Keeping Track - Dateline December 2009

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JOHNNY DOUGLAS AND HIS ORCHESTRA AND SINGERS "The Spirit of Christmas" CD1: White Christmas, Silver Bells, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Home For The Holidays, The Christmas Song, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy plus medleys of carols. CD2 Happy Holiday, Here’s To You, My Favourite Things, A Merry Christmas Song, Out Of The East, Do You Hear What I Hear plus medleys of carols. Dulcima DLCD 122 2CD set, [116:05 mins]. Johnny Douglas will need no introduction to readers of thisJournal Into Melody. Late in his career he set up his own label, Dulcima Records, and this has been continued by his family since we lost him in 2003. Every so often some of his music is made available again, and this latest collection (on two CDs) provides some enchanting melodies for the coming festive season. Over 50 years ago RCA producer Ethel Gabriel worked on the Melachrino Strings’ "Moods in Music" series and in the late 1950s developed the Living Strings as a package for RCA’s budget label, Camden, using various orchestras, mainly from Europe. The albums were all centred on a theme: the sea, the West, Broadway, night music. The recordings made by The Living Strings became a mainstay of easy-listening radio and commercial venues. 

Johnny Douglas, widely recognised as one of England’s masters of string arranging, was the primary arranger and conductor for the series recorded in England. He brought great songs to a new life with his arrangements of a mass of pure velvety strings, mellow brass and superb solos played by the cream of the British musicians of that era. This release brings together three of the albums he recorded in the 1960s and 1970’s. The first CD is purely orchestra, while the second features some very tasteful choral arrangements with the orchestra. As the accompanying notes explain, a few of the titles are repeated, one even twice, but with different arrangements. To delete the repeats would render the original albums incomplete and deprive the listener of the opportunity to experience the versatile arranging by Johnny Douglas. Many of us like to hear something new to enjoy at Christmas, and this is a fine new collection to add to your music library. David Ades

FRED WARING AND THE PENNSYLVANIANS I Hear Music ‘In Hi-Fi’ I hear music; Dry bones; In the still of the night; Ol’ man river; Hit the road to dreamland; Smoke gets in your eyes; Give me your tired, your poor; A cigarette, sweet music and you; The Whiffenpoof Song [Baa baa baa]; Hora staccato; Lolly too dum dey; Sometimes I feel like a motherless child; You’ll never walk alone; Battle Hymn of the Republic; Sleep ‘All Through The Night’ Autumn leaves; If I had my way; The inch worm; Dear hearts and gentle people; Anywhere I wander; Tennessee Waltz; Greensleeves; Funiculi funicula; Drink to me only with thine eyes; The unconstant lover; Comin’ thro’ the rye; All through the night Flare ROYCD292 [79:25] Those who have been fans of Fred and his "Gang" for many years will, like me, be delighted to welcome this single CD of their first two stereo albums, recorded in late 1957 and early 1958. Well done, Flare! The spotlight is, of course, on the singers with their gorgeous close harmonies, deep basses and soaring sopranos, but there is no lack of felicitous support from the musicians. The programme is so varied that everyone will have their own favourite tracks: mine include the brilliant Bones, Irving Berlin’s Give me your tired, the wonderfully countrified Lolly, the magnificent Battle Hymn, the early hit Sleep, the eminently sing-along Dear hearts, and the traditional songs from the British Isles given the inimitable Waring treatment. Here is just under 80 minutes of real joy for around £8 [less online] and my choice for this issue’s Best Album. Peter Burt 

FRANK CHACKSFIELD PLAYS LERNER AND LOWE & RODGERS AND HART My Fair Lady Suite; If ever I would leave you; Wand’rin’ star; Camelot March; Almost like being in love; I talk to the trees; Come to me, bend to me; Gigi Suite / Johnny One-Note; Isn’t it romantic, Ten cents a dance; Thou swell; My funny valentine; Lover; With a song in my heart; Bewitched; Falling in love with love; Where or when; The lady is a tramp; Mountain greenery Vocalion CDLK 4400 [71:40]With their late-summer releases Vocalion has brought us a veritable Frankfest of quality light music. This 2-on-1 has albums dating from 1976 and 1975. Roland Shaw is the arranger on the first and manages to introduce Wagner’s Wedding March and Offenbach’s Can-Can into the two Suites! The late, great Kenny Baker’s trumpet is featured on If ever, a wonderful contra bassoon conjures up memories of Lee Marvin on Wand’rin’, and Joanne Brown sings a couple of the songs, as she does on the second album. There is no arranger credit given on the second album [no liner notes for either album] but a tad of tango rhythm is added to Ten cents and Thou swell responds well to a pizzicato string treatment. Frank’s stellar French hornist [could be Neil Sanders] pops up on other tracks throughout the disc, and I suspect it is Kenny Baker again on Bewitched and The lady. All round enjoyable.

THE NEW LIMELIGHT & CHACKSFIELD PLAYS BACHARACH Limelight; The man that got away; In the still of the night; Scarlet ribbons; Smile; Tonight; Theme from ‘Picnic’; Come rain or come shine; Night and day; Here I am; Warsaw Concerto / Raindrops keep fallin’; Alfie; I’ll never fall in love; This guy’s in love with you; Paper maché; Trains and boats and planes; [They long to be] Close to you; You’ll never get to heaven; The look of love; To wait for love; The green green grass starts to grow; Wives and lovers Vocalion CDLK 4380 [77:58]The 1966 Stereo Record Guide opined that ‘The New Limelight’ LP was "the best of Chacksfield’s most recent discs" and described the sound as "brilliant and reasonably atmospheric." Apart from the opening and closing tracks the arrangements are by Roland Shaw ? Scarlet Ribbons and Come rain stand out for me. There is a rather good performance of Richard Addinsell’s Concerto by an unnamed pianist. The ‘Plays Bacharach’ album is from five years later and well worth acquiring, even if it does not oust in my affections Ron Goodwin’s similar album [seven tracks in common] also on Vocalion but now sadly no longer available. John Keating’s arrangements are never less than interesting. There is just an occasional hint of a Kaempfert-style bass and some particularly nice piano on This guy’s in love. On the first album Here I am, of course, is another Bacharach composition. Again a complete lack of any liner notes; perhaps the original Decca sleeves did not have any.

FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA Plays Simon & Garfunkel and Jim Webb / The Beatles’ Song Book Up, up and away; Homeward bound; By the time I get to Phoenix; Mrs Robinson; Galveston; Bridge over troubled water; Scarborough Fair; Wichita lineman; Cecilia; The sound of silence; MacArthur Park / Get back; Michelle; Got to get you into my life; Yesterday; Something; Hey Jude; A hard day’s night; Norwegian wood; Ticket to ride; The fool on the hill; Come together; Ob-la-di, ob-la-da Vocalion CDLK 4392 [70:25]Your reviewer has cherished the second album here since it first appeared as a Phase 4 Stereo Spectacular LP, incredibly, nearly 40 years ago. It is far from typical Chacksfield but every track gives pleasure and should keep your feet tapping. The first album from a year later is also arranged by John Keating but for me did not have quite the same immediate impact. I hasten to add that my initial disappointment has dissipated somewhat with repeated hearings. The tunes are all good, well-played, and the arrangements are never dull. And, after all, the second album alone is worth the modest price of the CD! Once again no liner notes; what a pity Vocalion cannot find somebody to do for Chacksfield what Colin Mackenzie does for Mantovani. Peter Burt

BBC CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by RUMON GAMBA The Film Music of Mischa Spoliansky Suite from ‘North West Frontier’, Three Songs from ‘Sanders of the River’ (Featuring Mark Coles, bass), Suite from ‘The Man Who Could Work Miracles’, Voice In The Night (from ‘Wanted for Murder’), Suite from ‘ The Ghost Goes West’, Dedication (from ‘Idol of Paris’ – featuring Roderick Elms, piano), Suite from ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ (with Mark Coles), Galop from ‘The Happiest Days Of Your Life’, Toccatina for solo organ (from ‘Saint Joan’). Chandos CHAN 10543 [73:03]. When I saw this CD among a list of future releases I was impatient for it to arrive. Finally when I got it in my hands I clicked on track 22 to hear the music from the 1950 film The Happiest Days Of Your Life. I first saw this film as a teenager, and I still get many laughs from it when it turns up on TV. Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford (both were absolutely brilliant in roles that could have been created just for them, although it had previously been a stage play) were supported by a superb cast of British character actors (Joyce Grenfell, Richard Wattis et al) and Mischa Spoliansky’s music was simply perfect for the plot. There wasn’t a lot of it in the film, and the middle part of Philip Lane’s finely reconstructed score isn’t familiar to me. Looking back through old copies of Radio Times (when they used to list the music played in many radio programmes) you occasionally come across the galop from ‘Happiest Days…’ so it must have been made available in sheet music form for orchestras to perform, probably with the extra middle section added to make it long enough (it lasts well under two minutes on screen). Why on earth didn’t someone like Sidney Torch make a commercial recording? We’ve waited a long time, but for me it’s been worth it. Two other tracks that quickly caught my attention are Voice In The Night and Dedication – both originally on Columbia 12" 78s with the latter featuring the composer on the piano (it has been reissued on Guild GLCD 5109). However the music from ‘Idol of Paris’ on this CD is a longer version, lasting over 7 minutes. Most of the other tracks are premiere recordings, and they demonstrate that Spoliansky fully deserves this long-overdue tribute. We are so fortunate that, in today’s cash-strapped world, somehow funds can still be found to make worthy recordings like this. The BBC Concert Orchestra (as usual these days) plays superbly, and Rumon Gamba clearly understands how film music of this kind should be treated. The 44 page booklet (with notes by Philip Lane) cannot be faulted. Chandos deserve our support, so add this one to your Christmas list. David Ades

DIE FLOTTEN GEISTER ORCHESTRA Spirit Of Vienna Vol.2 Imperial Riflemen March; The Hunt for Happiness [Gallop]; The Lady Skater’s Waltz; In Flight with Her [Quick polka]; Harvestehude Swallows Waltz; Common Sense [Quick polka]; Bucharest Life Waltz; Carmen Waltz; The Beautiful Viennese Girls [March-Polka]; Pretty Sweetheart [Polka mazurka]; Young Gentlemen’s Dance Waltz; Themes from The Dollar Princess Tonstudio 02332 [74:40]The Johann Strauss Societies of Great Britain and the Czech Republic are dedicated to the promotion of Viennese music by the Strauss family and their contemporaries, and this release complements the first volume reviewed in JIM 173. The recordings here, all firsts, were made in the Czech Republic as recently as February of this year. The only tracks from a Strauss are The Lady, by Johann III, and In Flight, by his father Eduard, the third brother of Johann II and Josef. Other composers are Richard Eilenberg, Oscar Fetrás, C.M. Ziehrer, Iosef Ivanovici, Juventino Rosas, Carl Drescher, Karl Komzák II, Josef Gung’l and Leo Fall. Particularly interesting is the longest piece, Carmen Waltz, by Juventino Rosas, the Mexican composer of the well-known Over the waves [used for the song The loveliest night of the year] which often has been attributed to Johann I, "The Waltz King." The conductor throughout is Christian Pollack, who has made recordings for the Marco Polo and Naxos labels, and without whom many of these tunes may not have been recorded. This is an extremely pleasant album, all the better for being of unfamiliar items, well-played and produced with good programme notes by John Diamond. May we hope for a third volume in due course? Peter Burt

Available for £12.99 [incl. p&p in the U.K]. from Discovery Records Ltd, Banda Trading Estate, Nursteed Road, Devizes, Wilts. SN10 3DY.or www.discovery-records.com

MANTOVANI AND HIS ORCHESTRA To Lovers Everywhere / From Mantovani With Love The way you look tonight; Tea for two; September song; Whispering; Quando, quando, quando; All of a sudden; I will wait for you; Me and my shadow; I can’t stop loving you; Yellow bird; Winter world of love / Try to remember; It’s impossible; My prayer; If I only had time; Loss of love; Gwendolyne; Rosy’s Theme; Theme from Love Story; Little green apples; Last summer; Where have all the flowers one?; May each day Vocalion CDLK 4393 [71:24]

Mantovani Touch / Operetta Memories On a clear day; Alfie; Release me; A man and a woman; Almost there; What now my love; Edelweiss; A day in the life of a fool; My cup runneth over; Days of wine and rose; The impossible dream; Puppet on a string; / The Merry Widow Waltz; My hero; Play gipsies, dance gypsies; O maiden, my maiden; The Gypsy Princess Waltz; The Count of Luxembourg Waltz; Serenade from Frasquita; Gipsy Love Waltz; The Gypsy Baron Waltz; Die Fledermaus – Overture Vocalion CDLK 4396 [74:55]. Four more albums from the Decca archives by the master maestro reissued for our delectation and delight by Mike Dutton. The first 2-on-1 features albums that originally saw the light of day in 1971. The first album was also Monty’s first with Parisian musicians ? for tax reasons he could no longer record in England ? while the second was his last with all British personnel. Stand-out tracks for me include Monty’s own poignant composition Last summer, and May each day, his last UK recording. On the second 2-on-1 the first album dates from c.1968 [Puppet from ‘67], the second was recorded during December 1959 and January 1960.‘Touch’ is an attractive collection of a dozen contemporary tunes. I especially enjoyed Alfie, featuringthe violin of David McCallum [father of the actor] who was Monty’s leader for a decade, the Bolero-like What now my love, and the lovely My cup runneth over. The titles on ‘Operetta Memories’ are meat and drink to Monty and I can only concur with Scott Raeburn who writes online that it is "one of the really great Mantovani albums and no fan should be without this in their collection." Peter Burt

BILL SAVILL AND HIS ORCHESTRA In a Dancing Mood / We Could Have Danced All Night(Quicksteps) So in love, Do I love You, June is bustin' out all over, Always true to you in my fashion, You'd be so nice to come home to, (Waltz) I give my heart, Glamorous Night, (Foxtrot) Lovely to look at, The folks who live on the hill, (Quicksteps) Love walked in, Shall we dance, Let's call the whole thing off, Long ago and far away, Can I forget you, How high the moon, I've got you under my skin, This is my lovely day, Most gentlemen don't like love, The last time I saw Paris, I love Paris, C'est magnifique, (Tango) No other love, (Rumba) Wish you were here, (Samba) Carioca, (Foxtrot)September Song, Bewitched, (Quicksteps) Dance little lady, A room with a view, Pick yourself up, Easy to love, All of you, I could write a book, I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair, There's nothin' like a dame, Happy talk, A cock-eyed optimist, Bloody Mary, Honey bun, (Waltz) This nearly was mine, When I'm not near the girl I love, (Foxtrot) Smoke gets in your eyes, My funny Valentine, I didn't know what time it was, (Quicksteps) You were never lovelier, They all laughed, We'll gather lilacs, I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter, From this moment on, I could have danced all night, I've grown accustomed to her face, Get me to the church on time, With a little bit of luck, On the street where you live, (Cha-cha) Ol' man river, I can't get started, The man I love, (Samba)The Mayfair Samba, (Quicksteps) All the things you are, A foggy day, Nice work if you can get it, My heart belongs to Daddy, Sing for your supper, It's alright with me. Vocalion CDLK 4397 [77:16]. It has been a long wait, but at last Bill Savill and his Orchestra have made it to CD. For the benefit of younger readers, Bill Savill was a society ballroom orchestra leader, who was regularly heard on radio for well over twenty years. His 308 'Music While You Work' programmes made his orchestra the fourth most broadcast combination on the show. If you are one of those people who find strict tempo ballroom music a bit monotonous, do not despair, as the Bill Savill orchestra is as perfect for listening as it is for dancing. Most dance bands of the fifties and sixties were comprised of brass, saxes and rhythm but the Savill sound featured a string section instead of brass, giving a distinctive quality. Bill once told me that this was at the suggestion of Eric Rogers, his pianist in the early days of the orchestra. He also told me that whilst his broadcasting orchestra consisted of 14 musicians, it was augmented to 19 for his series of LP records for Decca ? the additions being in the string section plus one discreetly used (mainly) muted trumpet. The beautiful mellow saxophone section (for which Bill Savill was noted) is particularly enjoyable, particularly when there is a Glenn Miller style clarinet lead. My only regret about these recordings was that for two of the Latin numbers, a brass section replaces the strings [probably some stupid idea of Decca!] The CD comprises two of Bill Savill's four LPs and is an absolute delight. I well remember my excitement when, as a teenager, I came across Bill's first LP 'Shall We Dance?' in my local record shop. Having been a fan of the orchestra for several years, I wasted no time in getting it. The music on this CD (much of it in medley form) relies heavily on such masters of popular music as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin. If you are a 'Strictly Come Dancing' fan it might come as a surprise that the pieces are actually in the correct tempos used by dancers for decades. The one rumba is actually a rumba and not a pop ballad and the waltzes are in the traditional three-four time! Vocalion are to be congratulated on releasing these two albums on CD. Perhaps it is a prelude to their reissuing the many albums of Phil Tate and Tommy Kinsman, two other popular broadcasting orchestras of the period. I highly recommend this CD to all who enjoy well-arranged and well-performed quality dance music. This is possibly the best CD of its kind ever produced. Hopefully, you will love Bill Savill's orchestra as much as I do! Brian Reynolds

GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC The 1930s Revisited For full track listing see the Light Music CDs pages in this website.. Guild GLCD 5163 [78:54]. When I saw the title of this CD I thought: "Great, just up my street!" ? and so it came to pass because the very first track is Eric Coates’s Miniature Overture The Merrymakers, recorded on my birthday, November 3rd 1931, with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. It was used as the title and incidental music for one of Austin Motor Company’s many promotional films, ‘Here’s to Comfort’, made in 1936. Then comes theFancy Dress Suite by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs. Usually it’s only the movement Dusk that gets played but the Regent Concert Orchestra conducted by William Hodgson include two more movements, Hurly Burly and Pageantry ? all from the Boosey & Hawkes Library. Two very contrasting pieces follow:Entrance of the little fauns by Gabriel Pierné played by Jack Payne’s BBC Dance Orchestra, and Jerome Kern’s Smoke gets in your eyes arranged by Peter Yorke and played by Louis Levy’s Orchestra. Jerome Kern turns up again on track seven with a selection from ‘Music In The Air’, played by the New Mayfair Orchestra, conducted by Ray Noble, which positively exudes 1930’s atmosphere; then there is a vigorous march by Charles Ancliffe, The Liberators, with the London Palladium Orchestra in fine fettle conducted by Jack Frere. Although probably better known for his waltzes, Ancliffe has a number of "mood" pieces in the Bosworth Library as well as another cracking piece on the FDH Label called The Kinsgmen March. David, please note! Marek Weber had a super light orchestra with a "sound" all its own and, although it isn’t so apparent on Forest Idyll, it’s a smashing piece all the same. John Ansell’s nautical Windjammer Overture is played by the Regent Concert Orchestra, William Hodgson conducting, from the Boosey & Hawkes Library, but it’s slightly shorter than their disc of the 1940’s. It was used to good effect in a colour documentary made by the Southern Region Film Unit called ‘Golden Arrow’, produced about 1947. John, apart from working in the theatre, also wrote for feature films, including one I have on tape and disc called ‘Song of the Road’, made in 1937. I don’t know who W.C. Polla was but he/she [?] wrote a very catchy piece called Dancing Tambourine, and Jack Hylton and his Orchestra recorded it for HMV in 1927 ? but you wouldn’t know it, thanks to Alan Bunting’s magical restoration. What a pity Hylton and his boys aren’t around to hear their recordings today, and that goes for all the musicians featured on this Guild series. The Commodore Grand Orchestra was reckoned to be one of the finest light orchestra of its time and it had two conductors, Joseph Muscant and, later on, Harry Davidson. Here, the former is wielding the baton on Henry Steele’s Knave Of Diamonds with Louis Mordish at the piano. It can also be found in the Bosworth’s Library early recordings played by the Pall Mall Revellers. Cupid’s Parade, a Fantasy by somebody called Rivelli, played by The Little Salon Orchestra has a distinct continental sound to it. In fact, The LSO sounds just like Marek Weber’s Orchestra. The Orchestra Mascotte make a super job of Joseph Lanner Court Ball Dances, as does the Drury Lane Theatre Orchestra with a selection of Ivor Novello’s music to ’Glamorous Night’, arranged and conducted by Charles Prentice. A number from the Bosworth Library is the penultimate item: Carl Robrecht’s Fata Morgana played by the Louis Voss Grand Orchestra. Robrecht is better known for his symphonic foxtrot Samum. But it is another Foxtrot, which is the Finale to Edward Künneke’s ‘Dance Suite’, plays out this revisitation of the tuneful ‘30s in grand style ? although you wouldn’t expect any less from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with the composer on the podium. Ken Wilkins

THE THIRD MAN and Other Classic Film Themes: Original recordings 1949-1958 featuringAnton Karas, Mantovani, Larry Adler, Anton Walbrook, Narciso Yepes, Percy Faith, David Rose and others ‘The Third Man’: The Harry Lime Theme; The Café Mozart Waltz; ‘The Lives of Harry Lime’: Radio bridge 1-3; The Third Man Theme; ‘Passport to Pimlico’: The Siege of Burgundy;‘La Ronde’: La ronde de l’amour; ‘The Romantic Age’: Jealous Lover; ‘Whisky Galore’: Prelude; ‘The Glass Mountain’: The Legend of the Glass Mountain; ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’: Can-Can Finale; ‘Jeux Interdits’: Jeux Interdits, Parts 1 & 2; ‘Anna’: Anna [El negro zumbon]; Non dimenticar;‘Genevieve’: Themes; Love Theme and Blues; ‘The Kidnappers’: Nova Scotia Rhapsody; ‘La Strada’: Gelsomina [You and you alone]; ‘Touchez Pas Au Grisbi’: The Touch [Le Grisbi]; ‘Summertime’: Summertime in Venice; ‘French Can-Can’: Merry-Go-Round [Complainte de la butte] Naxos 8.120880 [57:42]Definitely this issue’s Budget Choice. Taken from 78s or soundtracks, this is pure nostalgia all the way. Other participants are conductors Charles Williams and Benjamin Frankel conducting their own compositions, Ernest Irving and Muir Mathieson. The catchy Anna has Flo Sandons dubbing the voice of the star, Silvana Mangano. Unfortunately we don’t get "the" Genevievetheme. Transfers and production are by David Lennick, with digital restoration by Alan Bunting. There are full recording details, and David Ades wrote the knowledgeable booklet notes. For example, he reminds us that Bruce Montgomery, who wrote The Kidnappers score, was later involved in the ‘Doctor’ and ‘Carry On’ series. But did you know that he also wrote successful detective novels and other works under the name of Edmund Crispin? Peter Burt

THE HEART’S AWAKENING Songs & Piano Solos by Albert Ketèlby Peter Dempsey [tenor], Guy Rowland [piano] Songs: The country that I love; Believe me true; The knight’s return; Aberfoyle; Sweetheart mine & The morning was bright [from comic opera ‘The Wonder Worker’]; Blow, blow thou winter wind; Thy throne; Lady of dreams; Sing heighho!; Young and old; The heart’s awakening; My heart a-dream; Those bells so softly pealing; Keep your toys, laddie boy!; In a monastery garden; I dream of all the worlds; Kilmoren; Piano solos: Alice; The Phantom Melody; Bells across the meadows; With the Roumanian Gypsies AWK 1. Eric Coates, Haydn Wood and Wilfred Sanderson, to go no further, brought the Edwardian ballad to considerable height. To them we should add Albert Ketèlby, more usually remembered, like Coates and Wood for other forms of light music, who gets fine advocacy from Peter Dempsey, following his similar CDs of Coates and Wood songs. These songs, which mainly set lyrics by Florence Hoare, Charles Kingsley, Shakespeare [whose Blow blow is stormy if not over subtle] and Ketèlby himself, range from 1896 to 1952 [only two in fact post 1918]. Mr Dempsey sings them in roughly chronological order, so we can trace Kètelby’s development. All show him as a fine tunesmith. I like particularly the passionate title song, the lilt of Aberfoyle, the insistent polka rhythm of Sing heigho!, the carillon-ish accompaniment ofThose bells and the heartrending nostalgia for childhood of Keep your toys. Yearning feelings indeed run through the disc. Guy Rowland is again a positive accompanist and contributes four solos:Phantom Melody was AWK’s earliest hit, Bells across the meadows sounds as atmospheric on piano as orchestra, the Roumanian Gypsies cavort brilliantly and Alice [1906] is a charming find. All tracks, bar perhaps four, are world premiere recordings at least in this form. The informative booklet does not reproduce the words but Mr Dempsey’s admirable diction makes it unnecessary. Strongly recommended. Philip Scowcroft

Available at £9.95, inc. p&p, from Mr P Dempsey at 44 Victoria Road, Bedford B50 4AR [Demsini @ aol.com] 

GINO BORDIN Virtuose de la Guitare Hawaiienne The blue bird, Crépuscule Hawaien, Manuska, Hawai nous appelle, Sérénade bleue, Retour de Hawai, J’écoute la guitare, En écoutant l’ukulélé, Addio signora!, Hawaiian berceuse, Je n’ai plus personne, Reflet viennois, Viens dans ce joli pavillon, Hé hop la hé, C’est une valse qui chante, Waikiki en fete, One kiss, La destine du marin, Le jeune pecheur, L’ile aux reves d’or, Chant d’amour de Tahiti, Ay, ay, ay, De tout mon coeur, Dans la nuit, Avant de mourir Grass Skirt Records GSK 1003 [72:15]Previous GSK reissues featured Sam Ku West (GSK 1001) and Sol Hoopi (GSK 1002), both of which were produced to a very high standard. The same care has been taken with these 25 mainly 1930s recordings by this French exponent of the Hawaiian steel guitar. Instrumentation is varied, and includes violin, zither, accordion, xylophone, and even musical saw on one track, and some feature French singers. Superbly remastered by Ted Kendall, the CD sports a reproduction Salabert label, and comes in a gatefold sleeve which also houses a 44-page booklet, half in French with an English translation and illustrated throughout. Barry McCanna

Full details at www.GrassSkirt.co.uk or from Grass Skirt Records, PO Box 371, Hyde, SK14 9AB, UK.

AL BOWLLY The Complete Maurice Winnick & Sidney Lipton Sessions Topical Tunes Part 1 - In The Mountains of the Pine/What A Fool I’ve Been*/Twilight Waltz; Springtime Reminds Me Of You; The Waltz You Saved For Me; Topical Tunes Part 2 – Life/Pardon Me, Pretty Baby*/Shake And Let Us Be Friends; Bei Mir Bist Schoen; There’s A Gold-Mine In The Sky; Kiss Me Goodnight; Rosalie; In The Still Of The Night; Once In A While; When The Organ Played "Oh, Promise Me"; Somebody’s Thinking Of You Tonight; My Heaven On Earth; Chatterbox; When You Wish Upon A Star; Turn On The Old Music Box; Who’s Taking You Home Tonight?; Arm In Arm; There’s A Boy Coming Home On Leave; My Capri Serenade; The Lonesome Trail Ain’t Lonesome Any More; It’s A Long, Long Way To Your Heart; Souvenir Of Love; Trusting My Luck Memory Lane MLCD 002 [68:37]. Al recorded a total of 20 sides with Maurice Winnick, and four with Sydney Lipton. One could be forgiven for wishing those statistics were reversed, because around the mid-thirties Winnick hitched his wagon to Guy Lombardo’s star. The result was a sort of musical kitsch, which has not worn well, whereas Sydney Lipton’s music was as elegant as the man himself. The compilation falls naturally into five segments. There’s the mid-1931 session with Winnick, that is two waltzes topped and tailed by the Topical Tunes set, of which Al sings the second tune in both cases. The best of the three tunes from the late December 1937 session is Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen, and the quality of the next three songs also rises above the instrumental schmaltz. For me the nadir was reached in the mid-1938 session, when the sound of the orchestra seems to have become homogenized into a sort of musical broth. The problem is compounded by the overly sentimental nature of some of the songs, which sound as though they originated in a Victorian drawing room. Having said that, the vocal is another matter; Al’s innate sincerity transcended the material, and the end result is better than might be expected. For me, Chatterbox is Al’s best Winnick recording, which demonstrates his mastery of phrasing, and the trumpet section’s triple-tonguing skill deserves a mention also. Of course, all three songs from that session came from the Walt Disney cartoon ‘Pinocchio’, and the accompaniment is suitably animated. The final Winnick session produced four more good tunes, one of which is a reminder that this was now wartime. The four tracks with Sydney Lipton which conclude this compilation revert back to the beginning of 1938. The first is a cowboy song, a tongue-in-cheek lament for the vanished world of the Wild West, and includes a most musical yodel. That’s followed by three ballads, the last two from the film ‘Sailing Along’ which starred Jessie Matthews and Jack Whiting. A fair number of these tunes were reissued piecemeal on vinyl, but a complete release on CD was long overdue, and despite it being something of a curate’s egg the balance is firmly in its favour. The original Decca recordings present something of a challenge in their remastering, but Dave Cooper has achieved as good as we’re likely to get, and Ray Pallett’s liner note completes the package. You should have ordered your copy already, but if not don’t miss out. Barry McCanna

The CD is priced at £5.99 inc. p&p to a UK address, or £7.99 inc. air mail p&p to overseas (inc. Eire). Sterling cheques should be made payable to Memory Lane, and sent to Memory Lane, PO Box 1939, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 3UH, England. Alternatively, log on to www.memorylane.org.uk where you can order using PayPal.

Please note that the following CD is not scheduled for release until the end of January

THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC A Trip To The Library Guild GLCD 5164

1 The Merrymakers – Miniature Overture (Eric Coates) 
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conducted by ERIC COATES
Fancy Dress – Suite (Cecil Armstrong Gibbs)
2 Hurly Burly
3 Dusk
4 Pageantry
REGENT CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM HODGSON
5 Entrance Of The Little Fauns (from the ballet "Cydalise et la chèvre-pied") (Henri Constant Gabriel Pierné, arr. Mouton) 
JACK PAYNE AND HIS BBC DANCE ORCHESTRA
6 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Jerome Kern, arr. Peter Yorke)
LOUIS LEVY AND HIS ORCHESTRA
7 "Music In The Air" – Selection (Jerome Kern) There’s A Hill Beyond A Hill, I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star, When The Spring Is In The Air, The Song Is You, I’m So Eager, In Egern On The Tegern See, We Belong Together, One More Dance.
NEW MAYFAIR ORCHESTRA Conducted by RAY NOBLE
8 The Liberators – March (Charles W. Ancliffe)
LONDON PALLADIUM ORCHESTRA Conducted by JACK FRERE
9 Hearts And Flowers (Theodore Moses Tobani, arr. Willoughby)
J.H. SQUIRE CELESTE OCTET
10 Forest Idyll (Esslinger)
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
11 Windjammer Overture (John Ansell)
REGENT CONCERT ORCHESTRA Conducted by WILLIAM HODGSON
12 Dancing Tambourine (W. C. Polla)
JACK HYLTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
13 Swamp Fire (Harold (Hal) Mooney)
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ AND HIS ORCHESTRA
14 Escapada (Sid Phillips)
AMBROSE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
15 Knave Of Diamonds (Henry Steele)
COMMODORE GRAND ORCHESTRA Conducted by JOSEPH MUSCANT Piano : LOUIS MORDISH
16 Irving Berlin Waltz Medley (Irving Berlin) All Alone; Always; What’ll I Do? 
COVENTRY HIPPODROME ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES SHADWELL 
17 Cupid’s Parade – Fantasy (Rivelli)
THE LITTLE SALON ORCHESTRA
18 Court Ball Dances (Hofballtanze) (Jos Lanner) 
ORCHESTRA MASCOTTE
19 "Glamorous Night" – Selection (Ivor Novello, arr. Charles Prentice) Her Majesty Militza, Shine Through My Dreams, Fold Your Wings, When The Gipsy, Far Away In Shanty Town, Glamorous Night, Royal Wedding.
DRURY LANE THEATRE ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES PRENTICE
20 Fata Morgana (Carl Robrecht) 
LOUIS VOSS GRAND ORCHESTRA
21 Finale – Foxtrot (from "Dance Suite") (Eduard Künneke)
BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conducted by EDUARD KÜNNEKE

[77:19]. This is not about a jaunt to your local for a book but a selection of music from the extensive recorded libraries of firms like Bosworth, Boosey and Hawkes, and Chappell. For me, it’s rather a mixed bag with less to enthuse about than previous offerings in Guild’s magnificent and ground-breaking Light Music series. The 64th CD in the series begins well enough with the 1950’s Livin’ It Upby Harry Rabinowitz, Trevor Duncan’s haunting The Girl from Corsica played by the New Concert Orchestra under Cedric Dumont [a performance that doesn’t perhaps have the élan of other versions, in particular Robert Farnon’s 1977 Cheltenham Festival ? music not horses ? recording with the BBC Northern Orchestra, now the BBC Philharmonic, on BBC Radio Classics], and the deliciousJacaranda Melody by Paul Dubois, famous for his Shadow Waltz [recorded elsewhere with typical sonority by R.F. and the Danish State Radio Orchestra]. Then follow several pretty ordinary tracks including Jack Beaver’s Helicopter Journey, which doesn’t really get off the ground, Country Capersby Ivor Slaney with its echoes of Leroy Anderson’s Fiddle Faddle, and the soporific Sunday Driver by Peter Dennis, a name unknown to me. R.F. comes to the rescue with his Danish band [listed on the 78 label as ‘Melodi Light Orchestra conducted by Ole Jensen’] and Stardom; but Karl Rehfield and Roger Roger with ensembles in Stuttgart and Paris put their string players through their paces with little real music reward in a couple of busy but slight moto-pepetuo-style pieces, music not in the same class as Anderson’s Fiddle. Things start looking up with Henry Croudsen’s harmonically imaginative Serenade to the Moon performed by the excellent Louis Voss and one of the highlights of the disc, and with a departure from Guild’s norm, Pat Lynn’s Remembrance, a strict-tempo Victor Sylvester sound-alike version featuring some wizard playing from two pianos. The 1940’s are represented by another curate’s egg of a selection where, perhaps, the problem with some library music is particularly highlighted. Often it doesn’t travel well and out of context sounds contrived and vacuous, bereft of stimulus of, say, newsreel pictures or documentary footage. Haydn Wood’s A Love Song is a nice post-Elgarian example of how to write a good tune but it does rather draw attention to the lack of memorable melodies on this disc in general. It is good to hear the BBC stalwart, Stanford Robinson, for whom I had the pleasure of playing a few times in the studio and in concert with his brother Eric, in music by Arthur Benjamin, whose big hit was of course Jamaican Rumba. HisOverture to an Italian Comedy is a worthy inclusion and can stand on its own two feet; but a couple of pieces by the admirable Charles Williams and one by Frank Tapp, another rarely-heard name, really need some pictures to have any effect. Montague Ewing’s Clown with a Tambourine isn’t of the standard of his other, better-known, pieces and even Alan "Merlin" Bunting can’t conjure up more presence for this tricky instrument. At one stage I began to think that the clown in question had forgotten to take his tambourine to the session! Arthur Wood’s Barwick Green must be a contender for the most-played piece of music ever, light or otherwise, but it’s not hard to see why only this movement of his suite ‘My Native Heath, is heard nowadays. Ilkley Tarn and Knaresboro Status are very ordinary and, in the latter, Arthur Wood seems to imply that this fine old Yorkshire town with its magnificent railway viaduct is located in some distant Gaelic outpost. As usual, David Ades provides excellent liner notes: well-researched, erudite but eminently readable. Over the span of sixty-odd discs the amount of invaluable information he has passed on to us enthusiasts is utterly remarkable.Glyn Bragg

GOGI GRANT Mad About the Boy 22 tracks incl. Welcome to my heart; The more I see you; Paradise; Love walked in; So do I; They didn’t believe me; But beautiful; Love letters; With all my heart; If I should lose you; At last! At last!; How deep in the ocean; Bewitched; Mad about the boy …Flare ROYCD296 [78:26]. " …an unforgettable voice, singing songs that will last for ever." The opinion of liner note writer Colin Villani ? and I would not disagree with that. These are songs "of love and loss and longing" from two albums: ‘Torch Time’ and ‘Welcome to My Heart’ [both from 1958]. The first 12 tracks listed above are from the latter and have the added interest for RFS members of being arranged and conducted by Dennis Farnon. The accompaniment for Love lettersalone is almost worth the price of the disc. Henri René conducts on the remaining tracks. For readers who may not have come across Miss Grant before: she had hits in the ‘50s notably the Top 10Suddenly there’s a valley and No.1 The wayward wind, and then dubbed Ann Blyth’s singing voice in the film biography of Helen Morgan, the famous 1920s torch singer. More, please! Peter Burt 

ANNETTE HANSHAW I’ve Got A Feeling I’m Falling When I am housekeeping for you; Fit as a fiddle; I’m following you; I’ve got it bad but it don’t do me no good; My future’s just passed; I want a good man [and I want him bad]; I hate myself for falling in love with you; You’re the one I care for; You’re just too sweet for words honey of mine; I cover the waterfront; Just another day wasted away; Are you happy; Is there anything wrong in that; My sin; If you see Sally; Black bottom; I’ve got a feeling I’m falling; Daddy wont you please come home; What wouldn’t I do for that man; If I can’t have you Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY781 [60:25]I reviewed Annette’s previous album in the last issue; much of that review could be repeated for this outing. Once again many well known musicians are present. In the twenties Annette was America’s Queen of Song, and as well as singing she could play ukulele and piano. An example of her keyboard playing is heard on Are you happy; competent but little different from the other pianists in her various groups. Her quaint but infectious singing [sometime speaking] does intrigue and reminds me of happy days playing my Dad’s 78s.Paul Clatworthy

VINCE MENDOZA and THE METROPOLE ORCHESTRA El Viento – The Garcia Lorca Project 12 tracks incl. La Cancio’n del Mariquita; Historietas del Viento [in three parts]; La Tarara, De Los Cuatros Muleros, Angeles Negros … ACT 9490-2 [70:45]As the Metropole was involved I just had to have this! Opera fans will probably revel in it but I did not know the language and I found the impassioned singing of the soloists intruded on the beauty of the orchestral settings. I will console myself with the breaks in the vocals where the orchestra as usual excels. Paul Clatworthy 

THE GLENN MILLER SINGERS Re-unions 1948, 1954, 1959 Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle, Johnny Desmond, Dorothy Carless, The Modernaires with Paul Kelly He sez, she sez; So far; It could happen to you; You don’t have to know the language; Brooklyn Love Song; Golden earrings; Sure thing, St Louis Blues March; I’ll be seeing you; Surprise Symphony; Begin the beguine; Memories of you; Because, Blue champagne; Moonlight serenade; A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square; Sweet Eloise; [I’ve got a girl in] Kalamazoo; Wham [Re-Bop-Boom-Bam]; Don’t sit under the apple tree; Serenade in blue; Elmer’s Tune; Booglie wooglie piggy; Chatanooga choo choo; Perfidia Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY 783 [76:15]Good quality transcription recordings complete with announcements. Some of the tunes are not sung so I almost included this review in Big Band Roundup. Tracks with strings I enjoyed most were It could happenGolden and Sure; the arranger on the last, Gerry Gray. Other arrangers credited: Norman Leydon, Bill Finegan, Ray Mackinley, Perry Burgett, Ray Wright, Eddie Durham and Billy May. Paul Clatworthy

CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS Reunited 22 tracks incl. I could easily fall [in love with you]; The young ones; Living doll, Bachelor boy; Travellin’ light; In the country; Willie and the hand jive; Summer holiday, Do you wanna dance? …. EMI 9996878832L [61:07]Here’s another one for the festive season ? and sheer nostalgia all the way. The principal participants sound as good as they did when first recording these tracks up to 50 years ago. For good measure there are three tracks newly minted: C’mon everybodySea cruise and Singing the blues. As well as the named artists you get violins, cellos, saxophones and an accordion for your tenner. Interesting to read that Cliff’s vocals were recorded in Miami and Hank Marvin’s guitars and vocals in Perth, Western Australia. Peter Burt

DINAH SHORE Moments Like These 26 tracks incl. Deep purple; When the world was young; Moments like these; I’ll remember April; These foolish things; I fall in love too easily; Until; West of the mountains; Pretty mandolin; Tempting; The Stowaway; I could have danced all night …. Flare ROYCD283 [73:03]Miss Shore started studying sociology but became in the early ’40s the leading American female singer on records and radio, having her first million-seller with Blues in the night. On this CD we hear her last album made for RCA Victor in 1958 ? a dozen ballads largely about love, or the loss of it. Then we have 14 singles recorded during the final years of her long association with her record company, the very last being the amusing tango The scene of the crime that brings this desirable disc to its close. There are some attractive photographs of the star in the accompanying booklet and comprehensive tracks listings with full notes by Colin Villani. Most of the songs are conducted by Harry Zimmerman, although Vic Shoen, Harry Geller, Henri René and Hugo Winterhalter ? a rather attractive The Whistling Tree, where Dinah duets with herself ? as well as The Peter King Singers, The Skylarks and The Notables also play their part.

Dinah! The One and Only Dinah Shore ‘This Is The Moment’ Tall hope; Tenderly; These foolish things; Three o’clock in the morning; I could have danced all night; Smoke gets in your eyes; I cover the waterfront; Begin the beguine; It never entered my mind; I’ve got you under my skin … & 12 others ‘Dinah!’ Blues medley: St Louis blue, I got a man, Shake rattle and roll, Let the good times roll, Boogie blues, Blues in the night, Dinella Blues; Wrap your troubles in dreams; Hello young lovers, After you’ve gone; Please don’t talk about me … & 7 other tracks Flare SPEC1037 [65:45 & 43:22]I make a passing reference to ‘The Dinah Shore Chevy Show’ in Back Tracks on page 68 without it probably meaning very much to our UK readers. It was a live, full-colour variety hour that ran on NBC in the States for 125 performances from 1956 until 1963. On the first of this 2-CD set there are 22 tracks taken from some of those Emmy Award-winning appearances mostly with conductor Fred Zimmerman in attendance. Frank DeVol is the conductor for the second album which is taken from Miss Shore’s "unforgettable" one-woman show recorded in Los Angeles on 14th October 1962. Credit, too, to Dinah’s pianist Ticker Freeman. Her Spiritual Medley [Some times I feel like a motherless child; Joshua; All God’s chillun and Ezekiel] forms a fine finish to a disc of delights. Another admirable all-round production from Flare, not least the 10-page booklet. Peter Burt

THE MAGIC OF THE HOLLYWOOD TENORS Mario Lanza, Felix Knight, Dennis Day, Dennis Morgan, Jan Peerce, Kenny Baker, Allan Jones and more... 24 tracks incl. The Rose of Tralee; The Donkey Serenade, In the still of the night; The moon of Manakoora, Love walked in, The moon and I, Two dreams met, Wait and see, The Desert Song, My wild Irish rose; Hush-a-bye [Wee rose of Killarney]; Ma belle Marguerite; I’ll build a stairway to paradise; Amapola; California moon…. Flare ROYCD289 [77:38]. A very well-filled album of the familiar and not-so-familiar, some even forgotten, spanning the years 1930 [the first track sung by John McCormack] to 1958 [Jan Peerce’sOn the street where you live]. Tony Middleton’s liner notes are most informative, like why tenor Oreste Kirkop, starring opposite Kathryn Grayson in the 1956 Paramount musical ‘The Vagabond King’, had to have his speaking voice dubbed! The track listings helpfully give credit to the accompaniments by orchestras and chorus including those of Ray Sinatra, Lennie Hayton, Michael Collins, Johnny Green, Henri Rene, and George Stoll, who conducts for Mario Lanza on Serenade andBeloved from the soundtrack of ‘Student Prince.’ Devotees of the genre need not delay in adding this CD to their collection. Ray Pavene 

JUST WE TWO The Stars Sing Duets From The Musicals Jane Powell & Vic Damone, Bing Crosby & Ann Blyth, Judy Garland & Margaret O’Brien, Robert Merrill & Dinah Shore, Ethel Merman & Joan Carroll, Fred & Adele Astaire ... many more 24 tracks incl. Let’s be buddies; Two dreams met; Under the bamboo tree; My one and only Highland fling; Oh, ‘tis sweet to think; Darn it baby, that’s love; Just we two; I have dreamed; Still water, You belong to my heart; Deep in my heart, dear; One boy sends you a rose; Is it you?; I talk to the trees; I adore you ….Flare ROYCD291 [76:04]Another even more fascinating collection of tracks, this one spanning the years 1931 [Hoops from ‘The Band Wagon’ with the Astaires] to 1958 [Indian love call from ‘Rose-Marie’with Julie Andrews and Giorgio Tozzi]. Always worth hearing is Irving Berlin’s great standard Easter Parade from ‘Thousands Cheer’, and never more so than in the version here by Paul Whiteman, his orchestra and singers Joan Edwards and Clark Dennis. Other favourites among many on this CD are the classic You’re just in love from ‘Call Me Madam’ sung by Russell Nype and Dinah Shore, andMake believe from ‘Showboat’, which Victor Lewis describes in his full liner notes as "one of the most famous duets to emerge from the world of the musical." It is sung here by Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson. Our dear late Edmund Hockridge is joined by Joy Nichols, of BBC’s radio’s ‘Take It From Here’ fame, for a wonderful version of There once was a man from ‘The Pajama Game’ enhanced by the musical direction of Robert Lowe. Again, there are full track listings. I had forgotten that Andre Previn was the MD for Maurice Chevalier and Hermoine Gingold on I remember it well from ‘Gigi.’Ray Pavene

DANIEL SMITH "Blue Bassoon" The Jody Grind, Billie’s Bounce, Things Ain’t What They Used To Be, Scotch And Water, My Baby’s Gone, Sack Of Woe, Nostalgia In Times Square, Wquinox, The Double Up, From Four Till Late, Break Out The Blues, Footprints, Solid Summit Records DCD 530[47:55]. I do not pretend to be an expert on the bassoon, let alone one that performs jazz. Ten years ago I would have expressed surprise if anyone had suggested that I would enjoy a concert featuring jazz music with the bassoon as the central instrument. Yet on 13 September in Malvern I did just that, when Daniel Smith gave a sensational premiere performance of Robert Farnon’sBassoon Concerto. Understandably the audience wanted more, and Daniel treated us to three numbers from this new CD. Some of the concertgoers that evening may not have fully appreciated how fortunate they were to be in the presence of an instrumentalist who has received heaps of praise from critics who know what they are writing about. As Michael J. West says in the booklet notes: "just as Daniel’s bassoon defies conventions of jazz and blues instrumentation, his playing of it challenges typical notions of jazz and blues phrasing. Along with the rich and reedy bass timbre that is his instrument’s stock in trade, Blue Bassoon is chock-a-block with Smith’s clipped staccato melodic statements, surprise glissandi, risky and virtuosic note bends, double-quick pacing, and rhythms that challenge the orthodoxy of swing". On this CD Daniel is supported by Martin Bejerano, piano; Edward Perez, bass; Ludwig Afonso, drums; and Larry Campbell, guitar. The strength of jazz is that it is a continually developing art form. Music lovers sometimes prefer certain periods of its evolution, and there is no doubt that today’s performers will one day be overtaken by new ideas and sounds as fresh generations find it impossible to resist its challenging appeal. Daniel Smith must surely be proud of his unique and invaluable contribution to the wonderful world of jazz, and it seems that each new release from him takes us further along the long road of discovery. Maybe one day he will return again to classical music to express his love for the bassoon. Whatever he does you can be sure that it is inspired by a passion that makes him such an exciting performer. David Ades

HERB ELLIS & CHARLIE BYRD TRIO The Navy Swings 15 tracks incl. One note Samba; Lady be good; Carolina in the morning; Chung king; St Louis blues; Someone to light up my life; Danco No.5; Limehouse Blues … Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY 787 [60:18]

COUNT BASIE AND JOE WILLIAMS Let’s Go To Town 15 tracks incl. It’s a wonderful world; Three eighteen; Keep your hand on your heart; Moten swing; One o’clock jump; Shake rattle and roll; In a mellow tone … Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY 786 [61:37"]

PEGGY KING and ANDRÉ PREVIN TRIO The Navy Swings 16 tracks incl. I could have danced all night; More than you know; Stars fell on Alabama; I’m beginning to see the light; Mad about the boy; I remember you; Zip … Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY 784 [61:01]

GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET The Navy Swings 14 tracks incl. Polka dots and moonbeams; For every man there is a woman; Nothing ever changes my love for you; You’re my girl; Night mist, Imagination … Sounds of Yesteryear DSOY 795 [61:07]

These four CDs have one thing in common: they were all made to recruit soldiers and sailors to the US Forces; each consists of four programmes complete with announcements. The music and recordings are excellent. Herb and Charlie, both consummate artists, ease through all their songs providing a relaxed mood only interrupted by the commercials. Sound is studio quality. The Basie set offers more contrast, well-known big band favourites augmented with eight vocals for Joe. The Basie penned instrumental, Three eighteen, a real treat for the ears. I never tire of listening to Neal Hefti’sLil Darlin’ or Whirly bird. The recording is live complete with cheering audience. The Previn trio has Red Mitchell on bass, Frankie Capp on Drums; they include two songs from ‘My Fair Lady Swings’which was high in the charts at the time although under Shelly Manne’s name. Peggy really hits the spot with her versions of I remember you and Happiness is just a thing called Joe. Peggy and the group are a happy match. This is also studio quality. George’s Shearing’s selection also has the benefit of studio sound, the tunes chosen could hardly have been better. Along with Toots Thielman on harmonica, Emil Richards vibes, Al Mckibbon bass, Percy Brice drums and Amando Peraza bongos, they breeze through the songs smoothly. Several other jazz names are mentioned during the announcements, so I expect more dates will be issued. These fifties recordings are available from The Woods (contact details in my ‘Big Band Roundup’ column), Amazon, HMV and most dealers.Paul Clatworthy 

NICOLA BENEDETTI Fantasie Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen; Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending; Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso; Massenet: Meditation from Thais; Ravel: Tzigane; Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel; Rachmaninov: Vocalise; Fauré: Après une Rêve Deutsche Grammophon 476 3399 [68:54] Although on a famous classical label, I hope that JIM readers will not overlook this release especially with Christmas just around the corner. There are some gorgeous melodies here, and three of the tracks are gypsy inspired including the showpiece opening track. This and two other of the five orchestral accompaniments are by the excellent Vasily Petrenko conducted Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. For me the CD is worth acquiring to discover the mesmeric Spiegelby the modern Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Miss Benedetti and her violin are accompanied on the last three items by the Ukranian pianist Alexei Grynyuk. Beautiful playing throughout. Peter Burt 

NIGEL OGDEN Plays Hammond The Carioca, April In Paris, The Continental, A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, One Morning In May, Portrait Of A Flirt (Robert Farnon), Desafinado, Remembering The Hammond Organists – Robin Richmond & Jerry Allan, Fly Me To The Moon, You Made Me Love you, etc… Grasmere GRCD 131 [76:01]. The Hammond Organ was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934, and it certainly created a sensation at the time. For decades afterwards it was the instrument of choice for organists specialising in popular music, and when you listen to Nigel Ogden’s latest CD it is not difficult to understand its enduring appeal. According to the booklet Nigel has now notched up 70 collections such as this, and his weekly show on BBC Radio-2 is now in its 30th year. He has built up a large army of loyal fans, and they will certainly not be disappointed with his latest offering. And just in case you missed it in the list of contents … track 7 is Robert Farnon’s Portrait Of A Flirt which Nigel performs with a respectful nod towards the original orchestral arrangement. I really enjoyed this CD! David Ades

GLAZUNOV Masquerade [Incidental Music] Gnesin Academy Chorus, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Yablonsky Naxos 8.570211 [66:57] An immensely enjoyable collection of easy on the ear music by the Russian classical composer Glazunov, who died in 1936, for a play that was banned for some 30 years. An added attraction is the occasional burst of that characteristic ripe Russian brass sound. The vocal contribution is quite small but very effective. All at the lowest possible price. Peter Burt

THE MUSIC OF ITC

Further to their exclusive original soundtrack CDs, Network has now released single CD volumes of highlights from some of the series previously issued. Among the 58 tracks spanning 71 minutes,‘The Prisoner’ [7959017] contains 2 cues composed by Robert Farnon. Also featured are other incidental themes and the title theme by Ron Grainer. Other releases currently available are:‘Danger Man’ [hour/half-hour episodes] composed by Edwin Astley 40 tracks [7959020 1:16]; ‘Department S’ Edwin Astley 54 tracks [7959019 1:16]; ‘Man in a Suitcase’ Albert Elms/Ron Grainer 44 tracks [7959021 1:17]; ‘Randall & Hopkirk [Deceased]’ Edwin Astley 62 tracks [7959016 1:17]. Of special interest is a 2-CD compilation ‘The Music Of ITC’ [7959016] which contains 113 tracks, some previously unissued, in addition to tracks from some of the box-set compilations: ‘Gideon’s Way’ Edwin Astley 2 tracks; ‘The Baron’ Edwin Astley 7 tracks; ‘The Saint’Edwin Astley 9 tracks; ‘The Persuaders!’ John Barry/Jackie Trent & Tony Hatch/Ken Thorne 4 tracks;‘The Adventurer’ John Barry, etc. 3 tracks; ‘The Zoo Gang’ Paul McCartney & Wings/Ken Thorne 8 tracks; ‘Return of the Saint’ John Scott/Irving Martin & Brian Dee/G & M De Angelis 8 tracks. There are also 7 tracks from ‘The Prisoner’ at least one of which is by Robert Farnon. Of particular interest from these "new tracks" listed above are those from ‘The Persuaders!’ Apart from John Barry’s theme, there is a suite of incidental music by Ken Thorne and the song Gotta get away now which was used in the pilot episode and sung by Tony Hatch & Jackie Trent. ‘The Adventurer’ theme is also by John Barry and has so far never appeared commercially in its original form. The running time of this CD not available at the time of writing. All releases are available from wwwnetworkdvd.netGareth Bramley

LES BAXTER & HIS ORCHESTRA Space Escapade 12 tracks incl. Shooting star; Moonscape; A distant star; Other side of the moon; The lady is blue; Saturday night on Saturn + 18 bonus tracks from the mid-50s incl. Toy tiger; Havana; The left arm of Buddha; Rush-hour romance; Designing woman; Blue echo; "Houseboat" Love song …. Cherry Red ACMEM 171 CD [73:15] Original Capitol recording from 1958.

ELMER BERNSTEIN God’s Little Acre 15 tracks plus Bonus Suite Kritzerland KR 20012-8[41:02] Limited Edition of 1000 copies. Original music from 1958 Motion Picture Soundtrack.

ESQUIVEL & HIS ORCHESTRA Infinity in Sound Vols 1 & 2 24 tracks incl. My reverie; Johnson Rag; Harlem Nocturne; Macarena; Autumn leaves; So rare …. / Baia; Time on my hands; Who’s sorry now; Espana Cani; Cherokee; Lullaby of Birdland …. Wounded Bird WOU 2225 [63:51] Original RCA recordings from 1960.

STAND BY FOR ACTION The Music of Barry Gray 40 tracks from "Four Feather Falls"; "Supercar"; "Fireball XL5"; "Stingray"; "Thunderbirds"; "Joe 90"; "Captain Scarlet"; "The Secret Service"; "Lifo"; "Space 1999" Silva Screen Records SILCD 1279 [80:00] Original music including previously unreleased tracks.

HENRY MANCINI The Thief Who Came to Dinner [1973] The 12 tracks of the original Warner Bros. LP are followed by 17 bonus tracks. Film Score Monthly FSM Vol.12 No.10 [63:15] Limited edition 3000 copies.

ANDR? PREVIN Two For The Seesaw [1962] Kritzerland KR 20012-8 [41:02] Limited edition of 1000. Original soundtrack.

BILLY VAUGHN & HIS ORCHESTRA Melody of Love 58 tracks incl. Tennessee Waltz; Little boy blue*; O, main papa; Unchained melody; Peg o’ my heart; Heartacres; The ship that never sailed*; Bells across the Rhine, La paloma; My blue heaven; Twilight time; Tumbling tumbleweeds; Cool water …. [* narrated by Ken Nordine]

2 CDs Jasmine JASCD 503 [173:16] Original DOT recordings. Although the back of the jewel case claims boldly that all tracks are mono, only about a dozen are. Among the tracks on the first disc is the stereo remake of the LP ‘The Golden Instrumentals’, originally issued in mono in 1956 ? apparently its first appearance on CD.

MITZI GAYNOR Mitzi 12 tracks incl. The nearness of you; Cheek to cheek; That old feeling; Rain; Lazy; I only have eyes for you …. + 9 extra tracks incl. 4 from the "South Pacific" Soundtrack; You’re the top [w. Bing Crosby]; Soon*; I don’t regret a thing, The half of it dearie blues*… Arranged and conducted by Pete King except for (*) with Russ Garcia and his Orchestra. Flare SPEC 1039 [52:04]

HERMOINE GINGOLD Live at the Café de Paris 12 tracks incl. Which witch?; Men are exactly the same; Only a medium medium +13 bonus tracks incl. Takes two to tango & Oh Grandma [both with Gilbert Harding]; The Borgias are having an orgy; Tit for Tat; Thanks, Yanks … Stage Door Records Stage 9010 [77:20]

"GIGI" 11 tracks from studio recording with Gogi Grant and Tony Martin with Dennis Farnon’s Orchestra + 9 bonus French and 3 Spanish tracks with Maurice Chevalier, Sacha Distel and Jane Markin; and Andre Toffel, Rosa Me and Lopez Negrette. Stage Door Records Stage 9013 [77:20]

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