Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Vinyl Vibrations with Brian Frederick podcast
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| Camille Saint-Saens, Composer VV033 | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:59:10 | |
Today ON VINYL VIBRATIONS I FEATURE THE MUSIC OF the MULTI-TALENTED, Camille Saint-Saens. M1 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.1 in E Flat, Op 2, III Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1853), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (10:00) M2 SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, II Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (3:59) M3 Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, IV Prestissimo, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (7:19) M4 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, I Allegro Moderato, Poco adagio, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (9:00) M5 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, II Maestoso, Allegro, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (7:20) M6 The Swan – The Carnival of the Animals XIII, (Saint-Saens 1886), Silhouettes -Virgil Fox/Organ” Capitol Records, 1960 (2:39) Saint-Saens lived from 1835 to 1921, and was born in PARIS. He was a composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic Era, that’s music that was featured throughout the 19th century. He was a musical prodigy, of course. He had perfect pitch. A grand aunt taught him some piano basics at three, and he was a music pupil at the age of 7. He gave informal performances at the age of 5, and his public debut was at age 10 performing the music of Mozart and Beethoven. He and studied at the Paris Conservatoire starting at age 13 to age 18. His first “job” was a ORGANIST at the Saint Merri Church – 26,000 parishioners. That sounds like a typical trajectory for a young musical prodigy. But, unlike other music students, Saint-Saens had a broad focus. He was a multi-tracker of the day, with varying and distinguished interests such as the study of Latin, Greek, Divinity and Mathematics. He was talented amateur Astronomer throughout his adult life.
In today’s podcast I review portions of 4 SAINT-SAENS COMPOSITIONS, pieces composed between 1853 and 1886, or when Saint-Saens was from the age of 17 to 50. We will hear 6 movements from 4 works – those 4 works are
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| JEAN-LUC PONTY – VIOLIN VV032 | 16 Feb 2026 | 00:50:35 | |
M1 “Idiot Bastard Son”, King Kong Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, (Frank Zappa) World Pacific Jazz Records, 1970 (4:00). M2 “Twenty Small Cigars”, King Kong Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, (Frank Zappa) World Pacific Jazz Records, 1970 (5:35). M3 “Bowing-Bowing”, Jean Luc Ponty-Stephane Grappelli (Jean-Luc Ponty), Inner City Records, 1976, recorded 1973, (6:28) M4 “Valerie”, Jean-Luc Ponty-Stephane Grappelli (Jean-Luc Ponty), Inner City Records, 1976 (7:00) M5 “Upon The Wings Of Music”, Upon The Wings of Music, (Jean-Luc Ponty), Atlantic Recording/Warner Communications, (5:24). M6 “Now I Know”, Upon The Wings of Music, (Jean-Luc Ponty), Atlantic Recording/Warner Communications, (4:25) WELCOME TO THIS EPISODE OF VINYL VIBRATIONS – musical exploration into sounds and grooves from artists whose works are produced onto vinyl records. The Vinyl Record has stood the test of time- – Vinyl is durable and delivers stunning sound. With Vinyl Records, we capture a rich period in music history including pop, rock, jazz, and classical genres. In each show I explore a topic in the artist’s music that makes their work unique and timeless. From these podcasts, the actual vinyl LPs played in this show go back to the 1950s – I am enjoying these discs some 70+ years after their production date. Tangible music, always available great quality. … I’m your host, Brian Frederick. WELCOME to this episode of Vinyl … Vibrations. ABOUT TODAY’S PROGRAM ABOUT THE ARTISTToday our featured artist is Jean-Luc Ponty – He is a French JAZZ-ROCK and JAZZ FUSION violinist and composer, born in 1942. Ponty graduated from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with the PREMIER PRIX the first prize, a great accomplishment. Then he was hired by Orchestra Lamoureux. He also had a side job playing in a college jazz band and he evolved and developed a jazz interest. In his 20’s, Ponty went on to play at jazz clubs in Paris as the “JAZZ FIDDLE” role. Ponty was at the right time and the right place. In 1965, the VIOLIN did not have a place in the jazz world or in the jazz sound. Ponty has a unique sound, and he has made a huge impact in JAZZ-ROCK and in JAZZ FUSION. (pause) One characteristic of Ponty’s style is his spared use of vibrato. His style favors powerful long notes, with just a trace of vibrato.. Another characteristic is that he plays the electric violin, and thirdly, he uses effects processing. He is truly a modern and pioneering violinist with his jazz and fusion roots starting in the 1960s. In the1970’s he collaborated as sideman with FRANK ZAPPA- and with CHICK COREA- and with the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA- resulting in 18 sideman records between those three groups. Before that PONTY had many recording accomplishments – with 8 recordings as LEADER going back to 1964 when he released his premier record [JAZZ LONG PLAYING] In 1967 he played at the MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL, and this landed him a recording contract with the WORLD PACIFIC label. In 1970, he was working with Frank Zappa on the KING KONG album, and working with Elton John on the HONKY CHATEAU album. I was lucky and thrilled to see PONTY live in 1972 at the BROWN SHOE, a bar in the Chicago Old Town neighborhood. He played an electric violin, and had floor pedals with basic effects, and played a mind-boggling 45-minute set of ROCK FUSION music. That was during his MAHAVISHNU-ZAPPA-COREA days. I had my proof, he was the real thing. And now, let’s go into the music of Jean Luc Ponty. In today’s podcast I review three records of Jean Luc Ponty AS LEADER, his early years, 1970 to 1975.
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| Johanne Sebastian Bach - the Clavier - VV-031 | 05 Feb 2026 | 00:47:17 | |
SONGS in this podcast episode: M1 NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND, JS BACH, 1714, BWV 61 (5:21) M2 TOCCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR M.2 ADAGIO, 1710-1717, BWV 564 (4:20). M3 TWO-PART INVENTION in F MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (0:40). M4 TWO-PART INVENTION in B-FLAT MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (1:30) M5 TWO-PART INVENTION in D MINOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723, (0:55). M6 PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 “Le Clavier Bien Tempere” D-Major, JS BACH, 1722, BWV 850 (3:06). M7 JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING, JS BACH, 1723, BWV 147 (2:56) M8 CHORALE PRELUDE “WACHET AUF”, JS BACH, 1731, BWV 140 (3:37) PROGRAM NOTES Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist from the late Baroque period. He was born in Eisenach, in what is now central Germany. Bach lived from 1685 to 1750, The Baroque period was a 150-year period in music, dating from 1600 to 1750. Baroque music is Western Classical Music that followed the Renaissance period. Baroque music features drama, ornamentation, major and minor tones, and was presented in new ways – – like the Opera, Concerto, and Sonata, Baroque composers included BACH, HANDEL, VIVALDI. M9 AIR ON A G-STRING, JS BACH, 1730, BWV 1068 (2:27). Bach probably used the CLAVICHORD to compose most of his music. The Clavichord is small, lightweight and would not disturb people. The clavichord was very temperamental, because it required tuning before each play, just like a violin or guitar. The keyboard instruments of the day were referred to as a general category: the “KLAVIER”….these included HARPSICHORD, CLAVICHORD, ORGAN and PIANOFORTE. Bach’s favorite KLAVIER instrument was the LAUTENWERK or LUTE HARPSICHORD with animal gut strings. The writing of music was in support of GOD and KINGS. Over time, Baroque Music evolved into what is today known as the modern Orchestra. Bach was a prolific composer, writing hundreds of pieces for solo instruments, particularly the organ. He also wrote pieces for orchestra and choir. Bach is MOST known for writing two or more melodies or voices against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint. Bit Bucket A BWV catalog number is a unique identifier for musical works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, standing for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). Today I will present 9 compositions, dating from 1710 to 1731, during the time Bach was about age 25 to 45. M1 TOCCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR M.2 ADAGIO, 1710-1717, BWV 564 (4:20)Our first piece — TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO). an ORGAN COMPOSITION. It is taken from a 1959 album of BACH ORGAN WORKS . The movement is called ADAGIO ….which indicates “At Ease”, or “Slow and Stately”. Tempo is only 66-76 BPM. like the resting heart rate for many people. Great liner notes. HERE IS AN excerpt from the liner notes on that album – – QUOTE “OUR BACH” said the obituary notice, “was the greatest organ and clavier player that ever lived”. Though it may seem strange to us now, Bach’s genius during his life was recognized only as a master of the organ—not as a composer. It was actually over a hundred years after his death that his works revealed him as a unique and mighty composer. His reputation as an organist brought many invitations to test new organs and advise on the construction of them. UNQUOTE As with most of his organ works , there is no autograph or manuscript score from Bach, his organ work manuscript copies are lost. This song has a CONCERTO style and rhythm. We will hear the 2nd or ADAGIO movement. . It is all very calm and beautiful and pastoral and serene…until Bach pulls out all the stops in the last minute of this ADAGIO movement. He is really rocking the walls and windows of that church. Without any further adieu, here is TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO). PLAY M2 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M2 MUSICAL CREDIT: This Bach organ work was recorded on the Luneburg Organ at St. Johanniskirche, in the town of Luneburg, in northern Germany, the organist is Professor Michael Schneider. This LP was produced and released on the SOMERSET label here in the US in 1959 The album title is BACH The Majesty of the Luneburger Organ. M2 NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND, JS BACH, 1714, BWV 61 (5:21)In 1714, Bach would have been 29 years of age. It turns out that this song goes back almost two centuries before BACH’s time. It’s based on a LUTERAN CHORALE with words written by Martin Luther for the 1523 first Advent Sunday. For centuries, this was the first hymn for the first Sunday of ADVENT. What I will play next is an arrangement for as modern symphony orchestra (the Philadelphia Orchestra) and it is definitely JS BACH heard in those phrases. But it is a large orchestra – – Conducted by Leopold Stokowski. This is an extremely restrained, demure, and understated interpretation of a Bach piece the most restrained I have ever heard. The recording you will hear next is performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with conductor Leopold Stokowski. This recording is on a Vinyl LP titled THE SOUND OF GENIUS, produced by COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS, in 1960. It was one of many records that were shipped by mail to members of the Columbia Record Club. My parents were enthusiastic members. A new disc would arrive in the mail every month, such as this LP of classical music. Without further delay here is NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS PLAY M1 SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! ! That was…M1 NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS” MUSICAL CREDIT:
BIT BUCKET This piece also is based on a song listed in the ZAHN Lutheran chorales catalog. ZAHN 1174 M3 TWO-PART INVENTION in F MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (0:40)The next three pieces are called TWO PART INVENTIONS, composed by JS Bach around 1720 The inventions were composed for use in instruction of Bach’s oldest son WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH who was 12 years old. Today, these inventions are introduced to music students in school grades 4-7. Learning the Two-Part Invention requires ROTE learning, practicing over and over until the two hands work completely independently of one another. The inventions teach, among other things, the use of COUNTERPOINT. Bach is MOST known for writing two melodies against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint. That is the feature of these inventions, in each one there are TWO PARTS, left and right hand parts. COUNTERPOINT is found mostly in Bach’s FUGUES and in his INVENTIONS. Perhaps a brief demonstration is in order. Here is an excerpt from one of Bach’s inventions.
In some of Bach works, the roles reverse,
I will now play WENDY CARLOS’s rendition of three BACH TWO-PART INVENTIONS from her 1969 recording titled “SWITCHED ON BACH” .. I will play all three, back-to-back. Each one is short – – average length ONE MINUTE EACH! PLAY M3 PLAY M4 PLAY M5 Credits: HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED M4 TWO-PART INVENTION in B-FLAT MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (1:30)And now….. PLAY M4 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M4 MUSICAL CREDIT: HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED M5 TWO-PART INVENTION in D MINOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723, (0:55)PLAY M5 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M5 We heard three inventions – –
Each invention is very different than the other. Not just a key change like the work title would suggest ! Bach stated that he wrote his inventions “to be models of composition” in other words, to enable the student to form ways of developing musical ideas and “acquire a strong taste of composition” Bach wrote the inventions, one for of the notes A to G and one for each minor and major key. Today these inventions are over 300 years old ! MUSICAL CREDIT:
BIT BUCKET M6 PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 “Le Clavier Bien Tempere” D-Major, JS BACH, 1722, BWV 850 (3:06)Next is Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” written in 1722. He was 37. The title page to the Well-tempered Clavier song book reads : “The well-tempered Clavier, or Preludes and Fugues, through all the tones and semitones, both the [major] and [minor]. For the profit and use of the studious musical young…” Bach wrote these preludes and fugues in all keys in the chromatic scale … 12 major and 12 minor keys I have the version in D MAJOR. It’s two sections – the prelude, and the fugue
And now….PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major fromThe Well-Tempered Clavier PLAY M6 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M6 PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier MUSICAL CREDIT:
Our next song is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring This song was also composed by JS Bach in that same year of 1723 – – prolific at age 38. This was written for the Christian Feast of the Visitation- celebrated at the end of May in Western Christianity. The song is a Lutheran hymn. … a CANTATA and it has a CHORALE or chorus piece repeated twice within this cantata. There are many arrangements and versions because this song is one of Bach’s most beautiful, well-known, and popular. The version we will hear next is arranged for SOLO PIANO. the pianist is Leon Fleisher. And Now, Here is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Bach 1723 PLAY M7 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M7 Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring MUSICAL CREDIT:
Here is another Chorale recording titled Chorale Prelude VACKET OFF “Wachet Auf”, which translates to SLEEPERS, WAKE! This hymn was transcribed from a Lutheran hymn written in 1599 by written by Phillippe Nicolai. This Cantata is truly a work from the middle ages. In 1731, Bach took this hymn and created a 7-movement cantata, we will hear the first movement or PRELUDE”. This cantata is sung in church on the Trinity Sunday. Today this piece is very popular piece in general…it is POPULAR CLASSICAL MUSIC. J.S. Bach wrote 46 of these cantatas for church, in all. ODD FACT about this song… it was performed only once by Bach, in Leipzig that year. And now the FIRST MOVEMENT from VACKET OFF …the Prelude PLAY M8 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! that was M4 The Chorale Prelude “Wachet Auf”, also known as SLEEPERS, WAKE! Song credits M4 Credits:
Our next AND LAST piece is from the Switched-On Bach album and s titled AIR ON A G-STRING. This title comes from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, written almost 300 years ago. So what is the meaning of the song title Air on a G-String? Well, Bach composed this as an orchestral suite in 1730. 141 years later, August Wilhelm arranged the second movement for SOLO VIOLIN and he did something unique. He transposed the song down from D so that the entire piece could be played on one string of the violin, the G-String, which is the lowest register on that instrument. Here is an example of what this sounds like on the Violin G-String, thjs example with piano accompaniment—pardon the scratchy sound, is from an old 78 RPM disc in 1935. Play example – Jacques Dumont (Violin) Bach Air On The G String with Andre Collard (piano) We went from Bach’s orchestral piece, to Wilhelm’s transcription for solo violin, to Wendy Carlos modern interpretation with her MOOG Synthesizer. Now here is Wendy Carlos’ arrangement of Air on a G String, from her debut album, SWITCHED-ON BACH, in 1968. PLAY M9 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M9 MUSICAL CREDIT:
END OF PROGRAM VV-031 | |||
| Fats Waller Solo Performances VV030 | 07 Nov 2024 | 00:46:13 | |
VV-030 PROGRAM LIST
Background songs for this episode:
Today’s show features the LATE GREAT Thomas Wright Waller, a jazz pianist and organist, composer and singer, born in New York City in 1904 The 7th of 11 children, his mother was a musician, and his father was a trucker and pastor in NYC. Fats started playing piano when he was 6. He played the organ at his father’s church at age 10. PAUSE He was home-schooled early-on by his mother and worked in a grocery store. He quit high school after just one semester at age 15 to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. PAUSE At the Lincoln Theater, he earned $32 a week. That was 1929. He became known as “Fats Waller” because he was big — both in body and in mind. PAUSE Fats Waller laid some of the building blocks for what is NOW ‘modern jazz piano’. He popularized the use of The stride piano style, which is widely used by jazz pianists today. He toured internationally and two of his biggest hits were Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose. PAUSE You are listening to Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child by Fats Waller) Recorded back in 1943.PAUSE Waller copyrighted over 400 songs. He probably composed many more, but, when he was in financial difficulty, he would sell songs to other writers and performers, who would not acknowledge the real composer, claiming the songs as their own.
Today’s podcast features Fats Waller and a few of his SOLO piano and organ compositions that were recorded between the years 1926 and 1943, or from the age of 22 to 39. Some of these songs are not available today, except where they are rediscovered – – – on my old and treasured Fats Waller record collection! SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! ! BIT BUCKET Waller is also credited with his composition and performance work in Broadway Musicals. Waller is perhaps the FIRST BLACK composer to write the score and perform for a mostly all-white show on Broadway. That was the 1943 Broadway musical EARLY TO BED, produced by Richard Kollmar – the Broadway Flyer for EARLY TO BED reads “Music by Thomas (“Fats”) Waller”. . M1 M1 Squeeze Me (Thomas Waller) Rec. 2/14/1926, FATS WALLER EARLY UNDISCOVERED SOLOS, Riverside Records RLP 12-103, 1955 (2:55)
PLAY M1 SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! ! That was…M1 Squeeze Me MUSICAL CREDIT:
BITBUCKET RCA Victor featured the dog listening to a victrola, with the subtitle “His Master’s Voice”, M2 M2 Handful of Keys (Fats Waller) Rec. 3/1/1929, HANDFUL OF KEYS, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor, LPM-1502, 1957 (2:45) Our second track is a 1929 recording of HANDFUL OF KEYS, released by RCA Victor in 1957.
PLAY M2 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M2 Handful of Keys MUSICAL CREDIT:
M3 M3 Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Fats Waller, Harry Brooks) Rec. 8/2/1929, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor LPM-1246, 1956 (3:00) Next, I feature perhaps the most popular of Fats Waller tunes, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’
PLAY M3 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M3 Ain’t Misbehavin’ MUSICAL CREDIT:
M4 M4 Tanglefoot (Fats Waller) Rec. 8/24/1929, THE RAREST FATS WALLER, Volume 1, RFW-1, 1955. (3:10)
And now…..TANGLEFOOT. PLAY M4 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M4 TANGLEFOOT MUSICAL CREDIT:
Bit Bucket tidbits
M5 M5 Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller) Rec 5/13/1941, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor LPM-1246, 1956 (3:21)
PLAY M5 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M5 HONEYSUCKLE ROSE
MUSICAL CREDIT:
BIT BUCKET
M6 M6 Bouncin’ on a V-Disc (Fats Waller) Rec. 9/23/1943, FATS WALLER PLAYS, SINGS AND TALKS, Jazz Treasury JT-1001, 1956 (4:46)
PLAY M6 SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! That was…M6 Bouncin’ on a V-Disc
MUSICAL CREDIT:
SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! Play background song for “ABOUT TODAY’S PROGRAM”
Conclusion:
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| Stevie Wonder Instrumentals – VV029 | 17 Sep 2023 | 00:51:32 | |
SONG LIST*
M1 How Can You Believe (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, Motown Records LP 1968 (3:10)
M2 Which Way the Wind (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, Motown Records LP 1968 (2:40)
M3 Contusion (Stevie Wonder) Songs in the Key of Life, Motown Records 2LP, 1976 (3:45)
M4 Easy Goin Evenin’ / My Mama’s Call (Stevie Wonder) A Something’s Extra for Songs in the Key of Life, Motown Records 2LP, 1976 (3:58)
M5 The First Garden (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records 2LP, 1979 (2:32)
M6 Voyage to India (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records 2LP, 1979 (6:23)
M7 Tree (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records 2LP, 1979 (5:55)
Today’s Vinyl Vibrations episode features Stevie Wonder in his early years, and more specifically his Instrumental compositions. Stevie Wonder is an international pop icon, a singer-songwriter, a record producer, AND a multi-instrumental musician (for example…harmonica, keyboards, drums, bass guitar, guitar, and an incredibly talented singer. Wonder is an innovator – he pioneered the use of the early analog synthesizer during the 1970s. His albums are individual works of art, carefully crafted and thematic. Stevie Wonder’s influence extends across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. He has often been referred to as a “ONE MAN BAND” because of his broad range of talents in music composition, music production and most of all – – music performance. Born Stevland Hardaway Morris, Stevie Wonder was born on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan. That’s near Saginaw Bay off Lake Huron, about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. In the 1950s, Saginaw County had several General Motors plants and many companies building parts that went down to the big DETROIT assembly plants. It was a booming economic period for the entire US auto industry. It was a difficult birth. Wonder was born six weeks premature and placed in an oxygen-rich incubator, which resulted in retinopathy of prematurity – causing his blindness. When he was 4, his Mother divorced with his father, and along with her 3 kids, moved 100 miles down the road to bustling Detroit…. home of MOTOWN RECORDS. At age 8, Steveland attended the Whitestone Baptist Church on Detroit’s west side. There, he developed his musical talents — playing piano, drums and harmonica — and he also sang in the choir and there became a soloist. Stevie was quickly recognized as a prodigy.. He further developed his singing talent with a friend …and they performed as Stevie and John on street corners. When he was just 11, this musical prodigy was discovered by Ronnie White of the MIRACLES, and that in-turn resulted in a meeting with Motown Records founder Barry Gordy, who signed him with the TAMLA label of Motown Records. At that time, he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. That was 1961 and Wonder had a 5-year rolling contract with royalties that were to be held in trust until he was 21. The weekly pay for this young artist was meager – a stipend of just $2.50 a week plus a tutor for Stevie when he was on tour. That $2.50 weekly stipend would be worth about $25 a week today. At age 12 he enrolled in Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan. BIT BUCKET Saginaw is also where I was born, just 2 years after Stevie. My family also moved from Saginaw to Detroit, around same year as Stevie – 1954. #M1 How Can You Believe (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, Motown Records LP 1968 (3:10)
PLAY BACKGROUND – HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE
To start today’s podcast, I feature the album titled Eivets Rednow. There is some humor in the album title. Eivets Rednow is Stevie Wonder spelled backwards, and on the first release of the album, Stevie’s name did not appear on the cover. The album is also UNIQUE for Stevie as it is an INSTRUMENTAL album. No lyrics. No poetry. This an easy listening POP and R&B instrumental album, released on the Gordy Records label in 1968. Gordy was one of the four MOTOWN labels – those labels were Gordy, Tamla, Motown, and Soul. The release I have was released on the MOTOWN LABEL and adds “How do you spell Stevie Wonder backwards?” …on the cover. Stevie was only 18 at the time of this release, although this is Wonder’s ninth studio album! Prolific. Boundless energy. Featured on this song is the skillful harmonica melody. Wonder plays the harmonica, drums, piano, but most notably, his harmonica style is unique, very melodic, rich with feeling, and unmistakably Stevie Wonder, listening to it 55 years later. Have a listen to this wonderful song and Stevie Wonder’s distinctive harmonica line. And Now How Can You Believe PLAY M1 Don’t Touch That Dial that was M1 M1 How Can You Believe (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, LP 1968 a short 3:10 in length, a pop tune. Song credits Credits go to Stevie Wonder, music composer arranger and producer
More on the FUNK BROTHERS later. #M2 Which Way the Wind (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, Motown Records LP, 1968 (2:40)PLAY BACKGROUND – WHICH WAY THE WIND Now from that same album Eivets Rednow, on the track titled WHICH WAY THE WIND, there is a clavinet instrument on this song. The CLAVINET was a new instrument – – an electrically amplified CLAVICHORD and it was first manufactured by the HOHNER Company in Germany, starting in 1964. HOHNER is known for harmonicas, accordions, and recorders. We all played the recorder in elementary school, remember? The CLAVICHORD itself is a very old keyboard instrument from the LATE MIDDLE AGES and was used from years 1500 to 1800. Here is a sample of what a CLAVICHORD sounds like. This instrument was made in about the year 1600. It is an amazing sound coming from this 400-year old instrument…. PLAY EXAMPLE CLAVICHORD SAMPLE Also featured on this album is THE FUNK BROTHERS. THE FUNK BROTHERS is a Detroit-based collective of first-call studio session musicians that backed most MOTOWN records in the 1960s. Similar concept to THE WRECKING CREW collective over in LA. The FUNK BROTHERS eventually moved to LA in 1972. You will hear this ensemble on hits like “My Girl”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “Baby Love”, ” I Was Made to Love Her”, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, “The Tears of a Clown”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”…. …and of course on this earlier song with Stevie Wonder WHICH WAY THE WIND. And now, Which Way the Wind, 1968 with the brass and strings of THE FUNK BROTHES and Stevie drives the Melody on the HOHNER CLAVINET. Play M2 Don’t Touch That Dial That was M2 M2 Which Way the Wind (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, LP 1968 Stevie Wonder also used that Hohner Clavinet in his 1972 hit “Superstition”. Here is a bit from “Superstition”…….. PLAY SUPERSTITION CLAVINET EXAMPLE Credits
In 1972, four years after this album’s release, Stevie Wonder toured the US with The Rolling Stones American Tour. I was fortunate to have seen that show at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. Stevie did the warm-up show. He was truly a one-man band. He was guided around the stage by his team and played the bass, drums, keyboards, percussion, harmonica vamps – – plus his pop hits… quite a show that evening at the Rubber Bowl. Frankly, I was more impressed by Stevie Wonder’s incredible performance than the main act. BIT BUCKET The album failed to get much attention A single was then released with one of the catchy songs, that is the song ALFIE, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the ALFIE single reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts. PLAY BACKGROUND – CONTUSION The double album- Songs in the Key of Life, was released in September 1976. This double album has many different styles and is complex. Some find the album hard to absorb, but I believe this is one of the three best Stevie Wonder albums. The marketplace responded …. this album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at No. 1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks. On this instrumental, Stevie is the composer, however the musical performance features Philadelphia session guitarist MICHAEL SEMBELLO. Sembello was featured on the earlier album, FULFILLINGNESS FIRST FINALE (1974) and also is A CORE ARTIST on this album, SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE. And now Contusion Play M3 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That Was M3 M3 Contusion (Stevie Wonder) Songs in the Key of Life, Motown Records Inc, 1976 Credits M3 CREDITS
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PLAY BACKGROUND – EASY GOIN’ And now, one more from the SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE album. The other very cool thing about vinyl records was that some artists went the extra step of providing liner notes. These liner notes would include things like music and production credits, maybe the lyrics, and maybe some analysis or critique. These notes are informative, and the idea is that you are captivated while listening and reading the notes on these new songs. In this case, Wonder went overboard, and added a 22-page booklet with all the song lyrics and song credits. So Songs in The Key of Life is a treasured collectible. Another great thing about Wonder is that he is so prolific that he published in double album sets. That’s a LOT of new music to absorb. The records were numbered to accommodate a stackable record player so that songs were heard in the intended order. But Stevie did not stop at 2 LP records, there was more … there was a BONUS 7” record! It looks like a 45-rpm disc, but it plays at LP speed of 33-1/3. Because of this slower speed, 4 bonus songs easily fit on this small format. One of the songs on the bonus disc is titled Easy Goin’ Evening, a harmonica song composed by Stevie. The bonus 7” EP was produced arranged and composed by SW. And now M4 Easy Goin’ Evening Play M4 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M4 Easy Goin’ Evening (Stevie Wonder) and the 7” disk is titled “A Something’s Extra for Songs in the Key of Life”, Motown Records Inc, 1976 (3:58) Credits
NEWS
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PLAY BACKGROUND – THE FIRST GARDEN Now for a “mostly” instrumental album, a soundtrack album, a thematic album. Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants is Stevie Wonder’s creation in 1979. Another Double LP set. It is the soundtrack to the documentary THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS based on a 1973 book by the same name by Peter Thompkins and Christopher Bird. The documentary featured time-lapse photography of growing plants. We hear Stevie’s harmonica lead the melody in this first song THE FIRST GARDEN. A key fact – this album features the invention of modern-day SAMPLING. This is an early experiment. Wonder composed with a music sampler called a Computer Music Melodian. This device was invented by Harry Mendel in 1976. It is an analog to digital sampling synthesizer. With this collection of hardware, you could record any sound, the recorded sound would be stored in memory, and you could play it back instantly, but change it to play back at different pitches or speeds for example. That was the beginning of SAMPLING. Many of the NATURE SOUNDS in this song are from this sampler. Stevie recorded and transformed sounds. Here are some sample sounds…the animal sounds in particular PLAY EXAMPLE SAMPLED SOUNDS – interlude section with chirping animal sounds and storms ¾ into the song Quite a leap in the use of technology in music. Over the years, many competitors emerged and improvements evolved the process of sampling. Today it is all digital and amorphous, sampling. … and now…. The First Garden Play M5 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M5 The First Garden (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (2:32) Credits:
BIT BUCKET The Computer Music Melodian was invented by Harry Mendel. #M6 Voyage to India (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records 2LP, 1979 (6:23)PLAY BACKGROUND – VOYAGE TO INDIA JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE was also one of the earliest popular albums to use DIGITAL RECORDING technology, which Wonder used for all his subsequent recordings. Stevie was definitely an early adopter of technology in music production with DIGITAL SAMPLING and DIGITAL RECORDING. Another cool thing about this album …the front cover lettering was embossed. Interesting. Stevie’s recent LPs were also printed with Braille captions and messages for blind readers, as it was on this album. Feel the embossed letters and the braille on the front and back covers. Voyage to India is our next song. Here is longer song set of Stevie Wonder. The LP is a bit tricky because on Side 1 there are 6 songs arranged on 7 tracks! Despite the extensive liner notes, I am left guessing that the VOYAGE TO INDIA draws from two tracks. The first part begins with a western classical string introduction – – violin strings, a double-bass, a cello. No doubt, it was all synthetic, because there are no credits for those instruments. This ends with a crashing sound of thunder…here is a bit of that intro. PLAY EXAMPLE BALLAD intro to the song The second part features a melody led by a sitar. The sitar is played by Ben Bridges. Bridges replaced guitarist SEMBELLO whom we heard on CONTUSION. Bridges was a sideman for Wonder from 1975 to 1992 and played rhythm guitar. Here is that sitar sound PLAY EXAMPLE SITAR 50% in to the song And Now: Voyage to India 1979 PLAY M6 Don’t Touch That Dial that was M6 Voyage to India (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (6:23) Credits
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PLAY BACKGROUND – TREE And now our last song is titled TREE from the JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS album. TREE evokes the feelings of strength growth longevity beauty. Wonder uses upward key changes to add sound and power. Also he uses the Computer Music Melodian digital sampler and synthesizer to compose some of the songs sounds. And now M7 Tree – – Stevie Wonder, 1979 Play M5 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M7 Tree (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (5:55) Credits
That concludes our show today …. I hope you enjoyed listening to a different aspect of Stevie Wonder – namely his instrumental music. Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST. | |||
| Pat Metheny – Guitarist VV028 | 22 Aug 2023 | 00:53:40 | |
SONG LIST* M1 Bright Size Life (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (4:55) M2 Sirabhorn (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (5:27) M3 Unity Village (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:38) M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:36) M5 So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), Still Life, Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (6:24) M6 Last Train Home (Pat Metheny), Still Life, Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (5:38) Pat Metheny is an American guitarist and composer. He has worked as a soloist, in duets and small jazz ensembles, and, for decades, with the Pat Metheny Group. His musical styles include Jazz Fusion, Jazz (both progressive and contemporary jazz) …..and also Latin Jazz. He was born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri in 1954. Lee’s Summit is a suburb on the southeast side of Kansas City. His main influences have been other musicians, his musical family and the British Invasion.
Metheny persuaded his father to buy him a guitar for his 12th birthday. That first guitar was a Gibson ES-140. PAUSE That’s a hollow-body guitar, built in ¾ scale for young players and small hands. It’s a scale model of the Gibson ES-175 hollow body. Metheny soon got bigger hands and acquired a Gibson ES-175 …and that guitar is featured on his early albums like those in this podcast episode… Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen (that’s 1968). At age 15, Metheny won a scholarship from Down Beat Magazine to attend a jazz camp (1969). That camp led to a meeting with Jazz guitarist Jim Hall, and bassist Ron Carter. So, by the time he graduated from high school (1972) he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Metheny had A LOT of support from his musical environment. Even though he switched from trumpet to guitar.
Metheny briefly attended college at U of Miami in Florida, but quickly realized after practicing on guitar for years all day long… he was unprepared for a college program … He realized then he was first and foremost, a serious guitarist and composer.
Metheny moved to Boston to teach at Berklee College of Music at the age of 19, where he met Jazz Vibraphonist Gary Burton. Teaching Jazz Theory and Performance was in demand.
BIT BUCKET and for those not familiar, the ES-175 is sought-after by jazz country and rock guitarists – – – these vintage guitars today sell for $3,000 to $25,000. Back in the day, made in Kalamazoo MI. How about that for your first guitar? I am jealous, my first guitar was a Kay (named after John Kay) and it was … a very basic and cheap and crude electric starter guitar. Metheny, on the other hand, got a wonderful instrument, because There have been many collaborations with Metheny and Burton over the decades since then. that guitar was retired 20 years later- – in 1995.
Metheny released his debut album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976), with Jaco Pastorius on electric bass guitar and Bob Moses on drums. This is a studio album, recorded in Ludwigsburg Germany. It is amazing to think that this is a debut album. Released in 1976, BRIGHT SIZE LIFE is still fresh today. In this title song, Metheny begins his work in a signature way, his entrance is unmistakable with a quick ascending line. Many of his solos begin with the signature Metheny sound….and Pastorious presents an equally inmistakable bass guitar part. Here’s that fabulous BRIGHT SIZE LIFE INTRO SAMPLE Play that intro ascending line with Jaco solid bass line in Bright Size Life
Pastorius and Metheny are weaving together guitar and bass lines in this song. The bass is so much more than a rhythm support role, Pastorius is playing in parallel improvisation with Metheny. Bright Size life sets the table for a fine album of jazz fusion by 22-year old Metheny.
And now, BRIGHT SIZE LIFE, 1976
Play M1 Don’t Touch That Dial That was M1 BRIGHT SIZE LIFE, 1976
At the time of this recording, Metheny was living in Boston and teaching at the Berklee School of Music. His mentor was Gary Burton, the jazz vibraphonist. They collaborated on the arranging of the songs to be recorded for this album, and Burton attended the recording sessions in Germany. Interesting that Burton did NOT receive a PRODUCER or ARRANGER credit on this album.
Credits
BIT BUCKET PASTORIUS FOR ANOTHER PODCAST ! #M2 Sirabhorn (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (5:27)
Now we review the second track on side 1…. the song is titled SIRABHORN I attempted to analyze the magical sound of this song and how that never heard before /from another planet sound is structured. Surely it is structured, with a Pastorius bass line and with Bob Moses supplying the heartbeat throughout this song. The song is so difficult to describe in words . A skilled composer named Dr. Guy Shkolnik described SIRABHORN this way: The beautiful harmony is made of chromatic alterations of pure diatonic harmony and three modulations. PAUSE Millions of amateur guitarists, myself included, remain in awe of Metheny. He is a trained musician from childhood, with composition, arrangement and performance skills and teaching skills. His guitar performance is complex and mind-bending. Decades later, his signature sound is imitated but never duplicated. PAUSE A little info about the bassist JACO PASTORIUS. The SIRABHORN song features a Jaco electric fretless bass solo and is from the earliest recording of Pastorius. He employed the use of a fretless bass, a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass that he called the Bass of Doom. As a youngster, he had modified the bass by removing the frets (which is outrageous) using a butter knife, then smoothing the gaps on the fretboard. Along with his use of distortion, 2-note power chords, the use of harmonics, and bass solos that sound lyrical…he is regarded today as one of the best electric bassists of all time. Here is an example of a LYRICAL SOUNDING SOLO from Pastorius…. SAMPLE Insert example of a LYRICAL SOLO by Jaco. Suggest Sirabhorn, about 60% into the song a solo that runs 60 seconds. Alternate is the solo in BRIGHT SIZE LIFE song.
What about that equally strange song name? Sirabhorn is named after a jazz guitar student of Metheny’s at Berklee. And now here is SIRABHORN 1976 PLAY M2 Don’t Touch That Dial that was M2 Sirabhorn (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (5:27) Song credits M2 go to
In this same year, Pastorius released his own debut, self-titled, solo album.
BIT BUCKET Sirabhorn is an alteration of C – Am – F – Dm a common musical theme. This is altered to become C – B flat m – G flat – E m – “Sirabhorn” Metheney said that The chiming opening bars have that open, pastoral sound that Metheny has said is rooted in his Missouri upbringing. The vast majority of guitar enthusiasts never get beyond 3-chord popular songs and their evolutions from the 1960s.
#M3 Unity Village (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:38)
I do recall distinctly seeing Metheny TWICE at the Amazingrace, a small speakeasy in Evanston. It was 1977 and I have my tickets from the January show and the August show. This was early in career of Pat Metheny, playing then at a BYOB event in a shell of a building on Chicago Ave. Metheny was 22. Large hair. Large hollow body Gibson guitar. Seeing this kid just nail the songs from the Bright Size Life album drove it home and made Metheny a lifetime favorite jazz guitarist. This kid is for real.
Now the song UNITY VILLAGE. Here we have a deep guitar solo. The song is named after a tiny 100-person village UNITY VILLAGE bordering Kansas City and Lee’s Summit in Missouri. It’s the headquarters for a spiritual movement, the UNITY Movement which “offers positive, practical Christianity” and describes itself as being “for people who might call themselves spiritual but not religious”. The church was a part of the Metheny family history, with his grandfather working there, and both his dad and his brother had played in the church’s Unity Village Band. The song “Unity Village” is back down to earth. Peaceful and pastoral. It has two guitar parts.
There is a head to the song, typical of a contemporary jazz. The song really sounds like a story. And now UNITY VILLAGE Pat Metheny 1976 Play M3 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That Was M3 Unity Village (Pat Metheny),Bright Size Life, 1976, (3:38)
Credits M3 CREDITS
#M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:36) Now for another of Pat Metheny’s mind-bending masterpieces, UNQUITY ROAD. UNQUITY ROAD starts as a jazz tune opening and closing with the head piece and featuring several rounds of improvisations on is. You will hear Metheny and Pastorius working in parallel and playing off each other throughout the song. This is relatively short one for a Metheny composition, at only 3:36. Bob Moses delivers powerful rhythm and accent, and again, is the pulse of this song. Metheny’s composition features a series of rapid chord changes with a three-note motif. It really feels like forward motion. This track also features a full-on Metheny guitar solo, not heard yet on BRIGHT SIZE LIFE album. And the song title? – Unquity Road is a road in Milton Massachusetts, 10 miles south of Boston and the Berklee College of Music, where Metheny was working at the time of this recording. And now M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny) 1976 Play M4 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny),Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:36)
Credits
PAUSE
PAUSE
BIT BUCKET none #M5 So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (6:24)Metheny evolved from a trio to a larger format, The Pat Metheny Group. PMG which was founded by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays in 1978, following the success of BRIGHT SIZE LIFE. In this recording, in addition to the trio of guitar bass and drums, is piano/keyboards, percussion, and three vocalists. PAUSE Lyle Mays is on Piano and keyboards. Mays and Metheny composed and arranged nearly all of the Pat Metheny Group’s music. Mays was chief musical architect and sound designer of the group for more than three decades. The album Still Life (Talking) is the fifth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group and was released in mid-1987. This song, SO MAY IT SECRETLY BEGIN, largely due to Lyle Mays piano, has a refined, classy, polished, sophisticated sound. The song features an innovative bass line. That’s Steve Rodby. A refined acoustic bass line that drives the song’s rhythm. Here is an example of the bass line lead-in for the song….
PAUSE AND PLAY song intro, leading up to Metheny entrance. Bass line > Strings. > Metheny Example piano and bass line
With this sound and bass rhythm, I am transported in style, hearing a musical storyline. Pat Metheny is the song’s composer. Lyle Mays piano talent makes the song feel like it is his own. Both Mays and Metheny have classy demos in the piece.
And Now: So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), 1987 (6:24) PLAY M5 Don’t Touch That Dial that was M5 So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), from the Still Life (Talking) album
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According to Metheny, the writing of his next tune, LAST TRAIN HOME, came to him very quickly, he said it was written as one complete phrase, then he added the bridge sometime later. Featured on this song are the pulsing bass line and the drum brush tempo, which indeed does resemble the chug-a-lug sound of rolling steam train. PAUSE EXAMPLE OF CHUG A LUG Also featured IN LAST TRAIN HOME is the sound of electric sitar. In this case I belief Metheny is playing a guitar synthesizer, such as the GR-300 polyphonic analog guitar synth, which he did pioneer the use of. IT DOES REALLY SOUND LIKE A SITAR ! PLAY SITAR SOUND About that electric sitar sound. Here is a flash back 20 years before LAST TRAIN HOME….to 1968 with this sitar sound. An electric sitar was used in the 1968 pop song “Hooked on a Feeling” written by Mark James and performed by B. J. Thomas. This version featured the sound of the electric sitar that was played by guitarist REGGIE YOUNG, from The Memphis Boys band. The sitar was really the HOOK that made this song so popular. Here is the sitar sound from that 1968 pop hit JOOKED ON A FEELIN: PLAY EXAMPLE CLIP FROM BJ THOMAS HOOKED ON A FEELIN
… and now…. Last Train Home (Pat Metheny),from Still Life (Talking) 1987,
Play M6 FOUR AND TWENTY by Stephen Stills, the Déjà Vu album, DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M6 Last Train Home (Pat Metheny), Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (5:38).
Credits:
Still Life (Talking) won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance and was certified gold by the RIAA in 1992.
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#CONCLUSION
Concluding comments
As of 2023, the combined musical groups consisting of Pat Metheny Group, Unity Band and Metheny as a Solo artist, have earned 20 Grammy awards for albums and performances in the 30 years between 1983 and 2013. His discography is extensive with 53 albums released in the 47-year span between that first BRIGHT SIZE LIFE ALBUM in 1976 and now, 2023.
That’s it for today’s show PAT METHENY GUITARIST Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST. | |||
| Stephen Stills Singer Songwriter VV_027 | 27 Jul 2023 | 00:59:14 | |
TODAY’S PROGRAM…… M1 For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills), Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield, Released ATCO, LP 1969 (3:00)… M2 Bluebird (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28)… M3 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills), Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (6:33)…. M4 Wooden Ships (Stills, Kantner, Crosby) Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (2:26)… M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (4:25)… M6 4+20 (Stephen Stills), Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (1:55)… M7 Sugar Babe (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (4:04). M8 Change Partners, (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (3:14)… Stephen Stills is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with
He was born in 1945 in DALLAS TEXAS. He is 78 at the time of this podcast’s production. He is still active. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboards… he’s not only a singer and songwriter… also an arranger and producer. Stills has had a long and prosperous career. Starting out in 1963, he has given us some 60 years of songwriting and musical performance. Today I FEATURE original compositions by singer songwriter Stephen Stills. From my collection we will hear 5 albums:
We are now listening to ROCK AND ROLL WOMAN from BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD AGAIN.
These selections were each recorded between 1966 and 1971. Just a small time slice of this singer/songwriter’s career.
Stills was between the ages of 21 and 26. These works are important because these songs are each hand crafted by Stills. I also wanted to showcase his array of talents like multi-instrumental musician, arranger, and producer. In addition to being a successful singer/songwriter, who work has had a large musical impact.
Much more for future podcasts. #M1 For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills), Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield, Released ATCO, LP 1969 (3:00)
Stephen Stills’ first HIT recording was FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH (or “Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound”). It was 1966. Stills was just 21 years old. This was his first big break. He had written several songs, by now.. Not only did he have an inventory of original songs, he had helped to form a new band. Along with two other singer-songwriters, Richie Furay and Neil Young… they formed Buffalo Springfield out in Los Angeles. Neil Young came from Winnipeg Alberta, and Furay and Stills left a New York City gig with the Au Go-Go Singers, a 9-member group performing at the Café Au Go-Go. Two other Canadians — bassist Bruce Palmer and rock drummer Dewey Martin were added — 5 band members in all. 2 Americans, 3 Canadians.
“For What It’s Worth” became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. It was first released as a 45 RPM single in late 1966. In t1967, For What It’s Worth featured on the first Buffalo Springfield LP.
The lyrics in FOR WHAT ITS WORTH are all about a confrontation Stills had with LAPD Riot Police in Los Angeles’ earlier that year. There had been many summer nights of rowdy crowds of kids causing late-night traffic issues in the Sunset Strip neighborhood. LA responded by announcing a curfew of 10PM. As a result, there were reported to have been over 1,000 persons out on the Strip protesting and trouble broke out. There were clashes between police and young people. Peter Fonda was handcuffed by police. Jack Nicholson was also on the scene. Whisky a Go-Go was a nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where many great bands have performed. At that time, in 1966, their house band was Buffalo Springfield. Because of continuing issues of unrest, some clubs on the Sunset Strip were forced to close their doors for weeks. It was because of these civil disturbances on Sunset Strip that Stills recorded “For What It’s Worth”.
And now, For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills)
Play M1 Don’t Touch That Dial That was M1 FOR WHAT ITS WORTH – STOP HEY WHATS THAT SOUND Credits
“For What It’s Worth” became a top ten hit, reaching No. 7 on the US Billboard 100 in Spring of 1967.
BIT BUCKET I was a very impressionable age 14 at the time of this song’s release… the song chorus lyrics were very impactful on me… I think it’s time we stop. Hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look, what’s going down?
M2 Bluebird (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28)
The Buffalo Springfield band was really about their two biggest egos, those of STEPHEN STILLS and NEIL YOUNG. Buffalo Springfield was still a young band, only 9 months old at this point in late 1966. After their hit “For What It’s Worth”, they were eager to have a repeat success. For a SINGLE, two songs, “Bluebird” Mr. Soul were available for a single. Stills writing Bluebird, Young writing Mr. Soul. These were recorded and released by ATCO Records as a single. The version I will play today is from the LP, titled Buffalo Springfield Again, released later that year 1967. This LP version is much improved with lots more guitar work by Stills and Young. BLUEBIRD features the trading off of guitar solos between Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Stills plays the acoustic guitars, some is finger-picking. Young the rocker plays the distorted lead guitar part, on Les Paul guitar. In this song, Stills is ALL ACOUSTIC, Young is ALL ELECTRIC. PAUSE EXAMPLE GUITARS About that acoustic guitar we hear – Stills had just purchased a fine old guitar, a 29-year old acoustic Martin D-28. It was first used in the recording of Bluebird. On this song, Stills uses D-modal tuning … he tuned his guitar DOWN a full note to DADGAD, tuning DOWN 3 of the guitar’s 6 strings. EXAMPLE: Record yourself d-tuning an acoustic guitar to DADGAD. It’s a full rich sound used in Celtic music, Folk and Rock. The acoustic guitar work and this recording is sharp and clear because of some early recording expertise in SOUND PROCESSING, the use of compression and equalizers to highlight the picking and full dynamic range of that acoustic guitar. This is an ultra clear recording of Stills on that Martin D-28. AND there is also a BANJO PART. PLAY BANJO BACKGROUND The banjo part is played by Charlie Chin, bluegrass style, from Greenwich Village – Stills’ worked earlier there. This LP VERSION with the added guitar and banjo parts, lengthens this 2-minute single to 4:28.
And now here is Bluebird … complete with dueling guitars and banjo. PLAY M2 Don’t Touch That Dial that was M2 BLUEBIRD (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28) Song credits M2 go to
The single reached number 58 on the Billboard chart, some critics see the song as their most accomplished piece. It spent 7 weeks on the HOT 100 chart. Buffalo Springfield did not last / could not last, with 3 egos as large as a house, all of this talent had dismantled by 1968 and each artist went on to their own individual successes…Neil Young departed to form Crazy Horse, Richie Furay departed to form Poco, and Stephen Stills went on to form Crosby Stills Nash and Young. BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD is a foundation of ROCK AND ROLL.
BIT BUCKET On the lyrical side, lyrics are usually lost on me. I am identifying much more with the guitar, drum, and bass parts on these songs. Some say the lyrics in this song Bluebird have to do with Stills’ musings about Judy Collins. He would soon be writing a tong he titled Suite Judy Blue Eyes. More on that later. The closing verse in the SINGLE is: DO YOU THINK SHE LOVES YOU? DO YOU THINK AT ALL? #M3 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills), Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (6:33)
The next piece is titled Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” and is written by Stephen Stills and performed by Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN). It appeared on the group’s self-titled debut album in 1969 and was released as a single.
The song is indeed a SUITE…. it imitates a classical music suite with a set of THREE musical pieces, in this case.
The inspiration for this Crosby, Stills & Nash classic “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is Stills’ romantic relationship with Judy Collins They were both singer songwriters and had a romantic relationship that lasted only two years, but numerous songs written by Stills down the road, would muse about Judy Collins.
The recording features a UNIQUE version of the Suite. This recording is from a DEMO tape made in April of 1968. It was done at a recording studio where Judy Collins had just finished a recording session and there was remaining studio time. Stills evidently paid the recording engineer privately to help him record the demos. He asked the engineer to “JUST ROLL TAPE” and Stills proceeded to perform 13 of his originals – – solo. The tape is available in LP form (very expensive) and on CD. PAUSE AND PLAY EXAMPLE OF THE EEEEBE tuning at beginning of song. The guitar is tuned to modal tuning EEEEBE and was used on later songs from the Déjà vu album— Carry On and 4+20. We will hear each of those later in this podcast The Suite has 3 pieces on the demo tape:
And now … here is Suite: Judy Blue Eyes played solo by STEPHEN STILLS in 1968 Play M3 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That Was M3 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills), Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968 Credits M3 Credits
Listening to this demo ROLLL THE TAPE I can understand the high street value. There are in all 13 songs recorded solo, on one tape, and one take, and there are few gaffs, if any. CLEARLY, Stills not only had inventory but he had great command of the song ideas. Great vocals and use of innovative guitar tunings. These demo songs are solid prototypes!
In 1970, this song appeared on the group’s self-titled debut album – “Crosby Stills & Nash”
#M4 Wooden Ships (Stills, Kantner, Crosby) Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (2:26)
Next, we go to Fort Lauderdale Florida. It is 1968, and there is a large sailboat named MAYAN. The ship MAYAN was owned and operated by David Crosby for 45 years. The WOODEN SHIPS story goes like this. Crosby composed the music to WOODEN SHIPS and the lyrics were written by Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner, founder of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Crosby said that he composed numerous songs aboard MAYAN, which he considered to be his sanctuary. MAYAN is a 59-foot Alden centerboard schooner-rig, built in1947. It’s actually 66-feet overall, including the bowsprit, and with the centerboard up, can sail in water as shallow as 5 feet. WOODEN SHIPS is thought to be a look at the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The 60’s was the cold war and a time of nuclear threat between the USA and USSR. For example the CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS in 1962 was perhaps the closest the US has come to a nuclear disaster. PAUSE WOODEN SHIPS was inspired by nuclear holocaust and also real life – as David Crosby said about sailing aboard the MAYAN: “The world has gone to hell … The idea was that we were sort of sailing away from that madness.”.
This rendition of WOODEN SHIPS is from Stephen Stills demo tape, the album is JUST ROLL TAPE. plays a de-tuned guitar and delivers the vocals.. This demo is a shorter version of Wooden Ships, 2:26. Later the song will evolve out to 5:29.
And now M4 Wooden Ships recorded in 1968 Play M4 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M4 WOODEN SHIPS from JUST ROLL TAPE recorded in 1968 and released in 2007 as an LP and CD with compelling lyrics….. PAUSE insert lyrics. Wooden Ships on the water Very free and easy peasy. You know, The way it’s supposed to be.
So how is it this demo tape remained unreleased for so long –2007 was 25 years after the original recording. Somehow, Stills left the demo session without taking his demo tape. Years later, the studio closed down, and many tapes, including this one, were given to another musician ….who finally succeeded in returning the demo tape to Stills, who then produced and released this album (CD and LP versions) in 2007. A great find. Credits
PROPER VERSIONS of these last two DEMO tracks, Suite Judy Blue Eyes and Wooden Ships, appeared on the debut album of Crosby Stills and Nash a year later — 1969. That debut CSN album sold over four million copies and CSN went on to win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
BIT BUCKET The theme of WOODEN SHIPS reminds me of Canadian folk singer BONNIE DOBSON’s song released that same year, (WALK ME OUT IN THE) MORNING DEW, a dialogue between the last man and woman left alive after some apocalyptic catastrophe. The version recorded and released on the 1969 CSN album is 5:29. #M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (4:25)
In 1968, following the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, Stills worked with American singer-songwriter David Crosby from The Byrds, and with English singer songwriter Graham Nash from The Hollies. They worked as a TRIO called Crosby, Stills & Nash or CSN. Some months later they added a familiar name from up north, Canadian singer-songwriter, Neil Young, and became Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Imagine that, Four singer songwriters in one band. With all of that ego and creativity, will CSNY have a chance of a long future ? We go to the second studio album titled DEJA VU, which was the first time Neil Young was included in recordings. Released in early 1970 by Atlantic. On SIDE ONE / TRACK ONE – – the song is CARRY ON. A title that seems to continue on Stephen Still’s persistent theme . “that romantic breakup with Judy Collins”. SHORT PAUSE Interesting fact about Carry On is that there is a familiar tune BUNDLED within, making Carry On a musical Suite. That bundled song is QUESTIONS. According to Stills, “Carry On” was completed in about eight hours from conception to finished master. And Now: ….Carry On (by Stephen Stills) from Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, released in 1970
PLAY M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Don’t Touch That Dial that was M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, released in 1970 Credits: Song credits go to
BIT BUCKET Not only was Stills songwriter on many of CSN’s songs, Stills really showcased his versatility and talent by playing bass, guitar, and keyboards on their DEBUT, self-titled album released in 1969. The album sold over four million copies and at that point had outsold anything from the three members’ prior bands: the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies. The album won the trio a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
#M6 4+20 (Stephen Stills), Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (1:55)
Next we go to Side 2, Track 3,,,,,,,, the song is 4 + 20 4 and 20 years ago I come into this life …. the son of a woman and a man who lived in strife he was tired of being poor and he wasn’t into selling door to door…
It’s a sad song, depressing actually. Stills sings solo and plays a D-tuned guitar, a common tuning of his.
So let’s listen to a very heavy, a troubled side, of Stephen Stills.
… and now…. .
Play M6 FOUR AND TWENTY by Stephen Stills, the Déjà Vu album, DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M6 4+20 (Stephen Stills), Déjà Vu, Atlantic Records 1970, clocking in at a short …..1:55.
Credits:
Some Stats about the Déjà vu album
BIT BUCKET RIAA Recording Industry Association of America
#M7 Sugar Babe (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (4:04)
After the breakup of CSNY in 1970, Stills went through another prolific songwriting stage, composing over 20 songs for his 2nd SOLO album – – Stephen Stills 2. That was fast work because the album was released by Atlantic in 1971…….just a year after Déjà vu was released. Fast and Prolific indeed.
Our next song from Stephen Stills 2 is SUGAR BABE. I believe this song is about Stills relationship with Rita Coolidge – with the lyrics…….. Come on sweet Rita
And now, another Stills creation, SUGAR BABE
PLAY M7 DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL That was M7 Sugar Babe (Stephen Stills), from the Stephen Stills 2 SOLO album, Credits M7 I love that gnarly Hammond organ grinding away on the right hand track. On the Stephen Stills 2 album there are only general credits, not song-specific. Even upon further research I have:
BIT BUCKET In this song, one of the best things is the muffled organ on the right side and Still’s distorted guitar on the left side. I’ve seen him perform this song solo on a big grand piano. It’s pretty cool, Stills is a self-taught basic piano player, but what a talented composer arranger and songwriter. Great sound. #M8 Change Partners, (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (3:14) Last on today’s Stephen Stills Singer Songwriter podcast is CHANGE PARTNERS, also from that 2nd SOLO album.
Stills said “it was about growing up in Texas. Going to debutante balls, dancing and changing partners.”
You will hear a lovely pedal steel guitar. That is none other than Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar played throughout this song. This version released on Stephen Stills 2 was recorded in early ‘ 71 in Miami.
PLAY M8 And now, CHANGE PARTNERS Don’t Touch That Dial
Change Partners, (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 Song credits M8 As far as song credits, again there are only general album credits, Upon further research, here is what I found on CHANGE PARTNERS::
STATS
#CONCLUSION
This podcast on Stephen Stills EARLY YEARS -1966-1971 included 8 of his original compositions from 5 albums and singles.
OF COURSE this ONLY SCRATCHES the surface of his great talent. There will be a subsequent podcast on STEPHEN STILLS.
Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He is a Hall of Fame inductee, in fact he was the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – that was 1997.
Stephen Stills is 78 at the time of this podcast’s production. Neil Young is 77. Graham Nash is 81.
Sadly, we lost David Crosby earlier this year, at the age of 81.
On a lighter note, Judy Collins is 84. And Rita Coolidge is 78.
That’s it for today’s show “STEPHEN STILLS SINGER SONGWRITER”, on VINYL VIBRATIONS. Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST. closing plug: THAT’S TODAY’S SHOW ” STEPHEN STILLS SINGER SONGWRITER ” boom ON VINYL VIBRATIONS !! boom I’M YOUR HOST, BRIAN FREDERICK !! boom STAY SUBSCRIBED boom VINYL VIBRATIONS
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| Wendy Carlos Electronic Composer VV_026 | 12 May 2023 | 01:07:23 | |
Wendy Carlos Electronic Composer VV_026 SONG LIST* M1 Air on a G String (JS Bach 1730, W Carlos 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (2:27)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M2 Two Part Invention in F-Major,(JS Bach 1723, W Carlos, 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (0:40)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M3 Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring ,(JS Bach 1723, W Carlos 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (2:56)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M4 Chorale Prelude “Wachet Auf”, (JS Bach 1731, W Carlos 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (3:37)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M5 Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G Major 2nd Movement, (JS Bach 1723, W Carlos 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (2:50)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M6 Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G Major 3rd Movement, (JS Bach 1723, W Carlos 1968), Switched-On Bach, Columbia/CBS, 1968 (5:05)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Benjamin Folkman, Assistance M7 Title Music from A Clockwork Orange), (Purcell, 1695, W Carlos, R Elkind 1972) , Columbia/CBS, 1972 (2:21)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Rachel Elkind Producer M8 Theme from A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana), (W Carlos, R Elkind 1972) , Columbia/CBS, 1972 (1:44)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Rachel Elkind Producer M9 Timesteps (Excerpt), (W. Carlos 1970, Tempi Music BMI), Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Warner Bros Records, 1972 (4:13)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Rachel Elkind Producer M10 March from A Clockwork Orange/Ninth Symphony, 4th Movement, (L v Beethoven 1824, W Carlos, R Elkind 1970) Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, Warner Bros Records, 1972 (7:00)· Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer · Rachel Elkind Producer and Articulations Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of Wendy Carlos, an American composer, arranger, and electronic musician. Wendy Carlos was born Walter Carlos in Rhode Island in November 1939. She is the first transgender recipient of a Grammy Award, her album SWITCHED-ON BACH won three Grammys in 1970. Later, in 2005 she was the recipient of the SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the art and craft of electro-acoustic music. Wendy Carlos is best known for her electronic music such as SWITCHED-ON BACH…and film scores such as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING and TRON. Her studies of music composition at Columbia University in New York City in the 1960s led to her working with electronic musicians and technicians where she helped in the development of the MOOG SYNTHESIZER. This was the first commercially available keyboard instrument from Robert Moog. During her time at Columbia, Carlos ordered components of a custom designed synthesizer from Robert Moog, and she collaborated with Moog on the design of that early instrument, which became known as the MOOG SYNTHESIZER. Some of the modules included a touch-sensitive keyboard, a portamento control, which slides notes in the scale between one note and the next, a filter bank, and a 49-oscillator polyphonic generator bank that could create chords and arpeggios, arpeggios are the individual notes of those chords played in cycles. Today, we take the synthesizer for granted. The keyboard synthesizer has become widely-available, and most keyboard musicians today, including me, use a synth keyboard such as BEHRINGER, KORG, NORD, ROLAND, YAMAHA, and yes… even the brand Carlos herself helped design with Robert Moog, the MOOG synthesizer. After getting her Masters in Music Composition from Columbia University in 1965, Carlos worked for three years at Gotham Recording Studios in New York City, to support herself. She also used her Moog Synthesizer to record jingles for TV commercials. The recording engineering job would prove to be extremely valuable just three years later as she self-recorded the entire SWITCHED-ON BACH album, which is featured in today’s podcast. In 1968, Carlos, then Walter Carlos, released her first LP, SWITCHED-ON BACH, containing several pieces written by Johann Sebastian Bach, which she arranged and recorded from her Moog Synthesizer. SWITCHED-ON BACH was released on Columbia Masterworks as part of a two-record recording contract. Carlos negotiated a good royalty arrangement, because the label really didn’t expect the album would sell many copies. Classical music rarely, if ever, achieves Gold let alone Platinum unit sales. What makes this first album fascinating is knowing that the MOOG Synthesizer was in a very early state – – – barely a usable product. …You could not sit down and bang out a song like you could on a piano or organ. The first Moog Synthesizer could play only one note at a time. No chords! No two-handed playing ! No buttons with presets for sounds and effects! Instead, a lot of patch cables and knobs to adjust. Every individual part had to be recorded, note for note, and then layered over the previously recorded parts. This was all done on an eight-track recorder. State of the Art at that time. Recorded parts were time-aligned with use of a click track. Carlos did not document her settings for knobs and patch cable connections – – These were complex, but she was able to recall each part’s sound from her own memory, a living library of hundreds of settings for all the knobs and cables. To add to the laborious nature of early electronic music, the Moog, being an analog device, would frequently drift out of tune. This made the recording and layering process very repetitive, tedious and laborious. The story goes that Carlos would use a hammer to bang on the Moog casing to get it back in-tune, and then re-record the part. According to Wendy Carlos, the Switched-On Bach song recordings required 8-hour days, 5 days a week for 5 months to complete. In other words, Carlos invested some 900 to 1,000 man-hours of her own recording time to lay down what was published That is one-half man-year resulting in 12 songs for a total play time of 40 minutes on the Switched-On Bach LP. And this was moonlighting for Wendy Carlos, she was also working full-time job at the Gotham Recording Studios! That is extreme PASSION for arranging and creating electronic music! Today we will hear selections from three early LP productions of Wendy Carlos. These three albums are:
Each of these albums are in my collection, and each album refers to and gives credit to WALTER CARLOS, her name at that time. There is also a Corporate ID and a self-credit to Walter Carlos stating on the album liner notes: THIS ALBUM WAS DEVISED AND PRODUCED BY TRANS ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTIONS INC. We can see that Wendy Carlos has been very protective of her copyrights and ownership of this music. Wendy Carlos has released some 13 studio albums, created 5 film soundtracks, including A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Tron, and Rediscovering Lost Scores, in two volumes. Sadly, as of 2020, much of Carlos’s discography is out of print and has not been released for digital streaming or other platforms. BUT WE HAVE THE VINYL LPs, WHICH HAVE STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. Fortunately, there is a treasure trove of information on Wendy’s personal website, www.wendycarlos.com There are many many pages painstakenly updated through about 2009, this is Wendy Carlos’ personal database of information. Carlos is also an accomplished solar eclipse photographer, and her work has been published by NASA. She has developed techniques for extending the dynamic range in eclipse photography. Carlos remains very private, but I believe she continues to live at her music studio in New York City. At the time of this podcast recording she is 83-1/2 years old. Perhaps we can visit two other soundtracks THE SHINING and TRON in a part 2 podcast of Wendy Carlos soundtrack skills. That’s it for today’s show “WENDY CARLOS, ELECTRONIC COMPOSER and ARRANGER “, on VINYL VIBRATIONS. Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST. | |||
| Stephane Grappelli, Violinist – VV025 | 02 Mar 2023 | 00:48:05 | |
M1 Oh, Lady Be Good (George and Ira Gershwin, 1924), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:50)… M2 Dinah, (Akst, Lewis, Young, 1925) Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:30)… M3 I Saw Stars (Sigler, Goodhart, Hoffman, 1934), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:20)……. M4 Confessin’, (Daugherty, Reynolds, 1929), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1935 (2:40)…. M5 The Sunshine of Your Smile, (Ray, Cooke, 1913) Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series, 1969/1935 (2:50)….. M6 Swannee River (Old Folks at Home), (Foster, 1851), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series, 1969/1935 (2:50)… M7 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)(Davis, Ramirez, Sherman, 1941) Best of Django Reinhardt, EMI / Columbia, 1970/1947 (3:10) M8 Golden Green (Ponty, 1972), Ponty/Grappelli, Inner City Records, 1976/1973 (4:42) Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of French Violinist Stephane Grappelli. Stephane Grappelli is best known as the founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France along with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. This was a GYPSY jazz band. Grappelli is considered the grandfather of jazz violinists. He lived 90 years, from 1908 until 1997. He began playing violin at the age of 12, early on, preferring to learn in the streets by watching how other violinists played, such as at the Barbes (pron BAR-bez) metro station in Paris. Then he was enrolled by his father at the Conservatory of Paris to learn music theory, sight reading, and ear training. He graduated three years later. Starting at age 15, he worked in the pit orchestra at the Theatre Gaumont, accompanying silent films, then at the Ambassador Hotel orchestra, where jazz violinist Joe Venuti was playing. For a while, Grappelli abandoned violin — in favor of playing piano in a big band, it was easier to get paid for big band work. Jazz violinists were a relatively unknown and rare breed. In this big band, Grappelli met gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. It was 1931 and Grappelli was just 23, Django was 21. Three years later, Django and Grappelli formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France . This was an all-string jazz band, and they performed regularly at the Montmartre district, an artistic village on the hill in the northside of Paris. This continued until 1939 when the Quintette disbanded due to the outbreak of World War II. ‘’ When the war was over, the original Quintette never did reform. Django and Grappelli did continue to perform together in Paris. In 1949, they briefly toured in Italy, where some 50 tunes were recorded. That would turn out to be the last time the two would record together, 1949, due to Django’s untimely death at the age of 43. Many of those recorded songs were released as an album titled Djangology in 2005 on Bluebird Records. Most of the recordings featured in today’s podcast were recorded between 1934 and 1947 and were recorded in Paris, as performed by the Quintette du Hot Club de France. Stephane Grappelli is a master of improvisation. He had said that he was not a fan of BEBOP jazz, which was then very fashionable in the jazz world. Instead, he was a strong proponent of SWING music, another popular jazz style. Swing developed in the US in 1935-1945 ….. This was the SWING ERA in America. | |||
| Leo Kottke, Guitarist VV-024 | 13 Feb 2023 | 00:37:10 | |
M1 Cripple Creek (Traditional), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:56)………………………………………………………….. M2 Stealing (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:35)………………………………………………………………………… M3 Machine #2 (Kottke), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (3:00)……………………………………………………………………. M4 Bourree (J.S. Bach), Mudlark, Capitol Records 1971 (1:26)……………………………………………………………………… M5 Easter (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (3:18)………………………………………………………….. M6 June Bug (Kottke), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:20)……………………………………………………… M7 Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (J.S.Bach), My Feet Are Smiling, Capitol Records 1973 (2:00)……………………….. M8 Twilight Property (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (3:11)…………………………………… M9 Vertical Trees (Kottke), Dreams and All That Stuff, Capitol Records 1974 (2:34) Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of American composer, arranger, and acoustic guitarist LEO KOTTKE. Leo Kottke was born in 1945 in Athens Georgia. As a youth he lived in several states, including Oklahoma ,,and Missouri and Minnesota and eventually settled in the Twin Cities. He released his first record on the Oblivion label in 1969 … and just 2 years later he signed on with Capitol Records … it was 1971 he was just 25 years old. Kottke produces instrumental songs, mostly…. but on a few songs he adds his vocals. I selected the instrumental songs because I believe these best showcase his unique guitar and arrangement talent. For his guitars, Kottke uses signature Taylor 12-string and Taylor 6 string.. Kottke plays guitar by an innovative style of fingerpicking, and his style is considered “unconventional”. His style enables the mimicking of a rhythm section, His genres of music include jazz, rock, bluegrass, classical, and folk. Kottke has also been “Different” as far his guitar tuning. He’s used different variations ranging from open tuning to tuning his guitar two steps below the traditional tuning. This produces a full and warm guitar sound. When Kottke was younger, he suffered significant hearing loss from two events – – first from a firecracker incident as a youngster, and later during live-fire exercises while serving in the Naval Reserves. He was inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame in 1978 and scored two Grammy nominations — 1988 and 1991 Kottke has released 40 records in 40 year period. | |||
| Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass-VV023 | 03 Feb 2023 | 00:45:43 | |
Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the great trumpeter, arranger and producer, Herb Alpert.
M1 The Lonely Bull, (Sol Lake), Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, The Lonely Bull, A&M Records, 1962 (2:29).
M2 South of the Border (Jimmy Kennedy and Michael Carr), Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, South of the Border, A&M Records, 1964 (2:06)
M3 I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe), Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, South of the Border, A&M Records, 1964 (2:25)
M4 A Taste of Honey, (Bobby Scott), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Whipped Cream & Other Delights, 1965, (2:43).
M5 More and More Amor (Sol Lake), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Going Places, A&M Records, 1965 (2:44).
M6 Mae (Riz Ortolani), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Going Places, A&M Records, 1965 (2:27).
M7 Shades of Blue (Julias Wechter), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (2:44 ).
M8 Wade in the Water" (Traditional) - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (3:03).
M9 "Treasure of San Miguel" (Roger Nichols), Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, Sounds Like, A&M Records, 1967 (2:14)
Herb Alpert was born in 1935, and is an American trumpeter who led the band “Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass” in the 1960s. He was born and raised in the Eastside Los Angeles. His parents were Tillie and Louis Alpert ---they were Jewish immigrants to the U.S., coming here from the Ukraine and from Romania.
Alpert was born into a family of musicians. His father was a mandolin player and his mother taught violin. Herb’s older brother was a drummer. Herb began to play trumpet at the age of eight. While attending the University of Southern California in the 1950s, he was a member of the USC Trojan Marching Band for two years.
In the 1960s Alpert co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss, A for Alpert and M for Moss.
There are many, many measures of success in the area of popular music by which to measure the success of Herb Alpert - - ….here are just a few:
He sold some 72 million records worldwide.
And 28 of his albums landed on the Billboard 200 chart
5 of his albums became No. 1 albums
He achieved #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 as instrumentalist
He has had 14 platinum albums (sold 1 million) and 15 gold albums (sold 500,000).
He has received a Tony Award, eight Grammy Awards, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006….
and was awarded the National Medal of Arts by Barack Obama in 2013.
One of the recording techniques Herb Alpert used in these early records was the overdubbing of the trumpet part, Starting with his first album, THE LONELY BULL, and the title track 1 on side 1. According to Herb Alpert, he said that he had been trying to find the right trumpet voice. He tried emulating the trumpet styles of Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. Oddly enough, he got inspiration NOT from these famous trumpeters, but from a guitarist named …Les Paul. Les Paul had been using multitracking his guitar recordings. So Alpert tried multitracking his trumpet … and that multitracking became one of the signature sounds we will hear. Here is an example of the overdubbed trumpet from the song A QUIET TEAR…….
(Play an example of Herb’s overdubbed trumpet on the song A QUIET TEAR song side 2 track 6)
In this overdub Herb Alpert is recording each part with the same phrasing and time … but playing the second part in harmony.
Additionally Alpert does a fair amount of overdubbing and playing both parts in unison. This double-recording of one part gives Herb’s trumpet an even more rich and full sound, added resonance of the instrument and added reverb or echo of the room. So overdubbing while playing the trumpet part in unison or in harmony was a signature sound of Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. Here is an example from THE LONELY BULL intro….
(Play an example of Herb’s overdubbed trumpet on the song THE LONELY BULL song side 1 track 1)
That’s overdubbing and playing the dub in unison with the first part. It creates a richer and deeper sound of the trumpet. | |||
| Frank Zappa Instrumentals VV022 | 15 Jan 2023 | 01:03:37 | |
Today’s show features Frank Zappa, an American musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He lived from 1940 to 1993. Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion and orchestral works. He is known for his work with the band The Mothers of Invention, producing over 60 albums with the Mothers, and he is also known for his prolific work as a Solo Artist. Zappa was one of the great guitarists of our time, and he was a sophisticated composer and highly accomplished multi-instrumental musician.
Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer. He studied and wrote classical music in high school, played drums in R&B bands. He later took to the Electric Guitar.
He has been described as the godfather of comedy rock, a critic of mainstream education and organized religion, advocating for freedom of speech and political participation. The phases of his life included different musical genres including experimental rock, jazz, classical, comedy rock, doo-wap, prog-rock, avant jazz, and pop.
Frank Zappa was prolific. His discography contains 62 albums produced during his lifetime. Zappa died much too early… at the young age 53, from prostate cancer. Following his death in 1993 , The Zappa Family Trust has overseen the release of another 57 official albums…that’s a total of 129 albums of songs recording the genius of Frank Zappa.
In the book, Frank Zappa: A Biography, by Barry Miles, Zappa describes his works in these words:
“It's all one album. All the material in the albums is organically related and if I had the master tapes and I could take a razor blade[2] and cut them apart and put it together again in a different order it still would make one piece of music you can listen to.... I could do this twenty ways. The material is definitely related.”
Which brings us to the subject of today’s show. Each album seems like an eclectic work, combining songs of Rock, Jazz and Classical genres. It is a difficult assignment for anyone to make the right selection from those 129 albums… let alone a proper selection of the individual songs that would best capture the genius of Frank Zappa in a few sound impressions.
One way to accomplish this selection is to attribute each of Zappa’s songs as being either a Song with lyrics, (and this is 401 songs, about 2/3 of his works), and instrumental compositions, (there are 172 instrumentals). I then compiled an instrumental list from my own vinyl collection, and then shortened that list down to just to 8 instrumental pieces that would fit into this podcast format. Each instrumental piece is brilliant.
This short list of Frank Zappa Instrumentals is what we will review today.
M1 Chunga’s Revenge, Frank Zappa, Chunga’s Revenge, 1970, Reprise/Warner Brothers, (6:16)..................................
M2 Twenty Small Cigars, Frank Zappa, Chunga’s Revenge, 1970, Reprise/Warner Brothers, (2:17)................................
M3 Idiot Bastard Son, Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, World Pacific Jazz, 1970, (4:00)
M4 The Little House I Used to Live In, Frank Zappa Music, The Mothers – Fillmore East June 1971 (4:58).....................
M5 Peaches En Regalia, Frank Zappa Music, The Mothers – Fillmore East June 1971 (3:22).........................................
M6 The Grand Wazoo, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo, 1972 Warner Records, (13:24)....................................
M7 Eat That Question, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo, 1972 Warner Records, (6:41)....................................
M8 Blessed Relief, Frank Zappa Music, The Grand Wazoo , 1972 Warner Records, (6:41)........................................ | |||
| John McLaughlin, Guitarist VV-021 | 04 Jan 2023 | 00:54:01 | |
Today’s show features John McLaughlin, an English guitarist, composer and band leader, born in 1942 in Doncaster, a city in South Yorkshire, that’s located in northern England. His mother was a concert violinist. He studied violin and piano as a child and then took up the guitar at age 11.
His childhood musical influences included MILES DAVIS and LUDVIG VON BEETHOVEN, and more contemporary artists were JOHN COLTRANE and JIMMY HENDRIX
McLaughlin is a pioneer of Jazz Fusion. In his music, one can clearly pick out elements of ROCK, JAZZ and BLUES…and also additional elements later on such as WORLD MUSIC, and Western Classical Music.
In the 1960s at about age 20, he moved to London where he contributed to several British groups and did session work. One of those British Groups was the Graham Bond Quartet with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker of Cream. Another rare opportunity was working with Miles Davis. And he gave guitar lessons too, and one of his students was Jimmy Page, founder of Led Zeppelin.
M1 Arjen’s Bag (John McLaughlin) EXTRAPOLATION, Marmalade Records, released 1969 in UK, Re-released on Polydor Records, 1972, 4:25.
M2 Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, (Charles Mingus 1959) My Goal’s Beyond, Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, Douglas 9 Released 1971(solo album) 3:15 .
M3- Dawn (John McLaughlin), Inner Mounting Flame, The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin, Columbia, Released 1971 (5:15)
M4 Birds of Fire(John McLaughlin), Birds of Fire, Mahavishnu Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1973 (5:50)..
M5 Sanctuary (John McLaughlin), Birds of Fire, Mahavishnu Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1973 (5:05).
M6 WINGS of KARMA(John McLaughlin), Apocalypse, Mahavishnu Orchestra, with London Symphony Orchestra, CBS Columbia, Released 1974 (6:12)
M7- La Danse du Bonheur, Shakti with John McLaughlin, Columbia, 1977 (4:48).
rev4 04Jan2023 17:30 | |||
| Dave Brubeck Jazz Piano VV-020 | 02 Dec 2022 | 00:45:35 | |
DAVE BRUBECK
Today’s show features Dave Brubeck, an American jazz pianist and composer, living between 1920 and 2012. Dave Brubeck’s music is often referred to as COOL WEST COAST JAZZ. It is JAZZ INSTRUMENTAL genre. Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasting rhythms and meters. One example of unusual time signature is TAKE FIVE, the biggest selling single in jazz history, a Paul Desmond composition, done in FIVE time.
M1 What Is This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter 1929) From earlier recordings, DAVE BRUBECK OCTET, Compilation. Fantasy, 1956 [ from original recordings 1946-1948], 2:40.
M2 Laura (Johnny Mercer, David Raskin 1944) DAVE BRUBECK OCTET, Compilation. Fantasy 1956 [ from original recording 1950], 2:09
M3 I Found a New Baby - Live at College of the Pacific (Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams, 1926) Recorded Dec 1953, THE DEFINITIVE DAVE BRUBECK, Fantasy, Concord Jazz and Telarc on CD 2010, 1:40
M4 Blue Rondo a la Turk (Dave Brubeck 1959) Recorded 1959, TIME OUT, Columbia 1959, 6:44
M5 Take Five (Paul Desmond 1959) TIME OUT, Columbia 1959, 6:44
M6 Time In (Dave Brubeck) Recorded Oct 1965, TIME IN, Columbia CL2512, 1966, 3:57
M7 40 Days (Dave Brubeck) Recorded Oct 1965, TIME IN, Columbia CL2512, 1966, 4:38 | |||
| Jeff Beck Guitar Part 2 VV-019 | 04 Sep 2020 | 00:54:10 | |
JEFF BECK EARLY YEARS 1975-1976
Today’s show is JEFF BECK GUITAR EARLY YEARS — PART 2
During the two years of 1975 – 1976, two Jeff Beck albums BLOW BY BLOW and WIRED, set a standard for instrumental rock. In today’s podcast episode, JEFF BECK GUITAR PART 2, we review 4 works from the album BLOW BY BLOW, released in 1975, and 3 works from the album WIRED, released in 1976. In the previous episode JEFF BECK GUITAR PART 1, we reviewed the early years of British, blues-based fusion guitarist Jeff Beck during his recordings with THE YARDBIRDS in 1966, and then his formation of the JEFF BECK GROUP in 1968. By 1975, Beck’s band consisted of Phil Chen on bass, Richard Bailey on drums and Max Middleton on keyboards. Middleton continued on from the earlier Jeff Beck Group. The sound with this new group and this album is instrumental Jazz Fusion It is a sound with influences from Miles Davis, and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
PROGRAM LIST
Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers (Stevie Wonder) Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 5:42
Freeway Jam (Max Middleton), Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 4:58
Diamond Dust (Bernie Holland) Rec Oct 1974, BLOW BY BLOW, Epic Records/Sony Music Entertainment, 1975, 8:26
Led Boots (Max Middleton), Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 4:03
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Charles Mingus, 1959) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 5:31
Blue Wind (Jan Hammer) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 5:54
Love is Green (Narada Michael Walden) Rec Oct 1976, JEFF BECK WIRED, Epic Records, 1976, 2:30
9-4-20 at 1333 | |||
| Jeff Beck Guitar Part 1 VV-018 | 02 Aug 2020 | 00:34:54 | |
JEFF BECK GUITAR EARLY YEARS 1966- 1968
Today’s show is JEFF BECK GUITAR EARLY YEARS -- PART 1
In this VINYL VIBRATIONS episode, I tour early vinyl records that showcase ENGLISH ROCK and FUSION GUITARIST GREAT … JEFF BECK. The recordings presented in this podcast are a compilation from my own LP and Singles collection. Today - we will review six songs from Jeff Beck’s early years, 1966 – 1968:
SHAPES OF THINGS - The Yardbirds (single)
OVER UNDER SIDEWAYS DOWN - The Yardbirds (single)
BECK’S BOLERO – Jeff Beck (single)
GREENSLEEVES – Jeff Beck Group (TRUTH LP)
SHAPES OF THINGS - Jeff Beck Group (TRUTH LP)
MORNING DEW – Jeff Beck Group (TRUTH LP)
Jeff Beck achieved notoriety in the mid 1960’s, through the music of The Yardbirds and their hit song “Shapes of Things”. He had been working actively as a musician since the age of 19, during the time he was attending college at what is now called the Wimbledon College of Art in London. That college specializes in theatre, screen, and performance art. That’s 1963.
Just five years later, Beck had launched three singles and his debut LP album, TRUTH. | |||
| Wes Montgomery Guitarist Part 2 VV-017 | 08 May 2018 | 00:50:32 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I continue to tour early vinyl records that showcase JAZZ GUITARIST GREAT WES MONTGOMERY. The recording presented in this podcast are a compilation from my own LP collection - - from the golden age of vinyl. I heard these Montgomery Brothers LPs during my childhood. These records were a frequent play on my parent’s Hi-Fi record player – you could stack up to 10 records, and Wes Montgomery was a regular in that record stack.Today, I will pick more of Wes Montgomerys best recordings, made between 1961 and 1968, In those years Wes would have been between the ages of 38 and 45.
Love For Sale (Cole Porter 1930 ) Rec Oct 9, 1961, Buddy Montgomery vibes, George Shearing piano, Monk Montgomery electric bass, Walter Perkins drums, WES and FRIENDS, Milestone 1973 remaster 3:32 from the musical The New Yorkers The song is written from the viewpoint of a prostitute advertising various kinds of "love for sale": "Old love, new love, every love but true love".
No Hard Feelings (Buddy Montgomery) Rec Oct 9, 1961, Buddy Montgomery vibes, George Shearing piano, Monk Montgomery electric bass, Walter Perkins drums, WES and FRIENDS, Milestone 1973 remaster 3:45
Born To Be Blue (Mel Torme) Rec Apr 22 1963 Wes Montgomery guitar, Mel Rhyne organ Jimmy Cobb drums The Alternative Wes Montgomery Milestone Records 1963 Produced Orrin Keepnews 7:23 I can hear contemporary Pat Martino through this Wes Montgomery guitar part.
Fried Pies (Wes Montgomery) Rec Apr 22 1963 Wes Montgomery guitar, Mel Rhyne organ Jimmy Cobb drums The Alternative Wes Montgomery Milestone Records 1963 Produced Orrin Keepnews 6:34 awesome thumb pluck technique half way into song
Besame Mucho take 2 (Consuelo Velazquez 1940) Rec Apr 22 1963 Mel Rhyne organ Jimmy Cobb drums The Alternative Wes Montgomery Milestone Records 1963 Produced Orrin Keepnews 6:24 An exceptional improviser the likes of Joe Pass guitar and Oscar Peterson piano improvisation. The content is massive, each listen draws out another impressive sound. The story goes that WM was often not satisfied with his recordings. That;s\\’s nothing unusual for a god musician. Sure there are musicians that sit once and nail the take. Peter Keepnews was WM’s producer during the Riverside Records years. These tracks are WM’s rejects, and they sound so very good. This song used in the 1987 Brazilian film Besame Mucho.
I’ll Be Back, (Lennon-McCartney) Recorded May 7, 1968, “Road Song”, A&M Records, 2:30 Herbie Hancock piano, Richard Davis Bass, Grady Tate drums, and a cast of many in the orchestra.goes back and forth from major to minor.
Road Song (Wes Montgomery) rec May 8,1968 “Road Song”, A&M Records, 3:50 Herbie Hancock Piano , Richard Davis Bass, Ed Shaughnessy drumsalso flute oboe recorder bassoon trumpet clarinet trombone french horn violin viola cello harpsicord and percussion parts..,. final recording before his death on June 15, 1968. A lot of Octave playing in this song.
First let’s recap what we learned about Wes in Part 1
He was born in 1923 in Indianapolis INDIANA,
Wes has two musician brothers - Monk Montgomery on bass and Buddy Montgomery on piano and vibes
They recorded as the Montgomery Brothers in the 1950s
Wes recorded with Pacific Jazz in the 1950s and then Riverside Records 1959-1963, and also VERVE and A&M records from 1964 to 1968
The music style, it is jazz guitar, bebop
An Original technique: Wes ‘plucks’ the guitar string with his thumb – not a guitar pick
Guitar solos used three-tier approach: 1 single notes 2 octave notes 3 block chord melodies
That octave string sound became known as “THE NAPTOWN SOUND” , naptown being Indianapolis
Wes was a self-taught musician !!
He learned Charlie Christian songs note-for-note by listening to records,
Lionel Hampton hired Wes for that reason, Wes then toured for 1-1/2 years with Lionel
He preferred to play in a jazz trio, quartet or quintet format, with his brothers
So today let’s continue with his recording in 1961 and two songs, in particular, M1 LOVE FOR SALE and M2 NO HARD FEELINGS On VINYL VIBRATIONS !
M1 Our first song is Love For Sale by Cole Porter, written in 1930, and this is Wes’s excellent interpretation. The song Love For Sale is from the musical The New Yorkers. The song is written from the perspective of a sex worker. The lyrics say it all: "Old love, new love, every love but true love". The song was considered in bad taste, and was banned from radio airplay. Two versions went to top 20 in 1931 and other versions of the song were played as instrumentals. What we have NOW is a Wes Montgomery rendition, recorded some 30 years later, Oct of 1961. The tune shifts between a major and minor feeling that’s a signature attribute for Porter. There is an ultra clean upbeat sound to this song. With George Shearing on piano, what a great assembly of artists.
The song features:
Buddy Montgomery vibes,
George Shearing piano,
Monk Montgomery electric bass,
Walter Perkins drums,
From the album WES and FRIENDS,
M2 No Hard Feelings written by Buddy Montgomery, and recorded in October of 1961. What an interesting song line, with the theme as a base and piano playing opposite each other. The up-tempo antics of Shearing and Montgomery is impressive almost 55 years after it was recorded. That’s George Shearing on piano, George Shearing is 42, 4 years older than Wes
On electric bass, Monk Montgomery
Buddy Montgomery is on vibes and the song composer,
Wes on guitar and Walter Perkins drums,
From the two-LP set titled WES and FRIENDS,
Born To Be Blue a Mel Torme composition, Recorded in 1963, with
Wes Montgomery guitar,
Mel Rhyne organ
Jimmy Cobb drums
The Alternative Wes Montgomery Milestone Records 1963. 7:23
I can hear contemporary guitarist Pat Martino through the Wes Montgomery guitar part on Born To Be Blue.
Even today, Wes’s techniques like octaves, block chord melody solo, are the kind of things jazz guitar students strive to accomplish, even partially. Contemporary guitarists trace their guitar influences back to Wes Montgomery, many consider Montgomery the greatest influence among modern jazz guitarists. Names like Pat Metheny, George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, Lee Ritenour, Larry Coryell, and Pat Martino have pointed to him numerous times as a great influence.
M4 Fried Pies by Wes Montgomery, recorded in 1963 with
Wes Montgomery guitar,
Mel Rhyne organ
Jimmy Cobb drums
From the double LP The Alternative Wes Montgomery . 6:34
In just one year ,1964, Montgomery will move to VERVE RECORDS where he will release ten albums in 4 years. With Verve, Wes will be taken in a different direction, and crossover into pop/jazz style, where he did well and gained recognition in the mid 1960s. In 1966 he won a Grammy Award for “Best Instrumental Jazz Performance”.
M5 Besame Mucho take 2 (BAY SAW MAY MOO CHO) composed by Consuelo Velazquez 1940 and Wes recorded this rendition in 1963.
Wes Montgomery on guitar
Mel Rhyne on organ with bass pedals
Jimmy Cobb drums
From the 2-LP set The Alternative Wes Montgomery, 1963, Milestone Records. On this song, Wes is an exceptional improviser I compare his wizardry to that of Joe Pass-guitar and Oscar Peterson-piano improvisations that go on for minutes. The song is rich with ideas, and each listen draws out another impressive sound. The story goes that Wes Montgomery was often not satisfied with his recordings, and would himself reject takes…well…that’s not unusual for any self-respecting musician, but word is that he was a bit of a perfectionist…. So these tracks, Wes’s rejects, do SOUND VERY GOOD. The song Besame Mucho was used in the 1987 Brazilian film by the same name.
M6 I’ll Be Back, a Lennon-McCartney song, recorded in May of 1968, on the “Road Song” LP, A&M Records. A shorter pop tune at 2 minutes 30 seconds. The move to A&M Records firmly places Wes Montgomery in the POP/JAZZ world, taking the pop hits of the day and adding Wes as a lead guitar part.
On I’ll Be Back the artists were:
Herbie Hancock piano,
Wes Montgomery guitar
Richard Davis Bass,
Grady Tate drums,
…and a cast of many in the orchestra.
Like many Lennon McCartney songs, ILL BE BACK goes back and forth from major to minor. But with the orchestra - - did Wes Montgomery really enjoy what he was doing? There is such a difference as compared to his favorite format—a jazz trio.
M7 Road Song was composed by Wes Montgomery and recorded May 8,1968 and released on the album “Road Song”, on A&M Records
The song showcases what Wes is known for in JAZZ circles, now going to a much broader POP base. So in this song there is extensive Octave playing (level 2 of the 3-level, solo technique)
ROAD SONG features :
Herbie Hancock Piano ,
Richard Davis Bass,
Ed Shaughnessy drums
and small orchestra
This song is very probably the final recording before Montgomery’s death. Montgomery had just returned from a tour with his quintet
On the morning of June 15, 1968, while at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, Montgomery died of a heart attack ---he was only 45 years old at the time of his death….and was at the top of his fame. Montgomery earned a high level of popular acceptance and set the bar so much higher for young and aspiring jazz guitarists. A year following his death, in 1969, he won a second Grammy, again for “Best Instrumental Jazz Performance”
Love For Sale (Cole Porter 1930 ) Rec Oct 9, 1961, “WES and FRIENDS“,Milestone 1973 remaster 3:32
No Hard Feelings (Buddy Montgomery) Rec Oct 9, 1961, “WES and FRIENDS”, Milestone 1973 remaster 3:45
Born To Be Blue (Mel Torme) Rec Apr 22 1963 “The Alternative Wes Montgomery” Milestone Records 1963 7:23
Fried Pies (Wes Montgomery) Rec Apr 22 1963 “The Alternative Wes Montgomery” Milestone Records 1963 6: | |||
| Wes Montgomery Guitarist VV-016 | 08 May 2018 | 00:47:17 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some early vinyl records that showcase JAZZ GUITARIST GREAT WES MONTGOMERY. The recording presented in this podcast are a compilation from my LP collection from the golden age of vinyl. From my father’s LP record collection, I heard these LPs during my childhood. These LPs were a frequent play on the house Hi-Fi -- it had a stackable record player. Wes Montgomery was a regular in that record stack..Jazz renditions by Wes Montgomery have had a big influence on my musical development and my music interest since that time - - some 55 years ago !
Wes Montgomery Part 1 (1959-1961)
PART 1
‘Round Midnight (music by Thelonious Monk 1944) Recorded Oct 5-6, 1959, Wes Montgomery guitar, Melvin Rhyne organ, Paul Parker drums. 4:49 Remaster 1968 Riverside Records. …bebop. Original LP: “THE WES MONTGOMERY TRIO, A Dynamic New Sound for Guitar/Organ/Drums"
Yesterdays (music by Jerome Kern 1933-from Roberta) Recorded Oct 5-6, 1959 Wes Montgomery guitar, Melvin Rhyne organ, Paul Parker drums. 3:13 Remaster 1968 Riverside Records …‘brightswing 200’ much faster pace than the Roberts play song. Original LP: “THE WES MONTGOMERY TRIO, A Dynamic New Sound for Guitar/Organ/Drums"
Love Walked In (music by George Gershwin 1930) recorded October 9, 1961 Wes Montgomery guitar, George Shearing Piano, Buddy Montgomery Vibes, Monk Montgomery Bass, Walter Perkins Drums. Riverside Records remaster, 1968. What a dynamite jazz rendition of this George Gershwin music classic, by Wes Montgomery and George Shearing. What do we know about the musical family “Montgomery”. 2:10
Airegin (Sonny Rollins) Wes Montgomery guitar, Tommy Flanagn piano, Percy Heath bass, Albert Heath druma. Recorded January 1960. Riverside Records 4:26 Note the tight synch between drummer and wes , wes is weaved into the rhythm section.
Four on Six (Wes Montgomery) Wes Montgomery guitar, Tommy Flanagn piano, Percy Heath bass, Albert Heath druma. Recorded January 1960. Riverside Records 6:10 long one there is plenty of time to develop the theme and have a more ideas play out
Tune Up-Take 9 (Miles Davis) Recorded Oct 12, 1960 Wes Montgomery guitar, James Clay, Flute, Victor Feldman, Piano, Sam Jones Bass, Bobby Thomas drums, Produced by Orrin Keepnews, released in 1963, consists of alternate unissued takes (1960-1963) from previously issued albums on the Riverside label 4:39
Bock to Bock-take 1 (Buddy Montgomery) Recorded Jan 3, 1961 for “The Montgomery Brothers-Groove Yard” in 1961 , Wes Montgomery guitar, Buddy Montgomery piano, Monk Montgomery bass, Bobby Thomas drums. Orinially produced by Orrin Keepnews, released in 1963, consists of alternate unissued takes (1960-1963) from previously issued albums on the Riverside label 5:35
Today in Part 1, I will pick some of Wes Montgomery best recordings, made between 1959 and 1961, - - - he was between the young ages of 36 and 38. Wes Montgomery had just signed with Riverside Records. There would be several LP and LP Sets released with Riverside over the next seven years…a prolific period for Wes!
What do we know about Wes Montgomery ?
John Leslie Montgomery was born March 6, 1923 in Indianapolis. He was called Wes, the baby pronunciation of his name, Leslie.
Amazing Technique fact 1
Wes Montgomery is a SELF TAUGHT musician, learning by ear, starting at age12 on a tenor guitar, then at age 20, he began playing a 6-string guitar. He had listened and learned from the recordings of his guitar idol,
CHARLIE CHRISTIAN. Wes Montgomery learned these melodies and riffs … by ear. That is an amazing fact.
Wes grew up with two musician brothers - - Monk Montgomery plays bass, and Buddy Montgomery plays piano and vibes. Montgomery did most of his early performance work in the 1950’s in Indanapolis, with his brothers, and together with with Indianapolis organist Melvin Rhyne - - they recorded from 1957-1959 for the PACIFIC JAZZ label.
The story goes that Wes learned how to play Charlie Christian songs by memory, note-for-note, and that Lionel Hampton hired Wes for this reason. His early professional history began by briefly TOURING with Lionell Hampton’s orchestra, from 1948-1950. This would have been when Wes was from the ages of 25 to 27.
Then, in 1959, at the age of 36, Wes got his big break, and signed with RIVERSIDE RECORDS.
First album was “THE WES MONTGOMERY TRIO, A Dynamic New Sound for Guitar/Organ/Drums", recorded October 1959. There were several wonderful recordings released, featuring small-group jazz bee-bop format of jazz guitar. You will hear FIVE of those Riverside RECORDS LP recordings today - - On VINYL VIBRATIONS !!
M1 Round Midnight. This first song from the 1959 recording is ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT, a Thelonious Monk composition.This features Wes Montgomery on guitar, Melvin Rhyne on organ, and Paul Parker on drums and now….’ROUND MIDNIGHT. An interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s 1944 song, recorded in 1959, and released on Riverside Records, distributed by ABC Records.
M2 Yesterdays Music by Jerome Kern 1933-from the play “Roberta”. Recorded Oct 5-6, 1959 ….with Wes Montgomery guitar, Melvin Rhyne organ, Paul Parker drums. The sheet music calls for a tempo named ‘brightswing 200’ a much faster pace than the song in Roberts. The Original LP was titled : “THE WES MONTGOMERY TRIO, A Dynamic New Sound for Guitar/Organ/Drums"
Another amazing fact about guitar technique
WES developed an unusual playing technique, using his right THUMB to pluck the strings, instead of a guitar pick. That may not sound significant, but when you consider the speed of some of his guitar lines, as a guitarist, it is mind-boggling to hear his performance – rapid succession of a line of notes, with just the thumb.
Like for example this line from Jingles:.
Today some great guitarists use this thumb style –Jeff Beck, George Benson, John Abercrombie, and the late Emily Remner…
M3 Love Walked In Our next jazz tune is titled Love Walked In (music by George Gershwin 1930) and was recorded in 1961 in LA the track was included in a release titled George Shearing and the Montgomery Brothers
This is a jazz quintet --- Wes Montgomery guitar, George Shearing Piano, Buddy Montgomery Vibes, Monk Montgomery Bass, Walter Perkins Drums. What a dynamite jazz rendition of this Gershwin classic, performed by Wes Montgomery and George Shearing. A very short piece at 2 minutes 10 seconds. Found on a Riverside Records 1968 remaster . THE BEST OF WES MONTGOMERY and featuring george shearing, Wes, Buddy and Monk Montgomery and Walter Perkins Drums.
M4 Airegin (a Sonny Rollins composition) from the 1960 album The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery a QUARTET with Wes Montgomery on guitar, Tommy Flanagan piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Albert Heath drums. Riverside Records
The title of the song AIREGIN …is NIGERIA spelled backwards. Note the tight synch between drummer, and guitarist Wes is weaved into the rhythm section.
M5 Four on Six Our next song is a Wes Montgomery composition - - with Wes on guitar, Tommy Flanagan piano, Percy Heath bass, Albert Heath drums. Recorded January 1960. Riverside Records. At 6:10 this is a longer piece -- plenty of time to fully develop the theme and have the ideas played out . The sheet music shows the song is in 4/4 … so where does that title FOUR ON SIX come from? One interpretation is 4th track sixth album. Another is four fingers six strings…or is it the four theme notes G-D-C-G ,repeated six times… Maybe you know the truth.
And now, Four on Six
M6 Tune Up-Take 9 (Miles Davis) Recorded Oct 12, 1960 …Wes Montgomery guitar, James Clay, Flute, Victor Feldman, Piano, Sam Jones Bass, Bobby Thomas drums, produced by Orrin Keepnews, released in 1963. This album consists of alternate unissued takes from previously issued albums on the Riverside label This track has a different sound, instead of the full-bodied guitar sound, this track sound as if the only bridge pickup is used, a hollow sound without the bottom-end we hear on other Montgomery tracks. A Miles Davis compositrion played by Wes Montgomery guitar, James Clay, Flute, Victor Feldman, Piano, Sam Jones Bass, Bobby Thomas drums, recorded in 1960.
A bit about Wes Montgomery’s signature solo technigue. It’s three tiered !!
He begins with a single notes solo.
Next he solos in OCTAVE notes
And third he moves to chord melodies or so-called “block chords” .
And that is the tree tiered solo technique of Wes Montgomery.
M7 Bock to Bock-take 1 (Buddy Montgomery) Recorded in1961 for “The Montgomery Brothers-Groove Yard”. It features a quartet including the brothers !
Wes Montgomery guitar,
Buddy Montgomery piano,
Monk Montgomery bass,
With Bobby Thomas drums.
This track was found on an LP released in 1963, containing unissued takes from previously issued albums of the Riverside label. The song title BOCK to BOCK is a reference to PACIFIC JAZZ RECORDS producer and founder Richard Bock, whom the Montgomery Brothers recorded with from 1957 to 1959. When the track starts, it sounds a bit like Peggy Lee and her hit song “FEVER”, which came out in 1958. Recorded in 1961 with the Montgomery Brothers WES BUDDY and MONK and Bobby Thomas on drums.
‘Round Midnight (T. Monk 1944) Recorded 1959, Riverside 4:49
Yesterdays (J. Kern 1933) Recorded 1959 3:13
Love Walked In (G. Gershwin 1930) Recorded 1961 Riverside 2:10
Airegin (S. Rollins) Recorded January 1960. Riverside 4:26
Four on Six (W. Montgomery) Recorded January 1960. Riverside 6:10
Tune Up-Take 9 (M. Davis) Recorded Oct 12, 1960, Producer Orrin Keepnews 4:39
Bock to Bock-Take 1 (B. Montgomery) Recorded Jan 3, 1961 Producer Orrin Keepnews, 5:35 | |||
| Fats Waller Piano and Organ Solos Part 2 VV-015 | 08 May 2018 | 00:39:26 | |
Fats Waller Piano and Organ Solos Part 2 (1940-1943)
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some early vinyl records that showcase PIANIST AND ORGANIST GREAT FATS WALLER. Many of these will be original compositions by Fats Waller . These recordings of Fats Waller are found on my Vinyl LP Record compilation of his recordings between 1929 and 1943….
PART 2
Dancing Fool, The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 4. Recorded March, 1940. Piano solo.
Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller), ’Fat’s’ Waller and His Rhythm/Ain’t Misbehavin’, recorded 5/13/1941, 1956, RCA Victor Records. Piano solo.
Ring Dem Bells, Handful of Keys, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, RCA Victor LPM-1502, 1957. Recorded May 13, 1941. Piano solo.
Waller Jive, (Fats Waller) Fats Waller-Last Testament 1943, Alamac Recording Company, OSR2438 , recorded Sept 1943. Piano solo.
Hallelujah, (Fats Waller) Fats Waller-Last Testament 1943, Alamac Recording Company, OSR2438 , recorded Sept 1943. Piano solo.
Martinique, (Fats Waller) Fats Waller-Last Testament 1943, Alamac Recording Company, OSR2438 , recorded Sept 1943. Organ solo
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, (spiritual, c1870, US), “Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks” recorded Sept 23, 1943. 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001. Organ solo.
Bouncin’ On A V-Disc, (Fats Waller) “Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks” recorded Sept 23, 1943, organ solo 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001
THOMAS WRIGHT “FATS” WALLER was borne May 21, 1904 in NYC, the youngest of 11 children. He started paying piano at age six. His father was the Reverend Edward Martin Waller and by the time Thomas Waller was 10, he had learned how to play the organ at his father’s church. At age 14, he was playing the organ at Harlem Lincoln’s Theater. Fats Waller is best known for his stride piano style. [insert sample of stride piano] . At age 15 he was a professional pianist and worked the local cabarets and theatres. Some of his original compositions are well known standards today, like Honeysuckle Rose, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Handful of Keys, Squeeze Me, Blue Turnin Grey Over You. Recordings of Fats Waller were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, first in 1984, the song Honeysuckle Rose, and again in 1998 the song Ain’t Misbehavin’.
TODAY We will hear piano and organ solo performances by Fats Waller from 1929, during the time of the Great Depression, and 1943, when America was deeply involved in World War II in Europe and in the Pacific.
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| Fats Waller Piano and Organ Solos VV-014 | 08 May 2018 | 00:35:30 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some early vinyl records that showcase PIANIST AND ORGANIST GREAT FATS WALLER. There are some 360 original compositions credited to Fats Waller, so where does one start in an attempt to represent his most imortant works? These recording you will hear in this podcast are found on a vinyl LP Record compilation that were collected by my father. During my childhood, these LPs were a frequent favorite on the house Hi-Fidelity record player.
FATS WALLER PART 1
Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Music by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks), ‘Ain’t Misbehavin, Fat’s’ Waller and His Rhythm’ 1956, RCA Victor Records. rec 8/2/1929, original version of the song released 1929. Piano solo.
Baby Oh Where Can You Be (Music by Ted Koehler and Frank Magine), The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 2 RFW-2, Organ solo. Recorded 8/24/1929.
Tanglewood, (composed by Fats Waller and Sidney Easton) The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 2 RFW-2, organ solo, recorded 8/24/1929.Handful of Keys, Handful of Keys, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, RCA Victor LPM-1502, 1957. Recorded March 1, 1929.ZSz Piano solo.
Tea for Two (Music by Vincent Youmans) ’Fat’s’ Waller and His Rhythm/Ain’t Misbehavin’, recorded June, 1937 from the 1924 musical “No, No Nanette” 1956, RCA Victor Records
Then You’ll Remember Me (Music by Michael William Balfe), Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks , 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001. From Balfe’s opera, The Bohemian Girl c1861-1865) recorded Nov 30, 1939. Piano solo. Electrical Transcription (ET).
Sextet Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks, 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001. from Lucia Di Lammermoor. Recorded Nov 20, 1939. Piano solo. Electrical Transcription (ET).
MY HEART AT THY SWEET VOICE Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks, 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001. Recorded Nov 20, 1939. Piano solo. Electrical Transcription (ET).
Today in Part 1, I will canvass solo performances of Fats Waller of his recordings between 1929 and 1939, when he was between the ages of 25 and 35. Today’s show is called Fats Waller Piano and Organ Solos. . . .
THOMAS WRIGHT WALLER was born May 21, 1904 in NYC, the youngest of 11 children. He started pl aying piano at age six. His father was the Reverend Edward Martin Waller . By the time Thomas was 10, he had learned how to play the organ at his father’s church. At age 14, he was playing the organ at Harlem Lincoln’s Theater. Fats Waller is best known for his stride piano style.
At age 15 Fats was a professional pianist and worked the local cabarets and theatres. Some of his original compositions are well known standards today, like Honeysuckle Rose, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Handful of Keys, Squeeze Me, Blue Turnin Grey Over You. Recordings of Fats Waller were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, first in 1984, the song Honeysuckle Rose, and again in 1998 the song Ain’t Misbehavin’.
Thomas Waller earned the nickname “Fats” at an early age, because as a Harlem ten year old boy, he was very heavy, over 250 pounds, and for the remainder of his life, his weight would stay between 280 and 300. Fats Waller was hard-working and trained in music theory and in the piano classics. He was prolific and there are some 360 songs credited to him during his short lifetime of 39 years.
In terms of music performance, he preferred small groups to big bands, and preferred to lead groups of 6-8 men. `
We will hear piano and organ solo performances by Fats Waller from 1929, during the time of the Great Depression, and 1939, the start of WW II in Europe, the invasion by Nazi Germany into Poland.
PLUG - VINYL VIBRATIONS - -
M1 Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Music by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks), ‘Ain’t Misbehavin, Fat’s’ Waller and His Rhythm’ 1956, RCA Victor Records. rec 8/2/1929, original version of the song released 1929. Piano solo.
In our first segment, we listen to Ain’t Misbehavin’. Music is composed by Fats Waller and Harry Brooks. This is one of the earliest solo recordings of Fats Waller. This 1929 recording was re-mastered from 78 to LP vinyl record by RCA Victor Records many years later, in 1956. Perhaps this song is the single most popular of Fats Waller’s original composions today. This is a piano solo version, normally one would hear the lyrics - - very whimsical…
I don't stay out late
Got no place to go
I'm home about 8
Just me and my radio
Ain't misbehavin'
I'm savin' my love for you]
The solo version we will hear next is performed by Fats and recorded in August, 1929. Fats is just 25 years old. What an easy stride piano style this is. With the stride style, the left hand rhythm, he creates a rhythm section.
M2 Baby Oh Where Can You Be (Music by Ted Koehler and Frank Magine), The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 2 RFW-2, Organ solo. Recorded 8/24/1929. That was Fats Waller and his organ solo rendition of Baby Oh Where Can You Be… Music by Ted Koehler and Frank Magine), from the vinyl LP “The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 2” . The liner notes for this album are in the form of a single typewritten sheet of paper …The only information provided …reads like this: “THOMAS WALLER (pipe organ), 24Aug 1929.”
M3 Tanglewood I have another outstanding pipe organ solo. This song is titled Tanglewood, and was composed by Fats Waller and Sidney Easton. This remastered version was found on the LP “The Rarest Fats Waller Volume 2, and also was recorded on 8/24/1929.
Fats Waller is considered to be the first JAZZ ORGANIST. He made his first recordings inside a church owned by the Southern Music Company, in Camden, NJ. The organ solos were published on VICTOR records, as 78 RPM discs.
The publication of this music, using a church pneumatic organ, could be one of Fats Wallers most outstanding achievements.
M4 Tea for Two
(Music by Vincent Youmans) from the LP album ’Fat’s’ Waller and His Rhythm/Ain’t Misbehavin’, ….
The song Tea for Two is from the 1924 musical “No, No Nanette”
This piano solo was recorded in June, 1937 and remastered to LP in 1956 by RCA Victor Records
There is some amazing technical finger work on Tea for Two, and Fats Waller is solid with his rhythm and the stride style piano that he is well known for.
M5 Then You’ll Remember Me (Music by Michael William Balfe), Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks , 1956, Jazz Treasury JT-1001. From Balfe’s opera, The Bohemian Girl c1861-1865) recorded Nov 30, 1939. Piano solo. Electrical Transcription (ET).
In 1939, Fats Waller performed a solo piano version of Then You’ll Remember Me
The music was composed by Michael William Balfe, and is from Balfe’s opera, The Bohemian Girl .
Balfe composed the opera in 1843, and it became one of his most praised works. The Bohemian Girl spread all across Europe and even made it to some cities in the US.
The music and lyrics of “Then You’ll Remember Me” touch on ideas of love, loss, and heartache. There is no chorus in this piece, reflecting the time period this was produced, the early 1800s.
This LP track had been remastered in 1956 by Jazz Treasury JT-1001, from Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks. The program was recorded Nov 30, 1939, is believed to be remastered from an electric transcription. During "Golden Age" of radio, most programs were aired live. But performances were recorded while they were being broadcast. Why, you ask?? The recording was made so that a sponsor or a producer could listen to them later, or use the recording for a rebroadcast. These so-called Electrical Transcriptions” were recorded into 16" records, called "ET's". This continued into the 1950s when the audio tape was used for recording. Many of these ET’s were discarded or abandoned in large quantities. Today they are considered valuable collector items. You need a turntable large enough to handle the large 16” disc.
THEN YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, a Fats Waller piano solo.
M6 Sextet and is adapted from Lucia Di Lammermoor , a tragic opera written by Gaetano Donizetti in 1835, the song title meaning the song includes six singers. The piano solo version by Fats Waller is found on the 1956 JAZZ TREASURY LP, Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks, Sextet, as with the previous recording, was recorded into an Electrical Transcription disc Nov 20, 1939 and then remastered in 1956 to vinyl LP record by JAZZ TREASURY.
LUCIA SEXTET has found its way into many modern productions, such as
SCARFACE,
THE DEPARTED,
THE THREE STOOGES AND MICRO PHONIES AND SQUARE HEADS OF THE ROUNDTABLE,
THE MONEY PIT,
THE FLINTSTONES,
LAW AND ORDER and
BEETLEJUICE.
M7 MY HEART AT THY SWEET VOICE
And now our final solo performance in this part 1 of Fats Waller solo piano and organ performances, the song MY HEART AT THY SWEET VOICE . This is a lesser known piano solo recorded in November 1939 as an Electrical Transcription (ET) and found on the LP titled: Fats Waller Plays, Sings and Talks, remastered to LP record format in 1956 by Jazz Treasury.
My Heart at thy sweet voice is from an ARIA from the GRAND opera SAMSON ET DALILA, by Camille Saint-Saens, FIRST PERFORMED IN 1877. IT IS BASED ON THE BIBLICAL TALE OF SAMSON AND DELILAH FROM THE BOOK OF JUDGES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Maybe you can find the humor, this aria is sung by Dalilah, a mezzo-soprano, she is trying to make up to Sampson, the tenor, just before he goes to sleep… and she cuts off his hair. Today, the song is a popular wedding song.
And now, MY HEART AT THY SWEET VOICE performed by Fats Waller in 1939.
About V-Discs
Some listeners might assume that V-Disc Recordings is a collection of the most famous recordings that Fats Waller made for RCA Victor during World War II. Most of the material was, in fact, recorded during the Second World War, but not for RCA Victor. The Best of the War Years is actually a collection of V-disc recordings. In the '40s, V-discs were 78s that were pressed for the United States military. They were not sold commercially -- V-discs were strictly for the enjoyment of American serv | |||
| Gypsy Guitar Django Reinhardt Part 2 VV-013 | 08 May 2018 | 00:49:02 | |
In my previous Vinyl Vibrations podcast of Gypsy Guitarist-Great, Django Reinhardt, I reviewed some of his early vinyl recordings. I reviewed nine songs which Django composed in the 12-year period between 1937 and 1949. As a composer, Reinhardt was prolific, with at least 112 original compositions to his credit. His own songs, in my opinion, are the most interesting of his works, because they are his creations, and embody his humor and his thinking in a most complete way.
M10 Porto Cabello (D. Reinhardt) rec 5/21/1947, Paris, 3:18, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M11 Double Whisky (D. Reinhardt) rec 5/11/1951, Paris, 2:53, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M12 Vamp (D. Reinhardt) rec 5/11/1951, Paris, 2:39, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M13 Fleche D'or (D. Reinhardt) rec 1/30/1952, Paris, 3:00, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M14 Troublant Bolero (D. Reinhardt) rec 1/30/1952, Paris, 3:30, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M15 Nuits de St. Germain-des-Pres (D. Reinhardt) rec 1/30/1952, Paris, 3:05, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M16 Anouman (D. Reinhardt) rec 1/30/1953, Paris, 2:45, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M17 D.R. Blues (D. Reinhardt) rec 1/30/1953, Paris, 3:08, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M18 Deccaphonie (D. Reinhardt) rec 4/8/1953, Paris, 3:15, [Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
In Part I, I reviewed…..
M1 Improvisation (D. Reinhardt), rec 1937,
M2 Minor Swing (S.Grappelli-D.Reinhardt) , rec 9/9/1937,
M3 Naguine (D. Reinhardt), rec 6/30/1939,
M4 Djangology (D. Reinhardt), rec 5/8/1942,
M5 Blues Clair (D. Reinhardt), rec 2/26/1943
M6 Belleville (D. Reinhardt), rec 1950
M7 Nuages (D. Reinhardt-J. Larue), rec 2/1/1946
M8 Swing 48 (D. Reinhardt), rec 7/6/1947,
M9 Brick Top (D. Reinhardt-S. Grappelli), rec Feb 1949
In today's podcast, Part II, I continue with more of Django's original compositions.
DJANGO REINHARDT lived in Belgium and France between 1910 and 1953 and is best known, and most widely published, for his performances with his jazz group "Quintette du Hot Club de France". The quintet popularized the gypsy jazz style, also known as gypsy swing or hot club jazz or jazz manouche.
The story goes that Django and younger brother Joseph Reinhardt were "discovered" one day, by a French bass player, Louis Vola, as they were playing guitars on a beach at Toulon, a town in southern France. Vola invited them to jam with his own band, which included the young violinist, Stephane Grappelli, and guitarist Roger Chaput.
The "Hot Club de France" was a music society devoted to the preservation of jazz, and two of its leaders and promoters Pierre Nourry and Charles Delaunay urged Django and Stephane to form a full-time group. The rest is history…..and "The QUINTETTE DU HOT CLUB DE FRANCE was formed in 1934 and remained active for 15 years.
The original lineup included five members, Django, Grappelli, bassist Louis Volla, Django's brother Joseph, and one other rhythm guitarist, Roger Chaput. There was no real percussion section in the quintette, the two rhythm guitars and bass created all of the percussion in this all-string ensemble. Django and Grappelli remained constants in future recordings, while rhythm guitarists and bassists rolled in and out of the group.
Five years later, when World War II broke out in 1939, the Quintette was on a concert tour of England. Reinhardt, returned home to France, and Grappelli stayed in England throughout WW2. Back in France, Django continued using the Quintette name but without violinist Grappelli, he substituted Hubert Rostaing on clarinet. He also added conventional rhythm section by adding drums.
After the war, in 1946, Grappelli and Django re-teamed under the Quintette banner in an all-string format. and the quintette performed and recorded until about 1948.
All of the songs we review today were recorded in Paris, in five recording sessions, between May 1947 and April 1953. These recordings are found on a rare, two-disc LP set titled "DJANGO REINHARDT et son QUINTETTE DU HOT CLUB DE FRANCE. This LP set was produced in France in 1973 under the Disques Festival label, and distributed by MUSICDISC-EUROPE.
M10 PORTO CABELLO. Our first song in this podcast is PORTO CABELLO recorded in Paris, May 1947 a Django Reinhardt composition. THE SONG TITLE---PORTO CABELLO…..brings to mind the seaside resort in Venezuela… Puerto Cabello, after which the CABELLO spider was named …… perhaps Django named it after this distant coastal city…..
PORTO CABELLO has some similarities to the movie theme from SOUTH PACIFIC---BALI HAI ---a film to appear two years later, in 1949.
PORTO also has similarities to the Cole Porter song Night and Day, in which Django performs here…..
PORTO CABELLO opens and closes with the Hubert Rostaing clarinet melody. The mid-song guitar solo by Django is mind-boggling, given that the high-speed neck runs are all performed with just the first two fingers.
Personnel
Hubert Rostaing cl
Eugene Vees rg
Emmanuel Soudieux, b
Pierre Fouad dm
Recorded 5/21/1947, Paris,
M11 DOUBLE WHISKY
Another Django Reinhardt Swing classic
The song has a nice, easy going stride to it. This is a larger arrangement, with lead parts for alto sax.…and muted trumpet ….Django is playing an electrified guitar. The album cover photo shows Django with a spruce-top, large-body guitar with electric pickup clamped in place over the sound hole.
DOUBLE WHISKY WAS
Recorded May 11, 1951, PARIS
Personnel included
Django on guitar solo
Pierre Michelot b
Pierre Lemarchand dm
Raymond Fol Piano
Hubert Fol as
Bernard Hullin tp
[Django Reinhardt et son Quintette du Hot Club de France, Distribution Musidisc-Europe1979]
M12 Next up is a song titled VAMP ….this is a beautiful, slow song for a quartet of guitar-sax-bass-and piano-----VAMP is another great Jazz Standard. Easy to learn, VAMP would be a good candidate for an intermediate music class such as Jazz 101. Again we have lead parts for alto sax and guitar
For those occasional dancers in the room that will do ONLY the slow dances, myself included, one would want a song like VAMP to play much, much longer…..this song lasts only 2 minutes 39 seconds !!
Recorded May 11, 1951, PARIS
Personnel included
Django on guitar solo
Pierre Michelot b
Raymond Fol Piano
Hubert Fol as
and now…VAMP
M13 Fleche D'Or, that's French for GOLDEN ARROW
Here we have a somewhat complex and really different sounding introduction and finale theme, with unison playing by guitar muted trumpet and alto sax. This is progressing away from SWING, with more of a bebop sound with a faster pace, alternating rhythms, and a combo consisting of saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums, and piano….plus Django on electric guitar and a screaming guitar at that.. What wild stuff for 1952!!!
Here is an early example of distortion or overdrive from Django's guitar pickup. I note on the album cover the pickup has a single large white knob, no doubt a control for the amount of GAIN that is sent to the amplifier. Here is an example
It must have been exciting to take his playing to an even higher level, …..by adding amplification and now overdrive/distortion…..AND by progressing into a new style of Jazz Bebop !!!! As a guitar player myself, vicariously, it is a thrill to hear it years later.
Golden Arrow Fleche D'Or was
Recorded 1/30/1952, Paris, 3:00
Personnel included
Django on guitar solo
Roger Guerin on Trumpet
Raymond Fol Piano
Hubert Fol as
…..and in the rhythm section ……..
Barney Spieler b
Pierre Lemarchand dm
M14 TROUBLANT BOLERO , or French for "Troubling Bolero" another fine D. Reinhardt composition. TROUBLANT BOLERO starts with an eerie Bass and rhythm guitar line, followed by a muted trumpet melody line, add in the harmony of the alto sax……..then KABOOM, a blazing guitar solo. Just as you get up off the floor from the last solo, Django knocks you over again with this powerful , melodic, finessed guitar solo…again electrified guitar with overdrive…..
TROUBLANT BOLERO was Recorded 1/30/1952, Paris, 3:30
Personnel included
Django on guitar solo
Roger Guerin on Trumpet
Raymond Fol Piano
Hubert Fol as
…..and again in the rhythm section ……..
Barney Spieler b
Pierre Lemarchand dm
….And Now...
M15 Nights in the St. Germain-des-Pres , This song, is one of Django's more obscure "BOP" tunes. But the title tells a great story. The song title refers to a neighborhood in Paris, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This neighborhood was the center of the existentialist movement. There were many cafes, such as Café de Flore, and Les Deux Magots, which hosted French intellectuals during the post-war years and were a rendezvous of the literary and intellectual élite of Paris.
There is one particular cafe in this district, also named St. Germain-des-Pres, that has a rich history in jazz music. During the occupation of Paris by the Nazis, jazz music was outlawed on the airwaves and in public places.The hard-core jazz fans in Paris simply took their music down into the soundproof, underground cellar clubs of St.Germain-des-Pres and the Latin Quarter of Paris. There were many such Clubs such as Les Rats de Cave, The Flore, Les Deux Magots and the Tabou Club.
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| Gypsy Guitar Django Reinhardt VV-012 | 08 May 2018 | 00:56:28 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some early vinyl records that showcase GYPSY GUITARIST GREAT DJANGO REINHARDT. Many of these will be original compositions by Django Reinhardt . These recordings of Django are found on Vinyl LP Record compilations of his recordings between 1937 and 1949. Today I will divide the show into three segments, DJANGO Songs Pre-WW2, Songs During WW2 and Songs after WW2. In all, I will SHOWCASE ten of the great works of GYPSY GUITARIST DJANGO REINHARDT.
When Day is Done (R. Katscher-B. de Sylva), rec 4/22/1937, ____, 3:10 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
Minor Swing (S.Grappelli-D.Reinhardt) , rec 9/9/1937, _____, 3:14 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
Naguine (D. Reinhardt), rec 6/30/1939, Paris, 2:25 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
Djangology (D. Reinhardt), rec 5/8/1942, Brussels, 3:04 [VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994]
Blues Clair (D. Reinhardt), rec 2/26/1943, _______, 3:01 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
Belleville (D. Reinhardt), rec 2/1/1946, London, 3:15 [VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994]
Nuages (D. Reinhardt-J. Larue), rec 2/1/1946, London, 3:15 [VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994]
Swing 48 (D. Reinhardt), rec 7/6/1947, Paris, 2:45 [VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994]
Brick Top (D. Reinhardt-S. Grappelli), rec Feb 1949, Rome, 3:42 [Djangology remaster 1961]
Night and Day (C. Porter), rec 3/10/1953, Paris, 2:51 [VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994]
http://youtu.be/OYX4hQ00zcw
Django Reinhardt, Jean Vaissade - La Caravane - Paris, 20.06.1928
L’Accordéoniste Jean Vaissade -
Jean Vaissade (acc); Django Reinhardt (bj); unknown (slide whistle) -
1928 June 20 - Paris
DJANGO REINHARDT is so well known in Jazz and Guitar circles that perhaps he needs no introduction…. yet there is much cultural and personal background about this fascinating guitarist and his place in music history in the context of world events of the 1940s !!!
Jean Reinhardt, nicknamed “DJANGO, a gipsy word for “I AWAKE”, was born 1/23/1910, in a caravan, in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium, about 60km south of Brussels, into a family of Manouche gypsies. This was just 4 years before the German invasion of Belgium in 1914 and Germany’s declaration of war on France, in WW1.
Starting at age 8, Reinhardt spent most of his youth in Romani, or Gypsy encampments close to Paris, playing banjo, guitar and violin. His brother Joseph Reinhardt, two years younger, was an accomplished guitarist. Django Reinhardt played the violin at first, then at the age of 12, he learned to play a “banjo-guitar”. A banjo-guitar looks like a banjo, and sounds like a banjo, but is tuned like a guitar and can be played by guitarists. By the age of 13, Reinhardt was able to make a living playing music. His first known recording (in June 20, 1928, AGE 18) is of him playing the banjo –guitar with accordianist Jean Vaissade
Not long after this first recording, also when he was 18, Reinhardt was severely injured in a caravan fire. (For those non-europeans, the term “caravan” refers to a small trailer in which one can live while traveling. In the context of 1928 Belgium, these were horse-drawn caravans.)
In this fire, Django received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralysed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burned. He was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane. And he relearned his guitar-playing skill … even though his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralysed. He played all of his guitar solos with only two fingers, and used the two injured digits for playing chords. This is an amazing fact, when you hear the speed, clarity and musicality of his guitar solos
Between 1929 and 1933 Django abandoned the banjo-guitar for the classical guitar….. Django somehow was able to acquire an extraordinary guitar, a Selmer Maccaferri. This is a large body steel-string, arched-top guitar with a "D"-shaped soundhole and a wide neck, like a classical guitar. The body had an internal resonator, invented circa 1931 by guitarist and luthier [loo-ti’-er] Mario Maccaferri, the resonator wwas designed to increase the volume of the guitar.
In 1934, Reinhardt and Parisian violinist Grappelli were invited to form the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" with Reinhardt's younger brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and Louis Vola on bass. The guitars also served as percussion instruments----they had no true drums or percussion section. The Quintette du Hot Club de France (or QHCF) jazz ensemble was composed only of STRING instruments.
Today I will divide the show into three segments, DJANGO Songs Pre-WW2, Songs During WW2 and Songs after WW2. In all, I will SHOWCASE ten of the great works of DJANGO REINHARDT,
In our first segment, we look at three of DJANGO REINHARDT’s SONGS PRE-WW2, defined as the time leading up to September 1939, the invasion of Germany into Poland
M1 When Day is Done (R. Katscher-B. de Sylva), rec 4/22/1937, ____, 3:10 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
When Day is Done performed by Quintette du Hot Club de France recorded in April 1937 with a beautiful octave stle lead-in by Django and a lovely solo intro, followed by a tempo change for stephane grapelli’s violin solo.
Recorded in: 4/22/1937
Personnel of the Quintette du Hot Club de France included
Stephanie Grappelli VN
Django Reinhardt G
Marcel Bianchi RG
Pierre Ferret RG
Louis Vola B
M2 Minor Swing (S.Grappelli-D.Reinhardt) , rec 9/9/1937, _____, 3:14 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
In Minor Swing we hear the great expression in Django’s lead including fantastic runs up and down the neck.
“Ahhhh Yeah!” THAT WAS Minor Swing (S.Grappelli-D.Reinhardt) ,
Recorded in: rec 9/9/1937
Personnel of the Quintette du Hot Club de France included
Stephanie Grappelli VN
Django Reinhardt G
Joseph Reinhardt RG
Eugene Vees RG
Pierre Ferret RG
Louis Vola B
M3 Naguine (D. Reinhardt), rec 6/30/1939, Paris, 2:25 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
This is a very easy-going solo demonstration of chorded guitar melody, a studio recording from June of 1939. The name of the song, Naguine, is also his second wife’s middle name, Sophie "Naguine" Ziegler, whom he married fours years later, in central France, and with whom he had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who became a respected guitarist in his own right.
Personnel Django solo performance
SONGS DURING WAR (1939-1945)
When WWII broke out, (or September 1939) the original quintet was on tour in the United Kingdom. Reinhardt returned to Paris and Grappelli remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war (six years, or May 1945). Reinhardt reformed the quintet in Paris, with Hubert Rostaing on clarinet replacing Grappelli's violin.
Just a few months after returning to Paris, in May of 1940, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands fell to the Nazis. Reinhardt's problems were compounded by the fact that the Nazis officially disapproved of jazz. Jazz was prohibited by the Nazis at the beginning of the war. The Nazi regime even passed edicts banning jazz records and muted trumpets calling them…. degenerate art!! He made several attempts, unsuccessful, to escape occupied France.
Reinhardt survived the war unscathed, unlike many Gypsies who perished in the Romani holocaust. Nazi Germany, the Independent State of Croatia, the Kindom of Hungary and their allies, attempted to exterminate the Romani people of Europe during World War II…..both Roma and Jews were defined as "enemies of the race-based state" by the Nuremberg laws; ….and the Nazi regime systematically murdered several hundred thousand European Gypsies.
There may be two reasons why Django succeeded in surviving persecution, after all he was living in France and a key musician of “Quintette du Hot Club de France” now for six years. One reason is that Eastern European Romani communities were less organised than Jewish communities, and therefore not well documented. The other reason is that supposedly, Django enjoyed the protection of one jazz-loving Nazi, Luftwaffe officer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, nicknamed "Doktor Jazz.
Our first wartime song is DJANGOLOGY, recorded in Brussels, May 8, 1942. At this time, Belgium had fallen to the Nazis along with France and the Netherlands, two years earlier. The Battle of Britain had also passed, and Belgium is occupied at this time.
Djangology leads the piece with a brief solo, then the Stan Brenders and Son Grand Orchestra performers are added in, and Django is prominently mixed to be in the front of the orchestra. Note the lack of violinist Stephan Grappelli. He remains in London during the WW2. Here is an early example of jazz guitar with a LEAD role within a large orchestra. The very young jazz guitarist Charlie Christian has died two months earlier in New York.
Without further adieu, Djangology (composed by D. Reinhardt), recorded in 1942
Djangology (D. Reinhardt), from the VERVE Jazz Masters Compilation 1994
Recorded in: Brussels May 8, 1942
Personnel Included members of the Stan Brenders and Son Grand Orchestra
M5 Blues Clair (D. Reinhardt), rec 2/26/1943, _______, 3:01 [Capitol-Bluenote Compilation 1996]
Blues Clair is a 12-bar blues format but in a happy major scale and without the commonly used Pentatonic scale of American Blues. Django demonstrates a number of bizaar techniques here, including some fabulous fast-strumming chords , the use of ringing harmonics, and picking strings beyond the guitar bridge. Listen to these strange techniques, all played together, mid song…
We also hear Django’s high paced single-note guitar lead delivery. There is a drum part in this song, not commonly done, in earlier recordings of Quintette du Hot Club de France, the guitar strumming and bass provided all of the percussion.
Recorded in: 1943
Personnel Included
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| Jazz Guitarist Charlie Christian VV-011 | 07 May 2018 | 01:05:37 | |
PROGRAM NOTES
Hotter Than That, (Lil Hardin) Louis Armstrong Hot Fives, Lonnie Johnson guitar, 1927 (Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz CBS 1973)
Mahogany Hall Stomp (Spencer Williams) (excerpted), Louis Armstrong & Orchestra, Lonnie Johnson guitar, 1929, Parlophone R571
All Star Strut, (R. Mergentroid) Metronome All Star Nine, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, NYC, Columbia Records, 1940
Gone With What Wind, (C. Basie, B. Goodman) Benny Goodman Sextet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, NYC, 1940
I Got Rhythm, (I + G Gershwin) Charlie Christian Quintet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, Minneapolis, 1940
Tea For Two, (I. Caesar, V. Youmans) Charlie Christian Quintet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, Minneapolis, 1940
Benny's Bugle (B. Goodman) Benny Goodman & his Sextet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, Columbia, NYC, 1940
Royal Garden Blues, (C. Williams, S. Williams) Benny Goodman & his Sextet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, Columbia, NYC, 1940
Gilly (B. Goodman) Benny Goodman & his Sextet, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, Columbia NYC, 1940
Blues Sequence / Breakfast Feud (B. Goodman) Benny Goodman & his Sextet Charlie Christian amplified guitar Columbia NYC, 1940
I Found A New Baby (Jack. Palmer, Spencer. WIlliams) Benny Goodman & his Sextet Charlie Christian amplified guitar Columbia NYC, 1941
Solo Flight (Charlie. Christian, James Mundy, Benny Goodman) Benny Goodman & his Orchestra, Charlie Christian amplified guitar Columbia NYC, 1941
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some early vinyl records that showcase guitarist great Charlie Christian. These performances of Charlie Christian are found on Vinyl LP Record compilations of his recordings between 1939 and 1941. Often you will hear remarks from today's jazz, pop, blues, even rock guitarists ….like Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton ….that their BIGGEST INFLUENCES came from two or three early guitarists --- DJANGO REINHARDT, LONNIE JOHNSON and CHARLIE CHRISTIAN. You will hear this many times.
The former, DJANGO REINHARDT, the BELGIAN jazz guitarist, is well known for his EUROPEAN style of jazz, the so-called "HOT JAZZ" or "GYPSY JAZZ" or "ROMANI" style of music, that has become a living musical tradition within FRENCH GYPSY CULTURE. DJANGO's "GYPSY JAZZ" style is widely emulated by today's jazz guitarists. DJANGO lived 43 years, between 1910 and 1953, and some of his most popular ORIGINAL compositions, such as MINOR SWING, DAPHNE, BELLEVILLE, DJANGOLOGY, SWING 42 and NUAGES…are jazz standards today. DJANGO REINHARDT is widely recorded, with SIX recordings during his lifetime, and a total of 23 recordings all together, many of which are compilations of his works. So DJANGO as a cultural influence, is a fascinating subject in and of itself, and will be the subject of an upcoming VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast!
LONNIE JOHNSON, ANOTHER Jazz and blues guitarist, is credited with PIONEERING the ROLE of jazz guitar …..and for being perhaps the FIRST recorded case of playing single-note guitar solos. He had an extensive discography and lived to be 71, so Lonnie Johnson is well recognized, having being extensively recorded AND after having a long-standing career, performing as late as 1966, or at age 67 years.
But WHAT ABOUT THIS THIRD INFLUENTIAL GUITARIST …the AMERICAN guitarist CHARLIE CHRISTIAN…NAMED SO OFTEN…..OF WHOM WE KNOW SO LITTLE ??? CHARLIE CHRISTIAN. Who is that??? What are his songs? What was his guitar style? How can CHRISTIAN be cited so often as a strong influence, when there are relatively few recordings to play? IS CHARLIE CHRISTIAN LOST IN JAZZ MUSIC HISTORY?
I am going to bring to light some of this lesser known work of Charlie Christian, and feature some of the first recorded examples of his jazz guitar. More importantly, jazz guitar where the instrument is amplified and the guitarist is playing a lead role. This is truly unusual, in retrospective. Today, I feature the young guitarist genius born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma, named Charlie Christian.
So who is guitarist Charlie Christian?? It's a fair question ….because Charlie Christian played professionally a very long time ago, and one would only hear this guitarist in the context of music from the AMERICAN SWING ERA. Christian was recorded in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He was captured in …at most…25-30 distinct songs, in which he is primarily captured as a sideman with his catalyst, band leader Benny Goodman. Christian lived to be only 25 years of age, having succumbed to the infectious disease tuberculosis, in Staten Island New York, in 1942.
What makes Charlie Christian so unusual is how much influence and groundbreaking guitar work he did achieve in just 8 to10 years of his adult lifetime.
This guitar work represents one of the FIRST recorded examples of SINGLE-NOTE AMPLIFIED GUITAR, WHERE THE GUITAR IS BEING PLAYED AS A LEAD INSTRUMENT IN A SEXTET or in a BIG BAND. This is very unusual, because of the nature of the jazz guitar.
Until the time of Charlie Christian, the jazz guitar was strictly an acoustic instrument, perhaps a classical guitar, with gut strings, playing a RHYTHM part in the band, with the pronounced strumming of chords in time or double time with the bass line. Often a banjo was used as the rhythm instrument, it was brighter in sound, and projected better than a guitar.
So, for the jazz guitar circa 1938, THAT WAS IT…just rhythm strumming. No pickups. No amplifiers, no instrument microphones and definitely no SOLO role for the guitarist. Pretty cozy, really, for the guitar work. No pressure at all…..
M1 LONNIE JOHNSON HOTTER THAN HOT in background…
TEN YEARS BEFORE CHARLIE CHRISTIAN, THERE IS ONE OTHER EXAMPLE OF LEAD GUITAR IN A JAZZ BAND , RECORDING STARTING IN 1925. ---Lonnie Johnson.
Hotter Than That, (Lil Hardin) Louis Armstrong Hot Fives, Lonnie Johnson guitar, 1927 (Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz CBS 1973)
LONNIE JOHNSON was born in 1899 in NEW ORLEANS. He was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos. Johnson's discography is ENORMOUS with 192 songs recorded between 1925 and 1942, 65 of which are his original compositions. He recorded on OKEH ('OKAY'), BLUEBIRD and DECCA labels. Johnson lived to be 71 and he performed, off and on, even later in life, and he performed as late as 1966 in Toronto.
Now let's go back in time to 1927, in Chicago, Lonnie Johnson, from New Orleans, is just 28 years old, and here he is being recorded as a guest artist with Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, the song is "Hotter than That". This is an experimental jazz improvisation, played in the New Orleans "DIXIE" style of Jazz. LONNIE JOHNSON is playing lead guitar side-by-side with a 26-year old Louis Armstrong, and Armstrong is doing his SCAT style of singing.
Louis Armstrong has to be credited with the innovation of emphasizing a solo guitarist, ……who would know that this would be the natural future state of jazz bands??? For this particular recording session, the Hot Fives became, in effect, the Hot Six, based on the addition of guitarist Lonnie Johnson. Thank you Louis Armstrong !!
note--- LONNIE IS LEAD GTR AT 1:21-1:33 and 1:54-2:07
M2 Mahogany Hall Stomp (Spencer Williams) (excerpted), Louis Armstrong & Orchestra, Lonnie Johnson guitar, 1929, Parlophone R571 (78 RPM record0. Here is another example of Lonnie Johnson in Mahogany Hall Stomp (Spencer Williams), another DIXIE JAZZ style of music.
Lonnie Johnson is credited on this 78RPM album with being "GUITAR SOLOIST". … this is thought to be a FIRST in CREDITS (GUITAR SOLOIST) in jazz guitar history.
Personnel included
Louis Armstrong ~ Trumpet and Vocal
Lonnie Johnson ~ Guitar
J.C. Higginbotham ~ Trombone
Albert Nicholas ~ Alto Saxophone
Charlie Holmes ~ Alto Saxophone
Teddy Hill ~ Tenor Saxophone
Luis Russell ~ Piano
Eddie Condon ~ Banjo
Pops Foster ~ String Bass
Paul Barbarin ~ Drum
M3 SOME TRACKS FEATURING CHARLIE CHRISTIAN ON SOLO GUITAR
Many of the tracks I will play today are from the compilation double album "Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian". This is a 1972 LP 2-album set, collecting the few recordings that captured performances of this little-known artist. Most of the recorded works are of songs performed as SIDEMAN from sessions with Benny Goodman's bands. The INNOVATION is that Benny Goodman, (like Louis Armstrong with guitarist Lonnie Johnson) saw the future of amplified guitar as a solo instrument.
THIS FIRST SONG, ALL STAR STRUT is performed by the Metronome All Star Nine, Charlie Christian amplified guitar, this was recorded in NYC in 1940. The Metronome All-Stars were a collection of jazz musicians assembled for studio recordings by Metronome Magazine. All Star Strut has the Dixie Jazz flavor to it. You can clearly hear Christian's amplified guitar, the traditional rhythm strumming, it is in time with the bass line. The clarinet is first to solo then amazingly, the GUITAR is the second to solo. This is groundbreaking to employ the guitar at a peer level with the other band instruments --- clarinet--trombone-piano -bass-trumpet-saxophone-and drums- Christian's ONE guitar solo is clear and stands up well with these other instruments
Personnel
recorded in New York, Feb 1940 with the Metronome All Star Nine:
▪ Benny Goodman — clarinet
▪ Charlie Christian — amplified guitar
▪ Harry James — trumpet
▪ don't read
▪ Jack Teagarden — trombone
▪ Benny Carter — alto saxophone
▪ Eddie Miller — tenor saxophone
▪ Jess Stacy — piano
▪ Bob Haggart — bass
▪ Gene Krupa — drums
M4 GONE With WHAT Wind, (C. Basie, B. Goodman) featuring the Benny Goodman Sextet,... | |||
| Guitarists-Jazz Fusion Greats VV-010 | 07 May 2018 | 01:02:12 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour some LP records that showcase guitarist greats in the emerging jazz fusion music era. These performances are found on Vinyl LP and today’s show is called GUITARISTS - JAZZ FUSION GREATS. In today’s podcast, we will hear jazz and jazz fusion guitarists from the 17-year period of 1960 to 1977, including…
1 Charlie Byrd Trio The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd Nuages (Rheinhardt) Riverside 1960
2 Wes Montgomery Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery Four On Six (Montgomery) Riverside-OJC 1960
3 Frank Zappa Chunga’s Revenge Chunga’s Revenge (Zappa) Reprise-Warner Bros 1970
4 Mahavishnu Orchestra Birds of Fire Open Country Joy (McLaughlin) 1973 Columbia
5 Pat Metheny Bright Size Life Missouri Uncompromised (Metheny) ECM 1975
6 Larry Coryell Philip Catherine Twin-House Guitar Duos Mortgage on Your Soul (Keith Jarrett) WEA Musik 1977
7 Al Di Meola Elegant Gypsy Suite Elegant Gypsy Suite (Di Meola) Columbia 1977
We will hear examples of guitarists playing various forms of jazz, leading up to the emerging jazz-rock fusion genre of the 1970s. These are LP records, produced between the years 1960 and 1977. We will hear influences of gypsy jazz in Reinhardt, ear-trained Montomery, zany Zappa, mahavishnu McLaughlin, modal Metheny and elegant gypsy DiMeola …as composers of the songs in this podcast.
M1 Charlie Byrd Trio, Nuages. Charlie Byrd was born in Suffolk, Virginia, in 1925. He was an American guitarist playing the genres of bossa nova, brasilian jazz, latin jazz and swing. Byrd played fingerstyle on a classical guitar. His father, a mandolinist and guitarist, taught him how to play the acoustic steel guitar at age 10. In 1943 he was drafted into the United States Army for World War II, and was stationed in Paris in 1945 where he played in an Army Special Services band. Byrd's greatest influence was the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, whom he saw perform in Paris. After the war, Byrd returned to the United States and went to New York, where he studied composition and he began playing a classical guitar. In 1954 he became a pupil of the Spanish classical guitarist Andres Segovia and spent time studying in Italy with Segovia. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, Charlie Byrd collaborated with Stan Getz on the album Jazz Samba, a recording which brought bossa nova into the mainstream of North American music. This song, Nuages is one of the best-known compositions by Django Reinhardt. Reinhardt recorded about thirteen versions of the song, and today it is a jazz standard and a main portion of the gypsy swing repertoire. It was originally an instrumental piece.
Charlie Byrd Trio, The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd , Nuages (Django Rheinhardt) , Riverside OLP 1960, 3:05
Personnel
Charlie Byrd guitar 1925-1999
Keter Betts bass
Buddy Deppenschmidt drummer
M2 Wes Montgomery , Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery , Four On Six (Montgomery) , Riverside-OJC 1960, 6:14
Personnel
• Wes Montgomery- electric guitar
• Tommy Flanagan - piano
• Percy Heath – bass
• Albert Heath - drums
Wes Montgomery was born in Indianapolis. and came from a musical family. Two brothers were also jazz performers. Monk on bass and Buddy on vibraphone and piano. The brothers released a number of albums together as the Montgomery Brothers, on the Pacific Jazz label. As a band leader, Wes produced many albums, 31 albums over a 10 year period, with three labels, Riverside, Verve and A&M. He also is recorded only three times as a guitar sideman- - showing that Wes Montgomery preferred to lead his own band. Montgomery toured with Lionel Hampton early in his career, age 25-27, however he returned home to Indianapols to support his family of eight. Montgomery worked in a factory from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, then performed in local clubs from 9:00 pm to 2:00 am. Montgomery’s created a unique guitar sound, and his tracks can be identified almost immediately based on his signature technique. Some points you may not know, about Montgomery’s jazz guitar technique:
1. Wes could learn complex melodies and riffs by ear. Montgomery played a 4-string tenor guitar from the age of 12 and then started learning the six-string guitar at the relatively late age of 20 by listening then learning the recordings of his idol, guitarist Charlie Christian. Montgomery had the ability to play Charlie Christian's solos note for note, and in 1948 Wes was hired by Lionel Hampton for this ability. He was just 25, and toured almost two years with Hampton, then returned home to Indianapolis. He did not record for 7 years until his first release, “Fingerpickin”, in 1958.
2. Wes had 3-tiered solo technique, and it worked like this. First, he would start a solo with single-note lines, [Four on Six EXAMPLE1 at 0:39] then he would follow with his trademark octave sound, [Four on Six EXAMPLE2 at 3:00] and then begin using block chords or chord melodies, often triads, in his solos [Besame Mucho Take 2 (iTunes) EXAMPLE at 2:30 ].
3. Montgomery’s trademark octave sound was dubbed in the music world as the “naptown sound”, a reference to the nickname of his home town of Indianapolis. Here is another example of that “naptown” sound [Four on Six EXAMPLE3 at 1:34].
4. Instead of using a guitar pick, Montgomery played the guitar strings with his thumb. This technique created a mellow, expressive tone. According to jazz guitar great, George Benson, Wes had a two-part thumb. A soft part, used for playing the mellow notes, and giving that mellow sound, and another area that had developed a corn from extended playing. This corn served as a sort of pick, giving the string a plucked or bright or pointed sound
Today we hear a track from Wes’s FOURTH album, The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, released in 1960, at age 37. It took just two recording sessions in New York City to make this LP, which was recorded as a quartet, with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Percy Heath, who at the time was with the Modern Jazz Quartet, and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath. The album featured two of Montgomery's most well-known compositions, "Four on Six" , which we will hear, and "West Coast Blues. This is song 4 of 8 on that LP. I believe this is Wes Montgomery’s finest record. This recording put Wes Montgomery on the map and earned him Down Beat magazine's "New Star" award in 1960. Montgomery’s jazz guitar sound is just as fresh today, over 50 years after this recording.
M3 Frank Zappa, Chunga’s Revenge is the album and title song, Chunga’s Revenge, Reprise-Warner Bros 1970, 6:16
Personnel
• Frank Zappa guitar
• Ian Underwood electric alto sax with wah-wah pedal
• Sugar Cane Harris organ
• Max Bennett bass
• Aynsley Dunbar drums
Frank (1940 –1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, recording engineer, record producer and film director. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar.This LP album was produced by Frank Zappa. And all selections were written and published by Zappa. It is a strange album, not just because it is all Zappa, but because of how eclectic these songs are, a mix of songs from POP, JAZZ FUSION, BLUES and ROCK music forms. The title track, Chunga’s Revenge, is a song about a small mutant Gypsy vacuum cleaner, the protagonist of the title song of this album. On the LP front cover is this bit of Zappa story prose about ..the Chunga.. “A Gypsy industrial vacuum cleaner dances about a mysterious night time camp fire. Festoons. Dozens of imported castanets, clutched by the horrible suction of its heavy duty hose, waving with marginal erotic abandon in the midnight autumn air.” The inside panels of this folding LP cover displays a the gypsy vacuum cleaner playing through an amplifier, in front of a campfire, in a camp of caravans, horses, castanets, microphones, and a recording studio control panel. Bizaar indeed. Zappa’s electric guitar work is strong here. The song has a jazz format, with formal beginning and ending and extended improvisation midsection, giving Zappa a long runway to show his colorful wah-wah, compressed guitar style. This marries up well with the wah-wah electric alto sax of Ian Underwood. Zappa was innovative with his use of tone control, alternating between high distortion and sustain to wah-wah pedal effects. Zappa would open his show with this slow and very deliberate piece, with an ELEGANT lead melody line. Zappa was 30 at the time of this recording. Thirty years later, Chunga’s Revenge was recorded by Parisian tango revival group Gotan Project for their 2001 debut album La Revancha del Tango.
M4 Mahavishnu Orchestra , Birds of Fire, Open Country Joy (McLaughlin) , Columbia 1973, Side two, track 3., 3:54.
Personnel
• John McLaughlin guitar
• Rick Laird bass
• Billy Cobham percussion
• Jerry Goodman violin
• Jan Hammer keyboard
This is an example from the “first” Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup, this ensemble recorded two records with Columbia between 1971 and 73. This is the second, and last album with that lineup. The band's original lineup featured "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin on acoustic and electric guitars, Billy Cobham on drums, Rick Laird on bass guitar, Jan Hammer on electric and acoustic piano and synthesizer, and Jerry Goodman on violin. This was a multinational group: McLaughlin being from England; Cobham from Panama; Hammer from Prague, Goodman from Chicago; and Laird from Dublin. McLaughlin and Cobham met while performing and recording with Miles Davis during the Bitches Brew sessions. In a word, this song is ELEGANT, with a simple melody and theme. The sound is a blend of GENRES -- the high-volume electrified rock sound (pioneered by Jimi Hendrix),... | |||
| Rock the Classics VV-009 | 07 May 2018 | 00:50:18 | |
PROGRAM EPISODE: ROCK THE CLASSICS
PROGRAM NOTES
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour LP records from the 1960s and 1970s where the rock or pop artist is performing classical music, or giving a new dimension to classical music. These performances are found on Vinyl LP and today’s show is called ROCK THE CLASSICS ! We will hear from Frank Zappa, Blood Sweat & Tears, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Deodato, Steely Dan, today … on ROCK THE CLASSICS.
INTRO to ROCK THE CLASSICS (narrate only the names of the groups)
Today we hear ROCK THE CLASSICS … we will hear…
Zappa entertain us with time riddles from Stravinsky
Wendy Carlos reinvents a Cantata from JS Bach,
Blood Sweat & Tears soothes us….with music from Erik Satie
Jethro Tull and a jazz rendition of a dance from JS Bach
Emerson Lake & Palmer rocks us with Bela Bartok
Deodato provides fanfare from Richard Strauss … and
Steely Dan celebrates a ragtime classic from jazz great, Duke Ellington
Tracks Today:
M1 Petrushka (I. Stravinsky), Frank Zappa, ‘Tis The Season To Be Jelly
M2 Cantata 147, 10th mvt) (J.S. Bach), Wendy Carlos
M3 Trois Gymnopedies On A Theme (Erik Satie), Blood Sweat & Tears
M4 Bouree (J.S. Bach), Jethro Tull
M5 The Barbarian (Bela Bartok) Emerson Lake & Palmer
M6 Also Sprach Zarathustra 2001, (Richard Strauss) Deodato
M7 East St. Louis Toodle-Oo, (Duke Ellington) Steely Dan
In today's podcast we will hear seven examples of a rock or pop artist, in one case a classical music rocker, performing classical music, and with striking interpretations, new instruments or technology, or change to the musical meter as influenced by pop or rock rhythm… produced between 1965 and 1977.
M1 Song Petrushka, Album ‘Tis The Season To Be Jelly, Album Artist Frank Zappa, Composer I. Stravinsky (1911), Year 1967, Released By - Bootleg album
Petrushka is a ballet with music by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, composed in 1911. It was premièred in Paris and although the production was a success, music was reviewed as brittle, caustic and even grotesque. Two years later, in 1913, the Vienna Philharmonic initially refused to play the score, considering the score as “dirty music”.
As for Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, the album ‘Tis the Season to Be Jelly was recorded at Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden on September 30, 1967. Pretty cool really, because The Stockholm Concert Hall (Konserthuset) is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden, it is the home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Bringing us back to the design of this hall for classical music. Was Zappa compelled or inspired by this great house to include SOMETHING classical? This song, Petrushka, was originally recorded by Zappa and distributed on a bootleg album. So now, going back to the 1913 sentiment about Petrushka being “dirty music”, interesting that the bootleg album cover features a caricature of Zappa’s foot and a smelly sock. Perhaps this truly is… “dirty music”?
At the time of this recording, Zappa was 26 years old, so this is very early in his recording career. Only one year earlier, in 1966, Zappa released his debut album FREAK OUT with The Mothers of Invention. And only a week before this concert performance, Frank Zappa wed Gail Sloatman, with whom he was married and produced four children, right until his untimely death in 1993.
Today we hear a short rendition of Petrushka, as arranged for rock band, by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, and as performed in the Konserthuset in Stockholm, in 1967.
M2 Song Cantata 147, (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life), 10th mvt, Album Switched On Bach, Album Artist Wendy Carlos, Composer Johann S. Bach (1716), Year 1968, Released By Columbia Masterworks Records
Cantata 147, is written by Johann Sebastian Bach. A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often with a choir. Cantatas were in great demand for the services of the Lutheran church. This cantata, numbered 147 by Bach, was written for the beginning of the 1716 church year, the Season of Advent. It was one segment of a 20-minute Church hymn, as is typical of cantatas of the Baroque period. The 10th movement is named … “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”.
Wendy Carlos—is an American composer and a highly proficient musician and studio engineer, born Walter Carlos, in Pawtucket Rhode Island, in 1939. Wendy Carlos, in the mid 1960s -- worked closely with music synthesizer designer Robert Moog throughout the development during commercialization of the MOOG Synthesizer. You may be familiar with some of Wendy Carlos work if you saw the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film, “A Clockwork Orange”. That musical score is a powerful example of the use of an electronic synthesizer to render classical music.
Three years before “A Clockwork Orange” soundtrack, Wendy Carlos released her revolutionary album, “Switched-On Bach”. This album played a key role in popularizing classical music performed on an electronic synthesizer. It one the first albums to clearly demonstrate the use of the synthesizer as a genuine musical instrument. As an early user of Robert Moog's first commercially available synthesizer modules, Wendy Carlos helped pioneer the technology, which was not user-friendly at that time. In producing Switched On Bach, the technique of multitrack recording played a critical role - - because each part, and each note of a chorded part, needed to be recorded individually. Switched-On Bach went gold in 1969, and Platinum in 1986. The success of Switched On Bach fostered an increased interest in electronically rendered music, and the MOOG synthesizer as a new type of musical instrument. In the 1970 Grammy Awards, Switched On Bach took three prizes: Best Classical Album, Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist and Best Engineered Classical Recording.
From the 1968 album, Switched on Bach, Wendy Carlos electronic rendition of Johanne Sebastian Bach’s “Cantata 147, 10th movement”, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”.
M3 Song Trois Gymnopedies On A Theme By Erik Satie, Album Blood Sweat & Tears, Album Artist Blood Sweat & Tears, Composers Éric Satie (published 1888), Year 1969 , Released Sony BMG Music
Eric Satie born 1866 in Paris, was an eccentric by French composer and pianist, his most famous composition is the Gymnopédies. The Gymnopédies, published in Paris, is three piano compositions. ..short pieces written in 3/4 time, and today are regarded as the precursors to modern ambient music, or …”Furniture Music” as this was once known. Today we use the term “Background Music”. Speaking as a music composer, I consider the term “background music” a perjorative expression. First, much of the elevator and office background music programmes leave much to be desired in terms of the quality of the selections, and secondly, who would want their music relegated to the background, to not be on the front of the stage, not the main attraction?? Over the years following the Gymnopedies, music did find significant reinvention through its use as the movie soundtrack, as jingles in modern advertising and program theme songs, and some of the worst arrangements have found their way to true elevator background music.
One of the finest ambient music examples, Gymnopedies has survived the test of time, some 123 years running. It is peaceful and mellow, and you can multitask to this music.
Almost 100 years after this song’s debut, in 1968, Blood Sweat & Tears released their second album, which included an adaptation of Gymnopédie #1 (arranged by Dick Halligan) which they titled as Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (First and Second Movements). The first movement is a straightforward elaboration of the basic theme using flutes, an acoustic guitar and a triangle. The second is an abstract variation using brass instruments and sound EQ and FX. Halligan is the song arranger, very versatile, he plays Flute, Trombone Organ, Piano, and Vocals on this album. In 1970 this song earned BS&T a Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance. Now Gymnopedies as performed by Blood Sweat & Tears.
M4 Song Bouree, Album Stand Up, Album Artist Jethro Tull, Composer J.S. Bach, Year 1969 Morgan Studio London, Released Reprise in US and Canada
The bourrée is a dance of French origin in the 17th century. “Bourrée in E minor” is a popular lute piece, the fifth movement from “Suite in E minor for Lute”, written by Johann Sebastian Bach. Believed to be the most famous piece among guitarists, “Bouree in E minor” demonstrates counterpoint, as the two voices of the piece, the song’s part and counterpart, move independently of one another, so typical of J.S. Bach’s work organ work.
In 1969, the progressive-rock band Jethro Tull included an instrumental track inspired by “Bouree in E Minor” on their album Stand Up. Leader of Jethro Tull, flautist great Ian Anderson, is a unique, world-class, progressive rocker, featuring the modern flute as the lead instrument within a rock format. Ian Anderson’s tremendous flute expressions, self-learned technique, and vox- flute effects, within a rock framework, clearly set him apart. And almost 45 years following the release of the Stand Up LP, Jethro Tull continues to tour.
On this song, Jethro Tull is made up of:
• Glenn Cornick: bass guitar
• Clive Bunker: drums
• Martin Barre: electric guitar,
• Ian Anderson: flute
And now “Bouree” from the 1969 album “Stand Up”, as arranged by Ian Anderson and performed by Jethro Tull.
M5 Song The Barbarian, Album Emerson Lake & Palmer, Album Artist Emerson Lake & Palmer, Composer Béla Bartók, "Allegro Barbaro” (1911), Year recorded 1970, London, Released 1970 Island, Atlantic records and Manticore (UK)
This composition appears on the 1970 debut release of “Emerson Lake & Palmer” on the very first track, "The Barbarian".... | |||
| Parts Harmonious VV-008 | 07 May 2018 | 00:48:02 | |
PARTS HARMONIOUS PROGRAM NOTES
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, I tour LP records from the 1960s and 1970s in ROCK and POP that featured singing in multi-part harmonies. Today’s show, is called PARTS HARMONIOUS. There have been many TWO PART harmony songs recorded… so today, for further interest and in seeking out those more difficult or complex, we will focus on multi-part harmonious singing—songs having at least THREE vocal parts!
INTRO to PARTS HARMONIOUS (narrate only the names of the groups)
Today we hear multi-part harmonies from songs of these groups:
M1 The Byrds, All I Really Want To Do, 1965
M2 The Beach Boys, Good Vibrations (1973 performance), 1966
M3 The Hollies, On A Carousel, 1967
M4 Three Dog Night, One, 1969
M5 The Guess Who, No Time, 1970
M6 Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Teach Your Children, 1970
M7 Poco, Kind Woman, 1971
M8 The Doobie Brothers, Livin’ On The Fault Line, 1977
In today's podcast we will hear eight examples of THREE (or more) PART HARMONIES, produced between 1965 and 1977. Starting with…The Byrds
M1 Song All I Really Want To Do, Album (Single), Album Artist The Byrds, Composer Bob Dylan 1964, Year 1965 , Released By Columbia
Bob Dylan wrote the song in 1964 and recorded it in one take. In 1965 Cher did a cover of this song, and it was the feature of her debut SOLO album “All I Want To Do”. The Byrds single was rush-released by the band's record label, Columbia Records, when it became known that Cher was about to issue a rival cover version of the song on the Imperial label. The Byrds' version "All I Really Want to Do" was the second single by Byrds and was released in 1965 by Columbia Records The song was also included on the band's debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man, which was also released in 1965… the single, which we will hear next, begins with Jim McGuinn's jangling guitar introduction (played on a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar), ascending melody progression in the chorus, the Byrds high-register harmonies – are clearly influenced by the West Coast surf sound...
M2 A live version of the song, GOOD VIBRATIONS taped in 1972-1973 and found on the album “The Beach Boys in Concert” …the second official live album by The Beach Boys, Song Good Vibrations, Album (Single) (backed with the instrumental "Let's Go Away For Awhile"), Album Artist Beach Boys, Composers Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Year 1966, Released By Capitol Records.
The Beach Boys was formed in 1961, initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys were managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, and signed to Capitol Records in 1962. The band's early music gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies . Brian Wilson and Mike Love composed "Good Vibrations" a single released in 1966. The song featured a complex, multi-layered sound. Brian Wilson described "Good Vibrations" as a "pocket symphony”. The song became the Beach Boys' biggest hit to date and a US and UK number-one single in 1966; Good Vibrations was reputed to have been the most expensive American single ever recorded at that time. The production of the song is reported to have spanned seventeen recording sessions at four different recording studios, and used over 90 hours of magnetic recording tape, with an eventual budget of $50,000. The group members recall the "Good Vibrations" vocal sessions as among the most demanding of their career, and featured elaborate layers of vocal harmonies.
M3 Song On A Carousel, Album (single), Album Artist The Hollies, Composers Alan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Year 1967, recorded Abbey Road Studios, Released Parlophone and Imperial
On a Carousel was written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks. It was released by The Hollies as a single in 1967 on the Parlophone label in the UK and the Imperial label in the US. You can hear Graham Nash sing the first few lines. From 1966 until Nash's departure in 1967, the single release A-sides were all Clarke-Hicks-Nash collaborations; Stop Stop Stop, Carrie Ann, and Carousel. The Hollies, along with The Rolling Stones and The Searchers, are one of the few British pop groups of the early 1960s that have never officially broken up and that continue to record and perform. The Hollies were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame …43 years after this hit, in 2010.
Featuring
Allan Clarke as lead vocalist,
Graham Nash as guitarist and vocalist,
Tony Hicks, guitar,
Bobby Elliott, drums
Bernie Calvert, bass
M4 The song One , as covered by Three Dog Night. Three Dog Night, is best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. As of 2011, they are still recording and making live appearances. The band started in 1968 with three lead vocalists, Danny Hutton , Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells. They had made some early recordings in 1967 with Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) and initially went by the name of Redwood. Shortly after abandoning the Redwood name, the vocalists hired a group of backing musicians, and recorded their debut Three Dog Night album. On that debut album, "One" is a song composed by Harry Nilsson, and famous for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do." Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a busy signal. The busy signal became the opening notes of the song. In 1968, Al Kooper (of early Blood Sweat and Tears fame) released the song on his debut album I Stand Alone. In 1969, Three Dog Night covered the song on this, their debut album Three Dog Night, with Chuck Negron on lead vocal. On vocals we have Chuck Negron – lead vocals, Danny Hutton and Cory Wells.
Song One, Album Three Dog Night (debut album), Album Artist Three Dog Night, Composer Harry Nilsson, Year 1969
M5 Song No Time, Album American Woman, Album Artist The Guess Who, Composer guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings, Year 1970 (re-recording), Released By TMK/RCA Corp
The Guess Who is a rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The song is No Time, composed by guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings, The lyrics begin with "No time left for you, On my way to better things, No time left for you, I’ll find myself some wings." On vocals we have four singers: Randy Bachman the guitarist, Jim Kale the bassist, and Gary Peterson, the drummer, and lead singer is the multi-talented, Burton Cummings, who also plays guitar, piano, organ, flute, keyboards, harmonica on this album. The version we will hear is the 1970 re-recording (as featured on the American Woman album) that is better-known than the single version, also released 1970. The single was the third in a string of #1, million selling singles, in Canada, for The Guess Who. On the American Woman LP, the song is side one, track two after the title song.
M6 Song Teach Your Children, Album Deja vu, Album Artist Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Composer Graham Nash, Year 1970, Released By Atlantic Recording Corp
Teach Your Children" was composed by Graham Nash. Although it was written by Nash when he was a member of The Hollies (prox 1966-1967) it was never recorded by the Hollies. “Teach Your Children” first appeared on the Déjà Vu album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, released in 1970. Check out the pedal steel guitar on this song - - that is none other than… Jerry Garcia . Composer Graham Nash, who is also a photographer and photograph collector, has stated that his inspiration for the song came from afamous photograph by Diane Arbus, "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park." The image depicts a child with an angry expression holding the toy weapon, and prompted Nash to write Teach Your Children, about the implications of war on society. Fourteen years later, in 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale used the song “Teach Your Children” in a campaign commercial on arms control.
Featuring
David Crosby, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young…
Teach Your Children, from the Déjà vu album.
M7 …Kind Woman, is written by Richie Furay (pronounced “foo-RAY”) and is perhaps his best known song. Composer Richie Furay is also known for forming the Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills and Neil Young, in fact Kind Woman was written during his tenure in Buffalo Springfield. In the late 1960s he formed the band Poco with Jim Messina and Rusty Young. This live version of “Kind Woman”, is found on POCO’s Deliverin’ album, their first live album and third album in all. A wonderful steel guitar part, played by Rusty Young. Soaring harmonies on this album. POCO vocals are supplied by all five members: Jim Messina and Richie Furay on guitars, Rusty Young on steel guitar, Timothy B. Schmit on bass, George Grantham on drums
Song Kind Woman, Album Deliverin’, Album Artist POCO, Composer Richie Furay, Year recorded 1970, released 1971 , Released Epic
M8 The Doobie Brothers and the Title song from their seventh studio album LIVIN ON THE FAULT LINE, released in 1977. "Livin' on the Fault Line" was composed by Patrick Simmons, guitar. The Doobie Brothers vocals are supplied by Michael McDonald on keyboard, Tiran Porter on bass, Keith Knudsen on drums, and Patrick Simmons, the composer, on guitar. :
Song Livin’On The Fault Line, Album Livin’On The Fault Line, Album Artist Doobie Brothers, Composer Patrick Simmons, Year 1977, Released Warner Bros. | |||
| Larry Coryell Guitar VV-007 | 07 May 2018 | 00:51:50 | |
PROGRAM NOTES
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, we explore jazz guitarist and composer Larry Coryell.
INTRO TO "LARRY CORYELL":
Larry Coryell was born in 1943 in Galveston. He is an american jazz fusion guitarist. A long background as a musician, he played in local bands in Texas and later in the Seattle area. He moved to NYC in 1965 - age 22 - and was part of Chico Hamilton's quartet. In the late 1960s he recorded with jazz vibraphonist great, great Gary Burton. He also played in the band Free Spirits. He formed his own group, The Eleventh House, in 1973. Later in the 1970s in 1979, Coryell formed "The Guitar Trio" with jazz fusion guitarist John McLaughlin and flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. Coryell's music combined influences and styles of rock, jazz and eastern. That eastern influence was not doubt a result of his interest in the spiritual leader Sri Chimnoy. Coryell's discography is impressive. As leader, there are 36 albums, and as sideman, there are many other albums. This podcast follows Larry Coryell's work from a rich time in his younger years, 1968-1975, or from age 25-32, recording in New York City for Vanguard Apostolic, Mega records and Arista.
In today's podcast we will hear six of Larry Coryell's best !! Starting with…
M1 Song Treats Style Album Lady Coryell
M2 Song After Later Album Larry Coryell at the Village Gate
M3 Song Further Explorations for Albert Stinson Album Fairyland
M4 Song Low-Lee-Tah Album Introducing the Eleventh House w Larry Coryell
M5 Song Pavane For A Dead Princess Album The Restful Mind
M6 Song Level One Album Level One Album Artist Eleventh House featuring Larry Coryell
M1 Song Treats Style Album Lady Coryell. Album Artist Larry Coryell. Composer Jim Garrison
Larry Coryell was just 25 when this album was recorded in 1968. It is his first album as a leader.By now, LC had recorded two albums with vibraphonist Gary Burton, in his group The Free Spirits. Decades of collaboration would follow between LC and jazz-great Burton, king of the four-mallet style, on jazz vibes. And now in 1968, two more jazz masters are with Coryell - - Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums … guest artists on this album. Bassist and song composer Garrison played as a sideman with the John Coltrane classic quartet -- along with pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones, from 1962-1967. Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones formed the "rhythm section" of the John Coltrane Quartet. They gave bold physicality to Coltrane, due to the focused intensity of their rhythm section. You will hear that focused intensity of the rhythm section on this song. This rhythm machine, plus Coryell's licks provide an outstanding TRIO performance. And there is a Milestone Event for Coryell …on this song, "Treats Style", Coryell takes his first guitar solo!! Larry Coryell's blues guitar signature is imitated but never duplicated, such as his solo here in TREATS STYLE. This is great early LC, in his formative years, in the 1960s, as jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and co-producer. The album was produced by David Weiss and LC. Treats Style, was composed by the bassist, Jimmy Garrison, who was 35 at the time of this album. By Vanguard Apostolic. Year 1969
Featuring the trio - - -
Larry Coryell guitar
Jim Garrison Bass
Elvin Jones drums
M2 Song After Later, Album Larry Coryell at the Village Gate, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1971, By Vanguard Recording Society
Featuring
Larry Coryell guitar
Mervin Bronson bass
Harry Wilkinson drums
Larry Coryell is almost 28 at the time of this show at the Village Gate in NYC. After Later is a jazz-rock guitar instrumental, done, in 10/4 time. On this song we have the driven lead guitar jazz rock style of LC, with distortion and feedback effects.
Some of that overdrive is the unique combination of LC's choice of what is typically a jazz guitar, a hollow-bodied Gibson ES-185 guitar, very sympathetic to stage vibration, such as from Coryell's amplifier, feeding back into the guitar body. We also hear the use of the wah-pedal later in the lead guitar and even some guitar-shredding style is heard, to produce those ferocious 16th or 32nd note flurries. And finally, the bending of the notes - owed to blues and rock.
I hear a bit of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in this song. A historical note, Hendrix had died just months before this show, in September of 1970. Maybe it's my imagination, the connection from Hendrix into Coryell's powerful lead lines in this song, After Later.
Melodic and powerful. This is an early combination of a jazz-type of guitar (such as the gibson ES-185) and rock-like effects, like guitar overdrive, feedback and a strong rhythm section supplied by bass and drums to 10/4. This was early Jazz Rock and very exciting, Coryell was definitely on to something, and breaking new ground with this unique guitar sound. This is a jazz format, with the song intro and ending using a formal theme, and the "in between" segment, containing a lengthy guitar improvisation supplied by Coryell. It's not unlike a fine novel, propped up by two book-ends.
I would have loved to be at that show in 1971, "Larry Coryell at the Village Gate", New York City. What was I doing. I was a freshman in college…and I had to get my hands on this incredible live album, his fifth album.
I missed the show, but I have played this song, After Later, EASILY a hundred …maybe two hundred or more times !
M3 Song Further Explorations for Albert Stinson, Album Fairyland ,Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1971 recorded live at Montreux Switzerland, By Mega Records & Tapes
Featuring
Larry Coryell guitar
Chuck Rainey Bass
Pretty Purdie Drums
Coryell is 28 at the is time of this live album, released in 1971. The album was recorded at Montreux, Switzerland. This is again a trio. Again, you can hear Coryell's large hollow-bodied electric guitar. From the album cover, it appears to be a Gibson ES-185, a very LARGE electric guitar indeed.
Albert Stinson was a American jazz double-bassist who worked with Larry Coryell in 1967-1969. He was nicknamed "sparky" because of his huge, bright tone, and aggressive attack. Stinson died in 1969, of a heroin overdose, while on tour with Coryell. Stinson was 24. His bass playing with Coryell can be found on another 1969 Vanguard album titled "Coryell", where he supplies the bass tracks for two of the album's seven cuts. Bassist Chuck Rainey supplies the other bass tracks for the album. And here, on today's show, from the Fairyland album, Chuck Rainey performs on Further Explorations for Albert Stinson, the song, no doubt, is a tribute to this promising young bassist.
This time period was a particularly TRAGIC one for the music world, with MANY prominent artists lost in the three years of 1969, 1970 and 1971, including Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, Albert Stinson, the subject of this song, Jimi Hendrix, Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson of Canned Heat, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.
M4 Song Low-Lee-Tah, Album Introducing the Eleventh House w Larry Coryell, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Larry Coryell, Year 1974, By Vanguard Recording Society
Featuring
Larry Coryell guitar
Randy Brecker trumpet
Alphonse Mouzon percussion
Mike Mandel piano & synth
Danny Trifan bass
Coryell is 31 at the time of this album, in 1974.
He had created the group Eleventh House in 1973 ---and it was active for 3 years. The Eleventh House was a change in format for Coryell. He does create a new sound with Eleventh House. Coryell composes this angular, Mahavishnu sounding piece. It's a rock instrumental, with off beats, improvisation for guitar and trumpet. Earlier, Coryell had played in a trio format, such as from the three albums we heard earlier, LADY CORYELL, LIVE AT THE VILLAGE GATE, and FAIRYLAND. Eleventh House will add two parts to the trio format. In addition to the trio's bass-drums-guitar, we add the keyboard-synth of Mike Mandel, and Trumpet of Randy Brecker. Pretty cool. A trumpet part that can drive just as fast, and just as strong as the HOUSE's lead guitar part. Brecker's trumpet sound is reminiscent of Miles Davis with reverb, and a mix of melodic lines with …angular lines..The percussionist, Alphonse Mouzon gives a command performance. Alphonse Mouzon was supplied courtesy of Blue Note Records. This is a jazz format, with a long middle section of improvisation. Coryell composed this angular, Mahavishnu sounding piece. The song is in mixed time. It's approximately 4/4, but rhythm is broken into segments having 8-beats measures, followed by several 6+8 beat measures. It's a pretty catchy rhythm, more of the cerebral level of appeal, a sophisticated style and sound, that sets it apart from anyone else on the jazz-rock scene. Coryell uses pedal effects, including EQ and a synthesizer-like sound effect, sweeping across the soundscape. This song LOW LEE TAH, is directed toward the trumpet line and solo, with Larry Coryell in the role of guitar sideman, with his "Sri Chimnoy" or Mahavishnu sounding rhythm guitar backing and brief guitar solo.
M5 Song Pavane For A Dead Princess, Album The Restful Mind, Album Artist Larry Coryell, Composer Maurice Ravel 1899, Year 1975, By Vanguard Records.
Featuring
Larry Coryell in a solo performance on guitar
On THE RESTFUL MIND album we hear another, fantastic side of guitarist Larry Coryell in Pavane For A Dead Princess.
Coryell is 32 at the time of this recording. If you like the work of Maurice Ravel, the french composer, who lived between 1875-1937, you may recognize this song. But the song title, means nothing, as RAVEL stated…"Do not be surprised, that title has nothing to do with the composition. I simply liked the sound of those words and I put them there,... | |||
| Odd Meters VV-006 | 07 May 2018 | 00:42:27 | |
PROGRAM NOTES
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, we explore Odd Meters. First, a quick primer on meter. If you are a musician… bear with me if you will…Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds in time. ...Meter places time into groupings, called measures or bars. The meter signature, also known as the time signature, is noted as two numbers stacked one above the other….like a fraction. For example: 4/4. On top-----The number of beats in a bar or measure. And on bottom----the type of note that represents one beat, most commonly it is a quarter note. Two most common time signatures are
3/4 three-four for three quarternotes per measure
4/4 four-four ….for four quarternotes per measure
We find 3/4 time in the waltz, a simple 1-2-3 dance step, it's a simple signature comprised of 3 quarter notes.
And 4/4 time can be found throughout pop, rock, country, even the classics, its a simple "even" signature comprised of 4 quarter notes.
In today's podcast we will hear ODD METERS starting with…
1 "The Rite of Spring”. Part II (The Sacrifice) "Sacrificial Dance", Igor Stravinsky
2 "Take Five", Dave Brubeck Quartet, album Time Out
3 "Toads of the Short Forest" Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, album Weasles Ripped My Flesh
4 "Money" Pink Floyd, album The Dark Side of the Moon
5 "Good Morning, Good Morning", album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
6 "Living in the Past", Jethro Tull, stand-alone single
M1 The Rite of Spring”. Part II (The Sacrifice) Sacrificial Dance by Igor Stravinsky
Experts have said that the ballet The Rite of Spring, composed in 1913, changed music forever. It is famous for causing a riot in 1913 at its premiere in Paris. This is because the music and dancing was so different than anything people had heard before. The energy, rhythms and colorful sounds are amazing, even a century later. Igor Stravinsky was one of the first to introduce odd meters into western classical music in his “The Rite of Spring”. Rite of Spring is an example of THE ABSENCE OF A PREDICTABLE METRE or REFUSAL TO ADHERE TO TRADITIONAL METRE. At the time, "traditional" meant Ballet dance with 3/4 metre, a demure orchestra supporting, building, mirroring, the dance choreography. Instead, Rite of Spring demonstrates the uses of pulses and rhythms in music and dance. This is a complete departure from the norm. Dancers beat the pulse of music with their feet and arms. Dancers gather and disperse like the rhythmic formations in the music. The rhythm is blatant and out front. To create further tension (and frustration to the 1913 audience), the dance rhythm breaks from the music rhythm, in the last movement - Sacrificial Dance. The style of music is that there is no consistent downbeat. This arrangement was an outrage !! No consistent time ! Not done before. The Rite of Spring was premiered on Thursday, May 29, 1913 in Paris and was conducted by Pierre Monteux. The intensely rhythmic score and primitive stage performance shocked the audience ---as Nijinsky's choreography was a radical departure from classical ballet. The audience began to boo loudly. There were loud arguments in the audience followed by shouts and fistfights in the aisles. Unrest turned into a riot. The Paris police arrived …but even so, chaos reigned for the remainder of the performance. Music critic Abigail Wagner described it well - "The1913 audience’s shock at hearing Rite was akin to that of someone who has only read verse in iambic pentameter, reading a prose novel for the first time". This is the climactic final of The Rite of Spring, the closing episode of the Sacrificial Dance from The Rite of Spring”. Igor Stravinsky
M2 Take Five, Dave Brubeck Quartet Album Time Out. Recorded in New York at Columbia Records in 1959
American Jazz pianist born 1920. Brubeck had studied with the French composer Darius Milhaud, who in turn had been strongly influenced by Stravinsky, and is credited with the introduction of shifting rhythms that sparked a far-reaching surge of interest in jazz and popular music in the 1960s. Brubek shook up the jazz world in 1959 by his use of odd meters. He started to experiment in polyrhythms. After returning from a trip to Turkey in 1958, he produced an album of all original compositions in a variety of time signatures. This album “Time Out” was almost rejected by Columbia Records …But the third cut, “Take Five,” soon became the biggest-selling jazz single of all time. It is in 5/4 time . Take Five is in quintuple 5/4 time, that's one-two-three-one-two-one-two-three-one-two-. The song is a jazz classic. There are 7 tracks on the album. ..all songs in odd or changing time. Such as 9/8, 5/4, 3/4, 6/4, and salted in with 4/4.
Personnel
Dave Brubeck – piano
Paul Desmond – alto saxophone
Eugene Wright – double bass
Joe Morello – drums
Appeared on the album Time Out in 1959 Columbia Records on 7" record format
M3 Toads of the Short Forest by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention the album Weasles Ripped My Flesh . Toads of the Short Forest" was recorded 1969. Frank Zappa began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer drummer and guitarist. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with improvisations and sound collages. This song uses multiple time signatures a polyrhythm. You will hear zappa well into the song saying what time each musician is playing in.
In "Toads Of The Short Forest" (from the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh), composer Frank Zappa explains: "At this very moment on stage we have drummer A playing in 7/8, drummer B playing in 3/4, the bass playing in 3/4, the organ playing in 5/8, the tambourine playing in 3/4, and the alto sax blowing his nose" (Mothers of Invention 1970).
Personnel
Frank Zappa – lead guitar
Jimmy Carl Black – drums
Art Tripp – drums
Don Preston – organ, electronic effects
Ian Underwood – alto saxophone (blowing its nose)
Producer: Frank Zappa
Produced in 1970 on Bizarre/Reprise Records
M4 Money Pink Floyd in 7/4 time. The album - The Dark Side of the Moon
7/4 time, That's ONE-two-three-four-five-six-seven. The song switches into 4/4 time for the excellent guitar solo by David Gilmour. This is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. This song opens side two of the album. One distinctive element of "Money" is the rhythmic sequence of sound effects that begins the track and is heard throughout the first several bars. This was created by splicing together recordings Waters had made of clinking coins, a ringing cash register, tearing paper, a clicking machine…to construct a seven-beat effects loop!! The wonder and beauty of tape recorded effects -- in the early years.
Personnel
David Gilmour — guitars, vocals
Roger Waters — music, lyrics, bass guitar and tape effects
Richard Wright — Wurlitzer electric piano
Nick Mason — drums and tape effects
Dick Parry — tenor saxophone
Composer -the bassist, Roger Waters, composed all songs. Produced by Pink Floyd. Recorded at Abby Roads Studios London 1972-1973. Released by Gramaphone Company Ltd 1973
M5 Good Morning, Good Morning' from album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song has been transcribed as a mixture of 4/4, 3/4 and 5/4. Composed by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney. Recorded 1967, The guitar solo was played by Paul McCartney. Left handed, no doubt. Performed by The Beatles on the 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. The song has an unusual rhythmical feel. It does not use the same time signature throughout. Produced by George Martin
Personnel
John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney – backing vocal, lead guitar, bass
George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
…and several brass parts and musicians
M6 Living in the Past song by Jethro Tull composed 1969 and a 1969 single release. Composed by Ian Anderson
It is notable for being written in the unusual 5/4 time signature. The 5/4 time signature is quickly noted from the beginning rhythmic bass pattern. ….1-2-3-1-2 ...1-2-3-1-2
Personnel
Ian Anderson - Flute, Lead Vocals
Glenn Cornick - Bass Guitar
Martin Barre - Guitar
Clive Bunker - Drums
Released in the US in the same year as their STAND UP album, in 1969, as a stand-alone single.Produced by Island Records. Also is on a 1972 compilation album, Living in the Past, by Jethro Tull. | |||
| Symphonic Rock Part 2 VV-005 | 07 May 2018 | 00:43:04 | |
In today's VINYL VIBRATIONS podcast, we look at Part 2 of our program on the subject of SYMPHONIC ROCK. In Part one we focused on some of the vinyl records that featured a rock music format, and featured or incorporatedconcerto3-4 a symphonic or chamber accompanyment - produced on vinyl records. We heard Moody Blues, Yes, Led Zepplin, Tommy, Frank Zappa, and Jan Hammer / Jerry Goodman. Today we continue our exploration into artists that either dabbled in symphonic arrangement, or artists that infused their rock or pop sound with classical music orchestra sounds:
1 Twenty Small Cigars, album "King Kong, Jean-Luc Ponty plays the music of Frank Zappa"
2 Vision Is A Naked Sword, album Apocalypse, Mahavishnu Orchestra w London Symphony Orch, Michael Tilson Thomas Cond.
3 Concerto for Jazz Rock Orch, Mvt 1, album Journey To Love Nemperor 1975 composed conducted arranged Stanley Clarke,
4 Concerto for Jazz Rock Orch, Mvts 3+4, album Journey To Love Nemperor 1975 composed conducted arranged Stanley Clarke,
5 The Dick Hyman Concerto Electro, Mvt 1, album Concerto Electro, Composer Arranger Pianist Dick Hyman
6 King Kong, album "King Kong, Jean-Luc Ponty plays the music of Frank Zappa"
7 Overture, album Child is Father to the Man, Blood Sweat & Tears, BS&T String Ensemble,
M1 Jean-Luc Ponty and his solo album, featuring the electric violin and the Frank Zappa composition and arrangement of Twenty Small Cigars, from the album King Kong, Jean-Luc Ponty plays the music of Frank Zappa, or just … King Kong. Composed for Jean Luc Ponty and this solo album, by World Pacific Jazz Records. The King Kong album was released 1970 Liberty Records label. Compositions and recording were completed in 1969. There are five parts on Twenty Small Cigars. Noteably, there is no guitar part.
Piano or electric piano George Duke
Alto & Tenor sax Ernie Watts
Drums John Guerin
Bass Wilton Felder
Jean-Luc Ponty electric violin
Ponty was born in France in 1942 was about 27 at the time of this production. This was his 9th release in a long list of albums - - about 40 to date. His collaborations with FZ included these FZ albums - maybe you recognize the album titles - Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, Piquantique, Apostrophe - - were albums on which Ponty played with FZ between 1969 and 1981. Also Ponty collaborated with Mahavishnu Orchestra, albums Apocalypse and Visions, 2 albums by the MO, in the 1970s, featuring Jean-Luc Ponty.
M2 Vision Is A Naked Sword. Album Apocalypse, Artist is the Mahavishnu Orchestra w the London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas Cond. Composed by John McLaughlin. Produced George Martin. Featuring JLP on electric violin and electric baritone violin, And Mahavishnu (aka John McLaughlin) on guitars. And the LSO ( I count 6 LSO performers including KB, viola, violin2, cello, drum and bass parts) with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting, produced in 1974 CBS
M3 Concerto for Jazz Rock Orch, Mvt 1, album Journey To Love, composed conducted arranged Stanley Clarke, Produced on Nemperor 1975. One of those movements in this case the first, that seemed to jump out of the stereo, a stereo possessed. So peaceful, contemplative, driven by the drone of the high "G" note. That surreal opening sound. Starry-like.
-Stanley Clarke Piccolo bass with synth, acoustic bass, hand bells, organ,
-George Duke mini Moog, organ, string ensemble, acoustic piano,
-Steve Gadd drums, percussion
-David Sancious electric guitar
M4 Concerto for Jazz Rock Orch, Mvts 3+4, Album Journey To Love, composed conducted arranged Stanley Clark, produced on Nemperor in1975. Now on Movement 3 the energy level is much higher. A great transition into longer notes and the power of the David Sancious electric guitar lead part. A cooling off movement - movement 4 -- drifts off into an "A"-note" drone.
-Stanley Clarke Piccolo bass with synth, acoustic bass, hand bells, organ,
-George Duke mini Moog, organ, string ensemble, acoustic piano,
-Steve Gadd drums, percussion
-David Sancious electric guitar
M5 album Concerto Electro, song the Dick Hyman Concerto Electro, Mvt 1, 11:45, composed Dick Hyman, and recorded June 1969, "for Baldwin-Electro piano rock-jazz rhythm and symphony orchestra" . This is a crossover with many imbedded styles...from jazz and classics into a pop and rock genre. Dick Hyman as usual makes this sound seamless. Virtuoso jazz pianist, born in NYC in 1927, a 50+ year career as pianist, organist, arranger music director and composer. Classically trained, his performance days date back to pianist for the Benny Goodman Trio.Dick Hyman worked in the late 1960s with the Moog Synthesizer some covers and some original compositions. He has been active as a jazz session artist, classical composition, film work, and pop/electronic music. In the Concerto Electro, we hear the authoritative sound of the lower registers of the baldwin electric piano and the clear trumpet of Mel Davis.The piano rocks and provided the rhythmic foundation. How many musical styles can there be in one movement of one song ? I count seven styles:
rock,
sonata,
cadenza,
bluegrass,
bossa nova,
gospel, and
boogie woogie.
Written in 1967 and recorded in 1969
M6 Jean-Luc Ponty and the title track from his solo album …King Kong . This is another Frank Zappa composition and arrangement. There are six parts on King Kong. Again, there is no guitar part.
-Electric piano George Duke
-Vibes and Percussion Gene Estes
-Tenor sax Ian Underwood -
-Drums Arthur Tripp
-Bass Buell Neidinger
-Jean-Luc Ponty electric violin
M7 We conclude with … Overture, album Child is Father to the Man, Blood Sweat & Tears, BS&T String Ensemble, Al Kooper composition, Released Columbia Records 1968
The album introduced the idea of the big band to rock and roll and paved the way for such groups as Chicago. Kooper left the band after this album, changing the nature of the group. This is BS&T's debut album. This is track one side one. After hearing it the first time, I thought, now what is the REST of this album all about? The song fits logically with "I can't quit her", also composed by Al Kooper, but instead, "I can't quit her" kicks off side 2 of the LP. | |||
| Symphonic Rock VV-004 | 07 May 2018 | 00:31:24 | |
Today we will hear from these artists demonstrating SYMPHONIC ROCK:
1 The Moody Blues and Days of Future Passed with the London Festival Orchestra
2 Rick Wakeman's rendition of "Cans and Brahms" the group Yes
3 "Your Time is Gonna Come" Led Zepplin
4 "I'm Free", from Tommy, as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chambre Choir with Roger Daltry
5 "Cleetus Awreetus- AwrightUs" Frank Zappa, and Grand Wazoo featuring a cast of characters…From the Grand Wazoo album
6 "I Remember Me", From the Like Children (Jan Hammer and Jerry Goodman) album
M1 "The Day Begins" From the "Days of Future Passed" album, the Moody Blues, with the London Festival Orchestra, conducted by Peter Knight.
This song is side one track one of the vinyl LP. This album paints the picture of everyman's day, starting with The Day Begins, Dawn, The Morning, Lunch break, the Afternoon, Evening and the Night. One day of a man's life, on 7 tracks, on vinyl LP ! The seven tracks on Days of Future Passed spawned two hit singles: "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin" which hit No. 2… five years after the LP's original release!.
The lyrics from Days of Future Passed are true to the band's name, moody and blue …such as this: "Cold hearted orb that rules the night, removes the colours from our sight, red is grey and yellow white. But we decide which is right. And which is an illusion?"
One description of this fusion of pop and poetry and the classics is taken from album's liner notes, written by Hugh Mendl, the executive producer… he writes …Moody Blues is "extending the range of pop music… and has found a point where it becomes one with the classics"…
"Days of Future Passed" was Produced in 1967 by Decca Record Company Ltd., using the then-state of the art DERAM sound system. The DERAM or so-called DERAMIC Sound System was an early stereo "all round sound" technique, that allowed more space between instruments. How was this achieved? This capability came from the use of, not just one four-track recording machine, but TWO four-track recording machines. Imagine - eight discrete recorded tracks. Before this, stereo was recorded from one four-track tape recorder. The doubling of recorded tracks provided the ability to put more sound "space" or "spacial realism" between performers on up to 8 recorded tracks, creating more of a soundscape when played on a "stereo", high fidelity sound system, and when you placed yourself between the two speakers. This was 1967 -- the early days of consumer audio. If you had "good" component stereo system, you must have been an audiophile, as those early component systems were very expensive indeed! A good component system included a stereo amplifier, stereo preamp, the reel-to-reel tape deck, a "good" LP turntable, tonearm, massive speakers too…
This album credits the orchestral parts to "Redwave/Knight". Well, "Knight" was conductor Peter Knight, while "Redwave" was an imaginary name representing the Moody Blues themselves. Knight built the orchestral parts around themes written by Hayward, Thomas, Pinder & Lodge, the Moody Blues.
M2 Full: Cans and Brahms YES and their 1972 album "Fragile", Atlantic Recording Corp, . This is an extract from Brahms Symphony No. 4 in E minor 3rd movement. A solo Rick Wakeman adaptation, on electric piano, grand piano, organ, electric harpsichord, and synthesizer. Rick Wakeman's modern instruments replace those traditional ones used in the Brahms Symphony No. 4, ---the strings, woodwind, brass, reeds, and contra bassoon, when the symphony was completed, in 1885. Some 87 years later, Rick Wakeman arranged this rendition. Even now… 126 years later….the 3rd is a catchy musical movement with left and right-hand parts for keyboard.
M3 "Your Time Is Gonna Come" by Led Zeppelin, released on their 1969 debut album, titled "Led Zeppelin". Jimmy Page played a Fender 10-string steel guitar. Bassist John Paul Jones played a church-style organ, using a pedal to generate the bass. Jimmy Page told Guitar Player magazine: "I had never played steel before, but I just picked it up for this recording". Robert Plant is the vocal. So what do we have. A church organ with the quirky tune of church pipes, Jimmy Page on an out-of-tune 12-string guitar, and Robert Plant on vocals. What a mix !
M4 The song "I'm Free" from the rock opera Tommy, as written by Pete Townshend and The Who, as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and Chambre Choir, David Measham conductor. And guest soloist on the song "I'm Free", Roger Daltry. This 2-LP set was beautifully produced. Ode Records, distributed by A&M Records. Lou Reizner production. "I'm Free" tells of Tommy's vision to spiritually enlighten others due to his miraculous cure, he becomes 'evangelist', his sermons bringing forth the multitudes at Tommy's Holiday Camp. . "I'm Free, and I'm waiting for you to follow me". This London Symphony Orchestra version of Tommy is based on the Who album "Tommy", released three years earlier, in 1969, Polydor / Decca
M5 Cleetus Awreetus- AwrightUs From the Grand Wazoo album, Frank Zappa. 1972 Warner Bros Records
This invention for small orchestra was composed and Arranged Frank Zappa. Ernie Watts and Mike Altshul on woodwinds. Sal Marquez and Ken Shroyer on brass. George Duke on KB. Vocals George Duke and Frank Zappa .Guitar Frank Zappa. Bass Erroneous. Drums Aynsley Dunbar
M6 I Remember Me From the Like Children album. Jerry Goodman on violin and viola and acoustric guitar. Jan Hammer on piano and moog synthesizer. There is no drum track. Composed by Jan Hammer. 1974 Nemperor Records | |||
| Solo Albums VV-003 | 06 May 2018 | 00:32:52 | |
Today we look at four Solo Album Artists… These are solo albums in the sense that the music was composed, arranged, performed, often recorded /mixed and produced by the solo artist. These albums are all from the time period of 1970-1972.
1. Pete Townshend and his 1972 solo album, "Who Came First", on MCA
2. Stevie Wonder and his 1972 solo album, "Music Of My Mind" on Tamla records
3. Paul McCartney and his 1970 solo album titled "McCartney", on Apple.
4. Todd Rundgren and his 1972 solo album, "Something-Anything", produced on Warner Bros
M1 We know Pete Townshend as an english rock guitarist vocalist and songwriter -- perhaps most famous for his rock opera "Tommy" -- and for his over 100 songs composed and the dozen or so studio-produced albums of The Who. But Townshend is also an accomplished singer, keyboardist, synth, bass and accordion player as well as drummer. Amazing fact -- he never had formal lessons on the instruments he plays! Here we are in 1972, and Pete Townshend comes out with this solo album 'Who Came First'. We listen first to his song "Sheraton Gibson" from that solo album "Wh o Came First", produced in 1972 by MCA --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M2 Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind album, on Tamla, came out in 1972, and is a gem in his series of classic albums full of pop hits in the 1970s. Music of My Mind was produced by Stevie Wonder and written by Wonder, the album is described as 'virtually the work of one man'. Every single instrument is performed by Stevie Wonder. Compositions, arrangements, performances, production - all Stevie. in 1972 --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M3 Paul McCartney is one of the most influential songwriters of modern time. With Lennon Harrison and Starr, the Beatles changed the face of pop music forever. McCartney's first solo album was an amazing work - released on Apple in 1970 - just two weeks before the last Beatles album "Let It Be" was released. On his solo album, McCartney plays the bass, and sings, of course, but he also plays the guitars, piano, drums and organ. The album credits indicate that all instruments and vocals are by Paul, and harmonies are by Linda McCartney. The album was written and produced by Paul. We listen now to "Maybe I'm Amazed" with a beautifully composed and skilled playing of his guitar solo, from the "McCartney" solo album LP in 1970 on Apple --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M4 Todd Rundgren and "I Saw The Light" from his solo album "Something/Anything" on Warner in 1972. A double album, Something/Anything was an amazing work - all instruments, all voices, all songs, arranged and produced by Todd Rundgren in 1972 on Warner. Rundgren provides all instruments and vocals on three of four sides of these 2-LP set. Instruments include: vocals, keyboard, drums, lead and bass guitars, and percussion. Rundgren is a solid rock lead guitarist, and to have the added talent to play all parts, - it's amazing. --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M5 We listen now to On Breathless, Rundgren does overdubs on the keyboard parts, adds drums and percussion and sequencer /sample sounds, plays piano and guitar. In this instrumental composition we have a very colorful melody moving along with lots of musical harmonies --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M6 Paul McCartney and "Sing Along Junk" from the "McCartney" solo album LP in 1970 on Apple. Paul is on rhythm and lead guitars, piano, drum set and synth. There is a full song version with vocals on that same album, a song titled "Junk". The song you just heard is the "Junk" version WITHOUT vocals, the "karaoke" version, or "music plus one" version, if you will, and it is titled "Singalong Junk". What a beautiful composition and instrumental on its own from solo artist Paul McCartney --here on Vinyl Vibrations.
M7 We close out today's show with Stevie Wonder's hit song "Superwoman", from his solo album 'Music of My Mind'. Here Stevie plays the keyboards, drums and bass, composes the song and produces the album. NOTE that there is a lead guitar solo provided by stand-in Buzzy Feiton. I do remember seeing Stevie Wonder in about 1968, at the Rubber Bowl in Akron Ohio, where Stevie was opening for the Rolling Stones. I remember Stevie's show, he moved from keyboard to drums back to keyboard and to bass, moving all around that stage. It was a sight to see, knowing Steve is himself blind. Again, the song is Superwoman", from Stevie Wonder's solo album 'Music of My Mind', in 1972, --here on Vinyl Vibrations. | |||
| Jazz Fusion Part 2 VV-002 | 06 May 2018 | 00:42:32 | |
PROGRAM SUMMARY
Today in Part TWO of Jazz Fusion, we look at FIVE more Jazz Fusion artists on …VINYL VIBRATIONS !
M1 Miles Davis and his "Bitches Brew" album 1970 Columbia. Miles Davis experiments with electric instruments like electric piano and electric guitar. Also we see more of an improvisational style with a rock rhythm. a double album - a studio album. We listen to the song titled "John McLaughlin" on Bitches Brew. This is an all-star cast--Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul on two electric pianos, John McLaughlin on electric guitar, Jack DeJohnette and Don Alias on two drum sets, Dave Holland and Harbey Brooks on two electric basses and of course on trumpet, Miles Davis.
M2 Return to Forever, featuring Chick Corea. The recording and title song is "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy". A phenomenal set of musicians --- guitarist Bill Connors, Stan Clarke on Bass, Lenny White on Drums. This song provides examples of time changes, which Chick Corea thrives in, providing a high energy framework for Bill Connors to play lead guitar. A very mechanical song, with enough melodic component to to be interesting and tell a story about THE SEVENTH GALAXY ---- The band is Return to Forever and the title song is "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy"featuring Chick Corea, 1973, Polydor Records.
M3 Soft Machine and we listen to the album simply named "5". On this 1972 CBS album, part 2 of the 2-part song "L.B.O., by John Marshall, the drummer. The musicians are Elton Dean on Alto Sax, Saxello and Electric Piano, Hugh Hopper on Bass, Mike Ratlidge on Organ and Electric Piano, and John Marshall on Drums. Note the time changes, the improvisation, the use of electric saxello, electric piano, in a jazz format, with the rock beat.
M4 Pat Metheny and his 1976 album BRIGHT SIZE LIFE. We listened to UNQUITY ROAD, composed by Pat Metheny. I remember seeing the very young Metheny back in 1977 at a small venue named Amazingrace, then locatedat 845 Chicago Ave in Evanston IL. There, up on stage stood this white kid from Missouri, then 21, with huge a afro and and a very large hollow body electric guitar. This kid is really different. The guitar playing is like nothing I had heard before. Great technique, the scales, wide intervals, the melodic character of this music, the little excursions each of the songs take. And a very NEW sound with jazz "improvisation" The bass sound is also new, because it is fretless and electric, that's Jaco Pastorius on bass. Bob Moses Drums. Recorded in 1976, not in the US… but in Ludwigsburg, Germany, for ECM Records.
M5 SPACES. Next, we hear from the Band, Album, and title Song . . . all titled "SPACES". Another all-star cast, featuring Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin on guitars, Billy Cobham on drums, Chick Corea electric piano, and Miroslav Vitous on bass….. Vitous playing a bowed bass, in this case, an electrified, acoustic bass. And the Coryell-McLaughlin guitar combination, works well … it's surprising, as they have such different styles (Coryell's fury and power vs McLaughlin's texture and finesse). Much improvisation, much power in the guitar solo parts. This is a great instrumental album. The song SPACES was composed by Julie Coryell. This was originally recorded in 1971, and this release is 1974 from VANGUARD APOSTOLIC records.
M6 The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin and the album "The Inner Mounting Flame" and the most laid back song on that album, if you will, a track named "Dawn" with John McLaughlin on Guitar, Jerry Goodman on Violin, Jan Hammer on Piano, Rick Laird Bass and Billy Cobham on Drums. Original composition of John McLaughlin. This first studio album, released in 1971, by Columbia Records. | |||
| Jazz Fusion VV-001 | 05 May 2018 | 00:34:57 | |
This is the first post of VINYL VIBRATIONS by Brian Frederick. In today's podcast we look at Part ONE of a two-part program on JAZZ FUSION. Today, we focus on the decade of development of JAZZ FUSION during the late 1960s and into the 1970s -- during the "Golden Age of Vinyl" when many of the early works we will hear are found in Vinyl LP format. Jazz Fusion maybe not as much a musical style, but more of a MUSICAL APPROACH.
PROGRAM SUMMARY
M1 Gary Burton Quartet, their first album DUSTER in 1967 on RCA Records, vibraphonist Gary Burton, the song "LITANY". Gary Burton - the jazz vibraphonist from Anderson Indiana. Burton plays with Larry Coryell [guitar], Roy Haynes [drums], Steve Swallow [bass]. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. He is also known for pioneering fusion jazz. In 1967 BURTON formed the Gary Burton Quartet. Predating the jazz-rock fusion craze of the 1970s, the group's first record, Duster, combined jazz, country and rock and roll elements.
M2 John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the album APOCALYPSE, 1974 on CBS. With the London Symphony Orchestra, with Michael Tilson Thomas conductor. The song titled WINGS OF KARMA track one side 2. This album is produced by George Martin. Recorded in London 1974. McLaughlin is flexing his creative muscles, demonstrating, convincingly, that he can compose and arrange in a symphonic format, and work in his electric instruments, the electric piano, guitar and bass, and the rock drum set with . Jean Luc-Ponty is featured on electric violin. John McLaughlin on electric guitar, Gayle Morgan on keyboards, plus 9 other members of the LSO. Very powerful, a very new musical dimension, this sound, in 1974.
M3 The MOTHERS, and the album ..The Grand Wazoo, and the song "EAT THAT QUESTION", on Reprise Records, Warner Bros Records, 1972. Produced by Frank Zappa. On woodwinds Mike Altshul and Joel Peskin, Sal Marquez on all brass, George Duke on Keyboards, Frank Zappa percussion, and Guitar Frank Zappa, Drums Aynsley Dunbar and Bass-the credit shows as "erroneous"! All selections composed and arranged (and produced) by Frank Zappa.
M4 Jean-Luc Ponty on electric violin and the album King Kong, the song "IDIOT BASTARD SON" by Frank Zappa, The album cover indicates "music for electric violin and low budget orchestra - composed and arranged by Frank Zappa. The electric violin has a natural footing, a solid role as a solo instrument in this new JAZZ FUSION genre.
M5 Jerry Goodman and Jan Hammer the song "Stepping Tones, composed by Rick Laird on the "Like Children" album, Nemporer Records 1974. This is an interesting album from the standpoint that all of the performance talent on this record is supplied by only two persons --- Jerry Goodman on on violins, electric guitar, electric mandolin, acoustic guitar, viola and --- Jan Hammer on piano, drums, moog bass, moog lead, percussion.
M6 The MOTHERS "Peaches en Regalia" live track from The MOTHERS and the "Fillmore East, June 1971" album, distributed on Reprise (Warner Bros) Records. Zappa is on electric guitar, Ian Underwood on keyboards, Aynsley Dunbar on drums, Jim Pons on bass, Don Preston on the mini-moog, and Bob Harris on 2nd keyboard. "Peaches en Regalia" was written by Frank Zappa and published by Frank Zappa Music.
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