The White Elephant Orchestra, later known as White Elephant, otherwise known as Mike Mainieri & Friends, was a jazz-rock big band made up of session and studio musicians based in New York City."Mike Mainieri".
''All About Jazz''. Retrieved 30 November 2022. Set up in the late 1960s as an experimental ensemble, under the direction of Mike Mainieri (arranger, composer, keyboards, liner notes, percussion, producer & vocals), band members included Michael Brecker ( tenor),

Frank Vicari Frank Vicari (April 11, 1931 – October 20, 2006) was a jazz saxophonist. Career After serving in the Air Force from 1951–55, where he played in service bands, Vicari returned to New York City and played in bands until he joined Maynard Fergu ...

(tenor),

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * Geor ...

(

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

) and Ronnie Cuber (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

) on saxes; Randy Brecker,

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

and Lew Soloff on trumpets; Barry Rogers & Jon Pierson on trombones; as well as Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Donald MacDonald, Warren Bernhardt, Joe Beck, David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken in the rhythm section. The band also included Nick Holmes (songwriter & vocalist), Sue Manchester (vocalist), and Annie Sutton, aka Ann E. Sutton, (vocalist). For the most part, their music was the result of late night jam sessions of various musicians who gathering in New York recording studios. They released one eponymous double LP, simply called ''White Elephant'', on

Just Sunshine Records Michael Scott Lang (December 11, 1944 – January 8, 2022) was an American concert promoter, producer, and artistic manager who was best known as a co-creator of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969. Lang served as the organizer of the ev ...

in 1972. The final track on side 4 is a 7:10 version of "

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" (: note "s" rather than "z") is a popular song, particularly in the English-speaking world. Traditionally, it is sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. By extension, it is also often ...

". A promotional

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

with two shorter versions of the song was sent to radio stations in time for the New Year.

References

{{Reflist American jazz-rock groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1972 1969 establishments in New York (state) 1972 disestablishments in New York (state)