Joe Derise's Two Bethlehem LPs - and Bonuses

My friend David Federman suggested that I feature singer-pianist-arranger Joe Derise. That's a nice idea - so I've prepared posts both for this blog and my singles blog covering Derise's 1949-57 recordings.

Derise (1926-2002) was a Tommy Dorsey vocalist for a brief time following World War II, and joined Claude Thornhill's band in 1948 as guitarist, vocalist and arranger. He was a member of Thornhill's vocal group the Snowflakes, recording with them in 1949-50. Those 10 recordings, which include two Derise solos, are compiled on my other blog. Following this sojourn, he formed a group called Four Jacks and a Jill, the Jill being his then-wife Pat Easton. They made a few records for small labels, mainly supporting little-known (and not very good) soloists.

On this site, we'll concentrate on his solo Bethlehem recordings from 1955 and 1956, as transferred from my two vintage LPs, with a few bonuses thrown in, including an LP that Derise did with the vocal group the 4 Most.

Joe Derise Sings

Derise's first album was a 10-incher for the briefly important Bethlehem label, with eight standards from the Gershwins, Richard Rodgers (including the inevitable "Mountain Greenery") and Jerome Kern. The only songs outside their canons are the Brown-Tobias-Stept "Comes Love," which has been recorded by almost everyone since its 1939 introduction, and "How High the Moon." The latter comes from a 1940 show where it was introduced by Alfred Drake, of all people. Its jazz popularity may stem from the 1948 version by June Christy with Stan Kenton.

Derise is in fine voice on this LP, and is well supported by the stellar bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Osie Johnson. Joe is an expressive singer, with a pleasing vocal quality but not a huge range. One of the reviews in the download mentions that he sounds tense, which does seem to be the case intermittently.

Derise was not a virtuoso pianist on the evidence of this LP. His playing is mainly confined to backing chords. No doubt this set reflects his cabaret act, but probably would have benefitted from more varied instrumental support - which was provided on his follow-up LP.

The LP's sound is more than adequate, and could be a facsimile of what it was like to hear him live. The Burt Goldblatt cover may have been an attempt to portray him in such a setting. If so, it was a very dim 

club.

Joe Derise - With the Australian Jazz Quintet

We move to a different sound world in Derise's second LP. The backing is by the Australian Jazz Quintet, whose members play such instruments as the bassoon and vibes, providing variety to the proceedings. Joe himself sounds more confident.

It was on this LP that Derise first showed his interest in the music of Jimmy Van Heusen. He would devote four albums to Van Heusen's songs in the 1980s. The set here leads off with the cheerfully sexist "Personality," which the composer wrote with Johnny Burke in 1946. Two other Burke-Van Heusen items are included: "Swinging on a Star," also written for a Bing Crosby film, and the gorgeous "Humpty Dumpty Heart." The latter comes from a 1941 Kay Kyser movie, Playmates, where it was sung by Ginny Simms and Harry Babbitt.

The Australian Jazz Quintet

The balance of the LP is taken up with standards such as "'S Wonderful," "Soon" and "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive" along with several lesser heard songs. I am grateful for the attention given to "The Charm of You," a terrific Cahn-Styne song introduced by Sinatra in Anchors Aweigh and the great Martin-Blane song "Love." More obscure but still welcome is Derise's own "Once I Believed." Also in that category are a song supposedly co-written by DJ Al "Jazzbo" Collins called "Once in a Dream," and the lovely Fagas-McGrath composition "It's Spring in Old New York," a rare one from 1948.

As with the previous LP, the sound is good and the cover is peculiar. On this one, poor Joe seems to be disappearing into a swirl such as you might see in the smallest room in your house.

Cash Box ad, June 1956

Bethlehem Bonus Items

Derise recorded one other song for Bethlehem - "Here Comes the Honey Man" from the label's odd complete recording of Porgy and Bess, with Mel Tormé and Frances Faye in the titles roles (!). Joe's contribution is well worth hearing - I've included it at the end of the second LP.

There also exist five alternate takes from the first LP that were added to a reissue about 30 years ago. There's a separate link to those songs in the comments. They are unilluminating but include one breakdown and some studio chatter.

The 4 Most Sing the Arrangements of Joe Derise

Following his stay at Bethlehem, Derise worked with a vocal group called the 4 Most, which recorded an LP for the fine albeit short-lived Dawn label, in 1956 or 1957.

Joe wrote the arrangements for this album, presumably both vocal and instrumental charts. Derise could be an adventurous arranger - even with Claude Thornhill, his charts for the Snowflakes at times were voiced differently from other vocal groups.

With the 4 Most, he achieved the end of sounding like a more dissonant Four Freshmen. The results are interesting, but the group's members are not skillful enough to pull it off successfully. One problem is that almost everything is sung forte, which makes the harmonies grate.

A saving grace is the presence of many well known instrumentalists. Per the cover, they include Al Cohn, Gene Quill, Hank Jones, Mat Mathews, Dick Sherman, Oscar Pettiford, Joe Puma, Charlie Smith and Mundell Lowe.