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News from the darkest corners of the musical universe:
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Sunday, April 15, 2007 ◦
Legendary crooner Don Ho, known for his raspberry-tinted sunglasses and catchy signature tune "Tiny Bubbles," has died, his publicist said. He was 76. Publicist Donna Jung said the singer died Saturday morning of heart failure. He had suffered with heart problems for the past several years, and had a pacemaker installed last fall. In 2005, he underwent an experimental stem cell procedure on his ailing heart in Thailand in 2005.
Ho entertained Hollywood's biggest stars and thousands of tourists for four decades. For many, no trip to Hawaii was complete without seeing his Waikiki show - a mix of songs, jokes, double entendres, Hawaii history and audience participation.
Shows usually started and ended with the same song, "Tiny Bubbles," which Ho mostly hummed as the audience enthusiastically took over.
"I hate that song," he often joked to the crowd, adding that he saved it for the end because "people my age can't remember if we did it or not."
Donald Tai Loy Ho, who is Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and German, was born Aug. 13, 1930, in Honolulu and grew up in the then-rural countryside of Kaneohe.
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Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ◦
Cuban musician Faustino Oramas, adored for his saucy ballads and one of the last remaining stars behind the acclaimed Buena Vista Social Club compact disc, died on Tuesday at age 95, Cuban state radio said.
Nicknamed "El Guayabero" after a town that inspired him to write a song after he got into trouble there for flirting with a married woman, Oramas died of liver cancer in a hospital in his home town of Holguin, the radio said.
Often called the king of double-entendres, Oramas composed "Candela" -- one of the most rhythmically charged tracks on the 1997 Buena Vista CD. The project brought together the semi-forgotten masters of Cuban "son," a rootsy and passionate style of traditional music considered the backbone of salsa.
Many of its stars have already died -- guitarist Compay Segundo and pianist Ruben Gonzalez in 2003, aged 95 and 84, singer Ibrahim Ferrer in 2005, age 78, and singer-composer Pio Leyva last year at age 88.
Oramas first made his name as a troubadour, wandering from town to town with his guitar and soon became famous for lacing his lyrics with metaphors and sexual innuendo.
Buena Vista Social Club, spearheaded by U.S. guitarist Ry Cooder, and the documentary by Wim Wenders that accompanied it, thrust Cuban son onto the international scene in the late 1990s and the music sold off shelves around the world.
While documents record his birth as in 1911, Oramas was never sure of his exact age. Some say he was as old as 103.
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Sunday, March 18, 2007 ◦
Available on CD now, from El Records, UK:
Brigitte Bardot - And God created woman
"And God Created Woman is the soundtrack to the notorious 1956 film that made Brigitte Bardot the sex symbol of her generation and propelled her to international stardom. It was condemned by the Church and created scandal everywhere. Bardot's then-husband and film director Roger Vadim (Barbarella) was quick to capitalize. It made a fortune and changed the face of cinema. Jane Fonda called it 'the first cinematic blow for women's liberation' and as a landmark in French cinematic culture is considered the film that ushered in the 'New Wave.' The jazzy/mambo score by Paul Misraki (Alphaville) creates the appropriate steamy atmosphere and in the first half of the programme, Brigitte Bardot reads selections from the script in French."
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Friday, March 16, 2007 ◦
Tyrone Hill, trombone player for the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, left the planet on March 11, 2007 at age 58. He first started playing the trombone during his Gillespie Junior High School days in North Philadelphia.
Tyrone joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1979 and remained a fixture of the brass section for his 28 years in the Arkestra. He brought a pulsating rich and full sound to Sun Ra's music that was appreciated by many of the musicians inside the Arkestra and by countless fans of the band. Sun Ra always relied on Tyrone Hill to kick off compositions like "Discipline 27-II" where his trombone would set the pace that would be followed by the rest of the band. He can be found on over 40 LPs and CDs with the Sun Ra Arkestra.
When not busy with Arkestra engagements, he led the "Deep Space Posse" group whose music was inspired by Sun Ra, but explored other elements in the avant-garde jazz direction. He also provided a house band for a television cooking show hosted by Bobby Seale and has played in the Philadelphia Mummer's Day Parade.
An avid Philadelphia Eagles fan, Tyrone could be found outside the front gate of Lincoln Financial Field playing the Eagles fight song before many Eagles home games. The Philadelphia Daily News featured Tyrone in an October 29, 2004 article with Tyrone stating "I'm a die-hard Eagles fan. I feel like I'm their 12th man because somebody told me that every time I play here, they win. Their winning brings people in the city together. I feel that love in North Philly, where I'm from, and all over the city."
Marshall Allen, the Musical Director of the Sun Ra Arkestra, commented "We will always remember Tyrone for the beautiful music that he created." Arkestra trumpet player Fred Adams noted "I was shoulder to shoulder with Tyrone in the brass section for my entire Arkestra career. His sound always boosted mine and the sum of my trumpet and his trombone always ended up greater than the total of those two instruments." Long time Arkestra vocalist Art Jenkins spoke for many in the band when he said that Tyrone would be deeply missed in the Arkestra.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 14, 2007, 3:00 p.m. at the Church of the Advocate, 1801 W. Diamond St., Philadelphia. The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will participate in the memorial to pay tribute to the dedicated service Tyrone gave within the Arkestra.
Tyrone Hill joins many members of the Sun Ra spirit omniverse Arkestra who are now playing stronger in the next dimension now that Tyrone Hill has joined their ranks.
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Saturday, March 03, 2007 ◦
Bobby Rosengarden, a jazz drummer who worked with musicians from Igor Stravinsky to Jimi Hendrix but became best known for making musical wisecracks as the bandleader on "The Dick Cavett Show," died Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla. He was 82.
A veteran of television network orchestras, talk-show bands and recording sessions, Mr. Rosengarden played bongos for Harry Belafonte, banged a metal triangle on the Ben E. King hit record "Stand By Me" and cupped his hands to blow the eerie hooting hyena sound on the theme from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," during a recording session for a radio-ready version of the song. He played conga on "She Cried" by Jay and the Americans, the water gong for the pianist Dick Hyman and finger cymbals on an Arlo Guthrie recording. He was also adept at the saw, spoons and the washboard.
But he was most at home driving a big band with a drum set. He played on "The Steve Allen Show," "The Ernie Kovacs Show," "Sing Along With Mitch" and in the early years of Johnny Carson's version of "The Tonight Show."
Robert Marshall Rosengarden was born April 23, 1924, in Elgin, Ill., and started learning percussion at the age of 4. He won a scholarship to study music at the University of Michigan. After playing drums in Army bands in World War II, Mr. Rosengarden moved to New York City during a golden age for studio and jazz musicians. He developed contacts playing in nightclubs, and by the early 1950s, his versatility and sight-reading skills made him a frequent choice for jazz and pop recording sessions and for television network staff orchestras.
He played with groups led by Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Skitch Henderson, Gil Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Benny Goodman. In 1965, he played a Stravinsky piece with the Columbia Jazz Band, a recording group, with Stravinsky conducting. He backed up singers including Billie Holliday, Carmen McRae, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007 ◦
This spring Nonesuch Records will release a Joni Mitchell tribute album featuring a variety of musical legends such as Prince, Emmylou Harris, and James Taylor. Sufjan Stevens contributes "Free Man In Paris" which originally appeared on Mitchell's 1974 album Court And Spark. The compilation is due in stores on April 24.
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Sunday, February 25, 2007 ◦
Barnes & Barnes' classic Voobaha album, along with two Wild Man Fischer albums - Pronounced Normal and Nothing Scary - will be reissued on Collectors' Choice Music on April 3, 2007.
More info here.
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Saturday, February 24, 2007 ◦
Al Viola, a versatile guitarist best known for his long association with Frank Sinatra and his memorable mandolin playing on "The Godfather" soundtrack, has died. He was 87. Viola died of cancer Wednesday at his home in Studio City, said his wife, Glenna.
Viola, who arrived in Los Angeles as a member of the Page Cavanaugh Trio after World War II, became a prominent member of the local recording-studio scene.
He worked in the recording studio - and occasionally did local gigs - with the big bands of Harry James, Ray Anthony, Les Brown and Nelson Riddle. He also worked with jazz groups, including playing with Collette, Red Callender, Bobby Troup, Terry Gibbs and Shelly Manne.
As a studio musician, Viola appeared on more than 500 albums with artists such as Julie London, Steve Lawrence, Marvin Gaye, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt and Natalie Cole.
In addition to being the solo mandolinist who performed the classic "Godfather" theme, he played on numerous TV and film soundtracks, including "West Side Story," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Blazing Saddles."
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Thursday, February 08, 2007 ◦
The Asphalt Tango label is pleased to announce that the new Fanfare Ciocarlia album "Queens and Kings" is finalized.
On Queens & Kings Romania's celebrated brass orchestra Fanfare Ciocarlia welcome onboard their Romani brethren like ESMA REDZEPOVA, SABAN BAJRAMOVIC, JONY ILIEV, LILIJANA BUTLER, MITSOU and KALOOME. Visas obtained, borders crossed, foreign tongues mastered, FANFARE CIOCARLIA and their guests overcame differences of nationality, rhythm and instrumentation to forge an epic celebration of Gypsy life and song.
Release date Europe (except France) 23th February 2007
Release date USA 10th April 2006
More information here.
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Tuesday, February 06, 2007 ◦
Frankie Laine, the singer with the booming voice who hit it big with such songs as "That Lucky Old Sun," "Mule Train," "Cool Water," "I Believe," "Granada" and "Moonlight Gambler," died today at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He was 93.
Laine entered the hospital over the weekend for hip replacement surgery but suffered complications from the operation, said his friend A.C. Lyles, the longtime producer at Paramount Pictures.
In all, Laine sold well over 100 million records and was hugely popular not only in the United States but in Britain and Australia.
Even after his popularity crested after the rise of rock 'n' roll, Laine was heard for many years singing the theme to the TV series "Rawhide," which featured a young Clint Eastwood and ran until 1966.
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Monday, January 15, 2007 ◦
Alice Coltrane, widow of the jazz saxophonist John Coltrane and the pianist in his later bands, who extended her musical searches into a vocation as a spiritual leader, died on Friday in Los Angeles. She was 69.
Read full article here.
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Thursday, January 11, 2007 ◦
Legendary musician, philosopher and anti-art activist Henry Flynt will make a series of presentations in San Diego and Los Angeles, including two lectures on "Musicology," a lecture on "Dignity" and a screening and discussion of his recent "Abstract Cinemas."
More info here.
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Tuesday, January 09, 2007 ◦
Robert Drasnin is recording Voodoo 2, the follow up to the highly influential Voodoo, released by Tops Records in 1959. Although Voodoo was in fact the only Exotica record made by Drasnin in his long and varied career in music, it is considered a classic of the Exotica genre, and it is truly one of the finest examples of what this musical style sought to achieve in the 1950s and 1960s.
Re-issued on CD by Dionysus during the recent Exotica revivalist movement, exposure to the original Voodoo by a new generation has resulted in overwhelming demand for more. After a unanimously enthusiastic response to a live performance in 2005, Mr. Drasnin was delighted at the opportunity to go back into the studio to create a follow-up to his singular masterpiece, almost five decades later.
Although the record will be released by Dionysus Records in Spring of 2007, the recording is being paid for out of Mr. Drasnin's own pocket.
For full information, please see either
http://www.robertdrasnin.com/voodoo2.html
or http://www.myspace.com/drasnin
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