MEL TORME

At Marty's

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall (unrel)

1. Real Thing
2. Medley listed but not included on CD

May, 1981

 LINER NOTES

Those were magical days at Capitol, as any discerning record collection still proves. Mel unveiled the "County Fair" production number he and Bob Wells had written for Disney's So Dear to My Heart, as well as the full-length "California Suite;' a collector's item which today brings hundreds of dollars on the record buff's black market. Billy May, Nelson Riddle, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, June Christy, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, George Shearing, the Four Freshmen, Judy Garland and Jo Stafford were some of the fellow passengers who influenced the young Torme apprenticeship before the boat sank in the lugubrious gumbo of rock and roll.

Mel went on to test new waters in night clubs, concerts, jazz recordings on the old Bethlehem and Verve labels, and television. He burst upon the publishing scene like something out of the head of Zeus with his first book, "The Other Side of the Rainbow;" a penetrating and lucid account of his years as musical director on the Judy Garland TV show. A juicy best-selling show-biz novel, "Wynner" soon followed, and a third book is on the way. There were divorce court headlines, rave reviews in posh hotel supper clubs, top-rated TV specials, controversial guest appearances on talk shows that stretched his reputation as a fascinating conversationalist. There were stormy times, lean times and bean times, happy times and sappy times... but out of it all come the portrait of a survivor, complex and original.

Each phase of this polka dot career added up to a succession of small lives, but in his recent heroic appearances in a tough, cynical New York that has adopted him with all of the affection reserved for an orphan of the Blitz, every facet of his amazing versatility has merged. Now, at last, his work seems to be an extension or reflection of a unified life. As a result, he's looser, joyous, unflappable, and unencumbered by deals, pressures, images. No more "Velvet Fog." No more mystifying "ahead of his time" pigeon holes. No more clucking about "The man's a genius, but will he sell?". The mobs' who packed his Newport Jazz Festival concerts and his nightly sellout shows at Marty's brought renewed faith to this grumpy music lover's unanswered prayers for a return to good taste, style and quality. Kids in knickers who don 't know a four-bar phrase from a flatted fifth sat next to the last remnants of flower power who thought Capitol Records were invented by the Beatles, and they all applauded wildly. Movie stars tapped their toes with housewives, and construction workers rubbed elbows with social moths from Women's Wear Daily.

It was the kind of relaxed, swinging affair that provided an affectionate detente for fellow musicians and knowledgeable "friends" to drop in and participate in the action. Bridging every gap and revealing jubilant versatility with each musical collaboration, Mel harmonized with Janis Ian, improvised with Gerry Mulligan, sang along with Cy Coleman, and shared the spotlight with hip York singer-disc jockey Jonathan Schwartz, who presented the audience with an added bonus: the original version of his father Arthur Schwartz' classic "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" with the earliest Lorenz Hart lyrics on record, written while they were roommates at a summer camp in the Adirondacks light years ago. This artifact is aptly titled "I Like To Lie Awake In Bed" and it is as charming as it is historically illuminating.

There are other things to listen for. The modualtion mid-way during Mike Renzi's one-handed conversation with Mel's sensitively explored confessional on Johnny Mercer's "When The World Was Young." Making fun of the low note on "Wave" and adding humor to an overly-familiar bossa nova. Jay Leonhart's finger-pulsing counter chorus on bass that will indeed inspire every listener tp "Pick Yourself Up" (small wonder Mel says "I gotta hear that again before a final reprise). An undisputed new self-assurance invades the dazzling "Porgy and Bess" medley Mel arranged, and his own piano accompaniment demonstrates his personal ability as a formidable jazz instrumentalist even when is sidemen are taking a Perrier brreak. Stripped bare of his old Vegas veneer , with his defenses down, Mel even provides heartbreaking ballads like "Cottage for Sale" with a heartbeat I've never heard before. These, and many more, musical surprises turn these four sides into a cherished example of how even an acknowledged genius can top himself.

Being there, with the patina of an artist's bravado rubbing off on the ringsiders, is one thing. But "in person" albums sometimes make the listener uncomfortable, like walking in the snow and knowing there is a warm, festive party going on down the block to which you're not invited. That doesn't happen here. Mel's consummate musicianship makes the whole thing a sharing event. Instead of distancing his listeners, he pulls them into the show. He has courage. He uses calisthenics deep within his scatting that would reduce most singers to bogus poseurs, yet the daredevil effects work because he lands right in the center of the note every time. The voice is mellow and spreadable as cashew butter, the personality as accessible as a bus stop. Listen to this entire album non-stop and it has a cumulative effect. Everything but the camera angles.

It would be pretentious to assume "Mel Torme and Friends" could never have been born any place else, but years from now, whether I'm listening to it in Kansas or Kashmir, I will always hear the cool composition, the crisp vitality, the neon and smoke, the brisk excitement of people saluting something significant that only happens in New York City. It's a lusty, brawling performance. And between the heart and soul and talent of Mel Torme, man and musician supreme, and the New York audience that reflects its adoration with gratitude, this distinguished album establishes an interplay, a rapturous splendor of the disciplined energy that is art.

Rex Reed

1. I've Heard The Song Before
2. I Sent for you Yesterday and Here You Come Today
3. Jeru
4. Duke Ellington Medley
   
   • Don't Get Aroung Much Anymore
   • Just Squeeze Me
   • I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
   • C Jam Blues

5. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
6. Walkin' Shoes
7. 'Round Midnight
8. Real Thing
9. Line For Lyons
10. Wave/Agua De Beber
11. Blues In The Night
12. The Song Is Ended
13. Lady Be Good

The Gerry Mulligan Orchestra: Tom Boras, Mike Canubia, Rick Chamberlain, Richie DeRosa, Mitchell Forman, Laurie Frink, Dave Glenn, Gary Guzio, Gary Keller, Frank Luther, Mike Migliore, Chris Rogers, Chuck Wilson

1982

 LINER NOTES

Wein was the impetus behind putting the three musicians together for the concert. Just two months earlier, Mel Torme and George Shearing had recorded their first album together (An Evening With George Sheraing and Mel Torme) for Concord, (a partnership that would continue until 1990), while Gerry Mulligan made a guest appearance on the live LP Mel Torme & Friends in 1980.

The portions of the concert that are now finally available on this CD fill and important gap in each of their careers.. Torme taped two live dates earlier in 1982, one the aforementioned LP with Shearing (which was the pianist's only recording of the year, other than playing a solitary solo track for a piano tribute to the late Bill Evans), and the other for the Flair label. Mulligan's only other recording for the year was his soundtrack for the French film La Menace, starring Yves Montand.

Mel Torme (1925-1999) was a vocalist who not only got better with age but who palyed drums, piano, was a talented composer and arranger as well (writing, most notably the seasonal favorite "The Christmas Song" with lyricist Bob Wells, a huge hit for Nat King Cole). This Renaissance man also wrote several books including a no holds barred autobiagraphy (It Wasn't All Velvet) describing the ups and downs of his career. Tormé continued to delight audiences with a baritone voice that grew stronger and more inventive until a major stroke in 1996 ended his performing days.

George Shearing, born in 1919, overcame both blindness and poverty to become a successful jazz pianist. He first recorded in his native Great Britain in 1939 and immigrated to the United States in the 1940s with the encouragement of vritic Leonard Feather. Although it took time for Shearing to attract attention in America, his well-received quintet and his composition "Lullaby of Birdland" put him on the musical map. The pianist has continued to perform into the 21st century. In addition to recording numerous CDs since this concert, Lullabies of Birdland, a two CD compilation of Shearing's best recordings for Concord was released in 2004, along with his autobiography Lullaby of Birdland, published by Continuum.

While still in his teens. Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996) was already recognized as a talented and composer and arranger, contributing to such bands as Gene Krupa and Claude Thornhill. He became even more famous as the dominant stylist on the cumbersome baritone sax, as well as for his renowned quartet with Chet Baker in the early 1950s and his critically acclaimed Concert Jazz Band of the early 1960s. Mulligan continued to compose and perform in a variety of settings, including symphony orchestra even playing several different unaccompanied reed instruments for the film soundtrack he wrote for I'm Not Rappaport. His death in early 1996 was a major loss to the jazz world.

Torme, Shearing and Mulligan made their first recording together an unforgettable evening at Carnegie Hall. They mixed favorites by bandleaders such as Duke Ellington, Count Baste and Thelonious Monk, standards from several decades and same overlooked chestnuts of an earlier era, along with some of Mulligan's best known compositions.

"I Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)" was a hit for blues shouter Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie. The big band kicks Torme into a boisterous, swinging mood as he trades inventive scatted licks with Shearing and Mulligan.

It's hard to go wrong with a medley of Duke Ellington's hits. A swinging take of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" (which briefly interpolates "Just Squeeze Me" behind Mulligan's solo) starts things off, featuring Torme and Mulligan. "Just Squeeze Me" is next, showcasing Shearing's joyful piano. Shearing and Torme (with just bass and drums) then work magic with "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart." A brief solo by Mulligan in "C Jam Blues" adds the big band, followed by Torme's reprise of "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore."

All three of Gerry Mulligan's compositions had been a part of his working for some time. "Jeru" adds a new set of lyrics by the baritone saxophonist, as the singer and the composer informally banter a bit during its musical introduction, with Torme scatting in unison with the band and Mulligan. At times, the composer provides a backing vocal for Torme.

An appropriately strutting rendition of Mulligan's "Walkin' Shoes" finds Torme in a playful mood as he and the saxophonist take turns singing this upbeat tale about a woman who has walked out on her man.

Mulligan's "Line For Lyons" is his 1950s tribute to West Coast disc jockey Jimmy Lyons (co-founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival). Torme's playful interpretation includes a good bit of scatting, while Shearing's lively Latin-flavored piano supports both Torme's and Mulligan's solos.

Composer Michel Legrand and the husband and wife lyricist team of Alan & Marilyn Bergman have collaborated on many memorable tunes; their ballad "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life" has became a modern standard. With lush background by the band and Shearing's thoughtful piano, Torme's interpretation is full of love without a touch of phony sentiment.

The focus of the evening is on music written in North America, with one exception: "Wave," composed by Mulligan's good friend Antonio Carlos Jobim. During the first verse, Torme jokes to the audience about the demanding vocal range of the song and then scats up a storm and detours into "The Girl From Ipanema," a bit of Gershwin's "Summertime" and "It Ain't Necessarily So" and the unusual choice of 20' century classical composer Morton Gould's "Pavanne."

The singer rightly describes "Blues in the Night" as the magnum opus of Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. The imaginative scoring includes an elaborate solo feature for Shearing, Mulligan's lush unaccompanied baritone sax, along with a challenging big band chart which keeps Torme on his toes. Yet the bluesy under-current of the song itself is never far away.

Unlike many vocalists, Mel Torme includes the opening verse to his stunning rendition of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight." With Shearing's subtle piano and the carefully crafted backgrounds by the big band, the anguish comes through in Torme's heartfelt vocals.

To wrap the evening, Torme, Shearing and Mulligan sing "The Song is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On)," leaving the audience still hungry for more music. Their wild encore, "Lady Be Good," wraps this historic concert in swinging fashion.

In 1983, nearly two hours of music from this memorable evening at Carnegie Hall was broadcast on National Public Radio's Jazz Alive! series.

I recorded this program at home and played it many times, hoping the music would be commercially released one day. I was delighted when Concord Records told me of their plans to issue a portion of the concert on this CD. I hope you enjoy the music as much I have.

Ken Dryden
-All Music Guide to Jazz

- Ken Dryden see his comments in his "Not For Sale column at ALLABOUTJAZZ.com

As any serious collector of Gerry Mulligan's music will know, Gordon Jack in the UK has the most enviable' collection of unreleased live recordings imaginable. A couple of years ago, Gordon produced a listing and kindly sent me a copy which contained details of Gerry's live appearances over a period of 50 years. Among the hundreds of gems, there was one concert that stood out -'Mel, Gerry and George - live at the Carnegie Hall, June 29th 1982', and on request, Gordon kindly sent me a tape of the event. The rest as they say is history, and I duly thank and acknowledge Gordon's incredible contribution to making this release possible, Gordon is also a very popular journalist, and in September 2004, the Scarecrow Press published his hook -Fifties Jazz Talk: An Oral Retrospective - which includes interviews with Gerry Mulligan and a number of his sidemen. Any follower of jazz from the 50's will want' this book in their collection".

Barry Hatcher, November 2004

1. Another Kind Of Sunday
2. Guess I'll Go Back Home This Summer
3. Oleo
4. 42nd & Broadway
5. Cottage For Sale
6. It Might As Well Be Spring
7. K4 Pacific
8. One For Amos

The Gerry Mulligan Orchestra: Tom Boras, Mike Canubia, Rick Chamberlain, Richie DeRosa, Mitchell Forman, Laurie Frink, Dave Glenn, Gary Guzio, Gary Keller, Frank Luther, Mike Migliore, Chris Rogers, Don Thompson, Chuck Wilson

1982