Home » Jazz News » Recording

1

Ralph Marterie: Big Band Man

Source:

Sign in to view read count
Ralph Marterie
There's nothing I love more than telling you about jazz albums that are news to even the most seasoned listeners. This was true about Ted McNabb & Co., the Metronomes' Something Big!, Leo Gooden's Leo Sings With Strings and about a dozen other albums. 

Today I have another one for you. But before I get into it, let me set the scene. Imagine we're in Hollywood in the summer of 1959 and we can put together a dream big band. All of the best cats are kicking around town, and with the kids off from school, they're eager to get out of the house. Same goes for leading arrangers.

Well, that's exactly what Ralph Marterie did that summer. Marterie was a leading big band trumpeter in the 1940s who went into radio after World War II and then pop in the 1950s, hiring lots of West Coast studio musicians for straight-up dance-band recordings. As a result, he had a top-notch reputation among the best musicians and A&R guys.

For years Marterie thought about assembling a dream band. Finally, in 1959, with the help of Pete Rugolo, Mercury's West Coast recording director at the time, Marterie decided to move forward. Rugolo and Marterie agreed that the songs of Jimmy McHugh would work perfectly. Rugolo chose the musicians and arrangers, and they recorded in August at United Recording, with Bill Putnam engineering.

The album was Big Band Man: Ralph Marterie and the All Star Men. The band consisted of Ralph Marterie, Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo and Don Fagerquist (tp); Frank Rosolino, Vern Friley and Al Hendricks (tb); Buddy De Franco and Bud Shank (cl,as); Gus Bivona and Bob Cooper (ts); Babe Russin (bar); Jimmy Rowles (p); Red Mitchell (b) and Jack Sperling (d).

As for the arrangers, Rugolo called on Johnny Mandel, Skippy Martin, Morty Corb, Bill Holman, and Frank DeVol.

Here are the songs: It's a Most Unusual Day (arranged by Johnny Mandel); Don't Blame Me (arr. by Morty Corb); Where Are You (arr. by Skippy Martin); Waltz Medley: Cuban Love Song, Louella and Whisper Waltz (arr. by Frank DeVol); I Can't Give You Anything But Love (arr. by Morty Corb); On the Sunny Side of the Street (arr. by Skippy Martin); Medley: Anybody for the Blues, A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening and I Can't Get Enough of You (arr. Frank DeVol); I'm Shootin' High (arr. by Frank DeVol); Exactly Like You (arr. by Bill Holman); and Diga Diga Doo (arr. by Skippy Martin). [Photo above of Bill Holman]

There's good news and bad news. The good news is the album is a punchy, inventive dance-band album. The bad news is it has never been issued digitally and exists only on vinyl. Hopefully Jordi Pujol of Fresh Sound or an American reissue label will gain access to the Mercury tapes or a pristine copy of the LP to create a digital master.

Continue Reading...

This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.