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Monday, December 31, 2012

The Percussion Of Strasbourg - Ohana/Kabelac

Choreographiques - Second Etude
The Percussion Of Strasbourg
Maurice Ohana - 4 Etudes Choreographiques
Miloslav Kabelca - 8 Inventions Opus 45
Limelight/Mercury LS 86051
1968

This is possibly the U.S. release of a work originally presented in Europe as a part of the Prospective 21 Siecle, Philips series featuring a flashy foil cover.

The album seem obscure in this release.

Some percussion avant grade albums I've listened seem to beg for additional instruments to help fill out the sound. Not here. You get a dramatic, full-bodied sound presented in such a manner that you forget that what you are listening to is just percussion and not a full orchestra.

The Touch Of Betty Johnson

The Touch
The Touch Of Betty Johnson
Bally BAL 12011
1956

From Billboard - December 22, 1956: The creamy-voiced canary has a hot single, "I Dreamed," on the jockey charts right now, so her first Bally LP should get heavy play from the spinner-set.

From the back cover: Betty started singing with her family in Possum Walk Road, North Carolina, at the age of five. The Johnson Family sang at funerals, weddings, jamborees and fish frys. In the twenty years since her debut at five, Betty has made her way along the hard trail of one-nighters, club dates and night clubs, up to and including the Copacabana in New York, to network radio and television, and a string of successful records. Betty recently made her singing-acting debut on television in a featured part on the NBC-TV daytime serial, "Modern Romances."

Why Not Cha Cha Cha - Manny Lopez

Serenade In Blue
Why Not Cha Cha Cha
Manny Lopez And His Orchestra
Imperial LP 9006
1959

Here is an obscure, but solid late 50s big band Cha Cha album.

From the back cover: One of his greatest fans, Tony Martin, has often lamented that he has not had an opportunity to do a Latin American album with Lopez. "This man Lopez," says Martin, "is to the Cha Cha Cha what Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays are to baseball.

Manny is happily married (a sad note, perhaps, for many of his female admires) has four children, all of whom play musical instruments. He is often referred to as "The Don Juan of the Baton," as much for his sparkling wardrobe as his vitality and good looks. Someone once asked Lopez if it was true that he owned forty-five suits? "That's true," he flipped, "but don't forget the twelve suits that are still at the cleaners."


Fatabulous
Begin The Beguine
Music Makers
Las Tres Locas
The Mole
Oye Mira
Mexican Hat Dance Cha Cha Cha
Mi Nina Querida
Orchids In The Moonlight
In Old Monterey
Serenade In Blue
Cielito Lindo

Soul(o) Cello - Fred Katz

The Toy That Never Was

Soul(o) Cello
Fred Katz And His Music
Cello And Orchestra - Modern Jazz Arrangements
Cover Photo by Roy Pinney
Decca DL 9202
1958

Personnel on tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 ,12: Fred Katz, cello; Paul Horn, flute and clarinet; Ann Mason Stockton, harp; John Pisano, guitar; Harold Gaylor, bass; (John) Calvin Jackson, piano. Percussion is played by a prominent jazz drummer and group leader.

Tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11: Fred Katz, cello; Paul Horn, Buddy Collette, altos; Harry Klee, Bill Green, flutes; John Paisano, guitar; Harold Gaylor, bass; (John) Calvin Jackson, piano. Percussion is played by the same prominent jazz drummer and group leader.

From the back cover: The clearest indication of the mood – in the fullest connotation of that word – that Fred Katz intends to communicate in this album can be found in one of this favorite quotations. The author is classical composer Ernst Tech, who writes: "Beware of Pedantry! Neither art nor nature knows an unqualified 'It must' or "It must not."... First comes creation, then comes theory, trying to describe and to explain."

Fred Katz, then, refuses to limit himself to any musical or any other imperatives that he des not feel to be true for himself. "In my personal life." says Katz, "I am open to any and all philosophies, from Judaism to Buddhism. I am a non-conformist in the best possible meaning of that term. I have been moved to great heights of emotion by a Beethoven... by a folk singer.. by a great jazz musician... by the nonsense of a child... by the wisdom of a Schweitzer. All is life. And what life – and sometimes the negation of life – means, I like to express in my music as a composer, as a player, and even as an arranger."

This inner-directed, unusually multi-oriented musician was born in Brooklyn, February 25, 1919. He studied cello and piano at the Third Street Music Settlement under a scholarship, and his cello teacher, incidentally, had been pupil of Pablo Casals. Katz played at Town Hall at 13. He continued concert work and composing; conducted at the White House in 1941; was musical director of 7th Army Headquarters overseas; had his ballet, Lysistrara performed in New York in 1945; and the Heidelberg Symphony devoted a concert entirely to his compositions. After the war, among other activities, he was piano accompanist for Vic Damone, Mindy Carson, Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Jana Mason and others. He then became a member – on cello – of the Chico Hamilton quintet. In recent years, he has also scored for films, taught and has been commissioned by cellist Gregor Piatigorsky to write a jazz work to be performed by the latter in concert. He has also contributed several original to the Chico Hamilton book. Fred recently signed with Decca as west coast supervisor of the label's jazz recordings and as an artist.

In jazz, a principal contribution of Katz has been, as Leonard Feather notes, "to put the cello to full use both in arco and pizzicato solos." Oscar Pettiford had already indicated the considerable jazz potential of plucked (pizzicato) cello, but with Oscar, the instrument has remained secondary to his primary instrument, the bass. Katz has been the first musician to utilize all of the cello in jazz as his chief instrument in that idiom.

Katz believes that the potential of the cello in jazz "depends upon the ability of cellists to wail and also on the writing done for it. I remember years ago the flute was considered a 'novelty' but the players themselves made it a definite part of jazz. The cello has much beauty in tis should, and if jazz will not accept it, this speaks very badly for the development of jazz. It seems to me quite ridiculous to object to an instrument's inclusion in jazz just because 'it hasn't been done.' Any instrument in the world that has been invented – or ever will be invented – has an inalienable right to make music in any or all forms. Music of all kinds, including jazz, in order to grow must seek now ways to expand.

As for his own position, Katz says "I would like to correct an impression about me that apparently is gaining some acceptance among jazz musicians and critics. That impression is that I am not basically a jazz musician. It might interest those who say this that before I joined the Chico Hamilton Quintet, I had played and still can play pretty funky piano. As a matter of fact, I made my living as a pianist. I had given up the cello, because I did not want to bury myself in either a symphony or worse yet, the pit of a theater. When they say my music isn't jazz, my answer is, 'what composition are they talking about?' At the moment in my development as a musician and as a person, I'm not concerned with conforming to anybody's concept of what they would like to hear. With all that is in men, I'm trying to write music in the universal sense. If sometimes a 'jazz' phrase make sense in a composition, I'll write it."

Country Garden is a 'tongue-in-cheek' arrangement by Calvin Jackson. Satori, explains Katz, "is a Buddhist term meaning a moment of truth. It was written, but the way, in one morning without the usual problems that plague a composer – why? The 'moment of truth,' incidentally, in Satori is played by the cello and clarinet near the end of the composition. The musical phrase that made sense to me that morning was a 'funky thing.'; Next time it may be silence – why?"

Andante is by Luther Henderson. "the release is all improvisation, also the end cadenza. A lovely work, very grateful to the cello." Circus was arranged by John Pisano, Chico Hamilotn's guitarist, and it's a particularly well-integrated, playful, lyrical experience. Wayfaring Stranger, a familiar folk song, has been arranged by Fred Katz. The tune has rarely, it seems to me, sounded as poignant as in this version by Katz' deeply singing cello. Time After Time was arranged by Bassist Hal Gaylor; and again, the emotional strength that the very texture of the cello conveys, deepens the impact of the song.

The Vidiot is a Fred Katz original as arranged by Calvin Jackson. The Lament Of The Oracles is described by Katz as concerning "an organization – The Oracles – of disgruntle acts and intellectuals' who didn't think anything was good except their version of 'anything'." The Toy That Never Was "is a story of a child who doesn't believe in Santa Claus because he never gets presents at Christmas. The fast middle part represents a nightmare where-in all the imaginary toys come to life – not pleasantly, but ironically. Sad but true, not only of children." It is preceded by Sonny Burke's flowing arrangement of I'm Glad There Is You.

Intermezzo is a melody that many inveterate admires of Ingrid Bergeman, this reporter among them, recall from her picture with "'Leslie Howard years ago. "I've always loved the melody," say Fred, "and I played it here more or less straight, because I felt it that way in the studio that moment." The arrangement is by Hal Gaylor, Chico Hamilton's bassist. Come With Me, originally titled Le Petit Swing, was composed and arranged by Bill Marx. "It's 'jazz,' says Fred, "Louis the XIV would have liked if he had liked jazz."

In an impressive analysis of a Fred Katz collection in Down Beat, Don Gold wrote: "It is simple... to quickly categorize and either accept or dismiss Katz' ability... What is important to me, and what should be important to all musicians, is that Katz has something to say and a background that enables him to say it intelligently." The point, as Gold underlined, is that Katz' music should not be listened to with a compulsion to first fit intent a neat category. It should be listened to initially on its own terms. "First comes creation," said Toch, "then comes theory, trying to describe and explain."  The labels, in short, came after the work not before. – Nat Hentoff, co-editor The Jazz Makers (Rinehart)

Country Gardens
Satori
Andante
Circus
Wayfaring Stranger
Time After Time
The Vidiot
Lament Of The Oracles
I'm Glad There Is You
The Toy The Never Was
Intermezzo
Come With Me

Dixieland Mambo - Phil Gomez And The Jazzbos

Quiet Village
Dixieland Mambo
Phil Gomez And The Jazzbos
Omega OSL-46
1959

From the back cover: Phil Gomez went to Europe in the fall of 1956 with Kid Ory, where the band played concerts in every major city on the continent, and while in Europe they worked on a French movie and did an album in Paris. The most recent movie he has appeared in is The Benny Goodman Story, and Phil has gathered fans from his recent Television work on the Bob Hope Show and Stars Of Jazz. At present he is signed with Jerry Colonna accompanying him on tours and personal appearances.

This is one of the interest cover of Quiet Village. Quirky album from the cover art to the Dixieland/Latin blend.

Dixieland Mambo
Green Eyes
Ja Da
La Cucaracha
Dixieland Cha Cha
Quiet Village
When The War Breaks Out In Mexico
Brazil
South
Mucho Mambo
New Orleans Mambo
When The Saints Go Marching In

Have You Heard - Johnny Smith

Shalimar
Have You Heard
Johnny Smith
Arrow LP 1200
1958

From Billboard - June 23, 1958: Arrow Records will issue its first LP shortly. The set will feature organist Johnny Smith...

From the back cover: He (Smith) hails from the mid-west where in the small club and cocktail lounge circuit of Ohio And Michigan he has been able to both please the listeners and develop a highly distinctive style that continues to win followers for him. Chris Columbo who drummed with Bill Davis organ-led trio immediately sought out Johnny Smith when he cut away from his own group. Johnny was a perfect fit for the new-formed group and soon was being rated as an important find for jazzdom's organ ranks.

Not From Dixie
A Quiet Gass
Brief And Breezy
Joanna
The Floater
A Profound Gass
Slow And Easy
Brothers Go To Mother's
Fallout
Blues For Mother

Contemporary Music Ingrid Dingfelder Plays Flute Music

Contemporary Music Ingrid Dingfelder Plays Flute Music
Ned Rorem - Book Of Hours
Ingrid Dingfelder, Flute; Martine Geliot, Harp
Bohuslav Martinu Trio
Ingrid Dingfelder, Flute; Jerome Carrington, Cello; Anita Gordon, Piano
CRI SD 462
1977

Since this album appears to be completely obscure, I've posted both sides.

Friday, December 28, 2012

The Big Guitar Sound - Living Guitars

Big Guitar
The Big Guitar Sound
Living Guitars
Arrangements By Al Caiola
Camden CAS-766
1963

Total early 60s light pop. Released in both a silver foil and white paper jacket.

From the back cover: Big Guitar is an Al Caiola original composed especially for this album.

Boss Guitar
Calcutta
Wabash Cannonball
Alley Cat
Malaguena
Big Guitar (This is a different version than the one currently available online for purchase)
Rhythm Of The Rain
Oh, Lonesome Me
Humoresque
I Believe In You

How Much Is My Album Worth?

This is an impossible question for me to answer taking into account all the ways people buy and sell  albums.

However, here is how I value the records I collect.

I start by searching completed auctions on ebay. Ebay, for me, is a good place to review current real market values. I check the completed auctions and compare the number of copies on the market, prices and what copies have and or have not sold for.

If you do not see your album listed on ebay at all, that does not necessarily mean that you’ve got a rare and valuable record on your hands. You may have an obscure record with limited appeal to a small number of collectors.

If I tell you your album is worth $10, but then you find your album listed online for a higher price? The answer is that prices are fixed for an entire host of reasons which are not tied to real market value.

There are a great number of online resources to search for values, including gemm.com, amazon.com, and esty.com. Many record dealers also have online storefronts. But, again, prices will be all over the place. Some prices will be absurdly high. Buyer beware.

Now, I back up to the issue of rarity vs. obscurity. I blog few rare records. I blog obscure records. Some record stores I visit don’t really know what to do with the records I like to collect. Some dealers discard or refuse to buy the records that I value. Other dealers, both online and brick-and-mortar sellers, over-value the records I enjoy. I've noticed copies of albums I fine interesting literally sit untouched in record stores for years. What this tells me is that the some records are obscure and valued, but by a select few collectors who value them differently. So, if you see a copy of a record on a blog, that does not mean that the record is a pricey collectible (although it could be).

You will also need to consider the condition of your album, but that is a different can of worms that I'll leave unopened for the moment.

This Magic Moment - Earl Grant

Michelle
This Magic Moment And Other Instrumentals
Earl Grant
Produced by Charles Bud Dant
Cover Photo: Bill Levy
Decca DL 75108
1969

The Dock Of The Bay
The Sound Of Silence
The Importance Of The Rose
Michelle
Let It Be Me
Turn Around, Look At Me
This Magic Moment
Theme From Valley Of The Dolls
This Guy's In Love With You
My Special Angel
Love Is Blue

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Hits Of The 70s - The Hollyridge Strings

Bridge Over Trouble Water
Hits Of The 70s
The Hollyridge Strings
Arranged And Conducted By Stu Phillips
Capitol ST-883
1972

From Billboard, January 29, 1972: Hollyridge Strings, arranged and conducted by Stu Phillips, have proven giant sellers with their Beatles Songbook packages. Now they take on the big hits of the 70's and the result is an MOR programming winner that should garner hefty sales and chart action.

Uniquely arranged easy. Interesting stuff, good all the way through.

We've Only Just Begun
It's Too Late
Theme From Summer Of '42
Bridge Over Trouble Water
Theme From Shaft
Theme From Love Story
Imagine
If
It's Impossible
Superstar From Jesus Christ Superstar

The Guitar Style Of Al Caiola

Hindustan
The Guitar Style Of Al Caiola
5 All-Star Guitars
RCA Camden CAL/CAS-710
1962

Session guitarists: George Barnes, Al Casamente, Don Arnone, John Pizzarelli and Billy Bauer.

From the back cover: Al Caiola is hotter than a pistol in the ping-pong percussion album department. His L.P.'s are high on the best-seller charts and lavishly displayed in record stores across the U.S. But prior to his ascendancy as "ping-pong" champ, Al was long known to the inner circles of music as one of the best guitar pickers in the country.

Rocking light pop featuring many great period session guitarists and super engineering.

Sweet Georgia Brown
Dipsy Doodle
It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
Tumbling Tumble-Weeds
Strait Ahead
Hindustan
I Love You
Idaho
Rosetta
Undecided

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Dynamic Percussion - Ray Korwin

Chant Of The Moon
Dynamic Percussion
Ray Korwin And His Percussionist
P.R.I. Records SPL-6

Here's a curious 7 inch 33 on a budget label. Ray Korwin can't be found online by me.

Korwin creates a typical, but not unpleasant early 60s "Command" percussion/ping pong sound. However, there are a few tracks found on the disc that smack more of late 50s exotic. The sample above being the most fun.

A Bushel And A Peck
Warm Night Wind
O Sole Mio
Glow Worm
Ciribiribin
Finiculi Finicula
Chant Of The Moon
El Choclo

Sticks And Bones - Marty Gold

Sticks And Bones
Marty Gold And His Orchestra
RCA Victor LSP-2070
1959

This one is available for purchase/download at your usual outlets so I won't be posting a sample. Sorry! But I thought I'd share the scans of the covers.

From Billboard, January 4, 1960: Album previously issued on Vik features Marty Gold in a smart modern mood set with the emphasis on interesting percussion work with bells, wood blocks, etc.

Inventive arrangements topped off with a touch of light space age pop.

Side one

Hall Of The Mountain King
All I Do Is Dream Of You
You've Changed
On The Alamo
Sticks And Bones

Side two

Limehouse Blues
Comes Love
Autumn In New York
Star Of The Evening
Love For Sale
Smoke Rings

Latin Satin - Perez Prado

Tabu
Latin Satin
Perez Prado And His Orchestra
Photo by Wendy Hilty
RCA Victor LPM-1459
1957

Perfidia
Lamento Gitano
Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps
Green Eyes
Sway
Come Closer To Me
Frenesi
You Belong To My Heart
Estrellita
Tabu
Always In My Heart
Adios

Monday, December 24, 2012

Dick Contino & David Carroll

Purple Islands (Stereo)
Dick Contino And His Accordion
David Carroll And His Orchestra
Mercury Wing MGW 12122 & SRW 16122
1956

From the back cover: Dick was born in Fresno, California early in 1930. While papa tended to his butcher shop, baby Dick was taken care of by a kindly Greek family. Soon the youngster spoke better Greek than his native Italian or English. At the tender age of seven, after much begging, Dick was allowed to follow his strongest desire, to play the accordion. The family later moved to San Francisco and it was there that Dick decided he wanted a better accordion. This request would not be granted by the parents, however, until it was decided that young Dick had "what it takes". The family discovered an old master accordionist, Angelo Cagnazzo, who said he'd find out if Dick had the "stuff". This was a crisis in Dick's young life, for if he failed to impress the teacher he would have to return to the butcher shop where he had been working and learn the meat-cutting trade. The instructor was not only impressed, but it wasn't long after, that Dick actually moved in with the instructor in order that he might study full time, a move that literally assured him of success.

It was just after Dick left Fresno High School and was attending Fresno State College that a talent scout from the Horace Heidt Show heard Dick play. The scout got him on the show and Dick's fabulous, and now famous, versos of "Lady Of Spain" easily won for him. Dick remained on the show as a contender for first place for many weeks and soon became the talk of the country. He later won the quarter finals and then went on to win the national finals, an event that won the hearts of the nation's front page newspaper space.

It is quite obvious, from young Contino's many achievements, that here is one of the country's greatest talents. In this album "Dick Contino and his Accordion," his stellar musicianship in most brilliantly displayed. You can't help but feel that you are listening to something extra special, and above the ordinary. The repertoire has been carefully selected by Dick Contino himself in order that the many fine qualities and sounds of the accordion can be best brought to your ear thur the miracle of present-day perfected high-fidelity.

Twilight Time
Mexicali Rose
Nightingale
Song Of The Islands
Tango Of The Roses
Poinciana
The One Finger Melody
Purple Islands
Adios

Hawaiian Punch - The Manuna Loa Islanders

Bali Hai
Hawaiian Punch
The Mauna Loa Islanders
Produced By Ethel Gabriel
RCA Victor LSP-2295
1961

This is a well crafted space age "Hawaiian" album that blends "traditional" island sound with early 60s light pop.

Hawaiian Punch
Drifting And Dreaming
Hawaiian War Chant
Bali Hai
Malihini Mele
A Song Of Old Hawaii
Blue Hawaii
Enchanted Island
Ka-Lu-A
Hawaiian Sunset
I'll Weave A Lei Of Stars For You
How Is The Hour

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Command Performances - The Ray Charles Singers

Do You Want To Know A Secret
Command Performances
The Ray Charles Singers
Originated And Produced By Enoch Light
Command RS 876 SD
1964

Love Me With All Your Heart
Nina
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Hawaiian War Chant
My Old Flame
Sweet Little Mountain Bird
Vieni, Vieni
For All We Know
Traveling Down A Lonely Road
Al-Di-La
Blue Hawaii
This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

Music To Strip By - Bald Bill Hagan

Temptation

Music To Strip By
Party Fun Songs From The Golden Age Of Burlesque
Bald Bill Hagan And His Trocaderons
Directed by D.L. Miller
Cover Art: G.L. Phillips
Somerset SF-16800

A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody
Bumps And Grinds
Frankie And Johnnie
G-String Twist
Temptation
Night Train
The Stripper
Party Time
Bedroom Blues
Second Honeymoon
Girdles Aweigh
My Heart Belongs
To Daddy

Feelings - The Young Lovers

We've Only Just Begun
Feelings
Young Lovers
Pickwick SPC-3548
1973

Are you feeling it?

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Prospective 21 Siecle

Transition I - Mauricio Kagel
Prospective 21 Siecle
Realisation: Pierre HENRY
Philips
Gravure Universelle 836 897 DSY
1960(?)

I'm In The Mood To Swing - Ray Ellis

The Continental
I'm In The Mood To Swing
Ray Ellis And His Orchestra
MGM E3820
1960

From Billboard, May 16, 1960: Ray Ellis, an arranger of talent here fronts a band playing bright and sparkling versions of standards such as Cheek to Cheek, (etc.). Elis gets a pleasing sound from orchestra and chorus. Jockeys will find some attractive programming here.

Side one

Lullaby Of Broadway
Comes Love
I'm Sitting On Top Of The World
Cheek To Cheek
All Of You
Heat Wave

Side two

The Gypsy In My Soul
Button Up Your Overcoat
Everything I've Got
The Continental
My Baby Just Cares For Me
Always True To You In My Fashion

Friday, December 21, 2012

Guitars Galore - George Barnes

Jeepers Creepers
Guitars Galore
George Barnes
Mercury Records PPS 6020
1961

Here is another obscure Barnes release. Also see Guitars By George Barnes and Guitar Galaxies.

This is a rocking, jazzy and swinging disc featuring stellar Mercury engineering. This entry follows Guitar Galaxies and competes nicely with the finely engineered light-pop records that Enoch Light was producing at the time on his Command label.

From the back cover: Four guitars tuned in the key of F, designed by Barnes, were built for this session by the Guild Guitar Company. As Barnes explains, the F guitar offers a range pitched four notes higher than the standard guitar range making it possible to play with the trumpets; even up to F above high C. Leader Barnes used the F guitar throughout the date.

Several years ago Barnes had the opportunity to use a special reverberative Chamber. The result was similar to the pizzicato effect of strings in a large hall. As he was planning Guitars Galore, he remembered the effect and ordered portable reverberation amplifiers. Their use was controlled by individual foot switches with each unit. The reverberation, tremolo, and reverberation-tremolo could be turned off and on at will by the player's foot. The ordinary vibrato effects of playing on a stringed instrument are enhanced by the color derived from these more versatile amplifiers.


Side one

Singin' In The Rain
Have You Met Miss Jones
Jeepers Creepers
Runnin' Wild
Indiana
Guitar Galore

Side two

Liza
Sugar
Waitin' At The end Of The Road
Too Marvelous For Words
Should I
Pickin' Plenty

Bill Justis Plays 12 Top Tunes

El Watusi
Watermelon Man
Bill Justis Plays 12 Top Tunes
Smash Records SRS 67036
1963

From Billboard, July 20, 1963: Bill Justis has jumped on a flock of recent top hits here and has given them swinging renditions very much in the manner of the original waxwings. Teens should dig the Justis-styled recordings of Tamure (that's how Billboard spelled the track title), Pipeline, Hot Pastrami, Watermelon Man, Gravy Waltz and Wiggle Wobble.

This album seems to takes its' cue from other "discotheque" LPs on the market at the time. So, the song approaches are varied but good space age fair.

Compulsion To Swing - Henri Rene

Nature Boy
Compulsion To Swing
Henri Rene And His Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1947
1959

From Billboard, March 23, 1959: Smart, tasteful, jazz-flavored, instrumental treatments by Rene mark this collection of swingy standards and oldies. Colorful cover gives item solid display value.

The Blues Room
Cry Me A River
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
Compulsion To Swing
It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Just A Gigolo
'S Wonderful
Nature Boy
The Hot Canary
Blues Chartreuse
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
Don't Cry Joe

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Donald Byrd & Gigi Gryce - Xtacy

Donald Byrd & Gigi Gryce
Xtacy
Trip Jazz TLP-5016

Tracks are available for online purchase so I will not be posting a sample. But the original cover art is somewhat obscure and great fun.

The music is toe-tapping straight forward small combo jazz.

Blue Lights
Onion Head
Isn't It Romantic
Bat Land
Bangoon
Imagination
Xtacy

America The Bountiful

America The Bountiful
Produced For Invest-In-America Councils
Research Craft Corp., Los Angeles, Calif.
RC 485

Obscure LP with no jacket.

Crazy Otto Goes Sentimental

Perfidia
Crazy Otto Goes Sentimental
Vocalion VL 3663
1959

From Billboard, July 20, 1959: This is Crazy Otto which his regular ricky-tick fans will find a stranger. It's society, cocktail lounge piano with traces of the Garner after-the-beat style. Nice performances but rack buyers who go for the Otto standard sound may have a surprise in store when they turn on the set.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The Soul Of Paul Mauriat

You Keep Me Hangin' On
The Soul Of Paul Mauriat
Philips PHS-600-299
1969

This is an album, along with other Mauriat LPs, that you often find untouched in the discount bin. I've blogged a number of Mauriat albums now and find his work, for the most part, unique in easy listening. He creates unusual arrangements and applies instruments and subtle effects in a way that captures and hold the attention.

This album, while all of the tracks aren't as psyched as the sample above, is one of his more awesome efforts.

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me
I've Never Loved A Man
I've Been Loving You Too Long
You Keep Me Hangin' On
It's A Man's World
When A Man Loves A Woman
Respect
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
In The Midnight Hour
My Girl
Love Child

Ba Ma Hit Parade - King Eric

Zombie Jamboree
Bama Hit Parade
A Collection Of Favorite Melodies
From The Exotic
Islands In The Sun
King Eric And His Knights
From The Famous Ba Ma Supper Club – Nassau In The Bahamas
Inside The Windsor Inne's Famous Ba-Ma Room
Carib 1960

From the back cover: Here are the chords of Eric Gibson on the guitar, Ronald Butler swinging from vocal to bongo drums, Frankie Adams singing his happy heart out, and Mickey Newbold on the bass. Here is the first album from all of us at the Ba Ma.

Check out the follow-up King Eric/Ba Ma album: Calypso Encores

Zombie Jamboree
Choucoune
Island Woman
Jamaica Farewell
Ah Baby
Day O
Mary Ann
Big Bamboo
Crazy Like Mad
Bahama Lullaby
Mama La
The Conch
Island In The Sun

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Music For Belly Dancing

Violin/Kanun/Bouzoukia/Solo
Music For Belly Dancing
The Turkish Way With Ozel
Murray Hill Records
944332

This is a three record box set. The cover suggests that this set has something to do with "instruction". This usually means the music is going to be rather "canned" or "stock". Other than the instruction booklet (which is missing in the copy I found), this album set consists of three records packed with very good music. The engineering is also very good. And you get a hot photo of Ozel on the cover. She helped spark a resurgence for belling dancing in the U.S. in the early 1970s.

Crazy Calliope - Margie Meinert

Sugar Blues
Crazy Calliope
Margie Meinert
Dot Records DLP 3440
1962

I know... it's crazy!

Meinert also made a crazy organ album with a crazy cover! Hi-Fi And Mighty. Love it!

A Decade Of Music - Hi Hopes

Need To Be
People First
A Decade Of Music
Hi Hopes
Hope College
1982

Here's a fabulous compilation of tunes from the fantastic Hi Hopes. Hi Hope tunes alway put a smile on my face. Great stuff!

A few tunes samples found on this album and information on the Hi Hopes can be found on these additional Hi Hope posts: Hi Hopes To You With Joy, Hi Hopes, Hi Hopes Play And Sing.

Side one

Day-O
Freedom Is The Song Of My Country
You Were There
Impossible Dream
I Believe In Music
Need To Be
God Bless America

Side two

Proud Mary
Love Makes The World Go 'Round
Whole World In His Hands
People First Song
Wipeout
America, My Homeland
Star Spangled Banner
Hi, Neighbor
May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You

For Latin Lovers - Stanley Black And His Latin Rhythms

Baia
For Latin Lovers
Stanley Black And His Latin Rhythms
London Records LL 1681
1958

From the back cover: Here is another scintillating selection of exotic music from that man of many parts, Stanley Black. Composer, conductor, arranger and wizard of the piano keyboard, he needs little introduction to anyone on either side of the Atlantic who has acquired a taste for his music with its many varied facets.

Sweet And Gentle
Be Mine Tonight
Serenata
Blue Star
Baia
Tenderly
Bem - Te - Vi
Peanut Vendor
A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening
Again
Out Of Nowhere
It Happened In Monterey
Delicado

I'm In The Mood - Billy Butterfield

Gold Coast

I'm In The Mood
To Listen to The Magic Trumpet Of Billy Butterfield And His Orchestra
Somerset High Fidelity P-2200
Produced by Miller International Co.
1959

Street Of Dreams
Blue Coast
Moonlight On The Ganges
South Sea Island Magic
The Last Time I Saw Paris
I Cover The Waterfront
East Of The Sun
Gold Coast
The Swan
What's New

Sounds For The 60s - Onzy Matthews

White Gardenia
Sounds For The 60s
Onzy Mattews
With The Big Brass, Reeds And Piano
Capitol Records ST 2479
1966

From Billboard Apirl 23, 1966: Purely beautiful instrumentals by Onzy Matthews and orchestra... "Mexicali Brass" has that Latin-American flavor, but is strong with the beat sound teen-agers love to dance to. Easy listening stations will find this LP great programming and that could boost sales even higher.

Mexicali Brass
You'll Know The First Time
Lilies Of The Field
Moon River
Play Me Some Blues
White Gardenia
Ballad For Orchestra
Blues For The Reverend
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Ray-On-Blues

We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye - Barbara Carroll

These Foolish Things
Cherry Point
We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye
Barbara Carroll
RCA Victor LPM-1296
1956

From the back cover: Mood music as envisioned by Miss Carroll is quite a different thing from the lush arrangements that usually characterize this enormously popular wing of the recording industry. For although the pace is leisurely, the jazz impulse is strong, and the trio performances are uniformly tasteful and inventive – never glossy.

From Billboard - October 20, 1956: The swinging Miss Carroll gets into a slow, quiet mood on this new package. It's different from what fans have been used to expecting from the gal and the interpretations make for very agreeable listening. Standards like "You Do Something To Me," "These Foolish Things," "All Of You" are included, plus a couple of the pianist's own compositions in the same easy-going mood.

You Do Something To Me
Today
We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye
These Foolish Things
Royal Garden Blues
Just One Of Those Things
Cherry Point
You're All My Girl
All Of You
Lost In A Crowed Place
You Make Me Feel So Young
Goodnight My Love

Monday, December 17, 2012

Boogie Woogie - Billy Rowland

Momo Combo
Boogie Woogie
Billy Rowland
Grand Award Records GA 259 SD
1961

This is pure Enoch Light 60s light pop twist on this "rich vein of American musical invention".

Rhumboogie
Sentimental Journey
Shoo - Shoo Baby
Undecided
Blues In The Night
Cow - Cow Boogie
Scrub Me Mama
When It's Sleepy Time Down South
Mad About Him, Sad Without Him, How Can I Be Glad Without Him Blues
Bye Bye Blackbird
One For My Baby
Momo Combo

Nashville Steel Guitar

Big News
Nashville Steel Guitar
Starday Records
SLP 138
1961

This is a fine space age country swing compilation featuring: Pete Drake, Little Roy Wiggins, Don Helms, Jimmy Day, Herbie Remington

From the back cover: Most of these recordings were made at the Starday Sound Studios in Madison, Tennessee. Recordings were made in stereo and remixed for maximum monaural quality. Supporting musicians were from the Jim Reeves Band known as The Blue Boys.

Star Gazing
Pushin' Pedals
For Pete's Sake
Big News
Station Break
Wired For Sound
Steel Guitar Wobble

Ting A Ling
Liberty Drive
Southern Sunday
Wiggins' Wiggle
Theme Time
Steel After Hours
Steel Guitar Special

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Music From The Graduate - Living Brass

The Sounds Of Silence
Music From The Graduate
And Other Simon And Garfunkel Hits
Living Brass
RCA CAS-2323
1969

This is a really fine space age brass album. And the reason is that, in really small type on the back cover, we find that Ray Martin arranged and conducted. Martin produced some of my favorite space age material. Check out Thunderball And Other Thriller Music and follow the link to Goldfinger And Other Music From James Bond Thrillers.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Heart & Soul Guitar - Tony Mottola

Lullabye Of The Leaves
Heart & Soul Guitar
Tony Mottola
Originated And Produced By Enoch Light
Cover Art Charles E. Murphy
Project 3 Total Sound PR 5003 SD
1966

Here we have another fabulous Mottola/Light Total Sound album. The engineering, the depth of sound, coming from the grooves is amazing.

Heart And Soul
If He Walked Into My Life
Lullabye Of The Leaves
I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
Tony's Tune
Little Girl Blue
Georgia
Love Is Here To Stay
Jimmy's Blues
The Gang That Sing Heart Of My Heart
The Impossible Dream

Latin Rhythms - Jan August

Mambo Is In The Air
Latin Rhythms
Jan August
Mercury MG 20274
1957

From Billboard - December 2, 1957: August's piano work on these Latin-styled melodies is listenable fare. However, the package is quite similar to several others. It may have a slight advantage because of the fine reproductions, but it's non-distinquishable otherwise.

Mambo Is In The Air
Where Or When
Jan's Cucaracha
Besame Mucho
Jamboree
Esplanada
Chiqui Chaqui
Perfidia
Without You
El Cumbanchero
Delicado
My Shawl