amour
The Learning Tree*
Didn't We
Sweet Changes
San Francisco Is A Lonely Town*
Can't Take My Eyes Off You**

The Voice Is Rich - Buddy Rich

Born To Be Blue

The Voice Is Rich
Buddy Rich Sings
Mercury Records
SR 60144
1959

From the back cover: Moody, metallic, masculine, magnetic, mesmerizing, motivating, in fact, The Most!

Surprisingly, Buddy Rich, oft referred to as America's No. 1 Drummer, comes off mellifluously at the microphone making with the vocal music. Like the first martini or fifth martoonie that introduced on to the anchovie-filled olive, or the initial time one read Hemmingway writing a sports story, after a bit, the realization comes that Mr. Buddy Rich is one, deep-feeling vocalist.

Right-off, Rich regales the ear with his very own distinctive sound and style. Like the first time you heard Sgt. Friday on radio or maybe it was later on TV, it was his voice that fascinated. Buddy Rich's voice is an intimate voice. No big crescendos necessary to get the message home. It's a warm voice, one that reaches the heart strings in a hurry. It's a musician's voice that knows where to meld the words and music so the blend is just right.

Jack of all trades and master of One almost fits Buddy Rich, up to this album. Erstwhile actor with both motion picture and TV credits; moppet vaudeville actor; teen-age drummer sideman with bands; early twentiesh leader of his own big band and/or small jazz combo – And now, Buddy Rich Vocalizing!

Down The Old Ox Road
I Was Born To Be Blue
I've Heard That Song Before
I Want A Little Girl
I Can't Give You Anything But Love
You've Changed
Me And My Shadow
Ah, The Apple Trees When The World Was Young
It's Been A Long Long Time
I Don't Want To Walk Without You
Back In Your Own Back Yard

Congas Rumbas - Lecuona Cuban Boys - Antobal

Cubanakan - Lecuona Cuban Boys

La Conga - Antobal And His Orchestra

Columbia Presents Congas Rumba
Lecuona Cuban Boys
Antobal And His Orchestra
Set Number C-65
1949

Cubanakan
Dime Adios
Rumba Tambah
La Guajira
La Conga
El Maraquero
Panama
Ay Si, Ay No

Cubano Rhythms - Arturo Arturos

Jungle Drums

Cubano Rhythms
Arturo Arturos
A Victor Musical Smart Set
Victor P-105
1942

From Billboard - February 14, 1942: Backed by the rhythms of the characteristic drum instruments of the Latin Americas, this album showcases the piano playing of Arturo Arturos. Eight sides are variated to provide the rumba, Afro-Cubano, beguine and bolero rhythms, titles including Jungle Drums, Misirlou, The Lady in Red, Lumento Borincano, Begin the Beguine, Silencio, Isle of Capri and Taboo. While the setting is authentic enough and Arturos follows the melodie line nicely, there are none of those intoxicating improvisations from the melody instrument, with attending changes in the melody and mood to match the changing maze of drum beats, akin to the jam sessions of our own musicians.

Jungle Drums
Misirlou
The Lady In Red
Lamento Borincano
Begin The Beguine
Silencio
Isle Of Capri
Taboo

Manhattan Spiritual - Reg Owen

The Swinging Brigade

Manhattan Spiritual
Reg Owen And His Orchestra
Produced by Jack Kluger
Recorded in Europe
Cover and Liner Printed by MacMurray Press, N.Y.
Palette - Color In Music
LPZ 1001
1959

From the back cover: There are no set of patterns of rules for getting a start in the entertainment business. The stories are numerous – running from the old fashion "horn in a truck" routine to the dramatic last-minute replacement of an understudy for an ailing star. It's usually some little trick of fate that sets the wheels in motion and changes the course of a person's life.

In Reg Owen's case it was a gift of a saxophone, when he was a boy of 15, that shaped his future. He was recovering from a serious attack of peritonitis when his father brought him the sax as a get-well-quick token. He started playing it during his convalescence and hasn't stopped in the more than two decades that have followed.

Instead of going into the textile business in London, as his parents desired, he decided to use his self-taught knowledge of the sax as a stepping stone to a musical career. The career began inauspiciously with a group called the Royal Kiltie Juniors Band. The salary was only one pound a week, with free board thrown in, and it only lasted six months but it was enough to whet his appetite to get into the music business more seriously. He studied saxophone with Benny Goodman's famous band, and then went on to the Royal College of Music in London.

In 1938 he was ready to start on his own and formed a group called "The Local Gig Band." He made the rounds of the London clubs for the next year and then organized the eight-piece outfit which set up shop at the Montague Ballroom at Ealing. He was playing with Harry Roy's band at the Embassy Club a year later when he was called into the RAF. During his five years in the service, as a member of the RAF Band, he taught himself arranging by transcribing all the works of Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman.

Reg learned his lesson well because on the day of his discharge from the service in 1945, he received a call from Ted Heath and became one of the founder members of the Heath organization. He stayed with the Heath outfit for 10 years as a sax sideman and then gradually taking over all the writing and arranging for the band's library.

An automobile accident in 1954 put him out of action for about six months. At the same time his contract with Ted Heath expired and he didn't know which way to turn. But just as the gift of the saxophone affected his life as a boy, so did the meeting with a Belgian named Jack Kluger reshape his life as a man. With Jack Kluger's confidence and backing, Reg regained his courage and ambition and began working on his own again, developing a new pop sound which was to become an Owen trademark. With this new inspiration, he wrote music for Cyril Stapleton's Show Band and recorded LPs for numerous record labels in the United States. At present he is working on the ABC-TV Michael Bethine series, "After Hours." – Mike Gross

From Billboard - March 30, 1959: Reg Owen and his Ork. the English crew that recently had the big hit "Manhattan Spiritual," have a swinging driving album here that could also turn into a runaway best-seller. The set contains the hit tune, plus the band's new release "Down By The Riverside" and 10 other tunes played with an exciting rocking beat. "Jericho," "The Petite Waltz Bounce" and "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" could easily become single hits themselves. The stereo sound is outstanding. This set swings.

Manhattan Spiritual
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Jack The Ripper
Down By The Riverside
Solomon Stomp
Car Hop
Jericho
The Petite Waltz Bounce
The Swinging Brigade
Lullaby Of Birdland
Ritual Blues
Brainwave