The all male vocal group had a highly successful, although short, life in the late 1950s/early 1960s and were much in demand for studio work and as backing for star vocalists.
This Wally Stott band included Kenny Baker, Bert Ezzard, Tubby Hayes, Laddy Busby, Harry Klein and Ronnie Verrell although the full personnel is not known. Hayes can be heard soloing on tracks 1, 7, 8 and 10.
Fringe jazz but good swinging arrangements from a great studio band. Vocals not bad either.
Personnel includes:
Wally Stott - leader
Kenny Baker - trumpet
Bert Ezzard - trumpet
Tubby Hayes - tenor
Lad Busby - trombone
Harry Klein - baritone
Ronnie Verrell - drums
Jimmy Walker - vocals
Don Riddell - vocals
Tony Mansell - vocals
Freddy Datchler - vocals
01 I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo (Warren) (2:46)
02 Paducah (Redman) (2:42)
03 They Go To San Diego (Tormé) (2:36)
04 I’m Shooting High (Koehler, McHugh) (2:50)
05 Hundreds And Thousands Of Girls (Wayne, Rasch) (3:08)
06 Too Marvelous For Words (Mercer, Whiting) (2:39)
07 The Song Is You (Kern) (2:58)
08 The Late, Late Show (Berlin, Alfred) (2:37)
09 Nice Work If You Can Get It (Gershwin, Gershwin) (2:36)
10 I'm Just Breezin’ Along With The Breeze (Gillespie, Simon, Whiting) (2:44)
11 Dancing In The Dark (Schwartz, Dietz) (2:53)
12 Carioca (Eliscu, Kahn, Youmans) (2:31)
Label: Philips BL 7576
Recorded: 1963
Lineage: LP>FLAC
Thanks azule this one really gets the thumbs up for the cast of musicians, not so sure about some of the song choices but hey what do i know,look forward to giving it a spin to see. Didn't Tony Mansell become an actor ?
ReplyDeleteI don't think Mansell became an actor... Until last spring, he lived here in the Southwest of France and had a monthly gig in a restaurant with a quintet he led, playing trumpet, singing and acting as the cranky old tyrant with his (much) younger sidemen. It was very fun to watch and made up for the fact that his singing and playing were not as good as they used to be. But he did great for a 84 year old guy. I heard he moved back to Wales.
DeleteNice work and you've got it! Great stuff. Bob
ReplyDeleteThats funny i commented at 8ish this morning,dunno what happened there, anyway thanks very much for this one and the question was didn't Tony Mansell end up acting ?
DeleteTake no notice of what's going on here - confusion on my part. My comment to Bob removed. I'll try to start again. Your 8am comment only just cleared, danair. Been very busy.
DeleteMost enjoyable. Thanks you.
ReplyDeleteI was unaware of the existence of The Polka Dots, but anything with Wally Stott's name on it (or, in later years, Angela Morley's) is worth having.
ReplyDeleteOne of the songs from Torme's California Suite? That's really unusual.
I'm really looking forward to hearing this.
Thank you, azule serape and Rodney.
many thanks for this interesting music. surely rather dated for the pop scene of 1963 ? maybe Rodney you could think about removing the approval requirement here. are we not a selected clientele ? time lag makes conversation difficult and the chat box is anyway 'live' but very small for my digits and peepers.
ReplyDelete@zoot. The same was suggested on my other blog but when I tried it I realized there were advantages that I hadn't thought of doing it this way. The main thing however is that it enables me conveniently to see all the comments and make sure I don't miss anything that needs doing. I try to keep up with the moderation as much as I can so hopefully there should not be too much delay.
DeleteI too find C-Box a bit small, or at least used to before I started using Ctrl and + to increase the apparent size. This makes even more scrolling necessary unfortunately. Crtl and - to reduce again (of course!) to get the "go" thing (although Enter works too)
OK Rodney - it's your gig man. Other blog ?
DeleteThe Jazzman Returns - no room there I'm afraid.
DeleteI have always been a big fan of the great vocal groups and recall the Hi Los and Four Freshmen, and still enjoy M Transfer. Yes, I do remember seeing the Polka Dots on television but never acquired an album. So, this is a rare treat. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteVariety is the spice of BritJazz.....thanks azule.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another one that would have passed me by. Great line up.
ReplyDeleteStunning ! Better than some 4 Freshmen, I'd say - but completely new to me !
ReplyDeleteThanks azule serape for this obvioulsy rare one.
Have always enjoyed the Four Freshmen and the Hi Los. This group aren't so harmonically adventurous but the great band gives them good support. Certainly deserves its inclusion on BritJazz.
ReplyDeleteSome further information on Tony Mansell. He recorded a couple of 45rpm singles with Johnny Dankworth in the 1950s. From 1954: Hold My Hand / The High And The Mighty on Parlophone MSP 6130, From 1956: Zambezi / 11th Hour Melody on Parlophone MSP 6222. Belated thanks to azule serape and Rodney.
ReplyDeleteFred Datchler was also in The Stargazers. His son Clark is lead singer with 80s band Johnny Hates Jazz.
ReplyDeletehttps://cjoint.net/?a9xpqlo43a
ReplyDelete