Teasing the Korean

That's terrific, TTK! They've both been gone for many years. There are so many things I wish I could ask them based on what I know now. One of them is what it was like to work with Raymond Scott. Maybe one day in the next realm....

My parents were in the vocal group on "Your Hit Parade." Imagine my surprise when I recognized my Mom's voice on Scott's "Good Air" jingle collected on the Manhattan Research compilation!

completely agree with that and i think i said it here before. i don't like the american versions of many brasilian albums nor much less those made specifically for the US market. they were made for the american market only, and they don't translate the original songs correctly (they add nasty orchestrations or are oversugared or don't translate the balanco). but it always has to be said that in many cases it was in the brasilian musicians interest to be sucessful in america, after the sergio mendes mould. The American, Verve version of bossa - to say nothing of the Italian, German or French takes - are not "bossa" in a pure sense, but they convey an air of young jet-setting international decadence that the Brasilians could never pull off, at least not until the very late 60s or early 70s, so they are invaluable for that very reason. They are like walking into a 1967 issue of Playboy or French Vogue. The international interpretations of bossa created a new subgenre and a new aesthetic that exists on its own plane. I would never give up any Piero Umiliani, Piero Piccioni, Michel Legrand, MPS or Verve bossa records.

Fifty year EU copyright law. Such is life.

Is that DVD still available? I'm interested if so.

It's a great production but I never liked the Righteous Brothers. I can imagine a similar arrangement with someone like Dusty Springfield singing it. Funny story: Bobby Hatfield was irked that Bill Medley sang the entire first stanza solo, and that Hatfield came in only at the chorus. Hatfield said to Spector, "and what am I supposed to be doing while he's singing?" Spector snapped back, "You can deposit the check."

I had a Rita Reys LP on Epic from the same period. The arrangements were by Tom Dissevelt, most famous for his electronic music. It was a good album, nothing earth-shattering. I sold it on eBay for a lot of money.

How many albums were there? I know of these: Jazz Messengers Drum Suite Hard Bop Paris Concert

Thanks for reminding me of that horrible book, which I've spent years trying to forget about...

I've read differing opinions on the degree to which the Shank/Almeida album influenced bossa. Was the album released in Brazil? Ruy Castro details how Brazilian scenesters were obsessed with Stan Kenton, and considering that Almeida was Brazilian and a Kenton alum, I'm guessing that at least a few in-the-know hipsters must have heard this album. Even if it simply pointed the way to a jazz/Brasil hybrid - and one that would have potential outside of Brasil - it must have fed into the zeitgeist, if nothing else.

A friend of mine is a respected film critic. For one of the rags he wrote for, he assigned a star rating geared towards people who glance only at the rating, and saved the more nuanced review for the narrative. He tended to assign stars based on what your average chain-restaurant, mall-shopping American might tend to go for. His narrative reviews were directed more toward film aficionados.

The saddest thing about all of those great early Jobim tunes is that the English lyrics were written by hacks. In the case of Girl from Ipanema, it was even worse, because the lyrics changed the rhythm of the main melodic phrase. The Portuguese is much more syncopated. The English is directly on the beat. it's always baffled me that so many instrumental versions of the song retain the square English lyric phrasing rather than the more compelling Brasilian phrasing. Whenever I've played the tune, I always play the latter.

Who knew that Downbeat is still around? it's 2012.

Ursula 1000 played a gig I was on about a year ago. I loved his fashion; He looked like he came right out of an early 70s spaghetti western. Amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kg0v0Er8Ak&feature=related

Oh, agree, I've had Arthur and Something Else on vinyl forever. I'm saying I need to get the expanded CDs. On my list!

For a long time, I had the Kinks only on vinyl. In the last year or so, I got the deluxe CD editions of "Face to Face" and "Village Green." The deluxe editions include both mono and stereo mixes, as well as various singles, B-sides and oddities. I need to get "Something Else" and "Arthur."

Notecard with the Peggy Lee Placidyl album: Dear Doctor: For an entertainer, applause is a very personal and immediate sign of appreciation, and so this album is my way of applauding you in the medical profession. It's a special album that we've worked out with Abbott Laboratories, and my great hope is that it will give you pleasure - perhaps at a time when you have a real need for a moment's relaxation. With thanks for all you've done, Peggy Lee * * * * * * * * * * I think that the fictional CTI Peggy Lee album I described earlier would have provided me with the pleasure and relaxation that Peggy Lee wished for her doctors. Full disclosure: I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV.

I hope you guys know about the Peggy Lee Placidyl album, which includes a pre-printed signed notecard thanking doctors for keeping her medicated:

Can't stand those Bob James arrangements. Way too commercial, a precursor to smooth jazz. I imagine a Sebeskey-arranged Peggy Lee album on CTI, circa 1972, with three long tracks on each side, delirious, introspective quasi-soul/psych. Maybe "The World is a Ghetto" could be one of the tracks. I'm also thinking an Edu Lobo tune, maybe "Ponteio," "Crystal Illusion," or "Reza." And if we push it back to 1973, maybe there can be a vocal version of Lonnie Liston Smith's "Rejuvenation," with lyrics by either Leon Thomas, Eugene McDaniels, Gene Lees, or the Bergmans. It would not be a typical Peggy Lee album, but that is the idea.

God, how I miss TV variety shows with amazing sets like this:

Here are two tracks from "A Wilder Alias" by Jackie and Roy. This album is one of the reissues. I have a feeling that folks gloss over this one because they think it will be a typical Jackie and Roy album. Anything but. Also, that's Roy playing the Wurlitzer electric piano. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1jgTPzCMq0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINLBMghPfc

The Miles Davis stamp would have been better with the original cover of Miles Ahead.