🎷 AotW: CTI Artie Butler - HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES? (SP-3007)

All the CTI releases

How Would You Rate This Album?

  • ***** (Best)

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • ****

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • ***

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • **

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • * (Worst)

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • Never Heard This Album

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Total voters
    9

Captain Bacardi

Well-Known Member
Artie Butler
HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES?

A&M/CTi SP-3007

sp3007.jpg

Released 1968

Format: Vinyl/Reel-to-Reel/8-Track

Produced by Creed Taylor

Songs:
  • 1. The Loop (Max Hardy) - 2:00
    2. The Whiffenpoof Song (T. Galloway/M. Minnigerode/G. Pomeroy) - 3:15
    3. A Trumpeter's Lullaby (Leroy Anderson) - 3:00
    4. April Showers (DeSylva/Silvers) - 2:20
    5. Max's Brazilian What (Max Hardy) - 2:30
    6. Have You Met Miss Jones? (Rodgers/Hart) - 3:25
    7. Music For Night People (A. Moorhouse/G. Rees) - 2:33
    8. When I'm 64 (Lennon/McCartney) - 3:00
    9. Camelot (Lerner/Lowe) - 2:40
    10. In The Heat Of The Night (Quincy Jones) - 3:10
    11. Something Stupid (Parks C. Carson) - 3:45

    Arranged and Conducted by Artie Butler

Musicians:
Artie Butler - Piano & Ondioline
Herbie Hancock - Piano
Ron Carter - Bass
Gary Chester - Drums
Vinnie Bell - Guitar
Charles Macey - Guitar (1, 7)
Sal Di Trola - Guitar
George Devens - Percussion
Richie Ritz - Percussion
David Carey - Vibes (5, 6)
Burt Collins - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Jerome Richardson - Flute & Piccolo
Romeo Penque - Flute & Soprano Sax
Corky Hale - Harp (1, 7)
Trombones - Eddie Bert, Morton Bullman, Mickey Gravine, Thomas Mitchell, Benny Powell, Chauncey Welsch
Cello - Seymour Barab
Viola - Murray Sandry, Bernard Zaslav
Violin - Arthur Bogin, Julius Brand, Mac Ceppos, Peter Dimitriades, Joseph Haber, Louis Haber, Harold Kohon, Leo Kruczek, Archie Levin, Harry Lookofsky, Marvin Morganstern, Matthew Raimondi. David Sackson, Irving Spice, Louis Stone, Paul Winter

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios
Rudy Van Gelder, Engineer
Recorded January 8, 15, 17; February 28, 1968

Cover Photographs by Pete Turner
Album Design by Sam Antupit
Liner notes by Joel Vance




Capt. Bacardi
 
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With the right artwork,my two cents on this one,since I have owned it for a long time and remember hearing tracks on the radio when it came out. Though not a jazz album by a long shot,this recording is certainly a worthy addition to the A&M catalog-as equally fun as a good Baja Marimba Band album. Artie was responsible for hundreds of arrangements for vocalists,TV,commercials,etc. and it is always interesting to see what someone would do from out of the shadows. "Max's Brazilian What?" is what. Lightweight,breezy and,yes,probably a bit dated from its late'60s sound,I have always enjoyed this guilty pleasure. Still hard to think that this is a VanGelder recording-Neil,your critique about the distorted sound of some of these A&M/CTIs is well founded here.Maybe the problem is a large group in Rudy's studio that usually had small jazz groups within,though it isn't so prevalent on the Verve/Creed Taylors with Oliver Nelson or Lalo Schifrin conducting. This album is probably never going to see domestic CD light of day,but there is nothing here to be ashamed about. Does LP Jim have any stories about Artie with his autographed copy that is in the Rogues Gallery?Mac
 
jimac51 said:
Still hard to think that this is a VanGelder recording-Neil,your critique about the distorted sound of some of these A&M/CTIs is well founded here.Maybe the problem is a large group in Rudy's studio that usually had small jazz groups within,though it isn't so prevalent on the Verve/Creed Taylors with Oliver Nelson or Lalo Schifrin conducting.

I've noticed the same myself: I've heard other recordings from Van Gelder's that are clear as a bell. The A&M/CTi albums, on the whole, seem to have a somewhat muddy, congested sound, with an overly warm mid-bass. If you think about it, on late 60's hi-fi consoles, this probably made them sound just peachy, thanks. The A&M/CTi concept of "jazz for the masses" may have made this a producer decision to make jazz sound warmer, and more like easy listening. It's not just larger groups, either: Tamba 4's Samba Blim has a bit of muck to it. Better on CD, but still has that mid-bass warmth. A slight nudge down with the EQ from about 120Hz to 200Hz really cleans things up. A&M's LP master tapes weren't among the better sounding ones out there, which is why properly remastered CDs regain some of the brightness.

Naturally I'm only guessing, but compared to other Van Gelder recordings, these aren't up to the same level sonically. And it's the only explanation I can think of.

-= N =-
 
In March 2000 Singer/Songwriter Jan Ian held a 2-evening symposium for the University of TN's Women's Studies Committee. The first night was a lecture (about her experiences in the music business) with a concert held the following night. I noticed that Artie Butler had played keyboards on her first album -- the 1966 self-titled one with "Society's Child" on it. While getting my LP signed I mentioned the Butler credit. To my astonishment, Janis said she kept in touch with Artie regularly and wrote down my email address to forward to him.
About a week later I got an email from Mr. Butler and shortly thereafter mailed my copy of MISS JONES -- with return postage -- to get signed. Can't imagine how I could have done this without Miss Ian's help; I'm eternally grateful.
About a year later I ran Butler's name through the Ebay search engine and discovered a recent CD from him, CLASSIC BROADWAY by Artie Butler's Hollywood Rainbow Pops. This was released in 1995 on K-Tel International label and is a 10-track collection of pop standards such as "Send in the Clowns" and "All I Ask of You" (from Phantom of the Opera). Adding this nifty item to my collection set me back my $2 winning bid plus an equal amount of postage.
The photo of Mr. Butler at my site is from the CD songsheet. Nice to know he's still active in music.
JB
PS: One of the finest moments on MISS JONES is the driving piano solo at the end of "Music For Night People." It fades out much too quickly IMHO.
 
Jim-Thanks for sharing the memories! Gee,Ms. Ian was in the area recently so I missed what was probably an interesting evening not only of music but performed by a real human. As for Artie's work on his own album,yeah,you would have thought that a little stretching out would have been allowed,at least on one track. That album clocks in at around 33 minutes and I think at the time these CTI/A&Ms were a buck higher in list price-more money/less music,what a concept! At least there is no padding. Mac
 
The extra buck was probably for the Pete Turner or Jim McCrary photos. :wink:

-= N =-
 
Rudy said:
The extra buck was probably for the Pete Turner or Jim McCrary photos. :wink:

...and the extra cardboard (plus printing ink) necessary for the gatefold sleeve!

--Mr B
 
jimac51 said:
"Max's Brazilian What?" is what. Lightweight,breezy and,yes,probably a bit dated from its late'60s sound,I have always enjoyed this guilty pleasure.

I've never heard this album, but with a recommendation like that, I find it surprising that our Japanese friends haven't put "Jones" out on CD yet. Sounds like something they (and I :D) would get a kick out of.

- William
 
To wit Joel Vance, writer of liner notes for esteemed SP-3007:

The apropos Joel Vance said:
The attitude of Butler's toward music is his attitude towards life--friendly, but with a gentle bite and a fine sense of the ridiculous. Above all, the jazz he scores and supervises and plays is (look out for the lightning!) happy jazz, which jazz is no longer supposed to be if it's going to be "art."

With that said, I consider this to be a light jazz album (which I didn't used to think) that has a delightful array of top-notch studio musicians giving each song a helping of all the instrument families. Artie conducts, plays ondioline (exclusive to A&M/CTi releases, I believe!) and Herbie Hancock appears on a happy record.

Favorite tracks include all of side one, and "Music for Night People." The Van Gelder sound on this album has an eerie but appreciable echo. I love this record so much, I can't keep typing remarks.
 
Funny how Artie picked this bunch of his favorite songs and turned them into a pretty neat and spirited outing... Sounds much like music for a flower greenhouse/plant nursery and I think that's where I once may have heard this!

The Ondioline gets played in a few spots, though Artie mostly bangs at his piano and of course, those are definitely his strings in a breezy and sweeping, but economical fashion... --Much like how he was also the arranger, conductor and Commander of Sid Sharp's String Section in Hollywood... :laugh:

Artie, in addition to keyboards also plays a vibraphone and even drums, while has had a huge roster of groups he has worked with which I by, and by bought albums of, ie. Mac Davis, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee, The 5th Dimension, Andy Williams, Tiny Tim and even a '45' by Sonny Charles formerly of The Checkmates Talk To Me, Talk To Me (b/w Bless You, arranged by Gene Paige) He was also part of that "Makeshift L.A. Bunch of Musicians Band" on Joe Cocker's Feelin' Alright?... ...And look for a couple of other up-coming A&M/CTi artists to get Artie Butler's arrangements: Richard Barbary & Tamiko Jones...

This is a good album of Mood Music, Instrumental Pop and Jazz and all the songs are well-done enough that I sure can't easily pick a favorite song on, or even easily stop making remarks about either...

Definitely a "must have" and favorites of this "genre of many genres" should also look to the works of Barry DeVourzan, Andre Kostalenz, Perry Botkin Jr., Steve Allen, Hugo Montenegro and James Last...

As liner note writer, Joel Vance began his passage on this esteemed album by this esteemed artist:

You can never be mad at Artie Butler. Not even if he runs you over with his Rolls Royce on his way to a hot dog stand for his favorite food.

...And ended his conceptual commentary:

And how can you be mad at someone who only wishes you the very best?

...I have to say that I'm mad about him enough that I still have this LP and others he has worked on and I am also glad to have exchanged a mite of eMails with him, too, over the years...



Dave
 
After being in a cloud of mirth having listened to this album again, I still think it's a great album. But, to be a little more objective, if I had to pick a song that was my least favorite on this album, it would be "When I'm 64." I just get a little tired of the Beatles covers on so many A&M/CTi albums.
 
And a little eerie to me at first. Now I've come to like the cover and how it makes sense given Joel Vance's liner notes: "...The attitude of Butler's toward music is his attitude towards life--friendly, but with a gentle bite and a fine sense of the ridiculous."
 
I used to have the vinyl lp version, and would love to hear this again, it's been many years. It is wonderful music, a bit odd. I love most of the A&M/CTI releases. This is a memorable one.
 
After taking a look at Doug Payne's discography, I saw a handful of tunes that never made it to the original release: "Now Hear Dis," "Max's Song," "Waltz for J & M," and "Moonlight Cocktails." Anyone know anything about these songs?
 
Unreleased Tracks for A&M/CTi SP 3007:

Now Hear Dis -- I don't know of any songs which would have this title, though it does smack of some Big Band/Showtune...

Max's Song -- An "answer song" to Max's Brazilian What...? I'm suprised that Artie never wrote any of his own songs; that's what this one could be... Or more likely the two songs might'a been done by the same writer, and ...Brazilian What was the one that made it...!

Waltz for J & M -- And who are "J" and "M"? Those of you who said that the "M" might be "Max", may be seated! :tongue:

Moonlight Cocktails -- Huh? --Not sure of its origin, obviously... Eh, why not One Mint Julip...? (--Which I think is, an "unreleased track" by one of those other A&M/CTi artists; forgot which one... Ah, but would get later recorded by Bob James..)

--Source: Noted Jazz critic, Doug Payne at his Sound Insights Jazz Artist Website, at www.dougpayne.com



Dave :neutral:inkshield:
 
I have the lp. Its not very interesting in my opinion. There's a little of that elevator music feel to it, and I just cant get past that. There sure isn't much jazz. I agree with Seashorepiano regarding MUSIC FOR NIGHT PEOPLE. For me its by far the best on the album. If Cy Coleman never wrote THE PLAYBOY THEME for Hugh Hefner in the late 50's, this song could have been Playboys theme. It has that cool breezy 1950s or 1960s jazz feel to it. Within the limited space he has, Herbie Hancock plays a creative lead piano here. IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT is pretty good too, and Herbie takes the spotlight here as well.

And one question..... who in the world is Joel Vance, and why was he writing the liner notes !!??
 
Nightcat: You put in words a question that I and others here have been asking for years. Who is Joel Vance? Who are Al Bennett, Ted Williams (presumably not the baseball legend), George Frazier IV, and Jon Borgzinner? (All wrote liner notes for at least one A&M/CTi release. There are others whose names I'm forgetting.)

Given that some of the writers of the liner notes for A&M/CTi albums were famous jazz critics and writers in their own right, like Ira Gitler, Gene Lees and Leonard Feather, I would guess that some of the names we've wondered about were also in the music biz, maybe even writers for music review publications, but weren't as famous as Lees and company.

As far as Vance's liner notes go, I think he was trying to articulate a lighthearted homage to the motivations of Butler and his sidemen for playing deliberately happy music.
 
nightcat said:
I have the lp. Its not very interesting in my opinion. There's a little of that elevator music feel to it, and I just cant get past that. There sure isn't much jazz.

Agreed. Of the 30 "or so" A&M/CTi releases, this is by far the most disposable. The jazz content is nil and even as pop music, unlike say Richard Barbary/Soul Machine, it isn't very listenable for my music dollar. Can't imagine Herbie and Ron coming away with much from this date -- although, it must be said, both did many east-coast pop dates during this period; for instance, Herbie contributed to Peter, Paul & Mary's penultimate release, Late Again. In any event, the packaging alone (including 8-T and R-R versions) must have incurred a great deal of cost for a release that both Herb and Jerry knew wouldn't sell more than a few hundred copies. (Must've been "industry payback"...or something...)
 
I actually have to put it on a par above Herbie Mann's Glory Of Love which was where I started off my A&M/CTi collecting and co-incided with collecting Mann's Atlantic works on which I couldn't help wondering why while he had a very lucrative career going on with Atlantic he'd ever have to outsource even to a fledging up-and-coming outfit like A&M...

But focusing on Artie, I happen to like this album a lot and while it veers greatly away from Jazz, it is a very light-hearted divertation from it and the norm of a then-current A&M/CTi catalog... I just appreciate this fine work and think that it is one of "the gallery's Greats!"...!!!



Dave
 
Dave said:
I actually have to put it on a par above Herbie Mann's Glory Of Love which was where I started off my A&M/CTi...But focusing on Artie, I happen to like this album a lot and while it veers greatly away from Jazz, it is a very light-hearted divertation from it and the norm of a then-current A&M/CTi catalog... I just appreciate this fine work and think that it is one of "the gallery's Greats!"...!!!

Ha! Well, the sole Mann entry is probably my fave (though it's always changing, you know how faves are) of the A&M/CTi lot. Gotta take it in stride. I can certainly understand the charm of the Artie LP -- it's quite different than most your typical late '60s easy-listening fare... I recall quickly being turned off by the liner: the "happy jazz" label (huh?) and that business about racing to hot dog stands in a Rolls Royce...I suppose such content was included to emphasize light-heartedness of the music. However...you know, the last thing I want to have re-drilled into my head -- after plunking down my $8.98 on an LP -- is the wealth, status, and material disparities between the privileged and us peons. I mean, as much as I find music the cat's meow of life (along with love and a good chili dog), the music biz types are different than you and I.

Wayy different.

For instance, I totally dig Sammy Davis Jr -- but, hearing him sing about how sad and lonely he his (was) -- knowing that he can (could) have just about anything he fancied with all his millions -- makes me respond very cynically, nearly with contempt at times, given my personal context. Like McCartney singing Yesterday at age 23. Come On! It's not believable content at that age. Neither is the "take-this-job-and-shove-it" mentality of blue-collar c/w music. There is zilcho believability regarding such lyrics when issued from pampered entertainers -- particularly those who feign working class attributes. Of course, this is clearly different for the "story-telling" works of, say, Randy Newman. (Yup, catch me on the wrong side of the tracks and I just wanna smother it in lard.)

As for Artie -- aside from the Barbary connection and a couple pop/jazz things done for Stan Getz, I know nothing of his work. You mentioned Kastalentz, James Last, Montenegro, et al, as related artists...don't care much for them either (especially et al), so I can see why it doesn't hold appeal for me. Just the same, I'm glad that such unique offerings are issued and this one must qualify as the oddest A&M/CTi release of the lot.
 
Dave said:
I actually have to put it on a par above Herbie Mann's Glory Of Love which was where I started off my A&M/CTi collecting and co-incided with collecting Mann's Atlantic works on which I couldn't help wondering why while he had a very lucrative career going on with Atlantic he'd ever have to outsource even to a fledging up-and-coming outfit like A&M...

But focusing on Artie, I happen to like this album a lot and while it veers greatly away from Jazz, it is a very light-hearted divertation from it and the norm of a then-current A&M/CTi catalog... I just appreciate this fine work and think that it is one of "the gallery's Greats!"...!!!



Dave

I also am a huge fan of Mann's Glory Of Love album. I think along with the first Tamba 4 lp, its among the best jazz lps on A&M. But that's just my taste. With Mann, A&M's goal was big record sales with a big established jazz name. I think Herbie may have been attracted by a new jazz line being put out by a pretty hot new label. Kind of like when you buy stock in a small new company that has a new product. I believe Montgomery's first A&M lp was possibly selling well when Mann signed with A&M.

The Artie Butler album certainly is an unusual lp in the A&M / CTI jazz series. I wonder excatly what the goal was when they released the lp. I mean, what part of the record buying public were they trying to attract? Certainly not jazz. It doesn't fall under pop instrumental like TJB, Baja or The Brass Ring. I'm really not sure. (Something Stupid always sounded to me like some college football fight song) And did they really have to hire Herbie Hancock & Ron Carter for these arrangemements? I did like several tunes on the lp where Herbie stood out, but most of the arrangements could have been played by any pianist or bassist. And if they could hire Hancock & Carter for this lp, why couldn't they afford someone better known to the public than Joel Vance to do the liner notes.

I wonder what Joel is doing tonight? Possibly listening to Have You Met Miss Jones

I'm glad I own it as its certainly unique (although not a favorite).
 
I actually like Music For Night People and In The Heat Of The Night. That's the good news. Other than that, this is a collection of rather bland directionless music. The song selection I don't understand either. What was the purpose of this album? Did they really think they would make any money with this? Herb or Jerry must have owed this guy a favor.

After thinking about it, I think little children may find some of this music fun to listen to, and I imagine it might be popular in nursing homes as well.
 
I actually like this album, although it does run out of steam at a few points. I won't go into further detail as albums like these tend to get dumped on, and because there's usually one "correct" opinion in the jazz forum (which explains my frequent and extended absences).
 
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