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I had a close call with Gunn--Number One! on Discogs today. Had a sealed copy in my cart, from a seller I was purchasing a couple of other items from. But then I noticed it was a mono copy. All I have is a dollar bin copy right now, but haven't really been pressed to seek one out just yet. It's on my "one of these days" list....also updating The House Of Mancini with these jewels..
I bypassed that one -- only because I have enough '60s spy music to last me to age 138. One thing about '60s spy flicks -- if you were a bongo player you worked 24/7 for about a 5-year stretch there.I had a close call with Gunn--Number One! on Discogs today. Had a sealed copy in my cart, from a seller I was purchasing a couple of other items from. But then I noticed it was a mono copy. All I have is a dollar bin copy right now, but haven't really been pressed to seek one out just yet. It's on my "one of these days" list.
Qobuz has it available for streaming, but due to what the record company sent them, they had it labeled as one of the original Peter Gunn albums. (I "fixed" it by adding it to my library in Roon and edited the album title and cover art.) If this version sounds any good, I may download it to have a good digital copy on hand, and get the vinyl whenever I get another order together from a seller that has one.
I checked this one out on youTube since Spotify doesn't feature it(!@##*), and found Samba For Vicky from the BMB album As Time Goes By originated here. The critics seem to gush over the album, but it seems to be pretty obscure.Rudy, here's a rare one that you and Bobberman may find of merit...
Cut for Verve in mid-'69, this gem falls somewhere between pop and jazz -- albeit with more pop (singing) and more jazz (lots of odd meter and extended solos) than was expected at Verve at the time. I can't really characterize it other than to report I have nothing else that really sounds like it. It took a few listens to get into it, but I now really feel the muse (sans the one out-of-place novelty tune). Check it out.
I have a few of those Intrada releases and it's interesting to hear how the music was recorded for the film vs. the movie albums Hank released, which were arrangements based on music from the film score. I don't think Days of Wine and Roses really had many musical moments like his other film scores, which is why it never got a soundtrack release. Lots of music for the dramatic cues, but I recall that the main theme was reprised often through the film, and the rest didn't seem to lend themselves well to full-blown tunes like they did in other films.I recently learnt that The Days of Wine and Roses was issued as a s/t by Intrada in 2013 -- some 50+ years after the fact. Since no s/t was released back in the day, I originally speculated that perhaps Hank didn't have much additional music; however the release is lengthy with lots of titles...
Thanks for the added info, Dan --I checked this one out on youTube since Spotify doesn't feature it(!@##*), and found Samba For Vicky from the BMB album As Time Goes By originated here. The critics seem to gush over the album, but it seems to be pretty obscure.
Also, sadly, Vicky Hamilton died in 1971...don't know what circumstances led to her death, but it seems very tragic that she died just as her career was beginning to take flight.
CD available on Amazon, but rather pricey...
Thanks for clarifying. Still need three more Hanks to finish things up:I don't think Days of Wine and Roses really had many musical moments like his other film scores, which is why it never got a soundtrack release
I've lost track of what holes I still have in my Mancini collection. I have pretty much everything through the mid 60s, which is all I'm really interested in. But I do have quite a few of the 70s albums. I remember discovering one of his albums through a restaurant visit many years ago--they had a poster for Oklahoma Crude hanging on the wall and I noticed his musical credit on it. I did snag a cheap sealed copy a year ago, but the music didn't do much for me.Thanks for clarifying. Still need three more Hanks to finish things up:
I checked this one out on youTube since Spotify doesn't feature it(!@##*), and found Samba For Vicky from the BMB album As Time Goes By originated here. The critics seem to gush over the album, but it seems to be pretty obscure.
Also, sadly, Vicky Hamilton died in 1971...don't know what circumstances led to her death, but it seems very tragic that she died just as her career was beginning to take flight.
CD available on Amazon, but rather pricey...
You can't beat those RCA/Red Seal recordings from the golden age (1957-1963) with a stick! (I had a friend whose daughter switched from oboe to bassoon to better her chances at a music scholarship. Given the bassoon is probably the most unpopular orchestral instrument, there is less competition, yet every university orchestra needs to fill a couple bassoon chairs.)Nice hi-res digital release
I really tried hard to appreciate Laws' CTi releases...just never could find the handle on those; nevertheless, he's surely an excellent flautist.I ended up playing the rest of the Hubert Laws album while I was at it. It's not "pure" jazz by any means, but a good album
Yeah, a couple folks noted that -- yet my friend who brought the LP over felt that what distinguished Mackay and Hamilton was their focus on unique original material and the polyrhythmic undercurrent. (He said he bought the LP new back in the early '70s.)This duo is VERY reminiscent of Jackie & Roy,
A high school friend of ours actually graduated with a degree in bassoon studies. Ironically I'm thinking he probably hasn't touched a bassoon in years.You can't beat those RCA/Red Seal recordings from the golden age (1957-1963) with a stick! (I had a friend whose daughter switched from oboe to bassoon to better her chances at a music scholarship. Given the bassoon is probably the most unpopular orchestral instrument, there is less competition, yet every university orchestra needs to fill a couple bassoon chairs.)
There is one of his CTi releases I like, but the others didn't do much for me either. They were a little too "out there" for me. But with his flute all over seemingly every other CTi record out there, maybe he (and/or Taylor) felt they needed to expand things a bit. The track I posted is definitely more mainstream, more accessible, and perhaps closer to what I thought his CTi records might have been.I really tried hard to appreciate Laws' CTi releases...just never could find the handle on those; nevertheless, he's surely an excellent flautist.
That narrative plays out time and time again. Everyone I know who earned a music degree and works in "the biz" is a bottom feeder doing stuff that's not their musical passion; while all my other friends who are either more successful or followed their musical heart did not earn a music degree.A high school friend of ours actually graduated with a degree in bassoon studies. Ironically I'm thinking he probably hasn't touched a bassoon in years
There were 3 of these goodies. The first one has lots of couplers to fill out the CDs. Once the powers that be gauged the unexpected success of the first box, the second was assembled sans any bonus material (given such material would adversely impact future sets). The third set came a few years later (2017 I think) and was regarded as "crumbs" by some of the moldy figs on the classical forums -- though it far and away has the most beautifully authentic mini-LP sleeves I've seen -- even beats out anything I have from Japan. In any event, among the three sets, there are 180 RCA Red Seal issues here. You are correct in that there were also sets specific to conductors and performers -- for years I eyed the Fritz Reiner set (just to have as Reiner is my all-time favourite conductor) but between the first two volumes (he's not on the third -- he's not a "crumb") you're only missing a small number of his LPs.there was at least one large Living Stereo classical box set, and I recall Van Cliburn had one to himself. They've all sounded really good.
Yes. Bright-sounding CDs were the selling point back in the '80s -- because that's what made them "superior" to LPs (in addition to no noise floor, et al...). Puente had Doc as a ringer in his trumpet section on some of those dates, and, man, talk about bright (and I run through a tube amp with EL84s)!Some of the masters on those Latin themed RCA LPs were on the bright side--I was surprised at Tito Puente's two Dance Mania which were anthologized as Best of Dance Mania with alternate takes--they are very bright compared to the original LP masterings
I liked his three Atlantic releases from the '60s (of course, but I'm biased towards 1955-70 music); there is one '70s release I like: Wild Flower -- but it's not really jazz.There is one of his CTi releases I like, but the others didn't do much for me either.
I believe my ol' school pal is working in the entertainment industry successfully in some capacity but no, there's no living to be made off of playing the bassoon, unless you have a gig with a famous orchestra (vs. playing in a community orchestra just for fun). Another schoolmate, though, studied flute and woodwinds and she's been working at Disney World for at least 20 years now. (She'd be hard to miss--she's probably the only redhead in the flute section. ) Funny since we had a lot of talented musicians in our school bands, but very few continued in music. Not surprisingly though, we had an extremely talented rhythm section in jazz band, and all three of them are educators. (The twins, keys and guitar/bass, teach in Texas and North Carolina respectively, and the drummer teaches and plays locally for a major university.)That narrative plays out time and time again. Everyone I know who earned a music degree and works in "the biz" is a bottom feeder doing stuff that's not their musical passion; while all my other friends who are either more successful or followed their musical heart did not earn a music degree.
Reiner is definitely one of my favorites. Bernard Haitink is another, and he's had a few sets of his own out there (a 7-CD, a 10-CD and a "symphonies" set).You are correct in that there were also sets specific to conductors and performers -- for years I eyed the Fritz Reiner set (just to have as Reiner is my all-time favourite conductor) but between the first two volumes (he's not on the third -- he's not a "crumb") you're only missing a small number of his LPs.
I wouldn't say they were deliberately bright (like a couple of the Rhino box sets I have, or those Ultra Lounge CDs from Capitol that had smiley-face EQ curves to them), but I'm thinking that's what came right off the masters, and RCA's original mastering engineers in the 60s toned them down. Dance Mania Vol. 2 (which was originally under a different title, and never released in the US originally) has that "dark/dulled " later 60s sound from RCA that I don't care for. The Tito set I mentioned might even be from the original 3-track master. The Clooney/Prado was cut right from the masters as well, and it's amazing how good those old tapes sound after decades.Yes. Bright-sounding CDs were the selling point back in the '80s -- because that's what made them "superior" to LPs (in addition to no noise floor, et al...). Puente had Doc as a ringer in his trumpet section on some of those dates, and, man, talk about bright (and I run through a tube amp with EL84s)!
The HS band I was in was quite awful. I never kept up with any of those folks, I heard one guy went to Berklee, but dropped out during his first year. A good friend of mine exhibited both technical and artistic talent, which the director was unable to recognize -- he became a very good songwriter and arranger, but had no financial success. College was different. I played with a handful of folks who went on to sustain their livelihood as music performers for a spell in their 20s...I can only think of one fellow who seem to make a financial living -- purely based on performance and devoid of teaching -- beyond age 30. Most of the musicians I met were following college. Again, I can think of perhaps three or four who could sustain a humble lifestyle solely via music performance abetted by modest record sales. Not one of these folks have a music degree and none of them have children...I recently read about how Robert Schuman's mother was worried that his talent would "betray" into a lifetime of financial struggle -- and that was two hundred years ago (round about 1820).since we had a lot of talented musicians in our school bands, but very few continued in music. Not surprisingly though, we had an extremely talented rhythm section in jazz band, and all three of them are educators
I recall there were eventually 3 Mercury sets -- which addressed their entire classical output (I only have the first set) -- as you know, Haitnik is all over the Mercury label....Bernard Haitink is another... It's great that the record companies have given us "vault dumps"...
That about nails it!smiley-face EQ curves to them
I was looking through my Joe Sample and Crusaders catalog to see what I was missing, and got off on a tangent.
From the Crusaders' Free as the Wind, a favorite Joe Sample track--"It Happens Everyday":
Lee Ritenour did it on one of his early albums, Rio:
And our CTi pal Hubert Laws does a really nice version on Say It With Silence:
I ended up playing the rest of the Hubert Laws album while I was at it. It's not "pure" jazz by any means, but a good album to unwind to as it features horns and strings.