1964

NEW YORK ON STAGE i Reports from ths successf- «y touring Ague« deMiile By Mary English Dance Theater indicate that the moot popular ballet is Short Lecture With all those rumors con­ •nd Demonstration• >n thr Evniiitim■ «if RagUn» Jsmes Mitctiell is the cerning Judy Garland*:- trou­ star, Billy Taylor did the music, and Anna Sokolow the choreography. Id sit ENTERTAINMI \T IN-THF-ROUND Nat Cole was held »ver an would bles with arrangers and oth­ extra week at La Vie En Rose. Despite the newspaper strike, the room ers at Warner Brothers, where was jammed every night. La Vie had to pay part of Nat’s contract in f. It’s she has been working on A Star Washington for that week, but he will make the date up after the first o say Is Bom, the pictun expected to of the year following his re tun, from Europe . . . johnnie Ray went • and relaunch her film career and put better her back among filmdom’s top the Boulevard on 24-hour notice Teresa had a sore throat. The octree» today, stars, it seemed a good idea to i sug- singer also cut some more MGM sides while in town. make a personal checkup. THE JAZZ SCENE« Sidney Bechet flew back to Paris to consult * of a It took a while to catch up with nged? her, because Judy, always among t and here. He had to cancel six weeks of b - »kings . . . Duke Ellington spoke i peo- to an enthusiastic audienn at the coffee hour at Harvard Law School ralue, during his Boston date . . . Joe Bushkin st the Embers for an indefinite in its stay, with Cosy Cole, drums; Johnny Smith, guitar, and Clyde tom lierdi. bass . . . George Shearing booked solidly into March, when ho the most approachable of film per­ starts a concert tour .. . Sol Yaged has one of the longest engagements lecide formers, has been busy with the in town. He’s in his second year at the Hotel Somerset, with Kam “The pre-recording sessions. This la the Kersey on piano and Karl Kiffe, drums. week, one period when visitors of all Sonny Truitt is now playing lead trombone with Tony Pastor . . . nd of kinds are least welcome at the film (Jiarlie Barnet arrived at Cafe Society with Jo Joowe, Sir Charlea studios. rhnmpMin, Munroe Shain. and Jack Hitchrock , . . inHui and t vein Studio Chat John Hammond arranged a mammouth two-day recording session for write So we nettled, and gladly, for a Columbia that featured Buck Clayton, Joe Newman, Julian Dash, Eddie yway, chat on the net instead of the re­ Shu, Charlie Fowlkes, lent Davis, Jo Jones, Freddie Green. Sir Charleo shot- cording studio, and were lucky Thompson, Walter Page, Benny Powell, and L'rbir Groen. wehst enough to catch her while they s ago were shooting the scent' in which ibling thr sings Ths Man That Got Away, Victor signed the Phil Moore Four . . . MGM publicity head. Sol Hand- dama a haunting blues quality number wrrgrr devised an inflammable promotion scheme- «»»er a million MGM time, generally held to be No 1 .f the Faustu Cleva (left), Italian opera runduitar, and Howard K. Skinnei, matchbooks rounded like a record with pictures of five top MGM stars then new songs Harold Arlen and Ira head of the San Francisco Opera Company, »i«il with Judy (, ar land un shers Gershwin have written for the film. the set of 4 Star It Born. ction- Personally, we think that Judy’s l song troubles — and she’s had them — Any wav, the Judy Garland we hood to the Palladium engagement i, and arise from the fact that most per­ met rm the set of A Star is Bom was in films. A musical performer sons find it hard to realize she’s is a mature young woman who loses something that way—the feel grown up, something understand­ seemed to be getting along just for a live audience. I’m no happy able when you stop to recall that swell with everyone. that 1 regained it—and a new con­ CHICAGO it was beck in 1938 that she did “New Voice” fidence and aelf-assuranct. at the that Dear Mr. Gable number (in “I love that song,” she Mid after same time.” Patachou makes her initial Chicago appearance at the Empire«Roma, MGM’s Broadway Melody of IMS) The role she is doing in 4 Star with Emil Coleman returning to direct the band there . •«lue the “take,” “because it has real Master« going into his fifth year at the Conrad .lilton . . Beige Koom takes that launched her screen career. drama in both words and music. is Bom i» the nearest thing to a It's the one I’ve been waiting for,” straight dramatie role since she in the Pershing hotel is reopening after a Ion»; shuttering with l»rry took Almost over-night, from scrambl­ she continued, with a smile to in­ did The Clock with the late Robert Steele’s revue .. Don Byao. who was iuppoB-i ‘o hr------mlled ing in the waning vaudeville cir­ dicate she was half-kidding, “to Walker. The picture is, in fact, not France after a long stay there, changed his mind cuits with hei sisters (“The Gumm introduce my ‘new voice’ to screen actually a musical but an up-to- joined the I Come for to Sing group, which moved to the Blue Angel ... Sisters”) Judy Gumm became Judy audiences—the ‘voice’ I developed date versioi. of the original, made Buddy Moreno will do Home recordings for Tiffany with the Eddie Bol Garland one of Hollywood's great­ by singing to those audiences at in 1937 with Janet Gaynor. The lentine orchestra. jired’ est child stara And she grew up the London Palladium, the Palace leading character has been changed DJ Jim Lounsbury expanded his Saturday morning show on WGN just from child star to become an even in New York, and big auditoriums into a singer in order to take ad­ from 9:30 to 11:30. That’s in addition to his daily 45-minute -trip . . . lown. young woman in I .os Angeles and San Francisco. vantage of Judy’s vocal assets. Howard Miller's late evening WNBQ TV show on Fridays with celebs alish- without the usual ’transition” pic- “You see, my entire career—the Thinking this switch to “heavy and records has gone National Broadcasting networkwise. from tures. important papt of it—from child- drama” might mean that, like A real shock to the many who knew him was the death of longtime ites,” Frank Sinatra, Judy’s secret am­ bandleader I«ew Diamond, stricken while working a dance date at the bition all along has been to go in Palmer House. New Les Elgart Band Tapped for acting rather than singing, we Buddy DeFranco left the Streamliner Jan. 6 for his European trip. asked her. The Billy Taylor trio has taken over . . . Billy Daniels etched some “Absolutely not," she replied more sides for Mercury while at the Chicago theater, as did Ralph promptly, “If I had to choose be- Marterie before making another swing around the midwest . . . Gloria For Biggest Buildup Of Year the other, there Van has joined the Starlighter vocal group. would be just one thing—singing. James Moody is doing a returr date at the Capitol, and Arnett Cobb hen New York—Not for a I’m going to go right on singing while has there been as much M comes back Feb. 19 . . . Helen Traubel, in for three or four weeks at arts as my major activity no matter the Ches Paree Jan. 29, will have Bart Farber, her new music director one, advance interest in a dance what happen«. As soon as this pic­ from Cincinnati. band as in Les Elgart’s new tun- is completed I’m going right ight back to personal appearances. is is, crew. Initial impact was caused HOLLYWOOD by Elgart’s 12-inch Columbia LP, “What's that they say about act­ ising ors—for them ‘All the world’s a JAZZ BEAT: Suniet Strip, which randy jumps, bos a new hotspot in Cddie Sophisticated Swing. When Art Ford introduced it to something? Whatever 22 Club. New ops (who also have La Madelon with Gil Bernal, a “go­ his WNEW li.-teners, the switch­ happens to Judy Garland as an go-go” guy) kicked off with a string of two-btaters, with Jess Mae?, board lit up like the night before actress, Judy Garland, the singer, heading a five-piece combo featuring Pud Brown. Announced to follow Christmas, and disc jockeys from will always want to be up there on in n series of two-we«-li stands wen Red Niehe!» Jack Teagarden, and other cities also report listrnei en­ a stage, singing to the biggest live Artie Shaw with his new Grammerey Five . . . Billie Holiday drew the i her thusiasm. Columbia, itself, had audiences she can sing to holiday stand at the Tiffany Club, two wueks starting Dec. 24 . . . calisi enough confidence in the Elgart “I learned that at the Palace the Maynard Ferguson heading a six-piecer comprised of modern jazs aces band kind of dance music to send two night the audience held me on the at North Hollywood’s Hat A Cain and presenting jazs concert program ■ the aides from the LP to their com­ stage—and I held the audience - modelled after that established so successfully by Howard Rumsey at The bined list of over 8,000 disc jockeys. from 10 o’clock until midnight. Hermosa Beach Lighthouse . . . Oasis, southside spot long in doldrums, » the Brother« I Larry Elgart is more precise for “least cooperative actress and actor” were, respectively, Dorie Day as he explains, “We try to get the and Frank Sinatni . . Television Academy's award festivities this year when feel of two, particularly with the New Orleans—If you want to will approach if not outdo Motion Picture Academy’s “Oscar” excite­ aid of the guitar, ao that there is keep from getting husky tai the ment. Presentation will be staged at Hollywood Palladium with nation­ ou ng clearcut time and the dancers don’t ing will perform the same function fer|jn (or keep from growing wide TV hookup, during Ralph Flanagan’s stand there, as currently i big have to look for the beat. The with the traveling band and include old), the way to do it is to show planned . . ArM Local 47’s President Johnny ie Groen, one of few tone phrasing, though, is in four.” trombonist Danny Repole, bassist loo marked s preference for union execs with u sense of good public relations, presented actor After the LP the next large--acaie Russ Saunders, snd tenor Charlie eA« music in New Orleans, v life membership in Local 47 as award indication of interest in the band Albertine, who does most of the ar­ which likes Io think of itself for his "splendid ilenn Miller, the man and the musician” came when MCA not only signed ranging. as “The Cradle of Jaas." in Universal’s Glenn Miller biofilm, now set for national release Feb. 22. the orchestra but gave it the big- Charlie has studied with Stefan One imbiber in a French K; push it has given any dance Woipe, and it’s likely a forthcom­ Quarter bar learned this recent­ d in the last year and a half. ing set will feature his alto with ly when he kept inserting quar­ rente booked in for the auto show featuring a drum bit in his aet... All MCA field offices are being sup­ strings. Larry will largely be in ters in the jukebox and playing after the first of the year . . . Singer Linda Gray in town, check­ plied with copies of the LP, which chargi of selecting remaining per­ one lune over and over talkin’ Woody Herman brings music back ing the local scene for possible they'll play for operators, and in sonnel. Larry has playef lead alto end i Hummin' by Feriin Husk­ to the Diamond Knee Jan. 1 after singing jobs. oonjunctioi with Columbia, they’ll ey. A Jan enthusiast endured it two weeks of a strip policy again Gerry Mulligan's first pubtie ap- al»- cover I be disc jockeys Colum with for awhile, then suggested the . . . Dave Brubeck’s new drummer pearanre after his enforced vaca­ bia has not put this much effort th« Top Banana show. player pum h something differ­ is Joe Dodge, formerly with Jack tion will be at either the Blade and time behind a newly-organised Sheedy and Bob Scobey, as well as Hawk or the Down Beat, probably Les Elgart is one of the ent m« years. known irad trumpeters in do h with iiiui own quarter?” a host of " jdfm inuids Readying For Road inusii huuniM and *ias filled that was the rejoinder. The jasa fan Stager Connie Jordan, featured booked into Oakland for a Gem The Leo Elgart ham) shuuid be function Bunny Berigan. walked out of the bar. returned at the Saj When 'or yean and Norman concert early in February able to hit the road in two or three Harry James, Charlie Spivak, and once given a syndicated column prior to his three weeks at the months and will be set for a couple write-up by Bob Ruark, was Black Hawk . . Les Brown drew Muggay Spanier, as well as with and th«- c*w ralhuatart armed 1,700 customers to a Friday night of shot* mi t.atioiia- TV shows Woody Herman and CBS staff a bit later at Charily hospital- stopped by police as he attempted early before then. The full complement orchestra» Now Les Elgart is play­ D.O^. to jump from a building in a sui­ dance at El Pat» . . Borah Mi» d his will hr five saxes, seven brass, ing lead for Les Elgart. —mi cide try . . . Sammy Davis Jr. now