Teasing the Korean

That is interesting, as it is often the only Legrand LP you will find in jazz collections! The other Legrand album that for me neatly fits into this territory is Legrand's Plays Richard Rodgers album:

Inspired by a thread by Rabshakeh, I would like to discuss some great (and not-so-great) space-age bachelor pad LPs that I found hidden in the jazz section. I started buying space-age bachelor pad LPs, before the genre had a name, in the late 1980s, in part because of cover art, and in part because of jazz crossover. (I had a fairly substantial jazz accumulation by that point.) I went into high gear in the early 1990s, during the period I affectionately call The Great Vinyl Purge. I soon learned that the best places to find these albums were a) in the dollar bin; b) in the "easy listening" section; and, importantly c) in the jazz section, usually filed only under a letter as opposed to specific artist. This thread will be devoted to great space-age albums that I either found in the jazz section, or that I have seen filed there. For my purposes, I am restricting the era of space-age bachelor pad music to 1946-1964. The 1964 cutoff date is important, in that it represents the worldwide arrival of the Beatles and Bossa Nova, both of which led to the Now Sound and International Jet Set aesthetic, two genres that essentially supplanted space-age bachelor pad music. (These albums may also appear in the jazz section.) I am also restricting my discussion to space-age albums with a decidedly jazzy bent, as there are space-age albums that are more symphonic or pop in nature. I welcome any additions, and would like to hear of any similar experiences from members. Beginning with a classic: Legrand Jazz

I always preferred Mingus Ah Um in mono, because the bass is mixed off to one side in stereo, and the drums are very heavy handed in the center. Who would record a group as large and raucous as that and not think to center the bass? The mind boggles. Anyway, for digital listening, I remixed the stereo album using Audacity's adjustable center feature. I collapsed it to mono and brought down the center channel. It is much better this way.

I have both of their albums. Killer!

it sounds like there is a linguistic pun there that I'm not picking up on, but I catch your drift.

Here is the Rahsaan Roland Kirk version, by the way:

How did Sonny Rollins end up doing the theme? Yes, but the Cilla Black version was intended for the film, and I think she had the UK hit. I used Dionne because I like her singing more than Cher's, and because Dionne was the definitive Burt Bacharach interpreter. Yes, there may be a music and effects track. But those are usually not-so-hi-fi mono, with up-and-down fader movement to fit under the dialog. Additionally, music abruptly begin or end, depending on editing. You don't get the full session. So it is far from ideal. You may as well watch the film.

Never heard of it!

Typical for soundtrack albums of that era to be re-recordings. Since it was a UK film, the film score sessions were probably trashed. Which is that?

I always loved the Sonny Rollins/Oliver Nelson album, but it always bugged me that the Bacharach/David standard was not included. It also bothered me that the album begins with the long version of "Alfie's Theme" rather than the short one. So, I decided to sequence my own album. I do not like the Cilla Black version of "Alfie," which was used in the film, so I took the liberty of beginning the album with Dionne Warwick's version. I also added Rahsaan Roland Kirk's version of Bacharach "Alfie," which briefly uses the Sonny Rollins theme for its coda. I ended up with a 39-minute album that I programmed into two relatively even sides, like this: Side 1: Alfie - Dionne Alfie's Theme (short version) He's Younger Than You Are Street Runner with Child On Impulse 20 minutes Side 2: Transition Theme for Minor Blues Alfie - Rahsaan Alfie's Theme (long version) 18.5 minutes I really like the flow of this album, and it feels more complete now.

Did you mean to post this in another thread?

I don't drink Monday through Thursday, but uncorking that bottle of wine on a Friday evening as the tone arm lowers onto the record is a cherished moment of the week for me. The George Shearing Quintet records in particular were made to be paired with cocktails. If I had to stop drinking entirely - and I have had long stretches in my adulthood in which I did not drink - I could do it. But there would be certain moments when I would really miss it. Playing an LP on a Friday night would be one. Chopping garlic and onions for dinner prep would be another. I associate these things with having a glass of wine.

I can't add to the thread, but this has inspired some similar threads which I will start after this one makes an exit!

That doesn't affect my enjoyment of it. I either like the finished product or not. If they are paired with great visuals, all the better!

Well, I do, considering that most of my music accumulation, after jazz, is film and TV scores!

Taste is of course subjective, but we can discuss elements of composition and arrangement objectively. Given that you post regularly on a jazz message board, I would think that the writing of many of "those cats" might be closer to your musical aesthetics. Also, I like the film and TV music I do for its intrinsic value. Nostalgia is not a factor.

An important date for jazz fans is the upcoming centenary of exotica pioneer Les Baxter, born March 14, 1922, in the same state that gave us Beto O'Rourke and JSngry. While most of Les Baxter's classic exotica albums did not receive decent CD releases - most are sourced from vinyl - lossless downloads are inexpensively available from the master tapes via Qobuz. These albums include: Ritual of the Savage Tamboo Ports of Pleasure Space Escapade African Jazz Jungle Jazz The Sacred Idol Jewels of the Sea The Primitive and the Passionate Soul of the Drums Mark your calendars. See you at the party!

Interesting. For me, Post's arrival marks the end of the classic TV themes era. Perhaps because the composers of his generation lacked the compositional chops of the classic golden- and silver-age composers who preceded them. Here is a partial listing, in no order, of composers of TV themes roughly between Peter Gunn and the arrival of Mike Post: Henry Mancini Pete Rugolo Elmer Bernstein Warren Barker Count Basie George Duning Kenyon Hopkins Nelson Riddle Bernard Herrmann Jerry Goldsmith Dominic Frontiere Alexander Courage John Williams John Barry Lalo Schifrin Ron Grainer Earl Hagen Edwin Astley Laurie Johnson Hugo Montenegro Mort Stevens Dave Grusin Quincy Jones Pat Williams Billy Goldenberg Oliver Nelson

I would argue that the golden age of TV themes runs from roughly Peter Gunn in 1958 to about 1975, when Mike Post took over (and everything went to hell IMO). For example:

The What's My Line YouTube channel purports to have uploaded every existing episode, at least from the initial 17-year run from 1950 to 1967.

My brother-in-law stopped drinking, and he has been looking into non-alcoholic spirits. He says that there are some very good non-alcoholic bourbons out there. I have not tried them. Have you explored any of these, assuming you have any interest in doing so?

Then I can send you some virgin cocktail recipes. It's all about the presentation, as it was with the Quintet.

You're welcome! I seriously believe that they did 78 transfers at 45 rpm, with the idea that they would be corrected later, but it never happened. Under $40. About 100 tracks. If you want some cocktail recipes to go with it, I will share them with you free of charge.

A combination of Amazon Prime and YouTube. Some lost episodes from the first two years have been found in recent years and have made it to YouTube. Not sure if Amazon has picked these up or not.

Yesterday, I was under the weather, and I spent the entire day in bed watching What's My Line. At one point, I wondered if any of the panelists ever correctly guessed the occupation in the pre-question free guess phase. Well, in one episode, Bennett Cerf correctly guessed that a contestant was a slot machine repairman, based only the fact that he was from Nevada.