A Rendezvous with Bobby Hackett, Plus Many Ambient Stereo Remasters

Following up on my last post, which had a dozen new ambient stereo remasters, today we have a second set of 12, this time from the pop, jazz and soundtrack catalogues.

One of this week's remasters is an LP of 1938 and 1944 records featuring cornetist-trumpeter Bobby Hackett, reminding me of how much I enjoy his playing. Those early records are squarely (no slight intended) in the Chicago-style jazz vein, but Hackett also made a career of being the lead voice for easy listening instrumentals, including the LP depicted above. That disc is newly transferred for today's post.

Bobby Hackett

Hackett (1915-76) was just 23 when the Chicago-style records commenced in 1938, but was in his mid-40s and very much in his prime when Capital engaged him for the lovely instrumental LP, Rendezvous, in 1957.

He had became known for these types of LPs through his solos on several popular easy listening LPs issued under the name of TV personality Jackie Gleason. Hackett was never paid much for those spots, but Capitol and later other companies engaged him for a long series of instrumental albums under his own name. There were both mood music records and small group jazz performances with such like-minded artists as Jack Teagarden.

Glenn Osser

The backings on Rendezvous were led by studio veteran Abraham "Glenn" Osser (1914-2014). Like many in the industry at the time, he was a former big-band arranger who had moved on to providing charts for recording artists on the Mercury and Columbia labels, along with a few LPs of his own.

The results are smooth and entirely pleasant, similar to what Osser might have devised for such vocalists as Vic Damone or Mindy Carson, albeit with Hackett as the voice. You will hear echoes of Glenn Miller (a former employer of Hackett) and the style of George Shearing (also contracted to Capitol at the time).

The songs were all standards, with the possible exception of the following:

• "Autumn Nocturne" - written by Kim Gannon and Josef Myrow and first recorded in 1941 by Claude Thornhill
• "When I'm with You" - by Mack Gordon and Harry Revel, introduced by Shirley Temple in the 1936 film Poor Little Rich Girl
• "Two Cigarettes in the Dark" - by Lew Pollack and Paul Francis Webster, from the 1934 Broadway comedy Kill That Story
• "Love Me" - a Victor Young-Ned Washington song, also from 1934
• "One Kiss" - written by Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1928 operetta The New Moon

The jacket suggests that Hackett plays trumpet on this date rather than cornet, but it really didn't make much difference in how he sounded. He seldom used the bigger instrument's more brilliant upper register.

I do love the colorful cover for Rendezvous, with the ambiguous nature of the establishment the couple is entering.

Ambient Stereo Remasters

Today's ambient stereo remasters are in a variety of styles, perhaps something to interest you...

Bobby Hackett - Horn A-Plenty. This is the collection of 1938 and 1944 jazz sides mentioned above, all from the Commodore label. The LP ascribes them to Hackett, but several of them were issued under other names, such as "Jam Session at Commodore."

Duke Ellington - Mood Ellington. The Duke's 1947 recordings are not among his most celebrated, but they are plenty good in their own right. This is a classic band, led by one of the greats, and showing off Ellington's current interest in tonal colors.

Georges Auric's Music for Bonjour Tristesse. A gorgeous score by the French composer Auric in support of the 1958 film version of Françoise Sagan's popular novel. Juliette Gréco's languid rendition of the title song defines the term "world weary."

William Warfield - Deep River. The distinguished bass-baritone in magnificent recordings of folk and folk-derived repertoire. Note: all Warfield's solo recordings are available on the blog, except for his remake of Copland's Old American Songs.

Dick Haymes Sings Irving Berlin. Haymes' complete Berlin LP with pianist Carmen Cavallaro is the basis of this collection of numbers from the great songwriter's canon. It also includes seven other 78 sides from 1945-49, including numbers from Annie Get Your Gun.

Neal Hefti on Coral. The arranger-bandleader's 10-inch Coral Reef LP and its 12-inch successor are the sources of this post, which also includes Count Basie's contrasting readings of two of the Hefti compositions - "Why Not?" and "Sure Thing." From the early 1950s.

Ella Mae Morse - Barrelhouse, Boogie and the Blues. R&B covers can be a dreary listening experience, but not these specimens. The marvelous Miss Morse is backed by a Big Dave Cavanaugh combo, and the whole LP sizzles. Also has one of the greatest covers ever.

Hugh Martin and Alec Wilder - The Grandma Moses Suite. The two distinguished songwriters combined to produce the score for a 1951 documentary on folk painter Grandma Moses, producing this treasurable (and almost unknown) piece of Americana.

Victory at Sea - the 1953 Recording. The awesome score to the televised Victory at Sea series of documentaries is as much a tribute to orchestrator and collaborator Robert Russell Bennett as it is to composer Richard Rodgers. This is the original recording.

Andre Kostelanetz Conducts Grofé and Kern. An LP combining Kosty's recordings of Ferde Grofé's Mississippi Suite and Jerome Kern's Mark Twain, the latter of which the conductor commissioned. Interesting works, again in the Americana vein.

Cy Coleman Trio - Piano Patterns. The distinguished songwriter was also a formidable pianist. This was his first LP (or so I believe). It came out on the small Benida label in 1955, several years before Coleman's celebrity as a Broadway composer.

Bing Crosby - High Tor. The excellent soundtrack to a 1956 television adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's fantasy High Tor. With lyrics by the author, music by Arthur Schwartz, and vocals by Bing and the young Julie Andrews. A particular favorite of mine.

The links above will take you to the original posts. There, check the end (or near the end) of the comments for the download links. All these posts feature new artwork as well.

The link to Bobby Hackett's Rendezvous is in the comments to this post, as usual.

Ida Haendel in Bruch, Plus Many, Many Reups in Ambient Stereo

One of the most popular posts of the nearly 1,200 on this blog is the one devoted to Ida Haendel's 1953 traversal of the Brahms Violin Concerto, recorded in company with Sergiu Celibadache and the London Symphony. Rightfully so - it's a splendid performance and well recorded.

For this post I've turned my attention to another superior Haendel recording - that of the beautiful Violin Concerto No. 1 of Max Bruch.

The second part of this post is devoted to new ambient stereo remasters of a dozen classical recordings that have appeared here over the years - starting with Haendel's Brahms concerto.

Ambient stereo helps to give the narrow and recessed sound of mono recordings a feeling of spaciousness and to bring them forward, seemingly in front of the speakers - without adding anything at all to the recording. When the channels are combined, the mono image is restored. (More explanation is at the end of the post.)

Let's start off with the Bruch concerto disc, then address all the remasters.

Ida Haendel in Bruch, Plus Encores

Ida Haendel's Bruch concerto recording dates from 1948, when she was just 19. Her recording career had begun even earlier, at age 11, with recordings of short works.

Haendel's collaborator in the concerto was the eminent conductor Rafael Kubelik, who just that year had taken refuge in Britain following the Communist coup d'etat in his native Czechoslovakia.

Ida Haendel and Rafael Kubelik

The two musicians work well together in this lovely work, not often heard in today's concert halls. The Abbey Road sound is most pleasing in ambient stereo.

This transfer comes from side 1 of an early 1950s LP pressing on RCA Victor's budget Bluebird label. Side 2 contains a passel of encore pieces, probably selected from the violinist's recital programs and first issued as 78 singles. The main attraction of those pieces, aside from Haendel's performances, is the presence of the remarkable pianist Gerald Moore.

Gerald Moore learns the contents of the recital program 

The encore items are generally in soupy arrangements, such that a Gramophone reviewer termed two of them "equally nauseating." I can't say that I reached for the Dramamine while working on these pieces, but they are not really my thing either. Haendel and Moore seem to be having a good time, though.

Remasters in Ambient Stereo

As noted, to go along with the Haendel LP, I have re-uploaded about a dozen classical recordings enhanced with ambient stereo. The links below take you to the original posts. The download links will be at or near the end of the comments. (The link to the Bruch concerto disc discussed above is in the comments to this post.)

Brahms - Violin Concerto (Ida Haendel). This 1953 recording is notable for being the last studio appearance by conductor Celibidache. As with all the posts below, I have added new graphics, generally photos of the artists. In this case, it's a photo of the violinist and conductor together.

Works by Robert Sanders, Bernard Rogers and Burnet Tuthill. The first post on this blog 16 years ago was this LP of works by three mid-century American composers. Most enjoyable in worthy performances from a disguised Vienna Symphony and conductor Max Schönherr.

Rawsthorne - Piano Concerto No. 2 (Clifford Curzon). Another early post was this fascinating concerto from mid-century English composer Alan Rawsthorne, in a brilliant performance from pianist Clifford Curzon. The LP has never sounded better.

Schumann - Cello Concerto; Bruch - Kol Nidrei (Joseph Schuster). The exceptional cellist Joseph Schuster made only a few solo recordings, including this Capitol release with backing by Franz Waxman and a Hollywood orchestra. Bruch's Kol Nidrei, plus the great Schumann concerto.

Quincy Porter Conducts Quincy Porter. Ambient stereo has enhanced the sound of this 1955 LP, and in doing so enhanced my appreciation of Porter's Symphony No. 1, Concerto Concertante and Dance in Three Time. The composer conducts a Parisian orchestra.

Violin Sonatas by Delius and Robert Russell Bennett (Louis Kaufman). Kaufman is too febrile for the meandering Delius work, but he was just right for Bennett's sonata. The composer and violinist were well acquainted, both based in Hollywood.

Americana for Solo Winds and Strings. This is surely one of the most pleasant recordings of the 1950s. Howard Hanson conducts pastoral works by himself, Aaron Copland, Wayne Barlow, Homer Keller, Bernard Rogers and Kent Kennan. Fine sound.

Randall Thomson - Symphony No. 2 (Dean Dixon). The American composer Randall Thompson was mainly noted for his choral works, but he also produced three symphonies. I believe this was the first to be recorded. Dean Dixon leads the orchestra.

Rangström - Symphony No. 1; Larsson - Little Serenade for Strings (Tor Mann). As I mentioned in a recent post of Ture Rangstrom's third symphony, the composer's first effort is worth knowing, here in a classic recording from Tor Mann, with a Lars-Erik Larsson makeweight.

Beethoven Concertos No. 2, 4 and 5, Mozart No. 15 (Solomon). I've redone the uploads of historic Beethoven concertos from Solomon, along with his Mozart No. 15, in ambient stereo. These are memorable readings, now sounding even better.

About Ambient Stereo

I suspect that most followers of this site won't have many scruples about the use of ambient stereo in these remasters. But for the skeptical or curious, a few words of explanation.

The term "ambient stereo" can be misleading. It doesn't refer to directional cues but rather the spread of ambiance to provide a sense of space otherwise missing.

I will admit that until now I have not been a great proponent of the effect, although I dabbled in it as far back as 2015 to enhance a few dry recordings. It never struck me as especially helpful until I began experimenting with the Ozone Imager plug-in for the Izotope RX10 audio software. Used in moderation, it often provides strikingly good results.

The Ozone module relies on the so-called "Haas effect." This article explains the effect and its implementation in the Imager plug in.

 

Rangström's Symphony No. 3 and 'King Erik's Songs'

The Swedish composer Ture Rangström (1884-1947) has appeared here before via his first symphony, in a classic version led by Tor Mann. This post fulfills a request for his Symphony No. 3, accompanied by two sets of orchestral songs, in recordings from the late 1970s.

The third symphony is a middle period work, dating from 1929, and has the subtitle Song under the Stars. The work, inspired by a rough sea voyage, is highly romantic and impressionistic. Its programmatic nature and lack of musical rigor led the Scandinavian music authority Robert Layton to dismiss it as kitsch (see review in the download), but it's an enjoyable listen if you are at all susceptible to such works.

Ture Rangström

The main attraction on this record is the performance of King Erik's Songs by the then-young baritone Håkan Hagegård. In his cover notes, Per Skans writes, "These songs have been referred to as 'songs about a mad king to words by a mad poet,' the poet being Gustaf Fröding." 

I can't tell you much more; no texts or translations were supplied with this record or another recording of the cycle in my collection. I did, however, secure the texts from Liedernet and for the most part relied on Google for translations, which you may find to be somewhat superior to choosing words at random. The songs follow the King from farce through imprisonment and awareness of his impending death.

Also on the disc, and also settings of Gustaf Fröding poems, are Two Songs in Antique Style, one being a colloquy between a knight and a maiden, the other a drinking song. Hagegård sound splendid in both this set and King Erik's Songs.

Janos Fürst, Håkan Hagegård, John Frandsen

The recordings, dating from 1978-79, feature the Helsingborg Symphony, resident in a city on the border of Sweden and Denmark. The orchestra these days has about 70 members; presumably it was about the same strength back then. Not a huge band, but they play well and the recording is pleasing.

In the symphony the conductor is the Hungarian Janos Fürst (1935-2007), who had recently finished a stint as music director in nearby Malmö, and would soon take up the same position in Aalborg, in adjacent Denmark.

The songs are led by the Dane John Frandsen (1918-96), principal conductor at the Royal Danish Opera from 1946 to 1980. Swedish baritone Håkan Hagegård (1945- ) was just finishing several years at the Royal Opera in Stockholm when these recordings were made, and beginning to establish himself as an international artist.

FYI - if you enjoy Rangström's music, the afore-mentioned Tor Mann LP of the first symphony is now available in ambient stereo, along with Mann's recording of Lars-Erik Larsson's Little Suite for Strings. The new versions can be found here.

Jeri Sullivan Transcriptions Plus More Singles

The talented yet virtually unknown singer Jeri Sullivan returns with some of the best material I've posted as yet - six songs from an Armed Forces Radio Service transcription, along with six additional songs from commercial singles.

Sullivan was on radio throughout the 1940s, worked as a Hollywood dubbing artist, and made singles for several labels. Then in 1953, she turned up as "Jenny Barrett" and made recordings for two different companies.

She's appeared on this blog several times. Post number one detailed her early career and included a single on Signature records, a V-Disc of her "Rum and Coca-Cola" recording and two radio transcriptions. In post two, we looked at her work on the movie A Song Is Born and some of her releases under the name Jenny Barrett in the 1950s.

Later, Bryan Cooper contributed another Signature single, which I published on Buster's Swinging Singles, and then a set of Standard Transcriptions for this blog. Simon Buckmaster added six one-of-a-kind acetate recordings, a single on the Metro Hollywood label and one more Signature single.

Here are the details on today's selections.

AFRS Showtime Songs

Sullivan appeared on an AFRS transcription in a series called Showtime. The programs in that series either recreated musicals or focused on the songs from musicals. The latter was the case in this program, which I believe came from about April 1946, based on the numbering and dating of other shows in the series.

Jeri sang six songs on the show - all excellent and well recorded. She started off with two Rodgers and Hart tunes - "This Can't Be Love" from The Boys from Syracuse and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" from Too Many Girls, both beautifully done and sympathetically conducted by Michel Perriere.

The program took a break from show tunes to showcase what it called "Jeri's own song" - "Rum and Coca-Cola." A nice sentiment, even if Sullivan didn't actually write it. (See discussion here.) That said, her interpretation is among the best I have heard.

Finally, Jeri takes up three torch songs from circa 1930, and shows she had quite an affinity for the genre. The first is "The Thrill Is Gone," which originated in George White's Scandals of 1931, where it was introduced by Rudy Vallee. (Never would have guessed that.) The writers were Ray Henderson and Lew Brown.

Next she programmed two songs closely associated with Libby Holman, both from The Little Show of 1929. "Moanin' Low" was written by Ralph Rainger, with lyrics by Howard Dietz. "Can't We Be Friends?" has lyrics by Paul James and music by Kay Swift. I've not heard either done better, although it sounds like Perriere wanted a faster tempo than Sullivan.

A Second Metro Hollywood Single

The newly discovered singles start with a release by the small Metro Hollywood label circa 1948. The two songs were probably recorded by the ARA label, which was active from 1944 to 1946, and acquired by Metro Hollywood. The latter label seems to have gone under in 1948 after having been sued by M-G-M records for infringement.

As I previously speculated about another Metro Hollywood release, these probably were made in 1946. One side is "I'll See You in C-U-B-A," a 1920 Irving Berlin song revived for the 1946 Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire musical Blue Skies. (The Metro Hollywood label calls the song "CUBA" and dubs the singer "Jerri Sullivan," one of several variant spellings for her name.)

The flip side was another torch song - "Take Me in Your Arms," written by Fred Markush and Fritz Rotter. Mitchell Parish gave it English lyrics and it became a US hit in 1932 for Ruth Etting.

Both songs are very nicely done, with an unidentified orchestra.

Vogue, Coral and 'Jenny Barrett'

If You Please - Drusilla Davis, Sullivan, Frank Fay, Barbara Torrence

In 1950, Jeri appeared in Frank Fay's revue, If You Please, in San Francisco. As late as 1952, the singer was making personal appearances as "Jeri Sullivan." Then in 1953 she became Jenny Barrett, and again made a few records.

Billboard, June 13, 1953

The first, "He Loves Me," was on the small Vogue label. The label gave away the fact that Barrett was Sullivan by advertising that she wrote the song and attributing it on the label to Sullivan (and Bedell). 

This transfer of "He Loves Me" in this collection is better than the one I included in an earlier post. As I wrote then, "It's not a successful record, but is fascinating even so. The singer carries on an internal monologue throughout the song, a year before Richard Adler and Jerry Ross were to employ a similar device for 'Hey There' in The Pajama Game. But in 'He Loves Me,' it turns into an overdone and distracting gimmick."

This post also includes the flip side, "Do Me a Favor," a double-tracked waltz that's an incursion into Patti Page territory. It's OK, and well produced. Both songs have lush backing by trumpeter-arranger Hall Daniels.

At the same time as her Vogue release, Barrett/Sullivan was in the studio for the much bigger Coral label. Her initial effort was a breathy take on the Ray Noble standard "The Touch of Your Lips." Billboard observed, "The thrush bows on the label with a sexy, suggestive rendition of the evergreen, selling the item via a most intimate and cozy rendition which should get it banned from a few stations with no trouble at all."

The other side of the Coral record was "Hurry, Hurry Home," which betrays more than a little familiarity with Chopin's Minute Waltz. It was attributed nonetheless to Jeri Sullivan and Cindy Barrett (not sure about the Cindy-Jenny relationship, if any). There is not as much heavy breathing on this side. Tony Iavello was the bandleader.

Since my first "Jenny Barrett" post, I've come across Sullivan's own explanation of the name change, via an article in the June 3, 1953 Down Beat. "Why did I become Jenny Barrett? The answer is just too simple: I am Jenny Barrett. It is my legal name. Jenny was the name my parents picked for me. Barrett was the name of my husband, who died about a year ago... Jenny Barrett is not only my real name but part of my life, the part that is nearest and most important to me right now."

Jeri Sullivan on radio in the 1940s

I have to say her explanation confuses me, because I had previously uncovered information that suggested she was born as Leona Schlosser. And the month after this Down Beat issue came out, the magazine announced that she was "becoming Mrs. Bob (Ten Top Tunes show on KLAC) McLaughlin."

The self-penned Down Beat story was likely placed by a Vogue records publicist to draw attention to her as Jeri Sullivan, allowing her to boast that "as soon as word got out that Vogue's 'new singer' was 'Jeri Sullivan' I have been contacted by not only the news services but by many nationally known columnists who 'wanted to get the real story.' Why was I scrapping Jeri Sullivan and all the publicity value that went with that name?" Well, precisely because publicizing the change helped her to regain the limelight she had lost.

Her revived recording career did not last long. Vogue went under and Coral made only one more single with her, one of the few items that hasn't turned up for posting here. 

English Organ Music from Jennifer Bate

The British organist Jennifer Bate (1944-2020) was known for her dedication to Olivier Messiaen's compositions, but she also recorded the complete organ works of Mendelssohn, Franck and compatriot Peter Dickinson, as well as other music from her own land.

For this 1981 LP, titled An English Choice, she chose music of a lighter sort - all compositions but one dating from the first half of the 20th century, representing the famous (Elgar, Vaughan Williams) and those less well remembered (Harvey Grace, Norman Cocker).

Jennifer Bate

The longest work on the program is the Plymouth Suite by organist-composer Percy Whitlock (1903-46). Bate's concise and informative sleeve note explains its genesis: "His [Whitlock's] compositions for organ are firmly based in the English tradition — always tuneful, with a fine, broad sweep of melody, occasionally influenced harmonically by his admiration for Elgar and Delius. This fine Suite, published 1939, was written for the 1937 Congress of the Incorporated Association of Organists held in Plymouth, and the dedicatory initials at the head of each movement are those of members. In addition, the venue patently brought to mind sea-songs as well as the changing rhythms and moods of the sea."

Harvey Grace, Percy Whitlock

Appropriately, Bate recorded her recital on the Rushworth & Dreaper organ in St. Andrew's Church, Plymouth. It's a historic parish, dating to the 9th century, with parts of the present building dating from the 13th. The church was heavily damaged in the Second World War, and the organ installed in the postwar years.

St. Andrew's, Plymouth, before 1870

Ralph Vaughan Williams' beautiful Prelude on 'Rhosymedre' is one of a set of three organ pieces based on Welsh folk tunes. As Bate mentions in her notes, much of the interest in the piece is in the composer's opening theme, which then acts as accompaniment to the hymn tune. Percy Whitlock was a Vaughan Williams student.

Harvey Grace (1874–1944) was best known for being the long-time editor of The Musical Times and for being the organist of Chichester Cathedral. The first movement of Whitlock's Plymouth Suite is dedicated to him. Grace's contribution to the set is a Postlude on 'Martyrs', one of three Psalm Tune Postludes, this one based on a theme from the Scottish Psalter, 1635.

Sir Henry Walford Davies (1869-1941) was a composer, educator and broadcaster who was organist at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and then Master of the King's Music from 1934 until his death. His Solemn Melody was originally written for organ and strings, and is here in an arrangement for organ alone by John E. West.

Henry Walford Davies, William Henry Harris

Sir Edward Elgar wrote his Imperial March for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It's an early example of his patriotic marches, transcribed for organ by George C. Martin.

Sir William Henry Harris is represented by two brief works - A Fancy and Reverie. The former was dedicated to the memory of Percy Whitlock. The latter is one of Harris' Four Short Pieces. 

Harris was organist of New College, Oxford, Christ Church, Oxford and St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Bate writes, "He was highly respected as a fine player, excellent choir trainer, and composed very much in the Anglican tradition."

Rushworth & Dreaper Organ, St. Andrew's Church

Bate closes her program with Norman Cocker's Tuba Tune, a favorite of organists. Cocker was the organist at Manchester Cathedral for many years.

The LP's sound is good and the playing is splendid. As for the music, in his Gramophone review Gordon Reynolds wrote, "It is astonishing, and pleasing at the same time, to see the repertory of pre-World War II bobbing up again. Not only had all these pieces gone out of fashion, they were regarded even in their heyday as being rather below the salt, musically speaking. The earthy tunefulness, which made the aspiring organists of the thirties curl up, is the very quality which has guaranteed the resurrection of these pieces."

Below is an advertisement that the record company placed in The Gramophone, suggesting that the recording was on "the organ of the 'Pilgrim Fathers' church." Well, while it is said that the Pilgrims worshiped in St. Andrew's before embarking on their sea voyage, the organ, as mentioned above, is of recent provenance.

The Gramophone, February 1982

Buddy Clark with Dick McDonough and Nat Brandwynne

It's been a while since I explored the recorded legacy of Buddy Clark (1912-49), the great pop singer of the 1930s and 40s. He died at the height of his career, and at least some of his later records are well known. But his earlier efforts, while he was a radio crooner and band singer for hire on many pop records, are less often heard.

Today's post covers 23 songs split between the contrasting bands of Dick McDonough and Nat Brandwynne - 10 with McDonough's jazz outfit and 13 with Brandwynne's orchestra from New York's swanky Stork Club. Twenty-one of these were made in 1936; the two remaining come from the following year. These comprise Buddy's complete recordings with the two bandleaders.

All songs show Clark's usual mix of good voice, diction, intonation and cheer. He's invariably a pleasure to hear.

With Dick McDonough

Dick McDonough

Dick McDonough was a short-lived (1904-38) jazz guitarist and bandleader, perhaps best known for his duets with fellow guitarist Carl Kress.

McDonough recorded fairly prolifically for the ARC labels (Perfect et al) in 1936 and 1937. These dates always included some of the finest jazz musicians of the day, even though most of the sessions were devoted to the latest pop compositions.

Bunny Berigan

All the numbers with Clark feature the lead trumpet of Bunny Berigan, who had recently left Benny Goodman's band and was recording both under his own name and as a session musician. The first four songs also include clarinetist Artie Shaw, who had become a recording bandleader himself just a few weeks before McDonough's June 23, 1936 session, and pianist Claude Thornhill, who himself would start making records as a leader in 1937.

Clark is not identified on the label of any of these 10 sides; I am again indebted to the discography of Nigel Burlinson for helping me to identify his appearances.

The first song in the June set was "Summer Holiday," with music by Johnny Marks ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer") and lyrics by Gene Conley (known for his work on "A Cottage for Sale," recently heard in a Willard Robison compilation). This charming song was recorded by many artists of the day.

Next came another current tune, "I'm Grateful to You," by the prolific songwriters J. Fred Coots (another Christmas maven - "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town") and Benny Davis.

McDonough reached back to 1921 for his next offering, the jazz standard "Dear Old Southland." Turner Layton was the composer - leaning heavily on the melody of "Deep River" - with lyrics by Henry Creamer.

From 1922 and the same writing and recording team came "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans," which had been touted as "a Southern song, without a mammy, a mule or a moon." This number has a intricate McDonough solo, also a tenor saxophone break, probably by Larry Binyon, and a short clarinet contribution, likely from Artie Shaw. For this side particularly, Buddy adopted a New Orleans accent reminiscent of Connie Boswell. Not terribly convincing, but then he was born in Boston.

Adrian Rollini

Moving on to an August 4 date, the first number was "It Ain't Right" by Bob Rothberg and Joseph Meyer, a song associated with jazz violinist Stuff Smith. The McDonough version has a robust bass sax solo from Adrian Rollini.

McDonough then recorded a relatively new song (from 1931) but already on its way to becoming a standard - "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" from Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, first done by Cab Calloway. McDonough again solos on this one.

For his August 5 session, McDonough began with "When the Moon Hangs High (and the Prairie Skies Hang Low)" from bandleader Ted Fio Rito, whose best known song is "I'll String Along with You." Buddy promises his beloved that "down that old, old trail we'll go" and "we can harmonize with the songs of the West."

"Midnight Blue" was much more suited to McDonough's style, particularly to forthright trumpeter Bunny Berigan. The song was advertised as "the hit song of the New Ziegfeld Follies of 1936." The 1936 Follies had a score by Vernon Duke and Ira Gershwin, and starred Fanny Brice. The show went on hiatus during the summer and when it returned had additional numbers by other hands, including Joe Burke and Edgar Leslie's "Midnight Blue," which was introduced by James Farrell and Jane Pickens.

It's interesting to note the amazing talents employed by the 1936 Follies. The show was choreographed by Robert Alton with ballets directed by George Balanchine. Scenic design and costumes were by Vincente Minnelli, with additional costumes by Raoul Pène Du Bois. The orchestrations were by Robert Russell Bennett, Conrad Salinger, Hans Spialek and Don Walker. The cast included Brice, Bob Hope, Eve Arden, Josephine Baker, Judy Canova, Gertrude Niesen and the Nicholas Brothers.

We move from the prairies and the Follies to the Pacific for "South Sea Island Magic" by Lysle Tomerlin and Andy Iona Long, best known for leading the the Hawaiian group Andy Iona and His Islanders. This piece was also recorded by Bing, who would do a Hawaiian-themed movie, Waikiki Wedding, the next year. (Songs from that film are here.)

To close out the McDonough set, we have the first of three songs from pianist-songwriter-personality Oscar Levant. "Afterglow" is one of his better efforts, done in collaboration with Al Stillman and Buck Ram. Buddy's reading is straightforward, but he does well by this worthy tune.

With Nat Brandwynne

Nat Brandwynne was a very young (25) bandleader when he made these recordings with Clark, although he had notable experience with Leo Reisman's orchestra, as part of a duo-piano team with Eddy Duchin that started a fashion for such setups. Brandwynne went on to several decades of success, primarily in Las Vegas, where he was making albums as late as the 1970s backing Diana Ross.

Nat Brandwynne

Clark's first four songs in this set date from April 1936. "It's You I'm Talkin About" is a peppy number from Florida Special, a B comedy with Jack Oakie taking a train trip. The tune comes from the noted Hollywood writers Mack Gordon and Harry Revel.

For his next number Buddy tells us "There's Always a Happy Ending" in every talking picture he sees. It's a likeable Siglar-Goodheart-Hoffman number also recorded by Rudy Vallee and by Chick Bullock with Jack Shilkret.

"Lazy Weather" is one of the many paeans to indolence of the time, perhaps designed to comfort the unemployed. This one was a product of Irving Kahal and Oscar Levant. Buddy's competition in the market was the young Perry Como in his first recording session with Ted Weems' band.

I wouldn't call "The Glory of Love" a standard, but it has been a hit more than once, first in Benny Goodman's recording with a Helen Ward vocal. The writer was Billy Hill, who otherwise specialized in buckaroo numbers like "The Last Round-Up," "Wagon Wheels" and "Empty Saddles."

Moving on to a May session, Clark and Brandwynne were the first to record "Take My Heart," a good song from Fred Ahlert and Joe Young. The bandleader's moaning saxophones are to the fore on this one, along with his ringing piano and Buddy's heartfelt singing.

"Long Ago and Far Away" is a Leo Robin-Ralph Rainger number from 1936's Three Cheers for Love. It predates the better known "Long Ago (and Far Away)" by Kern and Gershwin, which came from the 1944 film Cover Girl. Also from the 1936 film is "Where Is My Heart," not to be confused with "Where Is Your Heart," the song from 1952's Moulin Rouge and one of the big hits of that year. The Robin-Rainger tunes didn't do as well as their later namesakes, but are enjoyable to hear even so.

A July 1936 set of four songs begins with "Until Today," the final Oscar Levant song of this post, written with J. Fred Coots and Benny Davis. It was a new composition, recorded at the same time by Vincent Lopez, Ted Weems-Perry Como and others, I'm sure.

"Without a Shadow of a Doubt" is one of the best songs in the collection, even though I haven't been able to uncover much about its provenance. The writers are George Whiting, Nat Schwartz (aka Nat Burton) and J. C. Johnson.

Another fine song is "If We Never Meet Again," which Louis Armstrong wrote with Horace Gerlach, and recorded himself in 1936. Armstrong got the royalties, but Dick Stabile ended up with his photo on the sheet music.

Walter Hirsch and Lou Handman wrote "Bye Bye Baby" (not the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes song - or the Four Seasons epic for that matter). It's a bouncy piece that Clark handles well - although you should hear what Fats Waller and a kazoo make of it.

The 1936 sessions with Brandwynne were Brunswick productions, but the team moved on to Perfect for the final two songs in this collection, dating from March 1937. Unlike the Brunswick sides, Clark is unidentified on the labels for this coupling. "To a Sweet Pretty Thing" was a product of Fred Ahlert and Joe Young - not one of their best known songs, but a nice way to spend a few minutes.

The last item is "I Dream of San Marino," an idyll of lost love in an exotic location - one of seemingly dozens of such songs covering everyplace but Newark - this one neither better nor worse the mean.

These records were all remastered in ambient stereo from Internet Archive originals. The sound is good for the time, clearly displaying the contrasting styles of the bandleaders and Buddy's stylish vocals.