🎵 AotW AOTW: Pisano & Ruff UNDER THE BLANKET (A&M SP 4276)

[LPJim]

PISANO & RUFF
Under The Blanket
A&M SP 4276

(Note: SP 4275, assigned to the band Punch was not released. Their debut came out later as SP 4307)

Special credits/ John Pisano: guitar, bass, percussion, piano; Willie Ruff: horn, bass, hambone, percussion, vocal guitar; Larry Knechtel: bass, electric piano; Paul Humphreys: drums; Nick Ceroli: drums; Julius Wechter: vibes; Milt Holland: percussion; Chuck Domanico: bass; Jose Soares: percussion; Chuck Berghofer: bass; Bill Earl: chippawa/ Front cover illustration by Tom Wilkes/ Photography by Jim McCrary/ Producer: Herb Alpert/ Arrangements by Herb Alpert, John Pisano and Willie Ruff/ Engineer: Larry Levine.

Side One: Under the Blanket 2:32/ Amanacer 2:55/ I'll Never Fall in Love Again 4:03/ Chris 2:02/ Slim 3:58.

Side Two: The Drifter 3:50/ Everybody's Talkin' 3:07/ El Condor Pasa 2:31/ Soon 2:04/ Stop 2:54.

Reissued on CD by A&M/UNI as a Japan import (UICY-3344) & recently available via Melody Blvd.

JB
NP: "Slim" (... 'bad motorcyle that ain't worth a nickel' ...)

 

[Harry]

I'm the proud owner of both the vinyl and CD on this one. I stumbled on the vinyl years ago in a cut-out bin. The price was $1.56 -- still written with a magic marker on the cover. I'm fairly certain I bought it at an old Philadelphia institution known as the Record Museum. The name is misleading, but the place had one quirk. They'd unseal all albums, remove the discs and place them behind the counter and put the jackets out in the bins for the public to browse through. Not a great place to shop if you enjoyed the thrill of unsealing the vinyl for the first time.

I never thought this one would see the light of day on CD, given it's obscurity, and yet here it is, spinning in my CD player. TJB's Sounds Like, a huge hit album, sits untouched in the vaults, yet this album is released on CD. Go figure.

That's not to say that this album doesn't deserve to be heard. In truth, it does. It's certainly different, and given the musicians involved, sounds nothing like a TJB album. Herb Alpert produced and assisted in the arrangements with John Pisano and Willie Ruff, and can be heard scatting and singing (uncredited) on "The Drifter" and "Everybody's Talkin'". There's a casual atmosphere on this album, and it's all done in a rather relaxed fashion, like folks sitting on a front porch on a summer night, pickin' out tunes and having a good old time.

Harry
...who also loves that line, "bad motor-cycle he ain't worth a nickel", online...

 

[Rudy]

Interesting to see the credits, since it is your basic L.A. gang getting together on this album. I'm almost surprised Pete Jolly isn't on this one...his long time bassist Chuck Berghofer appears on it.

Anyone know anything further about Willie Ruff?

So go figure. Out of curiosity I pulled out a CD I haven't played in years, a total polar opposite: Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral.

 

[jimac51]

Willie Ruff is probably better known for another duo,this one with pianist Dwike Mitchell. They have been performing together since 1955,both having played in Lionel Hampton's big band. Ruff plays both horn and acoustic bass with Mitchell. Ruff also has been teaching various music couses at Yale,where he attended as an undergraduate and graduate student. He also has written an autobiography,"A Call To Assembly",recently back in print. Willie played horn on Miles Davis' collaborations with Gil Evans. More info at www.willieruff.com. By the way,I purchased my Pisano & Ruff in downtown Philly,Kings,,15 N.13th St, in 1971 for a buck or so. Kings was a dive(the only emporium on the block without peep shows) I used to go in frequently in '71 while working as a vendor at Vet Stadium(the sad and ugly Vet closes,thank God, this year at the end of the baseball season). All kinds of weird,mostly promo,stuff at Kings. The Record Museum is another well known haunt(there were a few of them,maybe five or more)that is everything bad that Harry says about them. Unfortunately,they had some pretty strange stuff(once again,lots of promos) so I had to do business there and the one on 69th St. in Upper Darby is where I found Pete Jolly's GIVE A DAMN,already beat up and unloved but unplayed till I put it on a turntable. I still have it. Harry,the place I got albums with strange $$$ prices in magic marker was Radio Store 437-my Harry Nilsson PANDEMONIUM SHADOW SHOW is inked at 39 cents in glorious mono. Mac

 

[jimac51]

BTW,isn't that the Freedon Horn that Mr. Ruff plays? Mac

 

[Dave]

I still have my $2 copy of Pisano & Ruff's UNDER THE BLANKET. I still have the small sticker with the price on it and it is a White Label Promo, as well.

The playing is done very casually, though with just the right touch, and a little scat singing on "The Drifter" is good to hear, too. It epitomizes the "Laid-Back L.A. Jazz Scene this side of Howard Roberts & Joe Pass" very well!

Dave

Gioccho Adesso: Howard Roberts Antelope Freeway

...and who's that 'Pinosa' guy that I read about the CD reissue filed under??...

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I think this album shows what a great record company A&M was. How many other companies would even have thought about releasing a guitar/French Horn LP? It's not a mind-blowing affair by any means, but there is some very tasty playing throughout.

I have a reissue CD that pairs Les McCann's Much Les with the Mitchell-Ruff Trio's The Catbird Seat. The collection is called 20 Special Fingers, and was released on 32 Jazz, which was one of Joel Dorn's reissue labels (he seems to have had a couple of these in the past few years).


Capt. Bacardi

 

[bob knack]

I bought it new and at the time, didn't like it all that much. Later on, I realized that I don't have it any more. I'll be darned if I can fiqure out where it went. I'd sure like to hear it again.

Someone out there who bought it used...you might have my record!

 

[Steven J. Gross]

This is the first I'd heard of it. Hope to locate a copy.

 

[jimac51]

I have a reissue CD that pairs Les McCann's Much Les with the Mitchell-Ruff Trio's The Catbird Seat. The collection is called 20 Special Fingers, and was released on 32 Jazz, which was one of Joel Dorn's reissue labels (he seems to have had a couple of these in the past few years).

Though 32 Jazz bellied up a couple of years ago,Savoy evidently owns the Muse masters where most of that stuff came from. The have reinstututed the "Jazz for a..." series as budget twofers,even cheaper than the last time around(they consistently made the jazz charts) so it is possible that more of the titles may see the light of day. 32 Jazz went out so quickly,retailers got stuck with non-returnable product so there are still 32 Jazz titles in the regular bins. Since 32 Jazz flamed out,Mr. Dorn had Label M,a similar reissue label that barely lasted a year. Joel has started yet another label,Hyena(part of Sin-Drome Records) by reissuing his originl Night Records material of Cannonball Adderley,Rahassan Roland Kirk,Les McCann and Eddie Harris. More info,including news about unreleased Kirk material,at www.hyenarecords.com. Mac,who understands that Joel Dorn has boatloads of unissued soul/jazz recordings in his personal archives.

 

[Rudy]

I know Sin-Drome is Bobby Caldwell's label...does he actually own it, do you know?

 

[jimac51]

That I don't know. Take Caldwell out of the picture and there is no label(nobody running for their other major artist- lounge lizard wannabe Tony Danza) but the website(www.sin-drome.com) does not play that up. With Joel Dorn in the picture is there are probably some investment people behind the scenes able to take a financial hit for a while. I have to say that Sin-Drome always seemed like a focused indi that escaped a few hurricanes in the distribution end and is still afloat. The distributors that I woorked with(and one I worked for) had no stock problems. Mac

 

[jimac51]

Another A&M sighting of Willie Ruff-he solo's on French Horn on Sharon's Freeman's arrangement of "Monk's Mood" on the Thelonious Monk tribute album THAT'S THE WAY I FEEL NOW-SP6600. Mac

 

[Mr Bill]

Just an update to add aotw image...

--Mr Bill