Adam Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 I am surprised Kitty Kallen sang with Harry James. I thought they were of different eras. Perhaps he was towards the end of his career when she joined him? My Mum loved "Little Things Mean a Lot" but I am not aware of any of her other recordings. Not a bad voice - in fact I am reminded of her by Karen Carpenter. But not one of what I would call the greats. Jerry - you are right about the symphony orchestras not sounding quite right when they play pop. I have always believed this is because they don't really believe in what they are playing so can hardly be expected to have much feeling for it. Some of the great jazz musicians have made a reasonable stab at the classics however, notably Keith Jarrett, Art Tatum and Winton Marsalis. Benny Goodman also made some excellent classical recordings. Andre Previn started out as a jazz pianist, of course, but was never as highly rated in the jazz world as he later became in the classical world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 hi adam, i have two tracks of kitty kallen with harry james recorded 1944 and 1945 she also sang with artie shaw in 1946 the same time as mel torme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 AAAHHH! Mel Torme. Possibly the most "musical" of all popular singers. Far too tasteful for today's tastes. I saw him in Manchester when, apparently, he suffered a slight heart attack while on stage (or so the next day's papers said). I didn't notice anything! Incidentally, he was a pretty good drummer and gave a drum solo during his act. I am always trying to find an album Torme made with the Marty Paiche Dectet but although there are plenty of his reissues around, that never seems to be one of them! He did a superb version of "Lullaby of Birdland" on that album and the arrangements were very "modern" at the time. In fact, I suspect they are still quite modern sounding now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 13, 2009 Report Share Posted August 13, 2009 i dont mind mel torme i have never bought any of his stuff but what i have is two tracks on a cd with artie shaw cd title"artie and the singers" worth listening to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 heres a good old harry james track"trumpet blues and cantabile" a favorite of mine for many yrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateoflymm Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 heres a good old harry james track"trumpet blues and cantabile"a favorite of mine for many yrs. Now you're talking, matey. I've had that on my Favourites for about 3 years but I have it on LP (part of a boxed set of 3) that we bought in 1968. It was that set that also introduced me this, now a firm favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0Uqdtzztmg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 ah bunny,he died very young im sure he played with tommy dorsey and was the soloist on "east of the sun" with frank sinatra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aview Posted August 19, 2009 Report Share Posted August 19, 2009 One of my top ten tunes is Zager and Evans in the year 2525 from the 60's...very relevant for today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 ...very relevant for today. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aview Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 ...very relevant for today. Why? You will have to listen to the lyrics, you can find it on 'YouTube' most likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateoflymm Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 All gone quiet on the favourite tracks. I was going through my videos and came across this sound only track. I admire this man's guitar playing immensely and I love the tune which takes me back about 5 decades. I told you I have a wide taste in music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 ok kate get thi dancin shoes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 Thanks artie and Kate. Loved the music. But I was just over on the Poetry thread, and if there's someplace in this blog to wed lyrics and music I must go with Roger Whittaker's The Last Farewell. I can never get enough of listening to those two songs. My brilliant son, Paul, could play Dizzy Fingers on the piano -- a show off. My dad played guitar. Talent tends to skip a generation IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 heres another classic jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Indeed -- it's labeled 'blues' but I'd call it rhythm or even boogie. I never heard of that gifted piano player but I'm familiar with the BLUEBIRD label from my aunt's collections. One of my favorite true blues is (I think) W.C. Handy's AUNT HAGAR'S BLUES by Louis Armstrong. I'm going to search You Tube for it. I wore out my vinyl recording of it. By the way, many years ago I happened to see a film bio on W.C. Handy with Nat King Cole as Handy and Eartha Kitt as his St. Louis woman. Fine bio pic. Handy has an Aunt Hagar in that film so I'm just assuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Well, Armstrong's version was listed, but I couldn't download. Here's a cleaned up smooth version by Paul Whiteman with Jack Teagarden on trombone. I played trombone, but I think Armstrong's trumpet sounded better. This feels overproduced seeking wider popularity, less authentic IMHO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LS_XLa9zwk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateoflymm Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Some great stuff here, Artie and Jerry. I haven't had the chance to peruse the videos until now but it was worth waiting for. I think the same as you, Jerry, on the Teagarden version. I've never liked much anything Paul Whiteman did, it was too contrived. He did, however, get George Gershwin to write and perform this with him. One of my favourite pieces of music ever and takes me back to early childhood (dad playing it on the piano); I love this recording and how the heck did Bernstein manage to play and conduct simultaneously? It's a bit long but worth playing even if you don't play it all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQPDG-T7BVM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Thanks for the Leonard Bernstein visuals on the Rhapsody -- I especially enjoyed the trombonists. In a talk about some famous piece of music analysts played several philharmonic versions of the same piece and Bernstein's always took the most time. I think it's to allow the listeners to appreciate all notes. I went ahead and played the second part, leisurely hearing all of it. So your dad played the ivories -- did you inherit -- or did it skip a generation in your family, as it did with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateoflymm Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Oh Jerry, if only my mum had been stricter! Dad studied piano for 8 years but then took up the drums and played semi-pro in dance bands for about 15 years. Mum studied piano for 15 years, made to do it by her father, and had a wonderful "touch". I did it for 2 years then gave up - my mum refused to make me do it because she had hated being forced into it. I have regretted it ever since, I can play a little but I'm not very good, but I did sing. I was involved in Operatic (mezzo soprano), Jazz and Folk music for many years but only as an amateur. My son has followed the family musical trait, playing guitar; he can rival Chet Atkins but he mostly plays hard rock, semi-pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 And he might have gotten a larger dose of talent due to the skip a generation gene theory! Glad to hear about your family. Music makes the world go round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateoflymm Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 And he might have gotten a larger dose of talent due to the skip a generation gene theory! Glad to hear about your family. Music makes the world go round. Hey, Jerry, I may have been only amateur (due to a husband and 3 children) but I wasn't bad. I can play a bit of ukulele too - mainly because I adore George Formby. The next generation's also doing all right. Grandson plays guitar and granddaughter's learning clarinet. I have her earmarked for the first female successor to Benny Goodman, I think she's the only 10 year old in the area who knows who he was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 i have a grandson aged 6 and on tuesday he noticed my trombone in the spare wardrobe so i showed him what it was. it belonged to the chap who taught me when i was 10--11 yrs old i only came good at about 13 in the local brass band where i played 2nd cornet then went onto trombone which is a lovely instrument this must be about 50 yrs old its a boosey/hawks i said he could have it when he is 12 cos i wont be blowing then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Yeah, you'll lose your lip. My instrument was a Lyons - shiny yellow brass and the mouthpiece was shaped like a V. My competitors in band had a mouthpiece shaped like a bowl, and I wondered if that gave them an advantage because they sure played better than I did. The nickname for trombones at that time was 'slush pump', I never saw Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, or Jack Teagarden with a V mouthpiece. (I'm just joshin' -- it ain't the mouthpiece, it's the guy with the lip) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tonymailman Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 'I'm a million' by the Runaways takes some beating class ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artie Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 found these tracks last week if the older buffs are interested i think there are 12 episodes but wellworth listening to. i bet you like these kate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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