On December 27, 1981, Hoagland Howard “Hoagy” Carmichael died aged 82. He was musician (piano), composer, singer, actor, and bandleader. Carmichael composed several hundred songs, including fifty that achieved hit record status. His best known songs are four among the most-recorded American songs of all time: “Stardust”, “Georgia on My Mind” (lyrics by Stuart Gorrell), “The Nearness of You”, and “Heart and Soul” (lyrics by Frank Loesser). His song “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” (lyrics by Johnny Mercer, won the “Academy Award for Best Original Song” in 1951. Carmichael’s songs were performed by many famous musicians including Sidney Arodin, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Bix Beiderbecke, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Helen Forrest, Harry James, Spike Jones, Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Glenn Miller, Dinah Shore, Jack Teagarden and Paul Whiteman.
Tag Archives: Johnny Mercer
Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come
In December 1961, “Columbia” label released “Someday My Prince Will Come”, the 35th Miles Davis album. It was recorded in March 1961, at “Columbia’s 30th Street Studio” in Manhattan, New York City, and was produced by Teo Macero.
Personnel:
- Miles Davis– trumpet
- Hank Mobley– tenor saxophone
- John Coltrane– tenor saxophone
- Wynton Kelly– piano
- Paul Chambers– bass
- Jimmy Cobb– drums
- Philly Joe Jones– drums
- Fred Plaut, Frank Laico – engineer
- Bob Cato – design
- Frances Davis – cover model
Track listing:
- Someday My Prince Will Come – Frank Churchill, Larry Morey
- Old Folks – Willard Robison, Dedette Lee Hill
- Pfrancing – Miles Davis
- Drad-Dog – Miles Davis
- Teo – Miles Davis
- I Thought About You – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer
Bobby Humphrey: Satin Doll
On December 1, 1974, “Blue Note” label released “Satin Doll”, the fourth Bobbi Humphrey studio album. It was recorded June – August 1974, at “Sound Factory” in Hollywood, and was produced by Larry Mizell.
Personnel:
- Bobbi Humphrey– vocals, flute
- Fonce Mizell– vocals, clavinet, trumpet
- Jerry Peters- piano, clavinet
- Larry Mizell– vocals, electric piano synthesizer, clavinet, arrangements, conductor
- Phil Davis, Don Preston– synthesizer
- Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragin, John Rowin- guitar
- Wayne Tweed, Chuck Rainey- electric bass
- Harvey Mason- drums
- King Errison- conga
- Roger Sainte, Stephanie Spruill- percussion
- Chuck Davis, Samantha Harris, Freddie Perren- backing vocals
Track listing:
All tracks by Larry Mizell except where noted.
- New York Times
- Satin Doll – Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn
- San Francisco Lights – Chuck Davis
- Ladies Day
- Fun House – Terry McFaddin, Melvin “Wah-Wah Watson” Ragin
- My Little Girl
- Rain Again
- You Are the Sunshine of My Life – Stevie Wonder
Diana Krall: From This Moment On
On September 19, 2006, “Verve” label released “From This Moment On”, the ninth Diana Krall studio album. It was recorded in 2006, at “Capitol Studios” in Hollywood, and was produced by Diana Krall and Tommy LiPuma.
Personnel:
- Diana Krall– vocals, piano, arrangements
- Anthony Wilson – acoustic and electric guitar
- Gerald Clayton, Tamir Hendelman– piano
- John Clayton– bass, arrangements, conducting
- Jeff Hamilton– drums
- Jeff Clayton– alto and soprano saxophone
- Rickey Woodard – tenor saxophone
- Gil Castellanos, Terell Stafford– trumpet
- Ira Nepus – trombone
- The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
- Rick Fernandez, Dan Johnson, Joe Napolitano, Bill Smith, Paul Smith – engineer assistant
- Steve Genewick – Pro Tools engineer, recording
- Al Schmitt– recording, mixing
- Doug Sax, Sangwook Nam – mastering
- Hollis King – art direction
- Coco Shinomiya – design
- Sam Taylor-Wood– back cover photography
- Bruce Weber– photography
Track listing:
- It Could Happen to You – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
- Isn’t This a Lovely Day – Irving Berlin
- How Insensitive – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel
- Exactly Like You – Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields
- From This Moment On – Cole Porter
- I Was Doing All Right – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
- Little Blue Girl – Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
- Day In Day Out – Rube Bloom, Johnny Mercer
- Willow Weep for Me – Ann Ronell
- Come Dance With Me – Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn
- It Was a Beautiful Day in August / You Can Depend on Me – Ray Brown, Charles Carpenter, Louis Dunlap, Earl Hines
Madeline Peyroux: Half The Perfect World
On September 12, 2006, “Rounder/Universal” labels released “Half the Perfect World”, the fourth Madeleine Peyroux studio album. It was recorded in April 2006, and was produced by Larry Klein.
Personnel:
- Madeleine Peyroux – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Dean Parks– guitars, ukulele
- Greg Leisz– pedal steel guitar
- Sam Yahel– piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond organ, Estey organ
- d. lang -vocal
- Larry Goldings– celeste
- Gary Foster– alto saxophone
- Till Brönner– trumpet
- David Piltch – double bass
- Scott Amendola– drums
- Jay Bellerose– drums, additional cymbals
- Mark Orton – string quertet arrangements
- Carla Kihlstedt– violin
- Graeme Jennings– violin
- Charith Premawardhana – viola
- Sam Bass – cello
Track listing:
- I’m All Right – Walter Becker, Madeleine Peyroux, Larry Klein
- The Summer Wind – Hans Bradtke, Henry Mayer, Johnny Mercer
- Blue Alert – Leonard Cohen, Anjani Thomas
- Everybody’s Talkin’ – Fred Neil
- River – Joni Mitchell
- A Little Bit – Jesse Harris, Larry Klein, Madeleine Peyroux
- Once in a While – Jesse Harris, Larry Klein, Madeleine Peyroux
- (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night – Tom Waits
- Half the Perfect World – Leonard Cohen, Anjani Thomas
- La Javanaise – Serge Gainsbourg
- California Rain – Jesse Harris, Larry Klein, Madeleine Peyroux
- Smile – Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner
Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie: Same
In December 1974, “Pablo” label released “Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie”, an album by Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie. It was recorded in November 1974, and was produced by Norman Granz.
Personnel:
- Oscar Peterson – piano
- Dizzy Gillespie– trumpet
Track listing:
- Caravan – Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol
- Mozambique – Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson
- Autumn Leaves – Joseph Kosma, Johnny Mercer, Jacques Prévert
- Close Your Eyes – Bernice Petkere
- Blues for Bird – Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson
- Dizzy Atmosphere – Dizzy Gillespie
- Alone Together – Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz
- Con Alma – Dizzy Gillespie
Chuck Berry: Fresh Berry’s
In November 1965, “Chess” label released “Fresh Berry’s”, the ninth Chuck Berry studio album. It was recorded in September 1965, at “Ter Mar Recording Studios” Chicago, Illinois, and was produced by Leonard Chess and Phil Chess.
Personnel:
- Chuck Berry – vocals, guitar
- Mike Bloomfield– guitar
- Paul Butterfield– harmonica
- Johnnie Johnson– piano
- Chuck Bernhard – bass
- Jaspar Thomas – drums
- Ron Malo– engineer
- Don S. Bronstein– cover art
Track listing:
All tracks by Chuck Berry except where noted.
- It Wasn’t Me
- Run Joe – Louis Jordan, Walter Merrick, Joe Willoughby
- Everyday We Rock & Roll
- One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
- Welcome Back Pretty Baby
- It’s My Own Business
- Right Off Rampart Street
- Vaya Con Dios – Buddy Pepper, Carl Hoff, Inez James, Larry Russell
- Merrily We Rock & Roll
- My Mustang Ford
- Ain’t That Just Like a Woman – Claude Demetrius, Fleecie Moore
- Wee Hour Blues
Frank Sinatra: Softly as I Love You
In November 1964, “Reprise” label released “Softly, as I Leave You”, album by Frank Sinatra. It was recorded August 1962 – October 1964, in Los Angeles, and was produced by Jimmy Bowen and Sonny Burke.
Personnel:
- Frank Sinatra- vocals
- Neal Hefti- conductor
- Nelson Riddle- arranger, conductor
- Marty Paich- arranger
- Ernie Freeman- arranger
- Billy May- arranger
Track listing:
- Emily – Johnny Mandel, Johnny Mercer
- Here’s to the Losers – Robert Wells, Jack Segal
- Dear Heart – Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Henry Mancini
- Come Blow Your Horn – Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen
- Love Isn’t Just for the Young – Bernard Knee
- I Can’t Believe I’m Losing You – Don Costa, Phil Zeller
- Pass Me By – Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh
- Softly, as I Leave You – Hal Shaper, Antonio DeVito, Giorgio Calabrese
- Then Suddenly Love – Ray Alfred, Paul Vance
- Available – Sammy Cahn, Ned Wynn, L.B. Marks
- Talk to Me Baby – Robert E. Dolan, Johnny Mercer
- The Look of Love – Sammy Cahn, Van Heusen
Jimmy Smith: The Cat
In September 1964, “Verve” label released “The Cat”, the sixth Jimmy Smith album for the label. It was recorded in April 1964, in Englewood, New Jersey, and was produced by Creed Taylor.
Personnel:
- Jimmy Smith– organ
- Kenny Burrell– guitar
- George Duvivier– bass
- Grady Tate– drums
- Phil Kraus – percussion
- Snooky Young – trumpet
- Thad Jones – trumpet
- Ernie Royal – trumpet
- Jimmy Maxwell – trumpet
- Marky Markowitz – trumpet
- Bernie Glow– trumpet
- Jimmy Cleveland– trombone
- Urbie Green – trombone
- Tony Studd – bass trombone
- Ray Alonge – French horn
- Earl Chapin – French horn
- Bill Correa – French horn
- Jimmy Buffington – French horn
- Don Butterfield– tuba
- Lalo Schifrin– arrangements, conductor
Track listing:
- Theme from Joy House – Lalo Schifrin
- The Cat” (from Joy House) – Lalo Schifrin, Rick Ward
- Basin Street Blues – Spencer Williams
- Main Title from The Carpetbaggers – Elmer Bernstein, Ray Colcord
- Chicago Serenade – Eddie Harris
- Louis Blues – W.C. Handy
- Delon’s Blues – Jimmy Smith
- Blues in the Night – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Ella Fitzgerald And Count Basie: Ella And Basie!
In September 1963, “Verve” label released “Ella and Basie!”, studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie and his orchestra. It was recorded in July 1963, at “A&R Studios” in New York City, and was produced by Norman Ganz.
Personnel:
- Ella Fitzgerald– vocals
- The Count Basie Orchestra:
- Count Basie– piano
- Sonny Cohn, Al Aarons, Joe Newman, Don Rader– trumpet
- Eric Dixon– flute, tenor saxophone
- Frank Foster, Frank Wess– flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Charlie Fowlkes– baritone saxophone
- Freddie Green– guitar
- Benny Powell, Urbie Green, Henry Coker, Grover Mitchell– trombone
- Flip Ricard– trombone, trumpet
- Marshal Royal– clarinet, alto saxophone
- Buddy Catlett– double bass
- Sonny Payne– drums
- Quincy Jones– arranger
- Val Valentin – recording
- Jay Thompson – cover photography
Track listing:
- Honeysuckle Rose – Andy Razaf, Fats Waller
- Deed I Do – Walter Hirsch, Fred Rose
- Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall – Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts
- Them There Eyes – Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, William Tracey
- Dream a Little Dream of Me – Fabian Andre, Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt
- Tea for Two – Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans
- Satin Doll – Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn
- I’m Beginning to See the Light – Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James
- Shiny Stockings – Frank Foster, Ella Fitzgerald
- This Is My Last Affair – Haven Johnson
- Ain’t Misbehavin’ – Harry Brooks, Razaf, Waller
- On the Sunny Side of the Street – Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
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