News from the darkest corners...

The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will appear at the Jazz Improv LIVE! Festival & Convention in New York City on Friday, October 26, 2007. The performance will be at 2:30 p.m. at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom, 34th St. & 8th Avenue, right across the street from New York’s Penn Station.

It has been said that wherever you go in the history of jazz, the Sun Ra Arkestra has been there and left. An Arkestra experience takes its audience through the history of the music with an otherworldly perspective and leaves them in another world full of possibilities and new directions. Sun Ra has been widely acclaimed as being the founder of the avant-garde jazz movement and he has influenced and inspired musicians who have a firm focus on the future while recognizing the path that brings them to the beyond. The jazz of today sounds a lot like the jazz that Sun Ra played over 40 years ago. What the Sun Ra Arkestra does now is a taste of what the future of jazz will be decades from now. The Arkestra is the epitome of jazz improvisation, which makes it so appropriate to be a part of a festival that has “Jazz Improv” in its title.

When Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, the leadership of the Arkestra was assumed by legendary tenor saxophonist John Gilmore until he left this dimension in 1995. Since then, Marshall Allen has been Musical Director and has added a new scope to the Arkestra’s repetoire by adding his own unique compositions alongside those of Sun Ra to keep the direction of the band fresh and continually pushing forward. Unlike many “ghost” bands, the Sun Ra Arkestra is actually a spirit band – constantly moving ahead with the spiritual influence of Sun Ra, but with the experience of alumni who worked with Sun Ra in the Arkestra and who have dedicated their lives to the sound of the Arkestra. Marshall Allen leads the veterans in this band with 49 years of continuous service in the Arkestra. You can expect to hear new Marshall Allen compositions in their world premiere at the Jazz Improv LIVE! Convention & Festival.

Another exciting feature of the Jazz Improv LIVE! Convention & Festival will be a panel titled “The Influence of Sun Ra” moderated by John Szwed (author of the Sun Ra biography “Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra”) with Marshall Allen and Danny Thompson as panelists. This panel will take place Friday, October 26, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sutton Place Suite of the New Yorker Hotel adjacent to Manhattan Center at 34th Street & 8th Avenue in New York City.

Marshall Allen and Danny Thompson draw upon their combined 82 years of experience in the Arkestra to answer questions regarding Sun Ra’s influence on them. Marshall will discuss the Ra influence on his original compositions now performed by the Arkestra, his leadership of the current Arkestra, and how Ra influenced his life. Since Marshall was historically the first musician to ever play free on the saxophone, the initial audition and interaction with Sun Ra when joining the Arkestra in 1958 along with how Sun Ra wrote and arranged compositions featuring Marshall provide for plenty of discussion.

Sun Ra in one of his “cosmo drama” presentations (that served as a precursor to rap music) said “They tried to fool you – now I’ve got to school you – about jazz, the real jazz.” What better place to get schooled about jazz than October 25 – 28, 2007 at the Jazz Improv LIVE! Convention & Festival where there will be 657 jazz artists participating in 100 performances and 80 panels. There will also be 82 booths in a 15,000 square foot Exhibition Hall with all sorts of jazz related merchandise and services.

Advance registration is now available for Jazz Improv LIVE! with Full Conference Passes at $195 ($125 for students) and Single Day Passes at $125 ($75 for students). On Site Registration for Full Conference Passes will be $225. To register, please visit:

www.jazzimprov.com/live or phone 888-472-0670.

To download the 32 page festival brochure, please visit:
www.jazzimprov.com/live/program.pdf

To view the schedule of all performances and seminars, please visit:
www.jazzimprov.com/live/schedule.html

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra, please visit:
www.thesunraarkestra.com

Teresa Brewer, “the little girl with the big voice” who popped to the top of the 1950s hit parade with perky, relentlessly cheerful songs, then reinvented herself as an exuberant jazz singer in the 1970s, died yesterday [October 17, 2007] at her home in New Rochelle, New York. She was 76.

The elfin Brewer achieved teenage stardom as a spunky novelty act; its catchy song, “Music! Music! Music!,” became a jukebox fixture, earned a gold record and became her signature song. She recorded it again several times, using different punctuation.

Her early pop hits included “Choo’n Gum,” “Till I Waltz Again With You” and “Ricochet.”

Teresa Brewer recorded nearly 600 songs. Her public recognition was heightened by many television appearances with personalities like Ed Sullivan, Mel Tormé, Perry Como, Arthur Godfrey and Tony Bennett and engagements at leading nightclubs.

Comedic bandleader Spike Jones and the City Slickers were the original bad boys of music, directly influencing such iconoclasts as Frank Zappa, Ernie Kovacs, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Stan Freberg and George Carlin.

Now you can experience this unique, classic television – featuring some of Spike’s biggest hits – on DVD for the first time in a special-edition, four-disc collector’s set, Spike Jones: The Legend, in stores nationwide Oct. 30 from Infinity Entertainment Group and SJ2 Entertainment.

In the late ’40s, Spike produced the Musical Depreciation Revue, touring the U.S. with a company of 40 musicians, acrobats, dancers, jugglers, singers and comedians, traveling via two Pullman sleepers and a baggage car… a virtual Cirque du Spike.

In the early ’50s, with beautiful vocalist Helen Grayco (Mrs. Spike Jones) by his side, Spike brought his musical aggregation into living rooms across the country. Best known for novelty songs and parodies of popular music from the day, ranging from classical to pop, his musical maxim was, “They write ‘em and I wreck ‘em!” And the public loved him!

Led with precision by their gum-chewing conductor, who wielded a pistol or plunger as baton, the City Slickers were equipped with an arsenal of non-standard instruments: flit guns, bird calls, tuned cowbells and auto horns, which they punctuated with sneezes, hiccups, snores and belches.

Included on Spike Jones: The Legend are four of his earliest NBC television shows, two Colgate Comedy Hour shows from 1951 and two All Star Revue programs from 1952. Also included is a bonus audio CD containing two NBC pilot radio shows from 1945, never before made available.

Songs included are “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” and “Cocktails for Two,” both inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, as well as Spike’s hits “Laura,” “Glow Worm,” “Hawaiian War Chant,” “Chloe” and “You Always Hurt the One You Love.”

Making appearances are Liberace, Jim Backus (the voice of Mr. Magoo, Gilligan’s Island), Billy Eckstine, Gale Robbins, Hugh Herbert (in his last TV appearance), a young Mike Wallace (as the announcer) and a surprise walk on by television pioneer Dave Garroway.

Commented Spike Jones, Jr., executive producer of the box set, “My family and I are thrilled about this collection, especially the rare special feature footage.”

Special features include: A rare interview with Spike and his family in their Beverly Hills home on CBS’ Person to Person (1960); Spike’s appearance as “Leonard Burnside” on The Ed Sullivan Show (1961); “Weird Al” Yankovic discussing Jones’ influence on his career, comedy and music; “Spike Bytes” from Joe Siracusa, Spike’s drummer from 1946-52, whose audio commentary takes us behind the Slickers scene; and interviews with musicians, writers and family members including Helen Grayco.

Meet Spike Jones in this nostalgic video treasure, digitally remastered for the highest picture and audio quality. We’ll never see his like again, but we can appreciate what he left behind. Enjoy, music lovers!

The swinging 1950′s live again with a new pin-up magazine. Bachelor Pad Magazine, the new digest of Atomic Age culture, is the brainchild of retro hipster Jason “Java” Croft. This quarterly magazine just published its debut issue and is available at selected stores and at www.bachelorpadmagazine.net.

“We feature the three `B’s’ of retro culture,” says Java, “Booze, babes, and burly-q!” The debut issue features pin-ups from Kay O’Hara, Bernie Dexter, Betsey Bosen, and other popular modern pin-up models; lifestyle advice from Cherry Capri; movie reviews from Will “The Thrill” Viharo; entertaining tips from Penny Starr Jr.; a tell-all tale from burlesque producer Lili VonSchtupp: pin-up modeling tips from Heidi Van Horne; drink recipes from mixologist Dr. Bamboo; and comics from the guys behind Untamed Highway.

Besides the magazine, Java also runs a popular retro-themed website called Java’s Bachelor Pad (www.javasbachelorpad.com) and hosts a weekly lounge music radio show called–what else–The Bachelor Pad Radio Show.

Bachelor Pad Magazine is reaching cool kats and crazy kittens world-wide. Besides the U.S. and Canada, Bachelor Pad Magazine also has subscribers from the UK, Germany, Australia, Spain, Brazil, and various points around the globe. And so far, the response to the magazine has been ecstatic.

Java is currently in the process of putting together issue 2, which is slated to hit the streets in December. This issue promises more Atomic Age and Rat Pack fun as well as a Holiday-themed cover and centerfold.

More information can be found on the Bachelor Pad Magazine website:
www.bachelorpadmagazine.net

Earl Bennett, 87, who performed with the Spike Jones novelty band as Sir Frederick Gas, died Oct. 4 of complications from old age at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Bennett performed with Jones’ musical and comedy ensemble on radio and TV, and appeared in the live act for several years in the 1950s, sporting a wild mane and making odd sounds from two sticks rubbed together like an improvised violin. After leaving Jones’ band, Bennett worked as an editor for United Productions of America on “Mr. Magoo” and other cartoons.

Mingering Mike fans:

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Mingering Mike’s first ever official record release!

Finally, 38 years after Mike recorded his great song “There’s Nothing Wrong With You Baby” with singing partner The Big “D” The Vanguard Squad have pressed up a beautiful 45 of Mike’s original recording with all original artwork. The song (in two parts, like the classic soul singles of yesteryear) is a tender ballad to a woman, encouraging her to be herself and not let her detractors get her down. Mike and The Big “D” trade off, in beautifully monophonic low fidelity, in a duet that rivals any of Mike’s contemporaries.

This record is a limited edition picture sleeve 45 (limited to 1000 copies with hand-numbered inserts). The artwork, 45 labels and insert are all exact duplicates of Mike’s original art, and the packaging is absolutely beautiful.

All proceeds from the sale of this record will go directly to Mike.

You can buy it online at The Vanguard Squad website as well as at a select number of independent record stores. The record will also be distributed by the good folks at Dischord Records in Mike’s hometown of Washington DC, so it should be available at your local independent record store before long.

The Home of All Things Mingering
http://www.mingeringmike.com

Randy Van Horne, whose Randy Van Horne Singers performed the theme songs for “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons,” “The Huckleberry Hound Show” and several other popular television cartoons of the 1960s, has died. He was 83.

Van Horne died of cancer Sept. 26 at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, said his son, Mark.

In the late 1940s, Van Horne began his career in Los Angeles as a studio musician. In the early ’50s, he formed his first vocal group, The Encores, with three other musicians. When they disbanded in the late ’50s, he created the Randy Van Horne Singers. Several members of the group, including Marni Nixon, later went on to successful solo careers.

Van Horne’s singers, known for their light, easy style, occasionally appeared on television shows, including “The Nat ‘King’ Cole Show” in 1957, but they remained primarily a studio group.

Along with theme songs for Hanna-Barbera shows, the group recorded commercials, station identification spots and jingles, many of them written by Van Horne. The group also recorded several albums, including “Other Worlds Other Sounds” (1958) with Juan Garcia Esquivel, the popular Latin musician known for his “Space Age pop” sound.

The Randy Van Horne Singers disbanded in the early 1970s, but Van Horne continued to perform in small clubs and halls around Los Angeles. While in his 70s, Van Horne was the bandleader of the Alumni Association, made up of about 20 musicians from the Big Band era. Van Horne’s symphonic suite, “The Running of the Bulls,” premiered in 1981 at La Mirada Civic Theatre.

Born Feb. 10, 1924, in El Paso, Van Horne dropped out of high school, enlisted in the Army during World War II and later attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and the University of Texas at El Paso to study music.

British composer Ronald Hazlehurst, born 13 March 1928, died in St Peter Port, Guernsey 1 October 2007.

Ronnie Hazlehurst was a master of tv tunes, writing, arranging and conducting the music for many of the BBC’s biggest successes including The Two Ronnies, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Yes Minister and Last of the Summer Wine.

Hazlehurst was born in Duckinfield, Cheshire, in 1928. His father was a railway worker and his mother a piano teacher. Although Ronnie went to a grammar school, he left when he was 14 and became an office clerk in a cotton mill. Despite working long hours, he found time to play the cornet with George Chambers’ band and became a professional musician. The band made regular broadcasts on the BBC Light Programme, but Hazlehurst left when Chambers refused to give him a raise.

During the 1950s, Hazlehurst was a freelance musician around Manchester, before the bandleader Woolf Phillips employed him as his deputy at the Pigalle nightclub in London. He also began working with Peter Knight, head of music for Granada TV, but when Knight left Granada a year later, Hazlehurst’s own position came to an end. To make ends meet, he worked on a record stall in Watford market.

Hazlehurst was then appointed a BBC staff arranger, making his first significant contribution on The Likely Lads in 1964. He wrote the music for the TV play Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton (1965) and the series It’s a Knockout (1966). In 1968, he became head of music for Light Entertainment.

Hazlehurst also wrote the themes for The Two Ronnies (1971), the first series of Only Fools and Horses (1981) and the generation-gap comedy Three Up, Two Down (1989). He wrote the music for the inane quiz series Blankety Blank (1979), which was hosted first by Terry Wogan and then Les Dawson, and also came up with the signature tune for Wogan’s talk show. He was a man with a good northern sense of humour and he loved Spitting Image mocking him as the man with a four-second attention span.

Hazlehurst was often involved with the Eurovision Song Contest and was the musical director when it was hosted by the UK in 1974, 1977 and 1982; he conducted the British entry on several other occasions, notably for Michael Ball’s “One Step Out of Time” in 1992.