1959: Today at the 30th Street Studio

I actually have had some experience with printers similar to this, back in school, with that purple-violet'ish tint. And having seen my share of reports at the Archives (to help with research on another person's discography of Frankie Laine), the print did seem sharp on those mimeographs/dittos to me. From my experience, the mimeo's were rather blurry from when I was in school. But yep, they sure were wet when printed, from what you've described.

Oh, and Frank, Jimmy and Leonard Carroll (né Caruana) were all brothers. Leonard (the "-arr: L. Carroll-" in those Mitch Miller Sing Along albums) predeceased Jimmy in death by eight years (per a New York Times obituary in 1964). Seeing sessions for Enric Madriguera and His Orchestra in Brian Rust's The American Dance Band Discography - 1917-1942 (a band which had Tito Rodriguez on bongos at the same time as the Carrolls' stint, around 1941), Frank and Jimmy were both in the orchestra (Jimmy in those days played trumpet while Frank as usual was bassist). (RCA) Victor session notes list their surnames, in different sessions, as both Carroll and Caruana.

 

Issued on Epic LN 3651 / BN 552. "Al" D'Artega conducting, Roger Scimé (note the accent) at the keys. Sadly, at Discogs a postage-stamp size front LP cover on the mono - and no labels.

One of the violinists I know about was Peter Dimitriades. Other instrumentalists (some with asterisks as indicated in that Report) include:
Violin:
Remo Bolognini
Rachmael Weinstock*
Bernard Eichenbaum (a.k.a. Bernie Eichen)
Samuel Kissel
Marvin Morgenstern*
Jacques Margolies
Secondo Proto*
Stefan Sopkin
Eugene Bergen
Raymond Kunicki
Joseph Siegelman
Andrew Gottesman*
Louis Graeler*
Murray David Schnee (?)
Viola:
Harry Fuchs (usually a cellist)
Leon Frengut
Norman Forrest*
William Carboni*
Arthur Granick*
Cello:
Charles McCracken*
Flute:
Murray Panitz*
Andrew Lolya*
Oboe:
Harry Shulman
Henry Schuman*
Leonard Arner
Clarinet:
David Weber*
Bassoon:
Eli Carmen*
Joseph Knitzer*
Horn:
James Buffington*
Fred Klein
Rudolph Puletz
Trumpet:
Murray Karpilovsky*
Frank Falcone*
Trombone:
Abraham Pearlstein
James Thompson (?)
Neal DiBiase
Tuba:
Herbert Wekselblatt*
Tympani:
Paul Fein*
Percussion:
Richard Koff*
Joseph Adato
2nd Piano:
John LaMontaine
At least some of those names may be, to put it mildly, "notable," with a few of them with long tenures with the New York Philharmonic and some (such as Mr. Graeler, Mr. Karpilovsky and Mr. DiBiase) did time with Toscanini and the NBC Symphony. A lot I couldn't locate because of first initials.

 

Also, the one marked "A. Ralph" may be Alan Raph.

 

Same to you, and a continued thanks for all this great info!

 

April 21 (Tuesday) 3 of 4:

The third session today was from 7-10pm, and Johnny Mathis with Abe "Glenn" Osser continued their recordings for the Heavenly album

Something I Dreamed Last Night
That's All
Misty
I'll Be Easy To Find

Mitch Miller was again Producer/A&R. Possibly/probably Frank Laico engineered.

Musicians employed

Leader:
Abe Osser
Contractor:
Arnold Eidus
Violins:
Max Cahn
Tosha Samaroff
Max Pollikoff
Mac Ceppos
Harry Katzman
Leo Kahn
Ralph Silverman
Felix Giglio
Arcadie Birkenholz
Sol Shapiro
Anthony DaGirolamo
Piano:
Andrew Ackers
Harp:
Margaret Ross
Oboe:
Harry Shulman
Bass:
Felix Giobbe
Guitar:
Al Casamenti
Drums:
George Gaber
Viola:
Harold Coletta
Calmen Fleisig
Archie Levin
Walter Trampler
Cello:
George Ricci
Maurice Brown

compiler was ag

What can you say about a session that produced this:



Huh, this website says Al Ham co-produced it.

I think it's safe to say that the parts of the archives that I've visited do not contain the final word about all this.

Still, s'wonderful.

 

April 21 (Tuesday) 4 of 4:

As mentioned earlier, the final session of today was from 11:30pm-2:30am, and there is yet more confusion about it. The Report says it was Joe Harnell, leader and pianist, recording the songs

My Little Grass Shack In Kealakekua Hawaii
What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry
What Is This Thing Called Love
Till I Waltz Again With You

No producer/A&R man is listed in the Schedule, but it's an Epic session.

Musicians employed

Leader and Piano:
Joe Harnell
Guitar:
John Pizzarelli
Joseph Galbraith
George Barnes
Trumpet:
Joe Cain
Trombone:
Harry Divite
Frank Rehak
Richard Hixson
Thomas Mitchell
Drums:
David Albert Francis
Bass:
George Duvivier

compiled by ek

That all seems straightforward enough.

When we get to the product, though, something must have changed.

The only record of only two of the songs I could easily find was



and they clearly say that the orchestra was under the direction of Hugo Montenegro, and was produced by James Foglesong.

I can understand Foglesong being left out of the information but not Montenegro.

So there was a remake session later?

Anyway Joe Harnell seems to have had a pretty great life and career. He earlier studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, so he had to have some considerable chops and intellect. Later than this he did a bunch of TV and movie work, and his son and grandson seem successful, too. That link is a nice read.

On to tomorrow!

 

The single release of "Misty" on 4-41483 was, sequentially, after the re-release of Erroll Garner's own (re-)recording of "Misty" on 4-41482 (which in turn was a reissue). The picture sleeve (which used the same painting of Mr. Mathis as on the Heavenly album) and labels (from Bridgeport - all images are from my own collection) are below:



The B side may be a bit ahead, but the record is indeed exquisite.

Seeing the back of the PS, it would appear that the cyan used by the printer of that PS had a tint not too dissimilar to Pantone 3005 in today's parlance.

It would also appear oboist Harry Shulman did double-duty (at least) on this day - the D'Artega session and the one for Mathis.

 

April 22 (Wednesday) 1 of 3:

This was a late-starting day: the first session was from 2:30-5:30pm, and was the second of two sessions to record the Miles Davis Sextet playing

Flamenco Sketches
All Blues

and changing the world forever.

Producer/A&R man was again Irving Townsend.

Musicians again were

Leader and Trumpet:
Miles Davis
Saxophones:
Julian Edwin Adderley
John William Coltrane
Piano:
Wynton Kelly
William J. Evans
Bass:
Paul Chambers
Drums:
James Wilbur Cobb

compiler was ek

I wish we could all read and talk about the chapter of Ashley Kahn's great book "Kind Of Blue" titled "Second Session", which is today. He goes through how all the players were not really thinking about what they had accomplished at the last session or doing too much planning for today, as they were individually and in groups working on other projects during the three weeks between these sessions, as well as doing the Robert Herridge TV show that we've already talked about and seen.

Kahn also walks through each take of each song, and did two full takes for Flamenco Sketches, the only song on the album for which there is a complete alternate take. All the others were recorded until gaffes or for some other reason, then started over. The first full take of each song was the only take, making Teo's job of assembling the album later that summer much easier. He didn't have to pick from multiple complete takes.

Ashley also talks about how Columbia's policy was that the same crew who did the first session of an ongoing project also works the subsequent sessions if possible, so Fred Plaut and Bob Waller were there in their respective roles of engineer and tape operator. Additionally, this was the day that Fred brought his camera and took a dozen or so pictures, so those pictures from Fred of the Miles session in the other thread that have this band are from this day.

Interestingly to me, there are two Reports in the archives, one with the time of the session as well as the separate and combined times of the two songs, and a corrected Report that says the session was actually 3 1/2 hours and not 3 hours, which contradicts what Kahn alleges, which is

"The session was to be a brief one, with only two compositions being recorded. If the unused amount of tape at the end of the master reel is any indication, the group completed their recordings well before their cutoff time, and at least two hours before the next scheduled artist... was due to begin a 7 to 10pm session."

Obviously that didn't happen that way, since they needed to revise the time in the Reports, but the rest of it happened the way it happened. My admiration for the book is in no way diminished by this. I think everyone should have it, and I expect to reread it, since my reading of it this time is very much colored by all I've learned about the situation at 30th St. since the last time I read it, and the experience has been much richer as a result.

There is also discussion in the book about the tape speed issue which went unnoticed until 1992, when Mastering Engineer Mark Wilder discovered and fixed it (p. 125).

Before we leave this monumental moment, there is another comment about the mistake of Teo Macero being listed as producer in some places rather than Irving Townsend:

On page 195 Kahn talks about a strange edition of Kind Of Blue that came out in 1986 as part of a re-issue series called "Columbia Jazz Masterpieces" that all had new covers with a distinctive purple border, both on CD and LP.

Kind of Blue was "ignominiously repackaged: unable to locate the original artwork from '59, the company decided to use an extremely out-of-focus, live photograph of Miles from the late sixties. Not only was it an anachronistic gaffe –fashion-conscious as Davis was, he was not sporting loose, wild patterned white shirts in 1959– but worse, the photograph was printed in reverse. So many jazz fans remain convinced that a left-handed Miles Davis graces the original cover of Kind of Blue.

"(One other point regarding that edition: the back cover credits Teo Macero as 'Producer'. As confusing as that may be, the listing is actually half correct– Macero was indeed producer of the reissue. However, the most recent CD edition of Kind of Blue is the first to accurately note: 'Original Recording Produced by Irving Townsend.')"

Finally, Kahn notes (p. 160) that the sextet did a week of shows at Birdland (see that map a few pages ago), which closed on April 29. A week after that, Coltrane recorded Giant Steps, which wasn't released until 1960.

Kind of Blue was released the week of August 13, and Coltrane rejoined for two sold out weeks at Birdland.

On August 25, Miles was taking a break between sets and escorted a white female acquaintance to a cab, and was assaulted by a beat cop who felt Miles was not respectful enough and split Miles' head open and arrested him. Nat Adderley filled in for Miles while he was out (the charges were dropped, of course), Cannonball left to join his brother, and the sextet was over. Quintets after that. (p. 164-5)

 

April 22 (Wednesday) 2 of 3:

From 7-10pm, Sylvia Syms and Ralph Burns and His Orchestra recorded

I'm A Dreamer - Aren't We All?
There's A Lull In My Life
Remind Me
You Let Me Down

There is no A&R/Producer listed in the schedule, nor was there a studio named, but the Report says it was in 30th St.

Musicians employed

Leader:
Ralph Burns
Contractor:
Emile Charlap
Saxophone:
Ray Beckinstein
Romeo Penque
Albert Epstein
Eddie Caine
Harp:
Doris Johnson
Trumpets:
Don Goldfield
Al Derisi
Trombones:
Robert Alexander
Chauncy Welch
Violins:
Gene Orloff
Tosha Samaroff
Viola:
Burt Fisch
Cello:
Lucien Schmidt
Drums:
Terry Snyder
Piano:
Sanford Gold
Bass:
George Duvivier
Jack Lesberg
Guitar:
Kenny Burrell

compiler was ek

Are all these songs on that same album? I need to finish with this today and can't look.

 

April 22 (Wednesday) 3 of 3:

This was the second session of recordings for Hugh Downs. The Report doesn't quite say so, but it was Mundell Lowe and His Orchestra, and went from 11:30pm-3:30am. Songs were

Look To The Rainbow
I Wonder As I Wander Out Under The Sky
So Long, Blue Valley
Scarlet Ribbons

A&R/Producer was Jim Foglesong, and engineer was probably Fred Plaut since he took pictures at this session (that's a long double or maybe triple for him, although maybe not a triple because I don't think there are pictures of the Sylvia Syms session in Fred's collection; I will look through them this weekend).

Musicians employed

Leader and Guitar:
Mundell Lowe
Guitar:
Millard J. Thomas
Flute:
Herbert Mann
Bass:
George Duvivier

compiler was ek

 

I’d be surprised if the original art couldn’t be located. I think a lot of the CJM releases had alternate cover art/photos (besides the added border and logo).

 

Exactly. I would think that the phrase "new cover" would indicate that they would not be using the old art and therefore would have no reason to look for it. Still, it also could have been that someone who was embarrassed to have not only used a picture that was not of the era of the recording, but was reversed, would then be looking for reasons why that picture was used rather than another one.

This is speculation more than 30 years after the fact. Alternatively, if it hadn't happened that way, we apparently wouldn't have anything to talk about.

 

April 22 (Bonus):

While researching in the Sony/Columbia archives over the couple years I've been doing it, Dave Brubeck kept popping up over the Report years in various configurations and with musicians other than his "Classic" Take 5 lineup of Morello (drums), Wright (bass), and Desmond (sax).

He worked with different people and they did lots of material that seemed to be not at all in the style of the Take 5 and later albums.

On this day and the next, the Classic Brubeck Quartet was recording in Hollywood the following songs

Gone With The Wind
Lonesome Road
Swanee River
Basin Street Blues
Georgia On My Mind
Stars Fell On Alabama
Old Man River
Little Rock Getaway
Camptown Races
Shortnin' Bread

This was obviously for a Southern-themed album, but it's hard to imagine the style being like Take 5, which is to be recorded later in 1959.

Are there articles or books or threads talking about how their music evolved from this to the cool jazz they became famous for?

 

Produced by Teo, his first production.

 

I've got the "Gone With the Wind" album and the tracks seem pretty consistent with Brubeck's other recordings. There are no unusual experiments with time signatures, but Brubeck's music always drew upon many different styles, so it all seems to be of one piece to me. And a lot of the above tracks have been done by other jazz artists.

 

April 23 (Thursday) 1 of 3:

From 10am-1pm, Roger Scime and Joseph E. Kahn recorded the songs

Concerto In F For Piano and Orchestra
Rhapsody In Blue

Those two men were the only musicians, and both were on piano.

This session was not in the Schedule, so no Producer/A&R is known.

However, since both these pieces were on that Alphonse D'Artega conducting The Symphony Of The Air session that was both on the 21st and later today, maybe these were overdubs?

 

April 23 (Thursday) 2 of 3:

Scheduled from 2:30-5:30pm but running a half hour longer according to the Report, Alphonse D'Artega conducted The Symphony Of The Air again with the same personnel and Producer/A&R as on the 21st.

 

April 23 (Thursday) 3 of 3:

From 7-11pm, Bobby Sykes recorded the singles

Don't Stay Around
Della's Gone (sic)
How's The World Treating You
The Way I Love You

Joe Sherman, who also did the D'Artega and probably Scime sessions, was Producer/A&R. So he had a triple today.

Musicians employed

Leader and Guitar:
Sebastian Mure (PKA Billy Mure) (sic)
Contractor and Bass:
Edward Goldberg
Harmonica:
Irving Schackner
Piano:
Sy Mann*
Guitar:
Joseph B. Gailbraith (sic)
Anthony Gottuso
Drums:
Joe Marshall, Jr.
Percussion:
Martin Grupp

*3 hours only

compiler was ek

Bobby Sykes was a prolific session musician who seemed to work mostly with Marty Robbins and was kind of a kindred spirit and alter ego for Marty. Marty has some upcoming dates in 30th St., too.

As barely noted above, this was a singles session, and two of these songs came out on 45's



I couldn't find these on Youtube, and so don't know which is the A side. Maybe the first one, since Chet Atkins was a writer?

The thing that jumped out at me, now that I'm learning about labels, is that the first side was made in U.S.A., while the second side was made in Canada? Did that happen? Or did someone on Discogs find two different pictures and post them?

There were other Promo record pictures of this 45, but these were the only yellow label pics.

I'm happy that the compiler made an error in spelling Delia. Note, too, that Edward played bass on this session as well as contracting.

 

The album which contained those numbers was entitled Gone With The Wind, issued on CL 1347 / CS 8156. The mono cover, mono Side 1 label, stereo front cover and stereo Side 2 label, will be shown below:



Let's not forget that pre-"Take Five," Mr. Brubeck also turned out LP's like Brubeck Does Disney.

It was also around this time (actually, on April 7) that, at what was then the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville, Marty Robbins recorded his landmark Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs album (CL 1349 / CS 8158, produced by Don Law), which contained the country and pop #1 single "El Paso." Legend has it he recorded all twelve tracks for that LP in one session that lasted all of eight hours. However, the mono "El Paso" had a splice-in, with an added verse not on the stereo version.

 

The "How's The World..." side was a Terre Haute pressing, while "Delia's Gone" was from a pressing by Quality Records Limited. Evidently Quality's fonts looked not too dissimilar to what Terre Haute was using then. And whoever posted that onto Discogs figured no-one would know or tell the difference. At least Bridgeport had distinctive fonts that you could tell where they came from. Even Hollywood, though I'm not too keen on the Bert-Co type, they had more of a variety of typefaces.

 

It was most likely from that full name that " 'Trane's" publishing company, Jowcol, was derived (Jowcol = John William Coltrane).

 

April 24 (Friday) 1 of 2:

The first session today is only in the Schedule, and is a Transcription for a spelled-out (not abbreviated) Dancer Fitzgerald & Sample, from 2:30-5:30pm.

No other information is available.

 

Aha! So they were the D.F.S. of the other "Trans" session several days before, as I suspected.

 

April 24 (Friday) 2 of 2:

The second and final session today was from 7-10pm, with Ted Straeter and His Orchestra recording

You're My Girl
All Of You
Stay As Sweet As You Are
It Had To Be You
Beautiful Girl

Producer/A&R was Irving Townsend.

Musicians employed

Leader and Piano:
Ted Straeter
Contractor:
Otto F. Schmidt
Sax:
Ted Tyle
Drums:
Nicholas Stabulas
Guitar:
Alexander E. Caiola
Bass:
Herman T. Alpert
Trumpet:
Bart Wallace
Clarinets:
Andrew J. Bagni
Paul Estey Howland
Herman Shertzer
Violins:
Felix Orlewitz
Morris A. Lefkowitz

compiler was ag

One of these songs (All Of You) is on both of Ted's albums from around this time (I Could Have Danced All Night and Come Dance With Me), and if Beautiful Girl and The Most Beautiful Girl In The World are the same song, it is also on Come Dance With Me, along with the songs recorded on February 6.

 

I guess my compliment was too subtle.

You did indeed have it right!