Tito Puente on Broadway

I recently reupped Perez Prado's first American LP, and enjoyed the experience of remastering that recording so much, I went looking for more mambo sounds for you.

I didn't have far to look because as it happens, Tito Puente is right next to Perez Prado on my shelves.

The young Puente at a recording session

The two are often linked as Cuban musicians, but in actuality only Prado hailed from Cuba (and even he achieved fame in Mexico). Puente was born in the New York and was of Puerto Rican descent. If you look online, you will see Puente hailed as the "Mambo King" and Prado as the "King of the Mambo."

Whatever their ancestry and whoever was king, they both made superb records, and this one is a particularly fine example. It starts out with the incredible "Ran-Kan-Kan" and goes from there, powered by Puente's hyperactive timbales, with hardly a low point (possibly excepting the mambo version of "Tuxedo Junction"). The passionate lead vocalist is apparently Vitin Avilés, although this is nowhere noted on the LP.

This 10-inch LP dates from 1953; however, a discussion of Puente's recordings here suggests these sides were made from 1949 to 1951. At that time, Puente worked mainly for Tico Records, but during a lull there he did these sides for RCA Victor's international division. RCA's American label signed him away from Tico in 1955.

The sound on these recordings is remarkably vivid.

Mitropoulos in Minnesota: Milhaud, Ravel and Rachmaninoff

More of Dimitri Mitropoulos' recordings with the Minneapolis Symphony today, all originally on 78, with these transfers coming from early LP incarnations.

First is their excellent rendition of Milhaud's Le Boeuf Sur La Toit, coupled with Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin on a 10-inch LP.

Mitropoulos in 1946

The Milhaud is particularly successful, with the ensemble capturing the absurdist goings-on with contagious enthusiasm, if rough tone. The Milhaud is from March 1945, with the Tombeau from December 1941.

We move to 12-inch LP for a January 1947 Rachmaninoff Second Symphony. Mitropoulos' biographer, William Trotter, says the conductor loved this work with a passion. If so, the emotion shows through in this convincing effort. By this time, Mitropoulos and the Minnesotans had moved to Victor, and this symphony is better recorded than most of Columbia's work in Minneapolis. As with all commercial issues of this symphony until the 1960s, this rendition is cut.

Reups, Requested and Otherwise

A number of reups for you today. Some result from your requests and some are dealer's choice.

Most of these have been remastered or are recent efforts, with very good sound. "The Party Leads Us On to Victory" is mp3 only. This is the second time I have reupped this Red Army Band effort - you just can't get enough of the swingin' sounds of the Cultural Revolution!

Here are the selections. As always, links are in the comments to this post. You can learn more about each via the original post.

Chris Connor - Sings Lullabys of Birdland (remastered) - The singer's wonderful first LP.

Larry Kert - Sings Leonard Bernstein - Superb vocals from the original Tony in West Side Story.

On the Twelfth Day (remastered) - Witty Christmas soundtrack from Doreen Carwithin.

The Party Leads Us on to Victory (mp3 only) - The Red Army Band plays for you.

Elgar - Dream of Gerontius (remastered) - Sir Malcolm Sargent's second recording, from 1955.

Martin and Blane - Sing Martin and Blane (remastered) - Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane sing their own compositions. Don't miss this one.

Schumann - Symphony No. 2 (remastered) - The 1947 recording by the Cleveland Orchestra and George Szell.

Top Pops of 1952 with Ralph Flanagan

I admittedly have a weakness for Ralph Flanagan's records that can't be explained in any rational manner. So please indulge me as I present yet another of his early LPs, this one exploring some of the top popular songs of its era.

Recorded in April 1952, Dance to the Top Pops is a typically smooth effort from Flanagan, largely if not entirely devoid of jazz content but completely easy to listen to. The arrangements are by Flanagan and Bob Friedlander, who worked for many of the big bands of the era.

For my taste, the standout cuts are "The Blacksmith Blues," which had been a hit for Ella Mae Morse with a Nelson Riddle-Billy May arrangement, and the Brazilian tune "Delicado," a success for Percy Faith, who favored Latin melodies. Bernie Leighton is the pianist.

RCA's sound is quite good, as usual.

Call Me Madam

One of Ethel Merman's most famous roles was Ambassador Sally Adams in the 1950 Broadway musical Call Me Madam, and the recordings from that production have been reissued many times. (There are two - one set with Merman on Decca and the RCA version with Dinah Shore, of all people, in Merman's place.)

However, the LP of the subsequent film version has been more neglected, so here is my transfer for those interested.

This is one of Irving Berlin's best scores (and by that I suppose I mean among the ones that I like the best), with a number of fine songs. The showstopper on Broadway was Merman's duet with Russell Nype on "You're Just in Love." Here Nype gives way to the terrific Donald O'Connor.

"You're Just in Love"

Also in the cast and usually in tune is George Sanders, who loved to sing and did so in several films in the 1950s. I made mild fun of Sanders' singing on an earlier occasion, only to be gently rebuked by his partisans. Here he does well in his solo, "Marrying for Love," but his entry in the duet "The Best Thing for You" is low comedy.

As often happens, Decca's pressings both for the 10-inch LP and the corresponding 45 set were grainy, but even so the sound is very good.

Hans Kindler Conducts Tchaikovsky; Reups

Hans Kindler is not remembered today, but he was a well regarded conductor in his day, the 1930s and 40s.

Kindler, originally a cellist, founded the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. in 1931, and led it until being replaced 17 years later. He passed away the following year.

The conductor and his ensemble recorded for RCA Victor in the 1940s, but only had the opportunity to inscribe two symphonies - the Brahms Third and this worthy attempt at Tchaikovsky's Third, or Polish Symphony. It comes from the orchestra's first RCA session, on November 8, 1940, according to a Kindler discography in the Autumn 1999 International Classical Record Collector.

For a relatively new ensemble, the Washingtonians acquit themselves well. The symphony is well paced and alertly played, and the recording is good. You can learn more about Kindler here.

This transfer is taken from an early 1950s reissue on RCA's budget Camden label. At that time, most or all of Camden's classical line was offered under pseudonyms; in this case the National Symphony became the "Globe Symphony."

I have previously offered three other symphonies from American orchestras in those recordings' Camden guise, and am reupping them today along with this newcomer. They are:

Tchaikovsky - Manfred (Indianapolis Symphony/Fabien Sevitzky)

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 1 (Indianapolis/Sevitzky)

Vaughan Williams - London Symphony (Cincinnati Symphony/Eugene Goossens)

I heartily recommend the two Tchaikovsky symphonies in particular - they are strongly characterized under Sevitzky's baton. All of these have been remastered and the sound is excellent. Links for these recordings are in the comments.

Reups by Request

A large number of reups this evening, all from requests. These have been remastered where noted. As usual, the items from several years ago exist only in mp3 form, and the sound may be short of splendid. The sonics of the remastered materials are generally excellent.

Links for all these reups can be found in the comments to this post. Check the original post for more information by using the appropriate keyword link at right.

Abbe Lane - Where There's a Man (the sultry singer in Living Stereo, no less)

Babes in Arms; Jumbo (an entry in the 1953 RCA "Show Time" series; remastered and repitched)

Band Wagon (another item from the RCA "Show Time" series; repitched and remastered)

Bob Manning - Capitol EPs and Singles (unavailable Capitol singles from the big-voiced baritone; remastered)

Bobby Troup! (the excruciatingly hip 10-inch Capitol LP; remastered)

Hansel and Gretel (Barbara Cook in this soundtrack from TV; mp3 only)

Kay - Western Symphony; Thomson - Filling Station (excellent ballet scores for Balanchine; mp3 only)

Lisa Kirk - RCA Victor Singles (the wonderful stage contralto - one of my favorites; repitched and remastered)

Rose Marie - Show Stoppers (in between being the child star Baby Rose Marie and a Dick Van Dyke sidekick, she was a cabaret singer)

Stubby Kaye - Music for Chubby Lovers (the beloved Broadway character sings for you; features what Will Friedwald calls one of the great album covers of all times)

Thomson - Louisiana Story; Five Portraits (the Philadelphia performances conducted by Ormandy and the composer, courtesy of Joe Serraglio; remastered)

Thomson - Three Pictures; Five Songs (more Philadelphia performances conducted by Ormandy and the composer, courtesy of Joe Serraglio; remastered)

Yeomen of the Guard (promo EP for a Barbara Cook-Alfred Drake TV performance; new transfer)

Elliot Lawrence Special

There was a very positive reaction to my previous Elliot Lawrence post, so today I'll double down by presenting two of his LPs.

My friend Mindy, a show music fanatic, asked me if I had "Jazz Goes Broadway" in response to the earlier Lawrence offering. I had to tell her that I didn't - but as sometimes happens, I came across a copy of the desired LP a few days later, and here it is as our first selection.

"Jazz Goes Broadway" is not, strictly speaking, a Lawrence LP, even though he conducted it, plays piano, arranged half the songs, and appears on the cover in a pose that suggests he is in charge of the proceedings. Vik did not list the LP as being "by" anyone on the spine, back cover or labels, although it is clearly Lawrence's effort in all but name. I can tell you that the other two fellows on the cover are Jimmy Cleveland playing the trombone, and Al Cohn on the baritone sax. (Al was legally required to be on every big band LP made in the 50s.) I cannot tell you why Al and Jimmy are serenading a fire hydrant.

The tunes were selected from shows that were then (this was 1957) on Broadway, or had been recently. A look at the posters behind the musicians shows the amazing quality of the productions at that time. Today, the least known is Happy Hunting, an Ethel Merman vehicle that ran for a year.

The record is all very enjoyable, as you might expect considering the quality of personnel involved.

The other LP is a 10-incher from several years earlier, showcasing Lawrence's working band that was striving for popularity on the nation's campuses, as denoted by this college-themed program with the title "Moonlight on the Campus." This ensemble was decidedly more of a dance band than the one Lawrence fronted on the Vik LP.

Rosalind Patton

Lawrence, who was 25 when these songs were taped in 1950-51, was already a veteran bandleader, having formed his first band in high school. The Elliot Broza Orchestra (his full name is Elliot Lawrence Broza) had Rosalind Patton (Roselyn Mae Piccurelli), heard here, as the vocalist. (The male vocalist of his high school band was Al Alberts, later of the Four Aces.)

I love this kind of mid-century dance band sound - just don't expect to hear jazz solos and you won't be disappointed.