Caterina Takes Free Rein, Pearl's Mystery LP, Plus More Swingle Sisters, Corigliano's Rocket And A Nearly-Blind Secret Song!

Look at Caterina! All shiny and pink - and with a startling, gleaming yellow background. I swear the illustrator must have been flying on dexies because it's all so bright-bright-bright! And so unreal, but then maybe that's as it should be, because Caterina Valente - multitalented, multilingual, Italian-born daughter of circus performers - sounds as if somebody combined one-part Charo, two parts Carmen Miranda, a dollop of Sophia Loren, then pressed puree on a blender. How can she be real? But she is. And she's wonderful.

Recorded in 1963, Caterina's "Songs I've Sung On The Perry Como Show" is a lively collection of tunes that include "Make Someone Happy," "Couci Couca" and "Stella By Starlight." It's like your own little dexy - on vinyl!

Did you know? Lots of old time stars posed nude. There's Tab Hunter, of course, and Lucille Ball, Greta Garbo, Sal Mineo, and look below, it's our old friend Pearl Bailey in a stunning 1940s-era portrait by Carl Von Vechten.

If you can get past all that blinding, unselfconscious beauty, then you'll want to check out "Pearl Bailey Sings!" - a Cheerful Pearl Exclusive! - which was recorded...when exactly? I ask this, because there's no copyright date on the LP, virtually no information about it on the Internets (all the listings leave out the recording date), and certainly no reviews. In fact, it's not even included in most Pearl discographies. It's a mystery!

Which is strange, because it's not as if it's from some fly-by-night company or something - Columbia Harmony is the label - yet the cover picture is kind of cheap-looking and blurry, and the notes on back are non-existent (except for recommendations for other Harmony records). But still, it's a terrific LP - I love "Old Man, You Been Gone Too Long" - and, yes, Pearl, as is her wont, takes breaks in several songs to chit-chat with you. Because she can. Because she's Pearl. 

Jeez-louise, you guys really like The Swingle Singers, because there were mucho downloads of their LP on the Legrand post last week. The group still exists and performs, as you may know, but - and it's a big but - not with the original members below: 

So let's say "encore" with "Place Vendome," their irresistible 1966 collaboration with The Modern Jazz Quartet. It's an almost ridiculously happy LP. And those xylophones - perfection.

Look at John Corigliano below. Why is he smiling like the proverbial cat who caught the canary? Is it because he has this to come home to every night? Oh, JohnCo, you sly puss, you.

If you haven't heard his "Symphony No. 2" or "The Mannheim Rocket," treat yourself right now. "Symphony" is absolutely gorgeous, of course (and won a Pulitzer, too), while "Rocket" features this singular composer at his most splashy and playful. Snobs say it quotes too heavily from Wagner and Strauss and all the rest of the Germans, but duh, that's kind of the point, isn't it (or at least partly)? But even if you don't get all the references, and I certainly don't, it's still a ten-minute rush of surprising fun.

The Secret Song File begs your indulgence while she hoovers up a toot (or-two-or-three-or-four). Ahhh. All better (it's medicinal). Or is it? Can't some things just be fun? You know, like this spanking new, now complete, CD from a certain white R&B singer who just happens to be this guy's son (don't hold it against him) (which is difficult, I know, but try).

"Entertainment Weekly" calls it "zero-calorie R&B." To which I say, "Bitch, please." It's springy, light summer fun (and it's certainly better than this guy's latest) (which I've played only once) (and will nev-ah play again) (just sayin'). Does everything have to be a masterpiece for the ages? It's summer. It's hot out. Can't we all chill?

I'll make the cocktails if you go inside and grab the carrot sticks and bean dip, m'k?

Give a holla if you wanna in the comments!

All Legrand, All The Time (Plus A Swingle)!

There she is. Cherchez la femme! The one and only Anouk Aimee in Jacques Demy's 1961 film "Lola"  (which was inspired by Marlene Dietrich's Lola Lola). Did you know? The movie was a break-out, of sorts, for film composer Michel Legrand. Yet as renown as he became for his movie scores, he's a serious jazz artist, too; composing, performing, arranging work composed by others, and allowing his own music to be interpreted by a who's-who of jazz musicians. There's really nothing he can't do (okay, so maybe he should stay away from disco) (far away). The variety of his output still astonishes me, and it all started in 1954 with his first LP.

"I Love Paris," a buoyant orchestral romp through traditional Gallic tunes ("La Vie En Rose," "April in Paris"), was arranged and recorded by Legrand when he was just (wait for it) twenty-two. It quickly became one of the most popular instrumental LPs of all time.

If you hit once, why not hit again with the same formula? Luckily (for us), this was a smart move. 1955's "Holiday In Rome" and "Vienna Holiday" are just as charming as the Paris LP; the former with vivo Italian tunes like "Luna Rosa," the latter with wunderbar Viennese waltzes. And I know what you're thinking, it  all sounds so-o-o-o cliched. It is, of course, but then it's never sounded this good, either.

Not enough Legrand for you? Don't worry, there's more! Ready? As much as I love Legrand's orchestral LPs, it's his jazz work that I find myself listening to the most. In 1995, he was behind the piano with his trio in "The Warm Shade Of Memory." The opening track, "Watch What Happens," is one of many highlights in this blissful LP. 

1985's "After The Rain" is a brisk, six-track jaunt through some of Legrand's best tunes with a septet of performers, including Legrand - again, at the piano - and Phil Woods on clarinet and alto. It's probably the best known Legrand jazz record, and there's a reason for that. It's perfect.

Miles Davis joins Michel Legrand on "Legrand Jazz," a 1958 LP that's long been considered a classic. Here, Legrand takes tunes, like "'Round Midnight" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," and brilliantly arranges them for three different combos, which include not just Davis, but John Coltrane, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods and more.

Here's a real treat. 2004's "I Will Wait For You: The Music Of Michel Legrand," is easily one of my favorite CDs. Period. It's also ridiculously unheralded. Kuhn, a post-bob pianist, along with his trio, gorgeously reinterprets Legrand's most noteworthy tunes ("The Summer Knows," "I Will Wait For You"). It's probably one of the most elegant modern jazz efforts you're likely to hear.

Pure, unadulterated fun is the best way to describe "Dingo," the soundtrack for a little-seen 1990 Australian movie starring...Miles Davis (as an aging jazz great) (what else?). I haven't seen it, but the music, composed by Legrand and Davis, is light and beautifully phrased.

Another favorite of mine is "Legrand/Grappelli," an atypical 2002 CD that brings Legrand together with violinist Stephane Grappelli. Some might find the overall effect a bit sticky-icky, but I think they largely avoid that pitfall. It's a fine, gossamer-light experience. And these days, that's rare.

Is there more? Of course there is! I don't know many performers who can make Legrand's theme for "Wuthering Heights" ("I Was Born In Love With You") such a stirring, even haunting experience, but singer Melissa Errico not only pulls it off, she makes it her own. I wasn't that familiar with Errico until my Cuban Luvuh began playing "Legrand Affair," but now I'm a fan. This is a dreamy-sounding collection of Legrand tunes - you really do feel as if you're hearing them for the first time - and unlike a lot of vocalist CDs these days, Errico's backed by a luxuriant, magnificent-sounding orchestra. Really, it's like buttah.

Speaking of buttah! Though I've largely avoided Legrand musicals in this particular post, I had to include "Yentl." Why, you ask? Because it's the crown jewel of his work for the screen - as if every musical or movie he'd ever worked were leading up to this 1983 masterpiece. As some of you know, the soundtrack was first issued on LP, then a badly transferred, muddy-sounding CD. But just for you - in this Oy! Cheerful Exclusive! - here's "Yentl" in all of its crystal-clear, LP lossless glory.

Legrand is talented, this we know, so it goes to follow that a sibling of his might have talent, too, don't you think? If you think, "Why, yes!" then you're right. His sister Christiane was the lead female vocalist with "The Swingle Singers," an early 1960's a cappella group. From the start, they knocked just about everyone's socks off by reinterpreting Bach's classical melodies with their vocals and scat. But this isn't some kitschy one-off (not by a long shot). It's enchanting and wholly unpredictable. In other words, it's great jazz.

If Legrand were buttah, would he be whipped? Salted? Me, I'm thinking beurre noir.

Spread it on toast in the comments, if you like!