New videos: Steve Bartek & Ego Plum's live show at WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL • "Lightworks" and "Powerhouse"

ABOVE: Ego Plum's electronic band performs

"Lightworks" featuring Tara Busch vocal

ABOVE: Steve Bartek's band performs "Powerhouse"

2 new videos: Steve Bartek and Ego Plum's live show at WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL • "Oil Gusher" and "In The Hall Of The Mountain Queen"

ABOVE: Ego Plum's electronic band performs

"In The Hall Of The Mountain Queen"

ABOVE: Steve Bartek's band performs "Oil Gusher"

Stay 'tooned for 2 more videos from this concert next week.

2 new videos: Steve Bartek & Ego Plum's live show at WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL

ABOVE: Ego Plum's electronic band performs "Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals"

ABOVE: Steve Bartek's band performs "The Penguin"

Stay 'tooned for 2 more videos from this concert next week.

75 Years of Wooden Indians

On this date 75 years ago, Raymond Scott returned to CBS studios with his 6-man 'Quintette' to record "War Dance For Wooden Indians." This hit tune was released in 1937, and is consecrated into several classic LOONEY TUNES shorts including "The Odor-able Kitty," "Tom Tom Tomcat," "A Peck o' Trouble," and "Bye, Bye Bluebeard." Download the vintage Columbia recording from the iTunes store, or Amazon, and watch one of our favorite covers here:

New release: "SUITE FOR VIOLIN & PIANO"

Raymond Scott created a diverse body of work that included jazz novelties (often considered "cartoon music"), orchestral ballads, a Broadway musical, film scores, commercial jingles, electronic miniatures, and avant-garde musique concrète. However, the Suite for Violin and Piano, composed in 1950 and never commercially released, was unique in his catalog.

The same daredevil who gave the world “The Toy Trumpet” and “Powerhouse” composed this exquisitely crafted classical jewel. True, Scott was a 1931 Juilliard grad, but the closest his prior compositions had inched towards the classics were jazzed-up reinventions of Mozart, Verdi, and Schubert.
 
The five-movement work was publicly performed just once, at Carnegie Hall in 1950, by renowned violinist Arnold Eidus and pianist Carlo Bussotti. The work was then recorded by Eidus and Bussotti, under the supervision of the composer. However, Scott did not release it commercially for reasons historically unknown.

In 2004, after Scott's widow, Mitzi, discovered the score at home, a new recording was produced by Beau Hunks Orchestra leader Gert-Jan Blom in the Netherlands, featuring violinist Davide Rossi and pianist Ramon Dor.

The two versions are now coupled on this new Basta release. The package is adorned with vintage 1940s and '50s music illustrations by noted artist Jim Flora, and features liner notes co-written by Gert-Jan Blom and Scott authority Irwin Chusid.

Producer: Gert-Jan Blom
Executive Producer: Jeroen van der Schaaf
Art Direction: Piet Schreuders
Illustrations: Jim Flora
Research: Irwin Chusid and Jeff E. Winner

On a special note, we are offering free copies of the sheet music at http://bastamusic.com/suite

• Get the CD or download from Amazon.com here, or the iTunes Store: here

Live WZBC Radio Special withJeff E. Winner & Tom Rhea:75th Anniversary Event

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, Brian Carpenter hosted a live 3-hour WZBC radio special — co-hosted by Jeff E. Winner (me) of the RS Archives, and Tom Rhea (Berklee, MOOG Music), with special guests: J.G. Thirlwell (FOETUS, STEROID MAXIMUS), DJ Spooky, Stu Brown, Will Friedwald, Daniel Goldmark, Irwin Chusid, and David Harrington (KRONOS QUARTET).

• LISTEN HERE: The show can now be streamed:

http://briancarpenter.net/content/radio-webcasts-imaginationandinnovation.html

Walt Disney Concert Hall show in LA: Oingo Boingo's Steve Bartek & Ego Plum

Press release from Walt Disney Concert Hall:

LOS ANGELES, CA — REDCAT, CalArts’ downtown center for contemporary arts, presents in cooperation with JEFF E. WINNER of The Raymond Scott Archives, a special evening celebrating pioneer of electronic music Raymond Scott. Machine-Man: The Musical Mayhem of Raymond Scott will be held at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater on Friday, November 9 at 8:30 pm.

Though musical shape-shifter Raymond Scott may no longer be a household name, his inimitable “cartoon jazz” is instantly recognized by millions: it has been adapted to underscore the antics of BUGS BUNNY, DAFFY DUCK, REN & STIMPY, THE SIMPSONS, and many other cartoon characters for 75 years. Scott, moreover, was an inventor of instruments and a pioneer of electronic music.

In this unprecedented celebration of Scott’s polymorphic career, former OINGO BOINGO co-founder and guitarist STEVE BARTEK and his band (including other Oingo Boingo alums) find new takes on the composer’s early cartoon classics, while composer EGO PLUM’s ensemble re-envisions Scott’s farsighted electronica. Joining in is the Rogue Artists Ensemble who will stage a first-ever live interpretation of a vintage Scott film collaboration with MUPPETS creator JIM HENSON.

Event webpage on REDCAT.ORG:
http://www.redcat.org/event/raymond-scott-tribute

Week of New York City Theater Documentary Film Screenings

To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, the award-winning documentary film DECONSTRUCTING DAD will be screened 5 times per day, for a week, at the Quad Cinema theater in New York City, between Friday July 13th and July 19th. Daily showtimes are: 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:15pm, 7:30pm, 9:50pm. Q&As with director Stan Warnow, co-producer Jeff E. Winner (me), & special guests to follow these select shows during opening weekend:

• Friday July 13 following the 7:30pm & 9:50pm shows
• Saturday July 14 following the 7:30pm & 9:50pm shows

• Sunday July 15 following the 3:00pm show

Our special guest on Friday will be MOOG synthesizer co-inventor, Herbert H. Deutsch. ORDER ADVANCE TICKETS: HERE [For press inquiries please contact: Isil Bagdadi at CAVU Pictures/CAVU PR, email: cavupictures@aol.com]

75 Years of Hungry Cannibals

75 years ago, on this date, Raymond Scott returned to CBS studios with his Quintette for their third session to record "Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals." It was an immediate hit when it was released in 1937, and is immortalized in "Which Is Witch" and at least 16 other classic LOONEY TUNES. Download the vintage Columbia recording from the iTunes store, or Amazon, and check-out this cover by Kronos Quartet. Details about our year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary here.

75 Years of Reckless Nights

On this date, 75 years ago, Raymond Scott returned to CBS studios with his Quintette for their second session to record "Reckless Night On Board An Ocean Liner." The tune was a hit when it was released in 1937, and is immortalized in the classic LOONEY TUNES, "Jumpin' Jupiter," "Hare Lift," and "Mouse Warming." It also serves as the soundtrack for this strange YouTube video by Silent Banana Theatre. ("Note: this film contains banana nudity and references to ambiguous fruit sexuality.") Download the vintage Columbia recording from the iTunes store, or Amazon — and see details about our year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary here.

75th Anniversary Radio Special with guest Jeff Winner — listen now

From the University of California, Berkeley site:

"2012 marks 75 years since Raymond Scott and his Quintette first began recording. Join Rubberband Girl as she showcases the brilliant work of this composer and engineer — from his quirky, swinging arrangements (famously adapted for Warner Brothers cartoons), to his innovative work in electronic music and instrumentation."

The guest is me, Jeff Winner.

• Listen here: 

ABOVE: Lady of mystery, radio host, Rubberband Girl

Multimedia Presentation in Philadelphia

From BowerBird.org:

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, Jeff E. Winner of the Scott archives presents the life of the late composer and inventor with rare audio and video. This evening will include a 60 minute presentation by Winner and a complete screening (100 minutes) of the documentary, “DECONSTRUCTING DAD: The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott.” The award-winning film, which Winner co-produced and appears in, features interviews with movie music composer John Williams ("Star Wars"), Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, and DJ Spooky aka Paul D. Miller, as well as Raymond Scott's family, colleagues, and archival footage of Scott himself.

Jeff E. Winner is a music producer, historian, and researcher specializing in early electronica. He has written for the Oxford University Press "Grove Dictionary Of American Music," the MIT Press anthology "Sound Unbound" with Chuck D of Public Enemy, Moby, Scanner, and Steve Reich, features in "Electronic Musician" magazine, and liner notes for the DVD/CD series "OHM: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music" with Sonic Youth, Bob Moog, John Cage, and Brian Eno. Mr. Winner was also editor and interviewer for "WE ARE DEVO," the band's only biographical book (Firefly Press).

• THIS EVENT IS FREE. Friday, March 16th, at 8pm. DETAILS: here

UPDATE: Irwin Chusid is now planning to join me for this event and participate.

75 years ago today, in 1937...

1937 was a memorable year in US history. Disney released SNOW WHITE, the first full-color, feature-length animated movie. The Hindenburg disaster occurred on May 6. Howard Hughes established a record by flying from LA to NYC in under 8 hours. The Golden Gate Bridge opened in San Francisco. Amelia Earhart disappeared. George Gershwin died. And Daffy Duck was born — on April 17, in the animated short "Porky's Duck Hunt," directed by Tex Avery for the LOONEY TUNES series. This last factoid dovetails with a coincidence that would immortalize Raymond Scott's music in pop culture.

Exactly 75 years ago today, Raymond Scott recorded his iconic hit tune, "Powerhouse." On the same date, following 8 months of rehearsals with his Quintette at CBS, he also recorded "Twilight In Turkey," "Minuet In Jazz," and "The Toy Trumpet" — not a bad day's work. The 27 year-old couldn't have known at the time, but these compositions jump-started his stellar career, and came to underscore cartoon antics for future generations.

To celebrate the milestone, check out this collection of 75 YouTube clips of Scott's classic "Powerhouse," here — and see details about our year-long 75th anniversary events schedule here.

P.S. Thank you to Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing:
http://boingboing.net/2012/02/20/happy-75th-birthday-to-raymond.html

New Spaced-Out 2-track Single: "By Rocket To The Moon"

Fasten your safety-belt — we're going by rocket to the moon. 20 years before NASA landed the first man on the moon, Raymond Scott and his quintet made this children's record, with narration, featuring five educational songs sung by the Gene Lowell Chorus. Originally released in 1950, this oddity has now been been digitally remastered, for the first time, as part of our year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary of RS's music. The b-side is the related 1949 instrumental, "Dedicatory Piece to the Crew and Passengers of the First Experimental Rocket Express to the Moon." Download from the Apple iTunes Store: here

LINCOLN CENTER concert report & photos: The Raymond Scott Orchestrette

Watch the new video slideshow of photos with music that tells the story of The Orchetrette's concert at LINCOLN CENTER in NYC, last month, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's classic tunes. >>> See it on: YouTube (or browse the photo album: here)

2 New Vinyl Album Reissues —Party Like It's 1959!

Good news for wax maniacs: to celebrate the 75th ANNIVERSARY of Raymond Scott's music, the Basta Audio-Visuals label (working with the RS Archives) has reissued a pair of classic Scott 1950s LPs in 180-gram 12" vinyl format. Both meticulously replicate the original artwork in every detail.

"THE UNEXPECTED" by Raymond Scott & The Secret Seven — While serving as an A&R director for Everest Records in 1958, Raymond Scott produced an album for singer Gloria Lynne. The LP's sidemen included many of the same session players on Scott's mysterious 1959 album, "THE UNEXPECTED" — performed by his all-star jazz-legend supergroup, The Secret Seven — whose identities remained confidential for decades. The secrecy extended to withholding the band member's names from the LP jacket, but as music historian Nat Hentoff wrote in the liner notes, "Jazz aficionados will instantly recognize the players." The members are now known to be Elvin Jones, "Wild" Bill Davis, Milt Hinton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Costa, Sam "The Man" Taylor, and "Toots" Thielemans. NOTE: Basta's vinyl pressing is the extremely rare STEREO mix — the stereo version will not be issued on CD/digital-download. • Order: here <<< • Listen to a track from this album: "Waltz Of The Diddles" by Raymond Scott & The Secret 7

"THIS TIME WITH STRINGS" by Raymond Scott & His Orchestra — Scott musically re-invents his compositions for full-orchestra and strings on this 1957 album. RS favorites like "Powerhouse," "The Toy Trumpet," and "Twilight in Turkey" are retooled for expanded setting — but that's not all. "There are many of the Quintette things in this LP," said the composer in the original liner notes. "Also things for dance band, material written for Broadway, the movie screen, and some of my recent writing. Indeed, a potpourri, given Hi-Fidelity dressing, and a certain vividness in string treatment." The album was recorded in glorious monophonic sound, which is retained on the vinyl. No artificial processing. Crank up the Hi-Fi! • Order: here <<< • Listen to a track from this album: "The Toy Trumpet" by Raymond Scott & His Orchestra

Watch The Year's BestNew Performance Video

Witness the amazing MeaNensamble live at Studio Bodø, performing Raymond Scott's 1938 classic, "War Dance For Wooden Indians," recorded October 2011: HERE <<<

We look forward to their live shows and concert DVD during the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music in 2012.

Lincoln Center and Target® present:75th Anniversary concert celebration

Raymond Scott's original "Quintette" made its debut in December of 1936 (performing Scott's composition, "The Toy Trumpet"). On December 1st of 2011, the New York-based "Raymond Scott Orchestrette" will perform at the David Rubenstein Atrium at LINCOLN CENTER. This concert, which is part of the Target® Free Thursday Series, will begin the year-long series of events to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Scott's seminal band — and their classic tunes, like "Powerhouse," that launched his 50-year recording career. More info: here

Irwin adds: This is the first performance by the Orchestrette since 2004, and features the original line-up. The evening will include a cameo by Beth Sorrentino singing "The Toy Trumpet" and accompanying herself on piano. Lyrics to Scott's composition were added for the 1938 movie, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Listen to new NPR feature:"Musical DNA of the 20th Century"

The new 1-hour NPR show with me, Jeff Winner, as the in-studio guest — and Raymond Scott's son, Stan Warnow, joins us by phone — hear it online now, or anytime:

>> listen here <<

We talk about the connection to STAR WARS, celebrations for the 75th Anniversary, the new award-winning documentary film — and discover why Raymond Scott loved the bathroom at CBS studios! The radio program, which is simulcast internationally by Sirius XM® satellite, also features rare unreleased recordings of Scott demonstrating his historic electronic music inventions:

''STAN WARNOW, Scott’s son, directed a very personal documentary about his father called 'Deconstructing Dad.' JEFF WINNER, a music historian, archivist, and co-producer of the film, joins us in the studio to discuss this musical DNA of the 20th Century.''

RADIO TIMES is heard live by an audience of millions each weekday 10-noon and rebroadcast 10-midnight. It is also heard live on the Sirius XM channel NPR Now 122 at 10AM. NPR Talk Sirius 123 airs it again from 6-8PM.

• MORE INFO: here

75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's Music: 1937—2012

2012 marks the 75th Anniversary of Raymond Scott's music, which is forever associated with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck — though bandleader-composer Scott had no interest in cartoons. Ever!

Composer, electronic music pioneer, inventor, and bandstand drill sergeant Raymond Scott was born Harry Warnow, in Brooklyn, in 1908. After graduating from Juilliard, he wrote the 1934 hit song “Christmas Night In Harlem,” recorded by Louis Armstrong. In December 1936, Scott debuted his six-man “Quintette,” which featured jazz giant Bunny Berigan on trumpet and drummer Johnny Williams, father of famous movie score composer John Williams. By early 1937, Scott's Quintette were stars on radio, on records, and — after landing a contract with 20th Century Fox — in Hollywood films. The RSQ reeled off a string of quirky hit records, including “Powerhouse” (recorded February 20, 1937 in New York at their first studio session). Thanks to its being quoted by Carl Stalling in dozens of LOONEY TUNES, the "Powerhouse" melodies have become genetically encoded in the DNA of every earthling.

The Raymond Scott Archives celebrates the 75th with a series of live events and special projects (listed below). If you plan to coordinate an event, record Scott's tunes, or write about Scott, contact: info@RaymondScott.com. We can provide sheet music, photos, and historical resources. We are available for interviews and to host local programs.

• On December 1st, 2011, the New York-based Raymond Scott Orchestrette reunited to perform at Lincoln Center, as part of the Target® Free Thursday series — watch the new video slideshow with music: here

• Basta Audio-Visuals, the European label is planning several releases, including two vinyl LP replicas (which are available now — details here): Scott's 1957 orchestral THIS TIME WITH STRINGS, and a rare stereo mix of 1959’s THE UNEXPECTED, performed by Scott’s all-star jazz ensemble The Secret Seven. And a new 2-track single has also been released on the iTunes store — info: here.

• The award-winning Raymond Scott documentary, DECONSTRUCTING DAD will be screened at movie theaters and international film festivals: ScottDoc.com

Live performances of Scott's animated compositions (jazz, pop, and electronica) will take place around the globe, including:

• UK: Stu Brown Sextet and Mr. McFall's Chamber present ongoing concerts of Scott repertoire

• USA: The West Point Band’s Quintette 7 perform RSQ repertoire

• Norway: The MeaNensemble presents “White (Brain) Wash in concert: A Tribute To Raymond Scott & the Perfect World of Commercials”

• New York: Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra performs “Powerhouse Stomp: A Tribute To Classic Cartoons” 

• Spain: Racalmuto recreate the RSQ's six-man lineup and repertoire

• San Francisco: Jeff Stanford’s Cartoon Jazz Orchestra and Septet perform Scott classics accompanying cartoons

• Colorado: The Expedition Quartet present “An Acoustic Dinner with a Pack of Hungry Cannibals”

• Los Angeles: A multimedia show at the Redcat theater in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, curated by composer Ego Plum, and movie score orchestrator/composer Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo on Friday, November 9th, 2012

________________________________________________

CONTACT:

Jeff E. Winner • The Raymond Scott Archives

RaymondScott.com • info@RaymondScott.com

Phone: 267-970-4396
View or Download Press Release: here

________________________________________________

P.S. Check-out this new collection of 75 YouTube clips of the Raymond Scott classic, "Powerhouse," celebrating the 75th anniversary of the RS Quintette's debut studio recording, on February 20, 1937, in New York: HERE <<<

Portrait of RSQ © by Drew Friedman