Ghost Train Orchestra, Feb 28, Brooklyn

Our friend Brian Carpenter, leader of the fabulous Ghost Train Orchestra, whose Book of Rhapsodies CD contains several cleverly arranged works by Raymond Scott, writes:

Don't miss our last show with the Book of Rhapsodies band on Saturday February 28 before we head into the studio to record Book of Rhapsodies Volume II (all of which can be heard live at this show). We'll debut new arrangements of strange and beautiful chamber works penned by Raymond Scott, Alec Wilder, Charlie Shavers, and Reginald Foresythe, as well as a special treat — some pieces by a seemingly unknown bandleader/composer from the '30s and '40s recently discovered by Irwin Chusid. We can't wait to debut these pieces live (and tell you who it is.)

Saturday February 28

Jalopy Theater

315 Columbia Street

Red Hook, Brooklyn

8pm doors / 9pm show

Note: I won't reveal the name of the "unknown" bandleader/composer, but I didn't discover him. His work was discovered by our friend Takashi Okada of Tokyo, who passed the recordings along to me, and I sent them on to Brian certain that he would appreciate them. It was Brian's idea to arrange and perform them.

Here's GTO's recording of Scott's "New Year's Eve in a Haunted House."

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

102 Years: Happy Birthday, Raymond!

Raymond Scott was born on September 10th of 1908. Today, as we celebrate his 102nd birthday, his fans have a lot to be grateful for (including, for example, the new documentary that is currently making the film festival circuit, and soon to be a DVD release).

One Scott fan, Amy Thyr, who is also an Exotica music aficionado, and founder of TourDeTiki.com, plans to toast Raymond with a special birthday drink recipe along with 20 other partiers and Tikiphiles, tomorrow, during her TikiTour:

“We will drink a toast to Raymond Scott! We can’t forget him and all he has given us … and the world of Exotica music. Scott has been recognized as a precursor to Exotica. Several of his songs were written with the intent of transporting the listener to exotic locations by use of innovative instruments and sound effects. Twenty years before Exotica became a musical genre, Raymond Scott was mixing swing jazz and classical forms, Exotica-style sounds, and his own unique style — forming the groundwork to the atmospheric moods of the Exotica movement. Tunes such as 'Suicide Cliff,' 'Snake Woman,' 'Ectoplasm,' and several others qualify Scott as the 'great-granddaddy' of Exotica. The Exotica genre of the '50s and '60s, even today’s Exotica sounds, all have their DNA rooted in the music of Raymond Scott.”

For the toast, Ms. Thyr has prepared a drink inspired by Scott's 1940 hit tune, “Huckleberry Duck.” Amy explains her new daiquirí creation, which she has dubbed the Huckleberry Duckuirí:

Though “Huckleberry Duck” is not Exotica in the musical sense, it’s now a “tropical” drink as I made it with rum, a little lime and huckleberries … why not? So here’s to Raymond … Happy Birthday … and thanks!

Amy's recipe:

          HUCKLEBERRY DUCKUIRI

           • 2 ounces Puerto Rican rum
           • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
           • 1 ounce macerated huckleberries
           • Approx. 4 ounces huckleberry-flavored tea
              (any good blueberry tea may be substituted)
           • Ice cubes

          Combine the first three ingredients and shake with ice.
          Pour contents of shaker into a highball glass.
          Add huckleberry tea to half full.
          Add ice to fill glass.
          Garnish with blueberries if you like.
          [Complete recipe: here.]

ducks deluxe

So much more well-behaved than Daffy, it earned a halo: Columbia Records brochure from 1940, intended to promote a new Raymond Scott post-Quintette release, "Huckleberry Duck," which became one of the composer's best known orchestral titles. The artifact was reproduced in Alex Steinweiss, Inventor of the Modern Album Cover, a retrospective published in 2009 by Taschen Books.

Thanks to our friend Takashi Okada for the image

The Raymond Scott Institute of Advanced Musical Education

Jazz trumpeter Charlie Shavers, who played in Scott's 1944 orchestra:

It was a pretty band. It wasn't a swing band and it wasn't a jazz band, it was a good band with a good bunch of guys. Scott was a little eccentric. He'd make a guy stand up and play third alto, all by himself, all the way through. And then he'd say, "Why don't you go take some lessons?" He got on my nerves a little. We'd rehearse and rehearse and rehearse. We didn't need that much rehearsal. I think he just liked to hear the band.

Quoted in The Swing Era: Vintage Years of Humor, Time-Life Records, 1971, Scott profile by Michèle Wood. Photo by Les Deutsch, 2009.

Private Music

Irwin and I have previously warned about the dangers of a stunningly boring album recorded by Raymond Scott in 1957, and subsequently issued under three titles in the US. It's my duty to further caution collectors who value their time and/or ears: a fourth pressing of this dreary record was released in 1966 by the Spanish label Orlador, with the title MUSICA PARA LA INTIMIDAD. I would have guessed this means "Music For Intimacy," but according to at least one Google translator, it's "Music For Privacy." Had RS kept the recording private, the world would be a better place. Not even a sexy chica displaying her color-coordinated pants, shoes, and upholstery can make this lackluster album worth purchasing. If you see this record, run away. If you're unfortunate enough to already own a copy, under any of its titles, please smash it with a hammer into a thousand little pieces, place the debris into a Ziploc baggie, and send it to me or Irwin; we will incinerate all copies at a public bonfire in Texas on September 9th at midnight. Location TBA. Consider this a WANTED poster (click image for larger view):

This Time With Strings

In 1957, Scott was in the final season of swinging a baton on TV's long-running Your Hit Parade. That year, he recorded an LP entitled THIS TIME WITH STRINGS in which he musically re-invented eleven older compositions for full orchestra and velvety violins. The album has just been released on CD as part of Basta's Essential Reissue Series.

Many of these tunes were originally recorded by Scott's novelty jazz six-man Quintette in the late 1930s; others date from the 1940s and '50s. All get a lush makeover on THIS TIME WITH STRINGS, including RSQ favorites "Powerhouse," "The Toy Trumpet," and "Twilight in Turkey," retooled for expanded setting.

"There are many of the old Quintette things in this LP," said the composer in the original liner notes. "Also some older things for dance band, material written for Broadway and the screen, and some of my more 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 CD. So is the cheesecake cover (above). TTWS is available as an import from Forced Exposure, and individual tracks can be downloaded at the iTunes Store. It will be released in the U.S. in early 2009.

If you're not a Seclusionist ...

... come to Boston on Monday for the concert.

Chesterfield artwork by the brilliant Kellie Strøm.

Chesterfield lites

Paul Whiteman loomed large in the 1920s and 1930s. Regardless of how one measures his actual jazz chops (his reputation as the "King of Jazz" was a laughable marketing ploy), he hired and encouraged some of the top talents of his day, including George Gershwin, Bix Beiderbecke, Bunny Berigan, Bing Crosby, the Dorsey Brothers, and composer/arranger Ferde Grofé.

He also worked with and obviously admired Raymond Scott, as The Chesterfield Arrangements will attest. In 1938, for his "Eighth Experiment in Modern Music" (a series that began in 1924 with the public premiere of Rhapsody In Blue), Whiteman commissioned large orchestral arrangements of three Scott tunes: "Mexican Jumping Bean," "Bumpy Weather Over Newark," and "Suicide Cliff." These were performed, with the original Scott Quintette, at Carnegie Hall on Christmas. Besides the RSQ, this spectacular showcase included Artie Shaw, Louis Armstrong, and dozens of jazz and Tin Pan Alley legends in their prime, performing works by Ellington, Gershwin, W.C. Handy, and others. The 1938 concert proved to be the "Experiment" series finale.

Five arrangements from the 1938 concert—including the three Scott titles noted above—will be recreated at the Berklee School of Music on May 5. The concert is part of a day-long tribute to Whiteman.

An afternoon forum, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Carnegie Hall gala, will include 94-year-old saxophonist Al Gallodoro (who performed at the '38 concert) reflecting on his Whiteman days. A young Gallorodo is pictured above with the legendary bandleader.

Retro typography

From the back cover of the mid-1950s LP This Time With Strings (Coral), by Raymond Scott and his Orchestra, which will be reissued next year on Basta:


This Time With Strings was a mid-1950s orchestral LP by Scott, containing 11 originals, some dating from his 1937-39 Quintette (e.g., "Powerhouse," "Toy Trumpet"), others from the 1940s and '50s. The arrangements are sweet (lots of strings!). While not as adventurous as Scott's quintets and electronica, the album will have particular appeal to exotica/lounge/smooth orchestral enthusiasts. Back in the late 1980s, Jim Thirlwell (a.k.a. Foetus), recording as Steroid Maximus, turned this LP's "Powerhouse" into piledriving techno-sludge on the album Gondwanaland.

We've just finished remastering the tapes; the package is currently being designed by Piet Schreuders. This Time With Strings's anticipated street date: Spring 2008.

Kodachrome

Kodachrome (released on Basta in 2002) was, as the subtitle noted, a collection of "Compositions for Orchestra by Raymond Scott." The album was produced by Gert-Jan Blom (founder of The Beau Hunks), and features the Metropole Orchestra conducted by Jan Stulen.

This repertoire reflects a little-known side of Scott: serious orchestral composer with an idiosyncratic flair. Scott was a renowned big band leader in the early 1940s, but the tunes on Kodachrome are not Swing Era chestnuts. Most of the titles were, by Scott standards, obscure; none had been hits for the composer, and none were featured in cartoons or films. Dating from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, some had never been commercially released (e.g., "City of New York," "Minor Prelude," "Dreary Weather on Sixth Avenue," and "The Bullfighter and His Piccolo"); others had been released without fanfare or commercial success (e.g., "Naked City," "Symphony Under the Stars," and "Secret Agent"); and a few were radio rarities (e.g., "Rococo," "Hertz Theme," "Confusion Among a Fleet of Taxicabs Upon Meeting With a Fare"). Scores do not exist for many of these titles; performance transcriptions were made from archival recordings by members of the Metropole.

The magnificent cover was illustrated by Kellie Strøm. Here's a rough sketch from the artist: