The Black Billy Boys – Authentic New Zealand Ballads by Les Cleveland & Joe Charles (1959)

This collection of New Zealand ballads was originally a book.

An entertaining collection of of ballads in the old time style which will appeal to anyone with an interest in New Zealand folklore.

These old ballads ware collected by Joe Charles:

Joe Charles (1916-1991) was a farmer born in Otago, who in 1958 was working in the Glentunnel district of Central Canterbury. Charles had begun writing ballads about local stories and characters several years previously “as a hobby” (Anon 1959c).8 He shared these among a small group offamily and friends, also having a selection printed in a small booklet.(Michael Brown)

His musical partner was Les Cleveland:

Les Cleveland was a New Zealand photographer, vocalist, journalist, author, song collector and historian. Born Adelaide, Australia 1921, died Wellington NZ, 2014.

Cleveland began setting the ballads to music and presented the results to Charles in late 1958
(Anon 1959a). They developed a good friendship and Cleveland encouraged Charles to find more local material for ballads and mentioned certain Canterbury stories he himself had heard.Charles subsequently did some informal research, even tape-recording informants about swaggers, legends and other local history. This process produced several new pieces, including ‘The Ballad of Crooked-Neck Stanley’ and ‘Around the Coleridge Run’. Charles also collected verse, including two poems (‘Snowed In’ and ‘The Sardine Box’) from the owners of Castle Hill Station.

I

n March 1959 Cleveland presented a series of three radio programmes entitled New Zealand
Ballads which included the Charles-Cleveland songs. Several months later he recorded an EP,
Authentic New Zealand Ballads, for the Tanza label, with group backing by ‘The Black Billy Boys’.
These radio programmes and the EP were Cleveland’s first major New Zealand folksong project. (Michael Brown)

And here you now have the opportunity to listen to these old songs from a long forgotten time.
Enjoy it !

Personnel:
Joe Charles (guitar)
Les Cleveland (vocals)
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some unknown studio musicians

Tracklist:
01. McKenzie And His Dog 2.24
02. Around The Coleridge Run 4.43
03. The Phosphate Flyers 2.31
04. Billy Black Tea 1.52

All songs written by Joe Charles & Les Cleveland based on old tradtionals from New Zealand

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The book edition:

Billy Boy: These boys made tea at break times for the workers, this involved lighting a fire and boiling the water in billy cans. Typically working on building sites, blacksmiths and railway yards in cities. In rural areas billy boys also worked with stockmen.
In this picture, the billy boy is hard at work preparing elevenses, an afternoon tea style snack for the tradesmen on the site where he works, August 1937. Source:Herald Sun, Australia (facebook)

Joe Wilder Quartet – Jazz From Peter Gunn (1959)

Joseph Benjamin Wilder (February 22, 1922 – May 9, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.

Wilder was awarded the Temple University Jazz Master’s Hall of Fame Award in 2006. The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award for 2008.

Wilder was born into a musical family led by his father Curtis, a bassist and bandleader in Philadelphia. Wilder’s first performances took place on the radio program “Parisian Tailor’s Colored Kiddies of the Air”. He and the other young musicians were backed up by such illustrious bands as Duke Ellington’s and Louis Armstrong’s that were also then playing at the Lincoln Theater. Wilder studied at the Mastbaum School of Music in Philadelphia, but turned to jazz when he felt that there was little future for an African-American classical musician. At the age of 19, Wilder joined his first touring big band, Les Hite’s band.

Wilder was one of the first thousand African Americans to serve in the Marines during World War II. He worked first in Special Weapons and eventually became Assistant Bandmaster at the headquarters’ band. Following the war during the 1940s and early 1950s, he played in the orchestras of Jimmie Lunceford, Herbie Fields, Sam Donahue, Lucky Millinder, Noble Sissle, Dizzy Gillespie, and finally with the Count Basie Orchestra. From 1957 to 1974, Wilder did studio work for ABC-TV, New York City, and in the pit orchestras for Broadway musicals, while building his reputation as a soloist with his albums for Savoy (1956) and Columbia (1959). His Jazz from Peter Gunn (1959), features ten songs from Henry Mancini (“Peter Gunn”) television score in melodic and swinging fashion with a quartet.

He was also a regular sideman with such musicians as NEA Jazz Masters Hank Jones, Gil Evans, and Benny Goodman. He became a favorite with vocalists and played for Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Johnny Mathis, Harry Belafonte, Eileen Farrell, Tony Bennett, and many others. Wilder earned a bachelor of music degree in 1953, studying classical trumpet at the Manhattan School of Music with Joseph Alessi, where he was also principal trumpet with the school’s symphony orchestra under conductor Jonel Perlea. In the 1960s, he performed on several occasions with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz and Pierre Boulez and played lead for the Symphony Of The New World from 1965 to 1971.

He appeared on The Cosby Show episode “Play It Again, Russell” (1986), and played the trumpet in the Malcolm X Orchestra in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” (1992). Since 1991 he returned as a leader and recorded three albums for Evening Star. He died on May 9, 2014, in New York City, of congestive heart failure. (wikipedia)

Trumpeter Joe Wilder only recorded three albums as a leader prior to the 1990s, all from the 1956-59 period. Although this particular LP, which consists of ten Henry Mancini themes used in the television series Peter Gunn, may not seem to have much potential, the music is on a higher level than one might expect. The lyrical trumpeter, who always had a beautiful tone, performs with a top-notch trio (pianist Hank Jones, bassist Milt Hinton and drummer John Cresci) and comes up with plenty of refreshing melodic ideas. Basically anything recorded by Joe Wilder is tasteful, swinging and well worth hearing, including this rare album. (by Scott Yanow)

Recorded January 18, 1959, New York City

Personnel:
John Cresci Jr. (drums)
Milt Hinton (bass)
Hank Jones (piano)
Joe Wilder (trumpet)

Tracklist:
01. Not From Dixie 4.11
02. A Quiet Gass 3.19
03. Brief And Breezy 3.54
04. Joanna 3.12
05. The Floater 1.11
06. A Profound Gass 2.42
07. Slow And Easy 6.02
08. Brothers Go To Mothers 3.59
09. Fallout 6.17
B5 Blues For Mothers 4.40

Music: Henry Mancini

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“In our show it’s the beat—the same thing that made jazz from Dixieland to Dorsey exciting,”’  says Henry (Hank) Mancini, creator of the pulsating music for television’s most popular new
“whodunit,” Peter Gunn.

But there’s more than a beat to the music for this urbane and witty series of private eye comedy- dramas. Mancini’s original themes, many of them leaning gracefully on a blues base, are the stuff of jazz—whether played by a big band or by a small combo such as the one led by Joe Wilder on this record.

Mancini, with several years of dance-band arranging experience as well as many major film scores to his credit, has composed dozens of sketches, fragments and full-blown short compositions for the Peter Gunn shows. Ten of the best of the musical miniatures are
included on this record. All of them, although composed as program music, lend themselves remarkably well to the kind of warm, swinging treatment offered by Wilder and his men.

The most refreshing thing that one becomes aware of while listening to Joe Wilder is that this
is a musician with the rare ability to be both modern and uncomplicated at the same time—a seeming contradiction in terms in an era in which hyper-tension and introversion have become accepted as characteristics of contemporary music, both “classical” and jazz.

With refreshing clarity, we understand that Wilder has the happy faculty of playing with a sensitivity that is as vigorous as it is meaningful. He communicates with directness, spontaneity and a virile delicacy unique in jazz to-day. Further, Joe Wilder is blessed with impeccable taste, penetrating intelligence and the most beautiful horn tone since the
great Joe Smith blew his heavenly sounds in Fletcher Henderson’s band. A prominent British critic recently summed up this impres- sive brace of qualities by naming Wilder ‘one of the very few completely fresh and original trumpet stylists to emerge with modern
1022.

The son of a musician, Joseph Benjamin Wilder was born in Colwyn, Pennsylvania, on
February 22, 1922. Educated in Philadelphia, Joe joined Les Hite’s band in 1941, working with another, somewhat frantic trumpeter named Gillespie. Then, during 1942 and 19438, he was part of the violently swinging band led by Lionel Hampton. That tour of duty was interrupted by the draftboard and for the next two years Joe played trumpet for the United States Marines, from which he graduated with the title of “As- sistant Bandmaster’’—with rank to match.

Immediately afterward, he returned to the din of Hampton’s brass section, moving on from
there to Jimmie Lunceford’s last crew and then for shoyt periods, he served with Lucky Maillinder, Sam Donahue, Herbie Fields and Count Basie, making a European tour with the latter in 1954.

After this jazzman’s basic training, Joe settled in New York.
For three years, he played in the pit orchestra of the Broadway hit Guys and Dolls — studying for his B.A. degree at the same time at the Manhattan School of Music.

For the past few years, Joe Wilder has been working steadily in New York, as a staff member of a network TV orchestra, in symphony orchestras and on hun-dreds of recordings. His superb technique and extraordinary adaptability have made him one of the most sought-after musicians in New York—so much in demand that—until Columbia Records signed him early in 1959, his jazz appearances were becoming re- gretably rare.

Joined by three recording studio cohorts—Milt Hinton, Hank Jones and Johnny Cresci — who
just happen to be three of the bus- iest and best jazzmen around, Joetook on this first Columbia assignment with a maximum of enthusiasm. Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn music was perfect for the kind of free-wheeling date that Joe has been waiting to do. There were blues to blow and Basie-like riff patterns to swing, and some lovely little melodies to make even prettier.

Joe’s arrangements are clean and spare — managing to convey much of Mancini’s original intentions, but leaving ample room for extended solos. Joe himself takes on most of the solo work and whether displaying his gorgeous open horn tone or working with mutes, he is always clearly and cleanly Joe Wilder —a distinct and happy new sound on the jazz scene. (taken from the original liner notes)

Obituary:

Joe Wilder, a trumpeter of understated lyricism and breathtaking range, who toured with some of the biggest names in jazz, helped integrate Broadway pit orchestras and enjoyed a late-career renaissance as a rediscovered master, died May 9 at a rehabilitation facility in New York City. He was 92.

He had congestive heart failure, said a daughter, Elin Wilder-Melcher.

Mr. Wilder performed with such jazz giants as Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Billie Holiday and Dizzy Gillespie, but he seemed to spend much of his career standing just outside the spotlight.

“Of all the living legends of jazz certified by the National Endowment for the Arts,” critic Will Friedwald wrote when Mr. Wilder was named a 2008 NEA jazz master, “Joe Wilder is at once among the least known to the general public . . . and the most prized by musicians, especially his fellow trumpeters.”

Although he recorded only a handful of albums as a leader, Mr. Wilder appeared on hundreds of others as a sideman and was known for his versatility, sensitivity and musical elegance.

He performed classical music, was among the first African Americans to play in Broadway pit orchestras and was a member of the ABC network’s musical staff for 17 years, including a long stint in the house band for Dick Cavett’s late-night talk show.

But he was at his best as a stylish master of mid-century swing and big-band jazz. He toured the segregated South with bandleader Lionel Hampton before World War II and, in the early 1960s, visited the Soviet Union with Benny Goodman’s group on a trip sponsored by the State Department. In February, days before his 92nd birthday, Mr. Wilder was honored at New York’s Lincoln Center.

“Joe Wilder’s trumpet sound remains one of the glories of American music,” jazz scholar Ed Berger, the author of a recent biography of Mr. Wilder, wrote in JazzTimes magazine in 2001.

Mr. Wilder was adept at virtually every style of music. At the same time he was performing in the Count Basie Orchestra, he was studying classical technique at the Manhattan School of Music, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1953. He performed with symphony orchestras, and composer Alec Wilder — no relation — once wrote a classical piece for him.

In 1956, Mr. Wilder released a well-received album, “Wilder ‘n’ Wilder,” showcasing his bright, fluid tone and his relaxed but polished approach. His 1959 recording, “The Pretty Sound of Joe Wilder,” has become something of a cult classic among musicians.

By then, however, Mr. Wilder had retreated to the relative anonymity of studio work at ABC, where he was a staff musician from 1957 to 1974. He played for countless TV shows and commercials and, for 22 consecutive years, was a member of the orchestra at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.

He was nearing 70 when he began to gain belated recognition from musicians and aficionados for his graceful sound.

“His solos are immaculately designed,” jazz critic Whitney Balliett wrote in the New Yorker in 1986. “He issues a river of sound guided languidly by the notes of the melody and by discreet bends and turns of his own. He makes the song gleam.”

Joseph Benjamin Wilder was born Feb. 22, 1922, in Colwyn, Pa. His father, a bass player and bandleader in Philadelphia, encouraged his son’s early interest in music.

Before he had reached his teens, Mr. Wilder appeared on a weekly radio program in Philadelphia that featured precocious black musicians accompanied by the bands of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, among others.

Mr. Wilder was among the first wave of African Americans to enter the Marine Corps during World War II. One of the officers at his base, pianist and composer Bobby Troup, who wrote “Route 66,” helped arrange for Mr. Wilder to transfer from the infantry to a musical unit.

In the early 1950s, Mr. Wilder integrated a Broadway pit orchestra of Cole Porter’s “Silk Stockings” only after receiving personal approval from the songwriter himself.

“Can he play my music?” was the only question Porter asked.

“This was the first time an African American musician was hired to play a principal chair with a Broadway show,” Mr. Wilder said in a 2007 interview with the International Trumpet Guild Journal.

In later years, Mr. Wilder often performed with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and the Statesmen of Jazz, a touring group of veteran musicians. He made his debut as a bandleader at New York’s venerable Village Vanguard jazz club when he was 83. He continued to perform until 2012.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Solveig Wilder, and their three daughters, Elin Wilder-Melcher, Solveig Wilder and Inga Wilder, all of New York; a son from an earlier marriage, Joseph Wilder of Charlotte; and six grandchildren.

Mr. Wilder did not smoke, drink or curse. In the jazz world, which has had more than a few shady characters, he was known for his steadfast sense of honor.

“Joe Wilder,” trumpeter Warren Vache said, “is the only guy in the music business I would ask to hold my wallet.” (by Matt Schudel)

Billy Byrd – I Love A Guitar (1959)

William Lewis Byrd (17 February 1920 – 7 August 2001) was an American country lead guitarist (with some jazz leanings) and studio musician who performed with Ernest Tubb, the Oak Ridge Quartet, Tex Ritter, George Hamilton IV, Jimmy Dickens and others. He helped to popularize the role of the electric lead guitarist in country music and, with fellow guitarist Hank Garland, was responsible for input into the design of the Gibson Byrdland guitar, named after parts of the names of both players.

Byrd was born in Nashville, Tennessee and learned to play the guitar at 10 and appeared on radio playing with local bands whilst still in his teens. At the age of 18 he joined the house band at Nashville’s WSM Grand Ole Opry and then worked with Herold Goodman and the Tennessee Valley Boys and Wally Fowler and his Georgia Clodhoppers before and after serving in World War II. In 1949 he commenced his most important association, that with Ernest Tubb as lead guitarist with the latter’s Texas Troubadours, a position he occupied until 1959, followed by a second stint between 1969 and 1973, when he effectively retired from the music business.

A self-taught guitarist influenced by jazz players such as Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, he tutored a number of well-known Nashville session players including Hank Garland and Harold Bradley. With Tubb’s band he favored simpler lead lines which can be heard on Tubb hits such as “Jealous Loving Heart,” “Two Glasses Joe” and “Answer the Phone.” Another side of his lasting legacy is the instrument that bears his name, the Gibson Byrdland thinline electric archtop guitar, developed with input from Byrd and fellow country/jazz guitarist Garland, which was in initial production from 1955 through 1969, and subsequently revived for limited runs several times later.

Taking a break from life on the road with Tubb, Byrd recorded several solo instrumental albums between 1959 and 1964 before returning to Tubb’s band for a second stint in 1969 until retiring from life as a professional musician in 1973 to run a taxi company in Nashville. He from natural causes still in his home town of Nashville on August 7, 2001.

Byrd was one of the earliest and most widely known featured lead electric guitar players with a popular country outfit (other than the steel guitar players with western swing bands) and as such was influential in establishing this role in Nashville style country music. Although little of his jazz chops was on display in his featured lead breaks with Ernest Tubb, according to other Nashville players in his day he was considered the “best pop jazz player in town” and Harold Bradley (speaking for himself and Hank Garland) is quoted as saying: “Without him coming along and showing us that jazz stuff, we never would have been able to do what we did.” In an essay on pedal steel great Buddy Emmons, who joined Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours for a stint in 1958-1959, author Steve Fishell notes: “the Texas Troubadours – considered one of the top bands in country music – proved to be a perfect vehicle for jazzy swing instrumental ideas and arrangements. The band routinely sang and played at dances for two hours before Tubb was introduced, with Buddy and lead guitarist Billy Byrd leading the charge.”

Some examples of Byrd’s playing on his lead breaks are analysed by Sam Smiley on his instructional website at the page labelled “Billy Byrd Intro Solos”.

The Gibson Byrdland:

Byrd initially favoured Gibson archtop guitars and by the late 1940s was playing a Gibson L-7C. In 1949 he was on the waiting list for a new solid-body electric guitar from noted guitar maker Paul Bigsby and was informed that a novel, double-cutaway instrument initially constructed for guitarist Jimmy Bryant had become available since Bryant had entered an endorsement deal with Leo Fender and would no longer be taking it. This instrument, modified to prominently display Byrd’s name instead of Bryant’s, was then sold to Billy and became his featured instrument on recordings and film clips up until he took delivery of his own Byrdland guitar in 1955 (see below). This guitar was sold in the late 1950s to a Tulsa guitarist named Dick Ganders, and subsequently into a private collection on the U.S. East Coast, and is extensively documented in the section entitled “Jimmy Bryant / Billy Byrd Bigsby solid-body electric guitar #10749” on “The Bigsby Files” website.

From 1955 onwards, Byrd was associated extensively with the Gibson guitar named after himself and Hank Garland, the Byrdland, a thinline, electric, single cutaway archtop with a shortened scale that presaged Gibson’s popular Gibson ES-335 thinline series by several years. Byrd is believed to have received instrument #1, while Garland received #2 and subsequently also #3 which was supplied in a custom cherry sunburst finish. Later, Gibson also produced what was apparently a special order double cutaway version of the Byrdland for Billy’s use, reverting to a standard scale length, which can be seen on the cover of 1964’s “The Golden Guitar of Billy Byrd” and was later on loan to, and displayed at, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. In his later years he was also pictured at home playing a late-1960s Standel guitar which he claimed was his favorite. (wikipedia)

And here´s his first soloalbum:

Although Billy has been playing it pretty for many years before he joined the popular Ernest Tubb troupe of performers, it was Ernest who gave Billy the tag line that’s followed him everywhere: “Play it pretty Byrd.” Before joining Tubb’s troupe Billy had gained a world of experience in different fields, working the raucous Hadacol shows, delivering fine guitar back-grounds for such vocalists as Burl Ives, and playing with such dance bands as Francis Craig’s. Then came July, 1949, when Billy met Ernest Tubb.

“Actuall,” says Billy, “Ernest’s never hired me. I’ve been ‘out of work’ since 1949, when I first approached Ernest for a job. I knew he needed a guitar player, so I asked for an audition. I made the appointment, then hurried home to learn all of Ernest’s records. Well, I got the job, but it was pretty funny. That night we played WSW’s “Grand Ole Opry.” I’d had to borrow a western outfit from several guys and nothing fit. Ernest would call out one number and I’d start another. We finally made it together, though, and we’ve been together ever since. In spite of that shaky beginning, things’ve worked out real fine.” (taken from the original liner notes)

The EP:
Ernest Tubb’s “ace guitar player,” Billy Byrd, gets a chance to show his stuff in this disk debut. Set is a spinnable one with stereo contributing a great deal in showing up the fine points of Byrd’s talents. Tunes include “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I Love You So Much It Hurts,” “Trouble In Mind,” “Half As Much,” and a fine arrangement of “Walking The Floor Over You.” (Billboard – September 14, 1959)

The first solo album by one of the most celebrated country guitarists this side of Merle Travis and Chet Atkins. Beautiful playing on a wide range of material. (by Bruce Eder)

It is really fascinating to hear how Byrd combines country and jazz music.

Personnel:
Billy Byrd (guitar)
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a bunch of unknown studio musicians

Tracklist:
01. Slipping Around (Tillman) 2.08
02. Your Cheatin’ Heart (Williams) 2.16
03. Any Time (Lawson) 2.30
04. I Love You So Much It Hurts (Tillman) 2.18
05. Trouble In Mind (Jones) 2.05
06. Byrdland Guitar (Byrd/Garland) 2.06
07. Candy Kisses (Morgan) 2.27
08. A Fallen Star (Joiner) 2.31
09. Just A Little Lovin’ (Will Go A Long Way) (Clements/Arnold) 2.43
10. Hey, Good Lookin’ (Williams) 2.22
11. Half As Much (Williams) 2.27
12. Walking The Floor Over You (Tubb) 2.00

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The Kingston Trio – …From The Hungry i (1959)

The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds. It rose to international popularity fueled by unprecedented sales of LP records and helped alter the direction of popular music in the U.S.

The Kingston Trio was one of the most prominent groups of the era’s folk-pop boom, which they kick-started in 1958 with the release of the Trio’s eponymous first album and its hit recording of “Tom Dooley”, which became a number one hit and sold over three million copies as a single.

The Kingston Trio’s original lineup:
Dave Guard, Bob Shane and Nick Reynolds (spring 1957):

The Trio released nineteen albums that made Billboard’s Top 100, fourteen of which ranked in the top 10, and five of which hit the number 1 spot. Four of the group’s LPs charted among the 10 top-selling albums for five weeks in November and December 1959, a record unmatched for more than 50 years, and the group still ranks in the all-time lists of many of Billboard’s cumulative charts, including those for most weeks with a number 1 album, most total weeks charting an album, most number 1 albums, most consecutive number 1 albums, and most top ten albums.

In 1961, the Trio was described as “the most envied, the most imitated, and the most successful singing group, folk or otherwise, in all show business” and “the undisputed kings of the folksinging rage by every yardstick”.[6] The Trio’s massive record sales in its early days made acoustic folk music commercially viable, paving the way for singer-songwriter, folk rock, and Americana artists who followed in their wake.

The Kingston Trio continues to tour as of 2023 with musicians who licensed the name and trademark in 2017. (wikipedia)

n the history of popular music, there are a relative handful of performers who have redefined the content of the music at critical points in history: people whose music left the landscape and the definition of popular music altered completely. The Kingston Trio were one such group, transforming folk music into a hot commodity and creating a demand — where none had existed before — for young men (sometimes with women) strumming acoustic guitars and banjos and singing folk songs and folk-like novelty songs in harmony. On a purely commercial level, from 1957 until 1963, the Kingston Trio were the most vital and popular folk group in the world, and folk music was sufficiently popular as to make that a significant statement.

Equally important, the original trio — Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane — in tandem with other, similar early acts such as the Limeliters, spearheaded a boom in the popularity of folk music that suddenly made the latter important to millions of listeners who’d previously ignored it. The group’s success and influence transcended its actual sales. Without the enviable record of popularity and sales that they built up for folk music, it is unlikely that Columbia Records would ever have had any impetus to allow John Hammond to sign an unknown singer/guitarist named Bob Dylan, or to put Weavers co-founder Pete Seeger under contract, or for Warner Bros. to record the Greenwich Village-based trio Peter, Paul and Mary. (by Bruce Eder)

…from the “Hungry i” is the Kingston Trio’s first live album, released in 1959. It was recorded in 1958 at the San Francisco club hungry i shortly after the release of their debut album The Kingston Trio. It was awarded an RIAA gold album on October 24, 1960, and presented to the group in 1961.

What producer Voyle Gilmore heard when he first saw the Kingston Trio at The Purple Onion in 1958 persuaded him to sign the group to Capitol Records. …from the “Hungry i” was released in order to expose the record buying public to what live audiences experienced at a Trio performance. This appeal was successfully conveyed with this live album, indicated by its number 2 chart position and receiving a gold album award. The Trio was a carefully rehearsed act, the jokes and introductions to songs planned, delivered and also graded by their manager Frank Werber. Gilmore recorded two nights of the group’s twenty-seven-day engagement at the club.

In 1964, the hungry i would also be the location for the recording of the final album for Capitol (Back in Town) by the John Stewart Trio. (wikipedia)

Like the Weavers before them, the Kingston Trio set the pace for the folk revival of the late ’50s and early ’60s. Bands like the Highwaymen, the New Christy Minstrels, and Peter, Paul & Mary were inspired by the group’s complex harmony, song choices, and general sunny disposition. The Kingston Trio, the band’s first studio effort, unleashed the smash hit “Tom Dooley” upon an unsuspecting world. The record garnered a Grammy, sold six million copies, and stayed on the charts for almost four years. To put it plainly, Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane created quite a stir. Together, these three young men sang pleasant harmony to reinterpret folk classics like “Hard, Ain’t It Hard,” “Sloop John B.,” and “Little Maggie.”

They also had an affinity for Mexican folk songs like “Banua” and “Santo Anno.” The second LP, …From the “Hungry I,” captures the band live, singing vibrant versions of “Tic, Tic” and “They Call the Wind Maria.” Because of the acoustic arrangements and professionalism of the band, this live performance easily matches the quality of the group’s studio work. The difference lies in the humorous introductions, interaction with the audience, and enthusiastic applause. …From the “Hungry I” and The Kingston Trio make good companions, especially since their original running lengths were between 30 and 35 minutes. With the four bonus tracks, the album runs 73 minutes. So whether one wishes to take a nostalgic trip back in time, or wishes to know what caused such a big fuss way back in 1958, The Kingston Trio/…From the “Hungry I” is a bargain ticket. (by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.)

Personnel:
Dave Guard (vocals, banjo, guitar)
Nick Reynolds (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Bob Shane (vocals, guitar)
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David “Buck” Wheat (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Introduction + Tic Tic Tic (DeLeon/Raye) 2.03
02. Anouncement 0.30
03. Gue Gue (Traditional) 2.08
04. Anouncement 0.46
05. Dorie (Traditional) 1,48
06. Anouncement 0.33
07. South Coast (Dehr/Eskin/Miller/Ross 3.38
08. Anouncement 0.41
09. Zombie Jamboree (Mauge Jr.) 2.17
10. Anouncement 0.49
11. Wimoweh (Campbell/Linda) 1.30
12. Anouncement 0.08
13. New York Girls (Ives) 2.24
14. They Call The Wind Mariah (Lerner/Loewe) 4.32
15. Anouncement 0.16
16. The Merry Minuet (Harnick) 1.51
17. Anouncement 0.38
18. Shady Grove (Guard/Reynolds/Shane) / Lonesome Traveller (Hays) 2.32
19. Anouncement 1.14
20. When The Saints Go Marching In (Traditional) 2.18

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The hungry i was a nightclub in San Francisco, California, originally located in the North Beach neighborhood. It played a major role in the history of stand-up comedy in the United States.

It was launched by Eric “Big Daddy” Nord, who sold it to Enrico Banducci in 1951. The club moved to Ghirardelli Square in 1967 and operated mostly as a rock music venue until it closed in 1970.

The name of the nightclub was reused later as a strip club in San Francisco, from the late 1960s until 2019.

The official website:

Gil Evans Orchestra – Great Jazz Standards (1959)

Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role in the development of cool jazz, modal jazz, free jazz, and jazz fusion. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with Miles Davis. (wikipedia)

A superb jazz arranger and bandleader, Gil Evans rivaled Ellington and Mingus in his ability to provide imaginative frameworks for individual voices within a large orchestra. He wrote elaborate, intricate arrangements that didn’t weaken or threaten his band’s spontaneity. His most renowned work came in the late ’50s, when Miles Davis signed with Columbia and brought Evans into the studio with a large ensemble. The resultant albums — Miles Ahead (1957), Porgy and Bess (1958), Sketches of Spain (1959) — became milestones in the careers of both men. Evans was hardly a purist; he began using electronics in his bands in the ’70s and scandalized some by recording Jimi Hendrix material. His style got looser in later years, with more space and less precision, but certainly his music remained compelling. Evans’ harmonic language, compositional and arranging skill were immense, and he was responsible for many masterpieces through either his arrangements, compositions, or conducting.

A self-taught musician, Evans led his own group in California during the mid and late ’30s. He remained its arrranger after Skinnay Ennis became bandleader, until he joined Claude Thornhill’s orchestra in 1941 as an arranger. His arrangements of classical bebop compositions helped shape and make Thornhill’s orchestra a topflight band. He stayed until 1948, except for a stretch in the service during the mid-’40s. Evans first worked with Miles Davis in the late ’40s and early ’50s, creating the same magic, but with a smaller combo. He also wrote songs for Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, and Benny Goodman, while conducting albums for Astrud Gilberto and Kenny Burrell.

Evans generated more fireworks later in the ’50s and ’60s with Davis, writing spectacular arrangements for the albums Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess, and Sketches of Spain (later came Quiet Nights). Evans also played piano on some sessions. These, and his 1958 album New Bottle Old Wine remain landmark works. His own intriguing releases in the ’60s included Out of the Cool, Into the Hot, and The Individualism of Gil Evans.

Evans did more writing in the ’70s, penning such works as “Las Vegas Tango,” “Proclamation” and “Anita’s Dance.” He issued more fine albums, such as 1974’s The Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix and 1983’s Priestess.

He continued writing, arranging and recording in the ’80s, and for a lengthy period his band was the featured attraction at Sweet Basil’s in New York on Monday nights. Evans recorded for Enja, Mole, and other labels in the ’80s. His 75th birthday concert was held in London in 1987; he died the next year. (by Ron Wynn)

Great Jazz Standards is a jazz album by Gil Evans. It was recorded in New York City at the beginning of 1959 and on 5 February 1959 and released by Pacific Jazz.

After New Bottle, Old Wine – The Great Jazz Composers, Great Jazz Standards was another album by bandleader, arranger, composer and pianist Gil Evans, featuring his arrangements of well-known jazz standards. The sessions took place after a two-week engagement of the Evans Orchestra at the Birdland jazz club in New York. Evans had written arrangements of well-known compositions by Bix Beiderbecke, Thelonious Monk, Don Redman, John Lewis and Clifford Brown. For the production, Evans enlisted some new musicians, such as Elvin Jones and Budd Johnson; other musicians such as Steve Lacy, Johnny Coles, Bill Barber, Jimmy Cleveland, Louis Mucci, and Al Block had worked on previous Evans productions.

Stephanie Stein Crease points out that “this album, like New Bottle, Old Wine, is characterised by a strong rhythmic drive not often associated with Evans’ work, contributed here on most tracks by Elvin Jones.” The album’s first track is Davenport Blues.

The opening track Davenport Blues highlights trumpeter Johnny Coles; the deep voicings of the brass recall Evans’ collaboration with Miles Davis on Porgy and Bess. Evans opens Straight No Chaser with an introduction whose syncopations and repetitions recall the piece’s composer, Thelonious Monk. Soloists are Coles, Lacy and Curtis Fuller. The pianist begins the ballad Ballad of the Sad Young Men with a blues motif; the soloist in the spiritual-influenced track is trombonist Jimmy Cleveland. The short bop-oriented Joy Spring is followed by the John Lewis classic Django; Gil Evans plays it on piano as a reminiscence of the playing of Lewis and Milt Jackson in the Modern Jazz Quartet in dialogue with Steve Lacy. Another duet by Johnny Coles and Lacy leads into the chorale-like repetition of the opening. Chant of the Weed opens with Budd Johnson’s clarinet; the rest of the track alternates between the characteristics of the Don Redman original and Budd Johnson’s clarinet playing. The final track Theme – the original version of La Nevada, which Evans re-recorded on Out of the Cool in 1960 – begins with a riff figure played by Evans and accompanied by Elvin Jones. Budd Johnson’s solo on tenor saxophone is based on the theme. Another blues-influenced solo is by guitarist Ray Crawford; this is followed by Elvin Jones’ drumming with polyrhythmic figures. The theme returns with the final ensemble playing.

Evans had worked out the heavily improvisational La Nevada with his band live at Birdland. This was one of the tracks that would remain in the band repertoire for a long time, serving as a vehicle for the soloists’ improvisations and ensemble playing. The arrangement of this modal theme included some orchestral passages and riffs that Gil Evans introduced with his piano playing “to lead the soloist to forge the musical drama. This kind of arrangement – involving sensitised participation by all the musicians, not just the momentary soloist – became increasingly common in Gil [Evans’] work.” The piece later became the signature theme of his big band; it was recorded far more extensively on the follow-up album Out of the Cool. (wikipedia)

A follow-up to New Bottle, Old Wine, this Gil Evans set has colorful arrangements of five jazz standards plus “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” and Evans’ “Theme.” Using a band consisting of three trumpets, three trombones, a French horn, Bill Barber’s tuba, soprano-saxophonist Steve Lacy (the first important post-swing player on his instrument), tenor saxophonist Budd Johnson (on half of the program), and a four-piece rhythm section (including the leader’s piano), Evans contributes some very memorable written ensemble passages, most notably on “Straight No Chaser.” In addition to Lacy and Johnson, the main soloists are trumpeter Johnny Coles, trombonists Curtis Fuller and Jimmy Cleveland, and guitarist Ray Crawford. Highly recommended. by Scott Yanow)

Personnel:
Bill Barber (tuba)
Al Block (woodwinds on 01., 02. + 05.)
Eddie Caine (woodwinds on 03. + 04. 06. + 07.)
Dick Carter (bass on  01. – 04.)
Earl Chapin (horn)
Dennis Charles (drums on 01., 02. + 05.)
Jimmy Cleveland (trombone on 03., 04., 06. + 07.)
Johnny Coles (trumpet)
Ray Crawford (guitar on 04., 04., 06. + 07.)
Bill Elton (trombone on 01., 02. + 05.)
Gil Evans (piano)
Curtis Fuller (trombone on 01., 02. + 05.)
Budd Johnson (saxophone, clarinet on 03., + 04.,06. + 07.)
Elvin Jones (drums 03., 04., 06. + 07.)
Steve Lacy (saxophone)
Rod Levitt (trombone on 03., 04., 06. + 07.)
Dick Lieb (trombone on 01., 02. + 05.)
Louis Mucci (trumpet)
Tommy Potter (bass on 03., 04., 06. + 07.)
Allen Smith (trumpet on 01., 02. + 05.)
Danny Stiles (trumpet on 03., 04., 06. + 07.)
Chuck Wayne (guitar on 01., 02. + 05.)

Tracklist:
01. Davenport Blues (Beiderbecke) 4.28
02. Straight No Chaser (Monk) 6.22
03. Ballad Of The Sad Young Men (Landesman/Wolf) 4.02
04. Joy Spring (Brown) 2.51
05. Django (Lewis) 8.08
06. Chant Of The Weed (Redman) 4.27
07. La Nevada [a.k.a Theme] (Evans) 6.18

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Hans Koller – Legends Live- Hans Koller & Friends (2020)

Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.

Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1946. Following World War II, he returned to Vienna and played with the Hot Club of Vienna; in 1950 he emigrated to Germany and formed a small ensemble there. In the 1950s, he played with Freddie Brocksieper, Albert Mangelsdorff, Jutta Hipp, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Russo, Lee Konitz, Stan Kenton, Eddie Sauter, Benny Goodman, Attila Zoller, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, Wes Montgomery, Martial Solal and Jimmy Pratt. From 1958 to 1965, he directed the jazz workshops of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg, returning to Vienna in 1970. Soon after he formed his own ensemble, Free Sound, and later in the decade he worked with the International Brass Company.

In addition to his playing and bandleading, Koller also composed; among his original works are a ballet entitled New York City, completed in 1968. Koller was also a recognized abstract painter. (wikipedia)

And here´s a real fine rarity from the late 50´s, recorded live at a German radio station.

„This is a worthwhile release and it’s worth getting this material into circulation.“ (Robert Iannapollo, Cadence)

„Hans Koller, “Hans Koller & Friends” (JazzHaus). Play this music from 1959 and 1960 without telling anyone who it is, and you’ll get all sorts of guesses naming truly great American jazz stars of the era. The truth is that German tenor saxophonist Hans Koller didn’t really sound like any American player at all (think of a combination Zoot Sims and Wardell Gray) and yet he was very much the equal of most of them. (That’s why Dizzy Gillespie, for instance, was delighted to have Koller do a long stint with his band) So even more famously was the great and universally revered French pianist Martial Solal. Add the presence on two cuts here of bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay and you have some vintage European jazz as loose and immensely pleasurable as any previously little-known jazz you’re likely to hear from their American contemporaries. As a disc for even the most knowledgeable jazz fans to hear in a “blindfold test” you couldn’t beat this. One in every 500 jazz fans, at best, will be able to figure out who’s playing, even though they’re enjoying the swinging high charge and melodic grace of so much of it. And, on piano, whether solo or in accompaniment, Solal was absolutely unique.“ (The Buffalo News)

Recorded live at the SWF Jazz Session in November 1959 and the SWR Treffpunkt Jazz Stuttgart in September 1960.

Personnel:
Hartwig Bartz (bass)
Fred Dutton (bass)
Roger Guérin (trumpet)
Connie Kay (drums)
Hans Koller (saxophone)
Martial Solal (piano)
Michel Villers (saxophone)

Tracklist:
01. Benny’s Blues (Koller) 11.04
02. Oscar (Koller) 5.17
03. Dawborn’s Mood (Koller) 5.04
04. Mister B Blues (Koller) 4.58
05. Margaret Rose (Koller) 5.21
06. Very Warm For May: All the Things You Are (Kern)
07. Tune For Antibes (Koller) 4.02
08. Ella’s Dream (Koller) 5.21
09. O.P. (Koller) 6.57
10. I’ll Close My Eyes (Reid) 4.19

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Tom Lehrer – Songs & More Songs (1997)

Tom Lehrer was one of comedy’s great paradoxes — a respected Harvard mathematics professor by day, he also ranked among the foremost song satirists of the postwar era, recording vicious, twisted parodies of popular musical trends which proved highly influential on the “sick comedy” revolution of the ’60s. Despite an aversion to the press and a relatively small recorded output, Lehrer became a star, although he remained an enigma to even his most ardent fans; he rarely toured, never allowed his photo to adorn album jackets, and essentially retired from performing in 1965, leaving behind a cult following which only continued to grow in his absence from the limelight.

Lehrer was born April 9, 1928; even as a child, he frequently parodied popular songs of the day, and also learned to play piano. In 1944, he left New York City to study math at Harvard, earning his master’s degree within three years and remaining as a graduate student through 1953. During his student years Lehrer wrote The Physical Revue, a collection of academic song satires staged on campus in January, 1951; an updated performance followed in May of the next year. He also sang his parodies at coffeehouses and student gatherings throughout the Cambridge, MA area; as demand for an album of his songs increased, he spent $15 on studio time to cut Songs by Tom Lehrer, a 10″ record privately pressed in an edition of 400 copies.

The record sold out its entire run, and as the Harvard student body dispersed across the country for Christmas vacation, the disc spread (“like herpes,” Lehrer joked) far beyond its intended local audience. Soon Lehrer was inundated with requests for copies from across the nation; after several re-pressings, Songs by Tom Lehrer sold an astounding 350,000 copies on the strength of tracks like “I Hold Your Hand in Mine” (about a man who cut off his girlfriend’s hand in order to nibble on her fingertips), “Irish Ballad” (a buoyant romp about a killing spree), and “My Home Town” (concerning a place where murderers teach school and old perverts operate the candy store).

In 1955, Lehrer was inducted to serve in the Army, and was honorably discharged two years later. Finally, in 1959 he recorded a follow-up, More of Tom Lehrer, featuring “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “The Masochism Tango”; the same collection of songs were also recorded during a live performance at Harvard, and issued simultaneously as An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer. A tour of Europe followed, resulting in another concert collection, Tom Lehrer Revisited, which constituted live renditions of the tracks from the debut LP. However, controversial reactions to his “sick” comedy during a series of Australian performances prompted Lehrer to retire, and he returned full-time to his first love, teaching.

In early 1964, he resurfaced as a songwriter for the NBC news satire That Was the Week That Was. After the show’s demise a year later, Lehrer recorded the material written for the program on an LP also titled That Was the Week That Was; the album, which featured his controversial “Vatican Rag,” was the first in his contract with the Reprise label, which also agreed to reissue his earlier, self-released records. After re-recording Songs by Tom Lehrer to improve on the original master’s poor fidelity, he again retired from show business to return to academia; however, his songs were played regularly on the Dr. Demento radio show beginning in the ’70s, and he became the program’s second most requested artist of all time (behind Weird Al Yankovic).

Lehrer’s subsequent returns to show business were brief — in 1972 he wrote a dozen tunes for the children’s program The Electric Company, updated older material for a 1980 musical stage show dubbed Tomfoolery (produced by Cameron Mackintosh of Cats fame), and some years later, agreed to write occasionally for Garrison Keillor. Lehrer continued to teach mathematics at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and at age 72 witnessed Rhino Records’ 2000 reissue of his complete recorded works in the form of a three-CD box set titled The Remains of Tom Lehrer. (by Jason Ankeny)

Tom Lehrer recorded rather sporadically starting in the 1950s then abruptly retired in the mid-’60s from his unique solo musical comedy act. He’s a competent pianist with a voice that is perfect for his original material. This compilation combines both of his records that were originally pressed and sold privately on the Lehrer label, which he later re-recorded with improved sound for Reprise as Songs by Tom Lehrer and the live concert An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer. While the differences between this CD and the Reprise versions are minimal, other than a little more muffled piano sound on these earlier recordings, it’s fun to hear hilarious works like “The Irish Ballad,” the creative “Oedipus Rex,” and his satire of military life in “It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier.” Several favorites, including “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” and “The Masochism Tango” are heard in orchestrated versions as well as by Lehrer alone. And Lehrer finally got around to recording “I Got It from Agnes,” which implies how venereal disease is spread (in an amusing fashion, if that’s possible) without ever coming out and saying it directly. This CD is a must for Lehrer fanatics. (by Ken Dryden)

Personnel:
Tom Lehrer (vocals, piano)

Tracklist:

Songs By Tom Lehrer (1953):
01. Fight Fiercely, Harvard 1.25
02. The Old Dope Peddler 1.27
03. Be Prepared 1.32
04. The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be 2.03
05. I Wanna Go Back To Dixie 1.54
06. Lobachevsky 3.11
07. The Irish Ballad 3.01
08. The Hunting Song 1.19
09. My Home Town 2.39
Three Love Songs:
10. When You Are Old And Gray 1.52
11. I Hold Your Hand In Mine 1.28
12. The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz 1.56

More Of Tom Lehrer (1959)
13. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park 2.13
14. Bright College Days 2.06
15. A Christmas Carol 1.43
16. The Elements 1.26
17. Oedipus Rex 1.40
18. In Old Mexico 4.08
19. Clementine 4.18
20. It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier 2.40
21. She’s My Girl 1.49
22. The Masochism Tango 3.03
23. We Will All Go Together When We Go 3.29

Orchestrated Editions (1960):
24. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park 2.08
25. The Masochism Tango 2.55
26. The Hunting Song 1.50
27. We Will All Go Together When We Go (previously unreleased) 2.42

And As If That’s Not Bad Enough:
28 I Got It From Agnes (previously unreleased) (1996) 1.45

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More from Tom Lehrer:

Tom Lehrer – Revisited (1960)

Thomas Andrew Lehrer (born April 9, 1928) is a retired American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs often parodied popular musical forms, though he usually created original melodies when doing so. A notable exception is “The Elements”, in which he set the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the “Major-General’s Song” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.

Lehrer’s early musical work typically dealt with non-topical subject matter and was noted for its black humor in songs such as “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”. In the 1960s, he produced a number of songs that dealt with social and political issues of the day, particularly when he wrote for the U.S. version of the television show That Was the Week That Was.

The popularity of these songs has far outlasted their topical subjects and references. Lehrer quoted a friend’s explanation: “Always predict the worst and you’ll be hailed as a prophet.” In the early 1970s, Lehrer largely retired from public performances to devote his time to teaching mathematics and musical theater history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Revisited is a 1960 album by Tom Lehrer, consisting of live recordings of all the songs from 1953’s Songs by Tom Lehrer. The CD reissue of the album contains two additional tracks that Lehrer wrote and performed for the PBS television show The Electric Company (and produced and conducted by Joe Raposo).(wikipedia)

The UK edition:

Revisited includes the same songs as the two separate studio dates called Songs by Tom Lehrer (on Lehrer Records), except the versions heard here are taken from a concert at M.I.T. that was released only in England. The pianist/singer/comedian starts with a brief narrative autobiography that is as amusing as his lyrics. The songs are not significantly different from the studio versions other than minor changes in wording and the on-stage chatter between numbers, though he takes his time getting “The Irish Ballad” underway as he stops several times to add one more quip. Not necessarily an essential LP for those who have either one of the studio versions of these songs, but it is still an enjoyable release. (by Ken Dryden)

Personnel:
Tom Lehrer (vocals, piano)

Tracklist:
01. Introduction 3.28
02. I Wanna Go Back To Dixie 2.56
03. The Wild West iIs Where I Want To Be 2.31
04. The Old Dope Peddler 1.43
05. Fight Fiercely, Harvard 2.51
06. Lobachevsky 4.20
07. The Irish Ballad 5.13
08. The Hunting Song 1.59
09. My Home Town  2.58
10. When You Are Old And Grey 2.27
11. The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz 2.21
12. I Hold Your Hand In Mine 1,55
13. Be Prepared 2.40
+
14. L-Y 2.12
15. Silent 1.31

All songs written by Tom Lehrer

On the original Lehrer Records release of Revisited, tracks 1–6 (side 1) were recorded live on November 23 & 24, 1959, in Kresge Auditorium at MIT in Cambridge, MA, while tracks 7–13 (side 2) were recorded live at two concerts during Lehrer’s tour of Australia in spring 1960 (March 21 in Melbourne and May 4 in Sydney).

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Christmas 2021 (09): The Madrid Concert Orchestra And Chorus – Christmas In Spain (1959)

I guess it´s a good in this blog tradition to present Christmas from all over the wordl.

And now we can hear Christmas music from Spain, performed by and conducted by Victorino Echevarría:

Victorino Echevarría López, Spanish composer and conductor. He was a pupil of C. del Campo in Madrid and of P. Hindemith in Berlin. He wrote music in the neoclassical style (symphonic, chamber and stage works).

He was born Becerril de Campos in Palencia, Spain in 1898. He began his musical studies in León with Eugenio Lobo. In Madrid, he studied under A. Fernández Bordas, Francisco Calés, Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Rogelio del Villar and Conrado del Campo. Later, thanks to a scholarship from the Junta de Ampliación de Estudios, he moved to France and Germany (where he was taught by Paul Hindemith).

In 1940 he won the chair of harmony at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, at the same time as he developed an intense work as a band conductor, first the Carabanchel band and then the Banda Municipal de Madrid, where he held the post of assistant conductor with Arámbarri until the latter’s death, when he took up the post of principal conductor. In 1952 he received the National Music Prize for his work Quinteto de viento.
Death

He died in 1965 in Madrid, Spain. (ecured.cu)

This Christmas music from Spain sounds quite different from the Christmas music we know otherwise … very lively and cheerful …

The French edition:

An interesting addition to all the other Christmas songs from all over the world.

Personnel:
The Madrid Concert Orchestra And Chorus conducted by Victorino Echevarría

Billboard Review 2. Nov. 1959:

Tracklist:
01. Zumba Zum 1.37
02. Long Live St. Joseph And The Child (Viva San Jose Y El Niño) 1.55
03. Sleep Little Jesus (Dorm Jesuset) 2.34
04. Where Are You Going Little Shepherds? (Adonde Vas, Pastorcito?) 2.22
05. Tan-Tan 2.14
06. Sing Little One (Chicetes, Cantem) 1.38
07. And There Is A Star (Y Es Una Estrella) 4.17
08. To Bethlehem (A Betlem, Si Us Plau) 1.40
09. Between The Straw And The Ice (Entre La Paja Y El Heilo) 3.34
10. From Egypt To Bethlehem (De Egipto Para Belene) 2.10
11. The Child Came Down From Heaven (El Niño Bajo Del Cielo) 1.10
12. Lotan-Dago 2.46
13. The Tambourings Are Playing (Suenen Las Panderetas) 1.39
B7 Bolo, Bolo, Bolo 1.59

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Chuck Berry – Is On Top (1959)

Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. Nicknamed the “Father of Rock and Roll”, Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958). Writing lyrics that focused on teen life and consumerism, and developing a music style that included guitar solos and showmanship, Berry was a major influence on subsequent rock music.

Born into a middle-class African-American family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he was convicted of armed robbery and was sent to a reformatory, where he was held from 1944 to 1947. After his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of the blues musician T-Bone Walker, Berry began performing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955 and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess, of Chess Records. With Chess, he recorded “Maybellene”—Berry’s adaptation of the country song “Ida Red”—which sold over a million copies, reaching number one on Billboard magazine’s rhythm and blues chart.

By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star, with several hit records and film appearances and a lucrative touring career. He had also established his own St. Louis nightclub, Berry’s Club Bandstand. He was sentenced to three years in prison in January 1962 for offenses under the Mann Act—he had transported a 14-year-old girl across state lines. After his release in 1963, Berry had several more hits, including “No Particular Place to Go”, “You Never Can Tell”, and “Nadine”. But these did not achieve the same success, or lasting impact, of his 1950s songs, and by the 1970s he was more in demand as a nostalgic performer, playing his past hits with local backup bands of variable quality. In 1972 he reached a new level of achievement when a rendition of “My Ding-a-Ling” became his only record to top the charts. His insistence on being paid in cash led in 1979 to a four-month jail sentence and community service, for tax evasion.

Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986; he was cited for having “laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance.” Berry is included in several of Rolling Stone magazine’s “greatest of all time” lists; he was ranked fifth on its 2004 and 2011 lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll includes three of Berry’s: “Johnny B. Goode”, “Maybellene”, and “Rock and Roll Music”. Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” is the only rock-and-roll song included on the Voyager Golden Record.

Chuck Berry Is on Top is the third studio album by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry, released in July 1959 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1435. With the exception of one track, “Blues for Hawaiians,” all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles, several of which were double-sided and charted twice. (wikipedia)

If you had to sweat all of Chuck Berry’s early albums on Chess (and some, but not all, of his subsequent greatest-hits packages), this would be the one to own. The song lineup is exemplary, cobbling together classics like “Maybellene,” “Carol,” “Sweet Little Rock & Roller,” “Little Queenie,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Around and Around,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Almost Grown.” With the addition of the Latin-flavored “Hey Pedro,” the steel guitar workout “Blues for Hawaiians,” “Anthony Boy,” and “Jo Jo Gunne,” this serves as almost a mini-greatest-hits package in and of itself. While this may be merely a collection of singles and album ballast (as were most rock & roll LPs of the 1950s and early ’60s), it ends up being the most perfectly realized of Chuck Berry’s career. (by Cub Koda)

Personnel:
Fred Below (drums)
Chuck Berry (vocals, guitar)
Bo Diddley (guitar)
Willie Dixon (bass)
Jerome Green (maracas)
Ebbie Hardy (drums)
Johnnie Johnson (piano)
Lafayette Leake (piano)
George Smith (bass)
Jaspar Thomas (drums)
+
The Moonglows (background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Almost Grown 2.23
02. Carol 2.49
03. Maybellene 2.23
04. Sweet Little Rock & Roller 2.23
05. Anthony Boy 1.54
06. Johnny B. Goode 2.42
07. Little Queenie 2.44
08. Jo Jo Gunne 2.48
09. Roll Over Beethoven 2.25
10. Around And Around 2.42
11. Hey Pedro 1.57
12. Blues For Hawaiians 3.25

All songs written by Chuck Berry

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More Chuck Berry: