A New Band on the Blog: Ralph Marterie

Ralph Marterie

Ralph Marterie, one of the most popular bandleaders of the 1950s, hadn't been featured here until today. A shame, because he had a disciplined band that made terrific records, even though the jazz content was nearly nil.

As the title above proclaims, Marterie's focus was on dancing. He led one of the most prominent bands on campus during the 50s, along with Les Elgart, Ralph Flanagan, Ray Anthony, Les Brown and a few others. 

This post includes:

• The 10-inch LP Dancing on the Down Beat from 1953

• The four songs added to that LP to compose the 1956 12-inch LP On Bandstand No. 1

• One additional song from the EP Dancers' Delight, which otherwise repeats three numbers from the LPs just mentioned

So 13 selections in total, some of which were originally issued as singles; "Pretend" and  "Caravan" were even hits.

About Marterie: unlike most of his bandleader peers, Ralph (1914-78) had little experience with the prewar bands. He was a trumpeter in the NBC Chicago studio band, then led a Navy band during the war. Thereafter, he returned to Chicago but moved to the ABC band, where he became the leader. The local Mercury label soon offered him a contract, and his career took off.

Dancing on the Down Beat (10-inch LP)

We start off with Ralph's album Dancing on the Down Beat, its title signifying a seal of approval by the music magazine of that name. The cover makes the claim that Marterie was number one on campus. Not sure about that - I haven't turned up a specific campus poll - but his popularity was growing.

The Marterie band at the University of Montana

As mentioned, Ralph had a hit with "Pretend," the song by Dan Belloc, Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman and Frank Levere. But Nat King Cole's vocal rendition was even bigger - it reached number 3 on the Billboard chart.

The flip side of Marterie's "Pretend" was "After Midnight," which Ralph wrote with a person named Schreier. This was probably Mercury's David Carroll, whose birth name was Rodell Schreier. "After Midnight" is notable as a boogie number with a guitar lead that gives it almost a proto-rockabilly feel. Marterie's band was proficient both with big-beat selections and ballads.

Otherwise, the 10-inch album includes :

• "Everything I Have Is Yours," the Burton Lane-Harold Adamson tune from the 1933 pic Dancing Lady 

• "Hall of the Mountain King," a not-bad version of the selection from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt

• "Through for the Night," a piece by trombonist Trummy Young

• "Downbeat" by bandleader-critic Leonard Feather and a person named Webman

• "Dark Eyes," a version of the Russian song "Очи чёрные [Ochi chyornye]' by the poet Yevhen Hrebinka with a melody borrowed from a piano piece by Florian Hermann; the song was popularized by Feodor Chaliapin

• "La Rosita" by Gus Haenschen and Lester O'Keefe, dating from 1923

On Bandstand No. 1 (12-inch LP)

Mercury issued Marterie's On Bandstand No. 1 in 1956, adding four songs to the eight previously included in Dancing on the Down Beat.

The title and cover again play on the trumpeter's popularity with the campus crowd. (In the photo, the band must be on a break or something.)

The four additional selections are:

• "Darling Je Vous Aime Beaucoup," another Nat Cole hit. The Anna Sosenko song has just appeared on my other blog in a Jack Haskell vocal rendition.

• "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)," which was a 1955 US hit in Pérez Prado's version of the Louiguy song. (This song was recently posted here in a recording by a much different trumpeter - Chet Baker.)

• "Baritone Boogie," whose baritone sax lead gives the music a strong R&B feel. Marterie was a co-author of the piece.

• "Ciribiri Mambo," an adaptation of the 1898 Alberto Pestalozza song "Ciribiribin" that gained fame as Harry James' theme song. Here, Marterie and Gage Brewer have transformed it quite well into the newly popular mambo.

Dancer's Delight EP

The specter of a ghostly Ralph appears to be haunting the dance floor on the cover of this circa 1953 EP.

The record adds one number to three that are also found in the two LPs above.

The new item - a version of trombonist Juan Tizol's "Caravan" of Ellington fame - was an early 1953 single that did well for Marterie.

LINK

Tony Martin - The Night Was Made for Love

I don't know whether that's a lover or a vampire on the cover, but the music is romantic, so I have to assume the former.

We do know that the singer is Tony Martin, who was popular from the 1930s through at least the 1950s and made many records. He has appeared here several times before, and is always welcome.

Tony Martin

We also know that these songs come from 1947-50, although the cover of this 1956 LP does not hint that they are not new recordings. The cover also tells us that Henri René is in charge of the orchestra, but that is true for only five of the songs. An equal number were conducted by Earle Hagen, and one by Woolf Phillips.

The title song, "Night and Day," "Deep Night," and "Goodnight Sweetheart" come from a 1948 album of 78s, whose cover is below. The rest are taken from singles.

A giant head appears in the night sky ...

Let me add that seven of the songs on the 12-inch LP also appeared on a 1953 10-inch album with a different cover and title, the better to bamboozle the record buyer. That cover is below.

The 10-inch LP cover

On to the songs on the 12-inch version ...

"The Night Was Made for Love" is a Kern-Harbach song from the 1931 show The Cat and the Fiddle. Even though it leads off the collection, it is not Martin's best performance. He is in generally excellent voice otherwise.

Tony had a hit with "Valencia" in 1950. It's a song with a curious history. Written in 1924 by Jose Padilla for a zarzuela, it became the title of a 1926 silent film and then a big success for Paul Whiteman and vocalist Franklyn Baur that same year.

"Marta (Rambling Rose of the Wildwood)" is another resurrection, this one from 1931, as recorded then by Manolo Castro and His Havana Yacht Club Orchestra. The music is by Moisés Simons; L. Wolfe Gilbert provided the English lyrics.

Tony had appeared in the Marx Brothers' 1941 film The Big Store, where he was allotted one of his signature songs - the "Tenement Symphony," which he introduced with Chico and Harpo. He did not record the number then, but that oversight was remedied in 1947 in a version recorded in London and first issued on HMV.

I must admit I love this piece, although (and perhaps because) it was very much of its time. Hal Borne wrote the music, Ray Golden and Sid Kuller the lyrics. (Sample: "The songs of the ghetto inspired the allegretto!")

HMV EP

"There's No Tomorrow" is based on "O sole mio." That song had music by Eduardo di Capua, but here the piece is attributed to Al Hoffman, Leo Corday and Leon Carr. Their version was done for Martin's film Two Tickets to Broadway. Tony's commercial recording was a hit in 1949. Another version of the tune - "It's Now or Never" - was a huge Elvis success in 1960.

The French song "Comme ci, comme ça" was recorded by several American artists in 1948. Bruno Coquatrix and Pierre Dudan had written it as "Clopin clopant."

"La Vie en rose" was of course the signature song for Édith Piaf, who made it popular in 1946. She wrote the lyrics, Louiguy the music. A version with English lyrics hit the American charts in 1950. Martin's recording was perhaps the most popular.

Tony also did well with another French song, "Domino," the following year. Louis Ferrari wrote the music, the French lyrics were by Jacques Plante, and the English version was by Don Raye. "Domino" was introduced by André Claveau.

"Deep Night" was a hit for Rudy Vallée in 1929. He wrote the words, Charles Henderson the music. Tommy Dorsey and Jack Leonard had a popular version in 1940.

Comma? No comma? 

"Goodnight, Sweetheart" was perhaps the biggest hit for bandleader-songwriter-actor Ray Noble, whose first version had a vocal by the great Al Bowlly. (Neither Ray nor Al are credited as performers on the HMV label above.) Ray later remade the song for Columbia with a lesser light, Snooky Lanson. Tony Martin's version was its competition in 1948.

So, should it be "Goodnight" or "Good Night" in the title? The labels of Noble's first and second versions use the compound word, but his publisher split 'em up on the sheet music.

OK, how about the comma between "Goodnight" and "Sweetheart"? The punctuation appeared on Noble's first record, but not the second. The sheet music eschews it. (Gesundheit.) To me, the comma belongs, but I am sure others would leave it out.

LINK

Neville Dilkes Conducts English Music, Vol. 2

Neville Dilkes' first LP of English music was popular around these parts, so here is the second volume. It was released in early 1972, so it was probably recorded in 1971 - possibly at the same sessions that produced the earlier album.

For this set, the conductor again chose 20th century composers, all of whom were inspired by early music or folk song. George Butterworth returns, joined by Walter Leigh, Peter Warlock, John Ireland and E.J. Moeran.

Neville Dilkes

As with the previous record, the critics were pleased. Here is Edward Greenfield in The Gramophone: "An enchanting collection, every item of which I warmly commend to lovers of English music ... If anything the playing on this second disc from the English Sinfonia is even better than on the first with warm, firm string tone. The recording is vivid and involving in the same way as before, though not surprisingly the harpsichord is balanced very far forward in the Concertino ..."

Walter Leigh

The LP begins with perhaps the least familiar music of all the pieces recorded - the Harpsichord Concertino by Walter Leigh, a highly skilled composer killed in the Second World War at age 36. The work is an utter delight, blending neo-classicism with a pastoral influence in the gorgeous Andante. Pace Mr. Greenfield, but I do not think Dilkes' fluent harpsichord playing is too loud, nor do I agree that the Andante is taken too slowly.

The Holy Boy, a carol, is perhaps the best known work by John Ireland (1879-1962). Originally for piano, it exists in 16 different arrangements by the composer and others Here it is found in the 1941 version for string orchestra.

George Butterworth

Butterworth is represented by his two English Idylls. As Greenfield wrote, they "are less elaborate than the more famous tone poems which Dilkes included on his earlier disc of English music but they reflect a completely uninhibited approach to folk-song, a simple joy in morning - fresh melodies played as often as not on the orchestra's nearest relation to a pastoral reed-pipe, the oboe."

Peter Warlock

From another short-lived composer, Peter Warlock (Philip Heseltine), who lived from 1894-1930, we have his sparkling Capriol Suite of dances, inspired by Renaissance music. This captivating music is perhaps his most popular work, although his best is probably the haunting song cycle The Curlew on Yeats poems. It has appeared here in the recording by Alexander Young and instrumentalists, which is newly remastered. Constant Lambert's recording of the Capriol Suite can be found here.

John Ireland and E.J. Moeran

E.J. Moeran (1894-1950) was a friend of both John Ireland and Peter Warlock. On this LP, we have his Two Pieces for Small Orchestra. The first, Lonely Waters, elaborates on a Norfolk folk song. Its companion, Whythorne's Shadow, takes inspiration from a work by the Elizabethan composer Thomas Whythorne. In both cases, the source works are transformed greatly by Moeran's artistry.

This is another well-recorded and absorbing release from the English Sinfonia and Dilkes. Next in this series is their recording of Moeran's Symphony in G minor.

LINK

Stan Getz Plays Bacharach and David

The songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David were hugely popular in the 1960s, so much so that even leading jazz artists like Stan Getz wanted on the bandwagon.

In his case, the result was this 1967 LP. Accompanying the tenor saxophonist on most tracks was a large ensemble led by Richard Evans.

This post is a follow-up to the 1966 crossover LP by trumpeter Chet Baker, which recently appeared here.

Stan Getz

Getz (1927-1991) was one of the best known and most popular jazz artists of the day. He came up through the big bands, first reaching the limelight in Woody Herman's Second Herd in the late 1940s. He soon embarked on a solo career.

In the 1960s, the tenor became interested in crossover material. His superb bossa nova LP Getz/Gilberto, with João and Astrud Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim, was one of the catalysts for that genre's huge popularity in 1964 and thereafter.

In 1966, Getz recorded Voices, a pop-oriented LP with arrangements for jazz ensemble and choir by Claus Ogerman. Getz recorded his solos separately from the backing tracks, which supposedly had been recorded for a projected LP by guitarist Wes Montgomery, who had left for another label in the interim.

One of the songs from that session was Bacharach/David's "The Look of Love." It had been written for the James Bond parody film Casino Royale, which came out in April 1967 and featured Dusty Springfield's hit vocal of the song.

"The Look of Love" did not make it onto the Voices album, but it was inserted into the What the World Needs Now LP, which is otherwise scored by Evans.

Richard Evans

Richard Evans (1932-2014) was a Chicago-based arranger/producer who worked primarily for Cadet Records, where he backed such artists as Ramsey Lewis and Dorothy Ashby. His own ensemble was the Soulful Strings, which performed his arrangements of pop tunes on LPs that were released beginning in 1966.

The songs chosen for the Getz LP are very well-known for the most part. One of the few exceptions is "Any Old Time of Day," which appeared on Dionne Warwick's LP Anyone Who Had a Heart and was also the B-side of her huge hit "Walk on By." Another lesser-known song is "In Times Like These," first released in late 1959 by Gene McDaniels.

The critical reaction to Getz's Bacharach interpretations, as you might expect, has been at best lukewarm. They like Getz's playing but pan Evans' arrangements as being too syrupy. (Jazz critics tend to recoil when exposed to pop music.) 

To me, Getz sounds distanced from the project, which is at least in part a side-effect of how it was recorded. He seems to skate along on top of the music. Getz's tenor was far too loud as recorded, which I have adjusted in this mix, which hopefully helps integrate him more into the band.

My own view is that, when taken on its own merits, this is a lovely record, with good sound.

LINK

Fritz Lehmann - A Pops Program and More Overtures

Longtime friend of the blog Jean Thorel, himself a conductor, asked for a transfer of this particular recording of Beethoven's Coriolan overture, which I am happy to provide as the final work of this program of pops favorites and overtures as conducted by Fritz Lehmann.

As noted in a previous post devoted to Lehmann, he was a talented conductor who died young in 1956, during a very productive period making recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon company. Today's selections were transferred from contemporary issues on the American Decca label, as detailed below. The sound is quite good.

Music by Bellini, Rossini, Meyerbeer and Verdi

Lehmann made most of his recordings with the Bamberg Symphony, such as these pops items derived from 19th century operas. He switched to the Berlin Philharmonic for the heavier material, such as the Coriolan overture later in the program.

These 1952-53 performances include the following, all highly pleasing and seldom performed on symphonic programs these days:

• Bellini - the Overture to Norma

• Meyerbeer - the Coronation March from Le prophète

• Rossini - the Act III ballet music from Guillaume Tell

• Verdi - the Ballabile from Act III of Otello

Dvořák - Serenade for Strings

Dvořák's Serenade for Strings in E major, Op. 22, is utterly delightful music that is quite light and thus does not often appear on today's concert programs with their ponderous diets of Bruckner, Mahler and contemporary music. But it makes for pleasant listening on a program such as this.

The recording is from 1955.

Auber - Fra Diavolo Overture

Daniel Auber's charming music is represented by the overture from his 1830 opéra comique Fra Diavolo. This 1951 performance comes from the Munich Philharmonic (also known as the Bayerisches Staatsorchester München).

One English critic complained (without naming him directly) that Sir Thomas Beecham would have made more of this music, an assertion that is impossible to disprove. I can tell you that this is a fine performance.

Gluck - Overture to Alceste

The overture to Christoph Willibald Gluck's 1767 opera Alceste was a popular item back in the days of 78s, being recorded by everyone from Malcolm Sargent to Wilhelm Furtwängler. It's an extraordinary work, here done well by Lehmann and the Berlin Philharmonic.

This is the only composition on the program not written in the 19th century. The recording is from 1952.

Beethoven - Coriolan Overture

Beethoven's overture was written for Collin's 1804 tragedy of that name. It was first performed, however, on a symphonic program, along with premieres of the composer's fourth symphony and fourth piano concerto.

This extraordinarily powerful music is tautly performed by Lehmann and the Berlin orchestra in this 1952 recording.

LINK to all the above performances

Fritz Lehmann

The Early Sylvia Syms, Vol. 2

It's a pleasure to present what may be the most elusive Sylvia Syms LP - After Dark, on the very short-lived Version label.

In my first installment of this series, I speculated that this album came from 1952. But now, after further investigation, it seems to be from 1955. That's because Bart Howard's "In Other Words" (better known by its later title of "Fly Me to the Moon") wasn't written until 1954, and it concludes the LP.

Sylvia Syms

As with the 10-inch version of her first album, Syms is here accompanied by a trio - Gene DiNovi on piano, Russ Saunders on bass, and Herb Wasserman on drums. The latter was also in Barbara Carroll's trio on Songs by Sylvia Syms. This is another one of those "after hours" records - made after the clubs closed, leaving the musicians in peace. Annotator Rogers Whitaker of the New Yorker does not specify where it was made, but implies it was in someone's apartment, without benefit of an engineer present.

Perhaps so. Regardless, the sound is good - sufficient to convey Syms' voice with great fidelity and DiNovi's accompaniment clearly. The rhythm is muted.

This set shows off Syms' jazz singing to good effect. She plays with the rhythm and the melody, always for expressive ends. This is another 10-inch LP, so it has only eight songs.

Gene DiNovi

Sylvia starts off with "Let There Be Love," a song that was having a moment in the mid-50s, even though it was composed in 1940. Syms treats it with affection. It's the only hit by Lionel Rand and Ian Grant. (Bobby Short's version can be found here.)

"When Your Lover Has Gone" is another superb number by a songwriter mainly known for one work - composer-arranger E.A. Swan. One wonders how such a superb song didn't lead to more.

Our next songwriting team had no problem producing hit after hit. "The Gentleman Is a Dope" is by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, from one of their few shows that wasn't an enormous success - Allegro. (You can find the version by Lisa Kirk, who introduced the song on Broadway, here.)

Gordon Jenkins had a penchant for sad songs, and "Goodbye" is one of the saddest. Benny Goodman was the first to record it - in 1935, when Jenkins was only 25. It became BG's closing theme.

"It's De-Lovely," from Cole Porter's 1936 show Red, Hot and Blue, could not be more of a contrast. Syms is in high spirits on this one.

The most obscure song on the LP - at least in retrospect - is "There's a Man in My Life," one of the last songs that Fats Waller wrote before his death in 1943 at age 39. It comes from the show Early to Bed, and was written with George Marion.

"You Do Something to Me" is a chance for Syms to shine, which she does in this Cole Porter standard from 1929's Fifty Million Frenchmen.

When this LP was issued, the least-known song was the only new one - "In Other Words," which Bart Howard had written not long before. The first recording was by Kaye Ballard in 1954, with Syms and Chris Connor following the next year. The song really took off after being renamed, although it was recorded under its original title as late as 1962. Frank Sinatra's powerhouse rendition with the Count Basie band in 1964 sealed its popularity.

Sylvia's version - complete with the excellent verse - could not be more different from Frank's - intimate, affectionate and just right. As is the whole LP, for that matter.

LINK

Neville Dilkes Conducts English Music, Vol. 1

The conductor Neville Dilkes, who died recently aged 94, did not make many records, but the ones he did fashion are widely admired both for their performances and their sound.

This is his first record, dating from 1971, where he led his own group the English Sinfonia in 20th century music by George Butterworth, Hamilton Harty, Frank Bridge and Arnold Bax.

Neville Dilkes

Dilkes formed the English Sinfonia as the Midlands Sinfonia in 1961, eventually locating it in Nottingham, although the ensemble played throughout the Midlands. The Sinfonia is still is existence, although it now performs in Chesham, near London. The Sinfonia's website does not mention Dilkes or his passing, as far as I can tell.

The Gramophone's critic Edward Greenfield was pleased by the LP: "The performances are immensely enjoyable, bound as they are by the obvious warmth and enthusiasm of the players, and presented with rich and immediate sound." He does, however, complain about the string tone, which is, as he mentions, is not always ideally sweet and precise.

Hamilton Harty

The first side of the LP contains lighter music, starting with composer-conductor Hamilton Harty's seldom-recorded John Field Suite of 1939, a tribute to the Irish composer who lived from 1782-1837. The work begins with an bouncy polka, moderating to a lovely nocturne and waltz, followed by a lively rondo.

Arnold Bax

The first side is completed by what might be Arnold Bax's cheeriest work, the Dance in the Sunlight, one of his Four Orchestral Pieces of 1912-13.

George Butterworth

The second side begins with the two best known works by George Butterworth, who died in the First World War - the orchestral rhapsody A Shropshire Lad of 1911 and the idyll The Banks of Green Willow of 1913. The latter in particular is now well-known. Both of Butterworth's pieces make skillful use of folk song, with A Shropshire Lad also being inspired by A.E. Housman's poetry.

Greenfield's view: "Neville Dilkes's interpretations are urgent, even thrustful, and though no doubt some Butterworth devotees will prefer something more contemplative, I must say that this approach quickly had me sympathising."

Frank Bridge

Frank Bridge has the indignity of being best known as Benjamin Britten's teacher, but he was a composer of atmospheric, evocative works such as There is a Willow grows aslant a Brook, prompted by Queen Gertrude's description in Hamlet of the death of Ophelia. This work contests with The Banks of Green Willow for the finest music on the LP. It is haunting.

"Bridge's There is a Willow grows aslant a Brook is the subtlest and most difficult of the pieces here," wrote Greenfield, "and it receives the finest performance, a formidable challenge well taken."

As usual with these posts, the download includes the review quoted above; also, an article on Dilkes from the same magazine and year. A second post will include Dilkes conducting more music by Butterworth along with compositions by Walter Leigh, Peter Warlock, John Ireland and E.J. Moeran.

LINK