1959: Today at the 30th Street Studio

May 6 (Wednesday) 3 of 3:

The third session today was from 7-10pm, and was another Verve Records Transcription session. It seems extremely likely that it was the Peter Brown Quintet project that Luke found above, continuing from yesterday.

 

I don't have time to try to access the full text of this at the moment, but this seems like a strong possibility:

MARIAN ANDERSON WILL SING ON C.B.S.; Signed for Coca-Cola TV Variety Show -- Jackie Cooper Series Bought

MARIAN ANDERSON WILL SING ON C.B.S.; Signed for Coca-Cola TV Variety Show -- Jackie Cooper Series Bought
By RICHARD F. SHEPARD APRIL 9, 1959

Marian Anderson will star on the next Coca-Cola Company special TV variety show next month.

 

The "Jackie Cooper series" referred to in the subheadline would be Hennesey, which ran until 1962.

 

May 7 (Thursday) 1 of 3:

The first session today is another confusing one.

From 2:30--5:30pm, the Schedule and Report agree that the drummer Jack Sterling (and musicians) recorded

Goody Goody
Our Love Is Here To Stay
You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
Dearly Beloved

Producer/A&R was Ernie Altschuler.

Musicians employed:

Leader and Piano:
Anthony V. Allessandrini
Drums:
Jack William Sexton (PKA Jack Sterling) ("Professionally Known As")
Guitar:
Mary Osborne
Trombone:
Tyree Glenn
Clarinet:
Andrew Frances Fitzgerald
Bass:
Burgher William Jones

The confusing part is that Jack Sterling was a CBS radio and TV host, while Jack Sperling was a drummer who we met earlier with Henry Mancini, both accompanying the lady who was the torch singer and Peter Gunn's often girlfriend on that hit TV show. The latter often performed with Mary Osborne and Tyree Glenn, or so I've found, while the former actually was a drummer on his show, according to his obit in the NY Times and was indeed formerly Jack Sexton.

So it seems likely that today's session was with the radio/TV host and not the prolific drummer, but Mary Osborne and Tyree Glenn were there today.

I could find no release of these songs.

This is the first time we've seen Mary Osborne, and might be the first time we've seen a female session guitar player, so that's worthy of some elaboration.

Mary Osborne was a 52nd St. regular starting in the '40's, and was in Elliot Lawrence's quartet which was the house band for Jack Sterling's radio show.

Tyree Glenn's Wikipedia page says that he was in the house band on Jack Sterling's radio show, too. I haven't yet found a list of the full band, though.

So there you go.

Here's a couple of somewhat unrelated but still related Youtube videos showing the wrong Jack Sperling doing some cool drumming behind Peggy Lee while she sings "Fever", and Mary Osborne showing some great chops:



Mary Osborne I Love Paris These Foolish Things

Some other really good but uncredited players on that one, too.

Dang, looking around more, here's a clip of Marian McPartland (herself a 52nd St. regular with her hubby Jimmy) introducing a clip of Mary playing with an uncredited cool group, with Billie Holiday digging it:

Mary Osborne 1958 - intro by Marian McPartland @ Bitter End

Dang again, looking at followup videos gives this info:

7/10/58 NJ., WNTA-TV&bc Art Ford Jazz Party - Billie Holiday (v) Buck Clayton (t) Tyree Glenn (tb) Hank D'Amico (cl) Georgie Auld (ts) Mal Waldron(p) Harry Sheppard (vib) Mary Osborne (elg) Vinnie Burke (b) Osie Johnson (d) on J.Conn.Cas.AFJP-1; on Hoffmann-DVD-11; complete video-session is available.

attached to this great video of further music from that session with Billie singing

Billie Holiday 1958-07-10-Art Ford - Foolin´Myself + Easy To Remember + Little Moonlight Can Do

Gotta stop, this could go on and on. Lotta names we know among those players.

 

Jack Sterling was the morning man on WCBS 880 AM in New York from 1948 to 1966, after which he was replaced by former gridiron great Pat Summerall - this, a year before WCBS began transitioning to an all-news format. After a brief run on WHN 1050 upon his being fired by WCBS, Mr. Sterling would become a commercial spokesperson for Family Circle magazine for years, as well as some record offer ads for HRB Music.

 

These were released on an album entitled Cocktail Swing issued on, of all places, its budget Harmony subsidiary, as HL 7202 (mono) and HS 11015 (stereo). Credited as "Jack Sterling And His Quintet":



Up to about 1960, mono Harmony LP's were pressed in styrene, as seen here; die cut center holes for styrene LP labels were 0.344" diameter rather than 0.281" as for vinyl. (The stereo issue was regular vinyl.)

 

Marian Anderson will star on the next Coca-Cola Company special TV variety show next month.

The Columbia Broadcasting System show may put Miss Anderson into a Grand Canyon setting, one of the longest backdrops ever seen on television. The program, "America Pauses for the Merry Month of May," is done on tape, film, and live TV in various parts of the country. The singer is the first star signed for the telecast, second of several specials by the sponsor. It will be seen Monday, May 18, from 8 to 9 P.M.

 

May 7 (Thursday) 2&3 of 3:

The next two sessions are noted in the Schedule as "Rock N'Roll Harmony", with producer/A&R Ernie Altschuler.

In the Reports, they are noted as "Rocky Curtiss & His Orchestra". They ran from 7-10pm, and from 11:30pm-3:30am.

Songs recorded were

Gidget
Crossfire
You're So Fine
I Told Myself A Lie
Tallahassee Lassie
Endlessly
A Teenager In Love
(You've Got) Personality
Kansas City
Dream Lover
Big Teddy
Ginchy
Tranquilizer

Musicians employed

Leader and Piano:
Rocky Curtiss
Saxophone:
Attilio J. Macero
Drums:
Salvatore J. Mecca
Guitar:
Peter DeMarzo
Angelo G. Allucci
John Cognetti

compiler was ek

The first thing that jumps out screaming from this session is that Attilio J. Macero was also known as Teo.

The second thing (to a Dane) is all the Italian last names. Is this a session of guys from the neighborhood? That would be pretty cool.

Looking up Rocky Curtiss kills that second thought; his real name was Don Roscoe Joseph III and he was born in St. Louis and raised in Tulsa. However, according to that Wikipedia article, "In the Fall of 1958, (he) moved to Pennsylvania to form a band for Clyde Stacy. When Stacy retired in 1959, (Rocky) became lead singer for the band, The Four Flames, recording a Columbia Harmony album in New York entitled The Big Ten, as "Rocky Curtiss and the Harmony Flames."

It also says he met J. J. Cale in high school, and played in a band with him in 1957. He was also known as Rocky Frisco, and was later Cale's longtime pianist!

So here is the album front cover from Discogs (the back cover is only the song titles and a full list of other Harmony releases) and the labels:





Here is one of the songs on Youtube



The Wikipedia entry says he did voice work, which I hope means announcing and/or voiceovers, because his hold on the pitch seems pretty tenuous in that video.

From listening to the video it seems clear there were backing vocalists; did Teo put the band together to back the singers? There wasn't much of a sax part in that song...

I feel like I've seen the drummer's name before, but I don't find anything relevant doing a quick search.

 

May 8 (Friday) 1 of 3:

From 10am-1pm, Glenn Gould recorded

Bach: Menuet from ? (sic)

compiler was ek

It was a Masterworks session so you'd think Howard Scott was Producer/A&R, and Fred Plaut was engineer.

Any idea what song this was?

 

May 8 (Friday) 2 of 3:

From 2:30-5:30pm, our new friend Jack Sterling recorded more songs for his "Cocktail Swing" album (thanks for finding that, W.B.):

Carioca
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter
Speak Low
Comes Love
How High The Moon

Ernie Altschuler was again A&R/Producer, and the musicians were exactly the same as the previous session.

 

May 8 (Friday) 3 of 3:

The final session today was also someone we've met before: Ted Straeter and His Orchestra, from 7-10pm. Songs recorded were:

You Leave Me Alone
Folks Who Live On The Hill
You're The Someone

Irving Townsend was A&R/Producer.

Musicians employed

Leader and Piano:
Ted Straeter
Contractor:
Otto Fl Schmidt (sic)
Flute:
Rome M. Penque (sic)
Clarinet:
Philip L. Bodner
Herman Shertzer
William Slapin
Trumpet:
Bart Wallace
Violins:
Felix Orlewitz
Morris A. Lefkowitz
Guitar:
Alexander E. Caiola
Drums:
James Joseph Fitzsimon
Bass:
Herman T. Albert

compiler was ek

At least two of those songs were released on the "–Sings To The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" album that we saw early in this thread.

 

May 9 (Saturday):

Only one session today, for Carl Maduri with Joe Sherman and His Orchestra, from 2-5pm. Songs recorded were

Growing Away From The Crowd
Remember, Remember Me

Producer/A&R was not listed, but one would think it was Joe Sherman since he was Leader of the session.

Musicians employed

Leader:
Joe Sherman
Contractor:
Edward Goldberg
Guitars:
Arthur S. Ryerson
Jos. B. Gailbraith (sic)
John Pizzarelli
Drums:
Joe Marshall Jr.
Bass:
George B. Duvivier
Piano:
Andrew Ackers

compiler was ag

Carl Maduri doesn't have a Wikipedia page or a biography that I could quickly find, but his page at Discogs has a lot of info about not only the few songs he performed but also the production he did for other people's music, including many projects for Maureen McGovern and Wild Cherry and others.

There was a promo 45 released for the two songs today:

 

V - Menuet I; Menuet II

Bach* - Glenn Gould - Concerto In F Major, Partita No. 1 In B-Flat Major, Partita No. 2 In C Minor

Bach: Italian Concerto in F Major & Partita Nos. 1 & 2
ML 5472/MS 6141
Recorded May 1, 8, June 22-26, September 22, 1959
Note: Italian Concerto, seen in Glenn Gould On The Record, was recorded at the June sessions.

History of CBS Records 30th Street Studio NYC (many pictures)

 

May 10 (Sunday) 1&2&3 of 3:

There were two sessions in the Schedule for today, both with the same group of musicians, but the Report shows that they added another one at the end.

So, from 3-6:30pm, 8-11pm, and 11pm-2:15am the wonderful Teddy Wilson (Pianist) recorded the songs

All I Need Is The Girl
Some People
Everything's Coming Up Roses
Mama's Talking Soft
Small World
The Cow Song
You'll Never Get Away
Together Wherever We Got (sic?)
Little Lamb
Let Me Entertain You
Mama Was Married

Producer/A&R for all was Bob Morgan.

Musicians employed

Leader and Piano:
Teddy Wilson
Bass:
Aruell Shaw (wasn't it Arvell?)
Drums:
Bert Dahlander

Here are the album covers and labels





Oh! These songs are all from the Broadway show "Gypsy", and written by Stephen Sondheim and Jule Stein, with the latter writing the album notes.

Here's the first song on the list, All I Need Is The Girl, although they say "This Girl"



and it leaves a lot to be desired sonically.

I feel like we've talked about Teddy Wilson before, but in case you aren't aware of his importance in the history of jazz, here is his Wikipedia page.

And now we are again up to date.

 

It seems when Ernie Altschuler started out with Columbia, he was the A&R for Harmony, just as Joe Sherman and Jim Foglesong were for Epic . . . all three would also produce for Columbia artists, down the road.

 

May 11 (Monday):

Only one session in the Schedule today for 30th St., from 2:30-5:30pm, with Lester Lanin. It is specifically a tracking session (noted as "Lester Lanin (tracking)").

No Report for it, which you'd think there'd have to be if the musicians were working.

Curious.

Noted in the Schedule, however, that Joe Sherman was A&R etc.

 

May 12 (Tuesday) 1 of 2:

From 10am-1pm, Marty Robbins was in 30th St. for a tracking session. He was in Studio A yesterday, but only for an hour with Tony Piano who was also today's Producer/A&R, so it's not clear to me just what was going on during these times. Maybe just getting comfortable with NYC? His normal recording location was Nashville.

He'll be back in a couple weeks to record more.

This info was only in the Schedule and not the Reports. (There is a Report for that next session so we'll learn more then.)

 

May 12 (Tuesday) 2 of 2:

The second session today is the second half of a major historical event: Charles Mingus' recording of Mingus Ah Um. From 7-10:30pm they recorded

Duke's Choice
Minton's Playhouse Boogie Woogie
D.G.G. Train - N.G.
Girl Of My Dreams - N.G.
Shadows
Blues For Pork Pie Hat

Producer/A&R was again Teo Macero.

Musicians employed

Leader and Bass:
Charlie Mingus
Trombone:
William Dennis
Piano:
Horace L. Parlan, Jr.
Saxophones:
John Handy III
Booker T. Ervin, Jr.
Shafi Hadi
Drums:
Charles Dannie Richmond

compiler was ek

When I went to line up the recordings of the two sessions with the actually released album, the titles didn't quite match the names on Wikipedia. That article is adamant that there were only two sessions in the making of this album, so I tried to correlate the original titles with the released titles, and here they are:



The ones with the question marks have to be correct as there are no other songs to choose from.

Note that Minton's Playhouse was one of the jazz clubs on 52nd St.

 

Mr. Robbins was a frequent denizen of 30th Street (and occasionally, the Radio Recorders' Annex in Hollywood) in 1957-58 when he was recording songs in a more pop vein. The most famous of his recordings from there - backed by Ray Conniff - was 1957's "A White Sport Coat (And A Pink Carnation)." At this point (May 12) he had just gotten back into the country swing o' things, having recorded the equally landmark Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs album from which his big hit "El Paso" emanated.

Could he, in this session, had recorded the little insert with the extra verse in the mono "El Paso" ("Just for a moment I stood there in silence / Stunned by the foul, evil deed I had done . . . ") - or was it something else altogether?

 

May 13 (Wednesday):

Only one session today, from 2:30-5:30pm. Eileen Farrell, Soprano - Max Rudolf, Conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

Songs recorded (as Singles) were

Weber: Leise, Leise from "Die Freischutz" remake
Beethoven: Ascheulicher wo eilst du hun? from "Fidelio"
Gluck: Grands Dieux! du destin qui m'accable from "Alceste"
Weber: Cavatina from "Der Freischütz"

This was a Masterworks session, so no A&R/Producer was listed. Maybe Howard Scott? Since it's a classical session, maybe Fred Plaut was engineer?

Musicians employed

Conductor:
Max Rudolf
Contractor:
Joseph Fabbroni
Violin:
Paul Makanowitzky
Marilyn Wright
Max Pollikoff
David Rosensweig
Harold Kohon
Daniel Guilet
Joseph Diamante
Michael Kuttner
Jacques Nieblum
Rena Robbins Shapiro
Secondo Proto
Bernard Robbins
Viola:
William Lincer
Ralph Mendelson
Beatrice Brown
Erich Silberstein
Cellos:
Harvey Shapiro
Atefan Auber
Esther Gruhn
Jules Eskin
Bass:
James Brennan
Edgar Ghirlanda
Flute:
Lois Schaefer
Oboe:
Whitney Tustin
Ben Storch
Clarinet:
Bernard Portnoy
Vincent Abato
Bassoon:
Harold Goltzer
Constantine Merjos
Horn:
Ray Alonge
Joseph Singer
Fred Klein

compiler was ek

Is this the most women musicians we've seen in a normal session? I count at least five. Was that the Contractor's decision?

This seems to be the first Weber song:



Can you find releases of the others?

 

'Twas indeed Masterworks; they were for the album Arias In The Great Tradition (ML 5408 / MS 6086; Library of Congress catalog card # R59-1328).

Was that Beethoven title as shown above a typo from the Report? The label has it as "Abscheulicher, Wo Eilst Du Hin?"

 

Great, thanks.

Yes, I guess I was seeing what I wanted to rather than what was there.

It seemed like a funny title....

 

Of course, no discussion relating to Columbia Records, whether their fabled 30th Street studio or elsewhere, would be complete without bringing up the recent passing of one of their best-known artists, Doris Day. I doubt she did any sessions at 30th, especially in 1959; but before the 1948 recording ban, she did quite a bit of recording in New York, both with the Les Brown orchestra and at the outset of her solo career (presumably, and predominantly, at Liederkranz Hall). (Post-'48 and up to the end of her association with Columbia in 1967, the bulk of her recordings were on "the Coast," either at the old KNX studios on Sunset and Gower pre-1949 and post-1961, and the Radio Recorders' Annex in the intervening 12 years.)

 

May 14 (Thursday) 1 of 3:

In the Schedule, the first session today was the "Modern American Music Series", from 10am-1pm. It actually went to 1:30pm in the Report, where it was labeled "Adele Addison with Robert Conant, Charles Russo & Martin Orenstein", as part of the Modern American Music Series.

Was this a Goddard initiative? It was a Masterworks session, so no producer listed.

They recorded

Lester Trimble: Canterbury Tales

Musicians employed

Leader and Harpsichord:
Robert Conant
Clarinet:
Charles Russo
Flute:
Martin Orenstein

compiler was ag

Adele Addison was an African American soprano who appeared in operas but preferred to sing in recital and on the concert stage, as you'll see if you read her Wikipedia page.

The most startling thing on it for me was "She was diagnosed with type two diabetes at the age of five; her doctor was unable to treat the condition, so her father became a doctor and administered treatment four years later."

!!!!

There are pictures in the Plaut collection of her singing in a recording session for Stravinsky's "Les Noches", which was conducted by Margaret Hillis. Fred took about a hundred shots of that/those session(s), maybe because they would be used on the album, although I haven't been able to find it yet.

This session isn't in Ms. Addison's discography, but it is in Lester Trimble's as well as Charles Russo's, and here is what it looked like





I'll post the labels in the next post, since there seem to be two fronts and two backs to this single disc album. Would it have been the two guys' pictures front and back, and the cover opens up to see the two articles in the middle?

Some more background:

Lester Trimble was another one who studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger; she must have had a school the size of 30th St. to accommodate all those students! He got a job as Music Critic at the NY Herald Tribune through Virgil Thomson, who was also a composer as well as a critic, and who was also in 3oth St. on many occasions in perhaps either role.

Robert Conant doesn't have a Wikipedia page, but here's an almost too-intimate portrait of him by his daughter on the one year anniversary of his death. He did a lot of cool things, and between that and the daughter's portrait we get the idea that those were only a fraction.

Charles Russo also was very active, but about all I could find about Martin Orenstein was that he was in the New York Philharmonic.

Here is a recording of today's session, with a picture of Trimble