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Posted: |
Aug 19, 2012 - 5:52 PM
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By: |
lexedo
(Member)
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I would add Howard Hanson's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 36. Very Gershwinesque. It's available on CD as Mercury 434 370-2. Another more obscure CD that has this sort of music is, of all things, a 101 Strings recording called Piano Concertos and Rhapsodies. A couple pieces, Manhattan Rhapsody and Rhapsody d'Amour, especially fit your requirements. Unfortunately, the disc does not list who the composers are. I'll check on the Hanson for sure. Thanks. I have Manhattan Rhapsody on a Paul Whiteman collection. Those two titles Manderley posted are probably pretty fun - you can get the digi-versions from the links I posted. Scott Bradley pt. 2: I listened to the FSM 2CD a few times today. So I turned on CN, and caught "Lover Boy" where Tom does the Louis Jourdan "Is You Is...," and that's classic. I also saw "Smart Cat," and it opens with the Gershwin clarinet glissando - very nice. FSM CD2 track 13 should be in the list I posted above.
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Posted: |
Oct 15, 2012 - 4:31 PM
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By: |
lexedo
(Member)
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Re: DavidInBerkeley // Alex North's Four Girls in Town I mentioned in a prior post within this thread that I had begun to convert Alex North's Four Girls in Town from the old Varese LP to digital format. The conversion came out pretty nicely. Side B of the Varese record had the North music, and my Side B was defintely not in perfect condition. But it's the music that's important, right? Anyway, I would say my conversion of Side A (Skinner) was a strong "A-" fidelity-wise, and Side B a "B-" -- I tried my best folks. :-| So, here is my abbreviated review of the North music: Wow!!! A completely amazing recording for sure, with Andre Previn on piano - and he plays extremely well too. In listening, it becomes immediately obvious that this music could only have been written by Alex North; the music has no boundaries, in a sense, given the period. It has honky-tonkin' piano and trumpet lines that recall Streetcar. It has Gershwin references. It has counterpoint that jazzers aren't usually capable of technically dealing with properly. It is really a very incredible piece of music, which was developed as a rhapsody based on the music from the film; it is supposed to be a very lively interpretation, and it is. And defintely very much in the spirit of NYC. But it is Alex North's NYC, and his love for America (as unique as that may have been) and her music, shines throughout. In other words, if it has NOLA or Gershwin influences, it is only bc Alex was brilliant enough to draw upon his own experiences and knowledge to exploit musically. Only Alex North, with his love, understanding, and appreciation of America, Jazz, and New York City could have created such music. The Skinner music is very excellent also, but you can catch a current analysis of this in the thread for the new DCM release of Written on the Wind / Man of a Thousand Faces. The Written on the Wind theme is big in a golden age way, and Gershenson's and Co.'s take of Temptation is smokin-hot. PS: Thanks DiB! That finale to the 3rd movement is really really something. Awesome.
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PS: Thanks DiB! That finale to the 3rd movement is really really something. Awesome. Don'cha love them pounding xylophones? And you're welcome. I'm glad my now-middle-aged memory counts for something, sometimes!
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For the record, "New York, New York" was written by Lionel Newman and Ken Darby, not Alfred, who of course conducted the 20th Century Fox Orchestra, not the MGM Orchestra, which was occasionally conducted on screen by John Green, which may account for that confusion. (Deep exhale.) Lots of wonderful information on this thread. FWIW, I'm reminded of a nifty LP Tony Thomas produced on Citadel which has never been put on CD, something like movie themes for saxophone -- full of noir stuff like CHINATOWN, FAREWELL MY LOVELY (okay those are both L.A., not NYC), etc. There are similar albums that ARE on CD, but their names and personnel escape me at the moment, sorry.
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Posted: |
Oct 16, 2012 - 10:27 PM
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By: |
lexedo
(Member)
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For the record, "New York, New York" was written by Lionel Newman and Ken Darby, not Alfred, who of course conducted the 20th Century Fox Orchestra, not the MGM Orchestra, which was occasionally conducted on screen by John Green, which may account for that confusion. (Deep exhale.) Lots of wonderful information on this thread. FWIW, I'm reminded of a nifty LP Tony Thomas produced on Citadel which has never been put on CD, something like movie themes for saxophone -- full of noir stuff like CHINATOWN, FAREWELL MY LOVELY (okay those are both L.A., not NYC), etc. There are similar albums that ARE on CD, but their names and personnel escape me at the moment, sorry. Sorry if I messed up the NY NY info. I'll have to review the liner notes again. This thread has really been a learning experience (for me at least). I need to check that Stage Struck one too; thanks for that tip bc I really dig on Alex North. I know Chinatown and Farewell very well. LA is an entity unto itself, and I would likely need to consider that seperately. (And in that respect, you get the smokey CT / Farewell sound from the 40s/50s, and the peppy 70s Tom Scott sound -- both excellent.) But, it would be impossible not to recognize the significance of the use of Manhattan Serenade for Tom Hagen's landing at LAX in the Godafther. It's the only thing I can hear when I see the palm trees on descent.
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This is more about the movie than the music, but STAGE STRUCK's location shots have been cited, and I'm reminded of Henry Fonda reminiscing about the production. Shooting of a scene in Central Park was interrupted by snowfall, and they were going to pack up and call it a day until Fonda suggested they do what Jack Ford would have done, and so they shot the scene as is, bad weather and all.
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Posted: |
Oct 21, 2012 - 4:44 PM
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By: |
lexedo
(Member)
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Been sick w a fever, congestion & a sore throat since Friday, so I've been watching alot of TCM. Anyway, I watched Onionhead (1958) w Andy Griffith & Walter Matthau this afternoon. The credits said David Buttolph adapted the music, and it was conducted by Ray Heindorf. I suppose Mr. B. got an adaptation credit bc there are a few old navy songs used. The movie is about a guy that goes into the Coast Guard, and becomes a cook. There are some nice NYC flavored cues used, too. One Is used when an attractive lady walks by AG, and we hear the typical bluesy-jazz vamp, much the way golden-age cartoons would use it to indicate the presence of a hottie. The other spots w NYC flavor include bar scenes from Boston whereby the music heard is actually source, and very tasty Buttolph-swing at that. Basically, anywhere w source, Buttolph does the period-specific magic. After that was over, I saw the trailer for Without Love (1945), w Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, & that music seemed to have the "NY Sound." This makes senses to me bc it was written by the same person that did Philadelphia Story.
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Posted: |
Nov 8, 2012 - 9:05 PM
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By: |
lexedo
(Member)
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Just another update on some of the recordings discussed since I finally have power again. (Yay.) I listened to the Stanley Black Broadway Magic CD, which is a Polygram / Rebound Records 1994 reissue of 2 previously available 1966 Decca Phase-4 Stereo LPs (viz., Broadway Spectacular SP44071, Broadway Blockbusters SP44088). Great, bright sound, and their takes of Slaughter on 10th Ave & Lawd I'm On My Way are very excellent. If you are into the late golden age / early silver age Broadway sound, you will like this CD alot, and the fidelity is great. If you have this disc, I made a nice PDF of the old LP covers, and some other iPod graphics, so if you want them, drop me a note w the same FSM id on aol. The other CD was a needle-drop reissue of Morton Gould's Manhattan Moods 1950. This was previously issued as a 10" Columbia MasterWorks (ML2144) title. The CD also contains Gordon Jenkins' View From The Manhattan Tower 1956, previously issued as Capitol LP T766. Manhattan Moods was the record that Manderley mentioned, and it is cool. This is more like what Paul Whiteman's band would do, but from a 1950s perspective. Manhattan Serenade has a more lively Gershwin-like arrangement, as opposed to the more west-coast laid-back Tommy Dorsey take some are familiar with. Nocturne is very good. Street Scene and Park Ave Fantasy are done well, and kind of reminded me that, in a way, they were like big-band standards back then, which is cool bc they were both from films. Manhattan Moods has some fidelity issues w pretty heavy "ticks" lasting about 10 seconds twice during Street Scene, and about 15 seconds once during Manhattan Moonlight. Definitely very audible, but no worries. The Gordon Jenkins' View From The Manhattan Tower is a fun recording; it's like a mini On The Town. There was one very catchy number, New York's My Home. There were two short fade-outs in the GJ portion of the CD, maybe t11 & t16, but not a problem at all. Definitely a good CD to have for my little project. Manderley suggested records representing Gershwin-inspired musical perspectives of NYC that maintain unique identity through their respective band-leaders. Nice. Now, I'm trying to track down the other Manderley LP by Louis Alter, a decent recording of the Steiner piece from Four Wives, and a DVD of Delicious 1931. I'll get back to ya...
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