Showing posts with label Hugo Montenegro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hugo Montenegro. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Hugo Montenegro - Boogie Woogie & Bongos

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:55
Size: 70.8 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz, Easy listening
Year: 1962/1991
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. Night Train
[2:32] 2. Woodchopper's Ball
[2:10] 3. Peter Gunn
[2:18] 4. Swanee River Boogie
[2:35] 5. Java Boogie
[2:35] 6. St. Louis Blues
[2:45] 7. Tuxedo Junction
[2:32] 8. Yancy Goes Honky Tonk
[2:58] 9. Begin The Beguine
[2:20] 10. Win, Win, Boogie
[2:43] 11. Boo Qui Woo Qui
[2:32] 12. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie

Scarce 1962 12-track LP of multi-channel experiments arranged and conducted by Hugo, issued on Time-Oriole as part of the Series 2000 with 'rough' textured labels.

Hugo Montenegro was a composer, arranger, and conductor who is primarily known for his movie work in the '60s, as well as his adaptations of film scores like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Montenegro began his musical career in the U.S. Navy, where he arranged scores for various military bands. After he left the Navy, he completed school at Manhattan College, then he began a professional music career.

Initially, Montenegro was the staff manager to André Kostelanetz at Columbia Records in New York, which eventually led to a job as a conductor/arranger for several of the label's artists, most notably Harry Belafonte. By the mid-'50s, Montenegro was making his own albums of easy listening orchestral music.

Montenegro moved to California in the mid-'60s and began to write film scores, starting with Otto Preminger's Hurry Sundown in 1967. That same year, he recorded a version of the theme to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which was written by Ennio Morricone. Featuring an arrangement that relied on a chorus, electric instruments, and special effects, the single was a major hit, reaching number one in the U.K. and number two in the U.S.; internationally, it sold over a million copies. An album titled Music from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" & "A Fistful of Dollars" & "For a Few Dollars More" appeared shortly after the single's release, and it reached the Top Ten in the spring 1968. Later in the year, Montenegro released a single of the theme from Hang 'Em High, which was a lesser hit, as was the album of the same name.

Montenegro began to branch out after the Hang 'Em High album, recording a diverse array of albums, ranging from show tunes to electronic experiments. Throughout the late '60s and '70s, he continued to score films, including Lady in Cement, The Undefeated, The Wrecking Crew, Tomorrow, and The Ambushers, among many others. He continued composing and recording until his death in 1981. ~bio by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Boogie Woogie & Bongos

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Hugo Montenegro - Magnificent

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 23:29
Size: 53.8 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1968/2011
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. String Of Pearls
[2:29] 2. Heartaches
[2:35] 3. Chanson D'amour
[1:56] 4. Slow Poke
[2:17] 5. Peg O' My Heart
[2:51] 6. And The Angels Sing
[2:45] 7. I'll Know My Love
[2:54] 8. Dardanella
[3:16] 9. Song Of India

Despite the groovy groupie on the cover, this is a repackaging of an earlier '60s LP from Montenegro, skimping on the time (a paltry nine tracks), but featuring the kookier side of Montenegro, from the very silly, bouncing kettle drums on "Dardanella" to the old standard "Peg O' My Heart" turned into a waltz-cha cha. There are also some very solid trumpet solos featured in these essentially big band arrangements, but the lack of credits or liner notes doesn't help matters. ~Ted Mills

Magnificent

Monday, June 23, 2014

Hugo Montenegro - Magnificent

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 23:28
Size: 53.7 MB
Styles: Jazz-funk, Easy Listening
Year: 1968/2011
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. String Of Pearls
[2:29] 2. Heartaches
[2:35] 3. Chanson D'amour
[1:55] 4. Peg O'my Heart
[2:17] 5. Peg O'my Heart
[2:51] 6. And The Angels Sing
[2:44] 7. I'll Know My Love
[2:54] 8. Dardanella
[3:15] 9. Song Of India

Originally a staff manager for Andre Kostelanetz at Columbia Records, Hugo Montenegro began making albums of easy listening music under his own name in the mid-1950s. He recorded for a number of labels over the years, including this album recorded especially for Pickwick. Including such songs as Chanson D'Amour, And The Angels Sing and Song Of India, each receives the full orchestral treatment.

Magnificent