Floyd Cramer - Long Walk Home (single)

Billboard reported on April 3, 1965, that both pianist Floyd Cramer (on RCA Victor) and orchestra leader Hugo Winterhalter (on Kapp) had released singles of Long Walk Home, "an intriguing piece of material with a New Orleans flavor" by Nashville songwriter and session player Chip Taylor. "Either or both should be winners," opined the music industry journal. Neither made the charts, unfortunately.

There was an equally interesting tune on the flip side of the Cramer 45, something called Town Square by fellow Nashville keyboardist Jerry Smith. Neither side of the single was on a current LP, but both did turn up two years later on Night Train, a budget release on RCA Camden.

Here's Long Walk Home taken from a Canadian pressing of the original single.

Long Walk Home



Long Walk Home and Town Square don't seem to have made it onto any of the multitude of Floyd Cramer CD and download releases, but it's possible I've missed one or two. However, cheap copies of the Night Train LP appear to be plentiful. To read more about Night Train and to listen to Town Square, read this earlier post.

From YouTube: This version of the Bob Wills standard was a hit for Cramer in 1961 and was included on his album On the Rebound.

Pepe Jaramillo - Mexican Mirage

                                          (Photo from Audio Design Studio blog)

What little information there is on Mexican-born pianist Pepe Jaramillo has to be gleaned form the less than reliable information contained in LP liner notes. There are almost no biographical details available online.

According to the album information Jaramillo was born in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Sometime in the 1940s he began playing at the Ritz Bar in Mexico City, later moving to the newly-opened The Quid. His fame grew and he began appearing on radio and TV.

A visit to France in 1957 led Jaramillo to move to Europe. After some TV work for the BBC he went to live in London.

Jaramillo had a long career in Britain, recording prolifically for various EMI labels from 1959 through the 1970s. Many of his easy listening Latin-flavoured albums were recorded for the company's high end Studio 2 Stereo imprint, including Mexican Mirage (1973). A sample track is below.

Can't Take My Eyes Off You



Very few of Jaramillo's albums have been released on CD and the only one currently in print is a compilation from the Jasmine label, Salud Pepe. You'll have no trouble picking up a copy at a reasonable price.

There's a variety of Pepe Jaramillo downloads to peruse. Quality is likely to vary widely, so choose carefully.

Here's another track from Mexican Mirage.

Pino Calvi - Romantic N. 4

Italian pianist, conductor and composer Pino Calvi (1930-1989) enjoyed a lengthy career in his homeland, composing music for movies and TV. He also participated personally in the famous San Remo Music Festival, entering one of the oldest song contests in Europe in 1957, 1962 and 1963. Calvi conducted the festival orchestra in 1963, 1964 and 1966.

He also recorded prolifically, including a series of at least 15 easy listening LPs for the Ri-Fi label dubbed Romantic. The albums must have sold reasonably well since the series that began in 1968 lasted until at least 1982. Romantic N. 4 came out in 1974 and contained a version of Nino Rota's theme for Amarcord (1973), Federico Fellini's highly regarded comedy-drama set in an Italian coastal town in the 1930s.

Amarcord



Many of Pino Calvi's recordings for Ri-Fi have been repackaged in a series of download albums available from Amazon and elsewhere. There have been very few CD releases of Calvi's music and all are out of print.

Here's Calvi playing and conducting on Italian TV in 1968.

The 3 Sounds - Here We Come

Although their bluesy mainstream stylings were dismissed by many critics at the time The 3 Sounds turned out some of Blue Note's biggest selling LPs of the 1950s and 60s.

The trio began life in South Bend, Ind., put together by pianist Gene Harris and drummer Bill Dowdy, both natives of Benton Harbor, Mich. Bassist Andrew Simpkins became the third member.

After moving to New York and signing with Blue Note in 1958 The 3 Sounds recorded a phenomenal amount of material. According to the All Music Guide, Harris estimated in later years that the trio had released 35 albums worth of material. More remained unreleased.

The original trio remained together until 1967 when Dowdy departed. The 3 Sounds left Blue Note shortly after and although the group remained together until 1970, its peak had passed.

Here We Come (Blue Note, 1960) is pretty typical of the trio's output from its classic period -- mostly relaxed interpretations of jazz and pop standards. The title track, however, is a jumping original by Harris.

Here We Come



Here We Come's only CD issue as a standalone album was a Japanese Blue Note release in 1995. Used copies begin at about $18 on Amazon and if you're serious about the group's music this is the route to go.

Here We Come is also included in the four-CD out-of-copyright collection The Three Sounds: Eight Classic Albums from the European Real Gone Jazz label. Amazon has new copies starting at under $7, so you may want to take a chance even though these have likely been remastered from vinyl.

Various out-of-copyright download versions of Here We Go also are widely available.

The 3 Sounds' take on Gershwin's Summertime also comes from Here We Go.

Floyd Morris - The ConSoul of Floyd Morris

Pianist and organist Floyd Morris (d. 1988, age 62) spent most of his time enlivening rhythm-and-blues recording sessions in his native Chicago and had a very limited career as a solo artist, waxing half a dozen singles and the album The ConSoul of Floyd Morris (Select, 1965) between 1964 and 1972.

In the early '50s Morris appeared with a group known as the Four Shades of Rhythm at the Bar-O-Music in Chicago for several years but apparently did not record with them. He moved on to join bassist Johnny Pate's trio and then vocalist Oscar Brown, Jr. Morris settled in at Chicago's studios backing artists like Gene Chandler, The Impressions and Etta James.

That brings us to The ConSoul of Floyd Morris, a fine helping of organ instrumental R&B that also features the sax of Buddy Lucas, another veteran of the studio scene. Lucas had played on hits such Why Do Fools Fall in Love by The Teenagers and Tears on My Pillow by Little Anthony and the Imperials.

Here's a sample track from the LP, which has not been re-released in a digital format.

Call Me Darling



One of Floyd Morris's most notable appearances isn't that well known. He plays piano on Soulful Strut, which was a big instrumental hit in 1968. The record was credited to Young-Holt Unlimited, formed by two former members of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, bassist Eldee Young and drummer Red Holt. The tune had begun life as a backing track for singer Barbara Acklin's Am I the Same Girl. The vocal was stripped out and Morris's piano was added and the result was Soulful Strut, which sold two million copies.

According to Robert Pruter's book Chicago Soul neither Young nor Holt appeared on Soulful Strut, which was tracked by an anonymous group of studio players. In any case, here it is.

George Fischoff - Pretty Kitty

Indiana-born pianist and composer George Fischoff has the distinction of writing two big hits of the 1960s -- Lazy Day for Spanky and Our Gang and 98.6 for Keith.

Fischoff also composed the music, with lyrics by Carole Bayer, for the 1970 Broadway show Georgy, a musical based on the novel and subsequent film Georgy Girl. It closed after just four performances, although it did garner Tony nominations for actresses Dilys Watling and Melissa Hart.

As a recording artist, Fischoff had a number of hits on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (meaning he got lots of airplay on easy listening stations), beginning in 1974 with Georgia Porcupine and ending in 1983 with several tunes off his album Pretty Kitty (Moss Music Group, 1982). This was by far his most popular release. A sample track, taken from a cassette copy of the album, is below.

Rhapsody in Ivory



No less than four tracks from Pretty Kitty -- Carnival Island, Piano Power, Summer Love and the title tune -- got enough radio exposure to make the Adult Contemporary chart.

Pretty Kitty apparently did not receive a CD release, but the album is available as a download from all the major sources.

Here's George Fischoff first airplay hit from 1974.

Hank Jacobs - Heide (45 single)

Hank Jacobs made some pretty interesting organ and piano instrumental sides, mainly for Sue Records, in the 1960s. Jacobs managed only one chart single under his own name, So Far Away (b/w Monkey Hips and Rice), which was a minor hit in early 1964.

Subsequent singles on Sue followed a similar style, one that might best be described as subdued funk. Heide (b/w Playboy's Penthouse) was issued later in '64.

Heide



Many of his Sue singles, including both sides of the So Far Away and Heide 45s, were on a So Far Away LP issued in late '64.

Jacobs later played with a studio band called the T-K-O's, who scored an R&B hit in 1966 with The Fat Man on the Ten-Star label. The following year he backed singer Bettye Swann on her chart-topping R&B hit Make Me Yours.

Only three or four of Jacobs's tracks are available on various compilations from iTunes and other download sources. His hit So Far Away has also turned up on several CD collections. Other than that he's not represented in the digital format.

Here's Jacobs's hit.

Paul Smith - The Good Life

Pianist Paul Smith, who died on June 30, 2013, at age 91, kind of flew under the radar on the jazz scene, perhaps because he worked so often outside that genre.

Smith was a first-rate accompanist and music director who worked with artists as diverse as Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Pat Boone and Nat (King) Cole. He was also the pianist and music director on The Steve Allen Comedy Hour on television for more than 25 years.

Smith also was also active in the recording studios, performing and arranging for film and TV scores and appearing on a wide range of recordings.

But let's not forget that he was also a prodigious jazz talent, which brings us to The Good Life (Discwasher, 1979), one of the first digitally recorded albums, and THE first digital release for the Discwasher label. It was issued only on vinyl. Smith was accompanied by Barney Kessel on guitar, Monty Budwig on bass and Frank Capp, drums.

The album was reissued in 1988 on the Voss label in LP, cassette and CD versions, but with a far more pedestrian cover.

Eight of the 10 tracks are standards, with one original each from Smith and Kessel. You can listen to Smith's composition below. The track is taken from the reissue.

Boppo for J.J.



The Good Life has occasionally changed hands at pretty high prices online, but used copies of both the original and reissue can be had on Amazon for about $10. The LP seems to be more common than the CD. The album isn't being sold as a download.

Liquid Sounds (Capitol, 1954) was an early release for Paul Smith and was issued on both a 10-inch LP and two 45 r.p.m. EPs. The session included Abe Most on clarinet, Julius Kinsler on flute and alto sax, Tony Rizzi on guitar, Sam Chieftz on bass and either Alvin Stoller or Irv Cottler, drums.

When Liquid Sounds was reissued on a Japanese CD in 2007 there were four bonus tracks, including What Is This Thing Called Love.

The Gladiators - Tovarich (single)

The Gladiators started out as Nero & the Gladiators and managed two chart records during the British instrumental boom of the early 1960s -- In the Hall of the Mountain King and Entry of the Gladiators.

The group was fronted by pianist Mike O'Neill, who billed himself as Nero and wore a toga on stage. The rest of the group (guitar, bass and drums) wore Roman legionnaire costumes.

Their two hit singles were recorded for Decca and after a third unsuccessful 45 for that label, the group switched to HMV for what proved to be their final outing, Bleak House/Tovarich (1963). Although O'Neill still led the group, the "Nero" billing had disappeared. No keyboards are evident on Tovarich, a stomper fronted by guitarist Colin Green.

Tovarich



Tovarich has appeared on several CD compilations over the years. One that's still available is Les Geants de la Guitares, a four-CD box from Magic Records in France. Guitar instrumental hits and obscurities from both Europe and the U.S. are included in this first-rate set.

I can't find any evidence that Tovarich is available as a legal download, although the title is frequently misspelled as "Tovaritch," so that may help you track it down.

In the meantime here's the "A" side of the Tovarich single by The Gladiators, featuring the piano of Mike O'Neill.

For a full account of the career of Nero & the Gladiators, visit the Obscure Bands of the 50's and 60's blog.

Floyd Cramer - Night Train

Night Train, a 1967 release on RCA's budget Camden imprint, gathered some early to mid-1960s recordings by Nashville pianist Floyd Cramer (1933-1997). Most had not appeared on LP previously and most are not available on CD or as downloads, although a few, such as Woodchopper's Ball and Night Train, turned up on a 1988 CD on the Pair label, Country Classics.

It has been out of print for years but used copies are fairly easy to find online as are vinyl copies of Night Train.

The LP is well worth picking up for tracks like Town Square, a jaunty little tune by fellow Nashville pianist Jerry Smith. It had appeared in 1965 as the "B" side of the single Long Walk Home. Both tracks had been recorded at the RCA Victor Studio in Nashville in January of that year, with Chet Atkins producing.

Town Square



Town Square has an almost honky-tonk feel to it, which isn't surprising since composer Jerry Smith played in a pop-flavored version of the honky-tonk style on his recordings. As a matter of fact so did Cramer on early recordings (1957) he made for MGM. There was none of that smooth countrypolitan sound that characterized most of his RCA discs.

Here's the title tune from the Night Train LP.

Ramsey Lewis Trio - Travel On (single)

The Ramsey Lewis Trio's recording of Travel On predates The "In" Crowd, the 1965 hit that brought the group international fame in 1965, by at least a year. Travel On was included on the trio's 1964 album Bach to the Blues and was released as a Chess single in the U.S. that year, with Why Don't You Do Right as the flip side.

When The "In" Crowd single came out the following year most territories used Since I Fell for You, another track off The "In" Crowd LP, as the "B" side. But for some reason Artone, the label that released the 45 in The Netherlands, opted to use the earlier recorded Travel On. The Dutch single also featured the striking picture sleeve shown at the top of this post. Listen to Travel On below.

Travel On



Travel On was included on a vinyl compilation, Choice! The Best of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, which came out in 1965, but does not seem to have been included on any CDs nor does it appear to be available as a legal download.

Here's the original recording of The "In" Crowd, the single version, with some definitely unique visuals.

Bobby Munro - Piano Country

Canadian pianist Bobby Munro was a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, and was active on the country scene in his native land in the 1960s and '70s. He backed many Canadian country artists including Dick Nolan, Myrna Lorrie and the group Eastwind.

Soon after Piano Country came out in 1974 the company that issued it, Marathon Music, went bankrupt and was sold to another Canadian company, Boot Records. Other than the fact that he apparently played some gigs in Hawaii, I could find no more information about Mr. Munro.

Among the tracks on Piano Country was Truck Stop, which had been a minor hit for Nashville pianist Jerry Smith in 1969. Munro has a more robust approach to the tune, which you can listen to below.

Truck Stop



All the tracks from the 1974 LP, plus 12 more, are included on a Piano Country CD, apparently available only from the Canadian mail order firm Country Music Treasures.com.

To conclude, here's Jerry Smith playing the original version of Truck Stop.

Billy Maxted & His Manhattan Jazz Band - Bourbon St. Billy and the Blues

Pianist and arranger Billy Maxted (1917-2001) led a top notch Dixieland group, the Manhattan Jazz Band, which he formed in the late 1940s and held together for more than a decade. He began playing with trumpeter Red Nichols's group in 1937 and during the Second World War wrote arrangements for the bands of Benny Goodman and Claude Thornhill.

But Maxted is seldom remembered today, partly because most of his recordings were for small labels like Seeco, which issued Bourbon St. Billy and the Blues in 1959. The personnel on this session included Chuck Forsyth on trumpet, Johnny Dengler, tuba, bass sax and clarinet, Lee Gifford on trombone, Dan Tracey on clarinet, Jack Fay on bass and Maurice Purtill, drums. A sample tune is below. My copy of the LP showed considerable wear and tear when it was added to my collection some years ago, so there's a bit of distortion evident.

Billy's Delight



Bourbon St. Billy and the Blues does not appear to have crossed the digital frontier to CD or downloads. In fact, only one collection of Maxted's recordings is available on CD.

Most major online merchants are selling this good quality collection of recordings made between 1955 and 1966. Choose from CD or downloads.

There are several other Maxted albums being marketed as downloads, but they are from the substandard Hallmark imprint and are not recommended.

Billy Maxted's recording of Satin Doll (it's included in the compilation album pictured above) got quite a bit of airplay after its release in 1961 and here it is from YouTube.

Ronnie Price - Bewitched (track)

Pianist Ronnie Price (1923-1996) became one of the U.K.'s most sought after session musicians after playing in dance band and jazz outfits led by Teddy Foster, Tito Burns and Sydney Lipton, among others. Later he was music director for singer Anne Shelton and played in the big band of Don Lusher.

Among the artists Price backed on record were Sammy Davis, Jr., Bing Crosby and Andy Williams. Price was amazingly versatile, playing everything from jazz to easy listening to light classics. He made numerous easy listening recordings that were included in Reader's Digest LP box sets, such as Cocktail Piano Time (1970). Bewitched is from that set.

Bewitched



Several of Ronnie Price's Reader's Digest tracks are available for download, but Bewitched isn't among them. Some of the Reader's Digest tracks were issued on a 1997 CD set called Moonlight Piano, available in the Amazon Marketplace.

And there is this CD also for sale in the Amazon Marketplace for about $12 for a used copy. It appears to be in a similar vein.

Here's a selection from The Dancing Piano of Ronnie Price, an LP issued in 1984.

Laurens van Rooyen & Francis Goya - Concierto

I can't say that I'm usually much of a fan of the music of Dutch pianist Laurens Van Rooyen. Most of his albums, with the use of synthesizers and other electronic enhancements, seem to inhabit a nebulous area between old-fashioned easy listening and new age, without having much depth or character.

But Van Rooyen's 1987 album Concierto, a collection of pop versions of Latin classics, is enlivened by the presence of Belgian guitarist Francis Goya, who has also enhanced albums by similarly-styled pianists Richard Clayderman (France) and Richard Abel (Canada). Goya and Van Rooyen seem to bring out the best in each other as you can hear in the sample below, taken from a cassette version of the album.

La Comparsa



Concierto, which was issued on CD, vinyl and cassette, has long been out of print. It is, however, easily obtainable as a download.

Both Van Rooyen and Goya have an extensive collection of their back catalogues available as downloads. Only a few albums from each can be purchased on CD.

Here's Francis Goya performing Nostalgia, the tune that was a big hit for him in Europe in 1975 and launched his solo career. The video, uploaded to YouTube by the Francis Goya Foundation in 2012, appears to have been taken from a recent performance, although no date or venue is given.

“ The aim of the Francis Goya Foundation is to help young children and teenagers from “problem” regions and families worldwide by giving them access to art and music workshops and classes. ”

Junior Mance - Down on the Floor (single)

Although the single Down on the Floor (b/w Stormy Weather) is not dated, Chicago-born (1928) pianist Junior Mance recorded it sometime in the early 1960s before he began his stint at Capitol Records.

Strangely Down on the Floor doesn't appear to have made it onto any of Mance's Jazzland or Riverside LPs and is currently unavailable in any form. That's too bad because this is a pleasant bluesy little tune with string accompaniment that was composed by Mance and arranger Fred Norman. So grab this baby while you can.

Down on the Floor



At age 84 Junior Mance is still out there performing and recording. He has a regular Sunday night gig at Cafe Loup in New York. Visit the cafe's website for further information. Mance has his own website as well and it's well worth visiting for news, videos, CDs and further tour dates.

Here's Mance performing in New York in August 2011.

Uncredited - 18 Golden Piano Hits 1 (2nd post)

This collection of easy listening-cocktail piano favourites, issued in 1992 by Point Productions of The Netherlands, was first spotlighted in a blog post in September 2012. You can read the scant details and background of this album there.

The good: a capable pianist backed by a real orchestra. The bad: no one outside of the album insert designer is credited.

From 18 Golden Piano Hits 1 comes I'll Remember April, a popular standard composed by Gene de Paul, with lyrics by Patricia Johnstone and Don Raye, for, of all things, a 1942 Abbot and Costello comedy, Ride 'Em Cowboy. It was sung in the film by western star Dick Foran but has since been recorded by countless jazz and pop artists.

The version on 18 Golden Piano Hits is very similar to the style of British pianist Ronnie Aldrich, who recorded numerous albums for the London Phase 4 label in the 1960s and '70s.

I'll Remember April



From YouTube here's a vintage performance of I'll Remember April by saxophonist Lucky Thompson. No date or venue is given.

Art Blakey, Dr. John & David (Fathead) Newman - Bluesiana Triangle

The primarily New Age label Windham Hill brought together Dr. John, David (Fathead) Newman and Art Blakey in 1990 for a blues-based session that was dubbed Bluesiana Triangle. Bluesiana II appeared the following year (Blakey died before that session took place) and that was the extent of the collaboration.

On the debut disc, there's plenty of Dr. John's boogie-woogie piano and raspy vocals, some soulful sax and flute from Newman and the whole thing being driven by Blakey's drums. The opening track is a fine instrumental jam on Newman's Heads Up. Get it below. The MP3 is from a cassette version of the album.

Heads Up

Neither Bluesiana CD remains in print, although used copies are plentiful (and reasonably priced) in the Amazon Marketplace. The albums aren't available as legal downloads.

Via YouTube, here's another sampling of Bluesiana Triangle.

The Mark II - Confusion (single)

The Mark II was a collaboration between two musicians from Warwick, R.I., Wayne Cogswell and Ray Peterson. This Ray Peterson is not the one who recorded the 1960 hit Tell Laura I Love Her.

Cogswell was a session guitarist at Sun Records and also made inroads in Nashville, writing songs for Chet Atkins (Teensville) and Skeeter Davis (Someday, Someday). In 1960 Cogswell decided to move back home to Warwick and it was there he hooked up with Peterson.

The two decided to form a record label, Wye Records, and for their first release chose to record their composition Night Theme, which became a solid national hit. According to the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame the two adopted a rather unusual technique of four-handed piano, with Cogswell at the bottom on bass and chords and Peterson at the top playing unison or harmonized melody.

(Read more about Wye Records and the Mark II at the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame Archives.)

Unfortunately when it came time to record a "B" side for the single Peterson wasn't available because he'd injured a finger and Freddie Starks was called to fill in. The flip side of Night Theme was Confusion, another Cogswell-Peterson tune. Other musicians on the date were George Azevedo on sax, Bob Petteruti on bass, drummer Jack Welch and Kenny Bertch on vibes. Grab the tune from the link below.

Confusion

There were no more hits for Wye Records after Night Theme and the label packed it in after a dozen or so single releases. The company did not release any albums.

From YouTube here's the Mark II's one and only hit.

Papa Joe's Music Box - Closing Time (single)

Papa Joe's Music Box was the creation of Nashville pianist and producer Jerry Smith. Smith coined the group name from the Dixiebelles' 1963 hit (Down at) Papa Joe's, which Smith wrote and co-produced with Bill Justis.

Smith put his honky-tonk piano sound on wax for Sound Stage 7, Decca, Ranwood and Nuggett, both under his own name and as Papa Joe's Music Box. He was also behind some of The Magic Organ releases on Ranwood.

Closing Time came out on the Nuggett label in May 1968. It was the "B" side of a single that had something called Speakeasy 1929 as the "A" side that was promoted to disc jockeys. Billboard picked the 45 to make the Top 60 of the Hot 100 chart (it didn't). The trade magazine called the record, "A hot jukebox item with the old-timey feel of Bonnie & Clyde fever." Well, maybe...

In any case, you can grab Closing Time from the link below.

Closing Time



None of Jerry Smith's piano recordings seem to have made the transition to digital, although I believe some of The Magic Organ tracks made it on to CD. If you're a fan of skating rink organ, you can look it up.

Below, from YouTube, is the Dixiebelles' (Down at) Papa Joe's, with Jerry Smith on piano.