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Out Of This World (Johnny Mercer Song)
"Out of This World" is an American popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer. It was first recorded by Jo Stafford with Paul Weston and his Orchestra in 1944. It was introduced in the film '' Out of This World'' (1945) by Bing Crosby dubbing in for the voice of the main character played by Eddie Bracken. Alec Wilder describes the Arlen melody as creating a modal feeling (E-flat Dorian) that achieves an unearthly effect. It is unlike his other lyric ballads in that it is one of Arlen's most direct and deliberately unrhythmic melodies—altogether a strong song with splendid support from the Johnny Mercer lyric. Notable recordings *Jo Stafford with Paul Weston and his Orchestra - recorded September 1944, released 1945 and reached he Billboard charts with a peak position of No. 9. *Bing Crosby - recorded December 4, 1944 with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra. *Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (vocal by Stuart Foster). This charted briefly in 1945 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (lyrics by Yip Harburg), including " Over the Rainbow", Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th century's No. 1 song by the RIAA and the NEA. Life and career Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York, the child of a Jewish cantor. His twin brother died the next day. He learned to play the piano as a youth, and formed a band as a young man. He achieved some local success as a pianist and singer before moving to New York City in his early twenties, where he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and changed his name to Harold Arlen. Between 1926 and about 1934, Arlen appeared occasionally as a band vocalist on records by The Buffalodians, Red Nichols, Joe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Rah!
''Rah'' is a 1962 studio album by Mark Murphy, arranged by Ernie Wilkins. This was Murphy's first Riverside Records album, and he is supported by an orchestra including Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Urbie Green, Ernie Royal, Clark Terry and Jimmy Cobb. Reception ''Down Beat'' magazine critic John A. Tynan reviewed the album for the April 12, 1962 issue and stated: "Murphy should thank his lucky stars for, among other things such as his talent, Ernie Wilkins. Wilkins has written a set of arrangements for the young jazz singer that should turn Frank Sinatra green with envy. Much of the album's success is due to the arranger's pen. The Allmusic review by Eugene Chadbourne awarded the album four stars and said that ''Rah'' "has worn well over the years...On tracks such as "Green Dolphin Street," he dives into the rhythm with the relaxed calm of an expert. And when the result can be the harebrained complexity of "Twisted" or the funky timing of " Doodlin'," the wisdom of letting the ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Murphy (singer)
Mark Howe Murphy (March 14, 1932 – October 22, 2015) was an American jazz singer based at various times in New York City, Los Angeles, London, and San Francisco. He recorded 51 albums under his own name during his lifetime and was principally known for his innovative vocal improvisations. He was the recipient of the 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001 ''Down Beat'' magazine readers' jazz poll for Best Male Vocalist and was also nominated five times for the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Jazz Performance.Jones, Peter. ''This is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy'' (Equinox Publishing, 2018) He wrote lyrics to the jazz tunes " Stolen Moments" and "Red Clay". Early life Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1932, Murphy was raised in a musical family, his parents having met when his father was appointed director of the local Methodist Church choir. He grew up in the nearby small town of Fulton, New York, where his grandmother and then his aunt were the church organists. Opera was also a presence in the M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les McCann
Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. He grew up in a musical family of four, a brother and three sisters with most of McCann's family singing in church choirs. His father was a fan of jazz music and his mother was known to hum opera around the house. As a youth, he played the tuba and drums and performed in his school's marching band. As a pianist McCann, was largely self-taught. He explained he only received piano lessons for a few weeks as a six-year-old before his teacher died. Career During his service in the U.S. Navy, McCann won a singing contest which led to an appearance on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. After leaving the Navy, McCann moved to California and played in his own trio. He declined an offer to work in Cannonball Adderley's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook
''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Song Book'' is a 1961 (see 1961 in music) album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Billy May. This album marked the only time that Fitzgerald worked with May. The Harold Arlen ''Song Book'' is the sixth album in Fitzgerald's series of recordings of songs written by the pantheon of Broadway composers who formed the body of work now considered the ''Great American Songbook''. The cover art is a drawing by Henri Matisse. Track listing For the 2-LP set originally released on the Verve label in 1961: Verve MG V-4046-2 Side One: # " Blues in the Night" (Johnny Mercer) – 7:14 # "Let's Fall in Love" (Ted Koehler) – 4:05 # " Stormy Weather" (Koehler) – 5:17 # " Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (Koehler) – 2:26 # "My Shining Hour" (Mercer) – 4:02 # " Hooray for Love" (Leo Robin) – 2:45 Side Two: # "This Time the Dream's on Me" (Mercer) – 4:39 # "That Old Black Magi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out Of This World (Pepper Adams Donald Byrd Quintet Album)
''Out of This World'' is an album by the Pepper Adams Donald Byrd Quintet. The album features the recording debut of pianist Herbie Hancock. Reception The contemporaneous ''DownBeat'' reviewer, Leonard Feather, stated that the album was "the most successful Adams–Byrd collaboration to date", and described Hancock as "a capable and promising pianist". Track listing Original issue, Warwick W 2041 # " Out of This World" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) # "Curro's" (Donald Byrd) # "It's a Beautiful Evening" ( Ray Rasch, Dotty Wayne) # "Mr. Lucky Theme" (Henry Mancini) (theme of TV-series '' Mr. Lucky'') # "Bird House" (Donald Byrd) # "Day Dreams" (Duke Ellington, John Latouche, Billy Strayhorn) Volume 2, Warwick W 2041-2 #" I'm an Old Cowhand" (Johnny Mercer) (previously unreleased) 9:42 #"Day Dreams"(alt. take) 4:50 #"Out of This World" (alt. take) 3:55 #"Mr. Lucky" (alt. take) 6:42 #"Curro's" (alt. take) 6:40 #"Byrd House" (alt. take) 5:50 2010 issue, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Byrd
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop musicians who successfully explored funk and soul while remaining a jazz artist. As a bandleader, Byrd was an influence on the early career of Herbie Hancock. Biography Early life and career Byrd was born in 1932 in Detroit, Michigan. His family came from the African-American middle-class. His father, Elijah Thomas Byrd, was a Methodist minister who greatly valued education and oversaw his son's schooling. His mother, Cornelia Taylor, introduced Byrd to jazz music and it was her brother who gave Byrd his first trumpet. He attended Cass Technical High School. He performed with Lionel Hampton before finishing high school. During this period, his first professional recording session was in 1949 at Fortune Records in Detroit with the Robert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pepper Adams
Park Frederick "Pepper" Adams III (October 8, 1930 – September 10, 1986) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist and composer. He composed 42 pieces, was the leader on eighteen albums spanning 28 years, and participated in 600 sessions as a sideman. He worked with an array of musicians, and had especially fruitful collaborations with trumpeter Donald Byrd and as a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band. Biography Early life Pepper Adams was born in Highland Park, Michigan, to father Park Adams II, who worked as the manager of a furniture store, and mother Cleo Marie Coyle. Both of his parents were college graduates, with each spending some time at the University of Michigan. Due to the onset of the Great Depression, Adams' parents separated to allow his father to find work without geographic dependence. In the fall of 1931, Adams moved with his mother to his extended family's farm near Columbia City, Indiana, where food and support were more readily available. In 1933 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Creed Taylor
Creed Bane Taylor V (May 13, 1929 – August 22, 2022) was an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1967. His career also included periods at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount Records (including its jazz label, Impulse!), Verve, and A&M Records. In the 1960s, he signed bossa nova artists from Brazil to record in the US including Antonio Carlos Jobim, Eumir Deodato, João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, and Airto Moreira. Biography Early work Taylor was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and spent his childhood in Pearisburg, Virginia, where he played trumpet in the high school marching band and symphony orchestra. Although he grew up surrounded by country music and bluegrass, he gravitated more toward the sounds of jazz, citing Dizzy Gillespie as a source of inspiration during his high school years. Taylor recalls spending many evenings beside a small radio, listening to Symphony Sid's live broadcasts from Birdland in New York City. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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