More from Sauter-Finegan, Florence Henderson and Bruno Walter

More today from the Satuter-Finegan Orchestra, Florence Henderson and Bruno Walter (not together, I should add). These are quick follow-ups to some of the posts that have appeared here in recent months. I'd like to say you have been clamoring for them, but that wouldn't be true, so I'll just say that I hope some of you enjoy them!

A few words about each (you can tell I am tired of writing about these particular artists):

Sauter-Finegan Orchestra - Concert Jazz. This is the troupe's fourth LP (I have the third but can't find it), and it follows a familiar path, with some compositions by the individual maestros, some vocals, including an odd version of John Henry, and interesting arrangements. Great sound, a Jim Flora cover and a scan of the second cover, depicting Sauter and Finegan on stage. Recorded in 1954-55.

Florence Henderson - The Best from Fiorello! and The Sound of Music. My first post by the future Mrs. Brady was surprisingly well received by people who didn't know she sang, or who knew she sang but had never heard her do so. Like that initial LP, this album has potted versions of two Broadway hits of the time (1960) - Fiorello! and The Sound of Music. Henderson once again sounds like Mary Martin, which is especially appropriate in the latter score. The Sid Bass arrangements are loungy, which isn't to my taste in this repertoire.

Bruno Walter/Philadelphia Orchestra - Beethoven Symphony No. 6. Another installment from Walter's Beethoven cycle of the 1940s. Here he takes a break from the New Yorkers, and travels to Philadelphia and the Academy of Music for January 1946 sessions. This to my ear is a less successful performance and recording than the efforts with the PSONY, but enjoyable enough. Below, a Columbia ad from 1946 touting this new release among others. The transfer is from an early LP.

Florence Henderson

Florence Henderson is best known today for being the mother on The Brady Bunch, a well-remembered US television show of the early 70s. But as with many television stars then and later, she started in musical comedy and made her name on Broadway.

Young Florence

Henderson's debut was a small part in Harold Rome's Wish You Were Here, which opened in 1952. She was barely 18 at the time. By late 1954, she had graduated to the title role in another Rome musical - Fanny. I believe she stayed with the show throughout its two-year run.

She was not seen again on Broadway until starring in Noel Coward's The Girl Who Came to Supper in 1963. But she was very active on television, becoming almost inescapable on variety shows before being cast as Carol Brady.

This 1959 LP is one of two that Henderson made for RCA Victor's budget Camden label in which she sang the hit tunes from current shows. On this record, she essays Gypsy and Flower Drum Song. (The other covers Fiorello and The Sound of Music.) The results are pleasing, with the singer showing the decided influence of Mary Martin. This made her well suited for The Sound of Music, perhaps less so for a Merman specialty like "Some People." Still, she was a very skillful vocalist, handling difficult material like "Love, Look Away" very nicely.

The backing is by Sid Bass, an RCA staff arranger who had put out a number of LPs in what today is sometimes called the "space age bachelor pad" genre. Henderson is undeterred by the arrangements' period hokeyness, and the early stereo sound is remarkably vivid.

I'll be presenting a few more albums from the Broadway stars of the time in future weeks.