Here's is my very first share of the 2009 Christmas downloading season. While on a search and rescue mission earlier this year, I found this album in a thrift store on the north side of Chicago. It was the only Christmas album in the entire pile of albums (and with this economy, 50 cents ain't too shabby!).
Released in 1956 on the Mercury label, Carlos Salzedo, a well-respected and renowned harpist of his time, plays 20 favorite Christmas carols ranging from "Adeste Fideles", "Jingle Bells", and "Silent Night". And as the cover states, they are in "Hi Fi", making the whole album THAT much more special!
Salzedo was a child prodigy, composing his first piece of his at the tender age of five! His love of music is in full evidence here as many of these tracks are "Concert Variations on..." (code for his own arrangements of the songs). Many of these last under 1:15 - this is a quick but fun listen!
If you are a fan of the heavenly instrument known as the harp, don't forget the other harp albums I've offered for your listening pleasure - DeWayne Fulton, Robert Maxwell, and Longstreth & Escosa.
Here's is my very first share of the 2009 Christmas downloading season. While on a search and rescue mission earlier this year, I found this album in a thrift store on the north side of Chicago. It was the only Christmas album in the entire pile of albums (and with this economy, 50 cents ain't too shabby!).
Released in 1956 on the Mercury label, Carlos Salzedo, a well-respected and renowned harpist of his time, plays 20 favorite Christmas carols ranging from "Adeste Fideles", "Jingle Bells", and "Silent Night". And as the cover states, they are in "Hi Fi", making the whole album THAT much more special!
Salzedo was a child prodigy, composing his first piece of his at the tender age of five! His love of music is in full evidence here as many of these tracks are "Concert Variations on..." (code for his own arrangements of the songs). Many of these last under 1:15 - this is a quick but fun listen!
If you are a fan of the heavenly instrument known as the harp, don't forget the other harp albums I've offered for your listening pleasure - DeWayne Fulton, Robert Maxwell, and Longstreth & Escosa.
Many times I've come across this album in thrift stores, online vinyl markets, and even eBay and Amazon.com. Two silouetted harps in black and white tell the story.
What I didn't know was the connection this album had to my hometown of Fort Wayne until I had a copy in my hands. It seems not only were one of the harpists (Escosa) had deep roots in Fort Wayne but it was actually recorded here as well on the Carriage Records label.
Side one is The Christmas Story according to St. Mark. Written and narrated by Longstreth, this full 15 minute story is interspersed with lovely music for solo harp (Escosa). Side two has the harpists trading off each other as they go through ten different Christmas carols.
Nothing fancy but it's well done Christmas harp.
One free day this past summer, I went looking for the location of the recording studio listed on the back cover. Located in a iffy part of town, I managed to find it - an empty lot full of grass and trees. Nothing to suggest there was a structure anywhere on the lot.
Across the street stood an apartment building with a prominent name: Carriage House Apartments. I'll have to do some detective work to see if the two are related or if the area has some sort of history with carriages, etc.
Many times I've come across this album in thrift stores, online vinyl markets, and even eBay and Amazon.com. Two silouetted harps in black and white tell the story.
What I didn't know was the connection this album had to my hometown of Fort Wayne until I had a copy in my hands. It seems not only were one of the harpists (Escosa) had deep roots in Fort Wayne but it was actually recorded here as well on the Carriage Records label.
Side one is The Christmas Story according to St. Mark. Written and narrated by Longstreth, this full 15 minute story is interspersed with lovely music for solo harp (Escosa). Side two has the harpists trading off each other as they go through ten different Christmas carols.
Nothing fancy but it's well done Christmas harp.
One free day this past summer, I went looking for the location of the recording studio listed on the back cover. Located in a iffy part of town, I managed to find it - an empty lot full of grass and trees. Nothing to suggest there was a structure anywhere on the lot.
Across the street stood an apartment building with a prominent name: Carriage House Apartments. I'll have to do some detective work to see if the two are related or if the area has some sort of history with carriages, etc.
This was a from a lot of Christmas records I purchased from a Canadian dealer off eBay earlier this year.
Robert Maxwell was a songwriter (he wrote "Ebb Tide") and harpist innovator. This was a man who wired his harp into a light display back in the late 1950s for club appearances and was considered in the same light as Ferrante & Teicher in the way he produced sound from the harp.
Maxwell composed a number of songs and instrumental pieces, including the exotica standard, "Ebb Tide," and "Shangri-La," which gave him a Top 40 hit in 1964 after Jackie Gleason began using it on his variety show - a mere 18 years after Maxwell first composed it!
Another of Maxwell's pseudonyms is familiar to any fans of "The Ernie Kovacs Show": The Nairobi Trio. Maxwell wrote "Solfeggio: The Song of the Nairobi Trio," which played along with the recurring bit about the trio of mechanical monkey musicians.
I had been looking for a Christmas album by Maxwell and just about gave up hope when this 1958 Canada-only album came along. 40 Christmas tunes on one album? WOW!
Eight medleys (four on each side). One solo harp. It sound deadly but Maxwell's playing draws you into the web and you're hooked. It's a stimulating album.
This was a from a lot of Christmas records I purchased from a Canadian dealer off eBay earlier this year.
Robert Maxwell was a songwriter (he wrote "Ebb Tide") and harpist innovator. This was a man who wired his harp into a light display back in the late 1950s for club appearances and was considered in the same light as Ferrante & Teicher in the way he produced sound from the harp.
Maxwell composed a number of songs and instrumental pieces, including the exotica standard, "Ebb Tide," and "Shangri-La," which gave him a Top 40 hit in 1964 after Jackie Gleason began using it on his variety show - a mere 18 years after Maxwell first composed it!
Another of Maxwell's pseudonyms is familiar to any fans of "The Ernie Kovacs Show": The Nairobi Trio. Maxwell wrote "Solfeggio: The Song of the Nairobi Trio," which played along with the recurring bit about the trio of mechanical monkey musicians.
I had been looking for a Christmas album by Maxwell and just about gave up hope when this 1958 Canada-only album came along. 40 Christmas tunes on one album? WOW!
Eight medleys (four on each side). One solo harp. It sound deadly but Maxwell's playing draws you into the web and you're hooked. It's a stimulating album.
I found this record at a garage sale for the very low price of free. As the family thanked me for taking a small stack of albums off their hands, I asked for more info on this album.
"It was one of our uncle's albums and he never played it at all." was all I could get.
According to the interview, DeWayne Fulton was a founding father in pop/jazz harp. He recorded sixteen albums over his long career, played for Emperor Hirohito and Presidents Lyndon Johnson & Ronald Reagan, studied at Julliard, the Vienna Academy of Music, and performed with symphony orchestra globally.
Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention Christmas and didn't have a discography. In the midst of my research, I found other Fulton albums on the Safari Records label posted at eBay, GEMM, and Musicstack - all from the decade of the 1970s (if anyone finds a correct year for this album, let us know!).
The music on this album is pure, unadulterated Christmas harp music. No orchestra, no choir to hum or sing softly, no accompanying piano in the background. Fulton covers all the classical Christmas carols and does it well. This is a definite change in pace.
I found this record at a garage sale for the very low price of free. As the family thanked me for taking a small stack of albums off their hands, I asked for more info on this album.
"It was one of our uncle's albums and he never played it at all." was all I could get.
According to the interview, DeWayne Fulton was a founding father in pop/jazz harp. He recorded sixteen albums over his long career, played for Emperor Hirohito and Presidents Lyndon Johnson & Ronald Reagan, studied at Julliard, the Vienna Academy of Music, and performed with symphony orchestra globally.
Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention Christmas and didn't have a discography. In the midst of my research, I found other Fulton albums on the Safari Records label posted at eBay, GEMM, and Musicstack - all from the decade of the 1970s (if anyone finds a correct year for this album, let us know!).
The music on this album is pure, unadulterated Christmas harp music. No orchestra, no choir to hum or sing softly, no accompanying piano in the background. Fulton covers all the classical Christmas carols and does it well. This is a definite change in pace.
Not only was this album downloaded at Ernie (not Bert)'s blog late last year but it holds the distinction for having the longest title of ANY Christmas album reviewed here!
Woe to the poor guy who had to give the stage announcement whenever Bianco played a concert!
Late last month, Ernie stated in a post at his blog that Bianco was one of his top three harpists of all time. The other two are Robert Maxwell and a Marxist named Harpo. Maxwell or Harpo were the only harpists I thought I knew existed, the rest were anonymous pluckers of the golden strings.
So let's spend some time finding Bianco (not Nemo).
Born Eugene Capobianco in 1927, he began studying the harp as a boy under the tutelage of his father Fillippo, himself a successful harpist from the old country in Italy, and Marcel Grandjany, an early star of the classical harp.
Gene studyed at Juilliard and after graduation played the classical harp circuit for several years. However, his love for jazz drove him to experiment with the harp as a jazz instrument (radical idea!). Bianco began playing nightclubs and jazz spots throughout New York and was spotted by someone from NBC Television. This led to an offer of a job playing in the studio band of a comedian by the name of Ernie Kovacs.
(For those of you not familiar with Ernie Kovacs, I demand that you click on the link above and learn about one of my personal heroes. This was the man who inspired "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and "Saturday Night Live". David Letterman and Conan O'Brien owe their careers to Kovacs.)
One of the signature pieces of Ernie Kovacs was "The Nairobi Trio", a three ape band that mimed to a recording of "Solfeggio" by Robert Maxwell. Several times on Ernie's TV show, the studio band performed this song LIVE and Ernie preferred Bianco's playing of the harp better! This is probably because Bianco was complemented with some great talent, including a guitar player by the name of Mundell Lowe.
Bianco invited Lowe to create a jazz combo. Together with the help of percussionist Joe Venuto, they recorded two albums on the obscure Major Records label which were critical successes. RCA Records noticed and signed Bianco & Co. to a three record contract on the Camden label. The first album was "Stringin' The Standards", the second album was "Harp, Skip, And Jum...P", both featuring the combination of electric guitar and harp in tight harmonized solos of Bianco & Lowe which are now a standard feature of many pop orchestrations.
RCA quickly cashed out the contract Bianco signed because they had a grand idea for him. Using their new partnership with the Reader's Digest Record Club, RCA signed Bianco to a six record contract, pushing him to record the lush, easy listening music that only Reader's Digest listeners could stomach. RCA rechristened him "The Rainbow Sound of Bianco, His Harp And Orchestra" and the album you see above was album number one.
This is what heaven sounds like at Christmas time... harp playing, choir of angels singing, the archangel Gabriel and his trumpet leading the orchestra in full blown lush. Too lush actually.
I wish I could say I love this album but I can't. When Bianco lets loose as in "Jingle Bells" or his medley of "Sleigh Ride / We Wish You A Merry Christmas", it's quite fun and sounds fantastic. The rest of the album should be listened to only after a prescription from a doctor. Too much sugar can cause diabetes and should be strictly monitored.
Bianco, to his credit, gave RCA six full albums of lush stuff like this and chose NOT to resign with them. He preferred the jazz sound of the harp (now that would be an interesting Christmas album) and freelanced on dozens of many jazz recordings. He then moved into the recording booth as a musical coordinator and contractor, finding studio musicians for the likes of Stevie Nicks, Mary J. Blige, and even the late Ray Charles! His pace has slow as of late, but he's still involved in the music biz!
So now the big three of harps are Bianco, Harpo, and Maxwell - sounds like a law firm.
On to the next new Christmas CD in my collection...
Not only was this album downloaded at Ernie (not Bert)'s blog late last year but it holds the distinction for having the longest title of ANY Christmas album reviewed here!
Woe to the poor guy who had to give the stage announcement whenever Bianco played a concert!
Late last month, Ernie stated in a post at his blog that Bianco was one of his top three harpists of all time. The other two are Robert Maxwell and a Marxist named Harpo. Maxwell or Harpo were the only harpists I thought I knew existed, the rest were anonymous pluckers of the golden strings.
So let's spend some time finding Bianco (not Nemo).
Born Eugene Capobianco in 1927, he began studying the harp as a boy under the tutelage of his father Fillippo, himself a successful harpist from the old country in Italy, and Marcel Grandjany, an early star of the classical harp.
Gene studyed at Juilliard and after graduation played the classical harp circuit for several years. However, his love for jazz drove him to experiment with the harp as a jazz instrument (radical idea!). Bianco began playing nightclubs and jazz spots throughout New York and was spotted by someone from NBC Television. This led to an offer of a job playing in the studio band of a comedian by the name of Ernie Kovacs.
(For those of you not familiar with Ernie Kovacs, I demand that you click on the link above and learn about one of my personal heroes. This was the man who inspired "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and "Saturday Night Live". David Letterman and Conan O'Brien owe their careers to Kovacs.)
One of the signature pieces of Ernie Kovacs was "The Nairobi Trio", a three ape band that mimed to a recording of "Solfeggio" by Robert Maxwell. Several times on Ernie's TV show, the studio band performed this song LIVE and Ernie preferred Bianco's playing of the harp better! This is probably because Bianco was complemented with some great talent, including a guitar player by the name of Mundell Lowe.
Bianco invited Lowe to create a jazz combo. Together with the help of percussionist Joe Venuto, they recorded two albums on the obscure Major Records label which were critical successes. RCA Records noticed and signed Bianco & Co. to a three record contract on the Camden label. The first album was "Stringin' The Standards", the second album was "Harp, Skip, And Jum...P", both featuring the combination of electric guitar and harp in tight harmonized solos of Bianco & Lowe which are now a standard feature of many pop orchestrations.
RCA quickly cashed out the contract Bianco signed because they had a grand idea for him. Using their new partnership with the Reader's Digest Record Club, RCA signed Bianco to a six record contract, pushing him to record the lush, easy listening music that only Reader's Digest listeners could stomach. RCA rechristened him "The Rainbow Sound of Bianco, His Harp And Orchestra" and the album you see above was album number one.
This is what heaven sounds like at Christmas time... harp playing, choir of angels singing, the archangel Gabriel and his trumpet leading the orchestra in full blown lush. Too lush actually.
I wish I could say I love this album but I can't. When Bianco lets loose as in "Jingle Bells" or his medley of "Sleigh Ride / We Wish You A Merry Christmas", it's quite fun and sounds fantastic. The rest of the album should be listened to only after a prescription from a doctor. Too much sugar can cause diabetes and should be strictly monitored.
Bianco, to his credit, gave RCA six full albums of lush stuff like this and chose NOT to resign with them. He preferred the jazz sound of the harp (now that would be an interesting Christmas album) and freelanced on dozens of many jazz recordings. He then moved into the recording booth as a musical coordinator and contractor, finding studio musicians for the likes of Stevie Nicks, Mary J. Blige, and even the late Ray Charles! His pace has slow as of late, but he's still involved in the music biz!
So now the big three of harps are Bianco, Harpo, and Maxwell - sounds like a law firm.
On to the next new Christmas CD in my collection...
