Billy May and His Orchestra - You May Swing (Remastered)

Styles: Jazz, Swing
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:16
Size: 77,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:43) 1. Bouncin' Runners
(2:47) 2. Second Chance
(3:02) 3. You May Swing
(2:32) 4. Novo Amor
(2:49) 5. You Ain't Makin' It
(2:07) 6. Jornal Do Brasil
(2:54) 7. Silvery Cloud
(2:56) 8. I Don't Know Where I'm Goin'
(3:02) 9. Sunset Colours
(2:43) 10. Santa Lucia
(2:41) 11. Fingers
(2:55) 12. Sooper Sloop

The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-may-mn0000769388/biography

You May Swing

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George Shearing Quintet And Orchestra - White Satin

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:26
Size: 80,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:57)  1. Your Name Is Love
(2:30)  2. Dream
(2:56)  3. Laura
(2:57)  4. There's A Small Hotel
(3:13)  5. Old Folks
(2:06)  6. Blue Malibu
(3:14)  7. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(2:38)  8. Love's Melody
(3:06)  9. An Affair To Remember
(3:02) 10. There'll Be Another Spring
(3:00) 11. Moonlight Becomes You
(2:40) 12. I'll Take Romance

For a long stretch of time in the 1950s and early '60s, George Shearing had one of the most popular jazz combos on the planet so much so that, in the usual jazz tradition of distrusting popular success, he tended to be underappreciated. Shearing's main claim to fame was the invention of a unique quintet sound, derived from a combination of piano, vibraphone, electric guitar, bass, and drums. Within this context, Shearing would play in a style he called "locked hands," which he picked up and refined from Milt Buckner's early '40s work with the Lionel Hampton band, as well as Glenn Miller's sax section and the King Cole Trio. Stating the melody on the piano with closely knit, harmonized block chords, with the vibes and guitar tripling the melody in unison, Shearing sold tons of records for MGM and Capitol in his heyday. The wild success of this urbane sound obscures Shearing's other great contribution during this time, for he was also a pioneer of exciting, small combo Afro-Cuban jazz in the '50s. Indeed, Cal Tjader first caught the Latin jazz bug while playing with Shearing, and the English bandleader also employed such esteemed congueros as Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Armando Peraza. As a composer, Shearing was best known for the imperishable, uniquely constructed bop standard "Lullaby of Birdland," as well as "Conception" and "Consternation." His solo style, though all his own, reflected the influences of the great boogie-woogie pianists and classical players, as well as those of Fats Waller, Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, and Bud Powell and fellow pianists long admired his light, refined touch. He was also known to play accordion and sing in a modest voice on occasion. 

Shearing, who was born blind, began playing the piano at the age of three, receiving some music training at the Linden Lodge School for the Blind in London as a teenager but picking up the jazz influence from Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller 78s. In the late '30s, he started playing professionally with the Ambrose dance band and made his first recordings in 1937 under the aegis of fellow Brit Leonard Feather. He became a star in Britain, performing for the BBC, playing a key role in the self-exiled Stéphane Grappelli's London-based groups of the early '40s, and winning seven consecutive Melody Maker polls before emigrating in New York City in 1947 at the prompting of Feather. Once there, Shearing quickly absorbed bebop into his bloodstream, replacing Garner in the Oscar Pettiford Trio and leading a quartet in tandem with Buddy DeFranco. In 1949, he formed the first and most famous of his quintets, which included Marjorie Hyams on vibes (thus striking an important blow for emerging female jazz instrumentalists), Chuck Wayne on guitar, John Levy on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Recording briefly first for Discovery, then Savoy, Shearing settled into lucrative associations with MGM (1950-1955) and Capitol (1955-1969), the latter for which he made albums with Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee, and Nat King Cole. He also made a lone album for Jazzland with the Montgomery Brothers (including Wes Montgomery) in 1961, and began playing concert dates with symphony orchestras. After leaving Capitol, Shearing began to phase out his by-then-predictable quintet, finally breaking it up in 1978. He started his own label, Sheba, which lasted for a few years into the early '70s and made some trio recordings for MPS later in the decade. In the '70s, his profile had been lowered considerably, but upon signing with Concord in 1979, Shearing found himself enjoying a renaissance in all kinds of situations. He made a number of acclaimed albums with Mel Tormé, raising the singer's profile in the process, and recorded with the likes of Ernestine Anderson, Jim Hall, Marian McPartland, Hank Jones, and classical French horn player Barry Tuckwell. He also recorded a number of solo piano albums where his full palette of influences came into play. He signed with Telarc in 1992 and from that point through the early 2000s continued to perform and record, most often appearing in a duo or trio setting. Shearing, who had remained largely inactive since 2004 after a fall in his New York City apartment, died of congestive heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital on February 14, 2011. He was 91. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-shearing-mn0000642664/biography
 

Personnel:  George Shearing – piano;  Billy May – arranger

White Satin

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Various - Capitol Records From The Vaults: The Best Of '56

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:33
Size: 145.5 MB
Styles: R&B, Easy Listening, Pop-Rock
Year: 2000
Art: Front


[2:35] 1. Tennessee Ernie Ford - Sixteen Tons
[2:32] 2. Nelson Riddle - Lisbon Antigua
[2:16] 3. Dean Martin - Memories Are Made Of This
[2:33] 4. Kit Carson - Band Of Gold
[2:24] 5. Les Paul - Moritat
[2:25] 6. Les Baxter - The Poor People Of Paris (Jean's Song)
[2:10] 7. The Cheers - Black Denim Trousers & Motorcycle Boots
[2:49] 8. Billy May - Man With The Golden Arm
[2:33] 9. Gordon Macrae - I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
[2:51] 10. Nat King Cole - Too Young To Go Steady
[2:58] 11. Nat King Cole - Never Let Me Go
[2:24] 12. Don Robertson - The Happy Whistler
[3:04] 13. The Four Freshmen - Graduation Day
[2:46] 14. Dean Martin - Standing On The Corner
[2:43] 15. Tex Ritter - The Wayward Wind
[2:16] 16. Nat King Cole - That's All There Is To That
[2:28] 17. Margaret Whiting - True Love
[2:17] 18. Stan Freberg - Heartbreak Hotel
[2:36] 19. Woody Herman - I Don't Want Nobody (To Have My Love But You)
[2:15] 20. The Five Keys - Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
[3:02] 21. Dick Haymes - Two Different Worlds
[2:08] 22. Louis Prima - Five Months, Two Weeks, Two Days
[2:20] 23. The Four Preps - Dreamy Eyes
[2:28] 24. The Five Keys - Wisdom Of A Fool
[2:28] 25. Sonny James - Young Love

This sixth installment of Capitol records' label retrospective -- Capitol From the Vaults -- concentrates on the transitional and influential music released in 1956, as rock & roll began to show continual staying power on the pop music charts. However, as the 25 tracks on this volume illustrate, adults and even young people were still buying and listening to traditional popular music, and that is exactly what "the tower" was releasing. The set kicks off with a chart-topping entry from Tennessee Ernie Ford singing "Sixteen Tons" -- which had also been recorded by Merle Travis, who not only wrote the song, but was also a fellow Capitol recording artist. Although it had been a regional hit for Travis, it is Ford's version that became most memorable. There were several other notable male vocalists who also climbed the charts for Capitol in 1956. As Dean Martin's popularity continued to soar, "Memories Are Made of This" -- featuring the Terry Gilkyson-led Easy Riders -- was not only his first Top 40, but also first number-one hit. The disc ushered in 1956 firmly atop most pop-music and jukebox charts. Although not a number one, the show tune "Standing on the Corner" was another hit for Martin during March of that year, and is likewise featured on this collection. Another male vocalist who dominated the upper echelons of the pop singles chart during 1956 was newcomer Sonny James. The catchy "Young Love" -- James' entrée into pop music -- became one of his signature tunes and racked up hit singles on Capitol's country charts well into the 1970s. Jazz vocal fans continued as huge proponents of the label. Nat "King" Cole -- whose "Too Young to Go Steady," "Never Let Me Go," and "That's All There Is to That" are featured here -- was one reason. Another are Stan Kenton alumni the Four Freshmen -- heard here on their Top 20 hit "Graduation Day." Other notable inclusions on Capitol From the Vaults, Vol. 6: The Best of '56 are the novelty "The Happy Whistler" -- a Top Ten hit for one-hit wonder Don Robertson. Also worth noting is the biting, satirical view of Stan Freberg as he disassembles Elvis on his decidedly derogatory rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel." Recording engineer Bob Norberg lovingly remastered this entire series from the best possible source materials, and the results are uniformly spectacular. Music historian and musician Billy Vera produced Capitol From the Vaults and likewise penned some highly informative and entertaining liner notes for each volume. ~Lindsay Planer

Capitol Records From The Vaults: The Best Of '56

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Billy May & His Orchestra - Jimmie Lunceford In Hi-Fi

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:45
Size: 88.7 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 1958/2007
Art: Front

[2:42] 1. Tain't What You Do
[2:36] 2. Ain't She Sweet
[2:58] 3. Charmaine
[2:38] 4. Uptown Blues
[2:39] 5. Cheatin' On Me
[2:56] 6. Coquette
[3:05] 7. Rhythm Is Our Business
[2:39] 8. Well All Right Then
[4:55] 9. Blues In The Night
[2:54] 10. Four Or Five Times
[3:06] 11. I'm Walkin' Thru Heaven
[2:32] 12. For Dancers Only
[2:59] 13. My Blue Heaven

Best remembered as the man who crafted spunky arrangements for Frank Sinatra, Billy May (1916-2004) developed his skills during the late 1930s and early '40s as trumpeter and arranger with the Charlie Barnet, Glenn Miller and Les Brown orchestras. During the 1950s, May churned out a series of spiffy big band records for Capitol where he served as staff arranger. Sorta-May, a very popular album from 1954, features one dozen well-loved melodies by great Tin Pan Alley composers including Jerome Kern, Rodgers & Hart, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rudolf Friml. Note that Sorta-May was reissued on GNP Crescendo in 1996, coupled with May's 1955 Sorta Dixie album. May's Jimmie Lunceford tribute, first issued in 1957 as Great Jimmie Lunceford, is a hi-fidelity salute to the Mississippi-born and Memphis-raised African-American bandleader. May lent authenticity to the project by having ex-Lunceford bandmembers Dan Grissom, Willie Smith, Joe Thomas and Trummy Young stand in as vocalists. ~arwulf arwulf

Jimmie Lunceford In Hi-Fi

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Billy May & His Orchestra - The Greatest Hits Of Billy May

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 94:40
Size: 216.8 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:11] 1. All Of Me
[2:06] 2. Bali Ha'i
[2:23] 3. Recorded At 12 28
[1:59] 4. Bijou-Cha-Cha
[3:02] 5. Charmaine
[2:38] 6. Ebb Tide
[2:57] 7. Fat Man Boogie
[1:57] 8. Flamingo
[2:32] 9. Flyin' Home
[1:47] 10. Artistry In Rhythm-Cha-Cha
[2:21] 11. Forevermore
[1:30] 12. Goodbye-Cha-Cha
[2:44] 13. Humming Waters
[2:51] 14. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan
[1:52] 15. I Remember-Cha-Cha
[3:22] 16. If I Had You
[2:37] 17. In A Mellow Tone
[2:45] 18. In The Mood
[3:13] 19. Lean Baby
[1:59] 20. Leap Frog
[3:13] 21. Lulu's Back In Town
[2:43] 22. Man With The Golden Arm
[2:42] 23. Mayhem
[3:10] 24. My Silent Love
[2:25] 25. Poinciana
[2:38] 26. Shangri-La
[2:26] 27. Snowfall Cha Cha
[2:47] 28. Strange Enchantment
[2:40] 29. The Hawaiian Wedding Song
[2:15] 30. Moon Of Manakoora
[1:53] 31. The Poor People Of Paris-Cha-Cha
[2:33] 32. There Is No Greater Love
[2:47] 33. Tuxedo Junction
[2:26] 34. Twelfth Street Rag
[2:35] 35. Unforgettable
[2:45] 36. When My Sugar Walks Down The Street
[2:36] 37. You're Lovable

The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87. ~ Richard S. Ginell

The Greatest Hits Of Billy May

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Billy May's - Naughty Operetta!

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:44
Size: 71,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:13)  1. Serenade
(2:15)  2. Italian Street Song
(3:03)  3. Desert Song
(2:15)  4. Rose Marie
(2:56)  5. I'll See You Again
(2:21)  6. She Didn't Say Yes
(2:54)  7. Vilia
(2:20)  8. Huguette Wlatz
(2:44)  9. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(2:35) 10. One Kiss
(4:03) 11. March of the Toys

The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. 

Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87. Bio ~ Richard S.Ginell  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-may-mn0000769388/biography

Naughty Operetta!

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Billy May - A Band Is Born / Big Band Bash

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:44
Size: 158,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:14)  1. All Of Me
(3:25)  2. If I Had You
(3:03)  3. Charmaine
(2:38)  4. Unforgettable
(3:00)  5. Fat Man Mambo
(3:15)  6. Lean Baby
(3:12)  7. My Silent Love
(2:36)  8. There Is No Greater Love
(2:54)  9. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan
(2:45) 10. Mayhem
(2:48) 11. When My Sugar Walks Down The Street
(3:18) 12. Lulu's Back In Town
(2:59) 13. You're Driving Me Crazy
(3:15) 14. When Your Lover Has Gone
(3:02) 15. Perfidia
(2:43) 16. My Last Affair
(2:50) 17. Easy Street
(2:43) 18. Gone With The Wind
(2:21) 19. Diane
(2:33) 20. Please Be Kind
(2:28) 21. Tenderly
(2:26) 22. Orchids In The Moonlight
(2:11) 23. Romance
(2:52) 24. From The Land Of The Sky Blue Water

A Band Is Born/Big Band Bash collects two of Billy May's early '50s albums onto one CD. Both albums balance his big-band roots with a bit of the pop he would explore in his later work. "All of Me," "Fat Man Boogie," and "Lulu's Back in Town" are some of A Band Is Born's exuberant highlights, while "Orchids in the Moonlight," "Perfidia," and "Tenderly" make Big Band Bash a more romantic but still swinging  affair. A pair of May's most engaging albums. ~ Heather Phares http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-band-is-born-big-band-bash-mw0000111314

A Band Is Born / Big Band Bash

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Billy May - Cha-cha

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 25:39
Size: 58.7 MB
Styles: Latin
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. In The Mood
[2:23] 2. Twelfth Street-Rag-Cha-Cha
[1:51] 3. The Poor People Of Paris
[2:29] 4. Flyin' Home
[1:55] 5. Bijou-Cha-Cha
[2:20] 6. In A Mellow Tone
[2:40] 7. Tuxedo Junction
[1:56] 8. Leap Frog-Cha-Cha
[2:20] 9. Snowfall Cha Cha
[1:44] 10. Artistry In Rhythm
[1:48] 11. I Remember
[1:27] 12. Goodbye-Cha-Cha

If you are among the millions who have been captivated by that exciting Latin rhythm called the cha-cha-cha, then music-master Billy May has designed this album especially for you. Here, in the tantalizing tempo of this South of the Border dance sensation, is a collection of all-time instrumental favorites, brought up-to-date with delicate cha-cha-rrangements that offer a refreshing contrast to the spectacular big-band orchestrations so often associated with Latin dance music.

Well known swing standards like Flyin’ Home, Tuxedo Junction, and In The Mood are magically transformed into light and nimble cha-chas by "El Gran Maestro," who features here a wondrous assortment of flutes, employing them with great imagination and a good deal of subtle humor to duplicate familiar ensemble and solo passages. The brilliant trumpet and rhythm sections are manned by a fine group of Latin musicians, whose distinctive phrasing and enthusiasm give this album an excitingly genuine Afro-Cuban sound, while the mellow tones of an agile marimba provide additional authentic effects.

Senor May also brings out the cha-cha-characteristics of such unlikely selections as Twelfth Street Rag, Snowfall, The Poor People of Paris, and several other wonderfully outrageous cha-cha-daptations of famous hits in which the flavor of the original arrangements has been retained. Only the beat has been changed to protect the innocent.

Cha-cha

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