THE ORIGINAL SCORE OF

AS PLAYED BY THE

CLARK TERRY JIMMY CLEVELAND FRANK WESS PHIL WOODS JAY McALLISTER GEORGE DUVIVIER

_o LES SPANN - Mm o z OSIE JOHNSON

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MERCURY hi-fidelity {|G

MERCURY ° Oy Pas — 9 Ee ee) ee OY Oe en nd ee OS ee 7 ee a a ae) el @) Ie @) Ley MG 20654 ALSO AVAILABLE ON STEREO 60654

Play your Mercury regular Monaural long-play recordings on a Stereo phonograph? Please do. The sound quality of any Mercury long-play recording is actually enhanced on a Stereo phonograph.

Early this past August I received the score to Kwamina, music and lyrics by Richard Adler, a show scheduled for October 20 opening on Broadway. It struck me as being not only as the best score I had heard since My Fair Lady, but as music which begged for jazz treatment. It would fit like a-glove. A quick telephone call ascertained Taylor’s availability and willingness to record it, dependent on whether or not he liked it. His reaction was as instantaneous as mine. ‘‘When do we cut?’”’ he wanted to know. We would cut as soon as we had it planned. First, an arranger, Jimmy Jones was our prime choice, and he said he could start writing at the beginning of September, after finishing some charts for Dinah Washington. Immediately, however, the three of us got together for two days to-decide how the tunes should be treated, the size of the orchestra, and the men we wanted. September 12, 18, and 14 were set as session days—the latest possible dates we could record and still have the finished record ready for release coincidental with the Broadway opening. Then we talked about the men. There was no question about Clark Terry. He’l! do anything you ask of a trumpet player, and also will contribute the ultimate in enthusiasm and professionalism to any session. Jimmy Cleveland’s trombone sound is like Clark’s trumpet tone—warm, a little furry, pungent, They would biend perfectly. Julius Watkins, French horn, and Jay McAllister, tuba, were quickly decided Recorded Sept. 12, 13, and 14, 1961, at Bell Sound Studios, New York City. Personnel: Billy Taylor, piano and upon. They are exceedingly fine musicians. leader; Clark Terry, trumpet and flugelhorn; Jimmy Saxes? Jerome Richardson on baritone—probably the most underrated man now Cleveland, trombone; Julius Watkins, French horn; Jay playing that instrument. Phil Woods on alto because he knows how to lead a section McAllister, tuba; Phil Woods, alio saxophone; Frank Wess, tenor saxophone; Jerome Richardson, baritone sax- and plays exciting, imaginative solos. Frank Wess on tenor because he can play, and ophone; Les Spann, guitar; George Duvivier, bass; Oste not enough people know about it. Se Johnson, drums. All arrangements by Jimmy Jones. The rhythm section next. Start with George Duvivier, because you can’t find them any better, and pray he isn’t already booked for the days you want him. Then Side One . Osie Johnson on drums, a pro among pros. Add Les Spann, to our ears the best young SOMETHING BIG “% guitarist on the scene, and that takes care of that. ercear Awer sonata Mier, ine. (ASCAP) oc ei SG Sia ee es ee 3:36 We now had a band that was as good as it wanted to be. Clark Terry got the VM SEEING RAINBOWS assignment of calla them all and making sure they could be at Bell Sound a month Clee cr) ahora mee, TRC. CA SOAP) re oe bis ee RS A ee ag ee ale as P54 hence. They could. ORDINARY PEOPLE Jones and Taylor then spent countless hours in discussing approaches, voicings, tivicuar each) oanara Wieic. Ime (ASCAP) 3.66 Or ie a ale ob eg ee ee heZl tempos, keys, and all the other details that too seldom are done thoroughly before- hand, thus creating hassels and headaches at the session. THE COCOA BEAN SONG Jimmy finished four arrangements, then disgustedly tore them up and started Cachan ace) oanre Were. Inc. UA SG AP) eo oe Oe ve 8s TI Ce cee ge ee ae ae Ee?) all over again. He wasn’t satisfied. September 12 suddenly seemed ominously near. WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME He arrived at the first date that day looking as if he hadn’t slept for two days. (Richard Adler) Sahara Music, Inc. CASON oe es Same, ce ny ee ee ee 2ia38 He hadn’t. Side Two That first session got off to a great start. One of the men was a half-hour late and we simply had to sit and wait for him. NOTHING MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO Ordinary People was the first tune, and for a while it appeared that all our advance (iewcnara Adler) Sahara Music, Inc. (ASCAP) >). 222 a ee ee. Pea en ne op te ceen Nobles ints <-idee air oe ee She Ai3h preparation had been useless. The band was listless and out of tune, nothing seemed ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE to get together, and after nine takes we were still apparently 10 miles from home. Meee ees a tt te AE gy i hy eee see 8 ae ee a Loe in ek CE ee Bee ee ee 3:40 The tenth take was little better, ending midway with a horrible clam. But then, all HAPPY IS THE CRICKET of a sudden, the sun came out and everything meshed on take 11 as if they had been Cierra ee Ce CAO A a i i ew ee ae eS EEE eS LA Bee ere 4:23 playing the tune for months. But the one arrangement had taken two precious hours SUN IS BEGINNING TO CROW out of our three. ee er ie, Fhe (A CAL) i ees i si es eR we ed ea PR ee eee eee 3:08 Another Time followed, and the ultimately fine performance on it by the band ended the day’s work. Hi-Finformation We got three tunes in the next day, starting with a surging performance on Jimmy’s This album was recorded monaurally and stereophonically at Bell Sound Studios, New York City, with Phil Macy at the engineering controls. The orchestra was grouped as naturally as possible in a quarter-circle facing the rhythm section. Micro- great arrangement of Nothing More To Look Forward To, a fairly easy time of it on phones used included a Beyer M-160 on the brass, a Western Electric RA-1142 on French horn, and an RCA 77 on tuba. Happy Is The Cricket, and a humorously perky rendition of Cocoa Bean Song. The saxophones played into an M-19 Telefunken. The drums were picked up with a U-47 Telefunken on snare and cymbals and an Electro-Voice 665 on the bass drum. An Electro-Voice 654 was used on the bass andan RCA 44BX on guitar. Billy Taylor’s The final session again got off to an optimistic beginning as the band wailed piano was picked up with a Telefunken U-47. The session was recorded on an Ampex 350 tape recorder at 15 inches per second. delightedly through Something Big, then needed only one take to storm through I’m Seeing Rainbows. They then hit the album’s biggest log jam— What’s Wrong Wath Me. ee Billy must have taken the title to heart, for time and again he’d make a good take, listen to it, shake his head doggedly, ask to make another. At the end of 16 tries he : Jack Tracy Mercury Recording Director said ‘‘That’s it. Finally.’? And obviously it was—he had played marvelously. Another 40 minutes to do Sun Is Beginning To Crow and an album was complete. By this time it must be obvious that all of us connected with the project are too close to it to make any sort of objective judgment of its merits. We think we’ve come up with the finest jazz version yet of a Broadway musical—one that has individuality, breadth, texture, a high level of inspiration, and some real spirit. But we really don’t This Mercury Custom Hi Fidelity recording is the result of the most modern recording technique of our time. The masters know. From here on, you’ve got it. for this album were transferred through an Ampex 301 tape machine, a Pultec Filter and Equalizer, Altec limiting amplifier, Mac oe monitor amplifier and a 150 watt power amplifier designed especially to drive the BBC Grampian Feedback ‘Cutting Head. ae monaural disc can be played equally well with either a STEREO cartridge or a STANDARD 1 mil microgroove Jack Tracy cartridge. Base of the fine technical equipment used in the recording. of these masters, one is assured of the most faithful repro- - duction in the transfer from original recording to the final masters used for processing. Printed in U.S.A. Mercury Recording Director

0} KWAMINA YY ihe BILLY TAYLOR A Q f) And His . Orchestra _ |

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