Christmas In July 2018-Day 07
Seven days in and still going strong!
1. Overture by Duke Ellington And His Orchestra from Nutcracker Suite/Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 And 2 (Odyssey (Columbia) 32 16 0252 (Originally issued 1060), Stereo, 1980). Starting out another block of Nutcracker music with a great arrangement by Duke & Billy Strahorn!
2. Russian Dance ("Trepak") From "Nutcracker Suite," Op. 71a by E. Power Biggs, taken from his LP Holiday For Harpsichord: Fun-Filled Favorites From E. Power Biggs & His Pedal Harpsichord (Columbia MS 6878, Stereo, 1966). Yes, that's right, Harpsichord! And you know it's going to be good because his middle name is Power!
3. Arabian Dance by Antal Dorati Conducting The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from Britten: The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra/Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a (Mercury MG 50055, Mono, 1955). A little more staid than the others in this suite, but good nonetheless.
4. Chinese Dance by The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra Conducted By Felix Slatkin, more straightlaced stuff, from Nutcracker Suite/A Midsummer Night's Dream (Capitol SP8404, Stereo, 1957). I wonder if I have enough interesting versions to make a comp? Hmmm...
5. March, some narration by Peter Ustinov from Nutcracker Suite-Between Birthdays-Verses By Ogden Nash (Columbia Masterworks ML 5664, Mono, 1961). I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love Ogden Nash!
6. Dance Of The Flutes by Warwick Symphony Orchestra from their album Nutcracker Suite/Carnival Of The Animals (Camden (RCA) CAL-100, Mono, 1954). These all sort of start to sound the same after a while, don't they?
7. Waltz Of The Flowers From "Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a" by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor, from The Wonderful Waltzes Of Tchaikovsky And Strauss (Columbia Masterworks ML 5238, Mono, 1958). I pulled this from a collection of other things, but I'm thinking I have the full-length LP that it originally came out on. I'll have to go digging to find it though.
8. Nutcracker by The Nutty Squirrels from The Nutty Squirrels (Hanover HM 8014, Mono, 1959). Unfortunately, this has nothing at all to do with Tchaikovsky, but I thought I'd throw it in anyway.
9. Ave Maria (Pietro Mascagni) by Bob Beck At The Outdoor Organ from The Grotto Organs In Reverie (Adon, Oregon Ltd. V8844, Mono). I told you I have a million and one organ records!
10. I Saw Three Ships by The United States Air Force Band-Brass Choir from that great collection Serenade In Blue-Series Eleven (Programs 131-143) (United States Air Force 7xLP Suggested Air Date: October-December 1969, Stereo, 1969). Great stuff on here!
And that's it, another great day! Have at it and leave me a comment!
Zippyshare
The Nutty Squirrels were the inspiration of jazz musician and singer Don Elliott. I have quite a few of his LPs and was amazed to learn he was behind this Chipmunks clone group.
ReplyDeleteSasha Burland was also involved. I think he brought the funny ha-ha to the show. :)
ReplyDeleteI do remember the Chipmunks TV show, but not the Squirrels. The former rodents were far more popular, of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
ReplyDeleteas long as the chipmunks have come up, does anyone know of a send-up version of "the chipmunk song" sung by whales? it starts off with a bagdasarian-type saying "all right, you whales..." and proceeds with some deep gurgling voices that are supposed to be whales in harmony. i swear i heard this once but i can't seem to confirm its existence. don't strain the brains. i can probably live and die peacefully without the answer. but if anyone happens to know...
ReplyDeleteLove this idea of parsing out "The Nutcracker" among various big bands and the like. If I'm not mistaken, a lot of swing bands recorded excerpts from the sweetest suite of all time. If you're interested, I'll make you a list (partial, of course).
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow, there really is a version of The Chipmunk Song done by whales! Well, sort of.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/The-Whales-4-Featuring-Rathbone-And-His-Tuba-The-Chipmunk-Song/release/7702282