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Duet (Stan Kenton And June Christy Album)
''Duet'' is an album by vocalist June Christy and pianist Stan Kenton with featuring performances of jazz standards recorded in 1955 and released on the Capitol label.Vosbein, PStan Kenton Discographyaccessed April 16, 2016 accessed April 16, 2016 Reception The review by Stephen Cook noted "Kenton exercises unexpected restraint throughout, shading Christy's dramatically cool delivery with snatches of Ellington color and chamber music formality".Track listing # " |
June Christy
June Christy (born Shirley Luster; November 20, 1925June 21, 1990) was an American singer, known for her work in the cool jazz genre and for her silky smooth vocals. Her success as a singer began with The Stan Kenton Orchestra. She pursued a solo career from 1954 and is best known for her debut album ''Something Cool''. After her death, she was hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time." Biography Early life Shirley Luster was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. She moved with her parents Steve and Marie (née Crain) Luster to Decatur, Illinois, when she was three years old. She began to sing with the Decatur-based Bill Oetzel Orchestra at thirteen. While attending Decatur High School she appeared with Oetzel and his society band, the Ben Bradley Band, and Bill Madden's Band. After high school she moved to Chicago, changed her name to Sharon Leslie, and sang with a group led by Boyd Raeburn. Later she joined Benny Strong's band. In 1944, St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Green
John Waldo Green (October 10, 1908 – May 15, 1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, " Body and Soul" from the revue ''Three's a Crowd''. Green won four Academy Awards for his film scores and a fifth for producing a short musical film, and he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. He was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early years John Waldo Green was born in New York City, the son of musical parents Vivian Isidor Green (June 29, 1885 – January 3, 1940) and Irina Etelka Jellenik (April 12, 1885 – November 15, 1947), a.k.a. Irma (or Erma) Etelka Jellenik. Vivian and Irina wed on December 16, 1907 in Manhattan. John attended Horace Mann School and the New York Military Academy, and was accepted by Harvard at the age of 15, entering the university in 1924. His musical tuto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Gordon
Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was an American songwriter. Biography Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family, and later lived on Coney Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later changed his name to Irving Gordon. As a child, he studied violin. After attending public schools in New York City, Gordon worked in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area. While working there, he took to writing parody lyrics to some of the popular songs of the day. In the 1930s, he took a job with the music publishing firm headed by talent agent Irving Mills, at first writing only lyrics, but subsequently writing music as well. After Gordon was introduced to Duke Ellington in 1937, Ellington sometimes invited him to put lyrics to his compositions. However working with Ellington was probably one of the most difficult commissions there was, since most of the Ellington songs were really instrumental pieces whose singable potentia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's " Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prelude To A Kiss (song)
"Prelude to a Kiss" is a 1938 ballad composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills. Background and composition This composition is in the key of D-flat major but makes extensive use of the secondary dominant chords, secondary ii–V–I progressions, diatonic circle of fifths, and evaded cadences. The song is extremely chromatic and complex, employing sophisticated mathematics that were rare at this time in jazz: Ellington's rising semitones (G-G#-A-A#-B) at the end of the bridge mirror the opening of both A sections (B-A#-A-G#-G). By the late 1930s, swing was at the height of its popularity. Using his fame and artistic freedom, Ellington became more ambitious and experimental, writing "Prelude to a Kiss", which abandoned the Tin Pan Alley style hooks and dance tempo for melodic lines and harmonies found more often in classical music. He recorded this piece as an instrumental in August 1938 before returning to the studio a few weeks later to recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 20th century. With George, he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You", " The Man I Love" and " Someone to Watch Over Me". He was also responsible, along with DuBose Heyward, for the libretto to George's opera ''Porgy and Bess''. The success the Gershwin brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. His mastery of songwriting continued after George's early death in 1937. Ira wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. His critically acclaimed 1959 book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is an important source for studying t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1924) and ''An American in Paris'' (1928), the songs " Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935), which included the hit " Summertime". Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris, intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style; Maurice Ravel voiced similar objections when Gershwin inq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
How Long Has This Been Going On?
"How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the musical ''Funny Face'' in 1927. History According to Ira Gershwin in his book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', after the premiere of ''Funny Face'' in Philadelphia he received a call from the then professional manager of Shapiro, Bernstein and Co. asking him to remove the song because ''“It doesn't mean anything”'' and because ''“Well, we've bought a song with the same title and we're about to publish it. Yours doesn't get you anywhere, so how about taking it out of the show?”'' Eventually the song was deleted as Ira Gershwin indicates, ''“Well, he had'' his ''wish. A couple of weeks later on the road (either in Atlantic City or Washington) ''"How Long..."'' was out, replaced by "''He Loves and She Loves''"”. Replaced by "He Loves and She Loves" in ''Funny Face'', it was eventually introduced in the musical '' Rosalie'' (1928) by Bobbe Arnst as Mary O'Brien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs. He is best known for his collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers, as the duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, whose musicals include ''Oklahoma!'', '' Carousel'', '' South Pacific'', ''The King and I'', and ''The Sound of Music''. Described by Stephen Sondheim as an "experimental playwright", Hammerstein helped bring the American musical to new maturity by popularizing musicals that focused on stories and character rather than the lighthearted entertainment that the musical had been known for beforehand. He also collaborated with Jerome Kern (with whom he wrote ''Show Boat''), Vincent Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II. With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including ''Pal Joey (musical), Pal Joey'', ''A Connecticut Yankee (musical), A Connecticut Yankee'', ''On Your Toes'' and ''Babes in Arms.'' With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as ''Oklahoma!'', ''Flower Drum Song'', ''Carousel (musical), Carousel'', ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific'', ''The King and I'', and ''The Sound of Music''. His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for brin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We Kiss In A Shadow
"We Kiss in a Shadow" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, ''The King and I''. In this song, Tuptim and Lun Tha declare their love for each other, even though they fear that the King of Siam will learn of it. In the original Broadway production it was performed by Doretta Morrow and Larry Douglas. In the 1956 film version it was sung by Reuben Fuentes, dubbing for Carlos Rivas, and Leona Gordon dubbing for Rita Moreno. Recorded versions *June Christy *Holly Cole *Perry Como recorded on March 20, 1951 *Vic Damone recorded on May 2, 1958 *Sammy Davis Jr. *Doris Day *Martin Denny, ''Hypnotique'', 1958 *Red Garland Trio *Earl Grant *Debbie Harwood, ''Soothe Me'', 2004 *Ahmad Jamal, 1961, 1962 *André Kostelanetz *Kate McGarry *Dave McKenna *Doretta Morrow and Larry Douglas on the original cast album, recorded on April 16, 1951 *Cliff Richard, 1961 *Sonny Rollins *The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, 1981 *Neil Sedaka (''Oh! Carol: The Complete Recordings'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Greene (American Songwriter)
Joseph Perkins Greene (April 19, 1915 – June 16, 1986) was an American songwriter, best known for " Across the Alley from the Alamo", " And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" (1944), and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'" (1946). Life Greene became a singer and actor. As a young man Greene was associated with songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. He is said to have discovered Ernie Andrews in 1945 and produced his first sessions. He wrote Andrews' biggest hit, the song "Soothe Me". Greene's lyrics were stylish and often had strong emotional impact. The idea for "Across the Alley from the Alamo" came to Greene in 1946 in the middle of the night. He had been writing songs for Nat King Cole, and visited Cole's manager the next morning, who thought the song had potential. Mel Tormé made a demo, then the Mills Brothers made a hit recording. This was soon followed by a version by Woody Herman and his Orchestra, sung by Woody Herman with The Four Chips, and a version by Stan Kenton and his Orch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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