Mary Osborne

Guitarist Mary Osborne made relatively few records, but the quantity of her output bears no relationship to the quality of her musicianship.

This is the only LP she recorded under her own name, for the short-lived, but very interesting Warwick label, in 1959.

1955 ad

Osborne was a terrific guitarist, originally inspired, as many were, by Charlie Christian, although she developed a forthright style of her own, well displayed here.

She started out in big bands, then moved to small groups, making a number of 78s in the 40s with such artists as Beryl Booker and Coleman Hawkins. She also led at least one date herself.

On this occasion she is joined by a stellar ensemble that includes Tommy Flanagan (p), Danny Barker (rhythm-g), Tommy Potter (b), and Jo Jones (d).

Excellent sound on this one. Thanks to my pal flyingfinger for the cover image above - the scan in the download is of my worn original copy.

Note (July 2024): This has now been remastered in ambient stereo. Also, the song "I Found a New Baby" was slightly truncated in the earlier edition. Linked below are the complete LP and the fixed "I Found a New Baby" separately.

LINK to complete LP

LINK to fixed "I Found a New Baby"

Vittorio Giannini's IBM Symphony

Sorry about the lack of posts lately - it's been a combination of work, preparing to move and sheer lethargy. Fortunately I have friends who have come to the rescue with interesting items to present.

This 78 set comes to us courtesy of my great pal Ernie (of the Ernie Not Bert blog). Ernie collects all kinds of music, although he only presents Christmas music on his own site. The set presents what must be one of the few symphonies ever written in honor of a capitalist organization - there are far more communist hymns of praise to collective farms and the like. It is an "IBM Symphony," commissioned by that company from the talented if hopelessly unfashionable neo-Romantic composer Vittorio Giannini in 1937.

The occasion was the opening of the IBM Building in New York. The composer conducted the Columbia Broadcasting System's orchestra, and this set is a memento. It opens with a spoken introduction that oddly starts in the middle of a thought - apparently it is an excerpt of an address at the opening ceremony, or such is my supposition.

The symphony, which is fairly brief, makes use of an IBM song called "Ever Onward," and as notes for the symphony suggest, this is intended to identify "the spirit of IBM with the world movement for international understanding" - or "World Peace Through World Trade," as it says on the record label.

Hailing IBM in 1939: Vittorio Giannini, critic Olin Downes,
Eugene Ormandy, Thomas Watson

Giannini was a favorite composer at IBM. He next appears in 1939 with a song called "Hail to the IBM" (not clear why "the" is needed here), which was presented at IBM Day at the New York World's Fair, grandly presented by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.

The download includes excerpts from both "Ever Onward" and "Hail to the IBM," both from the IBM website archive. The excerpt of the latter hymn ends before it gets to this embarrassing panegyric about IBM founder Thomas Watson:

Our voices swell in admiration;
Of T. J. Watson proudly sing;
He'll ever be our inspiration,
To him our voices loudly ring;
The I.B.M. will sing the praises,
Of him who brought us world acclaim,
As the volume of our chorus raises,
Hail to his honored name.

You can learn more about Giannini here. Thanks again to Ernie for this fine transfer of a fascinating footnote to both musical and business history.

Johnny Otis and Etta James

There were two notable deaths in the R&B world in the past few days, so I wanted to pay my respects to the fine talents of Johnny Otis and Etta James.

In the case of Otis, I suspect that far more people have read of his passing that have heard any of his records. So I transferred several of his early singles, which (amazingly) I found in my almost completely uncatalogued 78 collection.

From a 1952 Jet Magazine issue

Otis was a combination bandleader and impresario. He had a keen eye for talent, and his vocalists included Little Esther (heard here), Linda Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton and in the mid-50s, Etta James.

Otis began recording with the Los Angeles labels that came to life in the post-war years. Here we have several items from his year (1951) with Newark's Savoy records, showing a variety of R&B styles of the era. "All Nite Long" has his own vocal, and both song and singing were inspired by Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry."

From Jet Magazine

Little Esther is heard on entirely conventional "Get Together Blues" and the Vocaleers on "Chittlin Switch," with a proto-rock & roll riff backing and an oddly retro Sam Nanton-style trombone solo. Otis also jumped on the nascent mambo craze with his "Mambo Boogie."

There are also a few sides from Otis' male singer, Mel Walker - the blues "New Love" on Savoy and "Baby Baby Blues" on Mercury, which the bandleader joined in 1952. The latter is another side with a classic rock & roll riff backing. The flip of "Baby Baby Blues" is another blues, "Call Operator 210." Here the gimmick is that Walker is calling his girlfriend.

None of these recordings is extraordinary, but they show the popular R&B styles of the day, and they are all vividly recorded, showing the fine results that late-era 78s could deliver.

Different from Johnny Otis' music, I suspect that most people will have heard Etta James - at least "At Last," her greatest hit, which achieved considerable popularity in recent years. "At Last" comes from 1960 and is transferred from my original (and somewhat worn) pressing on the American Argo label. It's a fine performance from a powerful singer, but I believe part of the success of the record is due to the superb, moody arrangement by the Chicago-based musician Riley Hampton.

"At Last" is one of the several R&B hits that originated with Glenn Miller recordings. (Others: "Blueberry Hill" and "In the Mood".) I thought you might want to compare and contrast the Miller version from the film "Orchestra Wives" with the James recording. This has vocals by Ray Eberle and the wonderful - and almost completely unknown - Pat Friday. If you haven't heard it, please listen below.

At Last (Glenn Miller)

Masses by Harrison and Killmayer

I have had very little time to prepare new items for the blog for a while, so I will be posting some transfers that I made a while back and didn't complete for one reason or another.

In this case, I didn't follow through because while I am very fond of one work on the LP, the other leaves me cold.

The record in question is part of a series on Epic Records presenting contemporary compositions sponsored by the Fromm Music Foundation. This "Twentieth Century Composers Series" included works by Elliott Carter, Luigi Dallapiccola, Lukas Foss, Leon Kirchner, Ernst Krenek and Ben Weber, as well as these Mass settings by Lou Harrison and Wilhelm Killmayer.

I just don't care for the stiff Missa Brevis by the German composer Killmayer, but I will comment on Harrison's beautiful Mass, which is usually called the "Mass to St. Anthony". This record memorializes the second of three versions of the Mass, which has more conventional orchestration than the percussion accompaniment of the version Harrison began in 1939, when he was in his early 20s. He restored the original orchestration, with some additions, in 2001, a few years before his death.

Margaret Hillis

The excellent performances are led by Margaret Hillis with her New York Concert Choir and Orchestra. Hillis, a Robert Shaw disciple, would soon move to Chicago to head the Chicago Symphony Chorus, where she became possibly the most well regarded choral trainer in the US, Shaw aside. I believe these recordings were made in 1955, probably in Columbia's 30th Street studio.

Orchestral conducting was Hillis' first love, but opportunities for women were then even more restricted than they are now. Nonetheless, she left many fine recordings, this among them.

By the way, Blogger's photo function has become dysfunctional, so many of the images on this blog are not appearing at all. I had to use a work-around to post the photos seen here.

Russell Garcia

Arranger Russell Garcia - very active on the West Coast in the 50s and 60s - died in November. I thought I might present a few of his unre-released LPs in tribute to his talents.

Most of Garcia's available work is backing singers and instrumentalists, including Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald, but he also did instrumental records in a number of genres - jazz, easy listening and samba. This 1956 effort, a combination of instrumental and vocal items, is a tribute to songwriter and Hollywood music director Johnny Green. (Green is on the right in the cover photo.)

For the date, Garcia was joined by some of the most active West Coast musicians of the time, including trumpeter Don Fagerquist and pianist John T. Williams, who later became famous for his film scores.

The excellent vocalists include Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires, who worked with Bing Crosby and on Disney films, and studio singers Sue Allen and Eddie Robertson.

Green wrote many standards - including "Body and Soul," "Out of Nowhere," "East Come, Easy Go," "I Cover the Waterfront," "You're Mine You" and "I'm Yours." I enjoyed just as much the more unfamiliar items here, such as "The Trembling of a Leaf," "Hello My Lover Goodbye" and "With You With Me."

This record produced no hits, broke no new ground and is not exceptional for its time. However, it is distinguished by the skill it displays and the pleasure it will bring to the sympathetic listener. The sound is vivid, if not always well balanced.

To learn more about Russ Garcia, please read this fine remembrance by Marc Myers, which also links to an interview with the arranger from a few years ago.

Latest from RCA's 'Show Time' Series

The latest installment from RCA Victor's 1953 "Show Time" series of 10-inch LPs features rerecorded highlights from two notable Broadway shows from the 1920s, both starring African American performers.

Sissle and Blake

The songs for Shuffle Along were written by the team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. The successful 1921 show set the pattern for a number of similar shows through the 20s and beyond. The big hit from the show was "I'm Just Wild About Harry." The RCA version derives from an unsuccessful 1952 revival of the show, and includes Avon Long, Thelma Carpenter, Louise Woods and Laurence Watson, all from the revival cast. Blake, who continued performing into his 90s and was often on American television in later years, conducted the revival.

Long had played Sportin' Life in the 1942 revival of Porgy and Bess. Thelma Carpenter had a long career as singer and actress; I'll have to present her Decca LP sometime in the future.

Sissle himself was one of the stars of the original production, although he does not appear in the revival. I thought you might want to hear a record he and Blake made in 1920, just before Shuffle Along. This is not one of their own songs, but a version of Perry Bradford's Crazy Blues, which had become a huge hit for vaudeville singer Mamie Smith. I've included the Smith version as well, for contrast. Trombone player Dope Andrews, one of Smith's "Jazz Hounds," sets a record for slide trombone slurs that may never be broken. Both of these are from my original 78s.

Thelma Carpenter

Thelma Carpenter also can be found on the other side of the LP, in songs from Blackbirds of 1928. This show starred African American artists (Bill Robinson, among others), but had music and lyrics by the white team of Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. The big hit was "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," here presented by Cab Calloway. (Gratuitous aside: I just don't like Cab.) Brunswick recorded songs from Blackbirds of 1928 in 1932-33, and Calloway appeared on one of those records - although not on "I Can't Give You Anything but Love."

Good sound on these records, even on the acoustically recorded versions of "Crazy Blues," although the Mamie Smith version is worn.

The Stingiest Man in Town

I've written before about the original musicals written for American television in the 1950s. Fifty-five years ago tomorrow, "The Alcoa Hour" presented a musical version of A Christmas Carol called The Stingiest Man in Town.

The creative team (Fred Speilman, music, and Janice Torre, book and lyrics) is not well known these days, but they produced quite a good score, memorialized in this 1956 Columbia release.

Damone, Madigan, Rathbone

At their service are an array of singers from both the pop and opera worlds; also Basil Rathbone as Scrooge.

Vic Damone, Johnny Desmond, Patrice Munsel and Betty Madigan offer an array of attractive numbers, although none became holiday standards. The Four Lads are utilized as a sort of Greek fraternity chorus in the guise of carollers commenting on the story.

Rathbone and Martyn Green

Spielman was a German expatriate composer who spent time in Hollywood. His biggest hit (written with Torre) was "Paper Roses," a country song.

Lost for many years, a kinescope of the original production was recently discovered and issued on DVD. The sound on the cast recording is vivid, although Columbia added a wash of reverberation, possibly to cover up dry studio sound.

The LP's back cover notes are fairly confusing, so a relevant cast list may be helpful:

Vic Damone - Young Scrooge
Johnny Desmond - Fred
The Four Lads - Carolers
Martyn Green - Bob Cratchit
Betty Madigan - Martha Cratchit
Patrice Munsel - Belle
Basil Rathbone - Ebenezer Scrooge
Robert Weede - Marley's Ghost
Robert Wright - Spirit of Christmas Present

LINK