Variety (December 1950)

42 ORCnESTRAS-MVSIC ^siiEfr WedneBda]', December 6, 1950 V A- STAN KENTON ORCH (19) With Jay Johnson . Rustic Cabin, Englewood Cliffs, ■ N, J, Stan Kenton, who gave up his jazz conceiH orch a couple of months ago to form a dance band, is still purveying the kind of music, with 'which he’s been associated for the past decade. In short, he has not compromised with the com- monplace even while gearing;, his crew to dish up tempos that are not only iistehable but danceable as well; ■, The only difference ' between Kenton's new band and his former 37-man organization is the absence of tlie big string section. This has resulted in a loss of versatility and balance but the dislinctiveness Of style has been fully retained; This is a band that doesn’t look back- wards, its sounds being as modern and as eleGtrifying as the new atomic era. Kenton is still playing his. con- cert repertory of special nufnbers, such as “Intermission Riff” . and “Viva Prado ” in the terpery spots. The customers' can't two-step to; this type of inusie, unless they go ■ in for jazz choredgraphy, but Ken-] ton throws in enough standards, with terpable rythms -to hold his ■ francli ise as a dance band.' !. But this is a crew that has ho; imitators, not to speak of equals,! in the dance band bu.sine.ss. Ken- j ton s crew, despite its reduction, j plays with a color, contrast and J range that makes it . the freshest ' sounding outfit - in .the bu.siness.' Whether on pop numbers or on ; his private material, Kenton's crew i creates a special kind of excite-1 ment for hepster and square alike, i Kenton, however, still remains a' controversial, figure, and it un-j doubtedly remains true that some j customers won’t like the typef of excitement in his music. But Ken- ton’s growing stature as a maestro lies preciseli’ in the fa.st that he apparently won’t descend to the lowest common denominator. His mu.sic, like a modern longhair work, is often difficult to grasp, but vvhen it is understood, the im- pact is possibly, far deeper than achieved by any other dance band no^v in the field, Kenton’s outfit comprises a su- perlative group of sidemen, many of wliom are holdovers from his concert crew. Standout is May- nard Ferguson, lead in the five- man trumpet section, whose riffs in the horn’s upper register are of an extraordinary technique. Also, | Shelly Manne on drums, Milt Bem- hart on trombone, Art Pepper on sax and Shorty Rogers on trumpet, latter also creating many of the band’s arrangements. Rest of the aggregaton, comprising five on trumpet, trombone and sax with foui; on rhythm, play with remark- able precision despite the intricacy of Kenton’s orchestrations. Jay Johnson, vocalist with the crew since the departure of June Christy, promises to be another standout Kenton discovery. Equip- ped with a fine baritone, Johnson handles ballads such as “You’re Bla.se” and “September” with fine shadings. Like Miss Christy, John- son has developed a vocal style that blends with the Kenton in- strumental framework, although hot as esoteric. Herm. other years. However, what the band lacks in actual talent it makes4 up for with freshness and charm. Theirs is an overremphasis at times bn trick arrangemehts and the injection of too much off-the-1 cob comedy, which may be neces- sary for the stage shows but dis- tracts from general musibiaiiship. Overall approach and sliowman- ship are solid at all times. Guita- ist Jean Marco has a good pop voice and blends neatly with the husky piping of Giriette Garcin, who has been with the orch for three years as soloist. Helian, a former sax player, mixes in with the choral groups, does the intros with ease and wields the baton ex- pertly. Band is presently doing a week in Quebec City and, follow- ing a layoff for a few days, returns to Paris. Newt. TOMMY REED ORCH (1^) With Eddie Allyn Aragon Ballroom, Chi It’s a feather in the cap of orchester Tommy Reed to bow at this highly demanding spot with but. a two-month old aggregation. Part of the bows, however, must go to Dick Jurgens, who in a sense fathered him. He was formerly a Jurgens sideman* who left with a rich supply of orchestrations; and what new arrangements he has arb Best British Sheet Sellers (Weed ending Nov. 25) London, Nov. 28. Rudolph Reindeer.. Chappell Goodnight Irene . .... . Leeds Mona Lisa........Ne\v World Have 1 Told You.. . Leeds Sam's Song ....... . Sterling Silver Dollar..,... .Pic Music ; Autumn Leaves...... Maurice Xmas in KUlarney ... Connelly Ashes of Roses . . . .. Coniieliy . Only Saw Him Once... .Unit Blackbird . . . .^ Box & Cox Orange Colored Sky. /. Morris Second 12 Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. , Disney Tzena Tzena Tzena.. ... Leeds If 1 Loved Vou,... Williamsort Bewitched . . . Sterling I Taw a Puddy Gat .,. Connelly Daddy’s Little Girl . . ^ Vale Christmas Wish ...... . . Reine Be Faithful,..... .Pickwick Dream Is Wish... .. Disney Marshmallow World. . Kassner English Garden......... .Sun Sentin.ental Me . Cinephonic .By HERM SCHOENFELD. Board of directors of tI-3 Music Publishers Protective Assn, was re- elected at the annual MPPA gen- all flavored after the early Jurgens - era! membership meeting last M^eek band. " in New York. Board meriibers in- It’s strictly a commercially styled elude Lester Santly, MPPA prexy, unit, with a sharpness and lush ■ and Jack Bregman. Saul Bourne, bit punchy for droopy dancers. The! Louis Bernstein, Max Dreyfus, Ed- bit punchy for droopy dances. The 'win H. Morris, Ahe Olman,- Jack five-sax, four-brass, three-rhythm I Mills and Bei;iiard Goodwin. Walter setup commands plenty of bounce i Douglci’s continues as MPPA chair* and is a natural for the livelier set. Maestro himself fronts with t^nor and alto, using the; former only on man. Santly’s report to the members disclosed that sales of sheet music ^e slower. tunes. Good portion of j racks has not increased in pro- Reeds output IS the sugary old ► JACQUES HELIAN Orch (16) With Ginette Garcin. Les Hclianes St. Denis theatre, Montreal Since recent refurbishing, this 2,500^seat theatre has been cHck- ing with a policy of bringing in big-hiime French acts to bolster pic offerings. Biggest; draw to date has been the Jacques Helian orch, .with a hefty rep preceding their entry into Montreal through their many recordings. Band formula is a combination of the Fred Waring choral tech- nique, the fancy arrangements of the old Glenn Miller orch plus the drive nnd flash of the Woody Her- man band. Five saxes, fcatufing Georges Claud; five trumpets, led by Woody Herman alumnus Ernie Royal; three trombones, bass, pi- ano and guitar make up the outfit, wulh a femme trio sharpening choral numbers and Ginette Gar^ cin^doing the sihgle chirp shots. riiit present outfit right after the war, and over the ^ Europe via radio, one-nighters, coneeils and here in th’ench Canada through s'Si “ '™S' ‘^olos. show a def- ^niertcan influence, and oc- casional bop chords and jive ses- wolldiandled. have B lamiliar ring of otlier ’bands in faves, which, command plenty of requests. Balance of the book is arranged to include current pops in the slow two-beat idiom, some of the more solid standards, and a few rhunibas. Latins, though in for only a light going-over, are par- ticularly good but not for the most authentic rhumbaddicts. Group appears understaffed in the vocal department, and a bit shy of novelty appeal for the strictly ballrpom spots. Reed has whipped up some gleeclub work for change of pace, but it’s still shy of ■ demands. Vocal work is handled by Eddie Allyn in okay fashion. And Reed, with some lively fronting antics, is an added selling factor. But a femme piper would be most in order. Mel. i portion to- thev.general sales^ pickup since July, In order to improve the situation, Douglas huddled with the International Circulation Co., which handles distribution to the racks, on the problem of dressing up the racks and putting them in better store locations. Prez report also covered the flock of copyright infringement suits brought by pubs this year and efforts, of the industry-wide public relations committee, which was set up during the summer to promote sheet music sales. Santly also disclosed that MPPA and Lo- cal 802, American Federation of Musicians, had reached a tentative agreement on a union pact cover- ing arrangers, copyists and piano demonstrators, Abbey Signs Mengo, Wilcox Abbey Records, N. Y., has added Vocalist Tony Mengo and the Eddie Wilcox orch to its talent roster. Mengo is former winner of an Arthur Godfrey talent contest. Garber’s Daughter to Wed ^ Kitty Thomas has exited as song- stress with Jan Garber’s orch to get married. She’s got Garber’s blessing, though; she’s his daughter. No replacement set yet. Vic Damone: “My Heart Cries for You”-“Music By the Angels” (Mercury). A sock coupling with Damone delivering in hit style on both decks. “Cries for You” is sold via a neat, lilting rendition that captures the simple folk spirit of this excellent number. Equally standout tune on the reverse switches to a powerful dramatic atmosphere for a big payoff. George Sirabo’s instrumental back- ground is particularly effective bn “Angels ” Doris Day: “You Love Me”-“Ten Thousand Four Hundred Thirty- Two Sheep” (Columbia), Two tunes in contrasting moods from the Warner Bros, pic, “The West Point Story.” “Love Me” is a fine ballad that Miss Day vocals in su- perlative manner. This side will climb. Flipover is a rhythm item with a couple of cute ideas but it doesn't stand up. Frank Corn- stock orch and vocal quartet ac- comp. Bill Snyder Orch:7“The Night Is Young”-“Me and My Shadow” (London). Snyder, who launched the revival of “Bewitched” earlier this year, uses the same excellent keyboard technique on “Night Is Young,” a great standard that’s be- ginning to step out anew. This side rates plenty of jock and juke spins. Standard on the flip gets a similar tasteful treatment by the piano-strings C o m b.o in Snyder’s orch. . Benny Fields: “For Me and My Gal”-“Lullaby ' Of B r o a d w a y” (M-CJ-M). T w 0 standards by the veteran minstrel man, Benny Fields, who sells a song with a feel and flourish that’s part of a great show business era. Fields’ pipes register strongly on these sides and those stylistic similarities to the late A1 Jolson increase the nostal-' gic impact. Fields-is'Spcoially ef- fective on “Broadway” with fine support from the Jud Conlon Singers arid LcRoy Holmes* orch. Tony Martin: “Tell Me Tonight”- “The Sea of the Moon” (Victor). “Tonight,” a semi-classical stand- ard, gets one of Martin’s round- toned, near-operatic treatments with a heavy coating of romance. This side, however, is slightly overdone for best results. “Moon,” from the Metro pic, “Pagan Love Song,” is in a more commercial groove with Martin selling with his usual adeptness. I|enri Rene orch backs up. Les Baxter: “Somewhere, Some- how, Someday”-“Tambarina” (Capi- tol). With this richly textured version of “Somewhere,” Les Bax- ter can ta.ke his place among the handful of top arrangers in the business. This is a brilliantly ex- ecuted side with orch and chorus used on this ballad for maximum effect. It stands up under repeated spins. Reverse is handled with verve and color. Bill Farrell: “My Heart Cries for P^KIETY 1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 . 9. 10 . on Week of Dec. 2 • • « • TENNESSEE WALTZ (2) THE THING (2) (Hollis) .. .. ALL MY LOVE (13) (Mills) . . HARBOR LIGHTS (7) (Chappell) NEVERTHELESS (5) (Chappell) CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN (14) (Valando) ORANGE COLORED SKY (6) (Frank) . I’LL NEVER BE FREE (10) (Valando) THINKING OF YOU (2) (Remick) .. I’LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (3) (Famous) • • ••••• 0 ^ 4 Patti £age. .. ........ Mercu'.y Phil Harris^ Victor Patti Page. .Mercury Sammy Kaye Columbia \ Ralph Flanagan Victor i Mills Bros. ... .Dceca Ames Bros. . ....... Coral Ring Cole-Stan Kenton. Capitol Kay Starr Tenn. Ernie . .Capitol Don Cherry . Eddie Fisher.. Dean Martv^ . Second Group . Decca . Victor Capitol THIRSTY FOR YOUR KISSES (Mutual) TO THINK YOU’VE CHOSEN ME (Valando). OH BABE (Alamo) • • f 0 Y t 4 d j Ames Bros. .. / Mills Bros . Eddy Howard [Ames Bros. .. I Louis Prima . . Coral ■ Decca . Mercury .... : Coral . Robin Hood • • • .4 • • GOODNIGHT IRENE (17) (Spencer) ( Gordon Jenhins Weavers . . Decca MONA LISA (20) (Paramount) . LA VIE EN ROSE (13) (Harms) . A BUSHEL AND A PECK (Morris) PATRICIA (BVC) :... . DREAIVI A LITTLE DREAM (Words & Music) MUSIC MAESTRO PLEASE (0) (Bourne) Columbia . Capitol . Decca . Victor OUR LAD¥ OF FATIMA (Robbins) ... PETITE WALTZ (Duchess) BONAPARTE'S RETREAT (10) (Acuff-R) MY HEART CRIES FOR YOU (Massey) MARSHMALLOW WORLD (Shapiro-B) . iFrctnk Sinairi. I King Cnie Trio I Victor Ypuny Tony Murtiii. . ( Mag Whiting^Jim Wakely Capitol ......,.,.. I Betty Hutton Perry Como .. Victor Perry Comd ... :Vicfor Frankie Laint -'..,. *... . Mercury Frankie Laine ........ .Mercury Tony Martin.., ...Victor \ Kitty Rallen-R. Hayes M.ercury .( Red Foley ...... Decca Guy Lorn batde , .. Decca Kay Starr ....... Capitol Guy Mitchell-M. Miller Columbia Vaughn Monroe .Victor • * • • • • • • 9 • • •A • • 9 9 V • • • « • • {Figures in parenthescs tndteate number oi weeks song has been in the Top 10.J ♦ tttttf f tTttt» 11 M t» fils MM ♦ M ♦ r You”-“You Love Me” (M-G-M). This version of “Cries for You” is a mistake. It’s a case of a fine tune and a good singer being mis- matched. Farrell does much bet- ter on “Love Me,” delivering with a good beat, Russ Case orch ac- comps. Connie Haines-Martha Tilton: “Nobody’s Chasing Me”-“That's a Man, Everytime” (Coral). Femme duo sling up a cute cut of the Cole Porter show tune and it might .catch up with the flock of other versions on the market. Flip- over is in a similar mood but the number lacks musical substance^ Gebrge (Cates batons. Anne Shelton: “Some of These Days”-“After You’ve Gone” (Lon- don). A surprise platter with Brit- ish ballad stylist Anne Shelton giving out oh a couple of blues numbers in lowdown style. Song- stress shows real command Of the jazz idiom and delivers both stand- ards with plenty of kicks. Excellent instrumental background by a fine group of jazzmen. Nature Boy Orch: “End of De- sire”-“California” (Mercury). Two weird numbers by eden abhez, com- poser of “Nature. Boy.” It’s difficult to tell, however, whether the weirduess is inherent in the num- bers Or a result of the strange, strangulated vocals by Bobby Please. This disk may be fantastic enough to catch on. Good orch background with the enigmatic bill- ing adding to the general mystery. Les Brown Orch: “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” (Columbia). This is an excellent instrumental cut of the Rodgers & Hart number. In this two-sided version. Brown dis- plays unusual orchestral color and variation to carry this mood piece for the full six-minutes. Jocks can spin it for a good change-of-pace. Tom Glazer: “Little Bitty Baby”- “The Twelve Days of Christmas’^ (Young People’s Records). Al- though originally slanted as a holi- day juve item, “Baby” has enough strength to rate in the pop market. Tune is a fine old religious tune which folk balladeer Glazer ren- ders effectively against a good choral background. Flipover is in a similar vein and rates spins also. Album Revie’Wf Esther Williams- Howard Keel: “Pagan Love Song” (M-G-M). From the soundtrack of the Metro pic, “Pagan Love Song,” M-G-M Records has packaged a fair film score album. Five out of the six numbers in this set were cleffed by Harry Warren and Arthur Freed, latter having collaborated on the old standard title tune with Nacio Herb Brown. Howard Keel’s strong baritone registers far more effectively in this set than Esther Williams’ thin pipes. None of the new tunes, moreover, can compare with the familiar title song. Other numbers included in this set are “Tahiti” (most striking), “Sea of ^e Moon,” “House of Singing Bamboo,” “Singing in the Sun” and “Why Is Love So Crazy.” Adolph Deutsch batons the studio orch. Platter Pointers Eileen Wilson neatly vocals “Till I Met You” and “Every Day,” with composer M redith Willson baton- ing (Decca) . . . Vic Damone has a cute side ' iff- “Ptfssibilitiea” * (Mercury) Grade Fields’ style at work on ‘When -You- Return.” Okay for fans but not the U. S. market (London) . . . Herb Jeffries, vocalling in front of his own orch, has etched a flock of standards.for Mercury incl ding “Basin Street Blues,” “These Foolish Things Re- mind Me of You” and “The One Rose” . . . Victor. Young has waxed a couple of his original instrumen- tals from the. score of the Para- - mount pic, “Samson and Delilah” (Decca) . . . Frank Sinatra has a couple of moderately good sides ill “Remember Me in Your Dreams’ and “Let It Snow” (Co- lumbia) , , . Joe Vigna Trio and vocal group do nicely oh “You'll Go Wild” (Adam) . . . Tony Ben- nett on a blues and rhythm kick with “One Lie Leads to Another’^ and “Don’t Cry, Baby’’ (Columbia) . . . Teddy Tyle orch delivers nicely on “Keep Your Eyes on the Stars,” Jerry Grace vocalling (POloron) . . V Frankie Carle has a highly Ustenable instrumental in “Powder Blue” (Victor) . ., David Rose orch glistens on “An American ih Paris" and “Liza” for M-G-M . . . Henry Jerome orch has a cute ver- sion of “Auld Lang Syne” for London. Standout folk, western, blues, rhythm, polka, religious, etc.; Ozle Waters, “It Is No Secret” (Coral) . . . Joait Shaw, “If You’ve Got the Time, I’ve Got the Time” (M-G-M) . . . Gene Autry* “Rose- Colored Memories” (Columbia).