Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
Singers looking for new material will be gratified to learn that composer-arranger Johnny Mandel [pictured above] recently finished the music to a new song called I Give Up (I'm in Love), with lyrics by Morgan Ames. A few weeks ago Johnny and Morgan ran down the song, with Johnny conducting his big band at the Catalina Jazz Club on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. If you want to contact Morgan about the song, you can reach her here: morganames@sbcglobal.net. Here's a video of the performance...
Maria Bartiromo. For this weekend's Review section of 
The Wall Street Journal (go here or please pick up the paper), I spoke with CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo [pictured] about her favorite song—the movie theme from The Sound of Music (1965). A bit of punk-rock trivia: Joey Ramone of the Ramones wrote a tribute song in the 1990s called Maria Bartiromo after the band broke up...
The Wall Street Journal (go here or please pick up the paper), I spoke with CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo [pictured] about her favorite song—the movie theme from The Sound of Music (1965). A bit of punk-rock trivia: Joey Ramone of the Ramones wrote a tribute song in the 1990s called Maria Bartiromo after the band broke up...
Sandwich send-up. Following my post on my favorite 10 sandwiches in three cities, reader Alan Warner sent along this photo, with the subject line reading "sub-versive humor"...
Louis loves Mini. Remember my post on Hymie Schertzer's All the King's Saxes? It turns out a few 
musicians recorded for the Disneyland label, including Louis Armstrong. Reader Mark Schlesinger notes you can listen to the entire Louis Armstrong: Disney Songs the Satchmo Way here.
Free Art Pepper. Laurie Pepper, the late saxophonist's widow, has made another track available for free (or a kindly donation, if you're so inclined). You'll find Valse Triste from July 1980 here.musicians recorded for the Disneyland label, including Louis Armstrong. Reader Mark Schlesinger notes you can listen to the entire Louis Armstrong: Disney Songs the Satchmo Way here.
Miles Davis radio. In the fall of 1967, the Miles Davis Quintet (with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams) toured Europe as part of the Newport Jazz Festival. Several of the concerts were recorded, but for years they were unavailable except on bootlegs. A couple of years ago they finally were released legitimately by Sony. On Sunday, saxophonist Bill Kirchner will feature the recordings on his "Jazz from the Archives" radio show. Listen live on Sunday at 11 p.m. (EDT) from anywhere in the world on your computer by going here.
Les McCann. Jim Eigo of Jazz Promo Services sent along concert footage featuring soul-jazz pianist Les McCann in 1992...
CD discoveries of the week. Chick Corea recorded his latest CD The Vigil (Concord) with a new hand-picked band. When I spoke to Chick last week, he said he was 
excited about the strength of the young musicians and satisfied with the output of the group as a whole. Chick is absolutely right. The album is a restless and punchy electronic fusion work that updates the genre with elan. Most important, Chick engages in wild musical sword fights on a range of keyboards with guitarist Charles Altura and Marcus Gilmore. Sample Galaxy 32 Star 4, Portals to Forever and Royalty. For too long Chick's fusion has been waved off by acoustic-crats as spacey or rooted in the '70s. Hogwash. This album has enormous acoustic and electronic beauty and powerful energy.
excited about the strength of the young musicians and satisfied with the output of the group as a whole. Chick is absolutely right. The album is a restless and punchy electronic fusion work that updates the genre with elan. Most important, Chick engages in wild musical sword fights on a range of keyboards with guitarist Charles Altura and Marcus Gilmore. Sample Galaxy 32 Star 4, Portals to Forever and Royalty. For too long Chick's fusion has been waved off by acoustic-crats as spacey or rooted in the '70s. Hogwash. This album has enormous acoustic and electronic beauty and powerful energy.
Arturo O'Farrill's new album—Final Night at Birdland (Zoho)—documents the last performance of the Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra. Recorded in July 2011, the band was formed by Arturo 10 years earlier to 
celebrate the music of his father, composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill. This album is a locomotive train of excitement and rhythmic force, showcasing the orchestral genius of his father and the musicians chosen for the band. There are two Chico O'Farrill suites here—Three Afro Cuban Moods and the Tanga Suite as well as three other tracks, the last of which was composed and arranged by Arturo. Sample any of them. This is one big album.
celebrate the music of his father, composer-arranger Chico O'Farrill. This album is a locomotive train of excitement and rhythmic force, showcasing the orchestral genius of his father and the musicians chosen for the band. There are two Chico O'Farrill suites here—Three Afro Cuban Moods and the Tanga Suite as well as three other tracks, the last of which was composed and arranged by Arturo. Sample any of them. This is one big album.
Pop-soul reissue roundup. Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis were the heart and soul of the Fifth Dimension in the late 
'60s and early '70. In the late '70s they recorded a series of albums as a duo. Among their best was Marilyn & Billy (1978), which included Shine on Silver Moon, a little-known disco hit, and Saving All My Love for You, which Whitney Houston covered in 1985. This reissue (Real Gone) includes the 12-inch single of Silver Moon... The Box Tops 
had a big blue-eyed soul hit in 1967 with The Letter. But there were others by the group that were nearly as good. A solid selection is on The Very Best of the Box Tops (Sony). The group was a product of Chips Moman's American Recording Studio in Memphis and the results were fabulous... Before the Beatles showed up in '64, Dion DiMucci had it made. He was a first-name hit-maker and a 
teen heartthrob. He recorded for the Laurie label and had big hits with songs like Runaround Sue and The Wanderer, songs with an urban swagger that influenced other bands. Dion: The Complete Laurie Singles (Real Gone) wrap them all up on two CDs—including Abraham, Martin and John from 1968... Gary Lewis and the Playboys: The Complete Liberty Singles (Real Gone), a two-CD set, is a gas. This pop-rock vocal group led by Jerry Lewis's son Gary 
had a bunch of virtues. For one, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew played behind them on their singles. For another, the songs were written by Liberty's stable of sterling studio writers—Leon Russell, Glen Hardin, Al Kooper and others. This Diamond Ring, Count Me In, Doin' the Flake, Sure Gonna Miss Her, She's Just My Style and my favorite, Everybody Loves a Clown. The sound of Hollywood's studio machine in the '60s leveraging the Beach Boys while responding to the British Invasion.
'60s and early '70. In the late '70s they recorded a series of albums as a duo. Among their best was Marilyn & Billy (1978), which included Shine on Silver Moon, a little-known disco hit, and Saving All My Love for You, which Whitney Houston covered in 1985. This reissue (Real Gone) includes the 12-inch single of Silver Moon... The Box Tops had a big blue-eyed soul hit in 1967 with The Letter. But there were others by the group that were nearly as good. A solid selection is on The Very Best of the Box Tops (Sony). The group was a product of Chips Moman's American Recording Studio in Memphis and the results were fabulous... Before the Beatles showed up in '64, Dion DiMucci had it made. He was a first-name hit-maker and a teen heartthrob. He recorded for the Laurie label and had big hits with songs like Runaround Sue and The Wanderer, songs with an urban swagger that influenced other bands. Dion: The Complete Laurie Singles (Real Gone) wrap them all up on two CDs—including Abraham, Martin and John from 1968... Gary Lewis and the Playboys: The Complete Liberty Singles (Real Gone), a two-CD set, is a gas. This pop-rock vocal group led by Jerry Lewis's son Gary had a bunch of virtues. For one, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew played behind them on their singles. For another, the songs were written by Liberty's stable of sterling studio writers—Leon Russell, Glen Hardin, Al Kooper and others. This Diamond Ring, Count Me In, Doin' the Flake, Sure Gonna Miss Her, She's Just My Style and my favorite, Everybody Loves a Clown. The sound of Hollywood's studio machine in the '60s leveraging the Beach Boys while responding to the British Invasion.
Oddball album cover of the week.
Before Sugar Frosted Flakes and the Pontiac GTO used a tiger in their ads, a Dot art director used a big cat on the cover of this Babe Russin album. Or, rather, the stuffed version. I guess the tiger here is oversized to make our model look about 12. Based on the song choices, this one was surely one of those slow-song dates where the bassist had trouble staying awake. To be fair to Babe, he had a soft Coleman Hawkins sound and played in bands led by Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller (that's his solo on Miller's String of Pearls). But in 1957, when this Easy Listening album was recorded, the Babe was backed by strings. All that was missing from the cover was the word "beast." (A special thanks to David Perrine for sending this one along.)
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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