'Middlebrow' Music from Kermit Leslie

My great friend and fellow blogger Ernie has been busy posting "Christmas in July" shares over at his Ernie Not Bert site this month. These consist of individual songs with a seasonal bent that come from non-holiday LPs. One such tune, "The Little Toy Shop" caught my eye because it came from a 10-inch LP I had never seen - "Middlebrow" Music for the Hi-Fi Fan by the Kermit Leslie Orchestra.

As soon as I expressed interest, Ernie was kind enough to send me a transfer of the entire album, and - even better - agreed to letting me share it with you.

I'm so glad he did, because the record is one of the best light music records I've heard, consisting entirely of songs written by Leslie and his brother Walt presented in Kermit's imaginative arrangements.

It's unlikely that you have heard of Kermit Leslie, so some background may be in order. As many musicians of the era did, Leslie had big band experience. The earliest mention of him (at least as found by me) was as an alto saxophonist in Alvino Rey's big band in 1940, under his birth name of Kermit Levinsky. The 20-year-old was already a composer, having produced Rey's opening theme "Blue Rey."

The liner notes for the LP say he stayed with Rey until joining the Army in 1941, spending the war arranging and conducting for broadcasts and shows. Postwar, he embarked on formal musical studies, became a free-lance arranger, and joined the Tommy Dorsey staff in 1952.

Anne Phillips and Kermit Leslie

Apparently Leslie was often an uncredited "ghost" arranger, similar to other musicians who have appeared on this blog, such as George Siravo and Heinie Beau. In 1959 Leslie did the charts for a fine LP by singer Anne Phillips, who tells the story: "At the end of the song's first run-through, a beautiful thing happened. Every musician in the room put his instrument down and applauded—not for me but for Kermit. Some years later I learned that Kermit had been 'ghosting' for many arrangers for some time. I think this was his first session with his name on the work, and the musicians were overjoyed for him."

In the early 1960s, Time Records engaged Leslie for three LPs. I've also uncovered some credits for his arrangements for both Les and Larry Elgart albums, and for two of the once-ubiquitous Christmas records sponsored by Firestone Tires. He also did much commercial work, and arranged Marvin Hamlisch's score for Woody Allen's second film, 1969's Take the Money and Run. Leslie's brother Walt, who generally used the family name Levinsky, himself worked on several of Woody's films, in addition to becoming a well-known reed player in big bands and studio orchestras. Kermit died in 1973, Walt in 1999.

Once again thanks to Ernie for bringing this enjoyable record to our attention, and producing an excellent transfer for all to enjoy.