Tag Archives: Mel Torme

Hank Crawford: We Got A Good Thing Going

In November 1972, “Kudu” label released “We Got a Good Thing Going”, the thirteenth Hank Crawford album. It was recorded September – October 1972, at “Van Gelder Studios” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Creed Taylor.

Personnel:

  • Hank Crawford – alto saxophone
  • Richard Tee – piano, electric piano, organ
  • George Benson, Cornell Dupree – electric guitar
  • Ron Carter, Gordon Edwards – double bass, electric bass
  • Bernard Purdie – drums
  • Phil Kraus – vibraphone, orchestra bells
  • Art Jenkins – congas, tambourine
  • Max Ellen, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Harold Kohon, Harry Lookofsky, Joe Malin, David Nadien, Elliot Rosoff, Irving Spice – violin
  • Al Brown, Harold Coletta, Ted Israel – viola
  • Charles McCracken, George Ricci – cello
  • Margaret Ross – harp
  • Bob James, Don Sebesky – arrangements, conductor
  • Rudy Van Gelder – engineer

Track listing:

  1. We Got a Good Thing Going – The Corporation
  2. I Don’t Know – Bill Withers
  3. Down to Earth – Ron Miller, Avery Vandenberg
  4. I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So – Duke Ellington, Mack David
  5. Imagination – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
  6. Little Tear – Don Sebesky
  7. The Christmas Song – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
  8. Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
  9. Alone Again (Naturally) – Gilbert O’Sullivan
  10. Dirt Dobbler – Alfred Ellis
  11. Betcha by Golly, Wow – Thom Bell, Linda Creed
  12. This Is All I Ask – Gordon Jenkins
  13. Jazz Bridge – Don Sebesky

Stan Getz: Cool Velvet

In November 1960, “Verve” label released “Cool Velvet”, the 35th Stan Getz album. It was recorded in March 1960, in Baden-Baden, Germany, and was produced by Creed Taylor.

Personnel:

  • Stan Getz – tenor saxophone
  • Russell Garcia – conductor, arrangements
  • Jan Johansson – piano
  • Blanchie Birdsong – harp
  • Dave Hildinger – vibes
  • Freddy Dutton – bass
  • Sperie Karas – drums
  • Merle Shore – cover art
  • Benny Green – sleeve notes

Track listing:

  1. The Thrill Is Gone – Lew Brown, Ray Henderson
  2. It Never Entered My Mind – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
  3. Early Autumn – Ralph Burns, Woody Herman, Johnny Mercer
  4. When I Go, I Go All the Way – Russell Garcia, Bob Russell
  5. A New Town Is a Blue Town – Richard Adler, Jerry Ross
  6. Round Midnight – Bernie Hanighen, Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams
  7. Born to Be Blue – Mel Torme, Robert Wells
  8. Whisper Not – Benny Golson
  9. Goodbye – Gordon Jenkins
  10. Nature Boy – Eden Ahbez

Bobby Timmons: Holiday Soul

In December 1964, “Prestige” label released “Holiday Soul” the eleventh Bobby Timmons album. It was recorded in November 1964, at “Van Gelder Studio” in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and was produced by Ozzie Cadena.

Personnel:

  • Bobby Timmons – piano
  • Butch Warren – double bass
  • Walter Perkins – drums
  • Rudy Van Gelder – recording
  • Jack McKinney – liner notes
  • Ozzie Cadena – supervisor

Track listing:

  1. Deck the Halls – traditional
  2. White Christmas – Irving Berlin
  3. The Christmas Song – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
  4. Auld Lang Syne – Robert Burns, traditional
  5. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  6. Winter Wonderland – Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
  7. We Three Kings – John Henry Hopkins, Jr.
  8. You’re All I Want for Christmas – Seger Ellis, Glen Moore

Mel Tormé: Tormé

In August 1958, “Verve” label released “Tormé”, the ninth Mel Tormé album. It was recorded in June 1958 and was produced by Norman Granz.

Personnel:

  • Mel Tormé- vocals
  • Marty Paich- arranger, conductor

Track listing:

  1. That Old Feeling – Lew Brown, Sammy Fain
  2. Gloomy Sunday – Sam M. Lewis, Rezso Seress
  3. Body and Soul – Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour
  4. Nobody’s Heart – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
  5. I Should Care – Sammy Cahn, Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston
  6. The House Is Haunted (by the Echo of Your Last Goodbye) – Basil Adlam, Billy Rose
  7. Blues in the Night – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
  8. I Don’t Want to Cry Anymore – Victor Schertzinger
  9. Where Can I Go Without You? – Peggy Lee, Victor Young
  10. How Did She Look? – Gladys Shelley, Abner Silver
  11. ‘Round Midnight – Bernie Hanighen, Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams
  12. I’m Gonna Laugh You Right out of My Life – Cy Coleman, Joseph McCarthy

Gregory Porter: Nat King Cole & Me

On October 27, 2017, “Blue Note” label released “Nat King Cole & Me”, the fifth Gregory Porter studio album. It was recorded in 2017, at “Air Studios” in London, “Capitol Studios” in Los Angeles and “Esplande Studios” in New Orleans.

Personnel:

  • Gregory Porter– vocals
  • Terence Blanchard – trumpet
  • Christian Sands– piano
  • Reuben Rogers – bass
  • Ulysses Owens – drums
  • Vince Mendoza– arrangements

Track listing:

  1. Mona Lisa – Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
  2. Smile – Charles Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner
  3. Nature Boy – Eden Ahbez
  4. L-O-V-E – Bert Kaempfert, Milt Gabler
  5. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas – Farres Osvaldo
  6. Miss Otis Regrets – Cole Porter
  7. Pick Yourself Up – Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern
  8. When Love Was King – Gregory Porter
  9. The Lonely One – Lenny Hambro, Roberta Helelr
  10. Ballenna – Bob Russell, Carl Sigman
  11. I Wonder Who My Daddy Is – Gladys Shelley
  12. The Christmas Song – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells

Benny Carter

On July 12, 2003, Bennett Lester “Benny” Carter, died aged 96. He was musician (alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet), composer, arranger, and bandleader,  regarded a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s. In his career the “King” performed with Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Coleman Hawkins, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Miles Davis,  Django Reinhardt, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Phil Woods, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Ben Webster, Billy Eckstine, Pearl Bailey, Lou Rawls, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Slack and Mel Torme.

For his work Benny Carter received big number of awards including: “The NEA Jazz Masters Award by The National Endowment for the Arts”, “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award” , “Grammy Award” for his solo “Prelude to a Kiss”, “A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame”, “National Endowment for the Arts”, “National Medal of Arts”.