INTERVIEW WITH UAN RASEY REGARDING FATS NAVARRO

[Lazaro Vega]

Always loved Rasey's playing on the sound track to "Chinatown."

http://csis.pace.edu/~varden/navarro/UanRaseyInterview.html

[Rooster_Ties]

Speaking of which... $99.99, $129.99, $144.00, $144.95.

Chinatown (Original Soundtrack) at half.com

Ain't no better at Amazon's used marketplace -- $95 to $200 there too (CLICK)

WTF??

Edited April 4, 2006 by Rooster_Ties

[brownie]

VERY interesting!

Many thanks for bringing this to our attention

And...

Happy Birthday, Lazaro

[paul secor]

Interesting interview, not only the Fats Navarro portions, but also the Hasselgard/Goodman story. Thanks for posting it.

[Lazaro Vega]

Wasn't that cool? Man, how could Fats not know he made some of the most beautiful sounds in jazz? His sounds and the balance in his improvisations. Classic.

What's up with the Chinatown soundtrack. Must be out of print.

Brownie, thanks. 46, Bix, on April 30th. Rounding the corner towards 50 gives me pause.....

[marcello]

Speaking of which... $99.99, $129.99, $144.00, $144.95.

Chinatown (Original Soundtrack) at half.com

Ain't no better at Amazon's used marketplace -- $95 to $200 there too (CLICK)

WTF??

Thanks Lazaro; very interesting,

On this new recording, there is a updated version on Chinatown, with John Sneider playing trumpet.

[ghost of miles]

Always loved Rasey's playing on the sound track to "Chinatown."

http://csis.pace.edu/~varden/navarro/UanRaseyInterview.html

I watched CHINATOWN for the first time several years ago...loved it & really liked the score, but didn't think much about it again until recently, when we got trumpeter Till Bronner's OCEANA in at the station. He does the "Chinatown" theme (I'm surprised more people haven't--Terence Blanchard recorded it a few years ago for his JAZZ ON FILM cd), a nice version--it sent me back to the movie, which I've since watched two more times, and my God, Rasey's trumpet solos all but make the atmosphere of that film. Jerry Goldsmith evidently wrote the score in 10 days after another composer's music was rejected. Would like to learn more about Uan Rasey.

Stuart Varden, btw, who did the interveiw w/Rasey, is a great guy. He drove over here from Ohio one day last year & we hung out for an afternoon... I love his Fats site, well worth checking out.

AMG entry on Rasey:

The annals of jazz and popular music have their share of star trumpet players: Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Maynard Ferguson Harry James, Wynton Marsalis, Bunny Berigan, Al Hirt, Doc Severinsen, and Wingy Manone come to mind. But the chances are very good that, ahead of all of these renowned figures, the average music listener may well have heard the music of Uan Rasey. A trumpet virtuoso to equal all rivals, Rasey has played with everyone from Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to the Monkees, and on film scores from An American in Paris to Chinatown. His trumpet can be heard throughout Jerry Goldsmith's score for the latter film, one of the great, classic uses of the solo instrument in the history of cinema. Rasey spent the years 1949 through 1974 working for MGM Studios, and played lead trumpet on movies like An American in Paris and West Side Story. As a recording artist, he's played with the likes of Sinatra, Crosby, Nat "King" Cole, Mel Tormé, Anita O'Day, Doris Day, the Andrews Sisters, Benny Carter, Ray Anthony, Frankie Laine, Louis Prima, Judy Garland, Ella Mae Morse, and the Monkees. Since his retirement from MGM, he continued to participate in commercial recordings. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

EDIT: found an online interview with Rasey & Pete Candoli:

FP: Jumping a head a few years, tell about your work on the film CHINATOWN with the late Jerry Goldsmith. The trumpet solo actually carries the whole score.

UR: There were 40 strings, four pianos, four drummers and one trumpet player. That was it. I had no idea what the picture was about. Arranger Arthur Morton told me to play it sexy but like it’s not good sex! That was his interpretation of it. It was well written, though.

Full interview here.

Edited July 21, 2007 by ghost of miles

[bichos]

just read that uan rasey died today. he was born 21. august 1921. rip!

keep boppin´

marcel

[Quasimado]

Stuart Varden and Fat's daughter arranged a head stone for Fats in Linden NJ a few years ago. If I recall correctly the Rasey interview is on Stuart's page on Fats, which is certainly worth viewing.

Q