The Ray Conniff Hi-Fi Companion
One of the best trombonists of the big band era - he played with Bunny Berigan and Artie Shaw - Ray Conniff burst onto the 1950s scene with recordings based on the tonal combination of mixed choir with the swing of the big band. This blend of musical colours and textures - women's voices and trumpets, men's voices and trombones - was organised with a geometric precision and really caught the public ear. His debut album "'S Wonderful”, inhabited the USA Top 20 for nine months.
His breakthrough had come in 1956, with his arrangement for Don Cherry's hit ballad ‘Band Of Gold.’ Conniff substituted a chorus of voices for a string section; they were wordless, purely instrumental, smooth, and an instant success. He went on to arrange many hits for the likes of Guy Mitchell, Marty Robbins, Johnnie Ray and Rosemary Clooney before Columbia gave him the chance to record with his own orchestra.
Conniff, in fact, founded two groups: his "Orchestra and Chorus" and his "Singers." The former was a typical big band line-up of saxes, trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section and a chorus of four men and four women. The latter was a chorus of 25 singers - 12 women and 13 men - with minimal instrumental backing.
Originally released as a double album in 1958, "Hi-Fi Companion” is a perfect little mid-century time capsule, a hip, swinging, urban, yet reassuring showcase of vintage Conniff and his inimitable arrangements of some of the most popular songs of the era.
It has been said that If Mantovani is the epitome of elevator music, Ray Conniff is the epitome of super-market music. For the public who would buy 70 million copies of his albums and give him 25 straight Top 40 LPs during the 1950s and 1960s, the "Ray Conniff Sound" defined easy-listening; a phenomenon which became a fixed star on the horizon of pop music.
N.B: This title is released 18th September 2015 and will not be dispatched until this date.
Track Listing:
1. YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME
2. THEY CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME 3. HELLO, YOUNG LOVERS
4. WHERE OR WHEN
5. ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE
6. PEOPLE WILL SAY WE'RE IN LOVE
7. ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE
8. MOONLIGHT SERENADE
9. THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT
10. AS TIME GOES BY
11. SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES
12. LULLABY OF BIRDLAND
13. CHEEK TO CHEEK
14. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
15. EASY TO LOVE
16. LAURA
17. IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING
18. WARSAW CONCERTO
19. I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT / I'VE
GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE
20. AN IMPROVISATION ON "LIEBERSTRAUM"
21. AN IMPROVISATION ON "DANCE OF THE SUGAR
PLUM FAIRY"
22. YOUNG AT HEART
23. IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT
24. I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN
25. VOLARE
26. MY REVERIE
27. DEEP PURPLE
28. I’VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN
29. NIGHT & DAY
Barcode | 5013929329836 |
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Label | el records |
Format | CD |
Artist | Ray Conniff - His Orchestra and Chorus |