🎵 AotW Baja Marimba Band AS TIME GOES BY (A&M SP 4298)

[LPJim]

Baja Marimba Band
As Time Goes By
A&M SP 4298

Actually credited to Julius Wechter and the Baja Marimba Band, this was their final studio album for A&M, recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood during February and March, 1971.

Side One:
As Time Goes By (Herman Hupfield) Warner Brothers Music ASCAP 3:18*
Think of Me (Julius & Cissy Wechter) Almo Music Corp. ASCAP 3:05**
Samba For Vicky (Dave Mackay) Oracle Records BMI 2:58***
Two For Tea (Julius & Cissy Wechter) Almo Music Corp. ASCAP 2:34***
Midnight Sun (Lionel Hampton, Johnny Mercer, Sonny Burke) Crystal Music Publishing Inc. ASCAP 3:42***

Side Two:
Spanish Flea (Julius Wechter) Almo Music Corp. ASCAP 2:20***
The Big Noise From Encino (Julius Wechter) Almo Music Corp. ASCAP 2:24***
Dansero (Richard Hayman, Lee Daniels, Sol Parker) Fredrick Music Co. BMI 2:26**
Left Field (Julius Wechter) Almo Music Corp. ASCAP 2:08**
Jorjana # 1 (Roger Kellaway) Eternity Music Co. ASCAP 3:36***
We've Only Just Begun (Paul Williams & Roger Nichols) Irving Music Inc., BMI 2:53***

Arranged by *Julius Wechter and Roger Kellaway/** Julius Wechter/*** Roger Kellaway/ Art Direction by Roland Young/ Designed and Illustrated by Robert Lockart/ Photography by Jim McCrary/ Produced by Stephan Goldman/ Engineered by Dick Bogert.

CD availability: None; still waiting patiently

JB

 

[Rudy]

Typical of this era: no musician credits. My money is on either Pete Jolly or Roger Kellaway on keyboards here. From the sound of most of the tracks, this wasn't a typical BMB album. Doesn't sound like the BMB "band" played on these tracks. Julius also plays vibes more on this one.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

No "band" picture either...and no "wizz" guy. This is BMB's "serious" album.

 

[Rudy]

...aka Julius' first A&M solo recording. Certainly seems that way since it is such a departure from the others. Very nice too---one of my favorites!

I'm still also looking for the "holy grail"...Wechter's Linear Sketches. Hopefully off-eBay so it's not too totally out of reach.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Far and away my favorite BMB album! :bandit:
Jorjana #1 is a gem.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Typical of this era: no musician credits. My money is on either Pete Jolly or Roger Kellaway on keyboards here. From the sound of most of the tracks, this wasn't a typical BMB album. Doesn't sound like the BMB "band" played on these tracks. Julius also plays vibes more on this one.

It would follow that since Kellaway did some of the arranging that he would be featured on the keyboards...


Dan, wishing that this one was on CD...a two-fer with LINEAR SKETCHES would be fantastic...

 

[Rudy]

It would follow that since Kellaway did some of the arranging that he would be featured on the keyboards...

I would think Kellaway, since what little I've heard somewhat matches the style on the album. However, listen to "Samba for Vicky" and compare it to some of Pete Jolly's earlier recordings, and it very well could be his touch as well. Pete Jolly did relay that he'd been on A&M's recordings, but may not remember the specifics.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

It would follow that since Kellaway did some of the arranging that he would be featured on the keyboards...

I would think Kellaway, since what little I've heard somewhat matches the style on the album. However, listen to "Samba for Vicky" and compare it to some of Pete Jolly's earlier recordings, and it very well could be his touch as well. Pete Jolly did relay that he'd been on A&M's recordings, but may not remember the specifics.

Could very well be...but unfortunately, the only Pete Jolly recording I have is from SOMETHING FESTIVE, where he plays THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR; and the style is very similar to SAMBA FOR VICKY...so, it just might be his work.


Dan, wishing he could have been there...

 

[Rudy]

Dan: Jolly's 50's-era albums on RCA are quite good...BMG Spain has released a few of them. More recently, he's had some good recordings on the VSOP label. In many cases, he's still playing with the same bassist (Chuck Berghofer) he's recorded and perfomed with for decades. Two of his three A&M albums are more "pop" oriented...Seasons is a bit "out there".

 

[cakeicer]

Does anyone know the story behind "Samba for Vicky?" I was wondering who it was written for.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Does anyone know the story behind "Samba for Vicky?" I was wondering who it was written for.

Probably somebody named Vicky...


Dan

 

[cakeicer]

Thanks Dan, I knew you would have the answer!

 

[Mr Bill]

Not sure about "Vicky" but I recall reading somewhere that "Jorjana" was Kellaway's daughter. There are more Jorjanas on Kellaway's solo/quartet LPs too..

--Mr Bill

 

[Rudy]

Probably somebody named Vicky...

*groan*

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Probably somebody named Vicky...

*groan*

I just had a flash...it might have been written about a 1932 Ford 2 door...remember Susie the Blue Coupe? Nah, it's probably a girl...

Dan, offering possibilities...

 

[snapcrotch]

After a two-year hiatus from 1969's 'Fresh Air' (SP-4200), Julious Wechter returned with 'As Time Goes By'. Unlike most of the BMB's slap-happy output, this LP reflects a serious, creative partnership of Wechter and Roger Kellaway. As such, it's closer to Kellaway's 'Cello Quartet' (SP-3034). Perhaps it was given the BMB appellation for marketing purposes in the hopes of 'catching that one last wave'. The rewarding music is certainly worthy of the intentions of all involved.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This album took a while for me to find it, and I enjoy it quite a bit, simply because there's enough "Baja" sounds as well as some jazzier settings. Great mallet work - as usual - from Julius. Love "Samba For Vicky", "Big Noise From Encino", "Dansero", plus he does a nice rendition of "Midnight Sun" (Only fitting that Julius plays vibes on this Lionel Hampton classic!). Plus there's some nice trombone work on a couple of tunes.

There's one thing that strikes me as odd on this album: The song "As Time Goes By" sounds more like it belongs at the end of the album rather than opening the album. But other than that this is one album that deserves to be on CD.


Capt. Bacardi
...celebrating another Cubs win online...

 

[bob knack]

some late thoughts:

This version of As Time Goes By" is not unlike the Henry Mancini version. Almost the same open, only Hanks has a "bogie" impersonator say "Play it Again, Sam". Bogie never actually said it.

"Left Field" was used by WGN TV as an opening theme that year for the Cubs telecasts.

The album itself sounds like comments I've read here re:Herbs BYOH in that the tunes sound disjointed.

I think that might be a french horn or some kind of euphonium, and not a trombone. Dave Wells used to double on them if he was on that date.

 

[Harry]

This album had been in my collection for years without my ever listening to it. It was one of those rescued throwaway albums from a radio station back in 1975 or so, and basically I grabbed anything I recognized or anything on A&M.

I'd certainly heard of Julius Wechter and the Baja Marimba Band back then, but didn't really consider myself a fan. Early on, I had always considered the BMB to be a poor-man's knock-off of the TJB, and just coudn't grasp the fact that of course it was all Alpert-sanctioned, and even co-created. (Boy was I wrong!) The other factor in my 'ignoring' of the BMB was that very little of their stuff was ever played on the radio, unlike the mighty TJB.

So, in 1975, I grabbed a bunch of BMB albums, including As Time Goes By, filed them in my growing LP collection, and basically never listened to them.

Flash forward to the late '90s, when I discovered A&M Corner. There seemed to be great interest in the BMB, far more than I would ever have imagined. I remember one of the earliest topics on the old board dealt with a fantasy CD compilation of the BMB, because at the time, there was essentially nothing in CD form available. It was then that I finally dragged out the BMB records that I had, filled in the rest with LP purchases and explored the wonderful world of the Baja Marimba Band.

It was almost like getting a whole new collection of TJB recordings, since many of the instrumentations and arrangements had that Alpert flare, as well as Julius' own stamp on things.

I hadn't realized the good fortune I'd had in grabbing this album when I did. Apparently it's pretty difficult to come by these days, so I prize it now more than the others - and musically as well. There's something really nifty about this album, with the relationship to the rest of the BMB canon about the same as Herb's Warm is to the rest of THAT catalog.

Listening to the title track, one can certainly tell that it's Roger Kellaway's piano on that one. It's so simliar to Kellaway's work on the All In The Family closing theme! I also agree that the "Samba For Vicky" piano is likely Pete Jolly - it matches his style.

Though the LP I have was virtually unplayed, it still managed to have a few flaws, particularly on "Samba For Vicky". The other tracks cleaned up pretty well, enough for a decent CD-R.

Three of the tracks from this album made it to the LP compilation
Foursider, while none ever made it to the CD compilations that have subsequently been released.

Harry
...with memories of discovering Julius, online...

 

[Bullish '84]

My story is similar to Harry's. I collected BMB because of the
hilarious album covers. Rarely listened to the music seriously
till the last couple of years.

I just found a mint copy of 1982's BMB "Naturally" album
and thoroughly enjoyed the BMB medley. Made me think
of their special that aired in the 80's on PBS. I would love
to see that again. Always thought it cool to have a former
Cubs ballplayer on trumpet. The cover breaks me up!

Also found a mint promo copy of "The Baja Marimba
Band's Back" and a near mint "Music Of Julius Wechter"
publisher/advertising promo album, with the vocal version
of "The Nicest Things Happen."

-James(thanks for letting me join your A&M reindeer games!)

 

[Steven J. Gross]

I wonder why NOT ONE SONG from this amazing album ever made it to CD???

 

[Harry]

I wonder why NOT ONE SONG from this amazing album ever made it to CD???

Actually, one did (and this will serve as an addendum/correction to my above post). "We've Only Just Begun" by the Baja Marimba Band, from this album, appeared on a Japanese release called A&M Composer Series Vol. 3, Roger Nichols & Paul Williams.

Harry
...getting it right, online...

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Harry- you are good! I stand corrected. :bandit: ( I had seen that recently myself )

 

[mikeargo]

Chiming in late, here... This album was my BMB holy grail for almost 30 years. By 1970 I knew all the BMB albums forwards and backwards, but somehow I missed ATGB in the stores a year later. I gather this one didn't stay in print long. Searches over the years were fruitless. Found one on eBay a few years ago that I returned because it was unplayable. Then about three years ago a coworker gave me a mint copy from a box of LPs she was about to get rid of. All things come to he who waits....

Anyway, I think the exploratory and overall "quiet" tone of ATGB has some roots in Fresh Air, where Julius had more vibes work and nontraditional-BMB instrumentation, not to mention just an overall feel of departing from the usual BMB mode in songs like "Cielito Lindo" and "Wave."

Mike A

 

[Rudy]

Shaking this thread back up from the dust, I'm quoting from our other thread to bring us up to date.

Relative to their 1968-69 LPs, the BMB 1971 LP, As Time Goes By, sounds like an LP virtually anyone with adequate chops could have cut and issued -- given BMB musical personality is clearly absent. Sadly, the exciting De Vito—Pollan rhythm team has been replaced with session players just reading charts. The horns on the LP are also devoid of any BMB character. The music is overall very good, but the performances are just not riveting in a BMB sense — rather, there's an absence of tension and release (i.e., musical emotion) that helped to elevate San Jose, Those Were The Days, and Fresh Air over its predecessors. Partnering with Roger Kellaway, the LP is predictably keyboard-heavy. It’s a good LP, but frankly, just lacks any BMB identity and charisma.

Julius' LP is solid (except the first cut, which is awful with a capitol A...man, those girlies singers are hideous),

As Time Goes By personnel is:


Charles Domanico
Pete Jolly
Roger Kellaway
Jim Keltner
Michael Kollander
Michael Lang
Emil Radocchia
Jose Soares
Tommy Tedesco

The title track of As Time Goes By is indeed an instant skip for me as well, but at least it gives way to some much better music. I think if Julius had remained with A&M and been allowed to experiment more, we'd have more tracks like "Samba for Vicky," "Jorjana #1" (a big favorite here) and "Big Noise from Encino," all of which point towards the jazz that Julius was familiar with from the early days. I lucked out in finding a new or nearly new copy of this a couple of decades ago that plays flawless.

And speaking of Julius' image on that AS TIME GOES BY jacket, is the red, white and green supposed to signify something? It always looked like the colors of the Italian flag to me, but the Italian flag has the colors go horizontally. Looking up this vertical arrangement of red, white, and green, I find that it's the flag of Hungary.

??

It's the Mexican flag colors, but turned sideways (probably for artistic reasons).

The BMB album is my least favorite of theirs, and my least favorite song on it is "Spanish Flea." I suppose Julius felt the need to do something completely different from Herb's ubiquitous version and inject some of that BMB humor into the proceedings, but it just didn't work. I like the "slap" at the end that stops the proceedings, that gave me a chuckle. There's not much else on the album that I remember too much, but every time I've listened to it (most recently on YouTube) it's left me pretty cold.

If this shootout was just over the album covers, Julius would win it. It's not one of their "fun" covers, but it beats the very dated Herb cover by a mile. They should have used the BACK cover photo on the front -- it fits the overall mood of the album better.

.... As Time Goes By was overall disappointing and (with the exception of "Left Field") did not have that characteristic BMB sound.

ATGB has more in common with Kellaway's three A&M LPs. The fact that the previously released non-LP cuts "Picasso Summer" and "Can You Dig It" were not included as was usually the case when a new single preceded an album by a few months, was a strong indicator that this would be something different.

Julius didn't like making "As Time Goes By", but it happens to be my all time favorite BMB album. Herb's "Summertime" is also an all time great album so I'll call it a tie..

He didn’t? Can you elaborate?

I knew Julius and he mentioned it to me and later his wife Cissy repeated that to me. Something about the producer made it torturous to him..

That's a shame since it had the potential to be a top notch album. Hindsight being 20/20, and the possibility of using a more sympathetic producer, I would have billed the album only to Julius, dumped a few of the MOR tracks, rearranged a few others, and made it more of a jazz album. Tracks like I mentioned above were nice departures from the tired Baja format.