Sunday morning gospel: The Southern-Aires Gospel Singers

I've featured this very 1920s-sounding gospel quartet before--twice, at least--but I've never featured their LP in its entirety (i.e., the one LP of theirs in my collection). After today, that will no longer be true. And, in spite of the presence of a fifth person in the photo, this is a four-person quartet--the lady in the middle provides the piano accompaniment. (Or else the lady behind her--not sure.)

The singers are Wilford Reed, lead; Elaine Miller, alto; Woodford Reed, bass; and Roger Kuhl, tenor. The accompanist, from Ohio, is Bonnie Moore. The rest are originally from West Virginia. The Southern-aires are a cross between the original Stamps Quartet and Smith's Sacred Singers. Think Carl Story without the bluegrass instruments. They make the Chuck Wagon Gang sound like the Anita Kerr Singers.

I've never issued a Down Home Alert, but if I were to start today, I'd give this a 9.2 out of 10. I live to find this kind of album, but not everyone likes their gospel this high up the Down Home scale. The group's theme song, in case you're wondering, is the 1927 Stamps Quartet hit Give the World a Smile. For some reason, it's simply listed as "Theme."

Click here to hear: Gospel Singers--Heaven Is My Home The Southern-Aires

PLAYLIST

THEME
HE BORE IT ALL (Baxter, Jr.-Stamps)
I'LL HAVE A NEW LIFE (Luther G. Presley)
ANGELS ROCK ME TO SLEEP (Ramsey-Easterling)
GONNA RISE UP AND SHINE (Eugene Wright)
SALVATION HAS BEEN BROUGHT DOWN (Albert E. Brumley)
HEAVEN IS MY HOME (Baxter, Jr.-Swilling) JESUS IS COMING SOON (R.E. Winsett)
HIDE ME, ROCK OF AGES (Brantley C. George) WHEN I LOOKED UP & AND HE LOOKED DOWN (Brumley)
ECHOES FROM THE BURNING BUSH (Foust-Summar)
SURELY, I WILL LORD (Brumley)
JUST A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS (Cleavant Derricks)

Westwood Record Co. 1016 (Canton, Ohio)


Lee

Ferrante and Teicher, Part 2--"Rhapsody" LP (1955)

With Arthur Ferrante's passing, the great and wonderful two-piano team of Ferrante and Teicher is no more. Rather than try to describe in words how much we've lost, I'll let Art and Lou's own recordings tell us.

Stereo version of a 1955 F&T LP on Urania--not sure how long after the mono version this was released. Sounds fabulous, in any event, even if the pressing itself isn't the best it could be. We'll hear Ferrante and Teicher playing serious and light-serious selections (just made that up) and playing them superbly. That's the only way they knew how to play.

Hollywood Rhapsody is a very nice F&T original. And I should note that all of the mp3s from this LP of rhapsodies were burned on my Rhapsody program. Coincidence? Yes.

Since these are long tracks, I've split the LP into two zip files. And I've made each track available individually.

ZIPS

ZIP FILES NO LONGER AVAILABLE


INDIVIDUAL NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Swedish Rhapsody (Wildman)
Roumanian Rhapsody in A Major (Enesco)
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Liszt)
Cornish Rhapsody (Bath)
Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)
Hollywood Rhapsody (F&T)


Lee

R.I.P., Arthur Ferrante (1921-2009)

Arthur Ferrante, of the superb twin-piano team of Ferrante and Teicher, has passed away at the age of 88. Lou Teicher, you'll recall, died in August of last year. The very fine Los Angeles Times obituary can be read here: Arthur Ferrante Dies at 88.

Along with Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Nemenoff, F&T were my introduction to four-hand piano music on records. My first live experience was when my piano teacher had me play Bizet's gorgeous Children's Games with him in its two-piano arrangement. Like a lot of genres, four-hand piano music doesn't get enough respect, which translates to critics and listeners treating it like a novelty every time it shows up, even though it's been a big part of popular and art music history since at least the time of Gottschalk. Never mind that F&T had been preceded by Arthur Whittemore and Jack Lowe, Virginia Morley and Livingston Gearhart, Jose and Ampara Iturbi, and Maryan Rawicz and Walter Landauer--whatever's not hip didn't exist. You know the drill, I know the drill.

Actually, Art and Lou were slightly okay by the hipsters, at least when they were playing "prepared" pianos--1952 examples of which we're going to hear today. Years ago, I had a 10" LP of these recordings, and I found the doctored-piano sound pretty inane. I warmed up to them sometime later, though mostly because these performances and arrangements are so good, and not so much for the ping, pop, zing, etc. The John Cage connection is what makes prepared piano acceptable to those in the know, I guess. As opposed to the gorgeous light orchestral fare that filled most of Art and Lou's LPs.

Due in no small part to brilliant early-Fifties Columbia engineering, the percussion effects on these 1952 sides are quite effective. What we're hearing is as much the product, imo, of magnetic tape and mic placement as arrangement of objects on and in the piano soundboard. But none of it would work without two great performers at the keys. Click here to hear: HI-FIRE WORKS (Columbia CL-573)

Hi-Fire Works

FALLING IN LOVE WITH LOVE
CARAVAN
BLUE MOON
CHOPSTICKS
TABU
THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC
I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN
MALAGUENA
FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE
SUSANNA'S LAST STAND
SEMPER FIDELIS

All recorded in 1952; LP released in 1953. More Art and Lou to come.

Halloween postings at Magic Carpet Burn

Professor Grewbeard has started his Halloween posting, and the music looks great. The cartoons, ads, and such are worth a visit by themselves. All provided with loving scare. Er, care. Magic Carpet Burn.

The prof. reports his age as 150. Maybe that's in blog years. (Canned laugh track, fade.)

And... stay tombed for Halloween stuff at this very spot.




Lee