Mel Tormé

Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, best known as a singer of jazz standards. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, drummer, and actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He composed the music for the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells.

Early years

Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to immigrant Russian Jewish parents, whose surname had been Torma. A child prodigy, he first sang professionally at age 4 with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant.

Between 1933-41, he acted in the network radio serials The Romance of Helen Trent and Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. He wrote his first song at 13, and three years later, his first published song, "Lament to Love," became a hit recording for Harry James. He played drums in Chicago's Shakespeare Elementary School drum and bugle corps in his early teens. While a teenager, he sang, arranged, and played drums in a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers. His formal education ended in 1944 with his graduation from Chicago's Hyde Park High School.

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Hi Fly

Hi Fly may refer to:

Hi Fly (airline), a Portuguese airline

Hi-Fly is a jazz song by Randy Weston. Albums have been named after it.

Hi Fly (Peter King album), 1984

Hi Fly (Rio Nido album), 1985

Hi-Fly (Horace Parlan album), 1978

Hi-Fly (Jaki Byard album), 1962

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Hi-Fly (Karin Krog and Archie Shepp album)

Hi-Fly is a 1976 album by jazz singer Karin Krog and saxophonist Archie Shepp.

Reception

Allmusic awarded the album four and a half stars with reviewer Michael G. Nastos writing that "All standards interpreted innovatively."

The Rough Guide to Jazz wrote that "Krog is impressive with Shepp, surviving a sometimes overbearing context and making an exquisite job of Carla Bley's "Sing Me Softly of the Blues" for which Krog wrote her own lyrics".

Track listing

"Sing Me Softly of the Blues" (Carla Bley, Karin Krog) - 6:21

"Steam" (Archie Shepp) - 8:07

"Day Dream" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, John La Touche) - 9:26

"(In My) Solitude" (Ellington, Eddie DeLange, Irving Mills) - 3:34

"Hi-Fly" (Randy Weston) - 14:01

"Soul Eyes" (Mal Waldron) - 6:38

Personnel

Karin Krog - vocals

Archie Shepp - tenor saxophone

Charles Greenlee - trombone

Jon Balke - piano

Arild Andersen - double bass

Cameron Brown

Beaver Harris - drums

References

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Hi-Fly_(Karin_Krog_and_Archie_Shepp_album)

Hi-Fly (Jaki Byard album)

Hi-Fly is an album by pianist Jaki Byard recorded in 1962 and released on the New Jazz label.

Reception

Allmusic awarded the album 4 stars with its review by Robert Taylor stating, "it would be virtually impossible, and futile, to try and duplicate the individual genius of Jaki Byard. This stands as one of his best".