Eartha Kitt & Shorty Rogers: St. Louis Blues (The Velvet Lounge)
St. Louis Blues (The Velvet Lounge)
CD
CD (Compact Disc)
Conventional CD, playable with all CD players and computer drives, but also with most SACD or multiplayers.
- Label: Bear Family, 1958
- Order number: 1142091
- Release date: 1.2.2011
* Digipack
1-CD Digipak with 32-seitigem Booklet, 12 Einzeltitel. Spieldauer ca. 35 Minuten. -- The Velvet Lounge: eigentlich ist mit dem lautmalerischen Titel dieser neuen Reihe schon alles gesagt. In der 'Velvet Lounge', dieser 'samtenen Wohndiele', darf es musikalisch ein bisschen eleganter sein, vielleicht sogar entspannter und gleichzeitig exotischer. Der neuste Nachwuchs der legendären Bear Family will eine wohlige und luxuriöse Heimat für sagenhafte Schätze aus den famosen Fünfzigern und den seltsamen Sechzigern sein, ein neues Qualitätsmerkmal für allerlei Hörgenüsse aus vergangenen Wunderjahren zwischen Rock- und Beat-Ekstase und Psychedelia-Populismus. -- Aus den Archiven der großen Labels der Zeit und einiger kleinerer Plattenfirmen stammen diese Zeitzeichen, natürlich in exzellenter Soundqualität, in den meisten Fällen als direkte Digitalisierung eines Masterbandes, manchmal als Überspielung einer Matrize oder eines 'Acetaten', immer im bestmöglichen Sound. Was da klingt, macht dem Namen der Serie alle Ehre. Man will nichts mehr, als es sich bei diesen Aufnahmen gut gehen zu lassen, gerade noch die Füße hochlegen und in einem entsprechenden Longdrink rühren. Etwa wenn Eartha Kitt, laut Orson Welles 'die aufregendste Frau der Welt', auf dem Album 'St. Louis Blues' mit dem legendären West-Coast-Trompeter Milton 'Shorty' Rogers gemeinsame Sache mit einem anregend aufregenden (und höchst unterhaltsamen) Blues-Programm macht. -- Oder wenn der trompetende Kollege Al 'Jumbo' Hirt sich auf 'Personalities' einer musikalischen Versinnbildlichung der zwanzig Jahre jüngeren Sexbombe Ann Margaret widmet, die von 'My Baby Just Cares For Me' bis zu 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' reicht. Jazz war damals trotz seiner Buchstabenanzahl noch nicht als 'four letter word' entdeckt und auch 'Entertainment' hatte nichts Anrüchiges - erlaubt war, was gefiel. Dazu gehörten Songs, die zu Recht Standards genannt wurden (und werden), und Arrangements, die nicht nur die instrumentalen Qualitäten einiger der besten Studiomusiker der damaligen Zeit forderten, sondern auch deren Verfasser, etwa Marty Paich oder Juan Esquivel. -- Neben den Hörorganen beglückt 'The Velvet Lounge' übrigens auch die Lachmuskeln. Auf 'What were they thinking ', einer längst überfälligen Compilation mit allerhand 'Odd Couples', wird der Spaß zum Prinzip und das Absurde alltäglich. Hier treffen Country-Stars auf Exotica-Helden oder Easy-Listening-Experten, werden Pop-Crooner wie Perry Como mit den Sons Of The Pioneers gepaart oder sogar Kurt Weills Gattin (und Bertolt Brechts Stamminterpretin) Lotte Lenya mit dem sagenhaften Louis Armstrong. Dass auch die Aufmachung dieser Reihe stimmt, von raren Originalfotos über exakte Diskographien bis zu ausgiebigen Liner Notes, versteht sich bei Bear Family eigentlich von selbst. Alles in und an diesen Veröffentlichungen hat diesen Hang zum Überschwang und mehr als nur einen Hauch von Luxus. Egal ob sammelnder Spezialist oder kultureller Kreuzfahrer - in der 'Velvet Lounge' ist jeder bestens aufgehoben.
1-CD Digipak with 32-page booklet, 12 tracks. Playing time approx. 35 minutes. -- The 'Velvet Lounge' is a remarkable series of re-releases dedicated to music that is always elegant and entertaining - and sometimes even exotic. The series is a comfortable and welcoming home for treasures from the fabulous Fifties and the strange Sixties. It is a mark of quality placed on music we've rediscovered from long ago and far away, from a time and place between Rock and Beat ecstasy and psychedelic populism. -- This newest addition to the Bear Family contains music that comes straight from the archives of both large and small record companies, and is re-mastered to Bear Family's excellent quality, normally as a direct digitalisation of a master-tape but always with the best possible sound. What you hear is what you get, and the listener is tempted in by this music, asked to relax and savour the music, while maybe putting up their feet and slowly stirring a long drink. -- And who you hear is important; the artists' names alone make for a formidable series. Eartha Kitt, 'the most exciting woman in the world' according to Orson Welles, does her purring 'thang' on the album 'St. Louis Blues', alongside legendary West-Coast-trumpeter Milton 'Shorty' Rogers and an extravagantly exciting and highly entertaining blues program. And then on the album 'Personalities' another trumpeter Al 'Jumbo' Hirt dedicates himself to a sort of 'symbolization in sound' of sex-bomb Ann Margret, some twenty years his junior, on songs like My Baby Just Cares For Me or Baby, It's Cold Outside. Despite numerical evidence to the contrary, 'jazz' was not a four letter word back then, and even 'entertainment' did not smell funny, yet. The motto was 'anything goes' rather than 'is that allowed ' This artistic free-for-all and high quality craftsmanship produced songs that had every right to be called 'standards'. Artist-arrangers like Marty Paich or Juan Esquivel, for instance, not only showcased the abilities of some of the best studio musicians of their time, but also the songwriters. -- The 'Velvet Lounge' engages more than the ears, though. You'll need your stomach muscles, at least those involved in extensive laughter. On 'What were they thinking ' an overdue compilation with all kinds of 'odd couples', pleasure becomes a principle and the absurd gets to be ordinary. Country stars meet Exotica heroes or Easy Listening troubadours. Pop crooners like Perry Como are coupled with the Sons Of The Pioneers, and even Lotte Lenya, Kurt Weill's wife, and Bertolt Brecht's favorite mime, gets to share some hilarious studio-time with the sensational Louis Armstrong. -- Because the 'Velvet Lounge' series comes under the Bear Family banner, it is a given that the graphic design is perfectly fitting and fittingly perfect, featuring rare original photographs, exact discographies, and extensive liner notes. Everything about this series has a touch of exuberance and luxury. Everyone from the collecting specialist to the cultural crusader can feel most welcome and at home in this 'Velvet Lounge'.
,,So muss und darf Lounge-Musik klingen." (stereoplay, 04 / 2011)
,,Doch nicht nur ihr souliger Gesang fasziniert, sondern auch die Arrangements von Shorty Rogers und seinem Orchester, der dem Ganzen eine unbeschwerte Leichtigkeit gibt." (Good Times, 04 / 05.2011)
Product-Information:
1-CD Digipak with 32-page booklet, 12 tracks. Playing time approx. 35 minutes. -- The 'Velvet Lounge' is a remarkable series of re-releases dedicated to music that is always elegant and entertaining - and sometimes even exotic. The series is a comfortable and welcoming home for treasures from the fabulous Fifties and the strange Sixties. It is a mark of quality placed on music we've rediscovered from long ago and far away, from a time and place between Rock and Beat ecstasy and psychedelic populism. -- This newest addition to the Bear Family contains music that comes straight from the archives of both large and small record companies, and is re-mastered to Bear Family's excellent quality, normally as a direct digitalisation of a master-tape but always with the best possible sound. What you hear is what you get, and the listener is tempted in by this music, asked to relax and savour the music, while maybe putting up their feet and slowly stirring a long drink. -- And who you hear is important; the artists' names alone make for a formidable series. Eartha Kitt, 'the most exciting woman in the world' according to Orson Welles, does her purring 'thang' on the album 'St. Louis Blues', alongside legendary West-Coast-trumpeter Milton 'Shorty' Rogers and an extravagantly exciting and highly entertaining blues program. And then on the album 'Personalities' another trumpeter Al 'Jumbo' Hirt dedicates himself to a sort of 'symbolization in sound' of sex-bomb Ann Margret, some twenty years his junior, on songs like My Baby Just Cares For Me or Baby, It's Cold Outside. Despite numerical evidence to the contrary, 'jazz' was not a four letter word back then, and even 'entertainment' did not smell funny, yet. The motto was 'anything goes' rather than 'is that allowed ' This artistic free-for-all and high quality craftsmanship produced songs that had every right to be called 'standards'. Artist-arrangers like Marty Paich or Juan Esquivel, for instance, not only showcased the abilities of some of the best studio musicians of their time, but also the songwriters. -- The 'Velvet Lounge' engages more than the ears, though. You'll need your stomach muscles, at least those involved in extensive laughter. On 'What were they thinking ' an overdue compilation with all kinds of 'odd couples', pleasure becomes a principle and the absurd gets to be ordinary. Country stars meet Exotica heroes or Easy Listening troubadours. Pop crooners like Perry Como are coupled with the Sons Of The Pioneers, and even Lotte Lenya, Kurt Weill's wife, and Bertolt Brecht's favorite mime, gets to share some hilarious studio-time with the sensational Louis Armstrong. -- Because the 'Velvet Lounge' series comes under the Bear Family banner, it is a given that the graphic design is perfectly fitting and fittingly perfect, featuring rare original photographs, exact discographies, and extensive liner notes. Everything about this series has a touch of exuberance and luxury. Everyone from the collecting specialist to the cultural crusader can feel most welcome and at home in this 'Velvet Lounge'.
Rezensionen
,,So muss und darf Lounge-Musik klingen." (stereoplay, 04 / 2011)
,,Doch nicht nur ihr souliger Gesang fasziniert, sondern auch die Arrangements von Shorty Rogers und seinem Orchester, der dem Ganzen eine unbeschwerte Leichtigkeit gibt." (Good Times, 04 / 05.2011)
- Tracklisting
- Contributors
Disk 1 von 1 (CD)
- 1 St. Louis Blues
- 2 Beale Street Blues
- 3 Chantez les bas
- 4 Hesitating Blues
- 5 Steal Away
- 6 Careless Love
- 7 Atlanta Blues
- 8 Long Gone
- 9 Hist The Window, Noah
- 10 Yellow Dog Blues
- 11 Friendless Blues
- 12 The Memphis Blues