garthsj

Generally I can spot satire, even on the internet which can be difficult ... but some of these comments about this album are so far out of line that I must admit to some serious confusion. How anyone cannot recognize this album for the perfection that it is, is beyond me? ... So I hope that what I have been reading is supposedly satirical ... This album was a sensation when it was released, and it remains so ... certainly one of the best from the 1950s ... and I agree with Peter F. that I would never want to be without this album. I go my first copy in 1957, and I still listen to it very regularly ...

Here is a rather long article I copied from the Songbirds site ... good news for us Buddy DeFranco fans ... Also, of course, Nelson Riddle fans ... Garth. Rosemary Riddle Acerra interviewed Posted by: "Songbirds moderator" peggyfan@earthlink.net ndegstrom Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:59 pm (PDT) A Daughter's Devotion Lakewood woman keeps Nelson Riddle's legacy alive by Kelly-Jane Cotter Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press, June 15, 2008 If Nelson Riddle were still alive, he'd be getting a nice surprise from his eldest daughter this Father's Day -- one of his best-loved compositions, re-issued on CD. Riddle, an arranger and conductor who learned his craft as a teenager in Rumson and died in 1985, is best remembered for his work on Frank Sinatra's classic "comeback" albums of the 1950s. Riddle's craftsmanship and innate sense of swing helped create some of Sinatra's masterpieces, among them "Swing Easy" and "Songs For Young Lovers" in 1954; "In The Wee Small Hours" in 1955, "Songs For Swingin' Lovers" in 1956 and "Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely" in 1958. Riddle also arranged music for Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Linda Ronstadt and other luminaries. Riddle also was a composer, and this is where his eldest daughter enters the picture. Riddle had seven children with his first wife, the former Doreen Moran. Of the six who are still alive, it is Rosemary Riddle Acerra, 60, of Lakewood, who has been most protective of Riddle's work and his legacy. Her most recent achievement is the re-issue of "Cross Country Suite," a Grammy Award-winning instrumental work from 1958. The album becomes available on a re-mastered CD this month, in local stores, such as Jack's Music in Red Bank, and through Amazon.com and other music sites. Acerra was in charge of its design and is handling the distribution and marketing. "Cross Country Suite," originally released on the Dot label and later acquired by Universal, has been long out of print, and therefore something of a "Holy Grail" for Riddle fans, as well as for Acerra herself. "I always had the LP, but it was getting scratched," Acerra said. "People had e-mailed me on the Web site -- http://www.nelsonriddlemusic.com/ -- and asked about "Cross Country Suite." Universal resisted the re-issue, but relented this year, perhaps because of the 10th anniversary of Sinatra's death, but mainly because of interest in the suite by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. Buddy DeFranco, the clarinetist on "Cross Country Suite," reprised his starring role on the album in a live performance with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in October 2007. At 85, DeFranco still performs. "A lot of writers were trying to bridge the gap between symphonic and jazz music," DeFranco said, in a phone interview from his home in Montana, "but this was the first time it felt really complete, and included the idea of ad lib playing for clarinet." In the 1950s, DeFranco conducted jazz clinics for high school and college students, hoping to stave off the dominance of rock 'n' roll in young people's lives. "Music took a downturn, in my opinion, with the advent of rock 'n' roll," DeFranco said. "It went hand in hand with the dumbing down of America -- we lost some sophistication, as a culture." "I know by saying something like that," he added with a rueful laugh, "I could be shot." DeFranco asked Riddle to write for a large ensemble, to be used in the clinics. Riddle delved eagerly into the project. Acerra said "Cross Country Suite" was important to her father because it allowed him to explore the kind of composing he would do for movie scores -- impressionistic and visual, music that painted a picture. In recent seasons, the Radio Television Eire Concert Orchestra of Ireland also included movements of "Cross Country Suite" in its repertoire, performing Riddle's work in 2006 and 2007. The 2007 concert had the added bonus of Christopher Riddle, son of Nelson, as conductor. Christopher, born in 1950, is the only Riddle child who is a professional musician. Gershwin-like ode Acerra was thrilled that new audiences heard her father's composition, which is made up of 11 pieces, each inspired by a specific region of the United States. It is a sweeping, Gershwin-like ode to the American landscape, and to American music itself. "Cross Country Suite" exhibits all of Riddle's strengths -- his clean and clear approach to orchestral music, his colorful expressiveness and his jaunty rhythms. Acerra said her father would be delighted by the renewed interest in "Cross Country Suite" and astounded by its re-issue. She feels that way, too, for more personal, complex reasons. "It's been important to me because when it was recorded -- I was 10 -- I latched on to the sound of it," she said, "as an emotional attachment." Acerra grew up in California, but came east to attend what was then Monmouth College in West Long Branch. She and her husband, Joe, raised their family in Tinton Falls and moved to Lakewood about a year and a half ago. The Acerras' new home is filled with nostalgia. The main hallway is lined with black-and-white photographs of Riddle, at work with major stars and in family portraits. In one, Nelson Riddle is reading to his fresh-scrubbed children. In another, he and Doreen Riddle seem the epitome of mid-20th century American glamour -- a young couple, dressed to the nines, very much in each other's thrall. Nelson and Doreen's marriage disintegrated just as the arranger's career hit its peak. "They let Dad's success destroy them," Acerra said, plainly. "When they were struggling, they were happy." Riddle's infidelities included a notorious affair with Rosemary Clooney, while the pair were working on the 1960 album "Rosie Solves The Swingin' Riddle." Clooney was then unhappily married to Jose Ferrer. Neither marriage survived the affair. Acerra is philosophical about the affair, blaming neither her parents nor Clooney. A daughter's death A far greater blow to the marriage came earlier, in 1959, with the death of the Riddles' daughter, Lenora Celeste, at the age of six months, due to bronchial asthma. The death triggered a deep depression in Doreen Riddle, who struggled with both depression and alcoholism. Although the Riddles went on to have two more children -- Cecily in 1960 and Maureen in 1962 -- as Acerra remembers it, her parents' marriage essentially ended with the death of baby Lenora. Nelson and Doreen divorced in 1970, and, soon afterward, Nelson married his secretary, the former Naomi Tenenholtz. The new Mrs. Riddle did not get along with the Riddle children, who, in addition to the aforementioned, include Nelson Jr., known as Skip, who was born in 1947; and Bettina, who was born in 1954. "She tried to separate us," Acerra said of her step-mother. "She was unsuccessful. " Naomi Riddle died in 1998, and it took the Riddle children, led by Acerra, until 2005 to regain control over their father's estate. Mixed emotions Considering the turmoil in the family, it is not surprising to hear Acerra speak of her siblings' mixed emotions about their father and their lack of attachment to his work. What is intriguing is that Acerra, while not denying the dysfunctional aspects of her upbringing, is such a devoted torch bearer for Nelson Riddle. Acerra faces questions about this without flinching, and reveals a mature sense of empathy for both her parents, as well as for her siblings. "I'm pretty passionate about it," she said of her father's music, "and I think because my mom and dad split up and had a stormy relationship, that my siblings -- they have memories of that, and it's all intertwined with the music." "I think Dad tried to be a good father," Acerra said. "The boys felt they couldn't measure up to what he wanted. The girls -- the divorce destroyed a lot of what they felt about him." "He didn't fall into being a parent easily," she said. "He was an only child, and I don't think he was prepared to be in a big family. I think he did his best." A biography on Nelson Riddle, written by Peter Levinson and published in 2001, opens with a musician's recollection that Riddle never smiled. Acerra is critical of Levinson's book, saying that it sensationalized her father's flaws without providing a full picture of his personality or his life. As it happens, when asked what kind of father he was to her, Acerra immediately mentioned his sense of humor. "It's what I miss," she said. Acerra was proud of her father's music, even as a child, and she would bring each new album to Our Lady Of Malibu elementary school to impress her choir director, who was a nun. When Nelson Riddle saw his daughter with his "Sea Of Dreams" album, which depicted on its cover a photo of a sexy, mermaid-like woman, he said, dryly, "You're not going to give Sister Mary Cora that album, are you?" Acerra also recalled how he drove her each day to her Catholic high school and how they would talk during the 45-minute ride. In any large family, one-on-one time with a parent can be rare, and Acerra treasured it. "He was crazy-busy -- he was off doing concerts with Sinatra," she said. "When he was home for dinner, it was nice." Acerra, who worked as a special education and substitute teacher in the Keansburg and Colts Neck school systems, said she is not musically talented herself, despite the imposing piano in her living room. "We all studied piano, along with Natalie Cole, in Malibu," she said, "but I never did much with it." However, she clearly could sense her father's talent, even as a child. She remembers, as a 10-year-old, thinking that "Cross Country Suite" was "fresh-sounding and energetic." "I know that Dad compartmentalized things," she said. "When he was in music mode, you weren't going to interrupt him. But it was an amazing experience to be around." In his 1985 study guide, "Arranged By Nelson Riddle," the author compares his approach to music to that of a journalist writing a story: "The facts are the important thing (in this case the musical ideas), and they have to be stated in as lean and economical a way as possible, since space and time are two very important factors." DeFranco remembers the process as exhilarating and exhausting. "The recording of it was amazingly easy," he recalled. "Creating it was both fun and a challenge. It took time and energy and thought. Physically, it took its toll." Riddle took up arranging as a teenager, under the tutelage of Rumson resident Bill Finegan, who later became an arranger for Glenn Miller and a composer of experimental jazz. Finegan died June 4 at 91. Nelson lived with his parents in Ridgewood but the family rented rooms in a house in Rumson during the summer. Riddle enjoyed the teen music scene in Rumson so much that he asked to spend his last year of high school in the borough. He and his mother stayed in the rental, and his father visited on weekends. Arranging became Riddle's claim to fame, but it has complicated his daughter's efforts to promote his legacy. "The thing is with Dad's work, if you try to develop concerts that include his arrangements, you have to get permission from other people -- from the Gershwin or Ella Fitzgerald estates, or from the Sinatra children," Acerra said. "It's time-consuming and sometimes not easy." That is another reason why "Cross Country Suite" is special to Acerra. It is a piece of music that belongs exclusively to her father and can be presented as such. "I have talked to people at Jazz At Lincoln Center about doing a Nelson Riddle festival," she said. "I'm trying to develop programs with some colleges. I'd love to see something in New Jersey -- it seems like a no-brainer to have his work performed here." DeFranco said he was "very surprised" at the re-release of the album. "I thought it was a dead issue all these years," he said. "I'm really pleased, and grateful to Rosie." Plugging away Acerra's dedication to her father's legacy is permanent, but she knows that the public is fickle, and that if there's interest in swing music, or Sinatra, or anything connected to her father's career, she needs to strike while the iron is hot. "It's like a full-time job -- it can make your head swim," she said. But she will plug away, because she loves the music, and the man behind it. "He was a human being," Acerra said. "I can be angry with him for a lot of things. But, in the end, you try to accept that your parents did the best they could with what they had." "I was lucky," she added, "because I knew the best of my parents, and took the good stuff." _____ Photo: http://tinyurl.com/699mgm

For those who know about this lost gem and have been waiting for years ... this magnificent album has now been reissued ... you have a choice of a very expensive LP-style CD from Japan, or a real bargain from "Collectables" ... as far as I can determine, there is virtually no difference in sound quality (especially if you are old and have lost your hearing!). Garth. The World Of Alcina The World of Alcina

I was doing some outlining for a book today, so I needed something a lttle "mild" ... So I broke the seal on the Proper Box 4-D set "Maxine Sullivan - It's Wonderful '' Listening to almost five hours of Maxine Sullivan hit just the right spot ... WOW! That lady could really sing ..

How sad. Another of my heroes has left us. I have been a big fan ever since his great "Name Band 1959" album .. I will be playing a lot of his music tonight ..

Further information: The Fresh Sound number is: FSR 5047 CD. It's too new to be listed on their web site.

I've checked but can't seem to locate this. Would anyone know if it was released? Q I wrote to Jim Harrod for further information, and just received this reply from him: "I received an email from Bob Zieff yesterday telling me that he had received a copy from Jack. No details but I assume that it is on Fresh Sound. Checking their new release web site I do not see it listed, and it was not among the new Fresh Sound items in the Worlds Records recent arrival update." So it appears as if this may be available some time soon ... the label is still not clear.

Ok, so these four pieces are from a Rome concert in June 19, 1959 with Buddy Clark on bass (and Jim Hall, as on the "7 Pieces" studio album). I have video of two tracks that came as from 1956 (June 19, too, same location given as I found googling for this one, Teatro Adriano). No clue how accurate this information is... What CD(s) is that? This one: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&a...10:3zftxq8gld0e It contains: "Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre", Lee Konitz "An Image" (Bill Russo arr., strings), Jimmy Giuffre's string album for Verve (Yanow says it's "the least interesting" of the lot, not so sure of that...), and as kind of a related bonus, Ralph Burns' 1951 ten incher "Free Forms", with Konitz on board. Great double disc! It was strange (and annoying) to me that when they did that 2-CD set, they did not include this other Konitz-Giuffre album ... It is a wonderful album .. http://www.amazon.com/You-Lee-Konitz/dp/B0...3829&sr=1-1

I agree totally about "Tangents" being a somewhat forgotten album ... it was played to death on my old Garrard turntable (with the fabulous Acos arm) when it was released in the mid-fifties. In one of the few moments when I caught him in a serious mood, Jack Sheldon told me how bewildered he was when he started to make the album, but he soon "got the feel" and loved doing it. He too feels that it should have received more attention over the years. Giuffre made some wonderful abums as an arranger ... I am particularly fond of the Verve albums he did for Lee Konitz, and also Anita O'Day in a wonderfully "minimalist" style ... these are among the real gems in my collection, and I never tire of listening to them. Garth.

You're right about "adaptable". Have you heard Giuffre playing outrageous rock 'n roll tenor on "Block Buster" and "Dynamite" by a Shorty Rogers group that called itself "Boots Brown & his Blockbusters"? It's a hoot! Incidentally I just read about those recordings today and wondered... I assume I shall have to look for those early sessions some day... Ubu, These two cuts are available in the Shorty Rogers Proper Box Set ... I know that this considered heresy by some, but while I have all of these cuts on the original albums (except these two you are seeking) , these "boxes" are cheap and useful for long distance car travel ... I don't now how many times I have listened to the "Be-Bop Spoken Here" box while traveling, and it converted my son into being a lover of be-bop ..

How sad! Another of my boyhood heroes has left us .... I based my own limited clarinet playing abilities on Jimmy's style, and I still constantly play his music ... While I was not a big fan of his later "experimental" work, he will always occupy a major niche in my consciousness. I treasure a picture I had taken with him at one of Ken Poston's events several years ago. Rest in peace Jimmy, your mark on the world is secure. Garth.

And as for Mosaic singles, there was at least one more Kenton Presents album that hasn't been covered by Mosaic (Cooper, Holman, Rosolino were in that box, Chaloff had one, too, no?) - the one I'm thinking of is the Claude Williamson trio - I had borrowed the LP once from a friend's late dad. I am not sure that the fine "Kenton Presents Boots Mussulli" album has been reissued on CD either ... that could be added to the package ..

The version by Art Farmer and Benny Golson (and Bill Evans) on MODERN ART is my winner ... hands down!

Not that it really means anything today, but when I was a real hound for vinyl back in the 80's those Braxton Aristas were some of the most frequently found items in second-hand bins ... they usually went for about $2.98 ... now Mosaic is contemplating a box!! How things have changed ... Also, before anything else, how about a ROD LEVITT Mosiac treatment? His work is definitely worth making available again ...

For what it is worth, her book on Mae West is an excellent social history of the West phenomenon, and what it meant for the shift in sexuality (and issues of social control) in American culture in the 1930's ... I have not read the book on the blues, but will do so when it comes up on my "to read" list ...

OOOPS! I notice that Ghost had just beaten me to posting this ... still, it is worth anoother duplicate post .. :-)

Again, I apologize if this has been posted before, but it contains some amazing 1958 jazz, including Russell's "Billy The Kid" featuring Bill Evans ... and rare footage of Tony Scott, Gene Quill, Jimmy Cleveland ... and many others. It is well worth the 25 minutes of your time ... http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=vAgaqALyJJ4

I tried to search to see if there had been any previous discussion of Geraldine Laurent on this list, but could not find any. I am really digging her neo-Konitz approach on her album, "Time Out Trio" with Yoni Zelnik, b, and Laurent Bataille, d. (Drefus FDM48050). Does any else share my views on this French talent? What other albums has she made, as this appears to be the only CD available in the U.S. at the moment.

Why not? For one thing, Giuffre did discover some stuff that hadn't been found before. And his ability to, in effect, keep his hands off it is pretty remarkable at times. The funny thing about Giuffre to me is that at some underlying level (one that's probably not visible after a certain point in his career) there are good-sized chunks that don't match up -- in particular, his somewhat clunky, walking-the-bar time (those neo-R&B things he made early on were no accident) versus the nice, personal fluidity of time he got when he lightened/softened things up (this in both "free" and metered settings). The most interesting late examples of this are the few sides he made in the late' 50s or early '60s when he was trying to integrate a good deal of Sonny Rollins (plus maybe his response to early Ornette). Some nice stuff, but boy does some of it sound funny -- like Giuffre's playing the first swinging, "muscular" solo ever, and doesn't quite know how to do this. The good part is that there's virtually no net; the funny parts are when he hits the floor. A lot of what Larry is talking about is admirably exemplified in a recent Giuffre reissue, "Live In 1960" (Jazz Beat 503). This album combines an album he did for Verve, with a live recordings from a Paris concert. Both Giuffre and Jim Hall (with Buell Neidlinger, b, Milford Middlebrooks, b (Paris), and Billy Osborne, d) are in top form, and very "muscular" in places. There are moments when Giuffre actually elicits r&b-like responses from the audience by using a repeated guttural phrase ... This was obvioulsy a transition period for Giuffre, and one of his last recordings that could be called "straight ahead'. I used to own the original LP and never quite got into it; but for some reason (perhaps my tastes are maturing), this reissue gives me great pleasure.

My Friends (courtesy of John McLain ..) .. I put this in the "recommendation" section rather than "reissues" ... There is a great recent reissue by Sonny Stitt from Fresh Sound that should be in every collection of modern jazz ... this is "Don't Call Me Bird" (FSR-CD 467). This CD brings together two Verve albums ("Saxophone Supremacy," and " Sonny Stitt Swings The Most") that I have loved ever since their original release in 1960, and features Stitt (playing mainly alto sax) with Lou Levy, Leroy Vinnegar, and Mel Lewis. If you enjoy straight ahead masterful bop saxophone, with a stellar rhythm section then this album is a MUST for you ... Stitt never played better!

"The Sextet of Orchestra USA Plays 'Mack The Knife'" was originally on RCA , and was reissued on French BMG. (I am holding it in my hand as I write this ... ) What a lineup ... Mike Zwerin, Nick Travis, Eric Dolphy, John Lewis, Richard Davis, and Connie Kay ... "The Debut Recording of Orchestra USA" was reissued by LonhehillJazz in 2004. This CD has both the mono and stereo versions, providing 75:56 minutes of music, and well worth getting. This is the only Orchestra USA material that I know of on CD ...

The sound quality is so-so .. better than my scratchy original vinyl, but I have a feeling that this reissue was made from a vinyl copy ... this important album obviously needs a remastered reissue ... will Columbia ever do it? Probably not in my lifetime... How about the John Lewis material on Columbia ... The Jazz Orchestra U.S.A. sides and especially P.O.V. ??

It was part of a series of 20 lesser known Atlantics, put together by 2 identities on the Japanese Jazz scene. Release of the series was originally planned for November, then put off till January. Now the Warner Music Japan site says release has been postponed. I can't imagine it will just disappear, as it had some publicity, and the compilers are well known ... Q Many thanks for this information. Hiroshi Tanno told me essentially the same thing, and promised me a copy when it is finally available.

Amazon has just cancelled my pre-order for this album. It was supposed to have been reissued on November 21st in Japan. Can anyone tell me if this album was reissued, and where I can get a copy? Garth.

Once again, I apologize if this has been posted before .. but it is well worth watching again .... EXTREME STRONG Sit back and enjoy something you don't see every day, all 3 playing pianos on the same stage at the same time. Brace yourself and make sure your sound is on because this show will rock you out of your seat. ...Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis & Fats Domino all on stage at the same time playing their very best of their hit music! This is a once in a lifetime appearance and one you will not forget! Ron Woods and others playing "Back-Up". A "Cameo Appearance" by Rod Stewart all directed by Paul Schaeffer . JUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW: <http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe5w0_ray-charles-jerry-lee-lewis>; http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe5w0_ray-charles-j erry-lee-lewis