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June Christy Sings SOMETHING COOL LIVING ERA CD AJA 5570 Stan Kenton & His Orchestra

 

1. Tampico
2. It’s Been a Long, Long Time
3. Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’
4. Shoo Fly Pie & Apple Pan Dowdy

The Kentones
5. Make Love to Me
6. Lullaby in Rhythm
7. Moonglow
8. I’m Thrilled

Stan Kenton & His Orchestra
9. Ain’t No Misery in Me
10. Willow Weep for Me
11. Across the Alley from the Alamo
12. How High the Moon

Pete Rugolo & Orchestra
13. I’ll Remember April
14. Get Happy

Stan Kenton Orchestra
15. Easy Street
16. Daddy

Pete Rugolo Orchestra
17. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
18. My Heart Belongs to Only You
19. Great Scot
20. Not I
21. Whee, Baby!
22. You’re Making Me Crazy
23. Something Cool
24. Midnight Sun
25. I Should Care
26. It Could Happen to You
27. I’ll Take Romance

When I first became interested in music in the late 40’s, June Christy was the most ‘hip’ singer in the business and we were all in love with her. So were all the other young men who knew of her by the way! Her predecessor in the Kenton Band, Anita O’Day, was also a great favourite of mine although they were very different in their vocal style. June typified the ‘cool school’, there was not a lot of emotion in her singing and she used little vibrato, but she knew how to deliver a song! She had a very breathy delivery however and it caught the public’s imagination, to the point where she was a regular winner in the Downbeat and Metronome polls of the 1940’s and 1950’s.

She was an ideal singer for the Stan Kenton Band who were breaking the Big Band mould in that era and Stan was quick to realise that she broadened the band’s appeal. She married Bob Cooper, an outstanding Tenor player and arranger with the Kenton Band and they sometimes worked together in both jazz clubs and cabaret.

The music on this record has very strong connections to Kenton, they are either recorded with Stan’s band or someone connected with the Kenton alumni leads the backing orchestra. Pete Rugolo played in the Kenton band and also produced many fine arrangements for it.

Some of the novelty numbers, Shoo Fly Pie, Tampico etc. sound dated now, their purpose at the time was to amuse an audience that was probably not entirely made up of jazz fans. The majority of tracks are famous standard compositions, all played by musician’s of the class of Maynard Ferguson, Conte Condoli, Bud Shank and Shelly Manne.

An outstanding track? It has to be Something Cool, still as evocative as when I first heard it all those years ago. Midnight Sun, It Could Happen to You and I’ll Take Romance, are all models of the female vocalist with a superb big band and arrangements that get the best from both.
 
 
Don Mather

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