Prom 59: Hooray for Hollywood/John Wilson orchestra – review

by John L. Walters
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and Christmas TV,John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock. His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed through the tiny speakers of a telly.

Without the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love, sung beautifully by Clare Teal).

A tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between 1935 and 1969 – from Top Hat to Hello Dolly. The charmingMatthew Ford charmingly channelled both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Annalene Beechey did a pitch-perfect Julie Andrews (as Mary Poppins) on Jolly Holiday, in which Irwin Kostal's dense, relentlessly complex score tipped a hat to composer Carl Stalling (of Warner Bros cartoon fame).

A suite of Heindorf arrangements from the Judy Garland vehicle A Star Is Born let singer Caroline O'Connor shine on the sultry, subtle The Man That Got Away. Tenor Charles Castronovo interpreted two of the more classical tunes: Serenade (The Student Prince) and One Hand One Heart (West Side Story) with soprano Sarah Fox.

The Maida Vale Singers sang lustily on showstoppers such as Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat and Put On Your Sunday Clothes. But the stars of the evening were the (until now) unsung arrangers, whose work was reinvigorated by Wilson's scholarship – and the musicians, who performed the demanding scores with affection and exuberance.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/30/prom-59-hooray-for-hollywood

John Wilson Silhouettes Last Member Dies

The Rev. John Bootsie Wilson, a former lead singer and last surviving member of the soul group

The Silhouettes, has died. He was 69.

Wilson died Sept. 21 at his home in Spartanburg, S.C., after batting cancer and a kidney ailment, his wife, Pauline, said. The Philadelphia native joined The Silhouettes in 1961, after the original lead singer left the group, perhaps best known for the 1958 smash hit “Get a Job", which stayed at No. 1 for 13 consecutive weeks. It was among the first rhythm and blues songs to cross over and become No. 1 on the pop charts.

They called “Get a Job" the national anthem of doo-wop. It spearheaded a whole subgenre of doo-wop, where the bass singer was the star, said Elaine Lewis, the widow of original member Richard Lewis, who wrote the song.

“Its an end of an era. The Silhouettes were one of the greatest vocal groups of all time", said Horner, who interviewed Wilson in April. Even though Wilson wasn't on the initial recording of “Get a Job", he added, “he was a big part of Silhouettes history. It's sad to realize The Silhouettes are gone now."
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=43459