Vinyl Vibrations with Brian Frederick podcast

M1 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.1 in E Flat, Op 2, III Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1853), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (10:00) 

M2 SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, II Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (3:59) 

M3 Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, IV Prestissimo, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (7:19) 

M4 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, I Allegro Moderato, Poco adagio, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (9:00)

M5 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, II Maestoso, Allegro, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (7:20)

M6 The Swan – The Carnival of the Animals XIII, (Saint-Saens 1886), Silhouettes -Virgil Fox/Organ” Capitol Records, 1960 (2:39) 

Today ON VINYL VIBRATIONS I FEATURE THE MUSIC OF the MULTI-TALENTED, Camille Saint-Saens.

In English, we pronounce his name Camille Saint-Saens, but in modern French it is pronounced Ka-MEE SAN-SAHNSS.

Saint-Saens lived from 1835 to 1921, and was born in PARIS. He was a composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic Era, that’s music that was featured throughout the 19th century. He was a musical prodigy, of course. He had perfect pitch. A grand aunt taught him some piano basics at three, and he was a music pupil at the age of 7. He gave informal performances at the age of 5, and his public debut was at age 10 performing the music of Mozart and Beethoven. He and studied at the Paris Conservatoire starting at age 13 to age 18. His first “job” was a ORGANIST at the Saint Merri Church – 26,000 parishioners. That sounds like a typical trajectory for a young musical prodigy.

But, unlike other music students, Saint-Saens had a broad focus. He was a multi-tracker of the day, with varying and distinguished interests such as the study of Latin, Greek, Divinity and Mathematics. He was talented amateur Astronomer throughout his adult life.

In today’s podcast I review portions of 4 SAINT-SAENS COMPOSITIONS, pieces composed between 1853 and 1886, or when Saint-Saens was from the age of 17 to 50.

We will hear 6 movements from 4 works – those 4 works are

Today ON VINYL VIBRATIONS I FEATURE THE MUSIC OF the MULTI-TALENTED, Camille Saint-Saens.

M1 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.1 in E Flat, Op 2, III Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1853), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (10:00) 

M2 SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, II Adagio, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (3:59) 

M3 Symphony No.2 in A Minor, Op 55, IV Prestissimo, (Saint-Saens 1859), Capitol Records/Angel, 1973 (7:19) 

M4 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, I Allegro Moderato, Poco adagio, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (9:00)

M5 Saint-Saens: Symphony No.3 in C Minor Op 78 (Organ Symphony), Philadelphia Orchestra, II Maestoso, Allegro, (Saint-Saens 1886) Columbia Records, 1963 (7:20)

M6 The Swan – The Carnival of the Animals XIII, (Saint-Saens 1886), Silhouettes -Virgil Fox/Organ” Capitol Records, 1960 (2:39) 

Saint-Saens lived from 1835 to 1921, and was born in PARIS. He was a composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic Era, that’s music that was featured throughout the 19th century. He was a musical prodigy, of course. He had perfect pitch. A grand aunt taught him some piano basics at three, and he was a music pupil at the age of 7. He gave informal performances at the age of 5, and his public debut was at age 10 performing the music of Mozart and Beethoven. He and studied at the Paris Conservatoire starting at age 13 to age 18. His first “job” was a ORGANIST at the Saint Merri Church – 26,000 parishioners. That sounds like a typical trajectory for a young musical prodigy.

But, unlike other music students, Saint-Saens had a broad focus. He was a multi-tracker of the day, with varying and distinguished interests such as the study of Latin, Greek, Divinity and Mathematics. He was talented amateur Astronomer throughout his adult life.

In today’s podcast I review portions of 4 SAINT-SAENS COMPOSITIONS, pieces composed between 1853 and 1886, or when Saint-Saens was from the age of 17 to 50.

We will hear 6 movements from 4 works – those 4 works are

M1 “Idiot Bastard Son”, King Kong Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, (Frank Zappa) World Pacific Jazz Records, 1970 (4:00).

M2 “Twenty Small Cigars”, King Kong Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa, (Frank Zappa) World Pacific Jazz Records, 1970 (5:35).

M3 “Bowing-Bowing”, Jean Luc Ponty-Stephane Grappelli (Jean-Luc Ponty), Inner City Records, 1976, recorded 1973, (6:28) 

M4 “Valerie”, Jean-Luc Ponty-Stephane Grappelli (Jean-Luc Ponty), Inner City Records, 1976 (7:00) 

M5 “Upon The Wings Of Music”, Upon The Wings of Music, (Jean-Luc Ponty), Atlantic Recording/Warner Communications, (5:24).

M6 “Now I Know”, Upon The Wings of Music, (Jean-Luc Ponty), Atlantic Recording/Warner Communications, (4:25) 

WELCOME TO THIS EPISODE OF VINYL VIBRATIONS – musical exploration into sounds and grooves from artists whose works are produced onto vinyl records. The Vinyl Record has stood the test of time- – Vinyl is durable and delivers stunning sound. With Vinyl Records, we capture a rich period in music history  including pop, rock, jazz, and classical genres. In each show I explore a topic in the artist’s music that makes their work unique and timeless. From these podcasts, the actual vinyl LPs played in this show go back to the 1950s – I am enjoying these discs some 70+ years after their production date. Tangible music, always available great quality. …  I’m your host, Brian Frederick.  WELCOME to this episode of Vinyl …  Vibrations.

ABOUT TODAY’S PROGRAM

Today our featured artist is Jean-Luc Ponty – He is a French JAZZ-ROCK and JAZZ FUSION violinist and composer, born in 1942. Ponty graduated from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with the PREMIER PRIX the first prize, a great accomplishment. Then he was hired by Orchestra Lamoureux. He also had a side job playing in a college jazz band and he evolved and developed a jazz interest. In his 20’s, Ponty went on to play at jazz clubs in Paris as the “JAZZ FIDDLE” role. Ponty was at the right time and the right place. In 1965, the VIOLIN did not have a place in the jazz world or in the jazz sound. Ponty has a unique sound, and he has made a huge impact in JAZZ-ROCK and in JAZZ FUSION. (pause)

One characteristic of Ponty’s style is his spared use of vibrato. His style favors powerful long notes, with just a trace of vibrato.. Another characteristic is that he plays the electric violin, and thirdly, he uses effects processing. He is truly a modern and pioneering violinist with his jazz and fusion roots starting in the 1960s.

In the1970’s he collaborated as sideman with FRANK ZAPPA- and with CHICK COREA- and with the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA- resulting in 18 sideman records between those three groups. Before that PONTY had many recording accomplishments – with 8 recordings as LEADER going back to 1964 when he released his premier record [JAZZ LONG PLAYING]  In 1967 he played at the MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL, and this landed him a recording contract with the WORLD PACIFIC label.  In 1970, he was working with Frank Zappa on the KING KONG album, and working with Elton John on the HONKY CHATEAU album.

I was lucky and thrilled to see PONTY live in 1972 at  the BROWN SHOE, a bar in the Chicago Old Town neighborhood. He played an electric violin, and had floor pedals with basic effects, and played a mind-boggling 45-minute set of ROCK FUSION music. That was during his MAHAVISHNU-ZAPPA-COREA days. I had my proof, he was the real thing.

And now, let’s go into the music of Jean Luc Ponty.

In today’s podcast I review three records of Jean Luc Ponty AS LEADER, his early years, 1970 to 1975.

SONGS in this podcast episode:

M1 NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND, JS BACH, 1714, BWV 61 (5:21)

M2 TOCCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR M.2 ADAGIO, 1710-1717, BWV 564 (4:20).

M3 TWO-PART INVENTION in F MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (0:40).

M4 TWO-PART INVENTION in B-FLAT MAJOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723 (1:30)

M5 TWO-PART INVENTION in D MINOR, JS BACH, 1720-1723, (0:55).

M6 PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 “Le Clavier Bien Tempere” D-Major, JS BACH, 1722, BWV 850 (3:06).

M7 JESU, JOY OF MAN’S DESIRING, JS BACH, 1723, BWV 147 (2:56)

M8 CHORALE PRELUDE “WACHET AUF”, JS BACH, 1731, BWV 140 (3:37)

PROGRAM NOTES

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist from the late Baroque period. He was born in Eisenach, in what is now central Germany. Bach lived from 1685 to 1750, The Baroque period was a 150-year period in music, dating from 1600 to 1750. Baroque music is Western Classical Music that followed the Renaissance period. Baroque music features drama, ornamentation, major and minor tones, and was presented in new ways – – like the Opera, Concerto, and Sonata, Baroque composers included BACH, HANDEL, VIVALDI.

M9 AIR ON A G-STRING, JS BACH, 1730, BWV 1068 (2:27).

Bach probably used the CLAVICHORD to compose most of his music. The Clavichord is small, lightweight and would not disturb people. The clavichord was very temperamental, because it required tuning before each play, just like a violin or guitar.  The keyboard instruments of the day were referred to as a general category: the “KLAVIER”….these included HARPSICHORD, CLAVICHORD, ORGAN and PIANOFORTE. Bach’s favorite KLAVIER instrument was the LAUTENWERK or LUTE HARPSICHORD with animal gut strings. 

The writing of music was in support of GOD and KINGS. Over time, Baroque Music evolved into what is today known as the modern Orchestra. Bach was a prolific composer, writing hundreds of pieces for solo instruments, particularly the organ. He also wrote pieces for orchestra and choir. Bach is MOST known for writing two or more  melodies or voices against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint.

Bit Bucket

A BWV catalog number is a unique identifier for musical works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, standing for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). 

Today I will present 9 compositions, dating from 1710 to 1731, during the time Bach was about age 25 to 45.

Our first piece — TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO).

an ORGAN COMPOSITION.     It is taken from a 1959 album of BACH ORGAN WORKS   . The movement is called ADAGIO ….which indicates “At Ease”, or “Slow and Stately”. Tempo is only 66-76 BPM. like the resting heart rate for many people.

Great liner notes. HERE IS AN  excerpt from the liner notes on that album – –

QUOTE

“OUR BACH” said the obituary notice, “was the greatest organ and clavier player that ever lived”. Though it may seem strange to us now, Bach’s genius during his life was recognized only as a master of the organ—not as a composer. It was actually over a hundred years after his death that his works revealed him as a unique and mighty composer. His reputation as an organist brought many invitations to test new organs and advise on the construction of them.  UNQUOTE

As with most of his organ works , there is no autograph or manuscript score from Bach, his organ work manuscript copies are lost. 

This song has a CONCERTO style and rhythm.  We will hear the 2nd or ADAGIO movement. . It is all very calm and beautiful and pastoral and serene…until Bach pulls out all the stops in the last minute of this ADAGIO movement. He is really rocking the walls and windows of that church.

Without any further adieu, here is TOCATA & FUGUE in C MAJOR , the 2nd movement (ADAGIO).

PLAY M2

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M2

MUSICAL CREDIT:

This Bach organ work  was recorded on the Luneburg Organ at St. Johanniskirche, in the town of Luneburg, in northern Germany, the organist is Professor Michael Schneider.

This LP was produced and released on the SOMERSET label here in the US in 1959

The album title is BACH The Majesty of the Luneburger Organ.

Our next piece is the most famous church cantata written in 1714 for THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. NUN KOMM DER HEIDEN HEILAND or in English “NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS” A HEATHAN is a person with no religion, i.e., a PAGAN. In this chorale, Jesus is asked to …  come and save the pagans. 

In 1714, Bach would have been 29 years of age. It turns out that this song goes back almost two centuries before BACH’s time.  It’s based on a LUTERAN CHORALE with words written by Martin Luther for the 1523 first Advent Sunday.  For centuries, this was the first hymn for the first Sunday of ADVENT. 

What I will play next is an arrangement for as modern symphony orchestra (the Philadelphia Orchestra) and it is definitely JS BACH heard in those phrases. But it is a large orchestra – –

Conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  This is an extremely restrained, demure, and understated interpretation of a Bach piece the most restrained I have ever heard.

The recording you will hear next is performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with conductor   Leopold Stokowski. This recording is on a Vinyl LP titled THE SOUND OF GENIUS, produced by COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS, in 1960. It was one of many records that were shipped by mail to members of the Columbia Record Club. My parents were enthusiastic members. A new disc would arrive in the mail every month, such as this LP of classical music.

Without further delay here is NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS

PLAY M1

SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! !

That was…M1

NOW COME, SAVIOR OF THE HEATHANS”

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BIT BUCKET

This piece also is based on a song listed in the ZAHN Lutheran chorales catalog. ZAHN 1174

The next three pieces are called TWO PART INVENTIONS, composed by JS Bach around 1720  

The inventions were composed for use in instruction of Bach’s oldest son WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH who was 12 years old. Today, these inventions are introduced to music students in school grades 4-7. Learning the Two-Part Invention requires ROTE learning, practicing over and over until the two hands work completely independently of one another. The inventions teach, among other things, the use of COUNTERPOINT. Bach is MOST known for writing two melodies against each other. Also called point against point, or, Counterpoint. That is the feature of these inventions, in each one there are TWO PARTS, left and right hand parts.

COUNTERPOINT is found mostly in Bach’s FUGUES and in his INVENTIONS.

Perhaps a brief demonstration is in order.

Here is an excerpt from one of Bach’s inventions.

In some of Bach works, the roles reverse,

I will now play  WENDY CARLOS’s rendition of three BACH TWO-PART INVENTIONS from her 1969 recording titled “SWITCHED ON BACH” .. I will play all three, back-to-back. Each one is short – – average length ONE MINUTE EACH!

PLAY M3

PLAY M4

PLAY M5

Credits:

HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED

And now…..

PLAY M4

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M4

MUSICAL CREDIT:

HOLD ON READING THE CREDITS UNTIL ALL THREE INVENTIONS ARE PLAYED

PLAY M5

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M5

We heard three inventions – –

Each invention is very different than the other. Not just a key change like the work title would suggest ! Bach stated that he wrote his inventions “to be models of composition” in other words, to enable the student to form ways of developing musical ideas and “acquire a strong taste of composition”

Bach wrote the inventions, one for of the notes A to G and one for each minor and major key. Today these inventions are over 300 years old !

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BIT BUCKET

Next is Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” written in 1722. He was 37.

The title page to the Well-tempered Clavier song book reads :

“The well-tempered Clavier, or Preludes and Fugues, through all the tones and semitones, both the [major] and [minor]. For the profit and use of the studious musical young…”

Bach wrote these preludes and fugues in all keys in the chromatic scale … 12 major and 12 minor keys

I have the version in D MAJOR.

It’s two sections – the prelude, and the fugue

And now….PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major fromThe Well-Tempered Clavier

PLAY M6

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

 That was…M6 

PRELUDE & FUGUE No. 5 D-Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier

MUSICAL CREDIT:

Our next song is Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

This song was also composed by JS Bach in that same year of 1723 – – prolific at age 38.

This was written for the Christian Feast of the Visitation- celebrated at the end of May in Western Christianity. The song is a Lutheran hymn. … a CANTATA and it has a CHORALE or chorus piece repeated twice within this cantata. There are many arrangements and versions because this song is one of Bach’s most beautiful, well-known, and popular.

The version we will hear next is arranged for SOLO PIANO.

the pianist is Leon Fleisher.

And Now,

Here is

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring – Bach       1723

PLAY M7

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M7 

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring

MUSICAL CREDIT:

Here is another Chorale recording titled Chorale Prelude VACKET OFF “Wachet Auf”, which translates to SLEEPERS, WAKE!

This hymn was transcribed from a Lutheran hymn written in 1599 by written by Phillippe Nicolai.

This Cantata is truly a work from the middle ages.

In 1731, Bach took this hymn and created a 7-movement cantata, we will hear the first movement or PRELUDE”.  This cantata is sung in church on the Trinity Sunday. Today this piece is very popular piece in general…it is POPULAR CLASSICAL MUSIC.    J.S. Bach wrote 46 of these cantatas for church, in all.

ODD FACT  about this song… it was performed only once by Bach, in Leipzig that year.

And now the FIRST MOVEMENT  from  VACKET OFF …the Prelude

PLAY M8

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

that was M4   

The Chorale Prelude “Wachet Auf”, also known as SLEEPERS, WAKE!

Song credits M4

Credits:

Our next AND LAST piece is from the Switched-On Bach album and s titled AIR ON A G-STRING.

This title comes from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major,  written almost 300 years ago.  

So what is the meaning of the song title Air on a G-String?

Well, Bach composed this as an orchestral suite in 1730. 141 years later, August Wilhelm arranged the second movement for SOLO VIOLIN and he did something unique.

He transposed the song down from D so that the entire piece could be played on one string of the violin, the G-String, which is the lowest register on that instrument.

Here is an example of what this sounds like on the Violin G-String, thjs example with piano accompaniment—pardon the scratchy sound, is from an old 78 RPM disc in 1935.

Play example  – Jacques Dumont (Violin) Bach Air On The G String with Andre Collard (piano)

We went from Bach’s orchestral piece, to Wilhelm’s transcription for solo violin, to Wendy Carlos modern interpretation with her MOOG Synthesizer.

Now here is Wendy Carlos’ arrangement of Air on a G String, from her debut album, SWITCHED-ON BACH, in 1968.

PLAY M9

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M9 

MUSICAL CREDIT:

END OF PROGRAM VV-031

VV-030

PROGRAM LIST

Background songs for this episode:

Today’s show features the LATE GREAT Thomas Wright Waller, a jazz pianist and organist, composer and singer, born in New York City in 1904  The 7th of 11 children, his mother was a musician, and his father was a trucker and pastor in NYC.  Fats started playing piano when he was 6. He played the organ at his father’s church at age 10. PAUSE

He was home-schooled early-on by his mother and worked in a grocery store. He quit high school after just one semester at age 15 to work as an organist at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. PAUSE

At the Lincoln Theater, he earned $32 a week.  That was 1929.  He became known as “Fats Waller” because he was big — both in body and in mind.  PAUSE

Fats Waller laid some of the building blocks for what is NOW ‘modern jazz piano’. He popularized the use of

The stride piano style,  which is widely used by jazz pianists today. He toured internationally and two of his biggest hits were Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Honeysuckle Rose. PAUSE

You are listening to Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child by  Fats Waller) Recorded back in 1943.PAUSE

Waller copyrighted over 400 songs. He probably composed many more, but, when he was in financial difficulty, he would sell songs to other writers and performers, who would not acknowledge the real composer, claiming the songs as their own.

Today’s podcast features Fats Waller and a few of his SOLO piano and organ compositions that were recorded between the years 1926 and 1943, or from the age of 22 to 39.  Some of these songs are not available today, except where they are rediscovered – – – on my old and treasured Fats Waller record collection!

SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! !

BIT BUCKET

Waller is also credited with his composition and performance work in Broadway Musicals. Waller is perhaps the FIRST BLACK composer to write the score and perform for a mostly all-white show on Broadway. That was the 1943 Broadway musical EARLY TO BED, produced by Richard Kollmar – the Broadway Flyer for EARLY TO BED reads “Music by Thomas (“Fats”) Waller”. .

M1

M1 Squeeze Me  (Thomas Waller) Rec. 2/14/1926, FATS WALLER EARLY UNDISCOVERED SOLOS, Riverside Records RLP 12-103, 1955 (2:55)

PLAY M1

SHOW PLUG – SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL ! !

That was…M1 Squeeze Me

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BITBUCKET RCA Victor featured the dog listening to a victrola, with the subtitle “His Master’s Voice”,

M2

M2 Handful of Keys  (Fats Waller) Rec. 3/1/1929, HANDFUL OF KEYS, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor, LPM-1502, 1957 (2:45)

 Our second track is a 1929 recording of HANDFUL OF KEYS, released by RCA Victor in 1957.

PLAY M2

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M2 Handful of Keys

MUSICAL CREDIT:

M3

M3 Ain’t Misbehavin’  (Fats Waller, Harry Brooks) Rec. 8/2/1929, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor LPM-1246, 1956 (3:00)

 Next, I feature perhaps the most popular of Fats Waller tunes, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’

PLAY M3

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M3  Ain’t Misbehavin’

MUSICAL CREDIT:

M4

M4 Tanglefoot   (Fats Waller) Rec. 8/24/1929, THE RAREST FATS WALLER, Volume 1,  RFW-1, 1955. (3:10)

And now…..TANGLEFOOT.

PLAY M4

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M4 TANGLEFOOT

MUSICAL CREDIT:

Bit Bucket tidbits

M5

M5 Honeysuckle Rose  (Fats Waller) Rec 5/13/1941, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, FATS WALLER AND HIS RHYTHM, RCA Victor LPM-1246, 1956 (3:21)

PLAY M5

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M5 HONEYSUCKLE ROSE

MUSICAL CREDIT:

BIT BUCKET

M6

M6 Bouncin’ on a V-Disc  (Fats Waller) Rec. 9/23/1943, FATS WALLER PLAYS, SINGS AND TALKS, Jazz Treasury JT-1001, 1956 (4:46)

PLAY M6

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

That was…M6  Bouncin’ on a V-Disc

MUSICAL CREDIT:

SHOW PLUG – DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL !

Play background song for “ABOUT TODAY’S PROGRAM”

Conclusion:

Today’s Vinyl Vibrations episode features Stevie Wonder in his early years, and more specifically his Instrumental compositions. Stevie Wonder is an international pop icon, a singer-songwriter, a record producer, AND a multi-instrumental musician (for example…harmonica, keyboards, drums, bass guitar, guitar, and an incredibly talented singer. Wonder is an innovator – he pioneered the use of the early analog synthesizer during the 1970s. His albums are individual works of art, carefully crafted and thematic. Stevie Wonder’s influence extends across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. He has often been referred to as a “ONE MAN BAND” because of his broad range of talents in music composition, music production and most of all – – music performance.

Born Stevland Hardaway Morris, Stevie Wonder was born on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan. That’s near Saginaw Bay off Lake Huron, about 100 miles northwest of Detroit. In the 1950s, Saginaw County had several General Motors plants and many companies building parts that went down to the big DETROIT assembly plants. It was a booming economic period for the entire US auto industry.

It was a difficult birth. Wonder was born six weeks premature and placed in an oxygen-rich incubator, which  resulted in retinopathy of prematurity – causing his blindness.

When he was 4, his Mother divorced with his father, and along with her 3 kids, moved 100 miles down the road to bustling Detroit…. home of MOTOWN RECORDS.  At age 8, Steveland attended the Whitestone Baptist Church on Detroit’s west side. There, he developed his musical talents — playing piano, drums and harmonica — and he also sang in the choir and there became a soloist. Stevie was quickly recognized as a prodigy.. He further developed his singing talent with a friend …and they performed as Stevie and John on street corners.

When he was just 11, this musical prodigy was discovered by Ronnie White of the MIRACLES, and that in-turn resulted in a meeting with Motown Records founder Barry Gordy, who signed him with the TAMLA label of Motown Records. At that time, he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. That was 1961 and Wonder had a 5-year rolling contract with royalties that were to be held in trust until he was 21. The weekly pay for this young artist was meager – a stipend of just $2.50 a week plus a tutor for Stevie when he was on tour. That $2.50 weekly stipend would be worth about $25 a week today.

At age 12 he enrolled in Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan.

BIT BUCKET

Saginaw is also where I was born, just 2 years after Stevie. My family also moved from Saginaw to Detroit, around same year as Stevie – 1954.

­­

PLAY BACKGROUND – HOW CAN YOU BELIEVE

To start today’s podcast, I feature the album titled Eivets Rednow. There is some humor in the album title. Eivets Rednow is Stevie Wonder spelled backwards, and on the first release of the album, Stevie’s name did not appear on the cover. The album is also UNIQUE for Stevie as it is an INSTRUMENTAL album. No lyrics. No poetry.

This an easy listening POP and R&B instrumental album, released on the Gordy Records label in 1968. Gordy was one of the four MOTOWN labels – those labels were Gordy, Tamla, Motown, and Soul.

The release I have was released on the MOTOWN LABEL and adds “How do you spell Stevie Wonder backwards?” …on the cover.  Stevie was only 18 at the time of this release, although this is Wonder’s ninth studio album! Prolific. Boundless energy.

Featured on this song is the skillful harmonica melody. Wonder plays the harmonica, drums, piano, but most notably, his harmonica style is unique, very melodic, rich with feeling, and unmistakably Stevie Wonder, listening to it 55 years later.

Have a listen to this wonderful song and Stevie Wonder’s distinctive harmonica line.

And Now

How Can You Believe

PLAY M1

Don’t Touch That Dial

that was M1    M1 How Can You Believe (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, LP 1968 a short 3:10 in length, a pop tune.

Song credits

Credits go to

Stevie Wonder, music composer arranger and producer

More on the FUNK BROTHERS later.

PLAY BACKGROUND – WHICH WAY THE WIND

Now from that same album Eivets Rednow, on the track titled WHICH WAY THE WIND, there is a clavinet instrument on this song. The CLAVINET was a new instrument – –  an electrically amplified CLAVICHORD and it was first manufactured by the HOHNER Company in Germany, starting in 1964. HOHNER is known for harmonicas, accordions, and recorders. We all played the recorder in elementary school, remember?

The CLAVICHORD itself is a very old keyboard instrument from the LATE MIDDLE AGES and was used from years 1500 to 1800. Here is a sample of what a CLAVICHORD sounds like. This instrument was made in about the year 1600.    It is an amazing sound coming from this 400-year old instrument….

PLAY EXAMPLE CLAVICHORD SAMPLE

Also featured on this album is THE FUNK BROTHERS. THE FUNK BROTHERS is a Detroit-based collective of first-call studio session musicians that backed most MOTOWN records in the 1960s. Similar concept to THE WRECKING CREW collective over in LA. The FUNK BROTHERS eventually moved to LA in 1972. You will hear this ensemble on hits like “My Girl”, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “Baby Love”, ” I Was Made to Love Her”, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, “The Tears of a Clown”, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”….

…and of course on this earlier song with Stevie Wonder WHICH WAY THE WIND.

And now,  Which Way the Wind, 1968 with the brass and strings of THE FUNK BROTHES and Stevie drives the Melody on the HOHNER CLAVINET.

Play M2

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That was M2  M2 Which Way the Wind (Stevie Wonder) Eivets Rednow, LP 1968

Stevie Wonder also used that Hohner Clavinet in his 1972 hit “Superstition”. Here is a bit from “Superstition”……..

PLAY SUPERSTITION CLAVINET EXAMPLE

Credits

In 1972, four years after this album’s release, Stevie Wonder toured the US with The Rolling Stones American Tour. I was fortunate to have seen that show at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. Stevie did the warm-up show. He was truly a one-man band. He was guided around the stage by his team and played the bass, drums, keyboards, percussion, harmonica vamps – – plus his pop hits… quite a show that evening at the Rubber Bowl. Frankly, I was more impressed by Stevie Wonder’s incredible performance than the main act.

BIT BUCKET

The album failed to get much attention

A single was then released with one of the catchy songs, that is the song ALFIE, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and the ALFIE single reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts.  

PLAY BACKGROUND – CONTUSION

The double album- Songs in the Key of Life, was released in September 1976. This double album has many different styles and is complex. Some find the album hard to absorb, but I believe this is one of the three best Stevie Wonder albums. The marketplace responded …. this album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at No. 1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks.

On this instrumental, Stevie is the composer, however the musical performance features Philadelphia session guitarist MICHAEL SEMBELLO. Sembello was featured on the earlier album, FULFILLINGNESS FIRST FINALE (1974) and also is A CORE ARTIST on this album, SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE.

And now Contusion

Play M3

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That Was M3 M3 Contusion (Stevie Wonder) Songs in the Key of Life, Motown Records Inc, 1976

Credits M3

CREDITS

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PLAY BACKGROUND – EASY GOIN’

And now, one more from the SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE album.

The other very cool thing about vinyl records was that some artists went the extra step of providing liner notes. These liner notes would include things like music and production credits, maybe the lyrics, and maybe some analysis or critique. These notes are informative, and the idea is that you are captivated while listening and reading the notes on these new songs. In this case, Wonder went overboard, and added a 22-page booklet with all the song lyrics and song credits. So Songs in The Key of Life is a treasured collectible.

Another great thing about Wonder is that he is so prolific that he published in double album sets. That’s a LOT of new music to absorb. The records were numbered to accommodate a stackable record player so that songs were heard in the intended order. But Stevie did not stop at 2 LP records, there was more … there was a BONUS 7” record! It looks like a 45-rpm disc, but it plays at LP speed of 33-1/3. Because of this slower speed, 4 bonus songs easily fit on this small format. One of the songs on the bonus disc is titled  Easy Goin’ Evening, a harmonica song composed by Stevie. The bonus 7” EP was produced arranged and composed by SW.

And now M4  Easy Goin’ Evening

Play M4

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That was M4  Easy Goin’ Evening (Stevie Wonder) and the 7” disk is titled “A Something’s Extra for Songs in the Key of Life”, Motown Records Inc, 1976 (3:58)

Credits

NEWS

BIT BUCKET

PLAY BACKGROUND – THE FIRST GARDEN

Now for a “mostly” instrumental album, a soundtrack album, a thematic album.

Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants is Stevie Wonder’s creation in 1979. Another Double LP set.

It is the soundtrack to the documentary THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS based on a 1973 book by the same name by Peter Thompkins and Christopher Bird. The documentary featured time-lapse photography of growing plants.

We hear Stevie’s harmonica lead the melody in this first song THE FIRST GARDEN.

A key fact –  this album features the invention of modern-day SAMPLING. This is an early experiment.

Wonder composed with a music sampler called a Computer Music Melodian. This device was invented by Harry Mendel in 1976. It is an analog to digital sampling synthesizer. With this collection of hardware, you could record any sound, the recorded sound would be stored in memory, and you could play it back instantly, but change it to play back at different pitches or speeds for example. That was the beginning of SAMPLING. Many of the NATURE SOUNDS in this song are from this sampler. Stevie recorded and transformed sounds.  Here are some sample sounds…the animal sounds in particular

PLAY EXAMPLE SAMPLED SOUNDS

– interlude section with chirping animal sounds and storms ¾ into the song

Quite a leap in the use of technology in music. Over the years, many competitors emerged and improvements evolved the process of sampling. Today it is all digital and amorphous, sampling.

… and now….

The First Garden

Play M5

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That was M5 The First Garden (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (2:32)

Credits:

BIT BUCKET

The Computer Music Melodian was invented by Harry Mendel.

PLAY BACKGROUND – VOYAGE TO INDIA

JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE was also one of the earliest popular albums to use DIGITAL RECORDING technology, which Wonder used for all his subsequent recordings. Stevie was definitely an early adopter of technology in music production with DIGITAL SAMPLING and DIGITAL RECORDING.

Another cool thing about this album …the front cover lettering was embossed. Interesting. Stevie’s recent LPs were also printed with Braille captions and messages for blind readers, as it was on this album. Feel the embossed letters and the braille on the front and back covers.

Voyage to India is our next song. Here is longer song set of Stevie Wonder. The LP is a bit tricky because on Side 1 there are 6 songs arranged on 7 tracks! Despite the extensive liner notes, I am left guessing that the VOYAGE TO INDIA draws from two tracks.

The first part begins with a western classical string introduction – – violin strings, a double-bass, a cello. No doubt, it was all synthetic, because there are no credits for those instruments. This ends with a crashing sound of thunder…here is a bit of that intro.

PLAY EXAMPLE BALLAD intro to the song

The second part features a melody led by a sitar. The sitar is played by Ben Bridges. Bridges replaced guitarist SEMBELLO whom we heard on CONTUSION. Bridges was a sideman for Wonder from 1975 to 1992 and played rhythm guitar. Here is that sitar sound

PLAY EXAMPLE SITAR 50% in to the song

And Now: Voyage to India 1979

PLAY M6

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that was M6 Voyage to India (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (6:23)

Credits

BIT BUCKET

PLAY BACKGROUND – TREE

And now our last song is titled TREE from the JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS album.

TREE evokes the feelings of strength growth longevity beauty.

Wonder uses upward key changes to add sound and power.

Also he uses the Computer Music Melodian digital sampler and synthesizer to compose some of the songs sounds.

And now M7 Tree – – Stevie Wonder, 1979

Play M5

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That was M7 Tree (Stevie Wonder) Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants, Motown Records Inc, 1979 (5:55)

Credits

That concludes our show today  ….  I hope you enjoyed listening to a different aspect of Stevie Wonder – namely  his instrumental music.

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SONG LIST*

M1 Bright Size Life (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (4:55)

M2 Sirabhorn (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (5:27)

M3 Unity Village (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:38)

M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:36)

M5 So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), Still Life, Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (6:24)

M6 Last Train Home (Pat Metheny), Still Life, Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (5:38)

Pat Metheny is an American guitarist and composer. He has worked as a soloist, in duets and small jazz ensembles, and, for decades, with the Pat Metheny Group. His musical styles include Jazz Fusion, Jazz (both progressive and contemporary jazz) …..and also Latin Jazz. He was born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri in 1954. Lee’s Summit is a suburb on the southeast side of Kansas City.

His main influences have been other musicians, his musical family and the British Invasion.

Metheny persuaded his father to buy him a guitar for his 12th birthday. That first guitar was a Gibson ES-140. PAUSE

That’s a hollow-body guitar, built in ¾ scale for young players and small hands. It’s a scale model of the Gibson ES-175 hollow body. Metheny soon got bigger hands and acquired a Gibson ES-175 …and that guitar is featured on his early albums like those in this podcast episode… Metheny started playing in pizza parlors at age fourteen (that’s 1968). At age 15, Metheny won a scholarship from Down Beat Magazine to attend a jazz camp (1969). That camp led to a meeting with Jazz guitarist Jim Hall, and bassist Ron Carter. So, by the time he graduated from high school (1972) he was the first-call guitarist for Kansas City jazz clubs, private clubs, and jazz festivals. Metheny had A LOT of support from his musical environment. Even though he switched from trumpet to guitar.

Metheny briefly attended college at U of Miami in Florida, but quickly realized after practicing on guitar for years all day long… he was unprepared for a college program … He realized then he was first and foremost, a serious guitarist and composer.

Metheny moved to Boston to teach at Berklee College of Music at the age of 19, where he met Jazz Vibraphonist Gary Burton. Teaching Jazz Theory and Performance was in demand.

BIT BUCKET

and for those not familiar, the ES-175 is sought-after by jazz country and rock guitarists – – – these vintage guitars today sell for $3,000 to $25,000. Back in the day, made in Kalamazoo MI. How about that for your first guitar? I am jealous, my first guitar was a Kay (named after John Kay) and it was … a very basic and cheap and crude electric starter guitar. Metheny, on the other hand, got a wonderful instrument, because

There have been many collaborations with Metheny and Burton over the decades since then.

that guitar was retired 20 years later- – in 1995.

Metheny released his debut album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976), with Jaco Pastorius on electric bass guitar and Bob Moses on drums. This is a studio album, recorded in Ludwigsburg Germany. It is amazing to think that this is a debut album. Released in 1976, BRIGHT SIZE LIFE is still fresh today.  In this  title song, Metheny begins his work in a signature way, his entrance is unmistakable with a quick ascending line. Many of his solos begin with the signature Metheny sound….and Pastorious  presents an equally inmistakable bass guitar part.  Here’s that fabulous BRIGHT SIZE LIFE INTRO

SAMPLE Play that intro ascending line with Jaco solid bass line in Bright Size Life

Pastorius and Metheny are weaving together guitar and bass lines in this song.  The bass is so much more than a rhythm support role, Pastorius is playing in parallel improvisation with Metheny.  Bright Size life sets the table for a fine album of jazz fusion by 22-year old Metheny.

And now, BRIGHT SIZE LIFE, 1976

Play M1

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That was M1  BRIGHT SIZE LIFE, 1976

At the time of this recording, Metheny was living in Boston and teaching at the Berklee School of Music. His mentor was Gary Burton, the jazz vibraphonist. They collaborated on the arranging of the songs to be recorded for this album, and Burton attended the recording sessions in Germany. Interesting that Burton did NOT receive a PRODUCER or ARRANGER credit on this album.

Credits

BIT BUCKET

PASTORIUS FOR ANOTHER PODCAST !

Now we review the second track on side 1…. the song is titled SIRABHORN

I attempted to analyze the magical sound of this song and how that  never heard before /from another planet sound is structured. Surely it is structured, with a Pastorius bass line and with Bob Moses supplying the heartbeat throughout this song. The song is so difficult to describe in words . A skilled composer named Dr. Guy Shkolnik described SIRABHORN this way:

     The beautiful harmony is made of chromatic alterations of pure​ diatonic harmony​ and three modulations.

PAUSE

Millions of amateur guitarists, myself included, remain in awe of Metheny. He is a trained musician from childhood, with composition, arrangement and performance skills and teaching skills. His guitar performance is complex and mind-bending.  Decades later, his signature sound is imitated but never duplicated.

PAUSE

A little info about the bassist JACO PASTORIUS. The SIRABHORN song features a Jaco electric fretless bass solo and is from the earliest recording of Pastorius. He employed the use of a fretless bass, a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass that he called the Bass of Doom. As a youngster, he had modified the bass by removing the frets (which is outrageous) using a butter knife, then smoothing the gaps on the fretboard. Along with his use of distortion, 2-note power chords, the use of harmonics, and bass solos that sound lyrical…he is regarded today as one of the best electric bassists of all time. Here is an example of a LYRICAL SOUNDING SOLO from Pastorius….

SAMPLE Insert example of a LYRICAL SOLO by Jaco. Suggest Sirabhorn, about 60% into the song a solo that runs 60 seconds. Alternate is the solo in BRIGHT SIZE LIFE song.

What about that equally strange song name? Sirabhorn is named after a jazz guitar student of Metheny’s at Berklee.

And now here is SIRABHORN 1976

PLAY M2

Don’t Touch That Dial

that was M2    Sirabhorn (Pat Metheny), Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (5:27)

Song credits M2 go to

In this same year, Pastorius released his own debut, self-titled, solo album.

BIT BUCKET

Sirabhorn is an alteration of C – Am – F – Dm  a common musical theme.

This is altered to become    C – B flat m –  G flat – E m  –

“Sirabhorn” Metheney said that The chiming opening bars have that open, pastoral sound that Metheny has said is rooted in his Missouri upbringing.  The vast majority of guitar enthusiasts never get beyond 3-chord popular songs and their evolutions from the 1960s.

I do recall distinctly seeing Metheny TWICE at the Amazingrace, a small speakeasy in Evanston. It was 1977 and I have my tickets from the January show and the August show. This was early in career of Pat Metheny, playing then at a BYOB event in a shell of a building on Chicago Ave. Metheny was 22. Large hair. Large hollow body Gibson guitar. Seeing this kid just nail the songs from the Bright Size Life album drove it home and made Metheny a lifetime favorite jazz guitarist. This kid is for real.

Now the song UNITY VILLAGE. Here we have a deep  guitar solo. The song is named after a tiny 100-person village UNITY VILLAGE bordering Kansas City and Lee’s Summit in Missouri. It’s the headquarters for a spiritual movement, the UNITY Movement which “offers positive, practical Christianity” and describes itself as being “for people who might call themselves spiritual but not religious”.  The church was a part of the Metheny family history, with his grandfather working there, and both his dad and his brother had played in the church’s Unity Village Band.  The song  “Unity Village” is back down to earth. Peaceful and pastoral. It has two guitar parts.

There is a head to the song, typical of a contemporary jazz. The song really sounds like a story.

And now

UNITY VILLAGE Pat Metheny 1976

Play M3

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That Was M3 Unity Village (Pat Metheny),Bright Size Life, 1976, (3:38)

Credits M3

CREDITS

Now for another of Pat Metheny’s mind-bending masterpieces, UNQUITY ROAD.  UNQUITY ROAD starts as a jazz tune opening and closing with the head piece and featuring  several rounds of improvisations on is. You will hear Metheny and Pastorius working in parallel and playing off each other throughout the song. This is relatively short one for a Metheny composition, at only 3:36.

Bob Moses delivers powerful rhythm and accent, and again,  is the pulse of this song.

Metheny’s composition features a series of rapid chord changes with a three-note motif. It really feels like forward motion. This track also features a full-on Metheny guitar solo, not heard yet on BRIGHT SIZE LIFE album.

And the song title? – Unquity Road is a road in Milton Massachusetts, 10 miles south of Boston and the Berklee College of Music, where Metheny was working at the time of this recording.

And now M4 Unquity Road (Pat Metheny) 1976

Play M4

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That was M4  Unquity Road (Pat Metheny),Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny, Released ECM, LP 1976, (3:36)

Credits

PAUSE

PAUSE

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none 

Metheny evolved from a trio to a larger format, The Pat Metheny Group.   PMG which was founded by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays in 1978, following the success of BRIGHT SIZE LIFE. In this recording, in addition to the trio of guitar bass and drums, is piano/keyboards, percussion, and three vocalists.

PAUSE

Lyle Mays is on Piano and keyboards. Mays and Metheny composed and arranged nearly all of the Pat Metheny Group’s music. Mays was chief musical architect and sound designer of the group for more than three decades. The album Still Life (Talking) is the fifth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group and was released in mid-1987.   This song, SO MAY IT SECRETLY BEGIN, largely due to Lyle Mays piano, has a refined, classy, polished, sophisticated sound. The song features an innovative bass line. That’s Steve Rodby. A refined acoustic bass line that drives the song’s rhythm.  Here is an example of the bass line lead-in for the song….

PAUSE AND PLAY song intro, leading up to Metheny entrance.  Bass line > Strings. > Metheny

Example piano and bass line

With this sound and bass rhythm, I am transported in style, hearing a musical storyline.  Pat Metheny is the song’s composer. Lyle Mays piano talent makes the song feel like it is his own. Both Mays and Metheny have classy demos in the piece.

And Now:

So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), 1987 (6:24)

PLAY M5

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that was M5 So May It Secretly Begin (Pat Metheny), from the Still Life (Talking) album

Credits:

BIT BUCKET

According to Metheny, the writing of his next tune, LAST TRAIN HOME, came to him very quickly, he said it was written as one complete phrase, then he added the bridge sometime later. Featured on this song are the pulsing bass line and the drum brush tempo, which indeed does resemble the chug-a-lug sound of rolling steam train.

PAUSE EXAMPLE OF CHUG A LUG

Also featured IN LAST TRAIN HOME is the sound of electric sitar. In this case I belief Metheny is playing a guitar synthesizer, such as the GR-300 polyphonic analog guitar synth, which he did pioneer the use of. IT DOES REALLY SOUND LIKE A SITAR !

PLAY SITAR SOUND

About that electric sitar sound. Here is a flash back 20 years before LAST TRAIN HOME….to 1968 with this sitar sound. An electric sitar was used in the 1968 pop  song “Hooked on a Feeling” written by Mark James and performed by B. J. Thomas. This version featured the sound of the electric sitar that was played by guitarist REGGIE YOUNG, from The Memphis Boys band. The sitar was really the HOOK that made this song so popular. Here is the sitar sound from that 1968 pop hit JOOKED ON A FEELIN:

PLAY EXAMPLE CLIP FROM BJ THOMAS HOOKED ON A FEELIN

… and now….

Last Train Home (Pat Metheny),from Still Life (Talking) 1987,

Play M6 FOUR AND TWENTY by Stephen Stills, the Déjà Vu album,

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That was M6 Last Train Home (Pat Metheny), Still Life (Talking), Pat Metheny Group, Released Geffen Records, LP 1987, (5:38).

Credits:

Still Life (Talking) won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance and was certified gold by the RIAA in 1992.

BIT BUCKET

Concluding comments

As of 2023, the combined musical groups consisting of Pat Metheny Group, Unity Band and Metheny as a Solo artist, have earned 20 Grammy awards for albums and performances in the 30 years between 1983 and 2013. His discography is extensive with 53 albums released in the 47-year span between that first BRIGHT SIZE LIFE ALBUM in 1976 and now, 2023.

That’s it for today’s show PAT METHENY GUITARIST

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TODAY’S PROGRAM……

M1 For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills), Buffalo Springfield, Buffalo Springfield, Released ATCO, LP 1969 (3:00)…

M2 Bluebird  (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28)…

M3 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills), Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (6:33)….

M4 Wooden Ships (Stills, Kantner, Crosby) Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968, Released Eyewall, LP 2007 (2:26)…

M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (4:25)…

M6 4+20  (Stephen Stills), Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, Atlantic LP 1970 (1:55)…

M7 Sugar Babe (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (4:04).

M8 Change Partners, (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971 (3:14)…

Stephen Stills is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with

He was born in 1945 in DALLAS TEXAS. He is 78 at the time of this podcast’s production. He is still active. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboards… he’s not only a singer and songwriter… also an arranger and producer.

Stills has had a long and prosperous career. Starting out in 1963, he has given us some 60 years of songwriting and musical performance.

Today I FEATURE original compositions by singer songwriter Stephen Stills. From my collection we will hear 5 albums:

We are now listening to ROCK AND ROLL WOMAN from BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD AGAIN.

These selections were each recorded between 1966 and 1971. Just a small time slice of this singer/songwriter’s career.

Stills was between the ages of 21 and 26. These works are important because these songs are each hand crafted by Stills. I also wanted to showcase his array of talents like multi-instrumental musician, arranger, and producer. In addition to being a successful singer/songwriter, who work has had a large musical impact.

Much more for future podcasts.

Stephen Stills’ first HIT recording was FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH (or “Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound”). It was 1966. Stills was just 21 years old. This was his first big break. He had written several songs, by now.. Not only did he have an inventory of original songs, he had helped to form a new band. Along with two other singer-songwriters, Richie Furay and Neil Young… they formed Buffalo Springfield out in Los Angeles. Neil Young came from Winnipeg Alberta, and Furay and Stills left a New York City gig with the Au Go-Go Singers, a 9-member group performing at the Café Au Go-Go. Two other Canadians — bassist Bruce Palmer and rock drummer Dewey Martin were added — 5 band members in all. 2 Americans, 3 Canadians.

“For What It’s Worth” became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. It was first released as a 45 RPM single in late 1966. In t1967, For What It’s Worth featured on the first Buffalo Springfield LP.

The lyrics in FOR WHAT ITS WORTH are all about a confrontation Stills had with LAPD Riot Police in Los Angeles’ earlier that year. There had been many summer nights of rowdy crowds of kids causing late-night traffic issues in the Sunset Strip neighborhood. LA responded by announcing a curfew of 10PM. As a result, there were reported to have been over 1,000 persons out on the Strip protesting and trouble broke out. There were clashes between police and young people. Peter Fonda was handcuffed by police. Jack Nicholson was also on the scene. Whisky a Go-Go was a nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where many great bands have performed. At that time, in 1966, their house band was Buffalo Springfield. Because of continuing issues of unrest, some clubs on the Sunset Strip were forced to close their doors for weeks. It was because of these civil disturbances on Sunset Strip that Stills recorded “For What It’s Worth”.

And now, For What It’s Worth (Stephen Stills)

Play M1

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That was M1  FOR WHAT ITS WORTH – STOP HEY WHATS THAT SOUND

Credits

“For What It’s Worth” became a top ten hit, reaching No. 7 on the US Billboard 100 in Spring of 1967.

BIT BUCKET

I was a very impressionable age 14 at the time of this song’s release… the song chorus lyrics were very impactful on me…

I think it’s time we stop.

Hey, what’s that sound?

Everybody look, what’s going down?

M2 Bluebird  (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28)

The Buffalo Springfield band was really about their two biggest egos, those of STEPHEN STILLS and NEIL YOUNG. Buffalo Springfield was still a young band, only 9 months old at this point in late 1966. After their hit “For What It’s Worth”, they were eager to have a repeat success. For a SINGLE, two songs, “Bluebird” Mr. Soul were available for a single. Stills writing Bluebird, Young writing Mr. Soul. These were recorded and released by ATCO Records as a single. The version I will play today is from the LP, titled Buffalo Springfield Again, released later that year 1967. This LP version is much improved with lots more guitar work by Stills and Young. BLUEBIRD features the trading off of guitar solos between Neil Young and Stephen Stills. Stills plays the acoustic guitars, some is finger-picking. Young the rocker plays the distorted lead guitar part, on Les Paul guitar. In this song, Stills is ALL ACOUSTIC, Young is ALL ELECTRIC.

PAUSE EXAMPLE GUITARS

About that acoustic guitar we hear –  Stills had just purchased a fine old guitar, a 29-year old acoustic Martin D-28. It was first used in the recording of Bluebird. On this song, Stills uses D-modal tuning … he tuned his guitar DOWN a full note to DADGAD, tuning DOWN 3 of the guitar’s 6 strings.

EXAMPLE: Record yourself d-tuning an acoustic guitar to DADGAD.

It’s a full rich sound used in Celtic music, Folk and Rock. The acoustic guitar work and this recording is sharp and clear because of some early recording expertise in SOUND PROCESSING, the use of compression and equalizers to highlight the picking and full dynamic range of that acoustic guitar. This is an ultra clear recording of Stills on that Martin D-28.  AND there is also a BANJO PART.

PLAY BANJO BACKGROUND   The banjo part is played by Charlie Chin, bluegrass style, from Greenwich Village – Stills’ worked earlier there. This LP VERSION with the added guitar and banjo parts, lengthens this 2-minute single to 4:28.

And now here is Bluebird … complete with dueling guitars and banjo.

PLAY M2

Don’t Touch That Dial

that was M2    BLUEBIRD (Stephen Stills) Buffalo Springfield Again, Released ATCO, LP 1967, (4:28)

Song credits M2 go to

The single reached number 58 on the Billboard chart, some critics see the song as their most accomplished piece.  It spent 7 weeks on the HOT 100 chart. Buffalo Springfield did not last / could not last, with 3 egos as large as a house, all of this talent had dismantled by 1968 and  each artist went on to their own individual successes…Neil Young departed to form Crazy Horse, Richie Furay departed to form Poco, and Stephen Stills went on to form Crosby Stills Nash and Young. BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD is a foundation of ROCK AND ROLL.

BIT BUCKET On the lyrical side, lyrics are usually lost on me. I am identifying much more with the guitar, drum, and bass parts on these songs. Some say the lyrics in this song Bluebird have to do with Stills’ musings about Judy Collins. He would soon be writing a tong he titled Suite Judy Blue Eyes. More on that later.  The closing verse in the SINGLE is:

DO YOU THINK SHE LOVES YOU? 

DO YOU THINK AT ALL?

The next piece is titled Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” and is written by Stephen Stills and performed by Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN). It appeared on the group’s self-titled debut album in 1969 and was released as a single.

The song is indeed a SUITE…. it imitates a classical music suite with a set of THREE musical pieces, in this case.

The inspiration for this Crosby, Stills & Nash classic “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is Stills’ romantic relationship with Judy Collins They were both singer songwriters and had a romantic relationship that lasted only two years, but numerous songs written by Stills down the road, would muse about Judy Collins.

The recording features a UNIQUE version of the Suite. This recording is from a DEMO tape made in April of 1968. It was done at a recording studio where Judy Collins had just finished a recording session and there was remaining studio time. Stills evidently paid the recording engineer privately to help him record the demos. He asked the engineer to “JUST ROLL TAPE” and Stills proceeded to perform 13 of his originals – – solo. The tape is available in LP form (very expensive) and on CD.

PAUSE AND PLAY EXAMPLE   OF THE EEEEBE tuning at beginning of song.

The guitar is tuned to modal tuning EEEEBE and was used on later songs from the Déjà vu album— Carry On and 4+20. We will hear each of those later in this podcast

The Suite has 3 pieces on the demo tape:

And now

… here is Suite: Judy Blue Eyes played solo by STEPHEN STILLS in 1968

Play M3

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That Was M3 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Stephen Stills), Just Roll Tape, Recorded 1968

Credits M3

Credits

Listening to this demo ROLLL THE TAPE I can understand the high street value. There are in all 13 songs recorded solo, on one tape, and one take, and there are few gaffs, if any. CLEARLY, Stills not only had inventory but he had great command of the song ideas. Great vocals and use of innovative guitar tunings.  These demo songs are solid prototypes!

In 1970, this song appeared on the group’s self-titled debut album – “Crosby Stills & Nash”

Next, we go to Fort Lauderdale Florida. It is 1968, and there is a large sailboat named MAYAN. The ship MAYAN was owned and operated by David Crosby for 45 years. The WOODEN SHIPS story goes like this. Crosby composed the music to WOODEN SHIPS and the lyrics were written by Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner, founder of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE. Crosby said that he composed numerous songs aboard MAYAN, which he considered to be his sanctuary. MAYAN is a 59-foot Alden centerboard schooner-rig, built in1947. It’s actually 66-feet overall, including the bowsprit, and with the centerboard up, can sail in water as shallow as 5 feet.

WOODEN SHIPS is thought to be a look at the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The 60’s was the cold war and a time of nuclear threat between the USA and USSR.  For example the CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS in 1962 was perhaps the closest the US has come to a nuclear disaster.

PAUSE

WOODEN SHIPS was inspired by nuclear holocaust and also real life – as David Crosby said about sailing aboard the MAYAN:

“The world has gone to hell … The idea was that we were sort of sailing away from that madness.”.

This rendition of WOODEN SHIPS is from Stephen Stills demo tape, the album is JUST ROLL TAPE.

plays a de-tuned guitar and delivers the vocals.. This demo is a shorter version of Wooden Ships, 2:26. Later the song will evolve out to 5:29.

And now M4 Wooden Ships  recorded in 1968

Play M4

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL

That was M4  WOODEN SHIPS from JUST ROLL TAPE recorded in 1968 and released in 2007 as an LP and CD with compelling lyrics…..

PAUSE insert lyrics.

Wooden Ships on the water

Very free and easy peasy. You know,

The way it’s supposed to be.  

So how is it this demo tape remained unreleased for so long –2007 was 25 years after  the original recording. Somehow, Stills left the demo session without taking his demo tape. Years later, the studio closed down, and many tapes, including this one, were given to another musician ….who finally succeeded in returning the demo tape to Stills, who then produced and released this album (CD and LP versions) in 2007. A great find.

Credits

PROPER VERSIONS of these last two DEMO tracks, Suite Judy Blue Eyes and Wooden Ships, appeared on the debut album of Crosby Stills and Nash a year later — 1969. That debut CSN album sold over four million copies and CSN went on to win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

BIT BUCKET

The theme of WOODEN SHIPS reminds me of Canadian folk singer BONNIE DOBSON’s song released that same year, (WALK ME OUT IN THE) MORNING DEW, a dialogue between the last man and woman left alive after some apocalyptic catastrophe.

The version recorded and released on the 1969 CSN album is 5:29.

In 1968, following the breakup of Buffalo Springfield, Stills worked with American singer-songwriter David Crosby from The Byrds, and with English singer songwriter Graham Nash from The Hollies. They worked as a TRIO called Crosby, Stills & Nash or CSN. Some months later they added a familiar name from up north, Canadian singer-songwriter, Neil Young, and became Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Imagine that, Four singer songwriters in one band. With all of that ego and creativity, will CSNY have a chance of a long future ? We go to the second studio album titled DEJA VU, which was the first time Neil Young was included in recordings. Released in early 1970 by Atlantic. On SIDE ONE / TRACK ONE – – the song is CARRY ON. A title that seems to continue on Stephen Still’s persistent theme . “that romantic breakup with Judy Collins”.

SHORT PAUSE

Interesting fact about Carry On is that there is a familiar tune BUNDLED within, making Carry On a musical Suite. That bundled song is QUESTIONS. According to Stills, “Carry On” was completed in about eight hours from conception to finished master.

And Now:

….Carry On (by Stephen Stills) from Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, released in 1970

PLAY M5 Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu,

Don’t Touch That Dial

that was M5

Carry On (Stephen Stills) Déjà Vu, Crosby Stills Nash & Young Taylor & Reeves, released in 1970

Credits:

Song credits go to

BIT BUCKET

Not only was Stills songwriter on many of CSN’s songs, Stills really showcased his versatility and talent by playing bass, guitar, and keyboards on their DEBUT, self-titled album released in 1969.

The album sold over four million copies and at that point had outsold anything from the three members’ prior bands: the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies.

The album won the trio a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Next we go to Side 2, Track 3,,,,,,,, the song is 4 + 20

4 and 20 years ago I come into this life ….

the son of a woman and a man who lived in strife

he was tired of being poor

and he wasn’t into selling door to door…

It’s a sad song, depressing actually. Stills sings solo and plays a D-tuned guitar, a common tuning of his.

So let’s listen to a very heavy, a troubled side, of Stephen Stills.

… and now….

.

Play M6 FOUR AND TWENTY by Stephen Stills, the Déjà Vu album,

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL

That was M6 4+20  (Stephen Stills), Déjà Vu, Atlantic Records 1970, clocking in at a short …..1:55.

Credits:

Some Stats about the Déjà vu album

BIT BUCKET

RIAA Recording Industry Association of America

After the breakup of CSNY in 1970, Stills went through another prolific songwriting stage, composing over 20 songs for his 2nd SOLO album – – Stephen Stills 2.     That was fast work because the album was released by Atlantic in 1971…….just a year after Déjà vu was released. Fast and Prolific indeed.

Our next song from Stephen Stills 2 is SUGAR BABE. I believe this song is about Stills relationship with Rita Coolidge – with the lyrics……..

Come on sweet Rita

And now, another Stills creation, SUGAR BABE

PLAY M7

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL

That was M7  Sugar Babe (Stephen Stills), from the Stephen Stills 2 SOLO album,

Credits M7

I love that gnarly Hammond organ grinding away on the right hand track.

On the Stephen Stills 2 album there are only general credits, not song-specific.

Even upon further research I have:

BIT BUCKET

In this song, one of the best things is the muffled organ on the right side and Still’s distorted guitar on the left side. I’ve seen him perform this song solo on a big grand piano. It’s pretty cool, Stills is a self-taught basic piano player, but what a talented composer arranger and songwriter. Great sound.

Last on today’s Stephen Stills Singer Songwriter podcast is CHANGE PARTNERS, also from that 2nd SOLO album.

Stills said “it was about growing up in Texas. Going to debutante balls, dancing and changing partners.”

You will hear a lovely pedal steel guitar. That is none other than Jerry Garcia  on pedal steel guitar played throughout this song. This version released on Stephen Stills 2 was recorded in early ‘ 71 in Miami.

PLAY M8

And now, CHANGE PARTNERS

Don’t Touch That Dial

That was M8 

Change Partners, (Stephen Stills), Stephen Stills 2, Atlantic Records LP, 1971

Song credits M8

As far as song credits, again there are only general album credits,

Upon further research, here is what I found on CHANGE PARTNERS::

STATS

This podcast on Stephen Stills EARLY YEARS -1966-1971 included 8 of his original compositions from 5 albums and singles.

OF COURSE this ONLY SCRATCHES the surface of his great talent. There will be a subsequent podcast on STEPHEN STILLS.

Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He is a Hall of Fame inductee, in fact he was the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – that was 1997.

Stephen Stills is 78 at the time of this podcast’s production.  Neil Young is 77. Graham Nash is 81.

Sadly, we lost David Crosby earlier this year, at the age of 81.

On a lighter note, Judy Collins is 84. And Rita Coolidge is 78.

That’s it for today’s show “STEPHEN STILLS SINGER SONGWRITER”, on VINYL VIBRATIONS.

Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST.

closing plug:

THAT’S   TODAY’S SHOW    ” STEPHEN STILLS SINGER SONGWRITER ”

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ON  VINYL VIBRATIONS !!

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I’M YOUR HOST, BRIAN FREDERICK !!

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STAY SUBSCRIBED

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VINYL VIBRATIONS

Wendy Carlos Electronic Composer VV_026

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Benjamin Folkman, Assistance

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Rachel Elkind Producer

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Rachel Elkind Producer  

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Rachel Elkind Producer

·       Wendy Carlos – Moog Synthesizer

·       Rachel Elkind Producer and Articulations

Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of Wendy Carlos, an American composer, arranger, and electronic musician. Wendy Carlos was born Walter Carlos in Rhode Island in November 1939. She is the first transgender recipient of a Grammy Award, her album SWITCHED-ON BACH won three Grammys in 1970. Later, in 2005 she was the recipient of the SEAMUS Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the art and craft of electro-acoustic music.

Wendy Carlos is best known for her electronic music such as SWITCHED-ON BACH…and film scores such as A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING and TRON.

Her studies of music composition at Columbia University in New York City in the 1960s led to her working with electronic musicians and technicians where she helped in the development of the MOOG SYNTHESIZER. This was the first commercially available keyboard instrument from Robert Moog. During her time at Columbia, Carlos ordered components of a custom designed synthesizer from Robert Moog, and she collaborated with Moog on the design of that early instrument, which became known as the MOOG SYNTHESIZER. Some of the modules included a touch-sensitive keyboard, a portamento control, which slides notes in the scale between one note and the next, a filter bank, and a 49-oscillator polyphonic generator bank that could create chords and arpeggios, arpeggios are the individual notes of those chords played in cycles.

Today, we take the synthesizer for granted. The keyboard synthesizer has become widely-available, and most keyboard musicians today, including me, use a synth keyboard such as BEHRINGER, KORG, NORD, ROLAND, YAMAHA, and yes… even the brand Carlos herself helped design with Robert Moog, the MOOG synthesizer.

After getting her Masters in Music Composition from Columbia University in 1965, Carlos worked for three years at Gotham Recording Studios in New York City, to support herself. She also used her Moog Synthesizer to record jingles for TV commercials. The recording engineering job would prove to be extremely valuable just three years later as she self-recorded the entire SWITCHED-ON BACH album, which is featured in today’s podcast.

In 1968, Carlos, then Walter Carlos, released her first LP, SWITCHED-ON BACH, containing several pieces written by Johann Sebastian Bach, which she arranged and recorded from her Moog Synthesizer. SWITCHED-ON BACH was released on Columbia Masterworks as part of a two-record recording contract. Carlos negotiated a good royalty arrangement, because the label really didn’t expect the album would sell many copies. Classical music rarely, if ever, achieves Gold let alone Platinum unit sales.

What makes this first album fascinating is knowing that the MOOG Synthesizer was in a very early state – – – barely a usable product. …You could not sit down and bang out a song like you could on a piano or organ. The first Moog Synthesizer could play only one note at a time. No chords! No two-handed playing ! No buttons with presets for sounds and effects! Instead, a lot of patch cables and knobs to adjust.

Every individual part had to be recorded, note for note, and then layered over the previously recorded parts. This was all done on an eight-track recorder. State of the Art at that time. Recorded parts were time-aligned with use of a click track. Carlos did not document her settings for knobs and patch cable connections – –  These were complex, but she was able to recall each part’s sound from her own memory, a living library of hundreds of settings for all the knobs and cables. To add to the laborious nature of early electronic music, the Moog, being an analog device, would frequently drift out of tune. This made the recording and layering process very repetitive, tedious and laborious. The story goes that Carlos would use a hammer to bang on the Moog casing to get it back in-tune, and then re-record the part.

According to Wendy Carlos, the Switched-On Bach song recordings required 8-hour days, 5 days a week for 5 months to complete. In other words, Carlos invested some 900 to 1,000 man-hours of her own recording time to lay down what was published That is one-half man-year resulting in 12 songs for a total play time of 40 minutes on the Switched-On Bach LP.

And this was moonlighting for Wendy Carlos, she was also working full-time job at the Gotham Recording Studios! That is extreme PASSION for arranging and creating electronic music!

Today we will hear selections from three early LP productions of Wendy Carlos.

These three albums are:

Each of these albums are in my collection, and each album refers to and gives credit to WALTER CARLOS, her name at that time.

There is also a Corporate ID and a self-credit to Walter Carlos stating on the album liner notes: THIS ALBUM WAS DEVISED AND PRODUCED BY TRANS ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTIONS INC. We can see that Wendy Carlos has been very protective of her copyrights and ownership of this music.

Wendy Carlos has released some 13 studio albums, created 5 film soundtracks, including A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Tron, and Rediscovering Lost Scores, in two volumes.

Sadly, as of 2020, much of Carlos’s discography is out of print and has not been released for digital streaming or other platforms. BUT WE HAVE THE VINYL LPs, WHICH HAVE STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.

Fortunately, there is a treasure trove of information on Wendy’s personal website, www.wendycarlos.com

There are many many pages painstakenly updated through about 2009, this is Wendy Carlos’ personal database of information.

Carlos is also an accomplished solar eclipse photographer, and her work has been published by NASA. She has developed techniques for extending the dynamic range in eclipse photography.

Carlos remains very private, but I believe she continues to live at her music studio in New York City. At the time of this podcast recording she is 83-1/2 years old.

Perhaps we can visit two other soundtracks THE SHINING and TRON in a part 2 podcast of Wendy Carlos soundtrack skills.

That’s it for today’s show “WENDY CARLOS, ELECTRONIC COMPOSER and ARRANGER “, on VINYL VIBRATIONS.

Please SUBSCRIBE to hear new episodes of this FREE PODCAST.

M1 Oh, Lady Be Good (George and Ira Gershwin, 1924), Django,  CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:50)…

M2 Dinah, (Akst, Lewis, Young, 1925) Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:30)…

M3 I Saw Stars (Sigler, Goodhart, Hoffman, 1934), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1934 (2:20)…….

M4 Confessin’, (Daugherty, Reynolds, 1929), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series 1969/1935 (2:40)….

M5 The Sunshine of Your Smile, (Ray, Cooke, 1913) Django,  CBS Realm Jazz Series, 1969/1935 (2:50)…..

M6 Swannee River (Old Folks at Home), (Foster, 1851), Django, CBS Realm Jazz Series, 1969/1935 (2:50)…

M7 Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)(Davis, Ramirez, Sherman, 1941)  Best of Django Reinhardt, EMI / Columbia, 1970/1947 (3:10)

M8 Golden Green (Ponty, 1972), Ponty/Grappelli, Inner City Records, 1976/1973 (4:42)

Today’s Vinyl Vibrations podcast features the artistry of French Violinist Stephane Grappelli.

Stephane Grappelli is best known as the founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France along with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. This was a GYPSY jazz band. Grappelli is considered the grandfather of jazz violinists. He lived 90 years, from 1908 until 1997.

He began playing violin at the age of 12, early on, preferring to learn in the streets by watching how other violinists played, such as at the Barbes (pron BAR-bez) metro station in Paris. Then he was enrolled by his father at the Conservatory of Paris to learn music theory, sight reading, and ear training. He graduated three years later.

Starting at age 15, he worked in the pit orchestra at the Theatre Gaumont, accompanying silent films, then at the Ambassador Hotel orchestra, where jazz violinist Joe Venuti was playing. For a while, Grappelli abandoned violin — in favor of playing piano in a big band, it was easier to get paid for big band work. Jazz violinists were a relatively unknown and rare breed. In this big band, Grappelli met gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. It was 1931 and Grappelli was just 23, Django was 21. Three years later, Django and Grappelli formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France . This was an all-string jazz band, and they performed regularly at the Montmartre district, an artistic village on the hill in the northside of Paris. This continued until 1939 when the Quintette disbanded due to the outbreak of World War II. ‘’

When the war was over, the original Quintette never did reform. Django and Grappelli did continue to perform together in Paris. In 1949, they briefly toured in Italy, where some 50 tunes were recorded. That would turn out to be the last time the two would record together, 1949, due to Django’s untimely death at the age of 43. Many of those recorded songs were released as an album titled Djangology in 2005 on Bluebird Records.

Most of the recordings featured in today’s podcast were recorded between 1934 and 1947 and were recorded in Paris, as performed by the Quintette du Hot Club de France.

Stephane Grappelli is a master of improvisation. He had said that he was not a fan of BEBOP jazz, which was then very fashionable in the jazz world.   Instead, he was a strong proponent of SWING music, another popular jazz style. Swing developed in the US in 1935-1945  ….. This was the SWING ERA in America.