Unearthed In The Atomic Attic

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Space Chasin'

Bat Man

Space Chasin'
The Starliners
Bowie High School, Bowie Maryland

Photography: John Roseborouch

Engineers: John Burr, Ed Greene
Edgewood Recording Studio, Washington, D.C.

80-Hi Records
MM-273 Vol. 1

From the back cover: ABOUT THE BAND... (Average age: 15%)

Formed in August 1966 under my direction (while still a Lt. Col. in the Air Force) with enthusiastic support from Tom Warthen, principal, and Bob Wiant, school music director. Debut at a PTA meeting in early '67 brought this normally sedate audience to their feet for a thunderous ovation. Subsequent concerts in the D.C. area were equally successful. The big test came on 10 May '67 in the Bowie Hi gym when the group faced the 2700 strong student body. The Band absolutely fractured 'em! (Who said the Big Band Sound was dead?) The season was "capped off" at the Annapolis Arts Festival on 18 June when the Band was billed with Count Basie and Buddy Rich.

ABOUT THE RECORD

During the 10 May concert, I asked how many of the students would purchase a record (if made) and, further, make an advance downpayment to finance the recording session with all profit (if any) destined for the stageband fund (under school control). The response was overwhelm- ingly in favor. Within a few days the band members had issued receipts for 729 records more than enough!

The recording session was held on 21 May 1967- the only date available before the end of the school year. The fourteen numbers were cut in 311⁄2 hours with minimum re-takes. Conduct, stamina and a sustained peak in quality of performance impressed the recording engineers. They (and I) consider this recording an outstanding product for such a young group.

I shall remember these young people for their consistent display of professionalism, for being a real credit to their school and community and, in the vernacular of the Jazz Man as "a blowin' bunch of cats"! I've had several kudos thrown my way for contributing my time and effort, but let's not kid one another - the pleasure was all mine! – JOE CARLEY

South Rampart Street Parade

Days Of Wine And Roses

Call Me

I Remember You

Tijuna Taxi

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Sam's Boogie

Theme

The Knock

The Man I Love

I May Be Wrong

Walk In The Black Forrest

Trombone Soliloquy

Batman Theme

Git Along Little Dogie

Git Along Little Dogie
Vocalist: Andy Gainley and Doug Martin
The Record Guild Of America, Inc. N.Y.

6.5 inch 78 rpm children's picture disc.

Home On The Range

Home On The Range
Vocalist: Rue Knapp - Guild Chorus
The Record Guild Of America Inc. N.Y.
6001P

6.5 inch 1940s children's picture disk

Night Herding Song

Night Herding Song
Vocalist: Doug Martin
The Record Guild Of America, Inc. N.Y.
6001P

6.5 inch 78 rpm children's picture disc

Blue Chiffon - George Shearing Quintet

Kinda Cute

Blue Chiffon

The George Shearing Quintet and Orchestra

Arrangements by George Shearing and Billy May

Orchestra Conducted by Billy May

Produced by Dave Cavanaugh
Capitol Records ST1124
1959

From Billboard February 16, 1959: The quintet is backed by the Billy May ork in a series of exciting performances. The set is exciting and offers a fresh, new and securely "new" Shearing sound. Top tracks are "Young And Foolish" and "My One And Only Love." Displayable cover. Top pop and jazz potential.

Love-Wise

For Heaven's Sake

Nocturne

Young And Foolish

Nina Never Knew

Kinda Cute

I'm Old Fashioned

I Love You

Welcome To My Dreams

My One And Only Love

I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Our Of My Life

Like Wild! - Ray Anthony

Fall Out

Like Wild
Ray Anthony
Produced by Lee Gillette
Capitol Records T1304
1960

From Billboard - February 15, 1960: Arrangements emphasize snarling trombones and insistent saxes along with a driving rhythm section and Anthony's own potent horn work. The combination produces one of the best high-pressure big band collections, which includes such well-known Anthony efforts as "Peter Gunn" and "707," as well as new rocking arrangement of a former hit, "Bunny Hop Rock." The impact of this outfit is akin to Ingemar Johannessen's right hand.

Room 43
Fall Out
Kukie Bird
Dark Eyes
Peter Gunn
Wrong Number
707
Swanee River
Fly Now, Pay Later
Bunny Hop Rock
Rock-Umba
Walkin' To Mother's

Friday, July 16, 2010

Dances Wild - Russ Case

The Salior's Dance

Dances Wild
Russ Case And His Orchestra
Arranged by Russ Case
Produced and Directed by Herman Diaz, Jr.
Photograph by Murray Laden
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, December 4, 12 and 20, 1956
Vik LX-1085
1957

Russ Case, at the time of his death (1964), was handling arranging chores on The Jackie Gleason Show. He was also involved in arranging a number of concept albums Gleason produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

From the back cover: Chances are you won't risk trying to cut a rug very often during this recital unless you happen to be both an exceedingly limber and exceedingly versatile dancer. For most of the pieces here that were actually written to be danced to (a couple of them were not) were intended for professionals, and even those were set down with no suspicion that one day a fellow named Russ Case would streamline them in this manner. (Nacio Herb Brown's The Doll Dance was composed as a piano novelty, while Raymond Scott's War Dance for Wooden Indians is one of several works with inspiredly nonsensical titles that he dreamed up for his unique small band back in the Thirties.)

DANCES WILD, indeed! Selecting twelve widely-varied "dance" numbers, this fellow Case has created three different instrumental combinations to interpret them, assigning four pieces to each group. The largest and most conventional of these, one in which the emphasis is on brass and wood- winds, is employed to sweep through Khatchaturian's Sabre Dance and de Falla's Ritual Fire Dance, glide through Lecuona's Danza Lucumi, and furnish some Lindy Hop music for skeletons in a revamping of Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre.

So far, so good. But it's in dealing with the re- maining eight selections that Case has come up with his most striking notions. For Spanish Dance, The Doll Dance, Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy and Gypsy Dance, for example, he has assembled a group consisting of nine guitars, bass, piano and drums, thereby drawing attention to the rhythmic content of the four most delicate works of the lot by unison strumming from the massed strings.

On the other hand, he has sought to provide a more dramatic sound for The Kerry Dance, War Dance for Wooden Indians, The Dagger Dance and The Sailors' Dance by contrasting the woodwinds with four sets of tympani, the unit being filled out with guitar, piano, bass and drums.

In the course of this jaunty and winning concert you'll hear much first class instrumental work by such expert musicians as bassist Milt Hinton, drummer Cozy Cole, guitarists Mundell Lowe, Barry Galbraith, and George Barnes, and a host of others. Once again Russ Case demonstrates his remarkable musicianship as both arranger and conductor with this striking new Vik album DANCES WILD. – DOUG WATT (Doug Watt writes musical criticism, covers the theater scene, reviews records and writes the column Small World for the New York Daily News)

Sabre Dance
The Doll House
War Dance For Wooden Indians
Danza Lucumi
Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy
The Kerry Dance
Spanish Dance
The Dagger Dance
Ritual Fire Dance
Gypsy Dance
The Sailor's Dance

WIth Bells On - Sid Bass And His Orchestra

The House Is Haunted

With Bells On
Tintinnabulation
Sid Bass and His Orchestra

Arranged and Conducted by Sid Bass

Produced and Directed by Herman Diaz, Jr.

Recorded at Webster Hall, New York City, July 18, 26 and August 1, 1957
Vik LX-1112
1958

With Bells On
Sid Bass and His Orchestra
RCA Camden CAS 501
1959

From the back cover: In his previous VIK long-playing record packages, Sid Bass went a long way toward establishing himself as one of the most imaginative, slyly humorous, yet subtly sentimental arrangers on the musical scene today. His FROM ANOTHER WORLD (LX-1053) gave new color and meaning to a group of "star" and "moon" standards, while his SOUND AND FURY (LX-1084) package (among other musical magic) made truly remarkable usage of the drum as an emotion-stirring instrument.

Here Bass takes the bells, and (as Edgar Allan Poe expressed it) the tintinnabulation that so musically wells from the bells, and utilizes same in the most arresting, yet ear-pleasing blends of sounds you are likely to hear in an eon of listening. For Sid writes the entire bell family-from the delicate tinkle of the celeste to the brittle, crisp gaiety of vibes, through the majestic throb of deep chimes – into these arrangements.

Yes, tintinnabulation is the underlying motif in each of these twelve selections, yet each sounds wonderfully different from the other. Bass achieves this fascinating distinction in each arrangement first by the most adroit selection of material.

Not only are the tunes ideally suited to the sometimes delicate, sometimes thrilling tintinnabulations of the various bell scorings, but Bass has artfully blended the bells with other key instrumental sections. Some of the arrangements feature bells and woodwinds, notably the saxes; others have the bells working with and against brash brass; and yet another group of tunes find the bells accenting, complementing and supplementing sweeping strings. But in every single case there is the tintinnabulation of the bells used with the exciting imagination which has become characteristic of one of today's finest arrangers, Sid Bass. Whether you like good music, or are seeking interesting new high fidelity sounds, or both, this package is definitely for you. – JUNE BUNDY (June Bundy is one of The Billboard's ace reporters.)

The Bells Are Swinging

What Is There To Say

Pick Yourself

Say It With Music

(In The) Wee Small Hours

You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

Ridin' High

Soon

Blue Bells

Blue Room

The House Is Haunted

Love Walked In

Korla Pandit - Latin Holiday

Orchids In The Moonlight

Latin Holiday
Korla Pandit At The Pipe Organ

Fantasy F-1818 8027

From the back cover: SURELY NO ONE on the "Fantasy" label is more closely linked to that word than Korla Pandit. A set of curious circumstances first brought him to my attention several years ago in Hollywood-where all the fantastic and curious people eventually turn up. I was walking down Sunset Boulevard on a wet evening before Christmas. In between a funeral parlor and a hamburger stand which featured something called "Fun On A Bun" a large crowd of people had gathered to watch a television screen in an appliance shop window.

With a few noticeable exceptions they were all ladies, immobile and mute, hypnotized by a young man playing the organ on a television screen. He was wearing a white turban with a bright jewel in the front that bounced gently against his brown forehead as he played.

On his face was the merest suggestion of a smile-a combination of Sabu and the Mona Lisa.

Behind him incense smoked in long wisps and superimposed across the screen were the words "Korla Pandit." It was obvious that the gentleman in the turban was adored by the on-lookers because as he smiled into the television cameras, his audience smiled right back at him.

"He's the most soothing person on television," volunteered one of the ladies without taking her eyes off the screen. And it's quite possible that the lady was right.

This fascinating young musician played his special Christmas pro- gram which consisted of "Silent Night," "Jingle Bells" and several other old Indian folk tunes without altering his smile. Part way through the program the cool night winds began to blow off the Hollywood Hills and the ladies stamped their feet to keep the circulation going. But no one left.

After the carolling had stopped and the incense had cleared away, Pandit was nothing more than a melodic memory, but the ladies con- tinued to stare at the blank screen until a singing commercial for little liver pills jarred them back into the harsh reality of the neon-lighted world of the Sunset Strip.

"He's a real experience," sighed one woman as she lifted her shop- ping bags and walked off into the night.

Later I learned that there were little groups like this standing in front of television sets everywhere in Los Angeles. It was apparent that Korla Pandit was the most hypnotic personality to hit Southern Cali- fornia since Aimee MacPherson set up camp there in the Twenties.

And he did it all without opening his mouth!

Months afterward when I finally met Pandit in San Francisco, I found the same quiet lad with the exotic features who had kept the viewers spellbound on a stormy night on Sunset Boulevard. But I also discovered a modest and sincere young musician who is concerned with something bigger than merely playing organ music. He is interested in what it is saying, for, as he expressed it, "Music speaks the great inter- national language."

Pandit is seen in many cities across the country in a syndicated film series made for television many years ago. It is currently showing in Boston, in Florida, and in Milwaukee where it won a television popularity poll.

"The only way I find out about it is when the mail begins to come in from a new town," said Pandit.

Recently he discovered that his international language of music is now being spoken in Japanese television stations. He learned about it when he received a letter from a Japanese girl which said, simply and sincerely:

"You have fan in Japan."

Pandit's first album for Fantasy featured the music of Europe and America. His most recent one, "Music of the Exotic East" was full of the pageantry of the East suggesting silks of shimmering colors and fountains playing in hidden courtyards.

Latin Holiday, his third Fantasy album, continues his international journey into the Latin countries. There is actually nothing incongruous about a turbanned Indian playing Mexican folk music on a California pipe organ because his is an international language.

Korla Pandit is now living in the San Francisco Bay Area where he recently completed another television series. For those who may wonder, the jewel on the turban still bounces gently from his brown fore- head and the fans still stand three deep at the TV store windows whenever he appears. Even on stormy nights. – TERRENCE O'FLAHERTY

About Korla Pandit

Mr. Pandit, born in New Delhi, India, was a musically gifted child. His father, a member of one of India's first families, and his European-born mother nurtured the talent, allowing it to expand and ripen in an international atmos- phere. Journeying to Europe, England, and eventually to America, the handsome prodigy continued his formal study, finishing at the University of Chicago.

The professional career of Korla Pandit has been a suc- cession of impressive "firsts" in concert and television presentations, nationally as well as locally, in Hollywood and New York. He is responsible for several innovations in organ construction and intepretation, including Indian drum and percussive effects previously untried. His greatest success has been in television (Mr. Pandit gave the first all-musical TV program in Hollywood in 1949), and his one-hour weekly show in California won countless admirers and many awards. He has performed, too, in churches and temples on numerous occasions.

Korla Pandit brings deep spiritual contemplation to his music, but his primary goal is to create beautiful music for you, the listener. His skill and finesse, combined with a profound conviction in the divine nature of music, explain why listening to his music is a refreshing emotional experience. In Korla Pandit's own words:

"Music may not save your soul, but it will
Cause your soul to be worth saving."

Espana

No Me Quiero Tantos

Festival Of Flowers

Orchids In The Moonlight

Estrillita

Granada

La Comparsita

It Happened In Monterey

Las Manzanitas

Besame Mucho

Maria Bonita

Joyful Tango

Korla Pandit Album Covers

I'm posting the Pandit albums I have in my collection to help me keep track of what I've got. But also to aid in indexing my Pandit Blog Posts. You can click on the title and load that post if you are interested