Johnny Otis and Etta James

There were two notable deaths in the R&B world in the past few days, so I wanted to pay my respects to the fine talents of Johnny Otis and Etta James.

In the case of Otis, I suspect that far more people have read of his passing that have heard any of his records. So I transferred several of his early singles, which (amazingly) I found in my almost completely uncatalogued 78 collection.

From a 1952 Jet Magazine issue

Otis was a combination bandleader and impresario. He had a keen eye for talent, and his vocalists included Little Esther (heard here), Linda Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton and in the mid-50s, Etta James.

Otis began recording with the Los Angeles labels that came to life in the post-war years. Here we have several items from his year (1951) with Newark's Savoy records, showing a variety of R&B styles of the era. "All Nite Long" has his own vocal, and both song and singing were inspired by Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry."

From Jet Magazine

Little Esther is heard on entirely conventional "Get Together Blues" and the Vocaleers on "Chittlin Switch," with a proto-rock & roll riff backing and an oddly retro Sam Nanton-style trombone solo. Otis also jumped on the nascent mambo craze with his "Mambo Boogie."

There are also a few sides from Otis' male singer, Mel Walker - the blues "New Love" on Savoy and "Baby Baby Blues" on Mercury, which the bandleader joined in 1952. The latter is another side with a classic rock & roll riff backing. The flip of "Baby Baby Blues" is another blues, "Call Operator 210." Here the gimmick is that Walker is calling his girlfriend.

None of these recordings is extraordinary, but they show the popular R&B styles of the day, and they are all vividly recorded, showing the fine results that late-era 78s could deliver.

Different from Johnny Otis' music, I suspect that most people will have heard Etta James - at least "At Last," her greatest hit, which achieved considerable popularity in recent years. "At Last" comes from 1960 and is transferred from my original (and somewhat worn) pressing on the American Argo label. It's a fine performance from a powerful singer, but I believe part of the success of the record is due to the superb, moody arrangement by the Chicago-based musician Riley Hampton.

"At Last" is one of the several R&B hits that originated with Glenn Miller recordings. (Others: "Blueberry Hill" and "In the Mood".) I thought you might want to compare and contrast the Miller version from the film "Orchestra Wives" with the James recording. This has vocals by Ray Eberle and the wonderful - and almost completely unknown - Pat Friday. If you haven't heard it, please listen below.

At Last (Glenn Miller)

Masses by Harrison and Killmayer

I have had very little time to prepare new items for the blog for a while, so I will be posting some transfers that I made a while back and didn't complete for one reason or another.

In this case, I didn't follow through because while I am very fond of one work on the LP, the other leaves me cold.

The record in question is part of a series on Epic Records presenting contemporary compositions sponsored by the Fromm Music Foundation. This "Twentieth Century Composers Series" included works by Elliott Carter, Luigi Dallapiccola, Lukas Foss, Leon Kirchner, Ernst Krenek and Ben Weber, as well as these Mass settings by Lou Harrison and Wilhelm Killmayer.

I just don't care for the stiff Missa Brevis by the German composer Killmayer, but I will comment on Harrison's beautiful Mass, which is usually called the "Mass to St. Anthony". This record memorializes the second of three versions of the Mass, which has more conventional orchestration than the percussion accompaniment of the version Harrison began in 1939, when he was in his early 20s. He restored the original orchestration, with some additions, in 2001, a few years before his death.

Margaret Hillis

The excellent performances are led by Margaret Hillis with her New York Concert Choir and Orchestra. Hillis, a Robert Shaw disciple, would soon move to Chicago to head the Chicago Symphony Chorus, where she became possibly the most well regarded choral trainer in the US, Shaw aside. I believe these recordings were made in 1955, probably in Columbia's 30th Street studio.

Orchestral conducting was Hillis' first love, but opportunities for women were then even more restricted than they are now. Nonetheless, she left many fine recordings, this among them.

By the way, Blogger's photo function has become dysfunctional, so many of the images on this blog are not appearing at all. I had to use a work-around to post the photos seen here.

Russell Garcia

Arranger Russell Garcia - very active on the West Coast in the 50s and 60s - died in November. I thought I might present a few of his unre-released LPs in tribute to his talents.

Most of Garcia's available work is backing singers and instrumentalists, including Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, but he also did instrumental records in a number of genres - jazz, easy listening and samba. This 1956 effort, a combination of instrumental and vocal items, is a tribute to songwriter and Hollywood music director Johnny Green. (Green is on the right in the cover photo.)

For the date, Garcia was joined by some of the most active West Coast musicians of the time, including trumpeter Don Fagerquist and pianist John T. Williams, who later became famous for his film scores.

The excellent vocalists include Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires, who worked with Bing Crosby and on Disney films, and studio singers Sue Allen and Eddie Robertson.

Green wrote many standards - including "Body and Soul," "Out of Nowhere," "East Come, Easy Go," "I Cover the Waterfront," "You're Mine You" and "I'm Yours." I enjoyed just as much the more unfamiliar items here, such as "The Trembling of a Leaf," "Hello My Lover Goodbye" and "With You With Me."

This record produced no hits, broke no new ground and is not exceptional for its time. However, it is distinguished by the skill it displays and the pleasure it will bring to the sympathetic listener. The sound is vivid, if not always well balanced.

To learn more about Russ Garcia, please read this fine remembrance by Marc Myers, which also links to an interview with the arranger from a few years ago.