Popular piano and late night vocals are the latest releases from UK based AVID Records
Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher were a pair of pianists that teamed up to create a series of highly successful albums for the easy listening crowd. First up here is a 1960 is a teaming with Tom Watson/b, George Hurley-John McEntire/dr and Jim O’Rourke sounding quite impressive on Broadway themes like “A Foggy Day” and “I Love Paris” as they focus on Porter and Hammerstein. Their next album includes a lush orchestra for full-filling reads of “Exodus” and “Autumn Leaves” with the hands twisting around “Misirlou”. Themes from various contemporary films have the two take on “Maria” other tunes from “West Side Story” such as “Maria” and “Tonight”. Last is the two with Nick Perito’s Orchestra once again including one more song from West Side Story along withmore nostalgic pieces like “Lili Marlene” and “The Way You Look Tonight”. Cocktails for two.
Julie London was the quintessential bedroom eyes vocalist, with a catalogue of albums all made to seduce your socks off. Hard to believe she also played a nurse on a TV show. She sure had a shot of something, though, with a pair of 1956 albums that include one with her cooing through each month of the year, and another with Sinatra’s guitarist (Al Viola) and orchestra brooding on “Lonely Girl” and “What’ll I Do”. In 1957 she is with a classy team of an orchestra with Jimmy Rowles/p, and Bob Cooper/ts and she swings it on “(Back Home Again In) Indiana” and oozes out “Daddy”. Next year she teamed with arranger Pete King for a rich take of “Mad About The Boy” and hubby Bobby Troup’s “Well, Sir”. Last but not least is Julie swinging the blues with Jimmy Rowles and a guest chorus giving her own take on Kansas City stompers like ‘Evenin’” and “Everyday I Have The Blues” while she makes you wanna shout “Sing to me, baby” on her version of “Gee, Baby, Ain’t I Good to You”. Musical blue pills.